This is the second half of this month's "City Life" vlog.
This month's candle reviews are going to be great because for once I actually went to the mall and smelled each candle and made my selections in person.
SPICED TODDY: It had more scent to it before it was lit and in general it was a bit underwhelming.
FROSTED CRANBERRY: Made with iced cranberry and orange. This candle pretty much was the same as the spiced toddy.
EUCALYPTUS STRESS RELIEF: Made with eucalyptus and spearamint. This is my favorite candle to buy, I usually pick up about three of these because they really do relieve stress! The scent is strong, thick, and heavy. I can't describe the smell, but it's pleasant.
INTENSE BLACK TEAK WOOD: Made with Rich Mahogany, Black Teakwood, Dark Oak, Frosted Lavender. This teak wood said something like "super intense fragrance", but it was underwhelming to me. It smells great, but less than halfway through a lot of the fragrance died off and the wax started to cover the wick (that may be why). I can say with all of these candles it leaves your space smelling great even when they are not burning. Everytime I leave and come home the first thing I smell is the candle and I don't have any need for air fresheners or plug ins. I can say that I love about some of these candles is the tinted glass. The tinted glass really sets an ambiance.
So, I have been going back and forth on if I wanted to incorporate copper into this look. I was in need of new flatware so I splurged and got the copper flatware from Crate and Barrel. We actually have been using flatware that we got as wedding gifts from 11 years ago and they were not in great shape. These are heavier and ergonomic in my opinion. They have survived probably at least 20 washes in the dishwasher now and they still look so sleek and sexy.
The one thing I really wanted for this table was copper rimmed wine glasses. I went to about 4 stores and checked an additional 3 stores online and no one has them. Sadly, I have no glasses on this table because I just really wanted that to go with my table. Update: I think I found some glasses I like and I have to order them via the mail since I am boycotting this store over here. I will update the post when my glasses arrive!
In retrospect, this table was supposed to be simple, but it ended up being more pricey than expected so I will most likely hold it over to Thanksgiving and then start a Christmas/New Year's table. Anytime you start dealing with copper and marble things start getting expensive. I was inspired by the plates they use at La Luce at Bonnet Creek and that is why I chose these really cool brown plates.
For the napkin rings, I didn't want to go with a fake leaf look because I already did that as my centerpiece. I found these really nice napkin rings while shopping at Williams Sonoma. They were a little pricey at 12.99 each, but the ones I usually buy for 2.99 at Crate and Barrel tarnished!
One thing I did want to mention, I had a really beautiful long 100% wood table that could seat 10, but sadly my family damaged it along with 80% of my furniture when I moved to South Tampa so I had to get rid of it. I had to get rid of the table, but these are the original chairs which I love. I know the table always looks cramped because it is, but I say "the heck with it" because it's for my personal enjoyment and only my husband and I eat at it.
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| These are the glasses I settled on, they are much bigger than expected. |
IN THE CITY: Hubby and I love kitchen gadgets and will often find ourselves in stores like Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma just spending up money. We finally decided to buy the Anova Sous Vide after having tested it out a few months ago to make prime steak.
I guess like many October's in the past this one has been super busy. We did a lot this month and it was all so fun. I have had some relapsing insomnia due to stress, but I am hanging in there. I am SO ready to put up my Christmas tree and my husband is looking at me like "No, just no. Christmas is over 2 months away". So I am planning and waiting for one more week!
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| University of Tampa |
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| Some buzzed yoga at the Grand Bohemian Autograph Hotel |
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| Roy's Tampa |
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| 3rd Thursday Food Truck Festival - Channelside |
WEEKEND GETAWAY
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| The Boheme Orlando Downtown |
This month I was shocked that I was able to tear my husband away from work (on the weekend!) to go an have a quick getaway. He liked it so much he said "I'd like to do that again, right here in Tampa". I literally almost fell out because there are hotels here in Tampa that I am dying to go to, but he never saw the point in staying in a hotel in the same city you live in. We may be having more weekend adventures soon!
FITNESS: I hate it when life gets in the way of fitness, but it happens. The last 6 months I literally have been in a whirlwind of just being busy, sick, hating summer, and just trying to make it through without a panic or anxiety attack. I have not been working out as much as I want to and as a result here we are...
I know every year I gain like ten pounds during Thanksgiving & Christmas and I am like can I just loose these 5 pounds from my July vacation before November 25th? lol. I am so tempted to just go for a run because that is what my body naturally responds to, but I am really committed to strength training only and I can only push myself so far. with strength training. The great thing is now that its Fall its not as hot so I can go outside for a run if I need to weras in the summer it was impossible.
I must admit stress and outside negativity affect my body chemistry a lot and I spent a lot of this month in a spiral I guess you can say. I love yoga and the meditation aspects of it because it calms and centers me. Sometimes when people just come into my life and start trouble for no reason it really just takes me a while to re-adjust or as I say align my chi.
I was pretty upset this month because I had finally just started feeling the Fall happiness and then here comes some unnecessary drama. I know we all have people in our lives that do this because they don't want to see anyone else happy...
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| Hydrate Spark Smart water bottle c/o Hydrate Spark |
HAULS: This month I had a few hauls centered around some of my brand ambassador affiliate work. You will find a YouTube video on the Charlotte Lacroix in November.
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| This month's Rocksbox goodies |
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| Socks c/o Tabbisocks |
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| Jewelry c/o Charming Charlie |
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| Adore Me |
ALL GLUTEN FREE MEALS PREPARED BY MYSELF, RECIPES AVAILABLE APON REQUEST
I was in the mood to go all out and make a full Indian styled meal, I even bought a serving tray from Amazon. I don't reccamend this one though because it started to rust after one wash in my dishwasher with no heat dry.
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Shown: Chickpea curry
Basmati rice
Aloo Saag (creamy version)
Kadai chicken
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There is nothing better than having a plethora of fresh veggies and herbs on hand to make soup for breakfast and dinner. I usually go with a rich chicken based soup for breakfast and for lunch I go more savory with beef or sometimes seafood. I never grow tired of showing my soup creations, because every time I make them they are unique, plus who doesn't love lifting noodles?
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| My spicy gluten free beef noodle soup |
MEAL PREP FOR STUFFED MUSHROOMS & VICCYSSOIE
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| Before they went in the oven |
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| Spinach stuffed mushrooms right out of the oven |
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| Vichyssoise |
FALL HARVEST SPAGHETTI MEAL PREP
This month we had two or three days so far that were relatively cool. I was in the mood to make a harvest style spaghetti with all fresh ingredients. It was so good and this was the first time making spaghetti in my new Lodge dutch oven (more info on that next month). I recently became an Instacart member and I kind of feel like it's a little bit lazy to have people pick up my groceries for me because I am so close to the store, but every once in awhile, when I am sick and I need to cook and I know I can't make it to the grocery store, this is a life saver.
In this case (and many cases) I am not sure what I am cooking for dinner up until about 6pm and when it hits me I am already prepping and need things now. With Instacart I can order the fresh herbs and veggies that I need and have them within an hour and a half. I don't really use this service for fresh meat and seafood since I think it's better to be able to see that stuff in person and look at it and smell the items...
On this night, I had everything I needed for the harvest spaghetti and I just wanted the fresh herbs, mushrooms, and the zucchini. Honestly, items like this go bad quickly when I buy organic and I usually can't use them before they go out of date and in a lot of cases I have to trash them. I have found that having my 14.99 a month Instacart account cuts down on a lot of the items I had to throw out.
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