Insta-Video Wednesday

July 31, 2013

For some reason I've haven't taken much video this week, so today while I was working in my classroom I made a little video.

I definitely still have several days of work that need to be done, but it's coming along!

Insta-Video Wednesday

Did you do anything IG video worththy this week? Link up and share it with us. 

Here are the rules ::
-link up a blog post or your IG account
-follow a few new Instagram-ers
-like their videos
-have fun!



Now it's your turn! 

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Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls

July 30, 2013

Close to twenty years ago my older cousin got married and as an appetizer this dish was passed around by servers.

That was the first time we got on hands on a ham and cheese roll, but since then my mother has made them regularly. It didn't take many trips to Vidalia before Jeremy started requesting them when we stayed over night.

This is the quintessential Saturday morning Cater (my maiden name) breakfast food.

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls via @labride

We weren't pancake or waffle people, no my mother made big pans of these rolls and you had to get up early to make sure you got one. 

Jeremy who will sleep in super late at the Cater house will even get up early for these... and bacon. He always gets up early for bacon. 

There is nothing healthy about this, but it's a family favorite. 

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls via @labride

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls ::

Ingredients ::
16 split top potato rolls
7oz block of sharp cheddar cheese
2 tbsp butter
32 ham slices
oil cooking spray

Directions ::
Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Remove rolls from package and arrange on baking pan. Cut rolls down the center, along the "split top" about 3/4ths of the way down. Slice cheese into 16 pieces.

For each roll take two slices of ham and one piece of cheese and place in the split part of the roll. Top each roll with a small sliver of butter. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls via @labride

Here's a better idea of how the rolls look before going in the oven. I barely use any butter on them, the ham has enough fat that they will be moist enough. I mainly just add butter for flavor. 

Ham & Cheese Breakfast Rolls via @labride

If you can't find split top potato rolls you can use another type of split top roll. Mom originally used French Vienna Rolls from Sunbeam, but they aren't sold in our state anymore. Brown & Serve are also great for this, so long as they are as large as the potato rolls. 

I've shared our favorite breakfast, what does your family love? 

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Meal Pinning Monday

July 29, 2013



This week is the last official week of summer for us and also ole Jeremy's birthday weekend. In lieu of cooking a million meals I thought I'd just do two and live off leftovers a few days... then go buck wild for his cake and ice cream. Which won't have recipes posted until later:)

I recently wrote an article for 5 Minutes for Mom (I'm an intern there right now!) called Using Pinterest to Meal Plan, I'd love for y'all to check it out. 




[What is Meal Pinning Monday?]
MPM is how I meal plan for our little family. I once spent a lot of time searching the web and my recipe books hunting for new recipes and ideas for what to cook every week. Then, Pinterest came along and made meal planning much easier for me. Every weekend I look over what I have pinned the prior week and decide what I would like to cook and make my grocery list from these recipes. MPM came about as a way to share what I am cooking, and to also see what others are cooking every week to hopefully get even more dinner ideas from other bloggers. If you don't pin your recipes feel free to just share what you are cooking.

Monday | Jeremy's favorite - Clean Eating Enchilidas with my favorite PW Salsa

Tuesday| Leftovers

Wednesday| Leftovers

Thursday | Lemongrass and Coconut Chicken Drumsticks

Friday| Leftovers

Saturday | out of town for the bday boy. Making cake and ice cream and I'll post the recipes in the coming weeks.

Sunday | church with friends and probably lunch too! 


Now it's your turn to link up your weekly menu or share it in the comments! If I use one of your recipes I'll link back to you and give your blog a shout out:)
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Hight 5 For Friday

July 26, 2013

This week has been uneventful, or at least I didn't take as many pics on IG as I normally do. 

Either way I'll tell you one thing I did learn this week, I will never in my life use a Teachers Pay Teachers paid thing again. I bought a calendar pack, $5, not biggie. But after going on a hunt for the paper I needed, magnets, twine, and it sucking the ink out of two sets of printer cartridges... heck no, never again. 

I could have bought a premade at the Teacher Depot for a fraction of this price. 

Cheaper, in your dreams. 

I sure hope these kids appreciate it, or it will be a collassal waste of time and money. 

Now for High Five for Friday!

1. I've come to realize we have a butter issue at our house. I prefer the vegan stuff that Jeremy and my mother complain about it not melting right, Jeremy likes Country Crock. I'm not buying Country Crock, I'd rather use real butter. So the middle ground, Brummel and Brown and a pack of real butter.

Does anyone else have a butter debate or is this just us?

2. Praise the good Lord for letting us live close to a Johnny's again! I think he knew 2 years of no Johnny's Pizza was enough to break up a marriage, just kidding. But really, all of my favorite dates were Johnny's date nights, we both love their pizza and have a system for splitting a Party Pizza that makes us both happy.

Other pizza places are just disappointing.

3. The royal baby was born! Whoop whopp! George Alexandar Louis, not my first pick, but I totally ge it. He will eventually be King George the 7th. If I were a roman numeral gal I would write it correctly, but I'm not, so we'll leave it at that.

Jeremy has always thought my royal obsession is bizarre, I think the rest of my family is totally use to it after 25+ years of it. I just love the history behind the aristorcratic families in Europe.

4. That salad I posted the other day, it's week two of straight salad and I can't get enough of it.

5. Teacher workshops are underway and I am not at all mentally ready for a new school year. I could happily live in an eternal summer. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is my 5th year and that means at the end of this I get my loan forgiveness for working in Title 1 schools all this time. Plus we are planning on having as much of the student loans paid off as possible this school year, ideally mine will be gone when Jeremy's come up in a year and a half.

Can I get a TGIF from everyone?

Yay for Friday!!
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Insta-Video Wednesday :: Royal Baby Edition

July 24, 2013

I started to think I had made a single Instagram video this week, until I realized I was compulsively videoing the royal baby footage!


Seriously y'all, I've always been royal obsessed... and honestly I didn't like Kate when they were dating. Probably some deep down desire to marry him myself ha! But no, love them.

I absolutely adore the fact that she wore blue with white polka dots just like Diana did with William, super sweet.

Since I'm closer in age to Harry, I feel like I missed all the Diana hoopla at this point in her marriage, I didn't become wildly obsessed with her until the early 90's when I was a little girl. Now though, I just desperately wish I could fly to England on a whim to see all the fun in action.


Here are the rules ::
-link up a blog post or your IG account
-follow a few new Instagram-ers
-like their videos
-have fun!



Now it's your turn! 


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My Favorite Summer Lunch Salad

July 23, 2013



One of my absolute favorite foods is salad. As a kid I could eat a head of lettuce in two meals, and as adult my students have managed to peg me as vegetation (they mean vegetarian) every school year.

My absolute favorite time of year to eat salad though is obviously in the summer, all my favorite veggies are abundant and I can take home bags full from my parents house or on the occasion I get to visit my in-laws in Tennessee I bring home bags full from there too.


 It really pays to be related to men with green thumbs when you are a plant killer yourself.

I always say that I can keep it alive if it can feed and water itself, or make noise when it isn't watered. Hence, Ellie will push her dog food bowls around or stand in the middle of the mat and scratch like crazy until someone gets the point that she wants food.

If only my poor rosemary plant had the insight to knock on the door, it would be in much better shape.


For some reason this plant talk reminds me of the first year we were married, I was bound and determined to grow my own veggies. I planted seeds for cucumber, bell pepper, and a few herbs only to have them wither away. 

Except the herbs, they did okay. 

That is, until they were almost ready to pick and Maddie (our nutty dachshund who was a puppy at the time) decided to eat them all. She ate an entire dill plant as well as what would have been basil. 

My Dad and Pop's response, "I thought you could throw cucumber seeds in the yard and they'd grow? How on earth did you kill that!"

I'm telling you my propensity for killing plants is a gift, and it's exactly why nothing in this salad came from my house. 

The cucumbers came from my parent's house... where I once lived, but again, I didn't grow them. 


Keep in mind with this recipe, this is what I will eat for lunch for a week. I store everything separate and then toss together the day of. Also, remember the dressing from last week? This is what I put it on. 

My Favorite Summer Salad::
serves 6

Ingredients::
2 cucumbers, quartered and sliced
1 bell pepper sliced, thin
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
4 carrots, shaved or cut thin
3 green onions, chopped
7 oz olives
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
1 avocado, scooped out and diced 
1 lemon
10oz baby spinach
16 oz chopped kale

Dressing ::

Directions :: 
Mix first 7 ingredients in a large Tupperware and store in the fridge. Scoop out and dice avocado, place in a small container and squeeze lemon on top. This will keep it from browning quickly. When ready to make a salad take a few good handfuls of kale and spinach and place in the bottom of a bowl, top with plenty of the veggie mix, a spoonful of avocado, and toss with Pear St. Salad Dressing

I also like to top this with grilled or rotisserie chicken. You could also use any other protein you like, during the school year I tend to replace the chicken with two hard boiled eggs for an easier to prep protein. 


What are some of your favorite summer veggies? 
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Meal Pinning Monday

July 22, 2013

I recently wrote an article for 5 Minutes for Mom (I'm an intern there right now!) called Using Pinterest to Meal Plan, I'd love for y'all to check it out. 



[What is Meal Pinning Monday?]
MPM is how I meal plan for our little family. I once spent a lot of time searching the web and my recipe books hunting for new recipes and ideas for what to cook every week. Then, Pinterest came along and made meal planning much easier for me. Every weekend I look over what I have pinned the prior week and decide what I would like to cook and make my grocery list from these recipes. MPM came about as a way to share what I am cooking, and to also see what others are cooking every week to hopefully get even more dinner ideas from other bloggers. If you don't pin your recipes feel free to just share what you are cooking.

Monday - Naked Brushetta Burgers (leftover recipe from last week)

Tuesday - Pulled Pork Stuffed Sweep Potatoes

Wednesday- Corn Pancakes with Lemon Chive Cream (use leftover Pulled Pork instead of Salmon)

Thursday- Summer Vegetables with Sausage and Potatoes

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Buffalo Chicken Waffle Fries (sweet potato fries)

Sunday- Eating Out

Now it's your turn :: you can either link up your recipes from your own meal planning post, or share what you're cooking in the comment section! If I use one of your recipes next week I'll be sure to link up to you and give you a shout out:)
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High 5 for Friday

July 19, 2013


1. Last week we spent some time in north Louisiana and after church Sunday we took Joshua on an "adventure" to the Natchez Trace. This is just one of the many reasons I love my hometown, but the history here is just amazing. We hit up Emerald Mound and then stopped at the Elizabeth College on the way home. This college happens to be the first female college in the country! Joshua was not impressed with it, he's been potty training and instead of saying he needed to go he stood straight in front of us and peed like he'd been holding it in a year. Oh little boys! 

2. Turns out this landlord doesn't cut your grass for you, this is a first in my 10 or so years of renting people. Since we got rid of everything after we left Monroe we had to go out and buy a weed eater. The worst part, it broke before Jeremy was done cutting the grass. So today, we are returning the piece of junk. 

3. Teacher workshops are in full swing, lucky for me I got to the Science one this week and ran into another 4th grade teacher from my school who informed me that I am only teaching ELA. Praise the Lord! I was terrified about the idea of teaching Math. 

4. Jeremy appeased me and we went to Orange Leaf, I actually wanted to go to a bubble tea place but they closed crazy early. I was super excited about the new lemon bar flavor, until I realized I had put graham cracker crumbs on the pineapple instead of my precious lemon bar. Ha! 

5. Have you watched Secrets of the Manor House on PBS? It's my new favorite mini series. They are basically giving you a really good tour of 5 of the big houses in England, sadly I wish it were more than 5 and that they would leave all the episodes up on the PBS app. 

 photo H54Fbutton-1_zpsa7aaa665.png

What were your favorite moments from the week? 

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Wedding Trend I'm Loving :: Unfrosted Cakes

July 18, 2013

I've skimped back on wedding posts since we've been married... and it's been 4 years so the posts are fewer and farther between. However, with all the great wedding trends floating around the web I just have to jump in and talk about one in particular today.

If I could undo one aspect of my wedding and take photos all over again, I'd have an unfrosted wedding cake.


I just love the look of the browned white cake edges with frosting peeking out, and dusted with powdered sugar. 

I love this idea so much that I have a birthday cake idea for Jeremy this year that will likely look similar to this. 

Roses and Strawberries at Sunset by April, see more Minted
Roses and Strawberries at Sunset board by April. See more Minted


How do you like the cake above with the jam sticking out? This would be a great way to incorporate a wedding color, just pick a jam that goes along with your theme. 


This Momofuku Milk Bar cake from Real Simple is definitely interesting. Even though it is a naked cake, it has it's edges smoothed over to give the icing a more polished look. Granted the sprinkle cake colors aren't my thing, but it could easily fit into a outdoor, vintage-y, hip wedding. 


I love that this cake incorporates what I like from the Momofuku cake with the polished edges, but adds in the pearl bead piping with a pretty floral topper for a great traditional look. 


I love this chocolate cake! If I were to use this as a grooms cake I wouldn't necessarily put flowers on it, but berries would look beautiful and not make the cake overly feminine. 

Girly-ness seemed to be something Jeremy battled against at our wedding. His cake wasn't girly and large, and it certainly wasn't a dead animal or sports cake, but he did get his say in on a few wedding aspects. 

Lastly, I leave you with this pretty naked cake that would be great for a fall wedding. 


This apple cake really makes me think a peach one for a spring/summer north Louisiana wedding would be divine. I say north LA simply because of Ruston's Peach Festival. 

But seriously, this cake, gorgeous! 

What do y'all this of this naked wedding cake trend? 

Don't forget to enter to win $50 from Minted! 
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Insta-Video Wednesday & OHP!

July 17, 2013

This week I'm double dipping blog posts, first up I'm sharing a video for Insta-Video Wednesday and then... because I've missed it I'm doing OHP!


This past week we visited my parents and got to hang out with my 3 year old nephew. Jerem took it upon himself to teach the kid to fist bump, only problem was that he quit once he noticed the cameras!

[click image to view video]

Now it's your turn to link up!

Here are the rules ::
-link up a blog post or your IG account
-follow a few new Instagram-ers
-like their videos
-have fun!



Now it's your turn! 



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Now for a few of my favorite pins from the past few weeks!






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Pearl St. Salad Dressing

July 16, 2013

In high school I became quite obsessed with the house dressing from a local Italian spot. Lucky for me my then boyfriend's aunt emailed me the secret recipe that I have memorized and held onto to this day.

Years ago I actually posted the recipe, but didn't include a picture. So I thought today I'd re-share it and include some photos of the yummy dressing.

Pearl St. Salad Dressing

This recipe is insanely simple and definitely a crowd pleaser.

I've been making this for over a decade and since I learned the recipe I can rarely eat anything but my homemade dressing. I've even been known, to my husband's dismay, to carry it in my purse if we are going somewhere that doesn't serve just oil and vinegar.

Picky, I know.

But this dressing will change your life.

Pearl St. Salad Dressing

Peal St. Salad Dressing
makes 2 cups

Ingredients ::
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup white sugar (I usually use Splenda)
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Mix
1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions ::
Combine vinegar, sugar, and ranch packet in a large (2 cup) jar and shake to combine. Add in olive oil and shake again. Be sure to shake up this vinaigrette very well before serving, it separates quickly. 

Pearl St. Salad Dressing

Surprisingly this dressing doesn't have a ranch taste at all. It is something completely different, not too sweet, and not too sour.

I tend to carry it around in a large olive oil bottle, it works great for work lunches. However, kids tend to ask me what I'm drinking, and a few adults have asked if I'm drinking olive oil.

I usually say it's salad dressing, but I've been known to sop up every ounce of it with bread.

I'd probably drink it straight from the bottle if provoked.

Don't judge, it's that good.
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Meal Pinning Monday

July 14, 2013

This week we spontaneously decided to go to north Louisiana on Thursday. Due to that fact many meals went uncooked. However... since I had a clue we were doing it I cooked out of order last week so I could freeze a few things. Monday thru Friday are actually catch up meals that I haven't made yet. I'm sharing breakfast and lunch though:)

I recently wrote an article for 5 Minutes for Mom (I'm an intern there right now!) called Using Pinterest to Meal Plan, I'd love for y'all to check it out. 




[What is Meal Pinning Monday?]
MPM is how I meal plan for our little family. I once spent a lot of time searching the web and my recipe books hunting for new recipes and ideas for what to cook every week. Then, Pinterest came along and made meal planning much easier for me. Every weekend I look over what I have pinned the prior week and decide what I would like to cook and make my grocery list from these recipes. MPM came about as a way to share what I am cooking, and to also see what others are cooking every week to hopefully get even more dinner ideas from other bloggers. If you don't pin your recipes feel free to just share what you are cooking.

Monday - Chicken with Shallots and Sweet Potatoes (still hadn't gotten to it)

Tuesday- Roasted Chicken with Mashed Cauliflower

Wednesday- Leftover Chicken with Roasted Broccoli

Thursday- Leftover Veggie Lasagna

Friday- Paleo Chicken Fingers with Sweet Potato Fries

Saturday- Naked Turkey Bruschetta Burger

Sunday- Eating Out 

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Breakfast - Oatmeal Pancake

Lunch - Loaded House Salad with Grilled Chicken

Don't forget to enter to win $50 in Minted store credit!!
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High 5 For Friday

July 12, 2013


1. Last weekend we went to the lake with our friends Luke and Staphanie, basically we mooched off their awesome digs for a day or two. We had a blast though, there is nothing more relaxing than being at the lake. Hands down favorite part was when Stephanie and I got up Saturday morning and kayaked around the lake, talk about a good workout. I was sore for two days after it.

I thin I need a kayak.

2. I decided to make my own mayo, I used extra virgin olive oil but will definitely be trying it out with a lighter oil soon. Once I get it perfected I'll post the recipe. I don't know if you can see the black specs in it... but I put a ton of pepper in it. This stuff would seriously make an awesome pasta salad.

3. We've talked a bit about me signing up at a gym again in a few months. I've always been a gym rat and the past two years of home workouts have finally driven me insane. Plus it doesn't help that I have yet to figure out what box my yoga dvds are in.

Anyway, this week Jeremy randomly told me I could go ahead and join a gym, that it would give me something to do for the month before school starts and it wouldn't hurt to join earlier than we had planned. This was music to my ears and almost as good as the words "you can quit your job."

Not that he as said those, or that he would, but in theory it's the best thing you could say.

4. We hit up the snowcone stand in New Iberia this week (while also on a hunt for dog food bowls that Ellie can't move around so easily) and found the best ice on earth. Seriously, snowcone ice is a deal breaker for me, but if you have awesome ice I will be your best customer for life. Their ice mixed with Strawberry Shortcake flavoring was heaven!

5. Last night we drove the long 3 hour ride to my parents house for the weekend to make our annual summer pilgramiage before Jeremy starts his new job. Jeremy broke out a game called Mau, or whatever, kind of sounds like Meow. I spelled it Mow on IG last night and was picked on terribly by my sister and husband. As usual everyone else picked up on the game except me... and I've played more than my sister who had never played.

I'm just not a card game gal, I have zero attention span and a lame short term memory.

On the up-and-up Joshua came out of the cabinet with some squeeze frosting, heaven!



What were your favorite moments from the week? 
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How to Get a Fresh Look Using Just Your Eyes

July 11, 2013

Today's guest post is written by Emily Spencer, a contributor for Hometone. Emily is sharing with us about how how to keep that bright eyed look and healthy things you can do to achieve it. 

So read it, like it, leave her a comment, and even share it! Enjoy y'all. 

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Our eyes are the most attractive and effective organs of our body. They express our happiness, sorrow, desire and difficulties. They reflect our emotions. Having beautiful eyes naturally is every woman’s wish. But most of us ignore to take proper care of them. Keeping our eyes healthy will make us look always fresh. But some irregular habits such as lack of sleep, exposure to hot sun and sitting for long time before your computer contribute to dark circles and puffy eyes which make you look dull and tired. Here are few tips that can be followed to keep your eyes healthy and make you look fresh and youthful.
Use cold water for washing eyes
Make it a practice to wash your eyes with cold water as soon as you wake up and before you get to bed. It is better even if you do it several times a day. This keeps your eyes fresh, clean and cool. This also helps in reducing dark circles and puffiness. Take care in using a clean towel for wiping your eyes because used towel may carry germs and dirt which tend to enter the eye.
Use sunglasses or goggles to protect your eyes
Your eyes need strong protection against UV rays, wind, bright lights, pollution, etc. Always carry a pair of sun glasses while travelling. Also, never forget to wear goggles while swimming or else the chlorine may enter the eyes and cause irritation.
Get enough sleep
There are chances of having dull looking eyes in case you don’t sleep well. Not sleeping well at night can cause wrinkles under the eyes and spoil freshness of your face. It is important to provide enough rest for your eyes to keep them healthy. You need to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night to avoid any sleep disorders.
Avoid smoking and alcohol
Smoking and alcohol can prove dangerous to your eyes. If you limit the intake of these things, then you can protect your eyes in the long run. Drinking and smoking causes dark circles around your eyes. Also they make you look older. Moreover they harm your skin and spoil your overall freshness.
Remove eye makeup
After a busy day most of us jump on to bed without getting rid of our makeup. Eye makeup if not removed, tends to enter the eyes and damage the cornea. Use cotton balls soaked in cleanser to remove the eye makeup. But do it gently or else the skin under the eyes develop lines that increase as the years go by. Softly dab a good cleanser with cotton pads, and then gently apply your preferred moisturizer around your eyes.
Moisturize regularly
Use a good cream to moisturize the area around your eyes. Take the help of your beautician in choosing the best moisturizer for your skin type. It is recommended to opt for an herbal eye cream which is free from preservatives.
Refresh your tired eyes
Take two cotton pads soaked in ice water and place them over your closed eyelids for about 10 minutes. Cold will tighten the blood vessels and refresh your eyes.
Stay hydrated
 Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated throughout the day. Dehydration can make your eyes dry and cause infections. Drinking the recommended amount of water as often as possible will keep your whole body fresh.
Keep blinking
Reading for long or sitting in front of your computer screen for more time strain your eyes which cause irritation and redness in eyes. To avoid this, blink your eyes or look at an object that is far away from you. Doing this every half an hour of your activity not only provides a good exercise to the lens in your eyes but also reduces strain to the eyes.
Groom your eyebrows regularly
Eyebrows have a stunning effect on your look. It’s important to groom them regularly. Use an eyebrow pencil to fill in the sparse areas. Also don’t forget to get rid of any stray hairs. But don’t overdo it as poorly kept eyebrows spoil your natural beauty.
Ditch old makeup
Never use eye makeup that has expired. Also never use other’s make-up kits as you will be under the risk of infections.
Healthy foods
Include foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, beta carotene and vitamin A. These nutrients are found in green leafy vegetables, oily fishes, eggs and so on. There are also many fruits in the market that claim to be beneficial for eyes. Bilberry is found to improve your night vision.
Avoid wearing contacts for long periods
It is recommended to avoid wearing contact lenses for too long or in dusty environments. Because eyes don’t get proper supply of oxygen and suffer from irritation.


About The Author: Emily is a writer blogger. She loves writing, travelling and reading books. She contributes to modern luxury homes
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