Go ahead, Caroline, overthink things, build up a bunch of stress, and convince yourself that this was a bad decision, but then finally accept that you committed to something and get on with it. And so it was with the first ever gingerbread house my wife decorated. What compelled her to do such a thing? A competition at work to celebrate Christmas cheer. Aside from minor engineering issues surrounding the effectiveness of using icing to glue the walls together, she ultimately had fun and was proud of her creation. And although she didn’t win, I believe she looks forward to potentially decorating another gingerbread house in the future. [I did get compliments for the roof because I added frosted shredded wheat cereal pieces – Caroline]

It’s likely somewhere around 20 years now that we’ve been using Big Sur Soap and specifically: its eucalyptus scent. We’ve tried other fragrances from them, but this one is a great reminder of all our moments driving along the Pacific Coast on Highway 1, admiring the towering eucalyptus trees, and basking in their beautiful aroma, ensuring that they are never far. Sheila Hillman, the proprietor of this brand, can’t always predict the popularity of the various scents in her repertoire, and it has often happened that while in the Big Sur area, the shops we relied on were out of eucalyptus, and we’ve come rely on ordering directly from Sheila. Even then, it’s not uncommon that she’s sold out until the next batches are done, so this time, I put in an early order for ten bars. Upon their arrival, I stored them in vacuum-sealed bags to prevent further curing and evaporation. Depending on how well this works, I might buy another ten bars to ensure we have the wonderful scent of the Central California Coast for many years to come.