FIRST TIME FRIDAY – FIRST MONTH BLOGGING

I am celebrating Eclectic Bouquet’s first month by thanking everyone for taking the time to enjoy my very first blog. 
 
This month has been filled with mocha, shoes, food, shopping & fun.

Please continue to join me as I celebrate each day as if it’s a holiday. 

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SPLURGEDAY THURSDAY – LITTLE TREATS CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

After making that big speech in last week's blog entry about how all woman deserve to treat themselves to something nice every once in a while, I almost canceled Splurgeday Thursday this week & this is why:

  I didn’t feel like leaving the building to do some lunch-time shopping (too cold).

  I didn’t have enough money to purchase the item I actually wanted (pout-pout) – a hot pink fake snakeskin steering wheel cover I saw in one of those auto parts stores (too broke).

  I couldn’t decide what my splurge would be today – some funky trouser socks, some after Christmas sale swag, a yummy, miniature, yellow box of Whitman’s chocolates… (too fickle)

  I really didn’t feel like stopping by a store after work (too tired). 

But I decided to stop by my favorite neighborhood Walgreens...Oh I am so glad that I did!

First of all, my Walgreen’s has the best folks working there.  They are friendly and helpful. They also compliment you. NICE! Then, there’s the beauty expert in the make-up section who almost makes you feel like you are stepping into the MAC department in MACY’S. Her enthusiasm will smack anyone out of their cubical induced slump. She even invites you to these beauty/makeup events Walgreen’s has on Saturdays.  I’m thinking about getting my lay-around butt out of the bed early one Saturday morning so that I can attend (and go to the Saturday  Winter Farmer’s market held at the beautiful park near my home).  Anyway, look at what I got…

 

  SINFULSHINE WITH GEL TECH - “ALL THE RAGE”– I love Sinful nail polish, but this is my first time encountering their gel products.  I think it’s supposed to stay chip-free on the nail a little longer than usual.  I tend to chip rather quickly.   I’ll keep you updated. $1.99

  SHEA MOISTURE COCONUT HIBISCUS CURL ENHANCING SMOOTHIE – FREE SAMPLE – Courtesy of my Walgreens beauty expert.  I am paying it forward and giving it to my daughter Jessica. $0.00 – FREE!!!!

  ELF STUDIO EYE PRIMER AND LINER SEALER - My eye shadow has a tendency to fade & crease so I wanted to try this out. The Walgreens beauty expert said it should help with that. I’ll let you know how this works. $1.50

I will share the resulting beauty these items encourage in future blog entries.

I know, this has to be my cheapest splurge of the month, but these little treats served as a  really nice pick-me-up after having a semi-stank day (I’d say almost 1/8 stank of a day – I couldn’t let "stank" take ownership of my otherwise beautiful day).

Let me know how you recover from a fraction of a stank day in the comment’s section below.

                                                                                         

 

 

 

WOW’EM WEDNESDAY – ROSE’S TORTILLA-LESS TACO SALAD

I enjoy eating food from places like Qdoba, Chipotle and Mexico Restaurant.

But sometimes, I like to try to create those tacos, burritos and salads in my own little galley kitchen.

Tonight, I kinda prepared Rose’s Tortilla-Less Taco Salad.  I say “kinda” because I just cooked the chicken and put everything in bowls.  My family created their own salad, buffet style. 

My daughter Erica even grabbed some tortillas and made a tortilla-ful taco.


INGREDIENTS:

·        Chopped Onion

·        Chopped Green Pepper

·        Minced Garlic

·        Parsley

·        Canola Oil 

·        3 Chicken  Breast

·        Taco Mix (Taco Bell, Old El Paso…)

·        2/3 C Water

·        Bagged Salad Mix

·        Diced Tomatoes

·        Shredded Cheese (mozzarella, cheddar…)

·        Taco Sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.     Add onion, green peppers, garlic, parsley, oil and chicken to a pan.

2.    Cook chicken until it is done.

3.    Shred the chicken breast.

4.    Add taco mix and water to the chicken.

5.    Cook on low for about 5 minutes.

6.    Fill individual bowls with washed salad mix.

7.    Add tomatoes, shredded cheese, taco sauce and any other toppings you would like to add to the salad mix.

8.    You can fill up various bowls with the salad toppings and serve them buffet style.

This meal was very quick, easy, flavorful & fun.

Try these delicious add-ins or alternatives:

Sour cream

Jalapenos

Cilantro

Beans

Ground beef or steak instead of chicken

This month I wow’ed my family with four dished inspired by different cultures:

Rose’s Caribbean Curry Kabobs

Rose’s Chunky Chicken Chowder (my favorite)

Rose’s Hen, Zen & Crustaceans Fried Rice

Please use the comment’s section below & let me know if you used & liked any of these recipes this month.

SHOESDAY TUESDAY WITH THE SMITHS

Once again, we take a few minutes to celebrate the beautiful shoe.  How can did a functional invention become such splendid works of art?

I decided to share some of my family’s fancy footwear with you.  We are an artistic family, full of color, fun & self-expression and that is indeed reflected on our toes.

                                     Mark, Jessica & Erica are the owners of the cute zapatos.

I also wanted to show you the glittery-gold, 5 inch heel of this beautiful Madden Girl summer peep-toe.  I know it’s a summer shoe, but I had to share it with you on the last snowy Shoesday Tuesday of the month. 

                                                               

MOCHA MONDAY AT PANERA BREAD - CAFFEINE, CARBS & CUTE

The final Mocha Monday of the month was celebrated at Panera Bread.

Their mocha tastes more like a kicked-up hot chocolate, but that suits me just fine.

I also enjoyed one of their very delicious plain bagels and huge cinnamon bun.

 

CARBS – SUGAR – CHOCOLATE – COFFEE

The breakfast of champions?

More like the breakfast of Champion Monday Conquerors!

To be quite honest, I did not get to eat my bagel & bun until about 3pm because I was having a bit of a Twilight Zone Monday, but I was still able to kick butt today (like a champion).

I was even able to look cute doing so….

 

 

Please go to the comments section below and let me know what delicious treat helped you kick Monday's Butt.

                                                                                                         

 

SPLURGEDAY THURSDAY - YOU DESERVE IT!

I love the fact that I can escape my cubical prison for 60 minutes during lunch and lavish myself with a rewarding little treasure.

Dare I say I deserve it?  Yes, I dare say that I do!

Here’s this week’s splurge from Body Central & it only cost $3.90.

 

Here are the top 5 reasons why every woman deserves the right to participate in Splurgeday Thursday (this is just five out of a million):

1.    MORNINGS.  I am a night owl & not a morning hen.    The fact that I can leave the house in my zombie state each morning, yet successfully function as a responsible human being at work is an act deserving of some sort of award.  No Oscars available?  I’ll settle for a pair of platform pumps.

 

2.    CUBE NANTS.  Nant is a word I invented.  It’s short for ignorant.  I use it playfully with the ones I love…for example, “Y’all some crazy nants”, but there are some real nants out there and some of them reside in office cubicles. You know some of them.  The Vicious Gossiping Nant. The Sneak Snakey Nant. The Joy Sucking Nant.  If you can survive at least 2 ½ days out of the week without letting Cube Nants drag you into their nasty Nantdom, you should treat yourself to something nice.  It can be a bottle of strawberry lotion from the dollar tree or a pair of wine glasses from Pier One.  This stuff serves as fumigation to Cube Nants.

 

3.    HORMONES.  Yes, I know men are also capable of acting all moody and emotional.  We just handle our hormonal fits differently:

 

Women are:

 

Strong enough to have our  fit

Humble enough to admit to having a fit

Brave enough to reverse the fit  

Smart enough to learn from the cause of the fit.

Men:

Fear the fit

Have the fit

Deny the fit

There are stores and tiny little specialty shops that sell sweet smelling candles that are made to celebrate our victories over the fit.

4.    WE SMILE.  Some of us are not fortunate enough to have a job that allows us to divulge in our true passions and talents, yet we show our appreciation for the job we are blessed to have by flashing a genuine grin at least 80% of the day. Whether it’s a smile on our face or a smile in our voice.  Whether its a smiley face in an Instant Message, e-mail message or text message.  Treat yourself to a tube of lip gloss.  It can make that smile a bit shinier.

5.  WE WORK HARD!

Alright Ladies!  It’s your turn. Celebrate yourself & let me know how you did it in the comments section below.

***Fellas, you deserve a treat too.  I will have something special for you in my blog entries each week in February!!!