So I have this (wonderful) friend who is very into essential oils.  Now, a few years ago I was knee deep in essential oils and aromatherapy, but as of late, not so much.  I pick up a bottle of tea tree (malaleuca, for those of you in-the-know readers out there) a couple times a month, but that’s about it.  I still have a rather extensive collection of oils, but whether or not their quality is anything to write home about, well, I’ll leave that one alone for now.  

So, back to my friend.  She started learning about essential oils in the context of use with her infant son (and herself) a while back and began to amass quite the assortment of oils over a couple of months, as she saw their use in both everyday and emergency/out of the ordinary treatments was working astoundingly well.  So well, in fact, that she decided to begin selling essential oils.  

Skip forward a couple months and I’m sitting in her parents’ living room listening to her talk about the various uses of this oil and that oil as she passes around vial after vial of interestingly potent-smelling liquid.  My memory is jogged and much of that old information I’d learned years back while writing a term paper on holistic aromatherapy for a medical anthropology class comes trickling back into the part of my brain currently at bat.  This makes for great buying power, because with this wealth of new knowledge and memory I’m trying to dust off, I feel very intrigued and decide to open my pocketbook to the tune of nearly $500.

Fast forward a week and I’ve been using the samples of oil my friend has made me, and my shipment of oils has arrived.  Using the Melissa oil has left me nothing short of euphoric, ladies and gentlemen.  A blend of lavender, peppermint and frankincense eases away those pesky headaches I’ve been getting (thanks, Texas summers), not to mention the blend leaves me inhaling a deliciously pleasant aroma.  

One of the troubles I am faced with, poor me, is easy bruising.  In consulting my dear essential oil guru (and the guide book[s] that abound), I have found that helichrysum is touted with working small miracles in dissipating bruising and at least in minimizing bruising when you expect it will occur.  Well guess what, I have a wedding—at the beach—in a few days, and I have several unsightly (is a bruise ever sightly?) bruises on my legs.  So I’ve applied some of this supposed miracle worker oil on my bruises and am sitting back waiting for results.  Okay, not exactly.  But I am hopeful, after the results I’ve seen using other oils for various purposes, that perhaps some discoloration will fade by the wedding this upcoming weekend.  I’ll let you know how it works out.

And so it seems I’ve set forth, again perhaps, on a beautiful, natural, journey…

Samui Thai Cuisine

906 W McDermott Dr
Allen, TX 75013
(972) 747-7452

The setting from the outside—well, that’s what you get, it’s Allen.

The setting from the inside, what fun!  Lots of Asian inspiration and Thai details.  You can tell a lot of work went into putting this place together.  I give extra credit for that. It didn’t look cheep or chintzy either.

I started out with the Pom Pom, a pomegranate drink.  It tasted like juice, which isn’t entirely a bad thing, though I’m just not sure how much vodka was in it.  Not bad, not amazing.  Then I moved onto beer—I was impressed by their Asian beer selection.  They even had Tiger, a Singaporean beer I used to drink when I lived abroad.

I ordered tom kha with chicken for a starter and it was delicious.  Not as spicy as I generally like it, but it really was good.  Lots of fresh lemongrass and cilantro/coriander.  For my main dish, I ordered Singapore fried noodles.  Curry powder rounded the dish out and I was a happy camper, stuffed to the brim.  

Our waiter was shy, polite and remembered everything without having to write it down.  He did a good job, and the service was prompt.  If I lived anywhere near Allen, I’d frequent this place.  I was sad to see it so empty, because it really was good!  They also do carry out, so I recommend calling in and ordering to pick up your meal—they’re pretty darn fast!

The Venue Grill

441 Stacy Rd
McKinney, TX 75069
(214) 383-3055

Another stop on my nice little jaunt outside of Dallas was to The Venue. I had a great time here. Pretty damn crowded on a Saturday night! Good bar drinks—much more affordable than in Dallas and with strong pour! Great live band, nice staff who, by the way, are working their ASSES off! Two pool tables, a dart board, nice big outdoor patio, lots of indoor space. I really liked this place and I know I’ll be back…what a refreshing change from all the pretentious stuff we deal with down in Dallas.

I got pretty loaded for like $25 plus tip, guys. Drinking liquor. In Dallas, that’s about 3 drinks. I’m no light weight, so this made me a happy camper. If you’re in the area, check it out.

Oh, and they have karaoke on Wednesdays! I’m so there.

what hurts the most is that i fell in love wit his daughter.  he can cheat all he wants but he put his daughter in the middle of this. it breaks my heart that she has to deal with any of his bullshit.

I’m going to start a blog about archiving pictures.  Because of the shit people do wrong with their pictures and how I have to fix them.  Not that I don’t LOOOOVE my clients (and the work they bring me), but I just think people oughtta know how to properly take care of photographs.

I’m sure it’ll be a big hit, who doesn’t want to read about photographic archivery?  Or know what the hell it is.

I want to make a phonetic scrabble.

Fuck…don’t tell anyone, but…I can’t get him off of my mind. I don’t think even he knows. Cuz if he did, it might make me seem less cool. No, but really….what the fuck, my brothas and sistas??? Okay so it’s not exactly keeping me awake at night or anything (that’s the 5 hour energy and sugar free red bull)…but please…can’t get the man off my wee mind. I haven’t felt this way, well, ever….i don’t know what it is but I have this rumbling, oozing, jostling feeling in my core that has me all excited. I just want to SCREAM, for heaven’s sake….I was told today, by my CLIENT, no less, that I had a sparkle in my eyes, that I looked vibrant, yadda yadda. I’m as giddy as a school boy and there’s no chance of my nuts dropping soon cuz this bitch ain’t got a sack. I’m as girly as I’ll get right now. Hell, I just went to watch SATC2 with my bff tonight. But no, my pets, that is not why I’m emotional or valentine-vibin’. This feeling has been rockin’ for a while now, but it’s feeling pretty tantamount at the moment. He didn’t do or say anything special as of late to get my girl goo a flowin’ extra special….I’m just actually being real for once in my life. This bird’s got a thing for a guy and I’m pretty sure he’s got a thing for me too—woohoo!

I promise I wouldn’t sound like such a cunt.

So I got my beloved shoes and, alas, they didn’t fit. So, I bought a replacement pair (at half the price, thank you, Zappos), and lo and behold, they did not fit either.  And why? Because of my damned high arches.  I may not have the body of a ballerina, but damn if I don’t have the feet of one.

I finally found an ensemble for the wedding I’m headed to this coming weekend.  J Crew saved my ass and I got this dress:

Simple, cute, easy, just right for a summer wedding.  Then came the hard part: finding shoes and accessories.  Well, I found a clutch at J Crew as well, so that part was easy:

But what about *other* accessories? Earrings, etc?  I scavenged the earth looking for the right jewels, I tell you.  Finally, I found some cute drop earrings at Anthropologie and a great chunky purple necklace at Off 5th (looooove it).  But shoes were the real bitch.  Twice, I went to the mall and searched all the high-end department stores for something to go with the dress, and found nothing.  I tried DSW finally and tada! I found a pair of Ralph Lauren Blue Label tan suede sandals with gold flecked cork wedges and ankle straps.  Hot shit, and 40% off to boot.  Go me!  Or rather, go DSW!

Now if I can just figure out where my invitation and confirmation number to the hotel are, I’ll be set for the weekend…