the happy living Blog

I can't live without: Nigella's Classic Whisk

Another kitchen edition of I can't live without: and long overdue.

Ever since the Style channel started running Nigella Lawson's cooking show (way back when!), I have been almost in love with her.  Let's just say I have a huge girl-crush on her and her style in the kitchen.  She's the only cooking personality that I'd be interested in sitting down to a meal with.  i know I am repeating myself.  Although I haven't mentioned Nigella in a long time, I have posted about her before.  Consider this a reminder and update for you!

Classic Whisk

When we moved I discarded a lot of kitchen utensils that we accumulated over time but never used.  I think we are down to a manageable amount (we might even be missing a couple of helpful things).  I use Nigella's Classic Whisk for everything: making scrambled eggs, mixing vinaigrette dressing, aseembling my morning protein shake.  It's little, but it works and it's light and easy to handle.

I also love Nigella's new-to-me website.  You can view the whisk here and buy it here.

What is your favorite kitchen utensil?

(photo credit: BlissHome.us)

pillows by Tempur-Pedic

Have I ever told you how much I love sleeping?  When sleep is good it can be totally restorative.  When it's not it can be a nightmare.  I rarely suffer from insomnia.  I used to be more likely to wake up with a headache or a crooked neck.  We got a great mattress a few years ago, some really soft cotton sheets and a lightweight down blanket.  They all seem to help in creating that good night's rest. 

Finding the right combination of things I think is key to a good nights rest and your pillow is like the cherry on the sundae if you have the right one.   

A little background: I was in a car accident over 6 years where I was hit from behind by a guy going 35-40 mph and suffered a 'mild' case of whiplash and a sprained neck and it's never been the same.  The accident coupled with the fact that I spend too much time sitting down at a computer makes my neck a bit finicky and if I sleep too long with my neck in an incorrect position I get headaches.

My pillow is VERY important to me and I got a lovely offer to try out two Tempur-Pedic pillows right after I had just spoken with my chiropractor who had recommended I try one out.  For the last several weeks I have been using Tempur-Pedic's The NeckPillow and the boy has been using The ComfortPillow.

 

The NeckPillow's shape helps to support the neck and keep it in the proper position (spine alignment is important here!) while sleeping.  I can't really say one bad thing about the pillow.  It's comfortable and the Tempur-Pedic foam, which has been tested and proven to be the highest quality foam out there, does not make me hot when I sleep. 

 

The boy is a bit less picky about his pillows, but he was really pleased with The ComfortPillow.  It is made out of the same material as The NeckPillow but is not as firm and is in the shape of a traditional pillow.

Both pillow are made out of the same pressure-relieving foam that their mattresses are.  I have slept in a Tempur-Pedic mattress once and that foam does what they say it does (supports, comforms to your body) and is very comfortable.  Both pillows came with a soft, removable and washable cotton (75%) and polyester (25%) cover.  When you first take them out of the box they do have a smell, but it is in no way an offensive one and slowly goes away. 

Go here to read all about the Tempur-Pedic stats.

Go here to buy.

Just a little programming note: This is the first time I have ever reviewed products that I been given gratuitously.  Up until now I have always turned them down for a number of reasons.  I felt fairly confident this time though that I would be able to truthfully give this product a thumbs up and a recommendation based on what I had heard from various sources and am glad my instincts were right.

If it's time for a new pillow at your house, I would definitely check these out first!

clawfoot bathtubs - a little cost saving tip

I absolutely love the look of clawfoot bathtubs with their undersides painted black.  Matte, glossy, semi.  Whatever.  A high end fixture manufacturer (I won't name names) has been making this tub for awhile now and it. is. pricey.  Absurdly pricey.  On a recent restoration project I was working on, we proposed using aforementioned tub, which the client loved, but budget restrictions forced us to look for an alternative.

We ended up using a less expensive but lovely clawfoot tub with a white underside and had the painter paint it and the legs black.  It cost us one third what the other tub would have.  He used an industrial spray-on enamel, something you can find at a good paint store like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore.  I also think it is something you could definitely DIY, with someone to help with the heavy lifting!

Credit: photos are from Living Etc. and Marie Claire Mason both via Design is Mine.

[IN]PLACE System

I like trying to find ways to be more organized and efficient.  But I can also be easily sucked into a new system and a new set of products.  I will keep the system going for awhile but then usually find that it just doesn't work for me and it falls to the way side and sometimes I've wasted money.  After many cycles of that I cut myself off from buying any organizing products (i.e. desk organizers, electronics, planners, fancy filing products, etc...). 

However, I keep seeing these advertisements for Peter Walsh's new [IN]PLACE System for Office Max and I finally checked out the website and I am totally intrigued.  I love the simple clear white plastic material that most of the products are made out of, the white hanging file folders (Goodbye, yukko army green!) and how all the products work together but seem flexible enough to work separately or in ways unique to your needs.  The file folders and tabs are reusable which is an eco-friendly plus in my book.

I might run to OM this weekend and check all the products out in person.

soggy

I have no other way to describe the weather here on the north part of the east coast for the last few weeks.  It just totally sucks.  I am going into an early summer depression (instead of a late winter one) probably from the lack of sunlight and all the rain.  I could really use a pair of these right now.

 

Aren't they cute?

burning the candle(s)

Burning the candle(s) at both ends.  That's me lately.  It's the only way to describe it and it has me totally out of sorts, scattered, down and losing sleep (and blogging at 12 midnight).  I do too much.  I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of you do too much too.  I have to find a way to prioritize, edit, to slow down a little because lately I think life is passing me by while I am running around crazy trying to catch it.  Most times being home is the constant, the calming and centering place in my life where I can disconnect and reconnect.  Lately it has become part of the stress.

The one goal I have had for the house this summer is to redecorate the 'master' bedroom.  You can see some before pics here and here.  But with everything else going on I just don't know how I am going to get it done.  I have contacted one contractor to get a price for the work that needs to be done, but it is really hard for us to pay someone to do work that we know we can do ourselves.  So I either make the time to do it or I hire someone to do it for me.  It's really that simple.

The boy left for work early this morning so I had some quiet time to myself.  I had a peaceful breakfast on the porch.  It seems that location in the house is going to be the good one this summer.  It reminds me not to blame the house (the object) and be thankful that I have a lovely little house to stress over in the first place.  And then I just feel silly for being stressed in the first place.

The photo was taken on Saturday night at my cousin's birthday party in Philly.  His friend has a lovely apartment/condo right on South Street with a view from the balcony to the river.  We had a great time.

the spending hiatus #2: weeks 1 and 2

So, yea.  Uh.  I was doing a second spending hiatus.  Really.  I am.  Really.

Week one: Was just ok.  I did buy a Drika B bag after literally drooling all over myself about it for like a year.  I put the money I made on ebay towards it but still had to put out some cash.  I have not received it yet and doubt very much that I will feel at all guilty about it when it arrives.  These things are like that.

 

And I am awaiting the arrival of two books that I purchased just before the SH#2, Nourishing Traditions and Healing Our Children.  But I have been using our public library A LOT.  I was there twice last week and am planning on going tomorrow to pick up another book.  I have a healthy stack of books next to my bed.  Remember, you can see what I am reading on Goodreads.com.

Week two: Yesterday I was MIA from the world in general.  It was just one of those days.  I ended up driving and an hour north-east of West Chester to pick up two end tables that I decided to buy that morning off of craigslist.  We have been planning on making this purchase for awhile, I have just been waiting to find the right tables at the right price.

 

The thought of not using the tray tables as end tables anymore makes want to cry with joy.  Seriously.  But now it is really down to business.  We are in the middle of refinancing the house we live in, trying to rent the house we used to live in but still own and are getting ready to start a rehab project at a 5-unit building in the city that my husband owns and that we hope to rent out, plus planning for a baby hopefully sometime in the not-so-distant future.  To say we have some financial planning and plotting to do would be an understatement.  During my last spending hiatus my goals were being more thoughtful about purchases, bringing less into the house and purging some of the unused items we already had.  Those are still important things to me but this time around SAVING COLD HARD CASH (and keeping it in the bank) is my main priority.

So that's where I'm at. :)

Paula, Elizabeth and LobotoME are also doing their own spending hiatuses.

Oma Vintage in Philly

Lollycrisp Vintage has been on of my favorite etsy shops for awhile now.  And they have opened a new brick and mortar store in Northern Liberties in Philly called Oma Vintage.  I love the clean, simple website and I can't wait to visit the actual store.  They sell clothes and accessories for men, women and children.

 

 

Paperless Post

Ashley so kindly let me know about this new site, Paperless Post, that allows people to design custom, personalized invitations and announcements online in a green and recession friendly way.  There are so many different styles to choose from and they are ALL nicely designed as a true custom cardstock invitation would be.  I spent A LOT of time thinking about all the great parties I would have just to send some stellar invites out to my friends and family.

I really like the idea of electronic or online invites but have never been thrilled about most of what has been offered up till now.  I think Paperless Post is the new best thing!

Some samples were sent along for a moving announcement, housewarming and screening party.

KHS photography: prints and note cards

The talented New England RISD grad, architect and blogger Katie Hutchison just launched KHS photography and she is now selling her gorgeous photo prints and note cards.  You can purchase them here.

 

Morphosis at Cooper Union

For those of you with any interest in architecture, my alma mater has a new building they are showing off in the East Village of NYC.  Slide show and article are here.

Photo: Julieta Cervantes for The New York Times

the selby in london

Some of these images make me mourn the loss of my books that have departed.  They are great nonetheless.

via The Selby

 

 

 

 

 

full

I feel blessed to live in a nice, dense, walkable town and then drive 5 minutes out into the country to see beautiful things like this.  Obviously the picture does no justice to the real thing.  We were on our way back from dinner Saturday night and turned around twice to take pictures of the moon and the mist that had fallen over the farm.  On the left, barely visible, is the sweetest barn in our county.

I can't live without: french-pressed coffee

This is a new series called 'I can't live without:'.  As I start another spending hiatus and continue to try to pare down the possessions that I already have, it has made me think harder about the things I couldn't live without, both essentials and luxuries.

 

My Bodum Chambord 8-cup coffee press will stay.  Although we love (I really mean love...) our Cusinart Grind-N-Brew, there is nothing like making and enjoying French-pressed coffee on a Saturday morning.  To me, it is like slow coffee, kind of like slow food.

Is there something in your own kitchen that you could not live without?

renovate-decorate budget worksheets

This file for me is a work in progress really, but I feel like I have finally got it to a point where it might be useful for you.  It is actually really simple and does not provide you with anything that a scratch piece of paper and a calculator could not do.  I personally just like to have my information organized and easy to update and read and have found Excel to be a useful tool to do that with some really basic formulas.  The spreadsheet file was created with Excel 2003.  You will find that I set up lots of tabs, one for each room of our house.  You can delete or rename each tab to correspond to your own home.  You will notice that right now the sheets are set up as line items for materials to buy for d.i.y. projects.  I envision that you would add a line item for each contractor that you may hire to do any of the labor for you with your finish and decorating materials below that you will purchase yourself.  I.e. you may hire a plumbing contractor to redo your bathroom and many times the cost of the the tub and toilet are included in his price, but things like the towel bars and shower curtain are not.

This is the first time I am using the file upload feature, so let me know if it there are any problems.

Download Happy living reno-deco worksheets