If you’re interested in getting your hands on some of your own miracle cleaning cloths, you can order them here. Just add my name, Victoria Swider, as your host at checkout. If you want to learn more before taking the clean cleaning plunge, Facebook message me and I’ll invite you to a live online info session this Thursday night (October 30) from 6-8pm (EST).

Do you have any other clean living advice? Comment below, tweet, or Instagram it using the #overdressedovereducated hashtag. 

Who’s ready for a vacation? If you are enthusiastically raising your hand and yelling, “Me, me, me!” with a suitcase half full, check out my wonderful friend’s Midwest getaway post for a great “pick-up and leave now” idea. We had a blast! However, if you are thinking, “I’d love a vacation, but the holidays are coming and I am already travelling for those, plus I need to decorate, shop, entertain…” then let’s rephrase that question: Who is ready to start planning their summer vacation? Now we’re talking! This is where Mr. O&O and I were about this time last year, and we oh-so wanted to do a big Europe trip, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to shell out over $1,000 a piece for airline tickets. So to Travel + Leisure I went, searching for destination ideas a little easier on the wallet. I came across the 2014 list of best cities in the U.S. and Canada, and Vancouver, BC, caught my eye. A quick Kayak search revealed tickets to be half as much as those to Europe, and after recalling some great reviews our close friends gave Victoria after their honeymoon, we decided: British Columbia, here we come! We ended up doing a 6-day combination Victoria/Vancouver trip, but I’ll just cover Victoria here, and I’ll follow up soon with a separate Vancouver guide.

Accommodations
Because Victoria is so quaint and charming, I decided to go the bed-and-breakfast route, from which there are plenty to choose. After scouring TripAdvisor, I settled on Beaconsfield Inn. The house is a quick 10-minute walk from downtown and is rich with historic charm. I chose the Emily Carr suite, adorned with two velvet chaises, a lovely fireplace, and a vintage canopy bed. We loved the complimentary tea and cookies in the library every afternoon, sherry in the evening, and the superb gourmet breakfasts each morning. My one complaint was the innkeeper’s unhurried attitude, which probably reflects more about my Type A personality than the quality of the inn. But it is worth noting that if you stay here and have time constraints, be prepared to book your own excursions and research your own transportation.

The next morning, we got up early and walked to the greatest activity I’ve ever done: whale watching! I cannot praise this excursion enough. I booked through Springtide and found a promo code for 20% off, which really helped offset the cost. You can choose from 2 different boats: One is more of a large fishing boat, while the other is a small, Zodiac speed raft. At Mr. O&O’s insisting, we went with the Zodiac, and while I was pretty wary at first, I am not too proud to say, “Honey, you were right!” I am SO glad we picked that boat. It felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, jumping huge waves and laughing in the wind and ocean spray. This is definitely the way to go if you love speed and adventure (it is also completely safe). We first delighted over seals and sea otters, but they were nothing compared to the orcas. We had the blessing of seeing the local super pod, and at one point, we were surrounded with whales on all sides. Several came within about 5 feet of the boat, and seeing God’s beautiful creation so close was absolutely surreal. If you do anything while you are in Victoria, do this!

Attire
If you are hoping for a bit of warmth, the best time to go to British Columbia is June - August. Average temperatures are in the upper 60s - 70s then, but we learned that this past year they got up to 90°F in July. We went the last weekend in August, and the days were mostly warm enough for sundresses and a light wrap, but the nights required a pretty substantial sweater. To match Victoria’s quaint charm, I went with soft, flowery dresses and lacy wraps. If you do go whale watching, warm leggings, zip-ups, and Under Armour are a must because it is much colder on the water, and you will get wet in the Zodiac.

• abnegation (noun) ab-ni-ˈgā-shən: restraint or denial of desire or self-interest

Usage: “Yeah, well,” I say, “I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be.” Veronica Roth, Divergent

Origin: Middle English abnegacioun, from Late Latin abnegātiōn-, abnegātiō, from Latin abnegāre “to refute, decline, deny”
 
First Known Use: 14th century

• amity (noun) a-mə-tē: friendship and goodwill, especially as characterized by mutual acceptance and tolerance of potentially antagonistic standpoints or aims; friendly relations between large groups

Usage: “The Amity are talking, laughing, smiling, pulling food from their pockets, and passing it around.” Veronica Roth, Allegiant

Origin: Middle English amite, from Middle French amité, amitié, from Medieval Latin amicitas, from Latin amicus friend, friendly + -itas -ity; akin to Latin amare to love

First Known Use: 15th century

• candor (noun) ˈkan-dər: unreserved, honest, or sincere expression

Usage: “Candor has provided us with trustworthy and sound leaders in law.” Veronica Roth, Divergent

Origin: French and Latin; French candeur, from Latin candor, from candēre to shine, be white

First Known Use: 14th century

•  dauntless (adjective) dȯntlə̇s: marked by courageous resolution: incapable of being daunted, intimidated, or subdued

Usage: “It reminds me why I chose Dauntless in the first place: not because they are perfect, but because they are alive. Because they are free.” Veronica Roth, Insurgent

Origin: Middle English daunten (also, to tame), from Old French danter, alteration (probably influenced by Old French dangier power, jurisdiction) of donter, from Latin domitare to tame, from domitus, past participle of domare to tame, conquer (+ less)

First Known Use: 1588

• erudite (adjective) ˈer-e-ˌdīt: concerned with unduly specialized information : pedantic, bookish; characterized by a love of knowledge for its own sake : devoted to the pursuit of learning 

Usage: “Grabbing hold of the facts in the midst of shock is very Erudite of him.” Veronica Roth, Insurgent

Origin: Middle English erudit, from Latin eruditus: learned, skilled, experienced; from past participle of erudire to polish, instruct; from e- + rudis rude, unpolished, unskilled, ignorant

First Known Use: 15th century

• divergent (adjective) dīˈvərjənt: differing from each other or from a standard

Usage: “I feel like someone breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent.” Veronica Roth, Divergent 

Origin: Medieval Latin divergent-, divergens, present participle of divergere

First Known Use: 1696

• insurgent (noun) ˈ ə̇nˈsərjən(t): a person who rises in revolt against an established government; a rebel not recognized as a belligerent

Usage: “‘Insurgent,’ he says. ‘Noun. A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent.’” Veronica Roth, Insurgent

Origin: Latin insurgent-, insurgens, present participle of insurgere to rise up, insurge

First Known Use: 1765

• allegiant (adjective) ə-ˈlē-jənt: giving allegiance; fidelity by a subject or citizen to a sovereign or government; devotion or loyalty to a person, group, or cause

Usage: “They released some kind of manifesto this morning. They call themselves Allegiant … because they’re allied with the original purpose of our city.” Veronica Roth, Allegiant

Origin: allegiance + -ant; Middle English aligeaunce, from Anglo-French allegeance, alteration of ligeance, from lige liege

First Known Use: 1613

Unfortunately, due to time limitations, the egg whites didn’t have quite long enough to soak in the dye, so when the kids retrieved them, they had only a faint orangey hue. I think a combination of more dye and more time would have yielded better results.

Once we retrieved the whites from the dye and dabbed the water off with paper towels, the kids scooped the filling into their eggs. We then took our plastic knives and made faint vertical lines in the filling to resemble pumpkin ribs. Finally, I sliced up green onions (about 1/4¼" long) and the kids placed one per egg smack in the middle to stand as the pumpkin stem. 

Ingredients:

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• Dash of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Yellow and red food coloring 
• Green onion stems
• Paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. Peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. 
2. Remove yolks and place in a medium-size bowl. 
3. Fill a separate bowl with lukewarm water and add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring. Mix with a spoon and add empty egg whites to the dye to soak for approx. 25 min.
4. Mash yolks and add all remaining ingredients to the yolks except onions and paprika.
5. Add 4 drops of yellow coloring and 4 drops of red coloring to yolk mixture and mix well.
6. After whites have finished soaking, remove from bowl and place on a clean surface. Scoop yolk mixture evenly into each egg. 
7. Using a knife, make approx. 4 vertical lines in yolk mixture to resemble pumpkin ribs.
8. Slice green onion stems into about 1/4¼" pieces and place one piece in the center of each egg.
9. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. 

Alas, this recipe concluded the first semester of cooking club. But the good news is that Shepherd asked me to stay on for the next semester. Now, I need to plan my next semester curriculum. I have a Pinterest board full of ideas, but there are so many I am overwhelmed! Which ones are your favorite? Or do you have any other go-to, kid-friendly, no-bake recipes themed for fall or winter? Comment on my pins you like best or post your new ideas below, and I’ll let you know which I pick! 

I see a cooking club pattern emerging. We started with individual fruit snakes. Then, we moved to a one-bowl group recipe of energy bites. Now, we are back to individual animals. Cute little owls are showing up in craft and seasonal stores everywhere, so this week we embraced the onset of fall: owl cheese and crackers. 

After we finally lathered on the last of the smear, we pulled apart Ritz bits sandwiches for the eyes. We added a baby bit of cream cheese to 2 raisins and stuck 1 in the center of each eye for the pupil, and voila! Eyes were complete.