a day of nostalgia

Every once in a while I get completely nostalgic. When this happens I tend to think about days when I was younger, when life was simple and things were always OK so long as you got tucked in at night. Maybe it's due to the fact that PMS is rearing it's ugly head, or maybe it's just all the fond memories I have of growing up and this time of year when the holidays are growing closer  - whatever it is I've been in the mood to flood these nostalgic thoughts with comfort. They say the best trigger for memories is your sense of smell and I couldn't agree with this more.

Last night I took a chance and grabbed myself a huge tub of Noxzema. My skin has been less than attractive lately and with all the different lotions and potions a girl could go broke. I used this stuff every, single, day when I was growing up and I always had the best skin. Granted I'm not longer the 12 year old that I once was and my skin certainly doesn't have that youthful glow of 14, but at first whiff of the container I was transported back to my childhood home and the thoughts of using the amazing eucalyptus scented face wash.

via noxzema.com

I have to say I really like the label redo it made me feel a bit less "old fashioned" purchasing a soap I used when I was a teen. Like I said I had great skin as a teenager. I get more zits now than I did back then. This my be due to the fact that I wear more make-up now, I was bare faced through most of my pre-teen and teen years, or it could just be age, I'm not sure. Either way I scrubbed my face with this magic scrub this morning and my day instantly felt brighter than the others this week. Fingers crossed this will do the trick for my skin. I've tried a ton of different things and nothing seems to work for me lately. I'm over buying cover-up in bulk.

Anypizzaface, for the past few weeks I've been trying to stop myself from purchasing more shampoo. I tend to over buy in this department and have told myself I need to finish and entire bottle before purchasing more conditioner and shampoo. Our shower seriously can't hold that many products, mine greatly out weight Mike's. I hate that he's able to condense his shampoo, condition and body wash into ONE single product! My hair would NEVER have that. I say I've been trying to stop myself from purchasing new shampoo because the other week when browsing through the drug store I came across a product that I thought for sure no longer existed. It hadn't dawned on me to look for this shampoo line in ages because I haven't used it since I was in high school.

via finesse

Like the tagline implies Finesse got a make-over with a new look. The store I was in had the shampoo on sale in a huge display but I told myself not to spend the money. That doesn't mean I couldn't enjoy it for what I truly wanted it for right then and there - and that was the scent. I opened a bottle and took a huge sniff and immediately I was transported back to summers spent with my family in North Carolina on the shore. I used this shampoo day in and day out and loved every time I used it. It also made me recall the times I'd get sunburned and use the Noxzema to cure the burn. I will warn you though that while it makes the pain go away... a day to two days later you will be peeling wherever you put the Noxzema, your face, your arms, your legs everywhere - it sucks so I wouldn't recommend it. Get yourself some aloe instead. Finesse was always my go to hair line. I had long, huge, naturally (I wish, read: permed to death) curly hair. The entire line tamed my mane from the soft touch hair spray to the soft feel gel my hair was fabulous. I wonder if it would still do the trick on my now naturally wavy (and I do mean natural, I have no idea where it came from) hair.

Since I've been feeling particularly nostalgic and maybe a bit homesick in the past few days I thought it was time for some good old fashioned comfort food. I'm currently between workout dvds (ordering my next set today) and while I could consider this a cheat meal I really wanted to just have something that reminded me of home without busting my pants wide open or blowing my hard work.

As a kid my mother always made the best dinners. Some from scratch some from the can and some from the box.

via jiffy mix

Jiffy Muffins have always been and always will be my favorite all time box mix Blueberry Muffins! My mother made them often and it wasn't until I moved to Alabama, lived on my own and started cooking that I realized how much I missed eating these. I haven't made them often because I can polish off an entire box all by myself but in making my choice to have a comfort food meal, I knew these had to be a back up to my main course.

It's not often that I crave fried chicken... but I have been for a few days now.  And when I get something like that in my brain, I can't shake it until I eat the food I want. Instead of trying to fry it up, which I've done before, got great results and then immediately felt guilty for making and eating it... I decided I would try one of the many oven baked recipes I've seen all over the place. I decided to go with my trusted and true Paula Deen for her Oven Fried Chicken recipe.

via google • I love this woman!

I mean really other than 500 lbs. of butter how can you ever say Mrs. Deen is wrong? When I was younger my mother always made fried chicken wings, naked and fried until super crispy in her skillet, most likely with tons of butter, but they were AWESOME! We always had blue berry muffins with this meal so its a win/win for me. I figured to feel less guilty about my meal I'm preparing I will add in some fresh steamed veggies on the side and call it a night.

Add to the comfort food dinner some great Thursday night entertainment and a warm blanket for the couch and I'm good to go! I could go on and on about all the things that make me feel warm and fuzzy, comforted and nostalgic but I am wondering from all of you...

When you feel like you need a little comfort - what does the trick for you? What is your favorite comfort food, or favorite comforting smell?

P.S. I made myself a Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake for breakfast today and it was heavenly! I will share the recipe soon! In even better Pumpkin Obsession news Wally World FINALLY got on the ball and I was able to purchase my Pumpkin Spice Creamer yesterday! The best part is I brought it to work to ensure I wouldn't drink the entire bottle alone. I have my every changing and shrinking figure to worry about here people I'm not crazy!