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Monday, May 20th, 2013
My first trip to a tropical island was 23-years ago this month. After our wedding, my husband and I traveled to St. Bart’s Island and rented a tiny villa that had a bed, a bathroom, and an outside kitchen. It was just the right size for honeymooners like ourselves.
St. Bart’s is absolutely beautiful and the beach we traveled to for the day was completely deserted. I had never sunbathed topless before but thought to myself, “What better time to try out sunbathing topless than on my honeymoon?” I wasn’t a prude but had never actually been on a beach where topless sunbathing would have gone unnoticed. (After 4 home exchange trips to Europe and several trips to the Bahamas, I have clearly embraced this method of appearing on the beach – much to my children’s chagrin.)
How Bo Derek Crashed My Honeymoon
We spread out our blanket on the hot sand and got our books positioned overhead to block the afternoon sun. We were settling in for a little “reading in the sun until we had to jump in the water” session. After a short time of this honeymoon paradise, a couple walked up and dropped their items about 5 feet away from us. I was a little annoyed by this closeness. The beach was entirely empty and yet they plopped down closer to us than was necessary. They had the usual beach gear – blanket, towels, boom box, and snorkeling equipment. I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful and striking the woman was. I didn’t know if it was the hot Caribbean sun or because I was laying down, but she looked very familiar to me.
Wait – did I mention the boom box was blaring? (For those of you who are younger, a “boom box” is a carry around stereo that plays music. Music that came from a compact disc or cassette tape. It was 1990 for goodness sake! No one had even heard of an iPod or could dream of playing music on a cell phone.) Enough history lesson and back to the story -
Continue reading: How Bo Derek Crashed My Honeymoon
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Thursday, May 16th, 2013
My yard is pretty small and the amount of space I have to grow vegetables is not very large. This keeps me on the lookout for more spots to grow food and start gardening. Maximizing growing space in a small yard takes a bit of creativity and a keen eye. If you’re on the lookout {5 Spots to Start a Garden}
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Monday, May 13th, 2013
I like the food I cook and eat to have lots of color, lots of health, and lots of taste. Whenever we have a meal that consists of brown rice, roasted cauliflower, and oven roasted whole chicken, it all tastes great and is healthy but it all sort of melds together in a shade of {Asian Shrimp Noodle Salad}
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Friday, May 10th, 2013
The winner of the $100 gift card to New Seasons Market is: Comment # 42 ~ Marlynn! Marlynn’s comment was, “I follow @GoGingham on Twitter!” Congratulations! Look for an email in your in-box with the details. New Seasons Market will mail you the $100 gift card. Have a Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you to everyone {New Seasons Market Mother’s Day Giveaway Winner}
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Thursday, May 9th, 2013
A reader contacted me recently asking for tips because her husband recently lost his job. Unfortunately, I have experience with this situation since this month marks 5-years since my husband lost his job. His last full-time job was with a start-up company that was equity funded and in 2008, with the economy coming to a {Tips for the Newly Unemployed}
Our most recent home exchange adventure, over spring break, was to Victoria, British Columbia. It’s an incredibly beautiful and cosmopolitan city for its relatively small size. It’s also very easy to get around the downtown area whether you’re on a bike, walking or driving. We had our car with us on this home swap (as {Home Exchange to Victoria, British Columbia}
This is a sponsored giveaway. Hello readers! I’m so excited about this Mother’s Day giveaway. New Seasons Market, based in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, is giving one lucky Go Gingham reader a $100 gift card to spend at one of their stores. The idea is to make a special Mother’s Day meal whether that’s {New Seasons Market Mother’s Day Giveaway}
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Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
The winner of the Harry and David Mother’s Day “Tower of Treats Deluxe” giveaway is: Deeanna with comment number 43! Congratulations, Deeanna! Look for an email with all of the details in your in-box. Thanks to everyone for entering and to Harry and David for the giveaway! Would you like to help me with a {Harry and David Giveaway Winner}
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Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Even though I meal plan every week (for many reasons – here are 11 reasons why I do it), I don’t meal plan for a month at a time – I’m only sharing it once-a-month here. With a busy family schedule and teenagers who are always springing a “Oh, didn’t I tell you???” on their {Monthly Meal Plan}
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Monday, April 29th, 2013
I received this desperate email from a reader recently about organizing recipes and cookbooks: I have collected recipes for over 40 years and have quite a few!! Also cookbooks!! They are overwhelming my kitchen and book cases!! Help!! Please before my hubby starts to burn them!! Oh my do I feel your pain! I share {How to Organize Recipes and Cookbooks}
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Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Mother’s Day is right around the corner so it seems like a good time to have a giveaway or two, don’t you think? This one is from Harry and David and is called the “Mother’s Day Tower of Treats Gift Deluxe” and it is! Here’s what comes in a tower of treats: 5 Royal Riviera {Harry and David Mother’s Day Giveaway}
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Monday, April 22nd, 2013
One of the many things I love about our dinner group is seeing everyone’s beautiful homes. With 4 couples in our ongoing rotating supper club, we get to dine in a friend’s home regularly and we also get to see progress of everyone’s house and garden projects. There are always house projects, aren’t there? Our {Dinner Group and Pretty Houses}
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Thursday, April 18th, 2013
With my backyard chickens back in the swing of laying eggs for spring, I have lots of eggs, which means lots of egg shells. I use them in several ways and you can, too. Plant Grind Toast Compost How to Use Egg Shells in Garden Here are 4-quick ways to use egg shells in the {How to Use Egg Shells in the Garden}
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Monday, April 15th, 2013
Remember when I told you that if you roast a chicken at home you can feed your family 3 times? The first night, you enjoy the homemade oven roasted chicken. The next night, you dine on a simple curry chicken salad. Then, you make homemade chicken broth and use the broth in a soup. Or, {How to Make Chicken Broth}
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Thursday, April 11th, 2013
Whenever I cook a whole chicken for dinner, the next night’s dinner is always something with leftover chicken (if there is any with two teenagers!). This is one of my favorite uses of leftover chicken: chicken salad sandwiches with vegetables and curry. It’s good on a sandwich but you can also just serve a scoop {So Simple Curry Chicken Salad}
