A Visit to Phipps Conservancy and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh

Good morning and happy Monday to everyone!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Mine consisted of hanging out at home and snuggling with my cats and then a few visits with friends!!!

There is nothing better than that!!!!

On Friday night I met up with of my very favorite friends to visit a Pittsburgh attraction!! In all the years I have lived here in Pittsburgh, there are a bunch of attractions that my friends or myself have never been to. We have made a plan to get to all of these places over the next few months and I am so excited!!! 

The first place on our list is Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens!  My friends have been there but I had not. We learned that it was the annual orchid display so we made a date for Friday night!

When I arrived, I parked in the middle island outside the venue (the parking is free there and very convenient).  This is Phipps from the outside. We met in the lobby and ate at the restaurant there in Phipps. It is all very delicious food. I had the salmon salad and it was amazing!

Then we walked through the venue! There were soooo many beautiful orchids!!!

We loved these little hanging globes!!! As we were discussing how we could recreate these; a woman that worked there came up to us and explained how to make our own (I am going to try it and use it as a future post). She also offered to walk with us as a "tour guide". It was great! She was soooo knowledgeable about every plant and orchid! She was lovely!!! 

A super cool plant that looks like a turtle - what?!?!

This photo is a photo of the oldest plant at Phipps!!! It was brought in 1893!!! It is a type of palm tree that was purchased at the World's Fair that year and was the first plant at Phipps!!! So cool!!!!

And this is that same plant looking upwards!!! Such amazing history!!!

This is a tiny replica (with a train running around it) of the original Phipps

I can not live with this tree in my life!!! Ahhhhhh...

Bananas!!!! I saw one of the in the wild in Hawaii!!! Our "tour guide" explained that it only takes 18 months for a shoot to turn into this size banana tree!!! If you live in warm climate- get yourself a banana tree - they grow fruit quickly!!!

I had to take a picture of this!!! I want a clipping from this tree and I want to try to grow it indoors at home! We ate these in Hawaii right off of a tree when we were ziplining and they are so yummy!!!  The "tour guide" sadi I should call and ask for one...I am going to give it a shot!!! PS - I keep saying "tour guide" because I unfortunately can not remember her name!!

This is jasmine...it smelled awesome!!!

More orchids...I loved these striped ones!!!

Such cute displays everywhere - even hanging above all over!!!

This is the main lobby after you enter the gardens...this is our little group (L to R...Me, Carol, our new friend and tour guide and Kathy) ...Please excuse this awful picture of me!! Goodness I need to lose this extra weight!! UGH!

Beautiful...

This gentleman donated and dedicated an entire room to his daughter that is there  all year round and they just happen the make the best chocolate in the world - Sarris Candies!!!!

 Nature is so cool...

 A cute little bonsai tree that grows oranges!!!

As we were leaving I got this shot of the building at night - cool, hugh?

It was a great night with such good friends!! I cannot wait for our next adventure!!!

Have a great day!

What is your favorite flower? How was your weekend? What is your favorite candy?

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday time!

Whoopie!!

Come on over to Rebecca Jo's blog Knit by God's Hands and join in the gratitude!!! It will make you feel soooo good!!!!

Today I am very thankful just to still be employed (for a few more months maybe) and...better yet...so very thankful to be allowed to work from home when roads are treacherous!!
 

The three pictures above were taken as I sat on the side of the road at various times yesterday. I tried to leave my housing plan (once at 7am and then again 8am) and just kept sliding off the to the side.  Then I just gave up! UGH! I finally slipped and slid right back to my house!!!!
 
I called my boss and let him know I could not make it in. He was okay with it.

Later in the day, on a conference call, someone that did make it in that morning said there was only like 8 people in the WHOLE building!

Cudos to those that braved the drive but I am not about to wreck my car or lose my life for my job! I would rather burn a vacation day if it came down to that! 

Isn't this gadget the coolest thing ever?!?!? I got it from Nutrisystem! It is a salad keeper! The lettuce goes in the container; dressing goes in the little cup on top and when you spin the cup on top it dumps the dressing in when you want ot add it to the salad!! NO MORE SOGGY LETTUCE!!! YIPPEE!!!

The second lid also has an ice pack to keep the dressing and lettuce cold! How totally cool is that?!?!? It is made by Fit and Fresh! Such a cool little contraption to take salad to work!! Thanks Nutrisystem!!! I love it!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy day! Stay hunkered down those of you that are getting hit by the storm that got us yesterday!  Think safe and warm!!! HUGS!

Did you get the snow and storm? Are you getting it today? Do you have any tips for winter driving? Do you drive in bad weather or hunker down? What are you thankful for today?

New Electric Stove???

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

I hope everyone is having a great week so far.

I have the organization and cleaning bug! I can't wait to share with you the easy tip I completed last night!

I make hard tack candy every year at least once at Christmas. As you can guess, it wrecks havoc on my stove burners and the trays underneath! They are dirty, blackened and gross. No matter how hard I scrub they will not clean up!

Last night at Walmart at found new trays!!!!  They look amazing in my opinion! They are cheap and so easy to switch out - they made all the difference in the world with how clean (and new) my stove looks now!!!

Here they are...

Before...

Zoomed in on two...can you see the ick?!??!!

And now...shiny and new!!!

It looks like a new stove!!! I love it!!!!

So, for only 13 bucks total - I got four new trays at Walmart!!!! So awesome!!!  Just a tip...If you have an electric stove and are going to go look for replacements; I went to Target first and they do not carry them so then I went to Walmart.  Also there are a few different ones so I suggest you bring yours along to see what one you need. Mine was the deep bowl size with a circle cut out at the top...some others had an oval cut out. Also, some are flatter than others...it is best to bring yours along so you get the right replacement. Also, make sure you buy the size for how ever many large and small burners you have on your stove.

Easy peesy cleaning step, right?!?!

This morning I am enjoying another green shake! I drink this everyday at work (even when I was traveling I took my nitribullet with me and had them wherever I was). It is a source of amusement for my team and co-workers. They say it smells and look like grass clippings! HA! It is so healthy and I swear it is the only thing keeping my health in check! HA!

It is power greens from Costco
1/4 cup frozen berries from Costco
2 tsp each of chia, gogi berries, flax and hemp
Fill with water 
And blend.....yummo!!!!

This is a shot from the bedroom last night! I love snuggles with my Nermie!!!! He wraps his arm around my neck and he is out for the count!!!!  I can always count on him to snuggle me and love me...who needs a man?!?!?! HA!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Thanks for always being so kind and supportive! You guys are the best!!!!

Do you have a routine for your health? Is there something you eat or take everyday to stay healthy?  Do you have a pet? Do you have any favorite cleaning hacks? 

Eat To Live

Good morning everyone!! Happy Monday!!!

I spent the weekend frustrated because I don't want my weight to define me!! I don't want to die next year and realize that my whole life I have been on a diet or tracking my weight!

I want a healthy relationship with food; I want to eat healthy, unprocessed foods to fuel my body; and most of all I want to eat to live and not live to eat!

So, I am nixing Motivational Monday and just planning to post as I normally do and along the way; while I lose the weight.  I will keep you all posted!

I lost 2.3 this first week...but after talking with some friends this weekend; I wish I could focus more on having fun and not so much on the weight since it has been a focus my entire life! UGH!

So I am focusing on eating healthy; eating as many natural, unprocessed foods as possible and getting out and getting exercise as a natural part of enjoying life!

Does that make sense??

So...over the weekend I gave in! I swore I was not going to follow Marie Kondo and her life techniques but then I saw a few videos about how she folds clothes and it sparked my interest.   Then....over the weekend....this happened!

In case you have not seen her folding technique - this is it in action on my own kitchen table - HA!!!

Lay the shirt out flat and smooth it out with your hands (if your shirt covers the entire kitchen table; you need a diet (just kidding!)....

Fold in the one side and the first sleeve as shown below and smooth it out...

Then fold in the second side and sleeve and smooth it out...

Fold in over in thirds...

Then fold over in thirds again...

If it stands on it's side then you folded correctly...

So this is my t-shirt drawer before the folding...it is hard to see and get to the shirts...

And this is after...I can see every shirt!!! Super cool!!!

And this is my shorts drawer before...

And this is after...so easy to see everything!!!

I did not go through like Marie wants us to and throw away or donate anything. I have a lot of clothes and I want to hang on to all three pairs of my jean shorts and all three pairs of my khaki shorts. That being said; I do like her folding method so I guess I am half-on and half-off the bandwagon! HA HA!

Have a great day everyone!!!!

Anyone else try Marie Kondo's tips? Anyone else sick of dieting and talking about it?  How was your weekend? Full of fun?!??!