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Slim Paley photo

All my Hydrangeas are going gangbusters at the moment, which is great because my roses are at intermission. I took this photo yesterday. They were cut from the garden on Wednesday morning and were still quite perky. I find that the only time to cut hydrangea so they last is at night or first thing in the morning.  I re-cut the stems and splice them but does anyone have any secrets to making them last longer?  My new Favourites are the lacy Macrophyllas.

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Photo Fluvio Bonavia

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It’s time for Friday Favourites…on Saturday!  Friday’s not the Boss of me.  I took Friday off to wash the cars, volunteer at the library, rotate my compost. Oh, who am I kidding? I had a wonderful breakfast with a friend, did some floral arranging, took a design meeting, and then went to see “Get Him to The Greek” with my husband, my son and his friend.  Basically, I’m going to Parenting Hell this time for sure.  My face hurts from trying not to laugh at all the disgusting parts in front of the boys. Thank God there was a woman right beside me, sitting next to her teen-age son and I heard her laughing. What a terrible mother. Although we did inadvertently lock our son in the car and were almost to the ticket line before he rang my cell to say he was still IN THE CAR (he’d been texting in the back seat while we were getting out- his friend didn’t say anything. Teenagers :))  Still, I think the woman beside me was a worse parent because she was really enjoying the movie  entirely too much.

IMDB Parent’s Warning

PS. Proud to say the funniest scene in the film uses a T Rex song Slim Paley featured in Sept. 2009 :)

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But I digress… back to Saturday’s Friday Favourites;

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Favourite Cappuccino “Souffle” This Week;  D’Angelo’s, Santa Barbara

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Slim Paley photos………………….Or as my friend said; “May I have a bite of your cappuccino?!”

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Fulvio Bonavio photo

I am sooo praying that here in Santa Barbara we are kissing the incessant June Gloom GUH-bye and will be able to enjoy a little quality time at the beach for Father’s day tomorrow.  Of course sand and surf conjure up two of the most dreaded words in the English language; bathing suit, but I won’t be boring and go into the fresh hell that poses for most of us. Everyone knows the secret to looking good in your ‘kini, or Speedo -  (other than exercising regularly, eating a well balanced, nutritional diet blah blah blah) is fake tan.  And what’s my Favourite Fake tan of all time?

St. Tropez Self Tanner It’s the absolute best and most realistic tanner I’ve tried, and that’s saying something.  I’m sure most of you are probably familiar with St. Tropez already, it’s been around a long time,  but the newest blend smells better than ever, or rather, smells less than ever.  Now I’m certainly not saying this product is chemical free by any means…but if you do find yourself in a tanning emergency, and like me, you’re horrified by the idea of  standing butt naked save for a paper g-string, while a complete stranger spray guns every nook and cranny of your being like a second-hand car, you might want to give ‘St. Tropez’ a go.  It’s available at many beauty supply stores, as well as Sephora and Amazon.

Self Tanning Tip: Exfoliating  before self tanning is a must  but I find it difficult to use plastic gloves as suggested. I prefer to heavily moisturize my hands first and then scrape a crescent of soap beneath my nails, quickly apply the tanner and then wash off the soap and moisterizer- voila- no yucky brown stains under your nails.

Note of caution on the “Everyday Perfect Legs” Duo bottle-  The gradual creme is fantastic but the ‘Instant Bronzer’ is SUPER dark. As in ‘Refinish Your Furniture’ dark.

.Normally I don’t like to use photos of myself on Slim Paley, but for this post I’ve made an exception…

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Ok, technically this doesn’t fall in the “Favourites” category, as I haven’t read it yet (It was just released June 8th)  but I’m certainly as fascinated as the other 350 million plus people that are using Facebook as a means to reach out and communicate across the planet.  Should be an interesting read.   “FAN” oops, I mean “LIKE” this???  :)

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Now that we have our glow on, it’s time to slip into something comfortable…  These ridiculously soft “Soft” T-shirts by Joie, feel SO luxurious,  you’ll be tempted to wear them from morning to night, and then to bed.  Available at most major department stores.

Soft Joie T-shirts

And speaking of comfort, these inexpensive white linen pants from The Gap are great.  Bonus; they are lined, although  I didn’t even realize they were at first. I looked at the comments on the Gap website and a couple of people said they are see-thru… they’re NOT.  Obviously those were nuns commenting.  They have faux pockets at the front,  a nice relaxed wrinkled look and are a pretty decent length- I don’t know what the inseam is but I’m 5 8″ and I can wear a low heel with them. They come in a nice natural linen colour too (the natural is not lined) and here’s the best part- they are on sale right now for $44.00 (of course, because I bought them just last week for $59)

Note; they run super big, so get at least  two sizes smaller than you would normally wear.  I  bought them in both sizes – the smaller size is nice for heels and the bigger ones are great for a more casual, slouchy look.  Check them out!

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So, I might not have left you dressed in the sexiest outfit for Father’s Day, but rest assured you’ll be comfortable whilst slaving away in the kitchen, or over the barbeque, not to mention that great tan underneath!

Have a beautiful Sunday and Happy Father’s Day to all…