A Frozen Banana Treat

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Another great and quick recipe that I saw on Youtube….

This is great for that Friday evening that you will be spending at home. I put some bananas in the freezer and left them in there for about 3 days. I took them out and let them thaw a little. Then I cut them in halves and poured chocolate syrup on them and added a few sliced almonds. 
It was delicious and very simple. Honestly you can add any kind of toppings that you want and it still will be healthier than most desserts. I hope that you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you try it. 
Enjoy!
(photo via Mrs. Shockley)

My Herbal Teas

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I have been on a quest for healthy living. Ever since I have been reading this book called the Women’s Herbal Apothecary my interest in herbs has been sparked.

In the first section of the book she discussed the many different ways to use herbs and herbal teas was one of them. She talked about all of the natural herbs that could be used for certain types of ailments. She mentioned chamomile tea as a good tea for mood swings and your menstrual period. She mentioned the same about peppermint tea.

Here are my herbal teas. I have been making weekly visits to our organic stores here in our city. These are all of the herbal teas that I have purchased so far.

The first tea is my detox tea. I normally have this Saturday morning. The chamomile tea has been my favorite. I usually have this at night while I am in the bed. I love it with two teaspoons of honey. The herbs in this tea is used to sooth and support your digestion. My herbal peppermint tea is a tea that I normally have with my lunch. This is so refreshing and aromatic. 
The next herbal tea is my organic Belly Comfort tea with peppermint flavor. I normally have a cup of this after dinner. It is suppose to relieve feelings of fullness or gas and get the juices flowing. 

Now this has been my favorite too! Do you see the box? Relieves temporary water weight gain? Yes, please! I have a cup with two teaspoons of honey when I feel bloated and it helps! Plus the cranberry flavor is marvelous. 
Here are the honeys that I use. You can find these teas or honeys at your local grocery store or Walmart. I did find this on the Traditional Medicinals website. It will help you to find your best herbal teas for you. 
Well I hope that you enjoyed this post and are inspired to take a glimpse at some herbal teas that may help you.
Enjoy!!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

August Favorites

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It has been another month of wonderful finds for me. No need to have a long starting point, let’s just get right into the new items that I have loved during this HOT month of August…..

I’ll start with my most recent consignment find. I found this gorgeous gold Michael Kors Hamilton tote in saffiano leather at my local consignment store called Style Encore. I only paid $80! What a fantastic deal! The previous owner took very good care of it. There was no damage to the bag. I am very blessed to have found it. 
The second item that I have been loving is my red polish manicures. I believe that red nail polish is such a classy color and looks good on everyone. 
The third and fourth item that I have been enjoying all this month is the new heirloom apple scent at Bath and Body Works. When they had their candle sale this month I purchased 6 of these! I love it that much. My home smells so wonderful when I have them burning. 
The next item was this rose gold candle pedestal. It sold out online pretty quickly but I did manage to find this one. You may have to check your local stores to find the one I have in the photo. 

This fifth item has been my weekly trips to our new Whole Foods store in downtown Indianapolis. It is only a few blocks away from my building. I have been taking my lunch breaks to walk the three blocks and it has been wonderful. I am getting out of the office, getting fresh air and finding new healthy items to eat and enjoy. I also found a new source to obtain my weekly bouquets. Like these beautiful flowers that I found there for only $8! Fantastic right?
Another healthy store that I have added to my favorite this month is called Fresh Thyme Farmer’s Market. I have been loving their rotisserie chicken salad and this beautiful kale salad. Doesn’t it look delicious? I have been eating it non-stop this month. I have been so inspired by the Women’s Herbal Apothecary book that I have been visiting local organic stores all over the city. 

Okay, now my seventh favorite this month has been our new mattress. I have been waiting 2 years for this mattress. It is a long story but we got it a week before we left for Charleston and August has been our full month with it. It feels like a new bed. I love it so much! It is a pillow top mattress with foam memory. Oh gosh…… 
And my last favorite has been this fantastic movie called Sense & Sensibility. It was released in 1995 and I am just now seeing it. I had a few hours at home and was scrolling through our on demand section. I always look at the “free movie” section and this was there. I thought why not. I am so addicted! I have watched it five times this month!

I adore everything about this movie. I love the beautiful English countryside. It has just enough of everything. I love the clothes, the language and it was wonderful acting. Sooo much better than so many films today. 

photo credit Annie Spratt 
At first, I didn’t quite understand why the snobby daughter-in-law made fun of this cottage but then I thought well they are living in these huge estates so they don’t quite see the charm in this beautiful English cottage. I adore this cottage. I thought it was so much better than that estate that they had lost. 
And I must admit that I was hoping that Marianne would end up with Colonel Brandon. I admired his character. I thought that he was so charming, attractive and attentive to her. But I don’t want to spoil the movie for those who may have not seen it.  
Well, those are my August favorites. Please let me know in the comments section if you enjoy these posts about my favorites. I know I posted one for July (see here) if you missed it. Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope that you may have found a new favorite for yourself. 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

Healthy Sausage and Veggies Pan

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I just wanted to quickly share a recipe that I found on Youtube recently. It is called healthy sausage and veggie pan.

You can cut up any kind of veggies that you want. I used green and red peppers, sweet potatoes, french green beans, cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, and the sausages that I used were turkey sausages. 

I added salt, pepper some of my herb seasonings and some parmesan cheese. 
I placed both trays in the oven on 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. 
While they were cooking I put some white rice in our steamer and everything came out delicious and it looked so healthy! It tasted wonderful! I am so glad that I found this recipe. It has now been added to my dinner rotation for easy, healthy meals. 
If you wish to watch the video and get the recipe you may see it here.
Have a great weekend and Enjoy!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley, video via Youtube)

Radiate Calm

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This past May I shared a book that I was reading called Treating People Well and in that post I talked about the Power of Charm and how to present yourself at parties and in small groups. That section of the book provided great pointers on how to mingle properly.

Today I want to share their chapter called “Radiate Calm”. When I read the title was intrigued and curious but this happened to be one of the best chapters that I have read so far!

This chapter starts off with a wonderful quote on how to “radiate calm”. It said….

“Staying calm is assertive. When you remain serene, you’re communicating that you have the situation under control and there’s nothing to worry about…… It’s tempting to fly off the handle in a confrontational moment, but far more valuable to bring goodwill and order back to an unraveling situation. Maintaining a sense of equanimity even when matters are tense disarms antagonists, builds trust, and forces everyone involved to focus on the problem logically rather than emotionally, allowing for better and quicker resolutions”. 





Photo by Carmine Furletti on Unsplash

WOW, I had to underline that in the book! I keep going back to it trying to remind myself to radiate calm. I even put some of the words in my day designer as reminders throughout the day. 



Lea and Jeremy provided four ways to radiate calm under any circumstance. 1) Stay composed, 2) Avoid drama, 3) Find common ground and 4) Maintain perspective. 




Photo by Johanne Kristensen on Unsplash


Lea stated, “acting with cool precision can help you appear powerful and in control, even if you might be rolling on the inside”……





In the avoid drama section they mentioned, “don’t get angry; get things done” and this wonderful quote which I keep telling myself, “rising calmly above”. I ADORE this quote! I have written it down several times already. And this wonderful thought still holds true, ” we learned to turn the other cheek at rude behavior”. Even though I believe that there is a time to address rude people and then there is a time not to. When it comes to family and close friends, okay to address the rude behavior. When it comes to someone driving next to me or a person that I know that I am not going to see for the rest of my life, I simply turn my cheek to their rude behavior. 



photo credit Karolina Bobek

“Often it isn’t important to know why someone is behaving in a certain way; what matters is how you respond”. I remember my mentor telling me that sometimes you have to think about why someone is acting a certain way and in most cases, it has nothing to do with you. 


And always keep this in mind drama begets drama. This is soooo true! I know we have all heard of the old saying, “misery loves company”. Well so does drama!  Drama filled people attract who they are. So stay clear of them. 


Other issues discussed were: recognizing hot buttons. If someone likes stirring the pot and can’t respect opinions that differ from his own, think carefully about including him in gatherings with people of varied views. Don’t escalate: take what people are saying at face value and act on the facts you know, not the emotions you may feel. Temper your tone: there will probably be a few times when you wish you had voice your anger more forcefully, but more often we wish we’d said less. Find common ground: don’t shy away from becoming an intermediary between two parties in conflict if you can help them arrive at a resolution. You may feel trapped at first, but remember that if you treat both sides with equal respect and honesty and have an investment in the outcome, this is a position of influence. 



I have so many highlighted sections in this chapter. It really hit home for me as I have been dealing with co-worker pettiness (read my post here about that), disrespectful family members and trying to navigate a hormonal teenager. I normally repeat in my mind this saying from Pastor Charles Stanley, “maintain quiet spirit”. Now I can add “radiate calm” and “calmly rise above it”. I hope that you enjoyed these tips from the book and as I proceed on I will share anything else that I believe will add a dose of elegance to our lives. 


Enjoy!
(photo via Pinterest)

(tips: Authors Lea Berman and Jeremy Bernard) 


Feminine Herbal Care

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A few weeks ago my favorite author Jennifer L. Scott introduced this wonderful book on her Youtube channel called The Woman’s Herbal Apothecary. I was so intrigued by her video that I purchased the book for myself.

I have had it for a month and have not put it down. I have been on a weight loss journey for sometime now and since my body is changing so much I have decided not to put some much pressure on myself to lose weight at a rapid pace. I asked myself recently, “why am I in a hurry?” I think since we are in a world where everything is expected in such a short amount of time we put these unreasonable time constraints to do everything. Instead of trying to lose weight so fast I have decided to educate myself on my body and food and I am loving this decision. 
In the beginning of the book JJ Pursell talked about having a positive feminine practice and giving thanks for all that you have, even when it doesn’t feel like much. She also discussed the importance of understanding p.m.s. and not feeling like it it is a curse. She shares information on what herbs to use to help with mood swings and bloating. I actually found a herbal tea that helps with bloating and water retention. It works and has a wonderful cranberry flavor to it. 
There is a chapter on how to use herbal medicines and understanding herbal language. There are lists about several of the herbs that she uses and their purpose. 
Of course there are chapters about menstruation and what herbs and tonics to use to help with cramping and bleeding. 
(click on photos to enlarge them)
There is information about pregnancy and labor support. There were also chapters about infections and herbs you can use for those. This is such a wonderful book! 
After only a week of reading it I was at our organic grocery store buying herbal teas and fresh fruits and vegetables, organic eggs and whole grains. My body has been feeling much better the last two weeks. 
I have also added evening walks to my routine. I want to be diligent about keeping my body moving and developing a lifestyle change and not just a fad. 
Being a woman is wonderful thing. I believe it and do my very best to walk in it. 
Purchasing this book has really opened my eyes to learning about how to heal my body naturally and to stop and take my time at learning about my body and not to rush it. 
There are wonderful herbs out there for us and it will take time to change your body but I believe it will be worth the journey. 
If you wish to watch Jennifer’s book review you may do so here. This is the video that inspired to me buy this book. Thanks for reading!!! 

(photos via Mrs. Shockley and Pinterest)

Charleston’s Angel Oak Tree

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Magnificent isn’t it?
This is the Angel Oak tree in Charleston. This is one of the last places that we visited on our trip. Some people kept telling us that it was 1,500 years old but the most common estimate is 400 to 500 years old. 
The tree is a southern live oak tree and is located on Johns Island in Charleston. 
It was truly a sight to see in person. 
I am glad that the city is protecting this. If the facts are true then this tree was planted around the 1600’s! That’s remarkable! It appears that it could have existed around the same time that the Magnolia Plantation was established. 
It was truly exquisite to see and just staring at it just makes you imagine of the things that this tree has seen. It is truly remarkable.
I hope that you enjoyed this post! Thank you for reading!

(photos via Mrs. Shockley)