Sweet Tip of the Week * My Favorite Find * The Love Story

I came across this company Epic Motion in Michigan via Snippet & Ink. I love these videos. They remind me of the interviews on When Harry Met Sally. Everyone one should tell their love story. Wouldn't you just love to have a your grandparent's or your parent's Love Story recorded. I love love love the idea of recording your Love Stories. When I get married again I am doing this! They are also giving away a Free Love Story video. Click here to see a couple of their Love Stories & details about the giveaway.

My Favorite Finds * Metromint Flavored Water* Weekend Edition

I LOVE this drink. Metromint has something good going on! I just happen to pick up a bottle at Good Earth on Thursday while out shopping. The Chocolate mint was the first flavor I tried. It is my favorite so far. I was expecting an OK tasting flavored water. You know the kind that we see around all the time But NO OH NO this water is AMAZING! You have to give it a try. A perfect drink for those who don't want the calories or artificial sweeteners but want a ton of flavor. I am going to go broke buying it because it is my new addiction. These are the comments from my kids " the flavor is the after taste it is so good!" "can we just go buy a whole case of this stuff ?!" Wow mom I thought this was going to be gross like that other water stuff you buy." So far we have tried the Orange Mint Chocolate Mint Spearmint and the Peppermint. I can't wait to try the Cherry Mint and the Lemon Mint. Click here to see where you can buy it in your city. Here in The Valley you can find it at Good Earth Harmon's and Albertson's (if they have a natural food section). It is a perfectly refreshing water perfect for summer! Try it you will be very surprised.

P.S. No I am not getting paid to write this, it really is that good!

UPDATE: Harmon's has the four packs on sale this week.

Favorite Finds & Favorite Things * Green & Blacks Chocolate

{images via green & black}

Green & Blacks Chocolate is a favorite find of mine. I have been eating their yummy organic chocolates for years. My favorite three are the Carmel filled Chocolate Milk Chocolate and the White Chocolate Bars. Their white chocolate is amazing. If you have never been a fan of White Chocolate give this White Chocolate a try. You can find Green & Blacks in The Valley at Good Earth in Orem and American Fork. For those of you outside The Valley click here to see if your local store carries it.

Sweet Music * Madeleine Peyroux

I found Madeleine Peyroux a few years ago and I have been in love ever since. She makes me want to brush up on my French that I learned in high school. Jazz is one of my favorite styles of music and I love her Jazz. Her songs range from the take a walk in the park Jazz to fun French pieces. Madeleine if you were to come to Utah I will be first in line for tickets and will tell everyone one about your concert. You can read more about Madeleine Peyroux on her website click here. Enjoy these songs from me to you.

My Favorite Finds * Vintage Pick-up Trucks 1950's & '60's

{ Heather Bailey in Home Companion Magazine}

Over the holiday weekend while at my Grandma's house I had a chance to catch up on my magazine reading. Both the April-May issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion and the June issue of Country Living have photos of old pick-up trucks. It has been a long time thought in the back of my mind that I would like an old pick-up to haul around things-like the lawn chairs I bought today and had to rig-up in the trunk of the Toyota corolla with some kite string & prayers- and to use as a back drop for photos much like they did in these two magazines. I love the designs from the 1950's & '60's. These articles put that thought closer to the front of my mind and how much more affordable these lovely designed trucks seem to me now. I found a few for sale online. Only drawback would be gas mileage.

{ 1953 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup- I love this deep red color the shiny chrome & the white oak rails on this one }

{ 1966 red ford f-100 - don't you just love the steering wheels on old trucks!}

{ white 1965 Chevrolet C10 }

My Favorite Finds * Armelle Jewelry

These earrings by Caroline are absolutely gorgeous! I love the lovely shade of blue and the tiny white flowers. She has many pretty things for Spring & Summer.

{Click Here for Armelle Jewelry}

Find of the Week * Bathroom Luxury

Rain Shower Head -Restoration Hardware

Slipper Tub - Home Depot

Towel Warmer Costco

Jacquard & Turkish Towels Restoration Hardware

My brother gave his wife a wonderful rain shower head similar to the one shown here for Mother's Day. He also it installed it ready to use before he surprised her with it. That is a sign of true love and thoughtfulness-having it installed too. I have been looking at one of those for a while now. Don't they just look like heaven in a shower. I have wanted a warming towel rack since I was 16 and toured the Villa Philmonte at Philmont boy scout ranch. If you have never heard of it or seen it is villa built as a vacation home for the Philips family back in 1926. My first thoughts of luxury living came from this home from the heated towels racks to a drain near the bathtub to a beautiful walkway arched with climbing roses. What a brilliant idea to have a drain just outside of the tub. I can not count how many time I wish I had one with dripping little ones in my bathroom. I love slipper tubs. Remember the scene in The Holiday where Cameron Diaz is sitting in a small slipper tub? At that moment my dreams of a footed tub turned into dreams of slipper footed tub with it's higher back to rest your head. Most of the finds this week are things that can easily be added to any bathroom to add some luxury.

Find of the Week * Bicycles & Tricycles

{This Pretty Pink Lady is a Schwinn Roxy Cruiser from Target}

{Rockin' Red Bad Boy is a Legacy Cruiser at Target}
{ Boy Blue Tricyle is a Meridan by Schwinn at Walmart }

{ Sweet Pink walled tires from Electra }

{ Vintage style wicker basket by Electra }
{ Mod Black Basket by Electra }

{ Carrier Bag by Electra }

We are in the market for new bicycles for the kids. They have decided they really like the old cruiser style Schwinns so the Schwinns have it this time. Tanner has been determined that he wants to get a tricycle for over a year now so he has chosen the Boy Blue Tricycle shown above. Oh the things a ten year old can haul carry and so with a tricycle with a big basket! I was so excited to see such a cute pink bicycle at such a great price at Target. My favorite accessories are for the most part from Electra. I have an Electra Townie 21 but it looks nothing like the stock bicycle. I have added white wall tires, a two toned saddle, bullhorn handle bars and a chrome bell. During the warmer months we take evening rides on the Provo River Trail which is a nine mile long trail that follows the Provo River from South Fork in Provo Canyon to Utah Lake.

Sweet Tip of the Week * Odor Remover

{Sweet Tip of the Week}

I love cooking with onions & garlic but I really don't want to walk around the rest of the day smelling like either one. Years a go I starting using this great idea. After touching onions or garlic rub your hands under running water with stainless steel. Rub-A-Way makes a bar that is shaped like a bar of soap just for this purpose. I use a teaspoon or tablespoon. I like the spoon because I can rub the tip of it under my finger nails. There is science behind the process. A chemical reaction is taking place. It also works much better & is much easier& more convenient than lemon juice. It is my Sweet Tip of the Week.

Find of the Week * Daisy Pin & Earrings * Pretty Dresses too

{Pretty Daisy Pin}

{Pretty Daisy Earrings}

SORRY- Sorry to all my devoted readers. Yesterday was quite the busy day and I didn't a have chance to tell you about these pretty daisy items I found at the Art Institute of Chicago's Museum Shop-I have found that museum shops are a great place to find lovely gifts. Today here they arejust for you! They are perfectly springtimey. The pin is a perfect to addition to this pretty trench or this one. And as for those absolutely beautiful earrings they would look so great with an eyelet dresses like these ones from J Crew.

{Pretty Eyelet Dress}

{Another Pretty Eyelet Dress}

{They would also be sweet with this dotted swiss ruffly dress}

I can see myself at a spring time luncheon wearing one of these dresses accessorised with the daisy earrings. Or even better hosting a lovely daisy themed party myself to wear them to. Happy Spring!

Find of the Week * Salt Keeper

I have been wanting this Provence Salt Keeper from William Sonoma for a long while now. Years ago Martha Stewart had a whole feature about all the different types kind of salt there is available. I wish I could find the photos from the article they were amazing. I think most people think there is just the table salt from the Morton's cylinder box but there are so many many more. They are beautiful crystals of ambers and grays and whites. I found a shop that sells all sorts Salt Traders. They even have a blog. You can also get a selection of salts from William Sonoma.

Other Stuff * Pull Down Maps

{ Images via Three Potato Four}

I love maps. I have loved them since I can remember. I got an A++ in geography in high school because of my love of maps and places. When my boys were very little I bought them a map of the pony express trail at a little book store in West Yellowstone for their room. I decided I needed at least one pull down map when I saw the one in the kitchen in Sleepless in Seattle. When I was at the book store this week -my third place- I decided to take a look at O Home Magazine, not one I usually look at but I am glad I did. They did a feature on pull down maps and using them as a window shade. Don't you think that is a great idea. Put your little ones to bed looking at a map. They will surely do well on their Geography tests at school plus most of them have nice blues and green and other great colors. I think I would prefer a vintage one like the ones pictured above. You can get them at Three Potato Four. You can also find a pretty good selection on EBay. I need to be on the look out for a US & World set.

My Favorite Finds * Juice Glasses

William-Sonoma Fruit Crate Glasses

Crate and Barrel Cherries Juice Glass

My Thrift Shop Find Mandarin Orange Juice Glasses {photo by me}

Today while I was out I came across these cute Mandarin Orange Juice Glasses. I have been wanting to buy some juice glasses for our family waffle/french toast breakfasts for a while now & at .50 each they were the perfect price. I also found some pretty juice glasses at William-Sonoma & Crate and Barrel for you if you would like some yourself- keeping in the fruit theme of course. In case you missed my post on waffles you can read it here.

Other Stuff * Think Pink !

A Sweet Life in the Valley reader & blogger Pink Peony had this on her blog today. I loved it so much I wanted to share it with you all too. New York Mag had an article about people who wear one color & if I were described as a one color girl it would be pink. I can hardly think of a day that I don't wear pink. I love colors all colors but pink is one of my very favorite with butter cream yellow in second.

Other Stuff * Design Calulators

-images via Dominomag.com-

If you happen to be painting or wallpapering your home this spring Domino Magazine has these great Wallpaper & Paint Calculators. You just put in the measurements of your room and it tells you how much you will need.

Books to Read * The Relatives Came

{The Relatives Came* From Our Book Shelf}

The Relatives Came is a book close to my heart. It is so similar to the summer vacations my family took every year. We would drive in our station wagon across country to visit my Grandparents on their farm here in Utah. We would eat baloney sandwiches on the way which my sister and I cannot stand now because we ate so many on our trips. When we would arrive our cousins from across the country would be there too. We would spend our days playing out a Grandpa's park and canoeing in the irrigation flooded fields and in the evenings help Grandpa get the milk cow and milk her. For dinner we would eat fresh veggies from the garden. My Grandma is the world's greatest cook. At night we would sleep on the couch and spread all over the floor so there was hardly a way to walk through the house. It was an ideal dream land for a child's summer vacation. In The Relatives Came Cynthia Rylant relates a similar story. I bought my sisters each a copy to share with their children and they laughed when they read the part about the sandwiches. It is a sweet story of family. Enjoy!

Find of the Week * Ikea ALFHILD FÅGEL Shade

{Find of the Week for one of My Favorite Finds}

One of my favorite finds is a hobnail milk glass scent bottle made by the Anchor-Hocking Glass Co. for the Allen B Wrisley Co. in the early 1940’s that was converted into a lamp. I have had it for a while. Its intent is for my daughter's room but haven't had the chance to rewire it. Since it looks like it was wired in the 1940's as well I thought it would be a good idea. So now that I am finally rewiring it I went looking for a shade. I found this lovely ALFHILD FÅGEL Shade from Ikea today. Of course I bought it. It matches the colors in my daughter's room perfectly. Isn't the little blue bird cute! It will sit on her vanity. If you have not had a chance to go to Ikea I highly recommend going. The prices are incredible & the design well, go you will see. I bought a lot of other stuff there as well. You cannot help but buy more than one thing when you go.