i wish...

for you my friends,

love,

peace,

beauty,

and amazement,

in your life today, tomorrow, and forever!

I heart crumpets

It was this easy to miss shop, The Crumpet Shop, in Seattle, WA, tucked away off the side street leading up to Pike's Place Market that got me hooked on crumpets. While visiting this past Spring, my friend Kristin and I went to this shop she had been raving about after a past visit she had there. I had never had a crumpet until that very day and let me say I am very happy that the crumpet and I met! A crumpet is similar to an English muffin yet a little more moist, and the nooks and crannies are on the top rather than the inside as an English muffin. Here are some fresh baked crumpets from the shop.

Photo from Roadfood.com

After having 2 crumpets of my own and sharing a 3rd, I left the shop with my Seattle souvenir...a bag of 6 plain crumpets! These crumpets did not stick around for long because I quickly found many ways to top them and enjoy their deliciousness! My favorite ways to enjoy a crumpet are with berry jam, nutella, and egg but the shop has many more mouth watering options! Finishing my crumpets from The Crumpet Shop, resulted  in great sadness, this was until I discovered  that Trader Joe's has crumpets (in plain and blueberry). I have been able to enjoy crumpets now once again (although I have to admit they are not quite as fresh and tasty as the ones from "the shop")! I even picked up some nutella so I could enjoy my crumpet the way I loved that wonderful day back in May!

When in Seattle make sure to stop but The Crumpet Shop for some breakfast, lunch or just a bite to eat and a coffee you will surely not be disappointed that you did. And for those of you who do not live in the Seattle area and don't have a trip planned but your mouth is watering after reading this post, head to Trader Joe's pick up a pack of crumpets (usually in the bread section near the English muffins), toast your crumpet, top with butter and then add jam, nutella or a scrambled egg and  ENJOY!

melaleuca

I feel the need to share with you my love for the company Melaleuca. I was introduced to Melaleuca almost a year ago by my dear friend Kristin because she knows my love for natural, healthy products, and my goal to live a greener, less toxic lifestyle. So as a good friend she introduced me to and helped sign me up as a preferred customer to Melaleuca. As a devoted and believing customer I thought that I should "pay-it-forward" to you my friends because I want you to have access to and experience what these wonderful products can bring to you and your families!

This is what Melaleuca stands for: (curtosy of Melaleuca's website)

• We develop, manufacture and sell over 350 of the world's leading wellness products for your home and family. We carefully craft products you use everyday with the highest standards of safety, health, and wellness in mind.
• Discovering Melaleuca is like finding a new store with better products at a better value. You're not adding to your monthly shopping budget, just taking a portion of what you already spend at the grocery store and spending it more wisely.
• Our EcoSense cleaning products are safer for your home. We use naturally derived ingredients with no chlorine bleach, ammonia, or formaldehyde. You'll see that our products are more effective, safer, better for the environment AND save you money!
• Our Focus Has Always Been on Environmental Wellness. At Melaleuca, we were green long before being green was popular. For 25 years, we've been leading the way in selling concentrated products and preserving nature's resources.

Through their easy to use website I make monthly purchases of things I used to buy at Target or the grocery store. Now I get things such as my vitamins, dish soap, dish washing detergent, shampoo/conditioner, face wash, hand soap, shave gel, all my cleaners which are concentrated (making them last forever!) and non-toxic, some foods, and much, much more. The products are ordered monthly and delivered straight to my apartment within a few days of placing my order. I have never been disappointed with any of the products I have tried.

Some of the product categories include: Vitamins & Supplements, Food & Weight Loss, Cleaning & Laundry, Medicine Cabinet, Dental Care, Bath & Body, Beauty, Candles & Air Fresheners! Both men's, women's and children's specific products are available!

my stay-cation!

This week I worked all my shifts in the beginning of the week and next week they will all be at the end of the week, you may be thinking, well who-cares, well I do! This means I have off a week without actually using any vacation time. I am very excited for my stay-cation and have many plans for my week! Some of these plans include:

- Extreme "Spring" cleaning (even though it's now the Fall)...hey, I didn't say they were all "FUN" plans!
- Updating my garden with some plants to make it through the Fall and Winter!
- Working to finish decorating my apartment in general and decorating for the Fall season!
- Some DIY projects for around the apartment.
- Catching up on some over due crafting projects and blogging!
- Planning some trips for the rest of the year.
- Relaxing and reading my new book from Oprah's Book Club, Freedom
- A haircut

So I am already 3 days into my stay-cation and have so far accomplished catching up on all the season premiers that were recorded on my DVR, lots of sleeping, cleaning my apartment, and a little redecorating. I definitely thought I would have gotten more done but hey I guess after working 6 out of 8 nights I deserve a little R & R! Hoping the next few days bring more productivity!

This coming Monday, the 27th, I will be going in for minor surgery to remove my second case of skin cancer on my head (darn sun and genetics!). Despite a little pain at first and missing a few hairs on my head, I will be just fine...any prayers during that time of healing are certainly welcomed and much appreciated! I will be back to work in no time and hopefully no worse for the wear!

Anyone else have suggestions for my stay-cation here in San Diego? What do you all like to do in your towns when you get to have a stay-cation?

missing Baltimore

As Fall is fast approaching I always seem to find myself wondering what's next? Fall feels more like a new year to me than New Year's does... probably since that's when the new school year always starts (and the numerous colleges I attended where I moved all over the place) and change is expected. In the Fall I get reminiscent about travel, moving, and just thinking about where I have been and where I am going in life. This Fall as I have the past few Falls I am missing the East Coast and specifically Baltimore, where I was during nursing school. Baltimore, as is most of the East Coast is beautiful in the Fall...the leaves are changing, the air gets crisp, and you can wear all your Fall sweaters and wool coats. I hope to make a visit out east before the New Year!

For those of those new to the Baltimore/ D.C. area, or planning to visit Baltimore I would like tell you some of my favorite restaurants to check out. I've included the neighborhood that each restaurant is in, a quick description, and their website.

Miss Shirley's- Inner Harbor & Roland Park- Best breakfast in Maryland...hands down!
http://www.missshirleys.com/

Iggie's- Mt Vernon- Best Gourmet, Thin Crust Pizza with Bring-Your-Own-Alcoholic-Beverages option!
http://www.iggiespizza.com/Home_Page.html

Matthew's Pizza- Canton- Best Thicker, Buttery Crust Pizza!
http://www.matthewspizza.com/

Amicci's- Little Italy- Great Happy Hour and Italian Food!
http://amiccis.com/

The Brewer's Art- Mt. Vernon- Best European Style Burger, Rosemary Fries, and Artisan Beers!
http://www.thebrewersart.com/

Vaccaro's- Little Italy- Best Italian Pastries and Gelato!
http://vaccarospastry.com/

The Evergreen  Cafe- Roland Park- Great study place with a living room feel, good coffee, and great scones, muffins & huge cookies!
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-evergreen-cafe-baltimore

Tapas Teatro- Downtown, Charles St.- Awesome tapas and wine next to the Charles Theatre, come for a movie and tapas!
http://tapasteatro.com/

Paper Moon Diner- Roland Park- Extremely eclectic diner with interesting decor and great late night place!
http://www.papermoondiner24.com/

Atwater's- Belvedere Square- Amazing soups! Daily selections differ but all are amazing, sit at there counter or take to-go.
http://www.atwaters.biz/index.php

Cafe Hon- Hampden- Think of the neighborhood from Hairspray and you can picture this diner/cafe that'll take you right back to the 1960's!
http://cafehon.com/

Happy Feasting!

bin 38

While recently home in the bay area, I spend the night up in San Francisco to spend time with my long time friend Kate. She took me to her favorite restaurant in San Francisco which serves her all-time favorite burger.  This burger and restaurant cannot go unmentioned thus I am going to tell you about it now.

Bin 38 is a restaurant/wine bar located in the Marina District of SF serving wonderful food and great wine. Among our group of four we samples a couple of appetizers (including the Burrata, a very yummy cheese similar to mozzarella, and the ahi tuna with watermelon, a really great flavor combination), a "Bin Burger" each, and two of the desserts to top us off! This burger was mouth watering and truly amazing and I'm already on the search for somewhere who serves burrata in San Diego. Each dish has recommended wine and beer selections to pair with that food choice if you are unsure of what you want to drink. Our waiter made us feel like we were at home which always makes for a pleasant experience. Bin 38 also accepts reservations through Open Table so no waiting in long lines. I would recommend anyone living in or visiting San Francisco check out Bin 38 and sample any of their amazing food, wine or beer because you will surely not be disappointed and make sure to check out the back patio complete with a fire pit for the cooler San Francisco nights!