friday links

Happy Friday!

Today I was able to see gorgeous waves AND a giant rainbow--all in one day.
Had to share them with you.


Nauset light beach in Eastham, MA.  Just one of my surfing buds out today.  Water temp. 64-66?  I think.


Nauset light beach again.  This is where I walk to strengthen my quads.  The sand is deep, yet soft, so it's easy on the knees.  Funny how this end of the cape was dark and cloudy and the other end was sunny.


And now closer to home, the rainbow we saw tonight was absolutely stunning and thick too.  Never saw a rainbow width that wide before (if that makes sense). This was taken at town neck beach--boardwalk side. 


Here is the other end of the rainbow.  Hard to see, but it's in the middle of the two houses.  This is when I wish I had one of those fancy zoom lens cameras.  The sunsets on cape cod are memorable.

Today is the last day of summer.  Booo.
I'm sad.  I'm a sun-loving water girl; I hate to see summer go.
When I was younger I loved the fall and loved the snow in winter
Now any weather under 80 degrees and I'm frozen.
Could be old age, who knows.  I do know for a fact, that come February I get a small case of the blues--SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
This is one of the reasons hubby is working so hard (god bless and love him) to get us back out to cali.
No snow there and plenty of sunshine.
I would be curious to know if any of my readers suffer from SAD?
What do you do to keep it at bay or minimize it?
I up my fish oil, stay outside more since they say even being outside even if it's cloudy the outside/sky illuminations helps the brain.


My friend has made coconut cupcakes with marshmallow creme frosting.  I adore coconut cupcakes.
She has one of those fancy schmancy cameras and is quite good with it too.

How 1-hour on Sundays will change your life.  What do you think?

Photo booth art from around the world.

Carole Feuerman sculptures. Hand painted resin sculptures that look exactly like humans.
You have to see her work.

How to make Jello worms (just in time for Halloween).


Interesting.  Saw this at Whole Foods.  Had no idea that Kale had that much Vitamin C.  Did you?

What your belly fat really means.

Why CrossFit is getting popular with women.

Oh I love this!  Getting the best hamstring stretch.

And for those of you who love to stretch moreso than working out, this new book maybe for you.  Ballet Beautiful.  I firmly believe that stretching is a great way to strengthen and tone up the body.


Ballet Beautiful is great book!  I highly recommend this if you want to be more flexible and want a change up from your yoga routine.  Definitely not as hard as the NYC Ballet Workout book.  Remember that one? Oh that was hard.

Read an interview with Jennifer Graham, author of "Honey, do you need a ride? Confessions of a fat runner". 

Learn more about the craze of this new book: The Whole 30: A Paleo Diet.

High levels of arsenic in our rice.  How sad is this? 

Slow cooker recipes that are fairly healthy. (I'm making the breakfast burritos!).

10 awesome bunkers (just in case the world ends). 

Gorgeous lighthouses from around the world. 

Meanings of 11 common dream symbols. 

7 natural energy boosters! (I disagree with the bee pollen--I still think that is all hype). 

10 different ways to dress up your egg salad. 

Repel house flies with clove? 

DIY Pumpkin Spice Latte

Good food on a tight budget. 

Pumpkin sandwich cake. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

friday links

Here in the new england we've had a lot of rain and cloudy days. Starts to take it toll on one's sanity. On the horizon though summer is right around the corner--which I hope means more sunny days. Other signs of spring here on cape cod mean the swans have had their babies. I was lucky enough to get these photos as both the mommy and daddy are fiercely protective. Even coming within 20 feet of them they start to hiss and charge. So with my handy little iphone I was able to snap these photos.
And if you look closely at first photo (left swan) there is a baby on the back, hidden under the feathers; the head is sticking out. I watched the baby climb up onto the wing, the swan (the mom I think) then lifted the baby up to her back and the baby swan snuggled in. It was one of the most touching moments I'd seen in a while.





This is chatham, mass, down by the chatham fish pier market. Boats are beginning to resurface.



A clammer heading over to Tern Island to dig up some steamers.



Cape Cod National Seashore is just breathtaking when the sun finally does shine on cape cod.





One lone surfer going to a surf just before sunset at Nauset Lighthouse Beach.



Another clammer digging away at Corporation Beach in Dennis.



Ice cream season has begun! And I'm already indulging, a little too much lately. We have a new ice cream joint in Sandwich, The Shipwreck in Sandwich, MA, down by the sandwich marina. Prices and ice cream aren't too bad. This size, in the photo is a small! On sunny days the lines are long, but that comes with the territory of good ice cream. The Shipwreck Ice Cream (no website) 2 Freezer Road, Sandwich, MA down just before the entrance to the sandwich marina.



Found a new love for energy bars. This one is by Bonk Breakers. Really good, and does not taste like a chemically energy bar. All wholesome ingredients too. The best one was the almond butter-honey. Tried contacting them for a product review and giveaway, no response yet. Fingers crossed!



Next Organics new chocolate covered ginger are ok. Really sweet in the middle. I think if they did not use as much sugar in the middle with the ginger it would taste good.



My latest Trader Joe obsession are the vegetable pakoras smothered in tzatziki.



Heard really good reviews about the new Stonewall Kitchen coconut curry sauce. Anyone tried it yet?



Recipe fail. I tried using nutella inside a berry pie. It came out horrid tasting. The nutella when baked with the fruit had a taste of burnt nutella. Not good.



Need to recreate these little gems. Oh these are good. From Lark Fine Foods.



From around the web:

Found a wonderful recipe for homemade vegan ice cream bars from veggie-wedgie.com. Wait till you see the photo!

Lays potato chips now has BLT flavored chips? That sounds so good. I love anything bacon flavored. Anyone tried them?

Cornflake crumbles from Serious Eats. Like little crunchy type muffins. Don't these look good?

Son-in-law eggs -- Thai style.

The classic Coca-Cola cake. I never tire looking at it.

Summer cocktail season will soon be here. Here is a rhubarb-ginger drink that's already bookmarked. (isn't that color fabulous?)

Waffle furniture (edible). Love this.

Small scale remodeling to help you plan out your next remodel. Yay or nay? Not sure.

Garden hose storage that's easy to do for non-DIY'ers like me.

And this is my favorite, when I first showed this to my friends on facebook, they all screamed in horror. I love this idea for a bathroom. You?

There are times when I get asked to review a cookbook and I simply cannot wait.
This would be one of those times.
Received this little gem in the mail and fell in love with it because it's all about quick and easy baking with a huge dose of creativity, as well as the option to be make it healthy. I mean the ideas are endless on what one can do with a muffin pan.
Muffin Tin Chef is a very creative look at making meals, snacks, and even desserts using a muffin pan! I highly recommend this book--very creative and not full of fat.





You can make everything from peach stuffed french toast, lasagna rolls, taco cups, and no-bake mini cheesecakes! All with a muffin tin! With summer heat just around the corner, this little kitchen staple cookbook will be a lifesaver for fast and easy meals that aren't boring. And the best part, is that most of the recipes are semi-healthy, not a lot of fat or junk is used. The author Matt Kadey is a registered dietitian who has done a few articles for Mens Health, Womens Health, Shape, Prevention, Eating Well, etc... So you know he took the time to develop good recipes with a healthy edge. His mission was to make you see that muffin tins are not just for cupcakes and muffins.



Have a great weekend! Don't forget to watch the supermoon this saturday night (may 5, 2012). It's going to be a beauty.