How To Keep Healthy And Cozy Throughout The Winter

It's has been so cold here in Florida, that even Disney had to close it's parks for a day or so. The recent dramatic cold snap made my ear hurt, my body ache, my throat hurt, and I even had several violent sneeze attacks. Then finally I caught the dreaded winter cold. I can't complain though. This year's cold wasn't too bad like in other times, which I don't kid you, have lasted for weeks at a time.

The first thing I did when I came back home, was to take my wool hat off and sit down and relax in my recliner.

Thankfully for the most part my cold is almost over! And while winter is still here what best then to fix oneself a nice cup of hot tea with a spoon of honey. Or who knows, Rosita's special hot toddy concoction can do us wonders! 😉

Here are my Favorite Winter Essentials To Keeping Healthy & Cozy:

1- Cable Knitted Socks With Lace Top: These are absolutely one of my favorites socks! Who doesn't love to cozy up with their favorite socks? Wearing a comfy, but also a stylish pair of socks is one of my winter essentials. I recently purchased the gray one at Etsy ( I already had owned the black one). I am petite, so the socks go up to below my knees as depicted on my pictures.

2- Hats, hats, & hats: I have a variety of hats for every occasions. I especially use my hats during winter. A hat is essential to keep our body heat in. In addition to that being cold is known to lower our immune system, which it makes us even more vulnerable to infections. So by all means wear your hat!

3- Twinings of London Camomile, Honey & Vanilla Herbal Tea: Can't survive the winter without my tea.

4- Vitamins: * Emergen C The Original Formula: This is my much needed must-haves. Especially during the cold season. And wow! These little packages has helped me so many times to fight a cold. And if I take it on the first sign of a cold, it keeps me from either developing it, or lessens it's impact.

* D3 & K2: Great for the cold and flu, to improve energy, and to fight off the winter blues.

* Superior Source No Shot / Micro-lingual Vitamins: B12, B6, Folic Acid are all good for energy and fighting the blues. I take about 5,000 amount of B12 for my health needs. There are two that I take. I either take one or the other.

- Superior Source No Shot 1000 Mcg B12. I take up to 5 of these. If I don't take any other thing that contains vitamin b12.

 - Superior Source No Shot  1000 Mcg B12, B6 & Folic Acid. This one is super potent so one tablet at times is good enough.

5- Great Value Organic Raw Honey: Known for it's antiviral and antibacterial effects. I love the texture and flavor of this Walmart brand. It's not too thick, nor too light. And plus I find it being of better quality than other more expensive ones.

6- Ricola Cherry Honey Herb Throat Drop: Natural and super effective. I carry these in my bag. It has helped me with cough, congestion, and sore throat during the winter and when I have a cold. But amazingly it has worked also for my for seasonal allergies.

7- Arm & Hammer Simply Saline Nasal Mist: Heard that these if used everyday these can prevent a cold. Not sure, but hey is worth a try. It had helped my hubby and I for colds as it cleans the nasal passages. Also it is great for allergies. My husband can attest to that!

8- Homeopathic Cold/ Sinus Medicine From Newton: Took it during my cold. After a few drops in the morning and a few drops at night it helped with my cold symptoms. Start on a drop for those who are sensitive. It is pretty potent. So I had to reduce the amount.


Here are two more things that I have yet to try that I will be adding to my winter essentials:

9- Homeopathic Flu Care Medicine From Newton: I think it would be good to keep this one handy.

10- Happy Natural Light Therapy: Besides getting out in the sun I've been looking for something that will help with energy through the winter. Also I read how light therapy also helps with better mood.

Then I made my cup of camomile tea. I enjoyed having my favorite tea while watching an episode of the Wonder Woman classic.

Here I am cozy up with my favorite London herbal tea. Besides being so good for a cold, and to keep one-self warm and it also so relaxing.

Afterwards when I was done with my tea, I took my shoes off and cozy up some more while finish watching my show.

Since my laced up boots broke, I am resorting to wearing more dressy socks when I go out during this winter. And many times when I am lazy I just don't remove these until the next day. 

I'm excited to announce what will be coming soon to my shop:

GIFT BASKETS WITH Teas, Coffee, & Cookies and other Yummy Essentials

As well as: 

GIFT BASKETS WITH RETRO & VINTAGE GOODIES, ARTS & CREATIONS BY VICTRY

Have a tea cozy time!

Disclaimer:
I'm not in the medical field. These are my personal health things that I take. Please consult your health specialist before starting any new supplement. I didn't get paid for this post. Just sharing what I love and what has helped me. ❤

The Rooster is Back!

Me in front of  Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Altamonte Springs ( Jan 2014)

Today I woke up feeling happy and energetic. Hubby had the day off. And I was so ready to have a fun time with him. The weather though was not that ideal. It had been drizzling and it was pretty cloudy. It was a yawn- stay- at- home- wearing- pj's- scratch- your- tush- sleep- all- day-kind- of- day. But no, not me! For 3 weeks I have been stuck at home wearing pj's, messy hair, being a bum and watching T.V. all day. Thanks, but no thanks. Of course I had been working on relaunching my Victoria Lee Jones website. So I wasn't a complete full- time bum. Though sometimes I did looked and smelled like one!

If I had stayed one more day in this house I think that I was going to loose it! This lack of inactivity was killing me! My energy levels was running on empty. But I had to hold on there and keep being positive, of course that was easier said than done.

But today I felt terrific! On the other hand the weather was not that terrific. I was in a conundrum. I wasn't too crazy about going and venturing out in that rain, but I'm bored to death in this house. I had to tough it out. I said to myself, " I am not going to allow a little rain stop me. Girl, go for it!" Of course I made sure to bring my umbrella, wear my warm beret, and boots because I didn't want to catch another bug again.

Cracker Barrel here we come! I could smell that homemade food again! A cozy place with great comfort food you just can't beat! What a perfect place to go when the weather outside is frightful. Our nearest Cracker Barrel is just 15 minutes away from our house. My mouth is now watering as I am writing this post.

As we entered the restaurant I could just taste the hashbrown casserole. Then low and behold. I couldn't believe my eyes! The rooster is back!

You see months ago Cracker Barrel had launched the rooster collection. Back then I had bought a cute red and black rooster print apron. I also had bought a set of 4 porcelain coasters for a dear elderly friend of mine whom I enjoy having tea with. My friend had just finished remodeling her kitchen and she hadn't started decorating it yet. The vintagey rooster coaster was a great start up inspirational piece to get her decorating going.

I also had seen other things in the collection that I wanted to purchase for a later date. I especially wanted some rooster soup bowls. Some of my kitchen walls are red.  The printed vintagey bowls with the black, white, and red was just perfect for my kitchen. 

Then several weeks later after visiting the restaurant again I couldn't find the cute bowls around. As a matter of fact most of the rooster collection was gone! It was like somebody had come in the restaurant in the middle of the night covered the roosters peek and stole the poor rooster away. Poor little fella!

I went looking online to see if I could spot these bowls. I went as far as to call the restaurant to see if they were going to bring back the rooster. I was going to rally in front of the store one of these days and call out "We want the red head! We want the red head!"

Did I finally get my bowls? I sure did! And my roosters are just where they should belong, right inside my cupboard in my red kitchen. Aren't these bowls cute! You know we used to have roosters back many years ago. These birds bring back memories of simpler times when we were kids living at home. It's no wonder I love this collection!

Yay, The roosters are back! And hopefully they could stay a little longer this time.

Cracker Barrel you rock!




________________________________________________________________________

On a future post:

As you can see in the photo I am wearing eyeglasses. This time there are real prescribed bifocals, which I have to wear all the time now. I am not too thrilled about wearing them. I think these glasses ages me. And it also makes my nose look funny. And I blame it all on Superman! I thought he was my hero!

...more later

The Archives: All Cakes Considered

Lately I have been having some major craving for cakes. I don't know if it's because it's cold outside or because of hormones. But today when I went with hubby to the market and I quickly picked up a pound cake. I know that a pound cake doesn't sound that exciting. Though for me it's like a big treat!

There are several reasons why we are keeping sweets away from our home. The first reason is because of health reason. For almost over 10 years I pretty much stopped eating cakes. But it didn't mean that I couldn't try other alternatives. Though over time I also had to stopped eating sweets.

My hubby on the other hand could eat everything he wanted. And he still can. Though he is reaching that age where if he eats too much sweets he feels it the next day.

Like the other day he had bought a chocolate chip cookie at his favorite book store. And the next day he had a tummy ache. I had asked him what he had eaten the night before. After he listed all the things he ate he then added, "Oh, and I ate a chocolate chip cookie." Then I asked him, "how big was the cookie?" He said that it was a big cookie. I said, "That is probably why you are not feeling good today. Perhaps the cookie gave you a stomach ache."

What was hubby response? "Oh no I don't think it was the chocolate chip cookie, perhaps it was something else that I ate. But it wasn't the cookie." All of the sudden I felt that I was trying to reason with cookie monster. Yum, yum cookie! At the end I couldn't reason with him.

The story didn't end there. Just last week hubby again had the chocolate chip cookie from the bookstore. And guess what happened the next day. Yes, cookie monster had a tummy ache. And he wasn't happy about it. So I reminded him what had happened before. And do you think that he remembered? Not only did he forgot the incident with the cookie, but he defended it. Yes, sugar can do that to you sometimes.

That is why we refrain from buying certain sweets. It's true that once in awhile we do bring some ice cream for hubby and some Dove chocolates for me. For us it is a sweet-luxury to bring
these items into our home.

This book All Cakes Considered, is a great book for those who love to try different cake recipes. Doesn't these cakes look delicious? Although I don't bake cakes, I wouldn't mind having this book in my kitchen. Perhaps I could substitute the flour and yeast with other alternative ingredients.

Today after dinner we are having several slices of the pound cake. I will have mine with a sugar free strawberry jello. And hubby is going to have his with a sugar free pudding.

I believe in once in awhile having a sweet treat after a meal. And a lot of love in the family!



The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 03/03/09

The Archives: Happy For Bread & Butter!

Food! Who doesn't love food? I totally love it! Though, sometimes food could become my worst frenemy.

Because of health reasons, I do have a restrictive diet. For many years I couldn't eat many things that I used to enjoy. I know life can sometimes through you a couple of hiccups on the way. Though, thanks to a great natural doctor, and some supplements, I could once again enjoy some great food!

One of the many things that I could now enjoy occasionally, is bread! Oh, how I missed it! I would salivate when I saw someone taking a piece of bread along with their heavily seasoned spaghetti sauce! It was hard for me to feel somewhat left out, when all I could eat was a simple Caesar salad, which was perhaps the only food that I could eat whenever we will go out to a restaurant. Of course having great company was priceless, like that commercial says.

Now as a newborn baby, I am again experimenting with new foods! Though, I still have to be cautious, because sometimes I ended up paying for it. Like for instance two months ago, I was in the kitchen making one of my favorites soups, cream of squash. In my pot I added squash, some milk, brown sugar, a couple of spoons of butter, than I finish it off by sprinkling some cinnamon. I then asked hubby to try the soup. He tried a couple of spoons of it. And like the cute mouse from my favorite cartoon movie Ratatouille, he made his suggestions by adding more ingredients to my soup.

My hubby is not a chef or a cook, like some husbands are. I just wanted my hubby to try some squash soup. I thought that if he was also behind the cooking process and added his own suggestions, that he will at the end eat some of his vegetables.

You see my hubby doesn't care much for vegetables.Whenever I would add a side of vegetables to his diner, it was left untouched. So after many years later, I kind of cave in to his preferences. Well, that is what marriage is all about. As a matter of fact, I am thinking of purchasing the books The Sneaky Chef or Deceptively Delicious, that way I can make sure that he eats his veggies, without him noticing it. My little secret!

Anyhow to make a long story short, the soup turn out a great hit! That is, a hit to my stomach. My tummy couldn't handle all of that extra cinnamon. And can you believe that I am still paying for it. For several weeks, all I could do was lay down on the couch and watch TCM, which by the way is making me an old movies expert!

So what does the title of my post, "Happy for Bread and Butter", have to do with the story. Well, even though I might hold off on the cinnamon for now, I am still enjoying some good things of life! And that leads me to the happy part of my story. I am so thrilled to share with you my new and favorite bread and butter combination: Pumpernickel bread with honey butter!

If it wasn't for Sweet Tomatoes, I wouldn't have been able to rediscover my passion for bread and butter! If you are not familiar with Sweat Tomatoes, it's an all you can eat salad, soup, and pasta buffet restaurant, And the best part of this story is that this is the only restaurant that hubby gets to eat all of his veggies!

At the end, my hubby is happy. I am happy. And my tummy feels happy, after of course, I eat all of my salad with my two slices of pumpernickel bread with honey butter!


I am a happy and grateful girl!



Photo: Flickr Creative Commons by Jonathan Gill.



The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 12/17/09

The Archives: Lots of Chocolate for Me to Eat!

This is one of the ladies by my favorite artist Alphonse Mucha! This Salmagundi tin box was filled many years ago with delicious chocolates. It is now a keepsake that I keep in my Paris room.

Whenever I think about chocolates, the scene of My Fair Lady comes to mind when Eliza Dolittle sings "Lot's of Chocolate For Me to Eat."This movie is one of my favorite classics of all time! Audrey Hepburn was terrifically funny and witty in this film. Whenever I have tried to imitate her Cockney accent, my husband would laugh at me. But then I will start singing, " Lots of Chocolate for me to eat, Wouldn't It Be Loverly?"

Milk Chocolate Covered Macadamias Tin from Hersheygifts.comWhat is the Hershey Process?

The Hershey process milk chocolate, was invented by Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Company , is able to be produced more economically, by being less sensitive to freshness of the milk. Although the process is still a trade secret, experts speculate that the milk is partially lipolyzed, producing butyric acid, which stabilizes the milk from further fermentation. This compound gives the product a particular sour, "tangy" taste, to which the American public has become accustomed, to the point that other manufacturers now simply add butyric acid to their milk chocolates.


Can you tell that I love Chocolates?


The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 07/14/09

Information: Wikipedia

The Archives: Melting For an Ice Cream

I don't know about you, but it is hot here in Florida! Today I am totally melting for an ice cream. I am so happy that somebody came up with such a delicious idea! I just love the smooth feel of an ice cream going down my throat on a hot day like today.

And you know what I would add to that ice cream to make it perfect? A trip to Europe. Just imagine walking through Paris, Italy, Amsterdam, Spain, while having a frozen ice cream! That would be so dreamy...



Hers & His Neapolitan Ice cream . I have a husband that loves me so dearly. But when it comes to ice cream he want his own . And I wouldn't mine to also enjoy my own three scoops of Neapolitan ice cream. There are some things that are best enjoyed individually, yet together.




I think that this might be a pistachio ice cream. No matter how much ice cream you have eaten, the best part of an ice cream is that last little bit left. Good to the end!




So this is me having a chocolate cone ice cream. Not! I wish that that could be me! I love chocolate, and chocolate ice cream is my favorite, though I could just eat little bits of it. You remember that part from the Willy Wonka movie, when the little boy fell on that chocolate pool? I wish that I had a chocolate pool in my house. The only problem that I would have is to try to keep the flies away.




Your tour of the Tower of Pisa would be more memorable, when you enjoy it with a couple of scoops of ice cream. Warning: For your safety and that of other visitors. We recommend for you not to eat pasta, pizza and that gelato before you take our tour. If you have eaten one or all of these food mentioned, we prefer that you come back tomorrow on an empty stomach. Sorry for the inconvenience.




Please, don't jump in that water! You will ruin that great hand carved vanilla ice cream. You will feel better when you do taste that ice cream. Life will be so much sweeter. So, if you don't mind, may I have your ice cream if you decide to take a dip in this chocolate pool? I promise that I will enjoy every bit of it.


I love a cool & tasty Summer!


Photos: Creative Commons Flickr




The Archives: Post's from my old blog The RetroChic Corner. Original Post Date: 06/22/09