Top ten fancy camping checklist

I must admit to you that I've never been camping? Am I missing out on something sweetie? Don't be too shocked and please its not polite to have your mouth open so wide!

It wasn't always like this. If you had asked me this embarrassing question about camping before I moved to San Francisco I would have said yes. Doesn't overnight summer camp in the Northern Ontario forests count for four years?

Ah it so doesn't.

My Canadian experience of camping is completely different to my Bay Area friends. Camp Tamarack was a four star camp that kept their campers in cabins, eating in a dining hall, tennis courts, swimming in the lake and participating in summer plays. The only true camping part that I remember were the massive mosquito's and canoe trips.

But have I ever slept on the floor of a tent in a sleeping bag under the stars? Honestly sweetie, maybe once. Or have I ever thrown myself down a river for hopes that I'll stay on the rafting boat and lived to tell the tale?

Come on seriously, me?

But mark my words, I would go camping if I had some of the comforts of home. So let's list them for my camping friends. To bring me along I would need the following...

Top ten fancy camping checklist

1) My flat iron (What there aren't any outlets at a campsite?)

2) Jelly shoes for the shower (The lake is the bath...this has to be a joke!)

3) My Tempur-Pedic Swedish neck pillow

4) Sigg water bottle

5) Sunblock with at least 30 SPF

6) Prescription coach sunglasses

7) Music

8) Grill

9) Bug net

10) Toilet paper

And now that you know my dark secret about camping, do you think we can still be friends lovely? Can you answer these questions then...is camping something I just haven't been introduced to properly and where do you plug in the flat iron?

My favorite comments from you lovely followers...

I love looking back at posts on Under the Sheets~shhh to see what your comments. You, my lovely readers are what keeps me a typing away. So here are some the top commented posts over the past couple of months with my favorite comments.

Fashion rain retro chic
Raindrops keep falling on my head...but that doesn't mean I can't stay fashionable in the rain and retro chic. Sure my hair is wavy, my socks are wet and my umbrella has turned inside out, but at least I'm still smiling. Well lovelies, the rain has been falling over San Francisco for the past 12 days. And yes I am itching for some lovely sun, but it could always be worse...

Fav comment was:
karey m. said...
loving your space here...have been craving CRAVING good writing a pretty pics all at once.
this will do nicely! xoxo.

What’s on your bucket list?
So it looks like...I want to see the world, own my own property, be comfortable without debt and someday milk a cow...

1) Write a book
2) Be on my favorite soap opera (General Hospital)
3) Say a speech at a strangers wedding
4) Have two children
5) Dance ballet again
6) Learn to like tomatoes and eat spicy food
7) Watch an entire day from sun up to sun down

...

Fav comment was:
Party Box Design said...
fabulous bucket list!
gosh, I have thought about mine also... my list would be crazy long.
a few items..
- actually be a size 8!
- travel the world
- be on martha stewart
Not one but two wedding ceremonies

Over the last years, I have thought a lot about what our wedding could be like. I also understood that we come from two different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs. So Honey and I decided that a combined wedding would be a wonderful way to bring everyone together...

Fav comment was:
Snappy Di said...
Relax....keep it as simple and yet as lovely as possible. Make it reflect who the two of you are and nothing more. Breathe!
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal

Should men wear purses?

Do you think men should wear purses? Last week, I saw the best segment on the Today Show about men wearing purses or sometimes fondly called a 'murse'. I remember the first time one of my favorite guy friends whipped out his designer man clutch before we went out to dinner. He seriously did! And to top it all off his murse went with his laid back outfit...

Fav comment was:

JMW said...Messenger bags and backpacks are still masculine looking, but I can't see any of the guys I know (okay, maybe a couple) using a murse.

Ah that was fun, thank you lovelies for leaving these wonderful comments and I hope you enjoyed some of these repeat posts. I'm looking for some new and fun topics. Do you have any suggestions?

Top ten reasons you know you’ve been in Toronto for too long….

I’m having a great time visiting my family and friends and interviewing some great photographers and stylists for my lovely readers. I have had my fill of ketchup chips, been to a few brunches and have had several people hold the door open for me…. which leads me to want to write the top ten reasons you know you’ve been in Toronto for too long…

(Click here to read the top ten reasons you've lived in Los Angeles for too long...)

10) After getting asked out on a date, you check their facebook ‘friends’ before accepting their dinner invitation.

9) You have three sets of friends; Childhood, work and camp (from when you were 12)

8) Throughout the day, you tune into the weather channel and to keep up-to-date on the five-day forecast. A girl has to know the difference between a snowstorm and just flurries.

7) In your closet you have two sets of clothes, one for the winter and for summer.

6) During the winter, you know which pair of warm boots to wear just by looking at the sky (e.g., goulashes vs. ski boots vs. Uggs etc.).

5) You’ve seen only one fire engine and police car in six months. On the news it looks like there are shootouts on every corner.

4) When asked for directions from a tourist, you use different Bagel Worlds and Tim Horton’s as landmarks.

3) You joined a hockey league eh!

2) Every Sunday you only wear, or go shopping for, lululemon pants.

And the number 1 reason you know you’ve been in Toronto too long is: The smell of a Panzerotto reminds you of your childhood.

The five things that I must do next in life

For my birthday, I was given the book The List: 100 Ways to Shake Up Your Life, written by Gail Belsky. I thought this was a wonderful and inspirational birthday gift. It didn’t hurt that the attached birthday card said, ‘to the woman who inspires us.’ This is the kind of book you can’t wait to take home and look through. As my friends all sat around my birthday picnic, I opened the book and read excerpts out loud. My friends kept saying if you’ve done 30 of the 100 things on the list, you’re in good shape. ‘Only 30,’ I thought. I must be able to check off more than 30. Between you and me, I was only able to check 25 items off of the list.

Some of the things that I checked off included:

1) Witnessing childbirth. (I witnessed my half brother and half sister brought into this world. I am forever changed by the experience) 
2) Switching careers/go back to school (Does going from child psychology to the world of advertising count?)
3) Riding in a fire truck (It was years ago. I was working with a class of children and I arranged a field trip to our local station. We all loved riding in the fire truck)
4) Lying about something… (I’d tell you, but then I’d have to… well you know)
5) Living with less (If you’re a follower of this blog, you know…)

After reading this book, things I want to do next include:

1) Visiting an Ashram…
2) Swimming with Sea Creatures… (Great Barrier Reef anyone?)
3) Having a child later in life… (I am looking forward to this one!)
4) Spending twenty-four hours in bed (Has anyone really done this?)
5) Writing a novel/build your own website (Ha Ha - look at me!)

The book ended by asking readers to create their own list. I’d love to know what the next five things on your list are? Go on, you can tell me… I won’t tell anyone (unless I’m fibbing)!

Top ten reasons you’ve lived in Los Angeles for too long…

I am excited today to reveal a new series to you. I like to call them the top ten reasons why…. The first few will focus on how I knew I’ve been in a city for too long, i.e. San Francisco, Toronto, New York and London.

And now for Los Angeles my home for twelve years…drum roll please.

10) You are at LAX airport and all of the cars have changed from Prius’ (very common in San Francisco) to Hummers, BMW’s and limos. And you get offered a ride in the limo. (Maybe I should have gone!)

9) After you hear the forecast, saying it’s 72 degrees with some clouds, you think, ”it’s freezing outside. I have to put on another sweater.”

8) As the credits roll, at the end of the movie, the local movie theatre is still full. Viewers are staying to see if they know anyone that worked on the movie i.e. makeup artist, grip, assistant etc.

7) After being invited to a formal dinner party, you go to your closet and try to decide which pair of flip-flops is appropriate for the formal event.

6) At a family event, you overhear the children discussing cell phone options; the children are only ages seven, nine, twelve and thirteen.

5) While driving on the 405 Freeway you pull up next to a very famous basketball player driving a Rolls Royce and it doesn’t even phase you… You just saw Tom Cruise at Starbucks five minutes ago.

4) Your hairdresser, mailman, bank teller, teacher, therapist, waiter, bartender are all working on a ‘promising’ screenplay.

3) You drive your car to the gym even though it’s only a couple of blocks away from your home. You would never be seen walking in L.A.

2) When running late, you tell the white lie, “I’m only twenty minutes away.” You really have twenty miles and two freeways to go.

And the number one reason you know you have lived in Los Angeles too long….

1) You have chosen your ‘Circle of Five’ on your cell phone as your therapist, plastic surgeon, hair stylist, agent and mother (God help us all!).

How do you know if you’ve been in a city for too long? What else would you add to my L.A. list? Go on you can tell me..I won’t tell anyone! And please vote on this list at toptentopten.com