Saturday, February 21, 2009

The view from up here

What an absolutely gorgeous day today. Lots of blue sky and sunshine. AND, it's about 22 degrees ABOVE zero. Nothing to complain about here!

Nice vista from our bedroom window:


Our home is fairly well insulated so there are no icicles hanging down from the roof -- except for this crazy frozen waterfall spilling out from one of the gutters.


Happy Saturday everyone!

Friday, February 20, 2009

Free photo book

This is a great offer from Shutterfly: a free 20-page 8x8 photo book!


It's a $29.99 value, but FREE for you if you enter coupon code PHOTOBOOKS when checking out. Good until March 10, 2009.

I haven't ordered Shutterfly's photo books before, but friends have and the quality is pretty good. Plus you can't beat free, peoples...

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Moose alert

A friend and I made plans to have lunch together today, and as I left the parking lot at work it felt as if something was watching me...


The weather has been warm lately, which makes for slushy roads, really dirty snow and gray days.

Special delivery

Lots of packages arrived on our doorstep yesterday!

First up is a sample pack of pledge products. A couple years ago I joined a national testing panel and every few months the company sends me a package of items that I try out, tell people about and then write reports detailing my likes and dislikes of the product. It's all word-of-mouth marketing. The great part is that I get to keep all of the items after I'm done. Each package also includes a ton of coupons for the item which I can use or distribute. If anybody wants some coupons, let me know!

The panel has been good to me -- last year I tested and was able to keep a video game system and a Sonicare electronic toothbrush/sanitizing system for free!

A lovely package arrived from my parents -- Ikea stuff, my favorite. A mattress cover to protect our new mattress, and a milk frother. Homemade lattes -- woot!

And finally, our first box of Full Circle Farms organic fruits and veggies arrived! It was so convienient to pick it up at work and throw it in my car. We're impressed with the quality. Everything is very fresh and looks amazing. We have two weeks to finish it all before our next box arrives!


Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Warm up those pots

A perfect use for those great looking but lonely socks. Via Shelteriffic:


Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Laundry rooms

I know that we are pretty lucky to have a separate space for laundry. In D's other house, the washer and dryer share space next to the fridge. D has been working so hard on remodeling our house and the laundry room is on the list -- yay! Last year I got a new washing machine for Valentine's Day -- it doesn't sound romantic, but I totally appreciated the gift.

The laundry room needs a lot of work (just like the rest of the house) -- the sink should be replaced and we have a capped hole where a toilet will eventually be installed. So for now I'm dreaming and gathering ideas for the new space! I'd love to have a nice countertop over the washer and dryer for clothes folding, sorting, etc -- and a set of cabinets or open shelving with baskets above.


Our room is fairly small and narrow, so we need some effective space planning. Love the baskets.


A bit too industrial for me, but the storage is great.


So bright and cheery! Nice cabinets.


Messy, but I like how the machines are off the floor with a center shelving unit. We don't have pedestals for our front loaders so they are low on the ground.

Totally hidden machines! Love it.

I really want these in my laundry room. I do a lot of hang drying for delicates and also to save a little energy. Right now we have a foldable rack and it takes up a lot of space.

Another drying rack option.

Monday, February 16, 2009

At home

Received some news on Saturday that made me sad, so Drift and I headed outside to play and get some fresh air. After we returned inside he got mopey since I wouldn't feed him dinner yet -- he got a little dog biscuit instead.

I totally understand how Drift gains weight when we go out of town and have other people watch him. He pulls the "I'm soooo hungries -- can't you see I'm wasting away" face. Who can resist that?

The last few days have been uncommonly warm - high 30's and almost 40's. Felt downright balmy outside with just a sweatshirt on.



This bottle of muscat desert wine has been sitting neglected among the other wine bottles for a very long time -- I finally decided to open it and check it out. A few months ago I volunteered at a wine tasting/charity event and had the opportunity to try a variety of amazing wine selections. A muscat (although they called it muscato) was among them and I loved it! A lot sweeter than regular wine.


Sam's Club sells these little plastic pods of edamame -- it doesn't seem like very much, but I finished the whole container and was super full. Good quality. I'll be buying more.

Coconut macaroons

With D away this past weekend, I kept busy with home stuff, namely cleaning, laundry and cooking. I made a huge double batch of tomato basil soup and picked up fresh french bread -- so yummy. And it was also time to tackle the coconut macaroons that I posted about here.

My swanky vintage Sunbeam mixer -- originally owned by my mom. I've been tempted by those brightly-colored KitchenAids, but this one works so well that I have no excuse to get rid of it!
Apparently I need more practice with egg white separation
Success on the second try
I heart my blog readers
Ready for the heat!

Cooling down before the dipping stage


The finished product didn't turn out nearly as pretty as the Domino magazine examples, but they taste fabulous!