Suzanne Schaffer

Deep Steep is one of my favorite product lines. They are natural products with ingredients I trust, at affordable prices. I always seek these out when I visit my favorite store, TJ Maxx. This line isn't sold anywhere locally (that I know of) and I usually have luck finding it at TJ Maxx. This snowflake scent pictured above is a delightful surprise. It is light and vanilla-y with hints of something I can't quite remember.  This body wash gives a nice lather and you only need a little to cover your entire body. I. Love. This. Stuff.  I've tried some of their other products, and I also enjoy using the body lotions and foot creams. Not real thrilled with their body scrub though, it is really thick and covers the bottom of the tub/shower stall with a thick, slippery, deadly sheen.  I first discovered Deep Steep on a trip to Cape May at least a decade ago. It was tucked into the corner of a little boutique. I bought some grapefruit bergamot hand lotion in a stick. It smell...

Visited one of my college friends not long ago and we spent the afternoon in Lititz. Have I ever mentioned that decades-old friendships are the best? They're just safe and comfortable. Like no matter what, they are still going to love you. This is one of my favorites. While there we checked out a very cool vintage shop where I found this mannequin who is now my profile pic on FB. I adored her. Upstairs in the shop we found a plethora of vintage hats which we tried on and giggled over. We walked a few blocks down the street and stumbled on Linden Hall, a prestigious girl's boarding school. This is fancy-schmancy. Not unlike our own Grier School just down the road from me. Beautiful buildings. The oldest girls' resident school in the USA. Very cool. I would have loved to tour the buildings.

  Got this at the auction in a box lot of old paperwork. Can God Depend on Us? This offering envelope is dated Oct 19, 1969   And the answer to the question would be no. Because the offering is still inside the envelope. A 1963 $1 bill. It's been in there since I was three months old. 

In the town of Lititz, PA there is a pretzel bakery. I'm all about hot pretzels. I quit eating bread several years ago (unless I'm at an Italian restaurant and they tempt me with garlic bread- and not that stuff at the Olive Garden, I'm talking real Italian garlic bread) because there's really no point in bread, all it does is make my thighs doughy. But I cannot pass up a hot pretzel. Some rules are meant to be broken. The hot doughy inside, the firm outside, the salt. Yum. I had no idea what I was about to experience when we walked into the Julius Sturgis Pretzel shop.  This is what we got. These are $1 each or two for $1.99 (that made me giggle) and they are given to you right off of the belt. Seriously, these were almost too hot to hold but I survived. The struggle is real. If you ever find yourself in Lititz (you should because it's lovely) then I recommend a stop at the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery. You can take a tour (we didn't) ...

Earlier this week I plunged in and scrubbed my kitchen cabinets. It's been over four years we've lived in this house and in all previous houses we'd have moved out by now which means that the kitchen cabinets would have been scrubbed clean. Not that they were filthy, but years of hands on them and grease flying in the kitchen makes them a little gross. As I was cleaning I was remembering the job I had my first semester in college. I was the cleaning lady for the college president's wife. I remember how kind she was and how she clearly didn't feel comfortable not doing this job herself but since the college offered it, she took it. She was particular about the way the vacuum lines in the carpet looked in the formal living room. I had to make sure they all went the same way. I have never forgotten that, anytime I see lines in a carpet I'm vacuuming I think of her. I also remember thinking of how much old people shed. Now remember, I was eighteen at the time ...

It's no secret I love to bake from scratch. It is therapeutic for me. I love to mix the ingredients by hand and create something that my family will enjoy. Yesterday my daughter and I were browsing a new baking cookbook. I found a recipe for healthy-ish muffins and told her I'd make them today. After returning home from a four-mile walk outside in the almost-too-cold I headed to the kitchen to create. I left my phone and other distractions in another room, far enough away so I couldn't hear the constant noises it emits through the Periscope app, eBay sales and text messages. I needed the quiet. So many times we fill our lives with noise. From the chatter of the television to the voices in our heads, it is hard to escape but I crave the quiet. I need the peace that silence brings. When I hear nothing I am able to think anything.  I dug into the recipe and added the oats, whole wheat flour, and brown sugar. I love brown sugar. The little balls it forms are the perf...

Came home to find this in the mail from the Franklin Mint. It's a little creepy to me that junk mail has our names on it. That it's already personalized. I'm so weirded over this I can't even tell you. Why would anyone choose Insect Creations as the name for their store? The name alone caused me to not take another step closer to this business. Nope. Over the weekend we parked on one side of an elementary school where there was an event open to the public. The street we wanted to visit was on the other side of the school so we just walked through the building to get there. I had to go while I was there and used the girls room. It's been decades since I used the girls room . The sinks and toilets were so low. It cracked me up. This tee shirt. That's all. You're welcome.

  Food Trucks are all the rage in trendy urban areas. I am not in an area where these are accessible so I gasp when I find a food truck. I really gasp when it's a cupcake food truck. Yes. Cupcakes.    Check out the offerings on the menu. Wayne and I shared a sweet potato pie cupcake. To die for. Our friends shared a toasted coconut caramel fudge one.   Even the back of the truck was adorable.  Sweet potato pie cupcake Toasted coconut caramel fudge cupcake Have you ever had the chance to grab something from a food truck? I love that my first encounter was a cupcake! 

This is a review on Amazon for a lice treatment kit. This is why spelling is important. Many years ago I sold for a direct sales company based in Chicago. They had a warehouse sale and I purchased this at the sale in 2001. It was a flat piece of fabric. Brought it home and a lady in our church added the back fabric and a handle and I used it as a tote bag for several years. I then tired of it and stuffed it and hand-stitched it shut along the top. This was at the auction we attend. I picked it up and recognized my uneven stitching. I made this pillow. So weird to see it there. And no, I did not purchase it again. Anybody need a walk? Long before I married I worked at a small family-owned business. The owners of the establishment had a clock like this hanging above the front counter. One day she told me that she loved to give these as wedding gifts and I can honestly tell you the threat of receiving one of these is one reason I didn't invite them to my wedding. I didn...

  I have lived in this town for seven years and just saw this last month. We have jazzercise here? That's still a thing? I remember mothers talking about this in the 70s after I was dropped off at VBS in the summertime. I didn't realize it was still around.  Weird.

It's no secret we love to eat out. Date day a few weeks ago consisted of a trip to Pittsburgh. We had some business in town and afterwards decided to visit family but needed to lunch first. Pulled out my phone and Googled, "Best restaurant in Mt Lebanon" because I *heart* Mt Lebanon and wanted to be there. Found Bistro 19 which had the highest rating. Check out their website here . Ordered the hummus appetizer which came with warm pita. There really isn't much better than warm pita.  Wayne got the steak salad which he said was flavorful but could've been better with a better quality cut of meat. Too much gristle. Blah. I got this. The world's best veggie wrap. It's on the menu simply as veggie wrap, but once you try this you'll agree with the moniker I've given it. It was cooked perfectly and the veggies were warm and drippy and so. much. yum. I could hardly stand it. I want to go back for another. Soon.

  That's all

  People, look at this polish. Ignore my cuticles, just look at the color. It's called Shade Shifter and is by KB Shimmer. Check out their website here . Oh my goodness, and they say money can't buy happiness. It totally can #proof   It's recommended to apply this color over black to get the full effect. I put it on over a very dark blue and it worked fine.  Check out the text I sent my husband about this: There will be more KB Shimmer in my future. I have plans for it.