How I Acquired Dragon Fruit

Welcome chipmunks,

They always say that the answer to the questions that you don't ask will always be 'no' but sometimes I don't think we truly understand how far that truth stretches. 

Way back years ago while I was doing some grocery shopping I discovered a fruit that was bright pink and named 'dragon fruit'. Clearly intrigued I brought it home with me. I cut it open to discover it was white with many black seeds, making for a polka dot affect. I fell in love. Every time I visited the grocery store since then I would scan the produce section looking for my favorite fruit. Never once did I find it. Recently my roommate was required for one of her classes to write an official complaint letter to a company. It got me thinking. So with her help I put together a nice looking letter telling the CEO of Publix (the best grocery store in the South East of the States) how I wish that they would sell dragon fruit again. My highest expectation was for them to tell me that they were sorry for my inconvenience and send me a gift card for max ten dollars. 

A few days later however, I checked the mail to find a letter from Publix that held nothing of that sort. Their letter started with how short the season for dragon fruit is and what few places in the world have the climate to support them and so on about how hard it is to get their hands on these suckers. In complete change of gears the next paragraph told me that the store I shop at is now stocked in dragon fruit and that the produce manager is aware of my request should they not have them by the time I get there. In sheer excitement I rushed to the store and sure enough they had set out a whole bucket full of the little guys. I was so happy. 

I immediately wrote them up a sweet thank you letter and was left with a few thoughts. First and foremost, shopping truly is a pleasure at Publix. Second, if there is something that you want, no matter how impossible it may seem, don't be afraid to ask for it. The worst that could have happened is if they told me that it was not possible, but even then I would at least have the knowledge that I tried. So go chase down all of your dreams tigers, because you may just end up catching a few. ;) 

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria 

Drugs for the Sick

Greetings Sunflowers,

This past week I had the misfortune of being sick. Really sick. One of the rough moments of sickness is when you have used up the last of your drug stash and have to venture out into the world. In PJ bottoms and an oversized sweatshirt with a birds nest where my hair usually lies I made my way to the local drug store, only to then find myself in an aisle of products all claiming to be what I need, at the price of my firstborn of course. With that in my fresh memory I will show you which products I love, which I hate, and the ones that don't seem to do much at all, in the hopes that when you are sick and can't think straight you wont spend your money on something you will end up throwing away. 

First up, my best friend over the past few weeks, NyQuil!

NyQuil is one of those drugs that can just knock me out cold and keep me out. Their commercial used to say you'll get the 'best sleep you ever got with a cold' and it's true. This stuff works and it's good. I would buy stock in NyQuil. If you can't take the taste this miracle drug also comes in pill form (but know that the liquid will work quicker, if you are in need of some immediate relief). 

It has always been a no-brainer to me that every household came equipped with a thermometer. However rarely any college students do. The one I found was a simple digital CVS brand. It reads your temp in about 30 seconds (if you have an old-school mercury one those babies take at least 3 minutes) and beeps like it will explode if your temp is high enough to be considered a 'fever'. They have fancy ones that take three seconds and you stick it in your ear but I'm not made of money. Simple will do. 

Next up is the neti pot. My first experience with these was only a few years ago and I was very skeptical at first, but man do they work. If you have never used one the idea is simple, use gravity to rinse out the nose. This will literally clean out everything in your nose. I use this in the morning and literally don't need another tissue the rest of the day, and my nose gets all congested just like the rest. I don't remember how pricey this was, but once you have the pot you only need to buy the little packets from then on out. 

If you have never heard of one before or are feeling skeptical, I don't blame you because I was right there not long ago. Trust me and go out on a limb for this one, you won't regret it.

Chloraseptic. This is not for pansies. Basically this cute little spray bottle that seems so jolly turns into a monster the second you spray it in your mouth.  You will fight for all that is good to keep it in and hopefully even swallow it as it destroys your tongue and whatever is left of your dignity. And then you won't be able to feel a thing anywhere the spray touched for the next few hours. If your throat is taking you to desperate measures, call in the chloraseptic. It's like the marines of the drug world. 

Last and truly not least we have Mucinex. This is what I live by during the day as NyQuil gets me through the night. (I know there is DayQuil; it's not all it's cracked up to be) This sucker has a terrible taste but it is the only thing I trust to clear out my throat. If you can't handle the liquid they also come in pill form. 

The night pills do have the power to keep you asleep as well if you aren't quite on NyQuils level yet. I also feel the need to say that the day time pills will also keep you awake. I took a day pill at seven or so at night thinking it wouldn't keep me up because I wasn't quite ready to call it a day. At half past midnight I was still wide awake and ready to take on a project. Use responsibly and at the appropriate times of day and you'll be fine. 

These are my must haves to conquer a cold/fever/flu. Remember that the best option for you is to go see your doctor and take exactly what he prescribes, because medicine made for you is always better than medicine trying to please the general public. 

Hope this helps and that you all stay healthy forever :) 

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria 

Makenna's musings

Hello pretty pumpkins!
This week has been a tough one, and its only going to get more hectic from this point on. I know I am not the only person who has days like these. So here are some things that have positively impacted my week!

1. For all the Harry Potter fans out there, JK Rowling has announced she is currently writing a screen play to take us back into the Magical world of wizards!

2. I found this article on why cats are a good investment! Who doesn't like adorable pictures of kittens? Meow!

3. My roommate made the best pumpkin bread ever! Fall is coming! The recipe can be found here!

Also found this quote to keep me inspired!

Such a good truth! I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend! Tomorrow is the first home game of the season! Go Noles! Ciao my beautiful butterflies!

Makenna 

Mad Hatter's Tea Party Chairs

Hello Sunflowers,

When in college life is full of changes, and those changes also extend to living conditions and furniture unfortunately. As of this summer my house went from a nice dining room set with 8 chairs to one with 4 chairs. 3 of which are broken. Something had to be done. So I went on a quest to find us chairs. I went to all sorts of thrift stores (and met all sorts of people) and frequented Goodwills. I ended up finding 7 chairs and a wing chair that we used for the head of the table. Also, if you live in a college town, beware. Chairs in a college town were ten dollars while the same quality (some even better) in a town about 40 min drive away were five to six dollars. So I started out with the thrift chair:

I then went shopping! At most fabric stores they will also have a small section of spray paint. I would normally grab a few fun colors that I felt I could really work with. I then headed over to the fabric section and hunted down the patterns that I liked and that matched the color. It's best to find the paint color first because there are far fewer paint options then fabric and it's heartbreaking to find the perfect fabric only to discover that there isn't paint anywhere near that shade. Usually getting a yard of fabric is enough to comfortably reupholster any dining room sized chair. There will be extra fabric but better safe then sorry. It's also best not to buy the spray paint at the fabric store. In my experience, Jo Ann Fabric store sells a bottle of spray paint for 8 dollars, Walmart sells the exact same brand for just over 3 dollars. The best brand by far is this:

We are so used to false advertising in our society that it is hard to believe when a company delivers what they promise. It takes two whole bottle of any other brand of spray paint to paint a chair and only one of these, and you have a bit left over. I don't know how they did it, but it's magical. Once you get all of your supplies home you are going to want to unscrew the seat of the chair from the frame. If you are painting the frame outside in the grass, it's best to put paper plates under each foot or some cardboard from an old shoebox or product. This keeps the grass from getting in the way of painting the bottom of the chair feet and keeps the grass from being smothered in paint.

Be careful to shake the bottle really well and also start painting off the chair and then move the line of the spray onto the chair. If you are too close to the chair the paint will start to build up and drip down, which is no bueno.

Once the chair is painted it's time to reupholster! You can take off the old fabric on the seat of the chair if you wish or you can leave it on, either works fine. I usually make sure the fabric is nice and lined up how I like (make sure you have enough fabric on all sides to staple before you start) and then staple in one side.

I then pull the opposite side as tightly as I can and staple. I work around the whole seat in this fashion. Then I grab some scissors and cut off all the excess fabric, making sure to leave a bit just so the staples won't come out too easily.

Once I have let the chair dry for a few hours (rather safe than sorry!) I bring the chair in and drill the seat back into it. Tada!

You now have a cheap and beautiful chair to make your home sparkle a little more :)

Hope you all enjoyed my project and if any of my steps were confusing or you have suggestions as to how these methods could become better, please let us know in the comments.

Wishing you all smiles and happiness,

Victoria