To Grandmother’s house we go

Changing leaves on the tree in the horse paddock.

Happy kick-off to the holiday season!  I love, love, love this time of year.  We’ve been working like mad weekend warriors in Arkansas and have lots of exciting new developments to share (like why we now have a horse paddock) but for now just a few links to get me back in the writing saddle.

If you are doing some traveling this holiday season here are a few things that have made a HUGE difference in our routine.

1.  Yeti is a cooler company, we’ve had their hard cooler for a few years and decided to add their cooler bag to our stash this summer, couldn’t be happier!
2. The only thing that makes Yeti better are Ball mason jars.  No more soggy anything!  They are easy to clean, easy to reach in and grab, they look great and are unbelievably versatile.
3. This next one may not be for everyone but it’s worth mentioning.  Mason Pearson hair brush, travel size.  Prepare yourself, it’s $100.00 for a hairbrush but this brush has saved me from packing shampoo and conditioner for our 3 day jaunts.  The brush glides through my kid’s hair removing debris and dirt from the day and distributes some of the oil (and sweat) away from their scalp.  I brush before they jump in a shower or bath, they do a good water rinse and that’s it……unless.
4. If they (or myself) are left with massive tangles, Honest Company’s leave-in spray conditioner has been a life saver.  This may be one of the most forgiving products ever, my kids can spray half the bottle on their head and their hair still looks great.(Note: if you are over 12 years old a few squirts will suffice).
5. Castor Oil – hexane free – I’ve only had a couple weeks experimentation with this magic serum but I’m using it to tame my ever frizzy hair, my newly wild eye brows, soften my lips and ease my dry cheeks, rub in my nail beds, remove eyeliner, I’m not rushing to try ingesting this oil but just these applications have made it a must in my travel bag.
6. For the ride itself I’m a huge fan of audio books, now that my kids are 8-10 years old the book selection is huge.  Harry Potter of course is amazing, but we’ve also enjoyed Rick Riordan’s books, currently listening to and loving Wonder and this one was also a family pleaser.  When I try to get in some schooling on the road The Story of the World keeps us all engaged as well.

Hope every one has some time for relaxing this weekend, I’d like to copy my daughter and do some this.

Lyin’ like a dog.

P.S. You might remember an old post about my hopes for Arkansas, here’s a picture from a recent weekend.  This is the latest property we’ve acquired, we aren’t Pinterest or Insta-worthy yet as you can see from the junk pile but we love it, warts and all!  Plus you can see the ingenious chiminea hack my husband conjured from said junk pile!

What to do when the top of your chiminea breaks off and a face full of smoke is not on the evening agenda?  Grab some corrugated metal and bailing wire – Stand back Macgyver, we’ve got this.