The Rich Life on the Go

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Our Dream Trip: Barcelona, Day Two

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I hope you enjoyed Day One in Barcelona of what I call our “Dream Trip” to the Mediterranean, which you can read here.

I left off with our wonderful breakfast at the elegant and luxurious El Palace Hotel in downtown Barcelona. After we noshed on tomato bread and jamon and had our fill of cappuccinos, we got in a taxi and headed to Sagrada Familia.

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, more simply know as Sagrada Familia, is a world-famous basilica designed by Catalonian architect Antoni Gaudí which has been under construction on and off since 1882.

What a stupendous structure! Everywhere you look there is something fascinating or unique or exquisite – usually all three at once.

Exterior Photos of Sagrada Familia 

It’s hard to pick a favorite aspect of Sagrada Familia as there are so many wondrous artistic pieces throughout. But if I was forced to choose, I would pick the Expressionist Crucifixion of Christ that has an umbrella shaped canopy, called a baldachin, hovering over it. This stunning work of art is suspended over the High Altar of Sagrada Familia.

It immediately caught my attention the moment we walked through the doors into the basilica. Its ethereal glow and delicateness made it hard to take my eyes away. It’s where I spent most of my gawking during our brief visit.

Interior Photos of Sagrada Familia 

I could easily devote an entire post to the history of Sagrada Familia and its endless architectural and artistic details and stunning facades.

If you’re interested in learning more about Sagrada Familia, their website has a copious  amount of information including details about its history and architecture, the meaning of the Sagrada Familia, options for visiting and you can even purchase tickets on this site, which you should certainly do ahead of your visit. Also, be sure to show up about 10 minutes before your ticket time to get through all the security checks. I believe there were three.

We bought self-guided tour tickets but had less than an hour before we were meeting some friends. So we chose to focus more on seeing as much as we could of the basilica and didn’t listen much to the recorder. If you plan to see this magnificent church, be sure to carve out at least 90-minutes to two hours.

Off to Cava! 🍾

After our Sagrada Familia visit, we met up with my stepkids’ cousin and her boyfriend at the Arc du Triomf. Alyssa and Stu have lived in Barcelona for two years and they love it. They were so kind and thoughtful to spend the day showing us around, taking us to some of their favorite places.

After saying our hellos, we boarded a train to the Catalan village of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in the Cava region to wine taste at Freixenet.

It’s just a 30-minute train ride from Barcelona with lots of pretty scenery along the way, including vineyards, of course! Cava wines are sparkling, like Italian Prosecco or French Champagne.

Freixenet is undoubtedly the most famous Spanish cava in the world. My parents used to buy it when I was a kid. You are sure to recognize their signature black bottle with gold cursive lettering. And if you’ve always wondered how to pronounce Freixenet, it’s not Frex-in-ay nor Free-jin- ay nor Frex-in-net, it’s Fresh-en-net.

An interesting fact about Freixenet is it’s own by the same family that owns Gloria Ferrer here in Sonoma County.

Freixenet is located right next to the train station in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. Within a couple minutes, we were standing in the courtyard of the winery where there is a Freixenet bottle car that was created for the 1929 World Fair in Barcelona.

It was a beautiful sunny November day so we decided to begin our cava adventure by each enjoying a glass on the patio.

Freixenet makes many more wines than the ones we Americans are so familiar with. I wanted to taste cavas that I couldn’t get in the US, which was an easily fulfilled request as there were lots of wines to choose from that aren’t distributed to the states.

After we finished our glass of cava, we headed to the indoor tasting room in another building right next door. We tasted lots of different cavas and had some Spanish tapas too, including that delicious tomato bread I mentioned in my Day One post. Tomato bread and cava is a pretty awesome combination, I must say!

After we got our fill of cava and tapas, it was time to catch a train back to Barcelona for more fun!

El Nacional 🥘

By the time we got back to Barcelona, it was just getting dark. Alyssa and Stu wanted to take us to one of their favorite places for food, wine, and atmosphere – El Nacional.

El Nacional is the most high-end food court you can imagine. It’s a Spanish food emporium, filled with a variety of restaurants and bars. The building is a treat to see. It’s an open space with soaring ceilings and has such elegant architecture and style, reminiscent of the 1920s.

We found 4 seats together at the bar in the center – lucky us! – and each ordered our own glasses of Spanish wine. I prefer white wines so I ordered an Albariño.

Stu and Alyssa suggested we try their favorite tapas at El Nacional, croquettes. Oh my! These bite-sized fried morsels were made with jamon and queso (ham and cheese) and I will never forget them!

Perikete 🍖

Next we were off to Perikete, a neighborhood favorite of Alyssa and Stu’s. The seating gods must have been shining down on us this particular evening because, once again, we found a place to sit.

Perikete is a small and crowded tapas bar with wine barrels for tables and jamon legs hanging from the ceiling, the fats they drip captured in while plastic cones.

While we’d be eating tapas again, this time it was a smorgasbord of tapas. We feasted on padron peppers, fresh tuna with onions and tomatoes, some egg and potato frittata I fell in love with (and I don’t even like eggs), stuffed mushrooms and of course, tomato bread. We also had a delicious pitcher of sangria, a when-in-Spain must-have!

Paradiso 🐚

By this time we were full of tapas and wine and it was getting very late. But you know, it’s our last night in Barcelona, we’re hanging out with the young, cool people, so why not stay up late and go to a hip bar? You only live once!

Alyssa and Stu took us to Paradiso, a speakeasy – and probably the coolest cocktail lounge in Barcelona – that makes drinks you’ve never imagined, both the concoctions and their presentation. Everything about this place is unique and it’s full of surprises. Even the menu lights up when you open it and the entrance is an old-fashioned refrigerator door.

I wish the lighting had not been so dim because our drinks were whimsical and creative works of art that would have been a thrill to photograph. I did take a video of my treasure chest and Alyssa’s Trojan horse cocktails arriving at our table that you can see here.

Bill’s drink was much more low key than ours, served in a tall martini glass but what a martini glass it was! 🐙

After our extraordinarily great day, we gave our hugs and said our goodbyes to Alyssa and Stu, vowing to return to Barcelona again someday for more fun with these two beautiful – inside and out – humans.

Thank you, Alyssa and Stu for treating us to such a special and memorable day. We loved every single second!

Off to bed Bill and I went, very late and with the expectation Spanish wine hangovers the next day. But we were also excited to wake up and embark the ship for our very first cruise!

In my next post about our Dream Trip, publishing after Christmas, I will be sharing Day Three that will include lots of photos of our suite and the stunning ship.

Thank you for reading!

Our Dream Trip: Barcelona, Day One

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As promised, I am sharing photos, details and stories about what I call our “Dream Trip” to the Mediterranean.

I hope these posts will provide you with some useful information and/or travel inspiration, or at the very least a bit of entertainment! For me, putting these posts together is a fun way to document our trip and share highlights with family and friends.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you like about our trip – either in the comments or you may contact me privately (just click on the little black envelope above my photo slide header).

Off We Go!✈️

First, some details about our Dream Trip:

Over the summer, we decided to book a Mediterranean cruise for the fall to celebrate my 50th and 51st birthday (find an explanation of that here), and more importantly, my husband’s retirement after 34 years in the fire service.

After looking at lots of cruise lines and itineraries, we chose to cruise on Regent Seven Seas Cruises, taking off from Barcelona and arriving 10 nights later in Rome.

Our cruise fare was all-inclusive, even our round-trip Business Class airfare was included in the fare. Since neither of us had been to Spain before, we decided to add a couple nights to the front end of our trip. And since we haven’t been to Rome in 8 years, we also added two nights to the end of our cruise.

The night before our flight we stayed at Embassy Suites near the San Francisco airport. When I checked my phone the morning of our departure, I had emails from our travel agent, Adam Martindale, with upgrade offers to purchase larger suites. Bill and I decided to upgrade our room to the next level – more on that in a future post about the ship.

After checking in at SFO and whizzing through security, thanks to TSA Pre-check, we got settled in the United Polaris Lounge in the International Terminal. What a luxurious place! All food and beverages were complimentary and delicious. Since we had plenty of time before our flight boarded, we decided to bypass the buffet and sit down in the restaurant for a breakfast of bagels and mimosas.

Once on the plane, we got settled in our roomy pods. The flight was better than expected, although neither of us slept. Perhaps we were too excited! Instead, we watched movies and relaxed.

Our 10-hour flight to Frankfurt was smooth and uneventful – just the way I like all my flights! Soon we were boarding another plane to Barcelona and a couple hours later, we arrived in Spain.

Our Hotel in Barcelona 🏨

Adam, our travel agent, arranged ground transportation for us to and from airports and when we disembarked our ship in Civitavecchia, Rome’s port. What a treat to not have to worry about that aspect of travel for a change.

A friendly driver met us at the Barcelona airport and took us to our hotel, El Palace Hotel in downtown Barcelona.

What a gorgeous and elegant hotel it is. I wish I had gotten a better photo of the exterior. This majestic hotel is located at a bustling intersection and I regretfully forgot to cross the street for a full shot.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by several valets who took our luggage and directed us to reception for check in. The first thing I noticed, once inside, was the beauty and grandeur of the hotel.

There is a big round table in the middle of the lobby that was full of different varieties of fresh flowers in various vases, as well as autumn gourds.

Once we were all checked in, we were ready to be shown to our room. A friendly staff member led us to our 6thfloor room and showed us all we needed to know to make our stay enjoyable.

Our Guest Room 

Our room was so elegant. It had an old-world feel but with plenty of modern touches. I loved our big bathroom. It had lots of counter space, a heated towel rack and a big shower with ceiling mounted rainfall showerhead.

Our bed was incredibly comfortable and, since we faced the back of the hotel, our room was very quiet. The staff at El Palace Hotel was warm and friendly and so accommodating. A bottle of Spanish cava on ice and a box of Lindt chocolates awaited us in our room along with a welcome note from the staff.

Out and About in Barcelona 📷

Once we unpacked and changed out of our traveling clothes, we ventured out for a few hours to explore Barcelona. The weather was pleasant; similar to the weather here in California in November. It was warm in the sunshine but got chilly once the sun went down. I only needed a light jacket and scarf.

We were rather tired by this time – no surprise there – but also determined to stay awake our first day until our normal bedtime. I located Las Ramblas on my phone and off we went.

On the way I took some photos of buildings and other things that caught my attention. We ended up passing by a beautiful church that I later found out is the Catedral de Barcelona.

Several friends warned us that Barcelona is notorious for pickpockets, especially in such a people-dense area as Las Ramblas. So I kept my phone mostly in my pocket while we walked through this famous tree-lined pedestrian street, which meant few photos.

I did manage to take a few pictures once inside Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria – commonly known as just La Boqueria. The sun was going down and we were getting a bit cold so we didn’t stay too long. What a great place though! I recommend a visit to La Boqueria if you travel to Barcelona.

By the way, we had no problems with pickpockets and never felt unsafe for a second during our time in Barcelona.

The Bluesman Cocktail Bar 🍸

Back at the hotel after our walk around our neighborhood, we decided to check out the downstairs bar. The Bluesman Cocktail Bar, built in the 1920s, is done in dark red velvet, gold and red brocade, and dark wood with dim lighting and 1960s music playing in the background. They have live music too but we didn’t catch any performances during our stay.

Our bartender made us two perfect vodka martinis, served to us on a tray that included some salty and crunchy snacks – a wonderful way to start the evening after such a great day.

The Very Best Salad 🥗

Later in the evening, it was time to think about dinner plans. We were too zonked to venture out and the hotel has a restaurant that we were sure would be excellent so we chose to eat there.

There is a casual section and a more formal dining area. We chose the former as we were still in our sightseeing garb with no interest in dressing up. I ordered the special soup – a lovely and delicate vegetable soup – along with a green salad, which was truly the freshest and best tasting garden salad I have ever had.

Although we did not order dessert, we still had some sweet treats delivered to our table by our wonderful and attentive server. Whatever these little chocolates are, they were so delectable, I still dream about them. And I am not even a big chocolate lover. The tiny little pound cakes were outstanding too. I ate them both as Bill doesn’t like cake. Score!

After our lovely and delicious dinner, we retired to our room where we had a peaceful night’s sleep. We both awoke surprised that we slept a full night on local time with no interruptions the first night!

Buenas Dias! ☀️

Morning in Barcelona began with this stunning sunrise. This was the view out our guest room windows.

We dressed for the day and headed downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. The hotel package that Adam booked for us included breakfast both days. We loved, loved, loved the food!

There was something for everyone including traditional Spanish pastries, cheeses, jamon (ham) and sausages. And they had “pan con tomate” – bread and tomatoes – a Catalan staple and a treat we had a few times during our Barcelona stay.

They also served excellent coffees, mimosas, fresh fruit, Asian cuisine and our traditional American breakfast foods like cereal, yogurt and bagels.

Breakfast was served in a large and elegant ball room. What a treat to begin the day with breakfast at El Palace!

After breakfast, we began our day of sightseeing and fun in Barcelona. Stay tuned for my next post with the lowdown on Day Two of our Dream Trip!

Adrienne

Seven for Saturday

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Happy weekend, everyone! I am excited to be back to blogging regularly, beginning with a new Seven for Saturday post.

1 ~ Home From Our Dream Trip

We returned home from our dream trip to Europe the day before Thanksgiving. Since then, we’ve been recovering from jet lag and trying to get back to normal life.

I can’t wait to tell you all about our cruise on the Regent Seven Seas Explorer! I still pinch myself that we had such an incredible time. It could not have gone better!

I brought home thousands of photos that I have been picking away at and soon, I will share with you highlights from each port in a series of blog posts.

Our cruise experience didn’t just live up to our expectations, it far exceeded them. We are looking forward to making cruising part of our travel plans from now on.

2 ~ Faking It

I was once told by a doctor specializing in allergies that I am the least allergic person he had ever treated. Lucky me! Apparently I am only allergic to one thing: pine pollen.

Pine pollen makes me sneeze, gives me itchy eyes and a runny nose – the usual hay fever type reaction. It’s not unbearable but who likes sniffling and rubbing your eyes all the time? Not me! For the last several holiday seasons, Bill and I have discussed getting an artificial Christmas tree but never pulled the trigger until now.

While watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, we saw a float by Balsam Hill, an artificial holiday tree company. I quickly looked them up online and a few days later, after perusing their collection, we decided on our tree. We picked this one because it most closely resembles the fresh Noble Firs we usually buy.

Our tree arrived earlier this week and now it’s up and decorated. Ours has tiny LED lights on it so we no longer need to string lights. We also don’t need to water it, vacuum up pine needles or worry about it drying out too soon.

We bought a cute wreath for the front door too, which is also pre-lit.

If you decorate for the holidays, do you choose a fresh cut tree or artificial?

3 ~ Favorite Cashmere Wrap

I celebrated my 51st birthday toward the end of October. A dear friend sent me this gorgeous cashmere wrap from Heidi Wynne as a birthday gift.

I wore it nearly every day during our trip including on all my flights and while we were in Tuscany, visiting Pisa and going to the Vatican. Since we were traveling in mid November, the weather was just beginning to turn chilly. We didn’t have coat weather until we got to Rome at the end of our trip. Until then, I only needed this wrap and perhaps a light jacket.

I love the quality and luxuriousness of this wrap and am thinking about treating myself to a black one, although I do find that the burgundy shade goes with nearly all my outfits.

4 ~ Getting Back Into a Routine

We are slowly getting back into a routine. The first thing we did when arriving back in California, before we even went home, is go to the market to buy groceries including lots of fresh vegetables. I spent the next couple days cooking when I had the energy. The food on the ship was excellent but I still miss home cooked meals by the time I get home from a long trip, don’t you?

I’ve also gotten back on my exercise regimen. I am focusing mostly on Pilates on my reformer as well as cardio on the treadmill. I try to workout about 5 or 6 days a week, even if it’s just 20 minutes on each machine.

Once I am 100% over this cold, we want to go for some long hikes around Sonoma County. I miss hiking and love it the most this time of year. The cool weather, green and lush landscape and rushing creeks make hiking so pleasant!

5 ~ Mirror, Mirror 

Our gorgeous suite on the cruise ship had a makeup table next to the bed that I used a couple times a day to makeup my face, pluck my eyebrows, and style my hair. The mirror on the table was such great quality. It had two sides – a regular mirror, then another that was 10xs magnified and it was lighted. I loved that the lighting was just bright enough to see but not too bright to wash me out.

I snapped a photo so I would have the brand name (apologies for the not great quality or styling) and decided to see if the manufacturer makes a wall mount version. They do! So I am asking my Santa Claus to gift me one of these for Christmas.

6 ~ A Different Christmas

With Bill retired, his father no longer with us and the kids all living on their own, Christmas sure feels different this year. No work holiday parties, no French Fry Candy night – a family tradition we celebrated for 16 years – and no big family get togethers. It’s our first Christmas as empty nesters. While it is kind of a downer, we aren’t letting these changes put a damper on our holiday spirit.

We are very much looking forward to Tori and her boyfriend visiting from Oregon for Christmas and, although Bill’s eldest daughter works Christmas, we are sure to spend time with her and her husband during the holidays as well.

Decking out our home with holiday decor helps make our home feel festive. And we’re hoping, with all these new beginnings and endings, a fresh new holiday tradition of our own will develop.

7 ~ My Daisy Girl 

Our 14-year-old dog, Daisy, has been diagnosed with kidney disease which is irreversible. It’s understandable that a dog her age would develop health problems but that knowledge isn’t making it any easier to accept.

She is such a sweet dog – the best dog I have ever known – and I find it difficult to imagine life without her by my side. She started on some medications today to help with protein absorption. I am also going to be changing her diet so she gets more hydration and a balance of nutrition that works better for her condition. Hopefully, these changes will prolong her life and make her feel a bit better too.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Adrienne

Getting Ready for Our Dream Trip!

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Hello there! Well, it’s been a minute or two since I last blogged, hasn’t it? October was a whirlwind of fun and sun for us with trips to Catalina, Newport Beach and Calistoga. We’ve hardly been home in the last several weeks.

We flew home from Newport Beach Thursday afternoon and have been spending our time packing, running errands and getting organized for our big trip – the dream cruise I wrote about here.

I am at the point where I’m so excited I can barely think of anything but our trip and sleep is challenging!

We arrive in Barcelona on Tuesday then board the ship, Regent Seven Seas Explorer, on Thursday. I can hardly wait to see this beautiful vessel and explore our destinations!

Photo credit: Regent Seven Seas

I am trying my best to pack smart for a change and not bring my entire wardrobe. We are traveling for a total of 18 days which is a long time. I am bringing 3 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 dresses and about 10 tunics and blouses. I am only bringing one coat – a black rain trench – and a couple of long cardigan sweaters and scarves.

Shoes are my biggest stress as I broke my pinky toe in early October and it’s taking a long time to heal as I whacked it out of alignment. I have been wearing either Birkenstocks or the ortho boot the podiatrist gave me to wear. None of my closed toed shoes fit me so yesterday I went shopping for some that will fit.

I bought these Swiss made shoes for sightseeing and exercising.

And these Portuguese made flats to wear while we’re on the ship and out to dinner on land. Aesthetically, they are not the most attractive shoes I won but I still like them and they feel like a soft glove on my feet.

As far as getting “me” ready, I have a fresh haircut and pedicure, gave myself a face mask and manicure, stocked up on makeup and skin care products, and the Botox treatment I had a few weeks ago is in full effect.

In my last post, I promised to show a before and after photos so you can see the difference Botox makes in the symmetry of my eyebrows. You can tell my right eyebrow sits a bit lower in the bottom right photo.

I still have plenty of movement in my forehead – I don’t like to go for the fully frozen look – yet my brows remain more even. Also, my frowning has diminished greatly. Overall, I have less tension in my face.

For those of you who live in the North Bay Area, Plastic Surgery Associates will be having their annual Black Thursday Event.

It’s on November 8th from 11:00 to 6:00 in their Santa Rosa location. Normally I would attend and take advantage of their great Botox offer, food truck, raffles and more but I will be traveling. If you are interested in getting Botox at the event, be sure to call them directly at (707) 537-2123 as the spots fill up fast!

As far as the other necessary things I need to pack for our trip – toiletries, vitamins and medications – I decided to upgrade our travel containers. Our old containers were causing me all sorts of leaking issues so they had to be tossed.

I love these silicone squeeze bottles that come on a lanyard. They have 6 different labels inside the cap that you can change. I filled mine with my favorite facial cleanser – Tea Tree Gel Cleanser from evanhealy – body lotion, shampoo and conditioner. I love the lanyard with clips. I simply take the whole thing out of my suitcase (I keep them inside a ziplock bag in case they leak or break) and hang on a hook in our bathroom. I remove whatever bottle I need then clip it back on when I am done using it.

I bought these cute silicone jars too. I got a pack of three and used two for evanhealy Light Moisture Replenishing Fluid and Blue Cactus Beauty Balm, which is my favorite hydrating balm. These two will be kept in my carryon as I will want to keep my skin hydrated while flying.

I take quite a lot of vitamins when I’m at home. I don’t mind going a few days without them but 18 days is too long so I bought some little pill pouches at the grocery store. I love these things! They don’t take up too much room and I can pack a day’s worth of vitamins into a single bag, then throw them in my purse.

 

To keep our credit cards and IDs safe from identity theft, we bought some RIFD (Radio-Frequency IDentification) blocking products. I have a crossbody bag that has protection inside it and Bill bought a wallet with the same protection at a local travel store.

We also have several protector sleeves for individual cards and our passports. You can never be too safe these days!

We are spending today and tomorrow finishing up packing and getting the house ready for house sitters to come. I most likely will not blog while we’re away but I will be posting lots of photos and stories on Instagram!

Thanks for reading!

Adrienne

Disclosure: My Botox treatment at Plastic Surgery Associates was complimentary in exchange for social media posts. My opinions about Plastic Surgery Associates and Botox are 100% my own. I have incorporated affiliate links for some of the products in this post that will earn me a very small commission if used. 

Seven for Saturday

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Seven for Saturday is back! At least this week it is. I can’t promise a weekly Seven for Saturday  posts but I will do them when time allows. They are such fun posts to put together!

Here’s what has been going on around here lately:

1 ~ Cruise Planning

These days I spend most of my free time dreaming about our upcoming cruise, researching our destinations, making lists of things to do and see, shopping for clothes, planning my travel wardrobe and imagining all the fun adventures we will have.

Friends and followers have been so very helpful with tips about cruising, suggestions for what to see and do at our ports and more. I am so grateful for the information!

I hope you don’t mind my indulgence in showing you our over-the-top gorgeous and opulent ship, the Regent Seven Seas Explorer. I am just so excited about it, I want to tell everyone!

I found this video yesterday from Cruise Critic that shows some of the highlights Explorer has to offer. I have to pinch myself often. It’s hard to believe that we are spending 10 nights on this beauty!

2 ~ New Luggage

After we booked our cruise we knew we needed to replace our worn out luggage. From broken zippers to frayed trim, battered wheels, and even frames that were starting to sag, these suitcases were beyond help and ready to be tossed. I could not imagine boarding a luxury cruise ship dragging these sad bags behind me.

So I went about doing my luggage research to find a new set for us. Things to consider were price point, color, size, quality, material and durability. We thought we might like to try the hard sided suitcases but the brands we preferred were out of our price range.

Ultimately we decided to stick with soft sided luggage and bought four pieces of Hartmann on sale at Macy’s for about 65% off (I checked and they’re still on sale!).

We bought 2 medium (25″) and 2 large (29″). The suitcase pictured is the medium.

We are pleased with the appearance and quality of our suitcases. They are very lightweight too. We think they will last us a good long time.

Since they are black, I had to do something to set them apart from all the other millions of black bags you see at the airport. I looked at straps, plastic luggage tags, even tying a brightly colored scarf around the handle and then I found these clever little things.

Not only are they ID tags but they help make your bag stand out in a crowd and they provide a little extra padding on your suitcase’s handle. The velcro is super strong so I think they will survive the tossing around and they look cute!

3 ~ Broken Toe

Ugh! I am almost certain I broke my pinky toe Thursday morning. I was stripping the bed to wash sheets and I rammed into the corner of the bed frame. The pain was intense and long-lasting. A few hours in and it started to turn black and blue. I iced it a few times with frozen peas which seemed to help a bit. I also taped that toe to its neighbor but now, with the swelling, that isn’t tolerable.

So I guess I will be hobbling around for awhile but if I had to pick a bone to break it would be my pinky toe. It should heal in time for the cruise if I can stop re-stubbing it on things (that is the worst!!). There will be no close-toed shoes for me for awhile. I am bound to the only shoes that fit – my super comfortable Gizah Birkenstocks – until it heals. Good thing it’s not the middle of winter!

Have you ever broken a toe?

4 ~ Retirement Update

We are almost six months into Bill’s retirement and we’re finally getting used to it. It’s actually feeling normal!

Bill is 90% complete with the interior paint project, vowing to never do it himself again. When he’s not painting or working on some yard project, he and his brothers are busy clearing out their father’s home, about an hour away. What a long, hard process that has been for them.

While Bill is busy with his numerous endeavors, I have been using our home gym 5 to 7 times per week. I love my reformer and have gotten quite good at Pilates. I joke that I have a six-pack now, you just can’t see it because it’s under many layers of menopause fat. I am stronger and more flexible than I have been since my 30s. I very rarely have lower back pain and that has been such a gift as I suffered for many years. The reformer has truly been a life and body changer for me.

We love the freedom retirement has given us. Not having to wake up at a certain time every day, making travel plans without using up vacation time or asking for permission, and being more spontaneous are just a few of the aspects of retirement I love. We are grateful daily!

Since we are still young, as retirees go – I am almost 51 and Bill is 53 – we suspect we will want to have new careers in the future. Maybe that venture will be something we do as a couple or maybe Bill will find his own post-retirement career as I continue to blog and freelance write. I also toss around the idea of becoming a certified Pilates instructor. Who knows? We aren’t making decisions on any of that until 2019. Instead we’re allowing ourselves to travel, sleep in if we want to and just enjoy life!

5 ~ Checking the Beauty Boxes

Getting ready for a dream trip, at least for me, means getting beautified. My hair appointment pre-cruise is booked. I will get a manicure and a pedicure just before we leave and I am making sure I have the right makeup and plenty of of my skin care products. I also got a Botox treatment, timed to last through the duration of the cruise and beyond.

I had my first Botox treatment ever at Plastic Surgery Associates in Santa Rosa earlier this year and loved it. You can read about that experience here.

I went back for two more treatments, then life got busy and I went without for a few months. When my friends at PSA contacted me about visiting their new Novato location for a Botox treatment, I leapt at the chance. It was already on my beauty to-do list.

I missed getting Botox but perhaps not for the reasons you would expect. When I didn’t do it for a few months I didn’t really miss looking younger and having fewer wrinkles on my forehead. What I missed was not furrowing my brow all the time and frowning. Bill often asks me why I am upset when nothing whatsoever is wrong.

I also love how Botox, when injected in the right places, evens out my eyebrows and gives me better symmetry. My left brow is naturally higher than my right. By adding Botox just above the lower brow, it lifts up.

It takes 3 to 10 days for Botox to start doing its thing. I will be sure to take an “after” photo so you can see the difference but this was me yesterday moments after getting the injections. You can see how high that brow is 🤔

Melinda, a Nurse Practitioner, did my injections at the Novato location. She also sees clients/patients in Santa Rosa as well. She is fantastic! I highly recommend her and Kirsty, who I went to for my previous injections in Santa Rosa, too.

6 ~ Autumn is here in Wine Country

For the first time in several years, October feels and looks like October should feel and look around here! During our drought, we would have awful dry, hot, windy weather in October. In fact, October 8th is when last year’s fires began. Fall wouldn’t really show up until November and by early October you would be hard pressed to find a cluster of grapes still on the vines.

This year, however, we’ve had cool and crisp weather, some decent amounts of rain, and there are lots of grapes still hanging on the vines! Everything is so lush and green.

Last weekend we went with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law – Rob and Debbie – to a wine pick-up party at Beltane Ranch.

It took place in Beltane’s garden and was such fun! We got to pick our own produce while sipping wine and chatting with fellow wine club members.

It was a treat to dress in fall clothes for a change. Debbie and I wore some wool hats of mine that are water resistant so we were fine during the brief rainfall that we had during the party.

Fall really is here and I couldn’t be happier about it!

7 ~ Channel Islands Bound!

Next week Bill and I will be headed down south to the Channel Islands to stay on a boat with some longtime friends.

I have never been to the Channel Islands and can’t wait to visit Catalina! Bill bought a new dive suit and is planning to SCUBA dive and look for lobsters.

Depending on my toe situation, I am going to try paddle boarding and hopefully go on some kayaking adventures. I plan to eat lots of seafood, take photos, maybe read a couple books and hang out with our good friends.

The night before we board the ferry to Avalon, we are staying at the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Our autumn is becoming all about boats!

Have you been to the Channel Islands or visited the Queen Mary?

Have a great weekend!

Adrienne

Disclaimer: My Botox treatment at Plastic Surgery Associates was complimentary in exchange for social media posts. My opinions about Plastic Surgery Associates and Botox are 100% my own (love them both!).