Not Quite a Bed and Breakfast...

Not Quite a Bed and Breakfast...

uyguguygu   20.09   Comment  

Our house is run, at certain seasons, like a home hotel. Whoever is staying at our house comes after work or on a weekend day and I feed them dinner and we sit around my tiny table using every spare chair in the house. We talk over life and love and all manner of other things. Then we all head to sleep, my guests sprawled out around the house on air mattresses and the couch. I feel happiest when my house is full, the company is laid back, and I can enjoy the adventures and stories, and experiences of life they are having.

I have really been finding my cooking groove lately. My sister, who's entire life revolves around food, would be proud. My grocery budget, however, isn't. Regardless of that I have really enjoyed the process of making dinners these days - and it is a process - a walk to the grocery store (five blocks there and back), prep, serving, and best of all eating and conversation and building relationships. It's a bonus when the food is delicious, in season, and exactly what I want to eat that day.

My friend S, on a whim, took me to Costco with her today. I had never been but I was excited to see the inside of the legendary store that both treats its workers right and has all sorts of food in bulk. While I was there I found gluten free cheese ravioli, something I have not had in many, many years. So many, in fact, I can't remember ever having cheese ravioli. With that in my (giant!) shopping cart I knew exactly what I was going to be serving for dinner: Gluten free Cheese Ravioli in a Garlic and Olive Oil sauce inspired by Seven Spoons - my variation gets rid of the crab and lemon zest. I picked up a loaf of rosemary bread to fill the carb needs of my husband, and lightly tossed mixed greens in the Jalapeno Vinaigrette I made from Sprouted Kitchen. It's a little more elaborate than our usual weeknight meals but you can't say no to inspiration when it strikes.

As someone who previously detested cooking I can say I am reformed.

What have you been eating for dinner these days? How do you manage your grocery shopping and cooking?

The Kitchen Garden

The Kitchen Garden

uyguguygu   20.36   Comment  

Since I've been cooking seasonally more often I've been going through fresh herbs like crazy. My friend pointed out that a little potted herb plant was no more than than a dollar or two higher in price than one of those little packets of fresh herbs at the grocery store. 

She made a pretty good case for a small kitchen garden on my window sill and I decided to give it an attempt even though I'm a pretty middle of the road gardener. I had to spend a little time planning it, though - I knew that my cat adores chewing on my houseplants and I'm completely out of shelf space that's out of reach of the cat to put the indoor herb garden because my other (non edible) plants are up there. 

Luckily I looked around on pinterest and found these really simple, inexpensive mini greenhouses which happened to be sold at Ikea - totally doable, if not the greatest quality. If the plants were contained in something they'd be out of the reach of my cat who luckily has no opposable thumbs and can't open a miniature greenhouse. 

JR and I drove down to Ikea, picked one of those tiny greenhouses up ($20), grabbed a couple of pots ($4), stopped at Home Depot for organic potting soil ($5), and finally ran to Whole Foods for some potted herbs, which to my delight were on sale for two dollars a piece! I had to pick through some pretty sad looking plants to find some that looked like it would last the week, and I'm still not sure about the Basil, but I found four that looked okay: Parsley, Oregano, Basil, and Mint ($8).

JR and I drilled two or three holes in the zinc wanna-be pots I picked up from Ikea for drainage, loosened up the roots of the plants, and stuck them in the pots with some new soil. Then I put them in the tiny greenhouse. I've already used some of the oregano for my home made pizza last night and I have mint and orange slices in my water right now.  This project came out under $40.00 so I just have to use it...ten times...to make it pay for itself. I hope I can keep the plants alive that long! Wish me luck!

Ten things for 2013

Ten things for 2013

uyguguygu   15.22   Comment  

Here are ten things that are making my life lovelier this year. They are small things, nothing fancy, just little things I've loved having around in my life this January. 

1. Workbasket

Inspired by the idea of 18th and 19th century women's workbaskets I decided to corral many of my personal projects and things to do into a basket to be taken out in the evenings and worked on a little at a time. 

2. 2013 memory jar

I found this clever idea on Pinterest. I'm looking forward to opening it up on January first of next year and looking over all the wonderful things we did in 2013.

3. A stack of new and old favorites to read

I received a lot of books over the holidays and I've been utilizing paperback swap - there are lots of books to read around here and I've been curling up with them in the evenings. 

4. My planner

I purchased this last summer but it's still going strong, looks beautiful, and keeps me organized. I know exactly when everything is happening, I can jot down ideas in the blank pages and the book club book of the month on the top of each monthly calendar. There's even a spot for two lines of daily gratitude. I like to use Washi tape to block out larger projects, workflow, or time off. 

5. Our new couch

Finally, the wait is over. We have somewhere to sit!

6. Grey suede booties

I bought these in November in anticipation of holiday parties but they have turned out to be incredibly comfortable so I've been wearing them to work a lot. It's hard to find shoes that match my school's incredibly strict dress code, look nice, and don't make you want to soak your feet in a tub of ice after chasing twenty-six 8 year olds!

7. Letters to and from

I'm a dedicated letter writer and I look forward sending and receiving more of these dear missives from dear friends. 

8. French press

We've been long contemplating switching from our regular drip coffee maker to a French press coffee maker. We've been holding back because said drip coffee maker works perfectly fine. We received this French press coffee maker as a gift so there's no reason not to switch now!

9. Reorganized desk/workspace

The couch prompted a reorganization of our living space. I decided to move the desk behind the couch so I could look out the window as I worked, I cleared off a lot of random things that we really were not using, and I found some pretty things to hold supplies, pens, and stationary. We used the couch to split our living room into two distinct spaces: one for working and one for relaxing. It's been really great to have a better flow in our main living space. 

10. New Workout Clothes

January has been a bit of a wash for working out. I had a week in between bronchitis and an injury that's waylaid me to get my workout on but I know as soon as I'm cleared to head back to the gym I have some super cute clothes to wear while doing it! 

Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens

uyguguygu   21.36   Comment  

The roses in the garden are dying, they are frail pink, petals hanging their heavy heads. It's crisper now, and it's dark when I get up in the morning and most nights it's dark by the time I make it home around seven or eight. I can see my breath, even as the sun comes up to warm up denver.

It rained today, a steady drizzle that started as we were riding our bikes home from a ride we had decided to go on this morning. I'm thankful we left early enough to get two dozen miles in before the rain really came in. 

But I don't mind the rain - it was cozy today, wrapped up in this sweater, folding laundry, cleaning the house, organizing and re-organizing the scattered pieces of my home, restoring order to my domain. 

I've also been watching the second season of Sherlock and plotting things for a big summer trip and the holidays that are coming up (In order: Halloween, Mom's Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas). Have you seen it at all? It's a great show - I love figuring out the puzzles and the humor is spot on. Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes is an insufferable man. I think I like John Watson best of all the characters. The show pairs well with tea. 

Sweater: H&M
Snowdrop Pin: Thrifted

Skirt: Urban Outfitters

Leggings: I can't remember

Boots: I can't remember

You Should Know: How to Avoid Getting Sick - 5 Tips From a Teacher

cooking Home Homekeeping how to avoid Life Life at Home Love making home marriage old fashioned sickness You Should Know

You Should Know: How to Avoid Getting Sick - 5 Tips From a Teacher

uyguguygu   10.21   Comment  

(My breakfast - designed to help me avoid getting sick - a smoothie with veggie based protein powder, mixed greens, almond milk, and frozen berries)

My lovely husband is sick today - sneezing, sniffling, dripping everywhere. I’m working really hard to avoid getting sick from him. Also, cold and flu season is just around the corner. I’m a teacher and I’m around sick kids a lot. I really try hard to stay healthy through diet and lifestyle but sometimes you have to go a bit further, especially when parents send their kids to school sick or someone is sick around you. Here are the top five things I’ve found that help!  

1. Avoid sick people. Yup. Avoid them. This one sounds harsh but it’s totally the number one thing you can do to keep yourself from getting sick. Try to stay away from the air they are breathing, the things they are touching. Don’t sleep next to them. I always kick my husband onto the couch when I’m sick and when he’s sick I go for an air mattress. When a student is sick I try to help them from a distance, without putting my face to near to their hands or face. This is still totally effective teaching and helps keep me from having to get a sub a few days later…which is generally not effective teaching.  

2. Don’t touch your face, nose, or mouth! This advice was given to me by a doctor when I was really sick during student teaching. There’s only a few ways for germs to enter your body and your hand connecting with one of them is a sure fire way to get sick. If my eyes itch I’ll scratch them while holding a tissue or use part of my sleeve in a pinch. I wash my hands before food prep and try to use utensils instead of my fingers to eat. When I put my moisturizer on my face I make sure that my hands are clean both to avoid bacteria in my pores and also to avoid germs that could make me sick!

3. Wash your hands! This was alluded to in the previous point, but washing your hands and washing them frequently is such an important thing! Hopefully I’m preaching to the choir with this one but it’s important to get rid of those germs. You can really make handwashing as fun or as boring as you want to. At work it’s whatever soap they provide but at home I go for the Method soaps in the fun containers and of course minty smelling soap! I generally do liquid over bar soap because it makes my sink less messy! Wash all the time, especially before food prep and eating and…do I even need to say it…after you use the restroom!

4. Rest and hydrate! If you find yourself feeling like you’re coming down with something…rest! I try to get as much off my schedule, I stop training cold turkey for a day or two, and I just hydrate and rest. I try to nap, and give my body the space to use the energy I’d generally be putting in at the gym to repair the damage before it gets too intense.

5. Eat Right. I hope that this is one thing that you already do! Eating lots of great living foods, healthy grains, lower amounts of sugars…I believe that would be called eating clean…is the best thing you can do! Having good food will give you a good immune system and having enough vitamins and minerals help with that, too. I personally take a high quality multivitamin purchased through my natropath with a healthy dose of Vitamin C to help with absorption. I also strive for 9 servings of fruits and veggies a day and try to stay away from refined sugars. Eating healthy is a little less easy to do when you are on your way to getting sick because your energy is drained but it’s the number one thing you can do to help keep yourself healthy. When I’m getting sick I get Zicam (I’ve found it’s the best of the cold remedies out there for my physiology) and take a few zinc supplements on top of it. I completely cut all sugars (including fruit sugars) out of my diet because I know bacteria loves sugar and uses sugars to multiply, and really, really go crazy with the veggies and hot soups. I make a huge kettle of Veggie Soup and just eat that for a few days as needed and the heat and liquid helps you stay hydrated and clear out those sinuses. I put Cayenne pepper in it, tons of garlic, organic veggie broth, rosemary, and any veggie that looks appealing into it. I snack on carrots and bell peppers and Kale chips. 

Three Days of Summer

Three Days of Summer

uyguguygu   15.18   Comment  

One of the gifts of summer is that we seem to have more time. People move slower. Things seem less imperative. Housekeeping and cleaning is only done in the cool hours of the morning and evening and the middle of the day is given to rest. We measure our time less - it stays light so late that I often forget if it's 6:00pm or 8:00pm

We've had time to look at book stalls with friends...

...time to enjoy teeny tiny little kittens...

...time to chase friends into dream blue houses in old neighborhoods...

...time to sit on creaky old porches in the shade...

...time to spend in magical overgrown gardens...

... and time to cultivate my home. 

What have you been doing with your summer time?

...

Dress: Thrifted (Gap)

Pinnifore: Self Made

Boots: Ariat

Socks: Target