A while back, I was sent a sample of avocado oil to review and I am finally getting around to sharing my experience with you! Avocado oil is a light, neutral-flavored oil like canola or grapeseed. It contains mostly monounsaturated fat and is said to help reduce inflammation and promote good health by fighting free radicals in the body. It has a high smoke point which means it can be used to cook at high temperatures (up to 500 degrees fahrenheit) without smoking. It a great choice for grilling, frying, or stir-frying foods but is also really nice for salad dressings.

Did you know…? When heated beyond its smoke point, oil can begin to hydrogenate, creating trans fats and oxidize, creating disease-promoting free radicals?

I first tried this oil in salad dressing and I liked the light flavor. I think it would go especially well in a salad like my bulgar taco salad with cilantro lime dressing. This weekend, I had family in town for my birthday and my step mom made some great tempeh tacos! We used the avocado oil to brown the tortillas. It worked very well but we discovered an even better use in the process- it is an incredible moisturizer!

I read an article once about Giada de Laurentiis where she mentioned that she uses olive oil to moisturize her hands and make her nails shiny on camera. Obviously you can't apply hand lotion to protect your hands while you're cooking, so I thought that using oil instead was brilliant! For Christmas last year, I made a batch of homemade body butter to share with teachers and friends. I will definitely try using avocado oil in the next batch!

You can find Chosen Foods avocado oil at some Costco stores as well as online, here.

 

When I was a little girl I lived with my family in sunny San Diego county in California. We had a lime grove, a garden, chickens, and even a couple of cows. We grew olives and asparagus. Swiss chard and avocados. My dad sold limes to the local market. My mom had a pair of royal blue clogs with white flowers on top we called her "chicken shoes" that she wore to go out to the coop. We were a little bit homesteader and a little bit suburbia.

I remember visiting my grandma near the beach in Oceanside. She had a large German Shepherd named George. Her duplex smelled like green beans. She gave us orange Tic Tacs while we played the organ that she had draped in lace doilies. She had white towels with big purple irises in her bathroom. The faucet in her bathroom leaked. Just a little bit, but it never stopped. Drip. Drip. Drip. It kept me up at night. Not the dripping, but the thought that her faucet might actually use up ALL OF THE WATER IN THE WORLD. I remember staying awake at night believing that could happen. A tiny drip was going to ruin things for everyone.

I was a dreamer in my own way and, last weekend, I met 3000 people just like me.

Despite my control-freaky tendencies, I do have a pretty hearty love affair with spontaneity and adventure. A few months ago, one of my Facebook friends posted that she had an extra ticket to the World Domination Summit (WDS) this year. I immediately replied to let her know that I was interested. I had been thinking about attending the WDS but had, up to that point, put it on a "someday" list in my mind.

I have a habit of getting really deeply tangled in lists. I to-do until I'm grouchy. I need to take breaks (like vacations and road trips) from my routine to untie the knots. My trip to Portland for the WDS did that and more for me. Not only did I attend the WDS, but I also turned 40 years old the day after I returned from Portland (I'll write more on that in another post). This was perfect timing for me to spend some time in introspection and crunching on the big questions of life.

I came back with tons of notes filled with nuggets of awesome from the inspirational people speaking and attending.

All of the WDS speakers were amazing and inspiring. I took pages and pages of notes! Here, greatly distilled, are some of the things that I took home in my heart. Some are reminders, some are reiterations of things that appear time and again in my own journals and writing, and some are new ideas for me. All are paraphrased:

I left the WDS inspired, full-hearted, and with a creative project in mind. I'm not ready to share that yet but I will be. I am so glad that I decided to go and that I had the opportunity to meet such a wonderful group of people! xoxo

A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

This week we...

…enjoyed a day at the beach:




…watched fireworks (big and small):




…I attended my first WDS (World Domination Summit), saw some really inspirational speakers, visited with a friend (wonderful visit that included a life-changing ice cream cone!), and made new friends in Portland Oregon:

A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

This week we...

…had some wacky weather that started with clouds and rain:




…then the sky cleared and the weather turned into really hot days (108+ degrees), sending us outside in small doses:




…took our dog to the vet and learned that she isn't the Brittany Spaniel and Border Collie mix that we suspected! She is actually a very rare (in North America) breed called a kooikerhondje! We feel like we found a Picasso painting at a yard sale with this sweet and beautiful dog!

The weather has been very wacky here. We started the week with two days of rain and, now, we are headed for triple digits for about a week. Either kind of weather, rain or Africa-like heat, keeps us inside a little more than I would like. I am trying to schedule outings for us in the early or late parts of the day or in places that have air conditioning!


Here are some ideas for getting the wiggles out on HOT (or rainy) days (I've included some links for my local readers):

More ideas for my local friends, here!

A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

This week we...

…had a preschool graduation and celebrated with chocolate treats:




…enjoyed water play for the last day of preschool:



…and in our backyard:




…played with the neighbors over our back fence:


…lost a tooth:


…went to the dentist:


…and lounged around in PJs a little longer than usual:


It's official as of this week- happy summer!

In the spring, I did a ton of research and brainstorming to come up with a plan to keep my kids occupied this summer. I found lots of great ideas on Pinterest including a post about nature journaling. My kids LOVE to draw and hike and observe nature-y things, so this was a natural fit for us (pardon the pun)!

I bought a couple of sketch books and let the kids decorate them with some sticky foam letters and markers:




Their first nature drawings were done in our backyard:



From there, we ventured out into our neighborhood for a creek walk and some journaling there:



We love to take our nature journals along on hikes, walks, and even trips to the dog park! Drawings of flowers, trees, animals, bugs, animal tracks, and natural settings will be so much fun to look through on a rainy day when we're missing summer.

Some ideas for nature journal entries that I love:

Find more great nature journaling ideas, here.