Innkeeper: My new retirement plan?

There's no motivation like having overnight company to snap out of the lazy summer doldrums and clean up your act. The house and environs have never been tidier and I'm pulling out all the stops on dinner tonight, too.  It makes me wonder if there might be a future in renting out our upstairs guest room via airbnb....especially now that my leaner-by-30-pounds hubby has stopped snoring (clearing the way for me to return to the marital bed.) With our close proximity to campus and parking lot of a driveway, I'll bet we could make some nice cash from visiting professors and the like.  Or, get ourselves killed by a psycho slasher. There is a downside, I guess. But, fun to think about.....

Love and equality

"Equality is the soul of liberty: there is, in fact, no liberty without it." 
- Frances Wright

Will Don Draper die in the end?

So much to process from last night, Mad Men fans! What a fabulously satisfying end to such a foreboding season. I'm left hopeful, especially about Don's breakthrough and future with his kids. There has been speculation galore that Don will fall to his death at the end of Season 7 next year.  Mad Men creator Matt Weiner says no. That would be too literal. I'm relieved to hear that because, unlike many, I still think Don deserves happiness - the kind you earn by owning your truth, as Oprah would say. But, wait! This is Mad Men. That doesn't mean Don won't meet some other disastrous fate.  Oh, well.  Just nine more months to wait.

RED ALERT!

For years, I have blindly followed captains of the anti-aging beauty industry who said, "Don't wear red lipstick. It ages you." Of course, I believed them. I believed red lipstick was a young woman's game. Besides, who wants red stain rubbing off on your teeth, your highball glass and your man's collar? You just have to clean it up. I'd been OK with my look which, makeup-wise, has always put much more color on the eyes and less on the lips, a la 1975. Lately, though, I've been looking dull. With more hair turning white all the time and skin that can't see the light of day for medical reasons, my palette has been gray scale. Then, while strolling down the grocery store cosmetics aisle today, I happened upon the Revlon display and impulsively picked up the classic shade: True Red.  I came home, slapped some on, clicked a selfie on Instagram and - voila! - a whole new me just in time for our Mad Men season finale party.  Game changer!

Amaro filter: Erases wrinkles and age spots with one click.

If you can't stand the heat, get into the kitchen.

I've been hunkered down in the A/C today because of the heat and raging allergies. (The pollen, my friend, is blowing in the wind.)  Luckily,  we hit the St. John's Mexican Fiesta last night and the Farmers Market early this morning.  With a pantry full of fresh veggies and new obsession with Instagram filters (follow me @boomergirluno, if you'd like), I've got plenty to keep me occupied.

Peach basil iced tea

My bumper crop of basil inspired me to throw a bunch of it into a pot of hot water and let it steep with some Peach Detox tea. Now, that's refreshment!

New spin on guacamole

This could be the recipe discovery of the summer, if not the whole year: A greener, healthier spin dip - spinach guacamole! How many times do you find yourself with too many avocados and a huge bag of spinach about to go bad? (It happens all the time for me, thanks to over-zealous trips to Costco.) Well, here is a truly delicious solution, compliments of Fast Paleo.  It's also a great way to stretch a couple of expensive avocados into party dip for a crowd  The batch I made above (with a few modifications of the recipe) came close to two cups and only two avocados were sacrificed. With raw spinach, onion and garlic, it had a much more interesting texture and flavor than regular guac. Let the weekend begin!

This is why I don't watch pageants

The answer should have been: It says society still isn't fair to women. But, maybe that's what she was trying to say, poor thing.

I'd love, love, love to dance with my father again

My dad had a signature move. That's it in the picture.  It's subtle, but a move nonetheless. It started as the frug in the late 60s, but morphed into his own, unique thing. He was a hit at father-daughter banquets.  My friends would stand in line to dance with him, but I always had first dibs.  I miss him today, and every day.

I may have created a monster

I offered to make the old man breakfast for Father's Day, but he insisted on making smoothies for the two of us. At my urging, he's been on a health kick since New Year's - personal trainer, the whole bit - and has finally jumped on my low-carb, no wheat bandwagon. What irks me is: He's been more successful at it than I have, mainly because he works out three times as hard. Plus, he's a guy, and it's easier for them. It just is, dammit. (And, no, he hasn't given up beer - the only wheat he consumes.)

Lean, mean smoothie maker (who still insists on wearing his old, bigger clothes.)

I'm happy about his progress, but he's become somewhat fanatical. His current project: To reduce the carb count of the daily smoothie by half. This is the smoothie nutritional information he posted to the inside of the cabinet:

He spent a half hour yesterday figuring it all out and writing it down.  This morning, when I explained to him that you get to subtract the fiber grams from the carb grams for your "net carb" count, he almost wept with joy. Happy Father's Day, big guy.

Australian Army chief kills it

With a nod to ABC News, this is my Person of the Week:

Worth the wait

The wild roses usually peak around Memorial Day and fade away by mid-June. After the long, cold winter (remember that?), they're blooming like crazy two weeks late. I couldn't be happier.

Serenity Sunday

Why can't every day start like this?

Betty Crocker got nothin' on me

Today, I did something I haven't done in years: I baked cookies. They were for the opening of the new community theatre; a promise I made months ago in a late night haze when called in bed by a theatre volunteer. Four dozen cookies. How hard could it be? Except that I haven't had any flour or sugar in the house for several months and I wasn't keen on reintroducing those ingredients non grata to my pantry. So, I bought a high dollar gluten- and wheat-free mix from the health food store. Two of them, no less.

I woke up and savored my coffee and iPad on the porch, not at all concerned that I had an hour-and-a-half to bake and transport said cookies to the theatre. How long could it take?  I preheated the oven and read the directions, realizing only then that each batch required a stick of butter - softened.  Grabbing two sticks from the fridge, I willed them to get soft. Ten minutes passed. Fifteen... twenty. It wasn't happening. I'd tried the microwave shortcut before resulting in total meltdown. I couldn't risk that happening again. Time was fleeing. Finally, I found a solution...

I sliced the sticks into slices and hit them with my trusty blow dryer. (Not too close.)  Working with a focused intensity not seen since 2003, I cranked out four dozen chocolate cookies, sprinkling them with cinnamon to give them that made-from-scratch look ....

and delivered them to the theatre in the nick of time. Naturally, I rewarded myself with a sample. Later, I would learn that one little cookie contained 100 calories. Shoulda had a V-8.

Remember the name: Michelle Chamuel

There's a lot of great talent on The Voice (infinitely better than American Idol, imho, for so many reasons.) Here's a look at my favorite underdog who is killing it week after week....

A feast of Fiafini

The arrival of these Fiafini review products couldn't have been more timely.  My daughter graduated last week from esthetics school, ending my access to cheap facials and microdermabrasion treatments. Until she secures employment, I am left to my own skincare devices. Enter Fiafina, a new all-vegan line containing the latest miracle ingredient: Marula oil from the South African fruit of the same name.

I have three requests from skin care products: 1) A serum that doesn't leave sticky residue on my face;  2) A rich and creamy moisturizer that glides on smoothly then magically absorbs one minute later; and 3) That the whole regimen doesn't cost an arm, a leg and a forehead. Fiafini scores on all three counts, although I realize #3 is relative. Even with a "family and friends" discount on my daughter's professional line, I was still paying more than I would for Fiafini. Yet, Neutrogena - my next favorite brand - is considerably less expensive.  What impressed me most about Fiafini was the Divine Hydration Moisturizer that made my skin feel supple and moist, even after a night's sleep under the fan. Must be that miraculous marula oil.  My only complaint is that it does not contain sunscreen, requiring me to add yet another layer to my face every day. Still recommended.

High points for Hyatt Place

An afternoon wedding and evening social event took us to KC yesterday so we did another Priceline blind bid and scored this super spacious suite at the Hyatt Place. $61 (normally $99 on weekends; $140 weekdays) bought us a blemish-free room (note enormous TV that swivels between sleeping and living areas) with complimentary wifi and a full hot breakfast. It was a little too cold to go swimming this morning so we hung out on the comfy bed and read the Sunday paper/iPad, in no hurry to check out.


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