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!

Warm up those pots

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

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.

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!

Happy Valentine's Day

Take me to Homer

Homer is one of my very favorite Alaska towns, if not #1. Such a quaint little place, with good fishing, a very famous and tiny saloon -- Salty Dawg, cool art galleries and of course, the most wonderful bakery -- Two Sisters. I just found out they have a blog and have been reading all the old posts.

But really, I have never heard anyone say anything bad about Homer. Who doesn't like that place?

Nice view of downtown and the Spit

Bald eagle on the beach

Otters hanging out in Kachemak Bay

Looking back towards Homer -- waaaay off in the distance

A beautiful day in Kachemak Bay

Moose crossing

Moose are everywhere, all the time. Walking down the street, in parking lots and back yards, munching on our trees and shrubs (and totally messing up the growing cycle, by the way). And last night I narrowly missed hitting one on the street leading to our house.

It was an adolescent, but still huge -- and while the car in front of me stopped and swerved off to the right, I didn't see the moose in the dark until the last second. Thankfully I had enough time to drive out of the way and the moose ran off into somebody's yard. Those close calls make me nervous because I've seen first hand what a moose can do to a vehicle -- they can demolish the front end of a full size truck! And a moose ran in front of my mom's car years back, just absolutely crushing the windshield and bending in the frame. She was fine -- freaked out -- but ok otherwise.

So anyway, this morning I am driving to work and what do I see getting ready to cross Lake Otis? A moose. And this moose looks suspiciously like the one from last night. So I and all the other cars slow down, and he crosses right in front of me. I have been keeping my camera with me during the day but it happened so fast that I wasn't able to snap a photo.

So very true

"Borrowed" this from a very funny and entertaining blog -- All Things G&D.

Hormone Guide to Women

Bad valentine

Saw this on msnbc.com -- hackers are attempting to infect computers through Valentine's Day e-cards. Just reinforces the fact that we should not open emails from unknown sources.

Masked bandit

Hammered jewelry

Attending college in San Antonio was a great time in my life for a number of reasons: fabulous education, beautiful year-round weather (for the most part), finding lifelong friends (yay Slee and Em!) and of course, the abundant shopping opportunities not found in AK.

One of my favorite jewelry stores originated from the Texas Hill Country -- James Avery. This stuff is handcrafted and so classy -- really timeless stuff. My sorority provided me with my first piece. And I still wear it today, along with matching earrings and a necklace that my parents purchased for me.

I'm really liking these hammered pieces:

Identity crisis

Most times I forget that our nation's -- and North America's -- highest peak is not officially called Denali, but Mt. McKinley (for President McKinley from Ohio). Alaskans usually prefer Denali, which means "the high one" in Athabascan. You can differentiate the Lower 48-ers and cheechakos from Alaskans by how they refer to the mountain.

I'm all for the effort underway to change the name to reflect Alaska and our cultural heritage, even if it is a long shot. Apparently Ohio senators (since 1975!) have felt the need to block any and all name-change legislation on OUR MOUNTAIN. Which is made even more crazy when you find out that President McKinley had absolutely nothing to do with the mountain, and never once stepped foot in Alaska.

Label me

When I first started here at the medical place of my employment, the admin assistant let me know where she kept the label maker in case I needed to use it. IN CASE? Of course I needed to use it...it's a label maker! I love those things -- they are to organizing freaks what crack is to addicts. I labeled the bejeezus out of my office.

I'm not sure why we haven't purchased one for the house yet, but this label maker is on my wishlist.

Assimilate or else

Geez, I feel like the only PR person in Alaska without a freaking iPhone. All of my "in the business" friends and acquaintances are constantly pulling out their iPhones and tap, tap, tapping away at those screens. Or else they are using their devices to Twitter. I have no time to Twitter and have successfully resisted all attempts by others to get me to do so -- but I feel that day may come in the future.



I do feel the pull of the iPhone though! I still have a little over a year left on my current phone contract -- but after that it's very likely that I'll jump on the bandwagon. Ooh, I can't wait.