5 Things I Love

1. Commander in Chic: The last couple times I've been to Target this nail polish has caught my eye. The last time I went I finally got it. It's my new fav. Depending on what I'm wearing it looks grey, taupe or purplish. It's the perfect fall color.

2. Grey Gardens: PLEASE tell me you've seen this movie! It's definitely on my top 10 movie list (or would be if I actually had one, haha). The original documentary was made by Albert and David Maysles in 1975 (a must-see too!). Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale were the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis. They lived together at Grey Gardens for decades, in squalor and isolation. The HBO film, stars Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. It flashes back and forth between Little Edie's life as a young woman and the actual filming of the 1975 documentary. I was beyond excited that it won two Golden Globes and six Emmys.

3. Pssssst Dry Shampoo: I heard about this amazing stuff from Promise last fall. It's a life saver! I shower every night after work and use a little of this in the morning to freshen my hair. I don't know of a ton of places that carry it. I usually pick mine up at Walgreens.

4. Simple Joys: This company was started by my mom's cousin. She recently got a bunch of stuff from them and I've fallen in love with it. They use pure, natural ingredients without artificial color, fragrance or preservatives. Their website says, "We are passionate about offering a superior quality soap that is safe, healthy, natural, environmentally friendly yet effective and enjoyable." Their soaps are made with goat's milk, which has health benefits. It is rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals. They also create their soaps with aromatherapy qualities. Each bar is $4 and there are over 40 kinds to choose from.

5. MiiR: This company was started by a fellow SPU alum and they are doing great things! "At MiiR, we believe in changing the status quo. We believe in thinking differently about what we create and who it may impact. We do this by making our products highly functional, well designed while giving back to those in need. We decided to start by making great bottles with significant purpose behind them."

One dollar of each MiiR bottle provides one person with clean water for one year. Their one4one initiative goes straight to charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe water to people in developing nations.

During the month of September (yes I know it's the last day of the month), for every new fan on Facebook they are donating $1 to charity: water. Also, they were also giving away two bottles a day during September if you signed up for their newsletter on their website. I got an email on September 20th saying that I won one! I was pleasantly surprised when my pretty new water bottle showed up just 4 days later! I uploaded one of my pictures for a customized skin. I can't wait to get it!

Check out MiiR on Facebook and Twitter.

MiiR Digital Short // 001 from MiiR on Vimeo.

Spice Up Your Life

Last night my mom hosted a Wildtree Herbs tasting party at our house. We heard of Wildtree from a woman who attends the networking meeting that my mom and I go to once a month. Wildtress products are natural, with no additives, preservatices, MSG or food dyes. They sell gourmet culinary blends, infused Grapeseed oils, dressings and sauces. With Wildtree, cooking is not only healthy and easy, but also delicious! At the tasting we sampled some of the following things:

Grapeseed Oil, which is made from grape seeds after wine production. It has no preservatives, sodium, trans fatty acids or cholesterol. It has the lowest levels of saturated fats of all oils. It is also ideal for frying at high temperatures without burning. We sampled the basil pesto, butter flavored, hickory smoke, zesty lemon and roasted garlic. They were all fabulous and incredibly flavorful!

Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend, we dipped veggies in this yummy stuff. This blend can be used for a dip, like we had, or for garlic bread, pasta, sauces and almost anything else you can think of.

Bayou Blend, we sprinkled this blend over chicken and then grilled it. It can be used on seafood, shellfish, tuna salad, pasta salad, French fries or even popcorn.

Rancher Steak Rub, which was sprinkled on mini burgers. This was insanely good! It added so much flavor to the little burgers. Heather and I took the leftovers for lunch at work today and just ate the burger cold and without a bun. Amazing!

Very Berry Cheesecake Blend, was one of my favorites! You can mix this blend with yogurt and serve it as a fruit dip. Amy mixed it with a cream cheese and whipping cream for our tasting. I loved spreading it on a graham cracker and topping it with blueberries and a strawberry. It wasn't too sweet, but super light and refreshing.

I recommend checking out Wildtree Herbs, finding a rep and hosting a tasting. Amy shared for a little while, but mostly we chatted and ate all the delicious food. The Wildtree website has a recipe section to give you ideas of many different ways to use their products. I've been in such a food rut lately and I can't wait for my mom to get her order so I can spice things up.