EOW No. 29

wow this is fun

Hello hello and Happy Septembering!

I feel like I’ve been bouncing all over the last few weeks - summer was devoid of travel mainly because I knew that I’d get more than my fair share this fall.  At the end of August, Bryan and I were able to escape the smothering heat to attend a wedding in Michigan as well as visit with his family.  The temps were in the 70s and it felt like the entire state had turned on the AC.  Everything was green, his brother’s garden was bursting with tomatoes, and it was in the 50s in the morning.  It was akin to visiting a completely different planet.  Bryan has spoken many times about renting a short-term place in Michigan for the summer as a getaway from the heat.  If only I could pick up the horses and transport everyone there for June - August.  

A few weeks ago, Bryan’s brother and sister-in-law had their first baby, and it was really nice to be able to see them and meet the newest member of the family.  Mom and baby are both doing well, and the newly minted grandparents are over the moon.  

This past week, I did a quick work trip to London, where I was able to experience their hottest temps of the entire year.  They’ve had a cold and rainy summer for the last three months but I was there for all of their summer's worth of humidity and heat.  Go figure, it was still better than the 105+ temps that we had in Texas this week.

For those of you who are still stuck with summer weather, these are a few of my recent faves.  For y'all who are experiencing fall weather... words cannot begin to describe my envy.

Orange Dreamsicle Cocktail - This one is seriously dangerous.  You can’t taste the vodka so if you’re looking for a non-alcoholic version, just omit that part.  Freshly squeezed orange juice is a must have for this recipe

Jalapeno Popper Mac & Cheese - Just in time for fall, yet another rendition on the classic mac & cheese recipe.  This one is simple and comes together very easily; we made it for Bryan’s family when we were in Michigan.  Go with blocks of cheese (not the pre-shredded, bagged kind) and obviously, add as much bacon / jalapenos as you’d like.  I had “mac & cheese” in a British pub this past week, which tasted only marginally better than what comes out of the blue box, and would have gladly traded everything on the table for this dish

Alpyn Melt Moisturizer - I’ve completely used up an entire travel size container of this moisturizer and am about to buy the full size version.  I use it at night and so far, prefer it to any other nighttime facial moisturizer that I’ve tried.  It has a very pleasant light scent which fades quickly, a bonus for those of you who get overwhelmed with super fruity or floral scents.  The wild huckleberry peel is quite nice as well and I’ll likely get that when I run out.  If you want to add it to your regular Sephora order, they carry the Alpyn brand there as well.