Little surprises

My ring from my Bella Candle.

I got together with a group of girlfriends the other night and my friend, Jamie, surprised us all with these candles. Somewhere in the candle is a ring that is supposed to be worth up to $5000. I had never heard of these, but apparently there are other varieties of these candles. I only had to burn my candle for a couple hours before I saw the foil packet that contained my ring. These rings are made of sterling silver. I still have a lot of candle left to enjoy on top of it all. It's such a fun gift idea! Definitely something to keep in mind.

Post Holiday Humanity

Now that the holiday season is wrapping up, many charities will experience a dip in giving. This is well documented and there are many a blog posts and articles around this subject. I whole heartedly agree that we should give back to the community year-round. Although I admit, it is much easier said than done. We live in a busy world with schedules overflowing with commitments. These commitments are a further sign of our good fortune. We are loved, our company is desired, we have disposable income, and so on. There is, however, something each of us can give to those less fortunate that requires no additional time or money on our part. Dignity. Just the simple act of recognizing the human that is holding the sign asking for money. Too often we avert our gaze when we sit at the freeway off ramp. We pretend to look at our phone or change the radio station. Why do we do this? To avoid the weight of the guilt of our privilege? Yes, it is uncomfortable to look at someone in that position. Imagine how uncomfortable it must be in their shoes. A smile and a wave is all it takes. Just acknowledge that you see them and that you recognize their humanity. I am in no way this should take the place of giving back, but it is an easy step in the right direction. It helps connect us in a society that is growing even more disconnected. What do you do to help those in need?

Weekend Outing - Bizzarro

I had heard an old wives tale that eggplant parmesan can induce labor. Five days prior to my due date I was on a mission to get my baby moving - I did not want to waste a single day of my maternity leave not having a baby. We decided to take a walk around Green Lake on that super hot August day and that we would wrap it up by grabbing dinner at Bizzarro, a hidden gem in the Wallingford/Green Lake area. One disappointment was that the eggplant parmesan is actually an appetizer here. The disappointment didn't last long because the dish was delicious and being 9 months pregnant I certainly wasn't going to complain about the need to order an entree too. Well....it worked! A few bites into dessert, the Chocolate Caliente, my water broke! Luckily I am not easily embarrassed. My husband let some of the wait staff know what was going on and that we needed to get our check sooner rather than later. This weekend we decided to return to enjoy a meal with our son and leave in a less hurried fashion and we were not disappointed. We will be back again! What's your favorite hidden gem restaurant?