This Town

I have not see the movie, This Town. But if a film's soundtrack could give any suggestion to the quality of the movie, this is a MUST-SEE.

This Town, by Steve Smith, 2008
(You will be able to view video with the first two songs, but thereafter will only be audio)

1. Dirty Vegas - Days Go By (acoustic)
2. Steve Smith - Late Nights and Street Fights
3. This Town by Steve Smith
4. Hit Me Up by Steve Smith
5. Restless by Steve Smith
6. Universe by Steve Smith
7. Morning Jane by Steve Smith
8. Smile by Steve Smith
9. Sleep Like A Lover by Steve Smith
10. Comedown Queen by Steve Smith
11. Better Off That Way by Steve Smith
12. That Town by Steve Smith
13. Late Nights and Street Fights by Steve Smith
14. Days Go By by Steve Smith

Radio Citizen

I dare you to not wanna dance to The Hop!

The Hop

Stop and Go

Summer Days

Sinful

The following post is being written by a born again bread eater. Until a few months ago I wouldn't have been able to tell you the last time I had consumed a slice of bread. Sure, I've eaten those thin wafers things that  resemble hamburger buns (which are amazing by the way), and I've had a few bites of bagels here and there (mostly for the cream cheese experience :), but I have truly not eaten a slice of the grainy goodness until a few months ago.

You know why they tell you to never go to the grocery store when you are hungry... cause you always come home with crap you had absolutely no intentions on purchasing. This find results from one of those.

I honestly had gone to the foreign land of the bread section to look for some Ezekial Bread. I've been reading a lot about that stuff lately and wanted to see it for myself. Have you tried it? Anyways, as I was scanning the shelves I noticed this: Dave's Sin Dawg.

While the packaging was a little obscure, I was sold after reading "cinnamon sugar bread roll" .... um, ok! It was the only one left on the shelf so I took that as a good sign and threw it into my "already overloaded, 50 lb, but I'm too proud to push a shopping cart" shopping basket.

What you see:
It's a long, bread roll, almost like a french baguette, and is absolutely COVERED with seeds and rolled oats. In fact, I could almost describe this thing as ugly.

What you get:

OMG. I finished half of this load the night I got it home. To be more specific I finished half the loaf in 15 minutes. It's amazing as is, and it's unbelievable a bit warmed. What I like about it is any remorse you have about all the sweetness your tasting is subsided by seeing all the natural grains and seeds that are incorporated.  It's all whole grains and no refined sugar and blah blah.

I'd like to tell you a bit about Dave and his bread, but his website does the man more justice. 

The Sin Dawg is now my favorite go-to when I need a quick gift or item to share at a potluck or gathering. People will give you some looks, but will completely understand and love you after their first bite.

I have not yet tried any of Dave's other breads but I have all intentions on making my way through his selection in the coming months!

Gotye

Thank you to Romy who introduced me to this band and to my sister for thinking of me when she see's cool cover's of songs I dig.

Gotye- Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)

Gotye- State Of The Art

Gotye - Easy Way Out

Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover)

Sleep Fit, Not Fitfully

When the cat's away.... (you can finish this statement).

But is blogging really "playing" when millions of people get paid to pen blog entries every day?

The following post features a gift that I gave to myself for Christmas. I think it was the 4th item I purchased for myself during the holidays. I must have been a good girl last year :)

Sheex, Inc. is a woman-owned business founded by Susan Walvius and Michelle Marciniak, two former women's basketball coaches at the University of South Carolina. Developed by former athletes with athletes in mind, SHEEX are touted as performance bed sheets that can improve the quality of an athlete’s sleep and deliver recovery benefits. According to their website, SHEEX technology breathes twice as well as more traditional bedding and transfers body heat twice as effectively as cotton does. It also claims to have three times the drying power of cotton.

I am not a performance athlete nor do I expect to suffer from hot flashes anytime soon, but after feeling these sheets I ignored all marketing tactics used by this company and went with my gut feeling (feeling, literally). These were the softest sheets I had ever touched. I was literally trying to wrap my body inside the sample at Bed Bath & Beyond.

You spend a third of your life sleeping and how you spend that time has a real impact on your health, your mood, your work and your performance. Research has shown that better sleep quality, not just quantity, can contribute to improved athletic performance, mental focus and overall quality of life.  So if you sleep better, you can live better.  Since getting more TIME to sleep is almost impossible for anyone living a hectic and busy life, now it is possible to reap the same health benefits by getting more QUALITY to the time you do spend sleeping.

My queen set came with a fitted sheet, a flat sheet and two pillowcases all made from the same 87% polyester/13% spandex fabric blend. Granted, the sheet sets are expensive, but can you really place a price on comfort and a good night’s sleep? (click here to be directed to Bed, Bath & Beyond's email signup to received a 20% off coupon... that's what I did... then you can unsubscribe after you use it:)

Hat’s off Sheex! Thanks for thinking of us! And let us all “sleep fit” and not fitfully.

Click here to visit the Sheex website and view their entire line including baby bedding and travel accessories!

Right In The Kisser

Where I have one of these:
In my coat pocket, in my desk drawer, in my gym bag, on my night stand, in my car, IN YOUR STOCKING! :)

When it comes to Burt’s Bees balms, I’m not a fan of the beeswax types at all, but the beeswax-free formulas make me happy. This Ultra Conditioning Lip Balm, though, is for me the big winner.

Burt’s new colorless lip balm is 100% natural, cruelty-free and contains some interesting ingredients. Along with the usual balmy suspects like shea butter; cocoa butter; and sunflower, coconut and olive oils, it also has something called kokum butter. Apparently it’s derived from the seeds of the Garcinia indica tree, a plant indigenous to western India and believed to have some medicinal properties, although I couldn’t find much on the benefits of its use topically.

The skin absorbs kokum butter much better than it does shea, mango or cocoa butter, and the faster the you can have the skin absorb something, the more moisturizing it is.  It’s also really light, so you don’t get a heavy feeling on your lips, and it won’t clog pores.

Upon further Googling it looks like we’ll see kokum butter pop up in more Burt’s Bees skincare next year. The brand is working working on an intense hydration face line; kokum butter is a key ingredient.

Liquid Crush

Dear Pink Grapefruit Perrier,
I have ignored you for months and months. You were once called Perrier Pamplemousse Rose and because I am American (and female) I judged a book by it's cover and completely ignored you. Now that I've given you a fair chance I find you to be delightfully refreshing and invigorating. I truly miss you are not around. I want to introduce you to all of my friends. You are the perfect companion.

Love,

Me

Slip On This

Another fruit and it's benefits beyond nutritional value!

The banana is a nutritious fruit that is loaded with vitamins such as C and B6, and minerals like potassium, manganese, phosphorus, etc. Because the 'nanner is mainly known for its nutritive value, most people eat the fruit and throw the peel off. But you may be amazed to know that even the banana peel contains medicinal properties and hence can be used for different purposes such as:

To get rid of a headache, place half of a banana peel across your forehead/temples and the other half, press against the back of your neck.

Bury banana leaves in the ground around bushes and large plants and they will provide a slow release of potassium and phosphorous to encourage healthy growth. Since banana peels are high in potassium and phosphorus, they can be effectively used as a garden compost and fertilizer.

Rub bites with the inside of the skin of a banana to stop the itching.

Rubbing scraped knees with the inside of a banana peel will help promote healing. The oil in a banana skin will soothe the skin and promote faster healing.

Use the soft inside of a banana skin to dust and polish houseplants.

Since banana peels are loaded with potassium, they are useful in treating warts. Even plantar wart can be treated with the help of the banana peels. If you suffer from warts, then rub the inner part of the banana peels on the wart each night for at least 10 days. Plantar wart may take nearly 15 days to show positive result. You can also get rid of the warts by taping the peel on the warts and leave it overnight. You will get amazing result.

For quick teeth whitening results, rub teeth gently with banana skin (used the inside surface) dipped in a little salt . It makes a difference after just a few days. Don’t use the salt everyday (use about every third day) or you will run the risk of damaging tooth enamel.

You can also make fertilizer for houseplants. Put a peel in a big jar (the huge pickle jar- size) and cover in water. Then you just pour some into your watering can (not a lot, maybe an inch or two), top with water, and refill the jar. One peel will last nearly forever and, surprisingly enough, doesn't get completely disgusting.

Toss a peel into the pan mid-cooking the next time you think your roast might turn out a little tough.

Use inside of a banana skin to polish shoes and give an amazing shine.

People suffering from psoriasis can rub the inner surface of the peel on the affected area to help in curing this skin condition. In the beginning, the skin area rubbed with the peel will become red but with persistent use, you will find a lot of improvement in your skin.

To reduce acne, try rubbing the inner part of the peel on the acne regularly. If it is used on a regular basis, acne will no longer be noticeable. The best time for using the banana peel for acne treatment is before going to bed at night.

A Brazilian researcher has taken an interest in researching reasons on how/why a peel can take water dirtied by heavy metals from mining operations or other activities and turn it to clean drinking water. 

A New Kick

There's this new food that I just can't seem to get enough of. First it was all those nut butters, then it was honey, next figs, now it's pumpkin. If anyone can find me a recipe that combines all of those aforementioned foods I'll kiss them.

Sure, fall is just around the corner and pumpkins will be making their way to everyone's table but I don't think that's the reason for this hankering. I've really never had a reason for any hankering.

Things I've been doing lately with pumpkins:

Pumpkin Butter

1 (29 ounce) can pumpkin puree

3/4 cup apple juice 

2 tsp vanilla extract

1.5 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Juice of half a lemon

Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Cover with lid and stir frequently.

Remove from heat.

Adjust spices to taste. Stir in lemon juice, or more to taste. Once cool, pumpkin butter can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes enough to fill one large mason jar or about 3.5 cups.

Use as a topping... for everything! I've eaten it with everything from ice cream to chicken. :)

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The World's Best Protein Shake
5-6 ice cubes
1 scoop of Tera's Dark Chocolate Organic Whey

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tbsp cinnamon

water (or milk if you'd rather) to the consistency of you liking

Blend for 20 or so seconds and enjoy.

Just Questions....

Breakfast for Dessert

Best frozen treat you've had so far this summer?

Me: Oatmeal Gelato, Caffe Dolce, Missoula

GO GET SOME NOW!!!

You??!?!

The Bravery

Believe (Live)

An Honest Mistake (LIVE)

Time Won't Let Me Go (Acoustic)

Fearless (Richard Vission Edit)

Kicks

The Saucony Kinvara is the company’s version of a minimalist shoe, and they struck gold with its design. This shoe has won tons of awards such as “Best Debut” from Runner’s World, 2011’s “Best Gear of the Year” from Outside Magazine, and “Top Ten Gear Picks” from Gear Junkie in 2010. And, after trying on a pair, it is easy to see how they gained their popularity.

Now you can design your own and the top 10 designs will be chosen in a few days!

Do it!

Sauced

Where have I been? No, not Greece, but I have sure been eating a lot of it lately :)

Why not make a comeback with a yummy summer recipe. I think the last time I posted we were still in the middle of winter. Wow, so much can change in a Montana minute!

Tzatziki Sauce

• 3 cups Greek Yogurt
• juice of one lemo
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 medium cucumbers, seeded and diced
• about 1 T kosher salt for salting cucumbers
• 1 T finely chopped fresh dill (can substitute mint leaves for a slightly different version)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Peel cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise and take a small spoon and scrape out seeds. Discard seeds.  Slice cucumbers, then put in a colander, sprinkle on 1 T salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to draw out water. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towel.

In food processor with steel blade, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and a few grinds of black pepper. Process until well blended, then stir this mixture into the yogurt. Taste before adding any extra salt, then salt if needed. Place in refrigerator for at least two hours before serving so flavors can blend. (This resting time is very important.)

Try it! With everything!!!

Anything But Plain

Some folks use the term “vanilla” when describing something that is boring, plain or uninteresting. In actuality, nothing could be farther from the truth.  

Vanilla beans come from the only fruit-bearing and edible orchid of the hundreds of orchid species. Like chocolate, vanilla is a New World bean.Vanilla originated in Mexico with the Totonaco Indians, who were conquered by the Aztecs who, in turn, were conquered by Hernando Cortez. 

Given its market price, vanilla is a rare commodity, and its depth of flavor ranks it right up there with the finest wines. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron due to the extensive labor required to grow the vanilla seed pods.They are hand pollinated, hand harvested and hand cured by farmers in a process that takes anywhere from 13 to 14 weeks. No wonder vanilla is so expensive!

The Food and Drug Administration has determined that in order to be called “vanilla” there must be a balance of vanilla bean extractions, water and sugar, along with 35 percent alcohol. Anything less must be called “vanilla flavor” or “artificial vanilla.”  Imitation vanilla is made from artificial flavorings, most of which come from wood byproducts.

In addition to being a versatile spice, the health benefits of vanilla are endless. The essential oil is considered an antioxidant. Further, the essential oil has been employed as an anti-carcinogenic, an anti-depressant, a sedative, and a fever and infection reducer. Most intriguing is the use of vanilla essential oil as an aphrodisiac. It has reportedly been effectively administered to those with impotency, erectile dysfunction or frigidity. The oil is said to stimulate secretion of certain hormones like testosterone and estrogen.

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Vanilla-Infused Sugar

( use as an alternative to regular granulated sugar)

In a jar with a lid, buy a vanilla bean, split lengthwise, add in 2 cups granulated sugar. Seal tightly and let mixture sit for at least 1 week. The bean may be used indefinitely to flavor sugar that is added when needed.

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Vanilla Vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon tarragon leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Chill before mixing with salad. _________________________________

"Vanilla is the underwear of the baking world; it makes everything look good and plays well in the sandbox with others. Vanilla is like a friend who prefers to stay in the background and just help out."
-Chef Gale Gand

Hunting & Gathering

Who are more obsessive?

Adult Jungle Juice

We all know (or should by now) that I'm a big fan of red wine. I do like a good brew once in a while too, but I think I think I'm going to try a little more of this stuff as is starts to warm up. I don't have to give up my red wine staple and will get to give my glass a summer flare of ice and fruit! Win. Win.

The ingredients in sangria vary, particularly in the type of fruit used, the kind of spirits added (if any). White wine can be used instead of red, in which case the result is called sangría blanca. In most recipes, wine is the dominant ingredient and acts as a base. Because the success of any mixture will depend on the quality of these ingredients, it is crucial always to use good red wine, fresh fruit and flavorful juice. Sangri­a must always be served ice-cold. If serving from a punch bowl, stir it in the bowl before ladling it into a glass.

My recommended recipe (serves about 4 people):

1 bottle good spanish red wine
1/2 liter ginger ale

1/2 liter sparkling cider
1 cup gin

1 cup vodka

2 lemon, 2 lime, & 1 blood orange sliced (also squeeze them and add the juice to the mix)
3 cups fresh berries of choice

Prep: Mix all fruit and alcohols in a large pitcher. Allow to set in fridge to marinate for many hours (overnight if possible!).

Add ginger ale, cider and ice once ready to serve.

Cheers!

Gwyneth Paltrow = My Hero

Mums The Word

"Little Lion Man"

"The Cave"

"Dust Bowl Dance"

"My Heart Told My Head"

"Wagon Wheel" (with Old Crow Medicine Show, Cadillac Sky, and King Charles)

Conversations

I made a few phone calls yesterday. One was to my 88 year old grandmother who lives in a small town the size of your average neighborhood. She has lost two husbands, her best friend, and is the only remaining child of her family. I always tease her  because she is never home, spending most of her time between the Senior Citizen's Center, the local cafe, and my aunt's antique store. Calling her home land line is a waste of time yet it's always the phone number I try first. Yesterday after finally getting a hold of her on her cell phone (yep, cell phone) I teased her for always being out and about, never resting, and giving her all the grief back she always gives me when she asks what I've been  up to. The next words out of her mouth were priceless.

"You know what happens when you sit at home, Holly? (pause) You just get old."

Well put Grandma. Well. Put.

Cheers!