I saw my cousin's wife over the holidays, and she said, "hey, I haven't read your blog in a while." First, I was surprised and excited that she had read my random ramblings. Then I said, "that's okay, I haven't written anything in a while". Thanks....I'll take that as a hint. :)
I was hoping that I would be able to tackle a few long-awaited organization projects during "winter break", but it is already Friday and all I have managed to do is add to my list. Today's addition is trying to find a way to catalog magazine articles, particularly recipes.
I'll admit that I'm a bit of a magazine junkie; at one point this fall I was getting four food-related magazines. Two I paid for, one came from my boss who mysteriously had a second copy of Bon Appetit showing up at her house, and one was a trial subscription that I had inadvertently signed up for at a meeting planning event. Nice. Apparently my love of magazine is hereditary. My brother-in-law has commented a few times now that there always has to be magazine swapping time when my sister goes home to see my mother. I second that motion. I would be very disappointed if I arrived at my mom's house and didn't have any new magazines to read. This time it was a few back issues of New Jersey monthly and Southern Living. I'm not sure how those two publications can sit in the same magazine rack without a fight breaking out, but it seems to work.
At any rate, I am looking for a way to tag my magazines. Short of scanning entire editions, I guess I can go low tech. One giant word file? I guess. Honestly, I guess it just needs to be searchable. The only decision I guess is how far back to go with my filing. Does anyone else have this problem?
Friday, December 28, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
Shop like a man
As I think I've written before, the previous owners of our house had a 1980s meets Americana thing going on. Worked for them, but not really for me.
Our mailbox had one of those weird wrap/cover things on it; this one looked like a vintage American flag. See, there's the Americana thing again. I took it off at one point but realized that the mailbox underneath was rusty. While the cover wasn't my favorite, it stayed on longer than originally planned since it was serving a functional purpose of oxidation disguise.
As with most purchases I attempt to make, I felt the need to research mailboxes (almost ad nauseam, I might add) before heading out to shop. What I realized during online browsing was that I wasn't quite ready to commit to a crazy, non-standard mailbox resembling a dog, airplane, or other such randomness. Something simple and straightforward was going to do the trick.
I went to our local Ace Hardware in search of a mailbox. (Note to self: Write posting about how Ace Hardware is a wonderful example of a quasi-locally owned business. I am not sure exactly how the franchising for Ace works, so maybe they are working for some giant corporate office after all, but it feels like a local business!) Their staff is great, and within a few minutes of my entering the store, I was offered assistance. I said, "yes, actually, I am looking for a mailbox". The sales guy led me to the correct aisle and pointed out distinguishing features of various mailboxes.
After he finished showing me Ace's mailbox stock, he stood there and waited for me to say something. I thought, "oh, apparently this is where I am supposed to choose one and take it to the register." It was odd. I remembered hearing that when men shop, they go into a store with the intention of walking out with a purchase. This was obviously what the Ace guy was expecting me to do. I wanted to leave, visit 5 other stores, go back to the internet, do more research.....but Ace guy was so helpful...could I really let him down?
So I did it. I bought a black mailbox. (Ace guy was even nice enough to give my mailbox to the cashier to hold while I wandered around the store looking at paint.) 15 minutes, in and out of the store. The next day it rained. But the day after that, I installed my new mailbox. Done.
As an aside, there is a part of our old mailbox remains. It never would have occurred to me that a slide out mailbox caddy would be a so helpful. It looks like this. Ours has found a new home, thanks to the Ace guy.
Our mailbox had one of those weird wrap/cover things on it; this one looked like a vintage American flag. See, there's the Americana thing again. I took it off at one point but realized that the mailbox underneath was rusty. While the cover wasn't my favorite, it stayed on longer than originally planned since it was serving a functional purpose of oxidation disguise.
As with most purchases I attempt to make, I felt the need to research mailboxes (almost ad nauseam, I might add) before heading out to shop. What I realized during online browsing was that I wasn't quite ready to commit to a crazy, non-standard mailbox resembling a dog, airplane, or other such randomness. Something simple and straightforward was going to do the trick.
I went to our local Ace Hardware in search of a mailbox. (Note to self: Write posting about how Ace Hardware is a wonderful example of a quasi-locally owned business. I am not sure exactly how the franchising for Ace works, so maybe they are working for some giant corporate office after all, but it feels like a local business!) Their staff is great, and within a few minutes of my entering the store, I was offered assistance. I said, "yes, actually, I am looking for a mailbox". The sales guy led me to the correct aisle and pointed out distinguishing features of various mailboxes.
After he finished showing me Ace's mailbox stock, he stood there and waited for me to say something. I thought, "oh, apparently this is where I am supposed to choose one and take it to the register." It was odd. I remembered hearing that when men shop, they go into a store with the intention of walking out with a purchase. This was obviously what the Ace guy was expecting me to do. I wanted to leave, visit 5 other stores, go back to the internet, do more research.....but Ace guy was so helpful...could I really let him down?
So I did it. I bought a black mailbox. (Ace guy was even nice enough to give my mailbox to the cashier to hold while I wandered around the store looking at paint.) 15 minutes, in and out of the store. The next day it rained. But the day after that, I installed my new mailbox. Done.
As an aside, there is a part of our old mailbox remains. It never would have occurred to me that a slide out mailbox caddy would be a so helpful. It looks like this. Ours has found a new home, thanks to the Ace guy.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
A blank slate no more
At the beginning of April, we celebrated our one year house-a-versary. Perhaps "celebrated" is a bit of an overstatement. In the midst of work, life, and everything else, we realized a few days into April that we had been in the house for a year. See? "Celebrated" sounds much more interesting.
At the one year mark, we realized how sad it was to still have an empty front room, with just a coffee table. The cat loved the mostly empty room, because he was able to slide across the hardwood free of obstructions. For the humans of the house, a largely empty room was a huge waste of space.
I'll admit that part of the hesitation at buying furniture was the inability to form any sort of plan. Interior decorating is intimidating! In the end, we decided on blue! Blue couch! It looks like we will be keeping the walls white (or light) to go with the blue.
For a while now, my husband has talked about wanting a leather recliner. While this wasn't my first choice, I agreed to at least look in the leather section. Some of the recliners reminded me of "Chairry" on Pee Wee's Playhouse, and some were so big that my feet didn't touch the ground. This one seemed to work when we found it in the showroom, and it works well in the room, I think. As a bonus, we purchased a floor sample and saved a few bucks.
Next up: some sort of area rug and devise a new plan for the old coffee table....
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Look a plane! or 2?
Last year, I was in a plane on the way to Orlando during Discovery's final real mission. Our pilot kept making announcements related to the changing status of the liftoff, and finally he announced that Discovery was in fact going to launch while we were in the air. Half the passengers ran to the plane windows and starting screaming (happily) at seeing the shuttle from the air, but I unfortunately was on the wrong side of the plane. Argh. I'm surprised that (insert least favorite airline here) hasn't started pricing seats based on the likelihood of seeing NASA aircraft. Argh again. I probably just gave them a good idea.
 |
| That tiny dot is much larger in real life. |
Today, however, was different. I had honestly forgotten about Discovery until I heard a coworker randomly yelling this morning. After her second or third scream I realized what was causing the hysteria. At this point, my brain began working in slow motion....look out window.....find camera....in phone...oh no... I can never remember how to use the camera phone under pressure...no time to ask for help...? Fortunately I did remember how to take a picture in those few seconds. Discovery, to its credit, looked exactly like the news said - like 2 planes on top of each other. Cool, but also kind of strange.
 |
| Slightly better. |
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Eggs for Jamericans
I am here is bed trying to determine what sort of cold I have been gifted by my husband, so that I could then move on to figuring out what the most effective remedy. Throat hurts. I have thus far been unsuccessful in self-diagnosis. Instead, I starting thinking that I was hungry and that I should do something about it. Thus far, I have gotten as far as writing about it - I love how everything seems to take extra effort when you're getting sick.
I think I will make what we have dubbed "Jamaica Eggs". I don't think they are a Jamaican specialty; personally they would seem to be British-inspired. What I like most about them is that this is a reconstructed recipe.
We (re)visited Jamaica last spring, as I briefly mentioned here. (Woo hoo! I just linked to a previous post! First time for everything.) One morning, Mr. Tomato-then-Chocolate and I found what the resort dubbed cheese toasts; we spent the next 10 minutes trying to determine how they were made. The general formula was scrambled eggs sitting on an English muffin with mustard and cheese. Reconstructing this state-side was another matter.
For my first attempt, I put raw egg on English muffins and placed both in the toaster oven. This resulted in egg all over the tray but not much on the muffin. During attempt number 2, I tried pre-toasting the muffing and making it concave, with both adaptations aimed at keeping more egg on muffin. The result was not much better than attempt 1.
I then realized that the egg needed to be more stable if it was going to stay on the muffin. The solution was to par-cook the scramble to a stable yet runny consistency. This resulted in eggs staying on top of their English muffins and having the stability to support a cheese topping! Success!
One final adjustment I made during the last iteration of Jamaica eggs was to not mix mustard in with the egg mixture. While it seemed to make logical sense to mix in the mustard, it never quite dissolved/emulsified correctly. I found that putting mustard directly on to the muffin during the "construction" phase resulted in more mustard flavor.
Hungry yet? I am. I'm off to make eggs that only Jamericans could love.
By the way, while it's not quite a recipe, here is the method to all of this egg madness:
Split English muffins (I do one muffin per person) and toast in toaster oven (a conventional oven would work too, I suppose).
Scramble eggs - I usually do one fewer egg than I have muffin halves - with milk, seasoning, etc.
Cook on stove until stable yet runny.
Spread mustard on English muffins (place muffins on a tray of some sort), then top with eggs.
Toast a little, then top with cheese (cheddar is nice) and toast again until everything is set, toasted, and melted.
I think I will make what we have dubbed "Jamaica Eggs". I don't think they are a Jamaican specialty; personally they would seem to be British-inspired. What I like most about them is that this is a reconstructed recipe.
We (re)visited Jamaica last spring, as I briefly mentioned here. (Woo hoo! I just linked to a previous post! First time for everything.) One morning, Mr. Tomato-then-Chocolate and I found what the resort dubbed cheese toasts; we spent the next 10 minutes trying to determine how they were made. The general formula was scrambled eggs sitting on an English muffin with mustard and cheese. Reconstructing this state-side was another matter.
For my first attempt, I put raw egg on English muffins and placed both in the toaster oven. This resulted in egg all over the tray but not much on the muffin. During attempt number 2, I tried pre-toasting the muffing and making it concave, with both adaptations aimed at keeping more egg on muffin. The result was not much better than attempt 1.
I then realized that the egg needed to be more stable if it was going to stay on the muffin. The solution was to par-cook the scramble to a stable yet runny consistency. This resulted in eggs staying on top of their English muffins and having the stability to support a cheese topping! Success!
One final adjustment I made during the last iteration of Jamaica eggs was to not mix mustard in with the egg mixture. While it seemed to make logical sense to mix in the mustard, it never quite dissolved/emulsified correctly. I found that putting mustard directly on to the muffin during the "construction" phase resulted in more mustard flavor.
Hungry yet? I am. I'm off to make eggs that only Jamericans could love.
By the way, while it's not quite a recipe, here is the method to all of this egg madness:
Split English muffins (I do one muffin per person) and toast in toaster oven (a conventional oven would work too, I suppose).
Scramble eggs - I usually do one fewer egg than I have muffin halves - with milk, seasoning, etc.
Cook on stove until stable yet runny.
Spread mustard on English muffins (place muffins on a tray of some sort), then top with eggs.
Toast a little, then top with cheese (cheddar is nice) and toast again until everything is set, toasted, and melted.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The things adults love...
I found myself laughing this week about the things we get excited about as adults. I was first made aware of my adult-home-stuff-dorkdom a few years ago. My aunt gave me a few kitchen towels as a birthday gift, and my cousin, who was in middle school at the time, thought that was one on the worst gifts she had ever seen. I, of course, was excited about my new towels.
This time around, it was a boy meets toilet kind of love story. When we decided to look for a house, one thing that my husband was most excited about was the possibility of owning an elongated toilet. I never quite understood the need for such a thing, but this may be another case of our one foot difference in height creating two very different sets of needs from everyday items. (Another example would be the day we tried to hang a mirror and found it hard to find a wall height which would allow for both of us to see ourselves without standing on tip-toe (me) or having to scrunch down (him). Perhaps this is a question that internet dating sites need to start asking - Can you see yourself in this mirror, at this height?)
Okay, back to the toilet. He bought his elongated toilet a few months ago, and it had taken up residence in our garage. Last weekend, my husband's dad (Mr. Tomato-Chocolate, Senior? Papa-Tomato-Chocolate? Not sure. I'll have to work on that one.) was in town, and toilet installation became Sunday afternoon's male bonding activity. Sawing, phone calls to a more home improvement-inclined brother, and eventual hammering ensued to remove the old toilet. In the end, the new elongated version was installed, with no leaks or injuries!
Since then, my husband has told me every day how much he loves the new toilet. I have to give him points for variety - one day he pointed out how it made the bathroom look bigger, the next he asked me to compare our next water bill to the previous to determine the water-saving capability of toilet 2.0, the next day it was how the color matched the other fixtures...
It does make me smile knowing that I am not the only person in our household who is fascinated by small things. That said, it may be time to move on to the next small yet significant house-related project.
This time around, it was a boy meets toilet kind of love story. When we decided to look for a house, one thing that my husband was most excited about was the possibility of owning an elongated toilet. I never quite understood the need for such a thing, but this may be another case of our one foot difference in height creating two very different sets of needs from everyday items. (Another example would be the day we tried to hang a mirror and found it hard to find a wall height which would allow for both of us to see ourselves without standing on tip-toe (me) or having to scrunch down (him). Perhaps this is a question that internet dating sites need to start asking - Can you see yourself in this mirror, at this height?)
Okay, back to the toilet. He bought his elongated toilet a few months ago, and it had taken up residence in our garage. Last weekend, my husband's dad (Mr. Tomato-Chocolate, Senior? Papa-Tomato-Chocolate? Not sure. I'll have to work on that one.) was in town, and toilet installation became Sunday afternoon's male bonding activity. Sawing, phone calls to a more home improvement-inclined brother, and eventual hammering ensued to remove the old toilet. In the end, the new elongated version was installed, with no leaks or injuries!
Since then, my husband has told me every day how much he loves the new toilet. I have to give him points for variety - one day he pointed out how it made the bathroom look bigger, the next he asked me to compare our next water bill to the previous to determine the water-saving capability of toilet 2.0, the next day it was how the color matched the other fixtures...
It does make me smile knowing that I am not the only person in our household who is fascinated by small things. That said, it may be time to move on to the next small yet significant house-related project.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Battle of the Brass
We have been in our house for almost a year now, and I'd have to admit having buyers remorse on a few occasions during the past several months. After the initial homeowner excitement died down (which for us also coincided our beginning to hibernate for our first winter in the new house), there were definitely a few panicked moments of wondering how on earth I could have used my life savings on a down payment. The realization of being in a place for an extended period of time is kind of a strange one. Fear of commitment? Perhaps. Somehow I doubt I am that I am alone in feeling a bit overwhelmed by the thought of a 30 year mortgage.
At any rate, my sister and her husband are currently looking for a house. My parents were in town last weekend, so I joined the family affair that was house-hunting, at least for a few properties. I know that housing prices in the DC area have been out-of-control in recent years, but I really thought that things had "normalized" a bit lately. After what I saw this weekend, I can say that housing at a fair price is still very hard to find around here. Most of the time I just chalk DCisms like this up to being in the DC area, but at times I find it hard to understand why anyone would agree to take on a huge mortgage for a house that seemed to be way overpriced.
Our house wasn't "cheap" by any means (see the reference to my buyer's remorse in the first paragraph), but I was reminded again this weekend that we were able to find value for what we paid. I felt a little reassured by touring other houses that we found the right house for us at the right time. While our house needs updating, it's generally in good shape and we are surrounded by neighbors who care about the status of their homes. The previous owners and/or the first owners of our house had a bit of an Americana thing going on, which I'd have to say is something that doesn't really excite me. Americana combined with the fact that the house was built in the mid-eighties led to there being a lot of brass in the house. Brass light fixtures, brass door knobs, brass hinges....I call it the Battle of the Brass, which I will one day "win" by replacing most if not all of it. Two light fixtures down, but many more brass pieces to go.
At any rate, my sister and her husband are currently looking for a house. My parents were in town last weekend, so I joined the family affair that was house-hunting, at least for a few properties. I know that housing prices in the DC area have been out-of-control in recent years, but I really thought that things had "normalized" a bit lately. After what I saw this weekend, I can say that housing at a fair price is still very hard to find around here. Most of the time I just chalk DCisms like this up to being in the DC area, but at times I find it hard to understand why anyone would agree to take on a huge mortgage for a house that seemed to be way overpriced.
Our house wasn't "cheap" by any means (see the reference to my buyer's remorse in the first paragraph), but I was reminded again this weekend that we were able to find value for what we paid. I felt a little reassured by touring other houses that we found the right house for us at the right time. While our house needs updating, it's generally in good shape and we are surrounded by neighbors who care about the status of their homes. The previous owners and/or the first owners of our house had a bit of an Americana thing going on, which I'd have to say is something that doesn't really excite me. Americana combined with the fact that the house was built in the mid-eighties led to there being a lot of brass in the house. Brass light fixtures, brass door knobs, brass hinges....I call it the Battle of the Brass, which I will one day "win" by replacing most if not all of it. Two light fixtures down, but many more brass pieces to go.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
New ways to play with your food
I am wearing my virtual graduation cap, as I just completed a new culinary feat - I finally successfully improvised dinner. My husband has always had that gift of being able to look in the refrigerator and say, "okay, peas, mustard, leftover mashed potatoes...what can I make?" I have never understood the mystery of dinner improvisation before today. It just kind of hit me like a ton of bricks...or a ton of mashed potatoes.
I was driving home and decided that I wanted Mr. Yoshida rice, known the rest of the world as stir fry seasoned with yoshida sauce. I took some leftover topping (onion and mushrooms) from the other night's veggie supper club's sweet potatoes and added them in with new mushrooms and asparagus. Add some chicken, rice, yoshida, and soy sauce, and hey, it's dinner!
It actually tasted good, too. The husband liked it and said that if he had a taste for yoshida rice that he'd make it like that. Nice.
I was driving home and decided that I wanted Mr. Yoshida rice, known the rest of the world as stir fry seasoned with yoshida sauce. I took some leftover topping (onion and mushrooms) from the other night's veggie supper club's sweet potatoes and added them in with new mushrooms and asparagus. Add some chicken, rice, yoshida, and soy sauce, and hey, it's dinner!
It actually tasted good, too. The husband liked it and said that if he had a taste for yoshida rice that he'd make it like that. Nice.
Monday, January 2, 2012
New year and a new look!
I'm back online! It's a new year, and I decided that the blog needed a new name. The old name had no real significance, other than our living in a new house. I started to ask myself, what happens when the maison is no longer "new"? I decided on something that actually had meaning to me.
In other news, I officially finished my last class about two weeks ago. All I can say is, I'm freeee! It took a few days to realize that I could actually start to make plans more that a few hours ahead of time. What next I ask, what next!? House projects... and more blogging....
In other news, I officially finished my last class about two weeks ago. All I can say is, I'm freeee! It took a few days to realize that I could actually start to make plans more that a few hours ahead of time. What next I ask, what next!? House projects... and more blogging....
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