For the first time in my life, I am on a strict budget. That has been a little bit of a transition. Gone are my morning Starbucks visits. I am using a recipe that my friend Jamie passed on to me, and it is a very delicious, inexpensive alternative.
- Chilled coffee, (I keep mine in a pitcher in the fridge)
- Sugar-free syrup, (I bought some Starbucks sugar-free hazelnut syrup from their website.)
- Low fat milk
In the morning, mix two to three pumps syrup, about a cup of chilled coffee, and about a quarter cup milk in a to-go coffee cup. I never measure this concoction, but I taste test and add ingredients as needed. I don't miss out on taste, and I certainly don't miss that $4 latte bill in the morning.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
I'm Intrigued: VIPP Trashcan as a Diaper Pail
Hurray! My sister in law is pregnant! Besides the obvious benefit of a new bundle of joy in the family, this gives me a semi-legitimate reason to be stalking baby retailers. Now, I am no longer the crazy, wanna-be-pregnant lady. Now, I am a future aunt!
So, I was browsing Giggle the other day, and came across this beauty: 
This stainless steel lovely is the Mercedes Benz of diaper pails. It's a VIPP trash can, and you may have seen it at your doctor's office. New parents have discovered that since it is stainless steel, it does not absorb the odors like plastic diaper pails can. VIPPs are made to last forever. And heck, isn't it cute? There is a downside, though. This little bugger costs about $320.
Even so, I am quite interested in seeing more reviews about this pail. So far, I have heard nothing but positive things about it. And if it really keeps smells in as well as people claim, isn't that money well-spent, especially if you can continue to use it long after baby is grown?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Things I Love Right Now
- Pandora: a website that creates you a custom radio station, based on a song or an artist that you like. You click whether or not you like songs, and the radio station figures out what you like. It's free, with very few commercials. Love.
- My Paper-Source letterpress calendar. My sister bought me this lovely desk calendar for Christmas, and it is incredible. Each month has a new, beautiful piece of letterpress art for you to look at. I never get sick of it. Right now, it is 30% off.
- My Paper-Source letterpress calendar. My sister bought me this lovely desk calendar for Christmas, and it is incredible. Each month has a new, beautiful piece of letterpress art for you to look at. I never get sick of it. Right now, it is 30% off.
The Meaning Behind Our Things
My baby fevah has returned with such force that it shocks even me. However, since I need to get into and through nursing school before trying for a baby, I am trying to focus on and enjoy the aspects of my life that will be gone once we have a kid. This includes getting my house all spruced up and organized. I'm so, so, so excited about that. Hot Husband and I are going through all of our closets and getting rid of anything we don't need.
I am bringing all my old clothes to a local consignment store to see if I can get any money for them, and HH's old clothes are being re purposed as sewing material, or they are being sent to Goodwill. I have started asking myself very important questions about the items in our house, which have helped me clear out a few boxes of items for Goodwill already. These questions are very simple, but very effective:
- Do I love this item?
- Do I need this item? Am I sure?
If the answer is no to both of those questions, the item goes in the charity pile or a trash bag. As I started looking at the things in my house under this light, I was amazed at how many things I was keeping for no reason at all. And I was surprised to find that there were quite a few things that I was keeping because I felt guilty for getting rid of them.
Case in point: a teapot that HH's grandmother had given us for our wedding. I held that thing in my hands for a long time, before it finally went into the Goodwill box. I never loved that item, and I certainly did not need it. I had never used it. But it had been taking up valuable real estate in my cupboard because it was a wedding gift given by a person who is special to us. Even as I am typing this, I feel so heartless for getting rid of it. But I did not have enough room to keep it without sacrificing something I did love, or that which was useful.
"It's just a thing," I finally thought. But getting rid of that teapot made me think about the meaning that we put on the items in our environments. If that teapot had not been given to us at our wedding from someone we love, it would have been out of the house years ago. It was the meaning behind the object that I was treasuring, not the object itself. I realized that I can still treasure that meaning, while passing the teapot on to someone who will love and use it.
How about you? Do you suffer from guilt when deciding what takes up space in your home?
I am bringing all my old clothes to a local consignment store to see if I can get any money for them, and HH's old clothes are being re purposed as sewing material, or they are being sent to Goodwill. I have started asking myself very important questions about the items in our house, which have helped me clear out a few boxes of items for Goodwill already. These questions are very simple, but very effective:
- Do I love this item?
- Do I need this item? Am I sure?
If the answer is no to both of those questions, the item goes in the charity pile or a trash bag. As I started looking at the things in my house under this light, I was amazed at how many things I was keeping for no reason at all. And I was surprised to find that there were quite a few things that I was keeping because I felt guilty for getting rid of them.
Case in point: a teapot that HH's grandmother had given us for our wedding. I held that thing in my hands for a long time, before it finally went into the Goodwill box. I never loved that item, and I certainly did not need it. I had never used it. But it had been taking up valuable real estate in my cupboard because it was a wedding gift given by a person who is special to us. Even as I am typing this, I feel so heartless for getting rid of it. But I did not have enough room to keep it without sacrificing something I did love, or that which was useful.
"It's just a thing," I finally thought. But getting rid of that teapot made me think about the meaning that we put on the items in our environments. If that teapot had not been given to us at our wedding from someone we love, it would have been out of the house years ago. It was the meaning behind the object that I was treasuring, not the object itself. I realized that I can still treasure that meaning, while passing the teapot on to someone who will love and use it.
How about you? Do you suffer from guilt when deciding what takes up space in your home?
Oh Mylanta...
I am so sorry, internets! I've been busy. It is nursing school application-alooza at my house right now. Applying to school sounds very simple. But... when every school has different application requirements, and you are applying to six different schools, it gets a tad complicated. I am hanging my whiteboard back in the dining room tonight, just so I can keep track of it all.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Product Review: Lunchbots
First and foremost, let me say that no one is paying me or giving me anything for this review.
About six months ago, I started looking for ways to make our home a more healthful place. In that spirit, I decided to stop buying cheap plastic leftover containers that were semi-disposable. I found that when I used those, I would throw them away quite frequently. Also, the lingering tomato sauce stains on several of the plastic containers made me concerned about how clean they were actually getting in my dishwasher.
I ran across Lunchbots, a company that makes food-grade stainless steel lunch containers. They are dishwasher safe, earth-friendly, and quite cute. Hot husband was a little leery of the price, but I explained to him that they will last forever, and that I would stop spending a fortune on plastic clutter. We purchased two green "Eco's" and two blue "Uno's" to start, and I am very happy with them.
They are sturdier than I thought they would be, and although not water-tight, the lids fit well. I throw them sideways in my husband's lunchbox, and even after much jostling, the lids stay firmly on. I love how clean they are when they come out of the dishwasher, and that I can put the blue ones inside of the green ones to save space. After six months of regular use, they look as new as the day they arrived. As I continue to throw away my ugly plastic containers, I will replace them with Lunchbots. It is a purchase I feel really good about.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Gardening Plans for Spring
Yesterday morning, I woke up and realized that it is much lighter much earlier in the day. Which means: Spring is coming! My bulbs are pushing their hopeful tips through the earth. My dogs spend as much time as possible sunning themselves. And I have started looking around, thinking of what I would like to do in the yard this coming season.
I have two goals this season. The first is to get our watering system hooked up and running. We pay a few hundred dollars a year to have access to unlimited gardening water in the spring and summer. We just need to hook it up.
My second priority is to add privacy to our home. I would like to plant a row of trees along one side of our home, to block our view into the neighbor's yard. I would also like to tear out the shrubbery in front of the house and put in a fence, so the dogs can have access to the front of the house.
I want to plant some lilacs in the front of our driveway, to act as a privacy screen. Trees would fill in more quickly, but that section of the line runs under power lines. Lilacs it is. The other issue with that spot is that the previous owners planted Vinca. Vinca is extremely invasive, and almost impossible to kill. In fact, the only way to completely kill it is to lay down several layers of cardboard, cover it with dirt, and wait until the Vinca is smothered. This can take a season or more. Then, you can remove the cardboard, till the dirt and plant.
I don't want to wait. So, my idea is to make a raised bed over the Vinca, using old railroad ties. A bed two ties high should be sufficient for planting. I will fill it with dirt, plant my lilac trees, and by the time their root systems reach down enough to compete with the Vinca, the Vinca should be gone. The raised bed will be inexpensive and will add a little height to the lilacs, giving more privacy. Railroad ties are going for about six dollars each on my local Craigslist, so it should be a reasonable project.
My goal for these projects is simple. I want to be able to open all of our curtains and not see anything but our yard and our property.
I have two goals this season. The first is to get our watering system hooked up and running. We pay a few hundred dollars a year to have access to unlimited gardening water in the spring and summer. We just need to hook it up.
My second priority is to add privacy to our home. I would like to plant a row of trees along one side of our home, to block our view into the neighbor's yard. I would also like to tear out the shrubbery in front of the house and put in a fence, so the dogs can have access to the front of the house.
I want to plant some lilacs in the front of our driveway, to act as a privacy screen. Trees would fill in more quickly, but that section of the line runs under power lines. Lilacs it is. The other issue with that spot is that the previous owners planted Vinca. Vinca is extremely invasive, and almost impossible to kill. In fact, the only way to completely kill it is to lay down several layers of cardboard, cover it with dirt, and wait until the Vinca is smothered. This can take a season or more. Then, you can remove the cardboard, till the dirt and plant.
I don't want to wait. So, my idea is to make a raised bed over the Vinca, using old railroad ties. A bed two ties high should be sufficient for planting. I will fill it with dirt, plant my lilac trees, and by the time their root systems reach down enough to compete with the Vinca, the Vinca should be gone. The raised bed will be inexpensive and will add a little height to the lilacs, giving more privacy. Railroad ties are going for about six dollars each on my local Craigslist, so it should be a reasonable project.
My goal for these projects is simple. I want to be able to open all of our curtains and not see anything but our yard and our property.
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