Notes from the Patch

Favorite Things - Trader Joe's Chocolate Croissants

Whenever Bill and I are lucky enough to be in France, our favorite morning ritual is to order room service and linger over a pot of strong coffee with hot milk and chocolate croissants. We justify the extra fat grams by all the walking we do during a full day of shopping and site seeing.

I recently found these at Trader Joe's.

Four little frozen bundles of flaky, chocolaty, buttery goodness.

Goodness!

They are perfect for when you have overnight guests or want something special for breakfast. You just pull them from the freezer the night before to let them rise. Then, in the morning, pop them into the oven for about twenty minutes. As they bake they fill the house with the most wonderful yeasty aroma.

Bill and I agree that they are every bit as good as any chocolate croissant we had in Paris. (Sorry France. Now we like our California red wine and our TJ croissants better than yours).

At $3.99 for a box of four they're way cheaper than the French version too!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a very long walk.

Encourage one another,

 

Favorite Things - Clarisonic Brush

 

My mother had beautiful skin. She looked amazing and except for that one top secret trip in the sixties to a plastic surgeon in an undisclosed location for a little nip and tuck, she did nothing but cream her face every night before bed. That's right. She never washed her face but simply creamed the days dirt and grime away. Religiously. Somehow that dedication to skin care skipped a generation (along with the big boobs, but that's subject for another post).

Anyway, now that it's basically too late, I decided to take care of my skin. A few years ago I purchased a Clarisonic Brush after reading about it on someones blog. (I'm easily influenced by promises of miraculous cures for aging skin and I have a drawer full of bogus, partially used skin care products to prove it).

Back to  the Clarisonic Brush. I purchased one at Nordstrom (you can also get them on line here) and immediately loved it. It's like a mini trip to the spa every time I use it. Since it's cordless and waterproof I take it into the shower with me and enjoy my 60 second facial as I watch the years go down the drain. (Just kidding about that last part, but I do think I look pretty good for ninety seven). My skin is feeling softer and smoother and it's a great way to start the day. I love it so much I even give it a good charge and travel with it. It's additive, I tell you.

My only regret is that I didn't start using my Clarisonic Brush years ago before all this damage was done. It's a bit of an indulgence but totally worth the investment. It's one skin care purchase that I actually look forward to using!

Encourage one another,