VO5 nourish me truly.

A few weeks ago I picked up a couple of bottles of VO5 shampoo and conditioner from good old Morrisons whilst doing the weekly food shop. They were on offer for £2 each which I thought was good for such large bottles. I have wanted to try something from VO5 since they brought out the new products with pretty pink and white packaging, so this seemed like as good a time as any!

I opted for the "nourish me truly" shampoo and conditioner which is designed for damaged hair. I always tend to go for products designed for damaged hair - as some of you may know I was blonde for years and years so my ends are rather dishevelled.

I utterly love these. Not only were they on special offer so an absolute bargain but they smell delicious and work really well with my hair. The shampoo lathers up a treat and makes my hair feel clean and fresh, then the conditioner makes my hair feel soft and sleek ready for styling. There's no build up left behind or any heaviness.

I have been using these on a daily basis for a few weeks now and I'm very impressed. I'd certainly repurchase them and also have a look at the other products from VO5.

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House update.

It has been a while since I updated you on my house and learning to live on my own, and that is because I'm moving in with Jonathan! 

Several months in my little house on my own with Lily and Lola has been a good learning experience - learning how to cook (and bake!), paying the bills and saving for essentials, conserving the heating over the cold winter.. There have been a few hiccups along the way too, part and parcel of living in an old house. A broken heater just before Christmas, wind blowing the gutter off the front of the house, a broken oven for 3 weeks, no hot water some mornings.

I can safely say I'm absolutely thrilled to be moving in to Jonathan's house while we look for somewhere to buy together, and I can't wait for our future together.

Source

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I CALL IT BLISS

1. I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap.

2. I don’t do mornings, weekends, holidays or summers. Those are my personal times to chill. That’s retirement!

3. Retirement, when every day is Saturday!

4. The question isn't at what age I want to retire, it's at what income.

5. Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the beach on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.

6. If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there would be a shortage of fishing poles.

7. Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying retirement! The best part is observing my neighbors drive off to work in the morning knowing that their day will be filled with jerks, brainless and endless meetings, and more jerks.

8. The way I see it, you will have attained true freedom in this world when you can get up in the morning when you want to get up; go to sleep when you want to go to sleep; and in the interval, work and play at the things you want to work and play - all at your own pace. The great news is that retirement allows you the opportunity to attain this freedom.

9. There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it "retirement." I call it bliss.

10. I’m retired now... so don’t ask me to do a dammed thing!  

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Sarenza online store - featuring Georgia Rose, Xti & Keds.

I'm back with more lovely shoes as month two of being an ambassador for Sarenza passes. First things first, Sarenza are having a massive sale and the discounts are very generous. So if you've had your eye on a pair of shoes then now is the time to take advantage of some pennies off and free delivery!

When I saw that my fellow ambassador Jen got these Jepi heels by Georgia Rose I was very jealous as I hadn't spotted them myself amongst the hundreds of other shoes. They are perfect for me as I don't wear heels very often but when I do I struggle to find heels in my collection that match my outfit. These will go with pretty much any outfit and aren't too over the top or too high - I love 'em!

New French brand Georgia Rose is every fashionista's dream; accessories which take into account all our wants and needs. The shoes come in a great range of sizes, from 2 to 10, and all at fantastic prices. The Georgia Rose woman is dynamic, feminine, ambitious, glamorous and before anything else, she is contemporary with a passion for fashion.

As I have mentioned before I am obsessed with pumps and own many pairs. I wear pumps for work every day and most weekends paired with skinny jeans. This pair of Xti pumps called Praia are absolutely beautiful I think. A little bit fancy and sparkly, but still work appropriate and a colour that will go with most things. They also fit like a glove so I just know I'll wear these to death!

No brand info available!

Finally I got a pair of Keds. And this excites me a LOT as I've always wanted a pair of Keds. I think Lily likes them too, she was sniffing at them earlier. I got a grey Champion Jersey pair as they seemed the most classic, and grey goes with everything.

Since 1916 the Keds brand has symbolised the American lifestyle - simplicity, relaxation and a casual attitude are at the heart of its philosophy. From day one Keds attracted attention with the forever legendary feminine model Champion, which has withstood the test of time with a perpetual freshness. Around 1950, Keds shoes became must-have items, and it is this very brand which invented the word "sneaker" to describe the furtive noise of its famous sole made from vulcanised rubber.

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MORE PHOTOS OF GRAND ISLE, LA

Here are some photos taken at Grand Isle, LA a couple of years ago.

Father and daughter horseback riding on the beach.

My golf cart lost in the last hurricane.

Are these seagulls doing what I think they're doing?

Shrimping right off the beach.

A digital painting of a photo.

Fishing boats and oil rigs right off the beach.

State Park entrance

Here are some photos of the beach at Grand Isle, LA during one of their clean up operations of the oil spill.  Photos taken one year ago.

Large pieces of equipment sifting sand.

Orange fencing and orange boom.

A tribute to some of the things lost.

The natives really didn't like Tony.

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Zumba & lemon cheesecake.

My weekend mainly involved falling over and hurting myself, good food and a little bit of Zumba.

The lemon cheesecake I made on Friday was a success confirmed after a tasting session on Saturday (2 pieces in a row, why not). The topping didn't go as firm as I hoped it would but it tasted perfect - just the right amount of lemon. I'd definitely make this again, and I recommend it for any cheesecake-making-virgins as the recipe is so simple. Here's the recipe if you didn't see the link in my other post.

I spent the whole weekend feeling a little worse for wear. Late Friday evening I was reading a magazine in bed when a car alarm started to go off. I shot out of bed to look out of the window but the laminate floor was slippy (my fault - I had spray tanned before bed!) and my foot shot out from beneath me, I slipped sideways and landed on the metal bed frame. I have a bruise the size of a melon on my side - hideous!

I recovered in time to try out my new Zumba dvds and I'm addicted already. The first time I did it some of the moves were difficult to keep up with but after a couple more attempts I'm hooked! It is so much fun and really works up a sweat. I'm definitely going to add Zumba into my workout routine along with my old pal Jillian Michaels.

I'll leave you with some pictures of food I made with my own fair hands over the weekend - salmon with lime and coriander, broccoli and homemade chips (seasoned with salt, garlic and thyme) and macaroni cheese with onion and bacon - YUM! Plus my little helper in the kitchen.

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LOUNGING POOL

The only way to enjoy the outdoors here in South Louisiana is to be in water.  So... I purchased this lounging pool.  Fits just right in the corner of my small back yard.  It has 2 drink holders - one for beer and one for wine ;-) and cushions to sit on while relaxing your head on the back cushions.  Just love it.  Now I don't have to wait till 7:00pm to go outside when the temp has cooled off some. 

That's not an outhouse in the corner.  It's a tool shed that looks like an outhouse.

I finally found space for many of my wooden plaques that I brought home from the camp.

Spoke to my realtor today and she will be presenting my counter offer to the new buyer today.  I should know something in a day or two.

  

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Playing with my new camera.

I have been permanently attached to my camera since it arrived yesterday, taking pictures of everything (but mainly all of Lily and Lola because they love posing for a photo). Apologies in advance if Pugs don't float your boat.

Lola's face is priceless in some of these.

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NEW TOY

I haven't had a video camera in over ten years.  Yesterday I saw one at Big Lot's for $30.00.  I figured it would be a temporary thing till I could afford a good one.  So here is my first attempt at making a video with my new camera.  Please excuse the excessive movement of the camera as well as the loud background sound.

A 360 degree view of my street.  Wish that big coach was mine ;-)

My front driveway used to be a beautiful courtyard with trees and shade till I tore it all up and made a top deck to shelter my van.  Now I'm looking into having a cover built for the coach which I know will look crappy but is much needed.  The hot sun is just cooking my motorhome inside and out. 

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OUR SAFARI BUCKET LIST

I'm still working on my "Bucket List" and will add to it as I plan our next safaris.

~~ all Louisiana State Parks

~~ all the beaches on the Texas Gulf Coast

~~ all the South Carolina beaches

~~ Key West, Florida

~~ the Natchez Trace from Mississippi to Tennessee

~~ Yellowstone National Park

~~ the Dakotas

~~ the Oregon coast

~~ Nova Scotia's Evangeline Trail

~~ every island in the Caribbean

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Day off.

I have had the day off work today. Not for any particular reason, I just needed a wee break and a long weekend seemed like a good idea. Jonathan is off work today too but he's watching cricket in Headingley with some friends so I have had the house to myself. After a little sleep in I had breakfast then popped to Morrisons to get a few things. I decided I would make a lemon cheesecake for our anniversary celebrations tomorrow, so I picked up the things I needed for that and some other goodies. I don't know if shopping on a morning makes a difference but my basket was basically full of food from the fruit, veg and fish section. I was all over it!

The topping didn't go as thick as I expected but 24 hours in the fridge should do the trick. The recipe I used is this one. So simple, even an idiot like me could follow it! I had a sneaky taste and it was lovely, so fingers crossed it turns out well tomorrow. I always make a mini version on a seperate plate to make sure it's edible before serving up the finished article!

As there are only a couple of weeks left until my Race for Life event (argghh!) I went for a jog this afternoon but only managed 2k before I headed home. Jogging is just not my forte, I have to admit. I find it so difficult. To make up for my disappointing jog I did a Zumba abs workout which was about 25 minutes long, and I felt better after that.

I wasn't too hungry at lunchtime so I had some salad with french dressing, carrot sticks and houmous. Plus a Green Monster to drink. I got full unbelievably quickly - probably the Green Monster's fault. I went back for the rest of my carrots and houmous later on. I could literally dip food in houmous all day long, and this caramelised onion one from Morrisos is awesome!

Right now I'm going to take Lily and Lola on a walk then I'm heading to Leeds to have tea at my Mum and Dad's house. If you spot a little white Smart car on the M1 give me a wave!

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Sarenza discount for Lily loves Lola readers.

The generous people over at Sarenza are giving my readers 30% off everything from 7am tomorrow until midnight on Sunday - one use per person. What are you waiting for? Go and have a nosy at the shoes!

All you have to do is enter LILYLOVESLOLA30 at the checkout to get your discount. Easy! And if you're stuck for inspiration have a look at what I picked up with my first ambassador code, here and here.

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NO MORE EXTENSIONS

Finally got a call from the realtor today.  She informed me that the buyer has run into another road block.  It seems that her bank is now requesting that she apply again and this time her husband's name must be on the paperwork.  This will require another 2 week extension.  Well, guess what?  I refused to sign another extension.

 

The realtor then informed me that there is another interested party who will be a cash sale client and has said that he would offer more than the price agreed upon with the current buyer.  So once the current extension expires on Friday, this new person will make his offer and I will take it from there.

 

So this is good news and maybe for the best that the current buyer has had so many problems with the purchase.  Now I will get a little more money for the property which makes me very happy as I felt really cheated at the agreed upon price on the current deal.  A loss of $30,000 would make anyone feel cheated but I felt that the market was so bad that I had better take what I could get.  It's funny how your gut tells you what your brain won't.  I wanted to back out of this deal a long time ago and take my chances but I was afraid to do so.  Now I'm not.

 

Grand Isle, LA

 

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CAJUN MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

Sitting here bored while waiting for the phone to ring and the realtor to tell me what day we are closing on my property.  The last 2 week extension is almost up and still no word from anyone.  How frustrating!

 

So here is a little humor about my people that might give you a chuckle. 

 

 

CAJUN MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY

 

Artery - the study of paintings

 

Barium - what you do when CPR fails

 

Cesarean Section - a district in Rome

 

Colic - a sheep dog

 

Coma - a punctuation mark

 

Congenital - friendly

 

Dilate - to live longer

 

Fester - quicker

 

G.I. Series - baseball games between teams of soldiers

 

Hangnail - coat hook

 

Nitrate - lower than the day rate

 

Node - was aware of

 

Outpatient - a person who has fainted

 

Post-Operative - a letter carrier

 

Protein - in favor of young people

 

Tablet - a small table

 

Varicose Veins - veins which are very close together 

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Happy 2nd birthday - Lily loves Lola!

I just so happened to check the date I first started blogging, thinking that it was around this time of year two years ago when I began, and coincidentally it was two years ago today!

 Source

Time really does fly and I cannot believe it has been two years since I've been rambling away on this blog. Have any of my lovely readers read Lily loves Lola since the beginning? That would be pretty awesome if you did.

My life has changed so much in the last two years. I have lost weight, found an amazing boyfriend, landed a job in HR, been to Paris, discovered cooking and baking, learnt how to live on my own for the first time, and of course little Lily and Lola have been there the whole time.

Here's to another two years and more...

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Fearne Cotton nail polish: Coral.

As I mentioned here, I was sent a few bits from Fearne Cotton's makeup range and in particular I was excited to try the nail polish. Out of the two colours I received I was keen to try Coral the most and last weekend I reached for this bottle to paint my nails.

I've been a bit lazy on the nail painting front recently but a hint of sunshine always makes me reach for a bright colour.

The colour really packs a punch but for me it was a little too bright for my fingernails. Saying that however it's the perfect colour for toenails and I will definitely be wearing this on my tootsies over the Summer months.

The Fearne nail polishes are priced at £5.50 and come in a range of colours. I have yet to see her products in a Boots store but they are available on the Boots website here.

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HELP! My coach's electrical outlet isn't working.

I returned home from my trip and put off cleaning out the coach for a couple of days.  Didn't feel like vacuuming all that sand out of there.  A couple of days later when I decided to clean, I turned the generator on and waited a few minutes then turned the AC on.  Nothing happened.  I plugged in the vacuum cleaner and nothing happened - yet all lights worked.

I checked the breaker box and all was fine.  Went out to the electrical plug where I am plugged in to myself and it was unplugged.  Must have shaken loose on the way home which explains why the lights were working but not the outlets.  I plugged it in and went back inside the coach.  Started the generator again and the AC came on and I started to vacuum.  A  few minutes later everything shut off.  Went outside to check the electrical cord of the coach and it was still plugged into itself.  Did I burn up something?

I turned each circuit breaker completely OFF and then back ON.  Nothing helped.

I got out my extension cord and plugged the coach into my house outlet which made the electrical outlets work.  I turned on the AC (which I know you are not supposed to do on a regular house outlet) just to see if it would come on.  It did.  I turned it off.

I let the coach stay plugged into my house outlet overnight.  This morning I unplugged the extention to the house and plugged my cord back into the coach itself.  Turned on the generator and tried the AC and still no power.  The overhead lights all work but no outlet is working.  What in the hell does that mean? 

This is so frustrating.  I fear that I will have to take it to Camping World for repair which will cost an arm and a leg for something that may be really simple that I am not doing correctly.

Can anyone help me?  Please?

Read a post on RV Doctor which suggested I check the GFCI and the generator breaker.  I tried to push the reset button on the GFCI outlet to reset it but it will not engage.  I looked for a breaker button on the generator but did not see one.

OK... so now I have to get the Onan Generator book out and read it  :-(

Be right back....

Well... do I feel foolish about now.  There is a clearly marked diagram of the breaker switch on the generator in the booklet.  I flipped it, went back in the coach and turned on the generator and all outlets are now working.  I tried to push the GCFI button in to see if it would now engage and it still did not but a red light did come on when I pressed it in.  So, I guess all is well once again.

My thanks go out to all those websites who answer questions on their forums.  They had my question asked all over the Internet which shows that I'm not the only one who has had to ask for help on this problem.   

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FINE ART PRINTS

When I purchased my summer home on Grand Isle 5 years ago, I began a business called Art Of The Lens.  I purhased a professional camera and equipment as well as a poster size printer, mats, clear mat covers, and fine art paper.  I took many photos of the old historical buildings on the island and also wrote a guide book for tourists to use in their walks throughout the island.  I really enjoyed this hobby but no longer am interested in it.  I had posted many of my prints on Flickr.com but don't keep up with that site any longer.

Here are some of my prints of the island I lived on for 5 years.



Sunset Rail To The Beach (across from my street)

 

My Path

 

Beach Cabana

 

Vine Covered Beach Bridge

I hit the saturation button a little hard on this one but I like it.

 

 

Grand Isle Palm Trees

 

 

Afternoon Walk To The Beach

 

 

Terra Cotta Cottage

 

I couldn't have posed them better... alpha and omega.

 

 

Chickadee House - Circa 1880

 

 

Pirate Tomb - Digital Painting

 

 

Gale's By The Sea -  My Camp

 

 

Vine Covered Outhouse

 

 

Sunset Over Bayou Rigaud - Grand Isle, LA

 

 

Grand Isle Tombs In Moon Glow

Actual cemetery but I manipulated the moon.

 

 

Cajun House - Circa 1890

This is my favorite historic building on the island because it looks just like my great grandmother's house.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed my art work.

 

 

 

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