Long Cardigans

A short fatshion post:  long cardigans


They are cozy and warm. It's like wearing a blanket - in a good way. (They are much more fashionable than snuggies!) For people who do well well with layers - they are fabulous! I love layers.


I think this purple/teal combo would work better with pants other than jeans - make some cords?  I'll have to keep my eye out for a good deal.


In this picture wearing a ruffled purple tank from Lane Bryant, teal cardigan from Avenue, Lane Bryant jeans, Boots from Avenue.

Community: Big World Made Small

Shady Sidewalk

I realize this isn't a radical idea. That I'm not the first person to have this realization - but after a year of living a personal life this is pedestrian based - my world feels smaller (in a good way). I moved from an urbanish suburb where if you saw someone on foot or bike your first thought tended to be, "Aw. Their car broke down." A 15 minute drive was typical to get anywhere. And, while new building codes had begun to require the inclusion of sidewalks along the street front - - the sidewalks were rather patchworked - - new and remodeled buildings sporting them but the older properties let their granfathered-in grass grow wild. The distance between things with the lack of an easy path there did not make for conducive walking conditions. And, forget public transportation - you include that in your suburb and people from the city just might infiltrate!


Before I lived here I'm not sure I would have thought communities like this actually existed. On my 10 minute walk home from church (on continuous sidewalk no less!) the other week I watched the street next to me and counted six bicycles to one car. I passed dozens of other pedestrians. I thought about how much more fluid life is when you're not in a car. I don't have to park my vehicle in some random spot just there for the sole purpose of parking a vehicle. I don't have the in and out of the car and getting situated and keeping up with my keys. I don't lug around a bunch of extra stuff. My purse gets cleaned out regularly and the only things that go with me on trips are things I need.

I actively choose things based on their walking distance now. I measure distance in blocks.  It makes things simpler in a way - my radius of  options is small - I try to have everything within a mile (a 20 minute walk). When I recently (finally!) got around to finding a local dentist the choice of "which one?" was easily solved by picking one that was a few blocks away. I can walk a mile or so and get to: the post office, church, a couple grocery stores, a number of parks, a number of coffee shops, video rental, the library, the dentist, dry cleaner, a fabric store, movie theatre,  a number of restaurants, and many other things. 

I don't think I will be in a densely populated area forever - as I want to try that whole "living in a yurt on a wide open meadow miles away from anyone" thing one day too - - but for now it's really nice and I love that I get to experience this kind of living.

Living Vicariously

Over the years of surfing the blogworld I've found a number of blogs that show me a life experience that I had never considered before - I think that's my favorite part of reading blogs - living vicariously through the lives of others. 

One of my most recent blog "genres" that has fascinated my nomadic-inclined mine is blogs about RV life. Not just RV vacationing - but RV dwelling.  Way back whenever (1996  according to IMDB) I remember watching the show Promised Land (a spin-off of Touched By An Angel) and thinking their life was pretty cool - - but I do not recall the show portraying RV dwelling having much of a community so I never considered it. I get the impression of community from these blogs - and as much as I am introvert with a strong dose of wanderlust - - I really do love community too. 

I stumbled upon the blog  The Happy Jansens about a year ago I guess  -- a family of four living in an RV full time - travelling the world, working from "home" - and blogging about it all. (And taking pretty pictures of it all ;-) )  

From there I just started clicking through other bloggers they had listed or people who commented and found these other two RV blogs that I really enjoy reading:

The Ticknor Tribe - this blog combines my love of a big family with my new RV fascination. They have 13 people, 13, living in the RV.   Here is the fascinating post on how they make that work.

Living In My Car - a woman travelling solo. She drove all the way from Texas to the arctic circle.  If I wasn't so terrified of having to park and maneuver a RV - - I'd totally start plotting my own such adventure. But, alas, I need a driver for my RV journey if it's to be relaxing at all!  I really enjoy her self-reflection that she includes in many of her posts.



So those are a few of my favorite blogs - as I tend to lurk more than I comment on them -- I hope I didn't freak any of the previous mentioned bloggers out by talking about them. :) haha.

Favorite Things: Cup o' Tea

More often than not lately it seems that it's been raining on the weekends. I decided to embrace the weather and put to use a gift from my secret pal at work.

I received a Loose Leaf Tea Brewing Basket and a can of Organic Orange Blossom Green Tea.

I had never had loose leaf tea before - but it is so good! I feel very sophisticated drinking loose leaf tea too - so that's always fun. ;-) The brewing basket I have is for use with a single coffee mug and the handles are designed so the basket will hang on the edge of the mug. It's very simple to use - you just put in a tsp of the leaves, pour in hot water, put on the lid, and let it steep for a few minutes.

One particular Saturday in the midst of stressful weeks at work I opened the windows so I could hear the rain and my wind chimes and drank hot tea while reading a great book. (David Baldacci's Wish You Well)

A couple of my students asked me on the next Monday what I did over the weekend - and I told them about my rainy day with tea and a book - and they thought that hysterical of course and have asked me every Friday since if I'm going to be making tea that weekend. However, it really is a great way to relax. So, I suggest you get yourself some loose leaf tea and prepare for the next rainy day you're trapped inside. Let the teenagers make fun of you - one day they'll understand the beauty of a quiet day with rain, tea, and a book. :-)

Favorite Things: Furniture Repair

It's spring break for me and I'm working on a rather lengthy spring-cleaning list. One of the items on the list was furniture repair. My coffee and end tables have been the victims of a few scratches over the past couple of years. However! I've found a lovely cheap fix that actually works! All you need is the marker and a clean soft cloth. If you try this for yourself - make sure you immediately wipe the area you color to get rid of the excess ink - otherwise you may end up with an ink blotch on your furniture.

Furniture markers. They sound like one of those late-night infomercial products - but they do work (mostly).

If you're scrutinizing the table for scratches you will still see them - but scratches that are obvious from the sofa will be no more!

Here are some before/after pics to show you how it works:

(Those first scratches are thanks to cats sliding across the furniture and the latter ones are thanks to a laptop being pulled on and off the table.)

Here is the kit I have - available on Amazon.com: Guardsman Touch-Up Pens They come in three shades - though I've noticed other kits that contain more shades.

How I Get Away With Shopping Once a Month

A number of you expressed surprised after I mentioned my monthly grocery shopping trip - especially in regards to produce.

These wonders definitely fall under my "favorite things" category.

Tupperware's FridgeSmart Containers. Seriously, they're amazing. Veggies, fruits, and even potatoes last longer in these things and stay fresh!



I hosted a tupperware party last year and earned myself a set of 8 of these - and I absolutely love them. When I had a CSA last year they were so helpful! Speaking of the CSA - I waited too late to sign up this year and missed out. So, my plan is to make the weekly Saturday morning trip to a Farmer's Market in a town over - I'm hoping I will find some good deals there!

I am trying a new budget plan this month which will have me shopping every week rather than once a month - so we'll see how that goes! This week's grocery trip's "big meal" was a variety of home-made pizzas that I made with a friend for a movie night - one of them turned out FABULOUSLY! I'll get pictures and a sort-of-recipe up soon (we didn't measure - but I'll give you estimates and tell you what we did.)

Nicole Helps With Holiday Shopping. (Edited)

I'm going to pretend like shopping fits in with my theme here and do a "look at these cool things!" post. I've been doing online browsing while the turkey cooks in preparation for Black Friday and Christmas shopping. (I have to be done shopping by the 11th as my family is doing an early Christmas. ACK!)


Things Nicole Loves (and maybe a friend of yours would love too!):

1. Rain Parade Umbrella: They look like people in raincoats! And they're umbrellas! My favorites are the red, white, and light blue ones.


2. Woodnetic Frames: It's wood, that's a magnet, that's curved, and then you put pictures on it. It has that 70s kind of design look. Totally wouldn't fit in with my decor - but I think it's a cool design idea.


3. Soup and Sandwich Plates. The days of juggling your bowl of soup and your sandwich while you try to eat on the couch watching tv are over. I'm in love with these things. They're so cool!


4. Birds on a Branch Necklace: It's just so cute. A mom bird and little baby birds. I love the kind of antiqued/dull look it has too.


5. Beautiful eco-friendly desk calendar: The designs are beautiful and at the end of the year you can send the old cards back for the designer to recycle and get a coupon for the new ones!

6. Cloth fruit and veggie baskets: If I had kids to buy presents for they'd so get these. I love 'em!

7. Amber Tree Necklace: If you haven't been clicking on the links. Click this one. It's GORGEOUS. This etsy seller has the same design in other stones as well - but the amber is my favorite. This is where I need to not be the single domestic so I can be all, "Hey, honey. Isn't that pretty?" *nudge* *nudge*.


8. Come Over To My Neighborhood Pillow: Actually, I pretty much love all the pillows by this designer. They've got that "modern retro" thing. If I ever decide to re-do my living room decor that'll be the look I go for. (Those "Woodnetic Frames" would fit there ya know!)


9.Market Bags made from recycled newspaper: And, it's snobby parts of the newspaper which so appeals to me. You know - the leisure, arts, travel sections. They've got a cosmetic pouch version as well which is just too cute.

10. Bamboo Utensils with Carry Case: A better idea for all those work lunches than the plastic stuff. Plus it has a cool pouch. And, it cracks me up that it's got a fork, spoon, knife, and chopsticks. Seriously. I love it! You can even get it in a camo carry-case. Because, you know, hunters need those chopsticks for the deer hunting lunch break.


11. Huh Duh Arg Oy Post-it Notes: Oh, just click it. I want! If you only knew how often I write, "HUH?" on my students' papers!

Favorite Things: Lemon-Lime Press

I picked this thing up at Williams-Sonoma a month or so ago - and I love it! It makes me not dread recipes that say such things as "the juice of one lime."

You of course cut the lime in half first. Not much explanation needed for this post - just watch how amazing this thing is:

(And, that's guacamole I'm making. Yum!)

To juice a lemon you'd just flip the green part up so that the basin is a bit bigger and then put half a lemon in there and press away.

Go get one. It will make you happy.

Now I need a citrus zester. . .

My Favorite Things: Spaghetti Sauce

just a quick entry - which I guess is better than no entries. I have a week off work next week (Yay for fall break!) and am planning a variety of decorating projects - so hopefully I'll have enough material for a few weeks of regular posts.

I have tried I don't know how many types of spaghetti sauce. Homemade sauces. Canned sauces. Organic sauces. Restaurant sauces.

I finally found my favorite: Bertolli Vineyard - Fire Roasted Tomato with Cabernet Sauvignon. MMMM. Good.

My Favorite Things: Snack

On grocery store trips when I feel I can afford the splurge I buy a round of Camembert cheese (I do recommend the President brand pictured here), a fresh baguette, and some white wine.

This makes up my favorite nighttime snack.I like the baguette that is ready for me to bake at home because I can get it all warm and toasty and then spread that lovely soft cheese on there.

Yum.

In the picture I actually have Ginger Ale in the champagne glass because I didn't feel like opening the wine I had in my fridge - but - as long as it's in a pretty glass it still feels like a fancy treat. This is my very short blog post recommending a bit of a treat to make yourself feel a little bit pampered.

Favorite Things: containers

When I first moved to my little apartment I found some magnetic spice tins at Ross and I fell in love with them. I could not find the same tins anywhere though to increase my collection! I looked thoroughly through the kitchen section of every Ross I entered and only managed to find three more - giving me a total of 9 spice jars. Well, this past weekend my mother and I were at Bed, Bath, & Beyond and she spotted my spice tins! They typically come in a set of 9-12 with a little magnetic board - - but I don't use the magnetic board. However, BB&B was selling them individually! So happy. I bought all but five of them.

The original set I bought at Ross had some labels - and I found a few more removable labels at World Market.


Aren't they just lovely? This is perhaps my most favorite thing in my kitchen. I love that they easily stay organized and in reach. I even have seven extras at the moment for when I buy more spices.


These lovely little things do not have to be used for spices of course. I'm considering using them in my office to store some craft things like beads, eyelets, buttons, etc. They're also great for office supplies (push pins, paper clips, rubber bands)


And, I know I'm a couple of weeks behind on my CSA postings. I must admit I'm a bit disappointed in the fact that it's almost always types of leafy greens. I like salad - - it's just not a very fun blog topic. Hopefully I'll be getting some other types of vegetables and fruits soon and I'll have more to write about besides "had salad again. . ." Or, when I'm finally done with work for the school year I'll have a chance to try some fancy salads.

My Favorite Things: Cookbooks

This idea for a weekly blog “series” has been in my head for a bit. Weekly “favorites” of mine will be posted mid-week each week (at least that is the plan).

Topic for Week One of “These are a few of my favorite things”: Cookbooks

First up we have the book that gets its merit based in nostalgia.
No matter what we were cooking growing up – my mom or I would say “get the Betty Crocker cook book!” – it has this fabulous little spice chart in the front for all types of food. I don’t even look at the recipes – just the spice chart. There are surprisingly few editions of a Betty Crocker cook-book that has this spice chart in it - - but my mother and I searched yard sales and ebay and I had my own copy on hand when I moved out so I didn’t have to steal hers. We found a couple more so my sister-in-law has one as well and there’s an extra one sitting in my closet for when we decide we need to gift it to some other deserving cook in the family.

Second is the book I actually use the most - - America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook. It is full of helpful hints born of their cooks cooking the same recipe over and over and over again. It also has these great charts. (I like charts, can you tell?). I’ve never had a recipe from this book fail me – and it’s often my first consult when I’m trying to find a new recipe to make.

The third book is here because it just makes me smile – it earned itself a front and back cover picture.


Yes, a cookbook for how to cook in a trailer – RVs, the kind you hook to the back of your truck to go camping, etc. Complete with a picture of the author on the back in her motor home kitchen with Bundt cake in hand. This book was published in 1970. The inside is filled with fun trailer-cooking drawings and helpful hints (many which are helpful in kitchens located in a kitchen that has no wheels.) Doesn’t it just make you smile? This was an antique store find that I just had to have. I like to collect unusual cook books or cook-books with fun covers. One of these days I’m going to decorate a dining room or kitchen in cookbooks.