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One year ago on the 4th of July I promised myself and my friends I would post with more regularly and I clearly did not. My husband Quin had quite a health struggle this year. I’m happy to say he’s much better and getting better every day.

So much has happened this past year and maybe the most fun for us was the addition of our puppy Gus to the family

Next up…our trip to Fredericksburg and a stay at the new hotel Albert . While there we visited with dear friends and left with such happy hearts!

Life is still so good!

XOX

Pam

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The other day a good friend texted “ what eye patches should I try for tired puffy eyes ?” I had to laugh a little, but my friends know if I know I’m happy to share. And you’re my friends so I will share with you.

When I first looked into the eye patch world, so many people were singing the praises of

Next up was the blue “Water Drench” also from Peter Thomas Roth. Again an excellent product, and I purchased it many times.. I also tried random individually packaged ones from Amazon for traveling.

Recently I became aware the Pixi brand made several versions of an eye patch. They are $24 and available at Target and Amazon. I’ve be using them for several months and to be perfectly honest they seem to work every bit as good as the $75 patches. I will spend more for a product that works exceptionally well but I wont spend the money for a brand name and pretty packaging (although I am a sucker for pretty packaging)

So if you are in the market for a cooling and refreshing eye patch give Pixi a try

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If you remember before the joy of Hurricane Beryl, I attempted to make lemon poppy seed muffins. After many years of baking I thought it would be ok to substitute bread flour for regular all purpose flour. The results were sad. They tasted bitter and didn't look like a muffin should. Fast forward to last week I purchased a new bag of flour, along with new baking soda and new baking powder, A much better outcome all the way around

I've used this recipe for years and I hope if you try it you will love it as much as we do

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Prep Time 20minutes mins

Cook Time 20minutes mins

Total Time 40minutes mins

Servings 12 muffins

Calories 235

Author Michelle

Ingredients

  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
  • 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
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I just reread my “about me” portion of this blog. That thing I want to do for other women in my stage of life I have barely touched on…. Sharing information. Information that makes my life easier, prettier or more fun. It’s easy for me to do. I do it all the time in person. This new beauty product, a good book I’m reading, something new for my home or someplace fun I have visited. I really wanted to get more disciplined about sharing these things with all of you. And I want to hear yours too!

Let me tell you about a really effective product I’ve added to my skin care routine. A313 is a product I came across on Instagram. I use it every night mixed with my moisturizer on a clean face. I use less than pea sized amount . It seems to help with fine lines and the overall texture of my skin. Now here’s the really awesome part. It’s available on Amazon ( unless you want to pay quite a bit more from French Pharmacy) Right now it’s selling for about $15. Also if there are teens in your home I understand it’s supposed to be great for acne.

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Quin and I celebrated our 52nd anniversary on June 11.

So on Friday the 9th we packed the car and headed for the Hill Country( with a playlist of Texas artist for inspiration). To quote Pat Green “ baby needs a little hill country. Billboards and bullshit has got her down”

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Things I’m Loving

This is something I think I’m really good at. Finding something new and sharing it with my girlfriends! It’s one of the things that pushed me to write this blog.

So here are a few things I’m loving this week.

“Daisy Jones and the Six”

I’ve heard references to this series but never took the time to check it out. I watched the first and second episodes and loved it so far. If you are anywhere near my age, you will love the music and the clothes. So, treat yourself to a (so far) good series and a nostalgic trip to the past. You can find it on Prime Video

“40 Days to a Joy Filled Life”

By Tommy Newberry I received this sweet little book as a gift from a very dear lady I attend a Bible study with. She had referenced it often and I kept meaning to get it for myself. Thank you Sue! I think we all could use more joy in our life. I also think we might miss the joy when the weightier things in life demand our attention. This book is based on Philippians 4:8. I’ll circle back when I finish and update you on my joyful progress. This book is available on Amazon.

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I saw this picture the other day of my husband and myself taken when I was 33. I saw myself in that picture and I thought, look at that girl, that beautiful skin. Look at those cheekbones. Look how young and fresh she looks ( and thin) . And at the time I thought none of those things about myself. I hated having my picture taken. That made me think about now. I still hate having my picture taken. I’m extremely critical of the woman I see in the picture, something I would never do to someone else’s picture. I find fault with everything in every picture of me. And they're me. They're just me!

Is it easy for you ? If it is, how did you convince yourself that who you are is really precious and special, because I want to be better at that. I believe those things about me but not the image of me.

Some day my grandchildren are going to be very disappointed that there’s not very many pictures of their maw maw and I’m the one who would have caused it.

I didn’t mention this so that people would say

“ oh no Pam I love your pictures blah blah blah”

This is a flaw that I need to work on. I want to live my best life and hiding from pictures isn’t the best!!

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It’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s the “ unofficial start of summer”. Suddenly here on the gulf coast of Texas it feels like summer.

What is Memorial Day? Is it a day to thank those currently in the service of our country? Nope! That’s Armed Forces day. Is it the day to thank those who served this country in the past? Nope ! That’s Veteran’s DayIt’s the day to remember and honor those who served and never made it out of uniform.

It seems to odd to me to put celebrating school being out, fun summer activities and honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on the same day. But nobody asked my input on national holidays. I can say that my family has not been directly impacted by losing an active service member but I think about those families who have. Some very recently and the pain is fresh. Some would be old men ( or women) now but they are still loved and missed terribly.

So before you jump in the pool, head to the beach or just cookout in your back yard, raise a glass, say a silent thank you and a prayer for the families left behind

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