What's Good | June 2017

Five Things I'm Excited About This Week

Go Here! 

Awesome Discount Store

Imagine a cross between a .99 cents store, Target, TJ Maxx and ... Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory! That is what Five Below is like. This wonderland of a discount store has everything you need from summer fun to school supplies, all for 5.00 and below. Visit fivebelow.com for a store near you!

Eat This!

Summer Berry and Chicken Salad

When you are eating clean, being inventive is key to keeping your meals tasty and exciting. We created this salad for lunch, and I just had to share it! Loaded with blueberries, mixed greens and chicken, you get plenty of protein and antioxidants to get you through the warm summer day. Top it with raspberry vinaigrette dressing and goat cheese for more tangy flavor! Delicious!

Recipe:
Mixed greens (Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula)
Sliced organic strawberries
Organic blueberries
Sliced almonds
Sliced red onions
Shredded chicken breast
              ----------
Himalayan sea salt, to taste
Fresh ground pepper
Balsamic Vinegar Dressing or Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
Goat Cheese (Optional)

Drink This!!

Flower-infused Lemonade

 This is summer in a bottle. Belvoir Lemonade is infused with elderflower and rose essence and delivers a crisp, fragrant sip that will refresh your palate. Enjoy chilled in a wine glass to experience the heady aroma and delicate fruity flavor. Just say "Aaaahhhh"!

Experience This!!!

Summer Cherry Picking

The last few days of cherry picking are at hand! You can still get plenty from a handful of farms in the argricultural areas of Central California where the recent rains blessed many with a bumper crop, while leaving others with damaged fruit due to the January frost. Nonetheless, cherry season will soon be coming to a close. Make plans to visit Villa del Sol, a family-owned cherry farm in Leona Valley, CA where their are juicy, sweet Bings and Raniers waiting to go home in a basket. At 6.00 per pound, know that you are paying not only for the delicious cherries, but also the experience and opportunity to select and pick your own rub red gems from the many trees. Open until June 18th!

Wear This!!!

Summer White

Aside from keeping you cool, white clothing also enhances the golden tones of sun-kissed skin. Why not go all white, with a pair of capris, sneakers and a sleeveless top? A woven bag with a color-popping tassle pull the look together! Classic, crisp and confident!

What are YOU excited about this week? Leave comments to share below!

Return to the Orchard: Cherry Picking 2017

Summer brings a colorful abundance of flavorful fruits and vegetables with none more beautiful and delicious than the cherry. Gathering these garnet gems is a celebration of the season, but only lasts a very short time!

    Once again, I took a drive to visit one of the many cherry farms in Leona Valley, California to pick a few pounds of my favorite fruit. Before I went, I decided to look up the place I went to last year, Copeland's Cherry Ranch. I enjoyed the surroundings of this small, intimate farm and looked forward to conversation about the Cherry Festival and the beautiful cherry cupcakes made by a local bakery.

Beautiful Raniers

Unfortunately, I quickly learned from a post on the page that the farm was closed this season due to the frost we had in the region earlier this year. Copeland lost their entire crop, and had no cherries on the farm.

    I continued my online search to find Villa del Sol, a family-owned farm, which I had actually passed the previous year because it was packed with people. Since I remembered that, I planned my trip to take place early in the morning to avoid the crowd and enjoy the quiet of the morning in the orchard. I took my son and daughter with me, and we enjoyed the drive, listening to music and sharing funny stories. When we arrived at Villa del Sol, people were already filling the dirt lot as the sun rose into midmorning.

     Many families unloaded mini vans filled with children and grandparents, loaded with cameras and sunscreen. Most of these travelers had driven for two hours to come here, and they approached the entrance with the same enthusiasm as people entering Disneyland; stopping to take photos at the entrance, expressing joy at the sight of the throng of cherry trees loaded with giant red and golden fruit, and listening intently to simple instructions on how to pick from the trees:

1. Do not eat until you pay.
2. Leave the stems on the branches and pick the cherry carefully
3. You pay for what you pick.

Ruby red Bings...hard to resist eating, but don't eat until you pay!

The staff at Villa del Sol is comprised mostly of family and close friends, and they treated us like we were a close relative. They were kind, and patient, and wanted you to enjoy your stay and get the best fruit they had to offer, assisting by pulling the branches down close to help you pick the sweetest, ripest cherries. As we filled our baskets, we chatted among the shade of the trees with Ty, Austin, Dylan and Travis to only discover we had more in common than we realized. That is what happens when you stop and say, "Hello" at Villa del Sol. You find friends among the cherry trees.

Enjoying a day under the shade with cherry-kissed lips by Stila My Lips Are Sealed Matte Lipstick!

Sweet. Tasty. Juicy. Organic.