p.s.

I just had another one of these. Still loving them? Yep. Hit the afternoon chocolate crave spot? Yep. Going to order some this month from Frontier? Hell to the yeah.

awesome stuff from expo west #3

Mmmm, cassava crisps (also known as chips on this side of the pond). I got a 30gram bag of Hale & Hearty cassava crisps, Beautifully Barbecued flavor, from this company. I had a yen for something crispy and slightly naughty to eat the other night so I busted this bag open. All I can say is, I'm glad I was alone because I would not have wanted to share. They were not greasy, they were very crispy, and the barbecue flavor was light but still smokey and, well, barbecue enough that I didn't mourn the lack of red weird barbecue coating that other flavorings leave. No weird ingredients, no gluten, lots of wonderful flavor. I'm hopeful that some big company at Expo West picked these up for distribution in the US...if for no other reason than that I want to try this bread mix.

awesome stuff from expo west #2

New from Eco Lips: Dagoba™ Chocolate Lip Balms in three yummy flavors based on popular Dagoba Chocolate bars: Roseberry (chocolate raspberry rosehips), Mint (a delicate blend of chocolate and mint) and Lavender (chocolate lavender blueberry). The one I was given was the lavender. It smells and feels lovely, thanks to Eco Lips for the freebie! The guy who was giving them out clipped it to my purse with the super handy carabiner that it came with. I don't think it's available for sale yet so I couldn't find a stock photo, instead here's one of it clipped to my purse.

natural products expo west

I had meant to attend this last year but let it slip by--this year I was determined to go. Though it was exhausting, I am glad I went, I got to see and try some really cool products and talk to some interesting people. I'll tell you about the people first, since it's a much shorter list. The first was a rep from Host Defense, which is a line of mushroom-based supplements. It's a product line I'd like to be able to offer the co-op I facilitate, and the rep gave me a book and a whole jar of agarikon.

I also got to meet, chat with, (and get kissed on the cheek by) Jason Graham-Nye, whose company, gdiapers, I have been following almost since the beginning. Though their product came out after we had really become very committed to and proficient at using cloth diapers, I have always loved the idea of the company and supported it in any way I can. My interest in Graham-Nye began with the product, continued with his blog, and has continued on facebook, where we both spend much more time than on our blogs. We had a laugh and shared some shame about that. He's much taller than I thought he would be, and he was very gracious and funny. Great experience. And if you don't swoon over the new ruffled little g-pants, you might have yourself checked for a pulse. They are also now making cloth inserts for the little g-pants and are working on training pants.

When Nina, mom, and I drove across country this summer we perched in Denver for a couple of days and in the process discovered udi's gluten free bread. Let me just say that my first reaction was "are you sure this is gluten free?" It's that good and has that much of a bread mouth feel. I had decided to order some online when I walked into Whole Foods one day and there it was. I had been making my own from time to time and it was fine, but obviously gluten free and I had spotty rising and falling results. udi's hits the spot. And when I found their spot yesterday, I couldn't held but gush about the product, which was appropriately appreciated by (Heather?...I think?) the woman who was working it. We talked and laughed for a few minutes, it was nice. I talked to other lovely people too (the lady from Frontier was so nice and hugged and kissed me, so sweet!) but those are the ones who stand out...

And now on to products. I think my most surprising find was also the one I was encouraged to take the most of, what a blessing! Healthy Indulgence dark chocolate calcium supplements (from Hero) are delicious! Every chocolate supplement I have ever tried has been chalky and not chocolatey enough. Not this one, it's richly dark in chocolate and has fantastic mouth feel. Highly recommend. My only complaint is that the chocolate isn't organic, but I'm going to settle. They're that tasty. And available from Frontier...

More later (cross fingers).

making it happen

I love it when people talk about starting a business that can make the world better--and then actually do it. Which is why I really couldn't be happier to tell you about Om Goods, which is a San Diego based business selling a wonderful variety of stainless steel goods. They have 2, 3, and 4 tier tiffins, gorgeous carry bags and matching napkins for the tiffins, childrens' dinner sets, and more.

So, here's the situation: I like to feed Nina three meals a day, but if you know kids, and especially my kid, you know that they are always asking for food, all times of the day. I did set up a snack cabinet for Nina but it's in one of the kitchen cabinets so the variety of foods is restricted to non-refrigerated foods. And then I saw this on the Om Goods site. It's made for spices, but from the first time I laid eyes on it, I knew it would be perfect for little snacks that a child could help themselves to, without being waited on hand and foot.

Here's what I came up with the first time I filled it: beef salami, mixed nuts, cheese, almonds, grapes, dried bananas, and in the middle, raisins and dried mango. I keep it in the fridge, and when I hear "I'm hungry" any time of the day, I feel comfortable telling Nina to go and help herself. And she loves having a little more independence.

It went over pretty well, I think. I'm really glad to have it and I'm even more glad this company is out there.

If you're local you can check them out every other Sunday at the Hillcrest farmer's market.

organization...oh the joy

Though my home is not always well organized and tidy, I am happiest when it is. I really love when everything has a place and is in it. Really good organizational tools are invaluable, so when I saw this at a local discount store I ogled and lingered over it but didn't buy it. Then I found myself obsessing about it and made a special trip to get it, hoping all the time it was still there.

It was...

It's a charging station for our phones, mp3 player, bluetooth, and camera. And a cork board. And slot for incoming mail. And finally, something I had been looking for--a whiteboard for keeping track of food in the fridge. I made three columns, one for produce, one for leftovers, and one for a grocery list. When anything is put in the fridge, it's written on the board, when it's used, it's erased. And when I've entered the grocery list into my Palm, it gets erased as well.

It's the little things, truly.

new specs

Arwyn helped me pick them out at Costco before she left town, then I had to wait for an exam appointment and then for them to come in. I think they were worth the wait.

I have been calling them "the last glasses" like in A Little Princess when Sara Crewe calls the doll her father buys her "the last doll." Barring something unforeseen, Larry will include the cost of laser surgery in next year's flexible spending account.

I have no idea why my eyes are pointing in different directions in the pic--are they always like that?

the boots...

Oh my goodness, I love them, and I wear them every opportunity I get. I am very happy with my choice.

boots continued

So, I went shopping today with a friend who had a mandate from her husband to buy some cute new clothes--the rules were that the clothes had to be more than 20$ and preferably not on sale. We found a fab sweater that is comfy enough for home but cute enough to dress up and wear out (Anthropologie). Ditto for jeans (Banana Republic) and a shirt. And a super cute pair of shoes (in red).

I was, of course, on the lookout for boots. I was surprised that I really didn't find anything to buy today. I tried on these and they were comfy but the folded down top doesn't roll up to easily fit under pants, and they were a little too ugg-ly. And I found the Borns from the previous post on sale for 70$...one size too big and in pink. They had these at REI but only in large size. And I found these...but only in a size 9. I really like them though, so I am going to try and find them locally. If I can't I will order them online. The toe is a little pointier than I'm looking for but otherwise they are perfect--classic and a little updated and warm, perfect for skirts.

Update:

I forgot about these. I tried them on in a 5 today and they fit but barely and they were hard to get on.

Here's what I'm thinking: I will get the Born Gabi (from the previous post) in chocolate and work on getting the Ugg Swell in Brunswick on ebay for a reasonable price.

boots

It has been quiet around here...I haven't been feeling well enough to keep my physical house in order, let alone my cyber house. But I went for acupuncture the other day and my practitioner said I shouldn't let me feet get cold. And they are, much of the year, despite my diligence in wearing shearling slippers at home and wool socks a lot of the time. Soo...I am on the hunt for cute boots that will keep my feet warm.

Here's the Sugar Hopstop Flat Boot--it comes in chocolate brown, which is what I would pick. It's faux suede, not sure how I feel about that--would it be warm enough? But definitely cute enough to wear with skirts.

This one is the Bear Traps Esha Suede. The suede upper is not faux, but the shearling is. It looks comfy, no? Is the faux suede too much, though? I like the two little frog things on the sides. Too fussy for skirts? I don't know.

The Born Shilo...I'm really leaning toward these because of the warmth of an Ugg without all of the Ugg ugly (Sugar ate one of my Uggs, the bad dog). The folded down top rolls up for a few more inches of warmth. I know that Borns are comfy, too, it's a good, solid boot that will probably last me a long time. And of course that means they cost more than the previous two combined. I'm not nuts about the exposed shearling, though.

Here's the Merrell Zurich--I'm not sure about it, but I know Merrells are durable and comfortable. These seem classic but also a little sassy. About the same price as the Borns.

I'm also looking at the Born Atkinson (like that slight western styling) and the Simple Toemale. And if I wasn't looking for something I can wear with skirts I would think about just getting the Born Gabi...doesn't it look super warm?

Any input? Ideas?

And of course it is supposed to be super warm this weekend. Figures.

sunday...

We used the day to shop...'til we dropped. By the end of the day we were exhausted (all except for Nina, again). We hit Costco, Target, and Whole foods. Fridge is now full, we have some necessities. If you are looking for a nice, inexpensive ipod dock, I am VERY happy with the one we got (though we didn't pay the amount it's listed for over at Amazon). I love that I can unplug it and listen anywhere in the house--for up to 8 hours! My only complaint is that it doesn't have radio. But really that's more a complaint about the ipod than the dock. The dock shouldn't have to have a radio because it should come standard with the ipod. So I'm getting my NPR dose via the web or in the morning on the clock radio that is all the audio equipment the apartment came with.

the ultimate geek out

I learned from my computer crash and am now backing stuff up more often. But in order to do that I had to get more storage space. So, without further ado, here is our new external hard drive. I got it for under 200$ at costco.com. 1 terabyte seems like a lot now, but I imagine in a few years I will laugh at how little memory that seems.

Nice packaging, no styrofoam.

And it's so small, note the bottle of lotion and staple remover for comparison.

It came with automatic backup software too, but I think I may uninstall it, I think it uses up a lot of memory on the computer running in the background.

I also invested in flickr pro. Just to be safe.

awesome bike

I just found this child carrying bicycle; click here for more info (hint--you can use it as a stroller or a stand alone bicycle too). It has room for two kids or one and some groceries. It seems like the biggest learning curve would be remembering that the front of your bike is longer than usual.

It's not a bakfiets, but seems like a good option. Maybe better?

I don't love the idea of a trailer (I know I would be looking back all the time) and the add on seats on the front and back seem like they wouldn't be comfy for very long (though my child slept in one). Now I need someone in SoCal to start carrying them (they are being sold in Aug 08) so I can try one out.

cosy feet

My mom was in Maine a few weeks ago (she used to live in Freeport and still has a place there). She called me from L.L.Bean and asked me if there was anything I wanted. Without hesitation, I said "Wicked Good Clogs." And they are wicked good. I LOVE them.

And they're wicked comfortable too. Thanks, Mom and Rochelle.

it's like magic

I have known for a while that I can make deposits online with my bank but didn't try it until the other day when I had checks waiting for deposit and a negative balance in my account. It was so amazingly easy, just endorse the check "for deposit only to..." scan it (front and back), and then (and this is the super magic part) the money appears in the account immediately. As in instantly, right now, from the comfort of my home. I'm completely sold.

more camera testing

I took these in the rain. Not a driving rain, mind you, but water was coming from the sky and I was clicking away.

These lilies of the nile were here when we moved into the house and I'm so glad; I never would have planted them but they are really beautiful and the hummingbirds go nuts over them.


I definitely want feedback on the quality of the pics taken with this camera; I have 90 days to return it.

The camera had some trouble focusing on this one, it wanted to focus on something in the background, even though I had it on the super macro setting. I got one blurry one and this one.

and speaking of cool presents

When we were visiting my sister last month she gave Nina this super cool toy:

It's like the old felt type scenes I had when I was young, only it's vinyl. You can totally pimp out these two little girls and their room. Nina really loves playing with it.

a bit of a splurge

So...you may know that I have been stalking various Costco warehouses looking for the Nikon Coolpix S52, which I had a coupon for that made the price under 200$. Good deal. But it hasn't shown up and I am not the most patient person ever. I haven't actually tried this camera, but my old coolpix is a workhorse and still going very strong and has excellent macro, which I really like in a camera. And the new coolpix has a lens that stays in the body of the camera, good for conserving battery and life of the lens, I imagine.
I want to replace the old one because:

• shutter lag, don't you hate that?
• not so hot video quality (though it was pretty good when it came out)
• tiny lcd screen (1"x1.25"), again, I think that was good for the times

So today I was stalking again, coupon and raincheck in hand, but nothing. Hey wait, though, there's the other camera I had been thinking about, the Olympus Stylus 850 SW. It's waterproof, shock resistant (up to 5 feet, exactly how tall I am, and I don't usually take pics from the top of my head). But more money, about 100$ more than the coolpix. But wait, Costco will take stuff back if you think it looks at you crosseyed, so I might as well take it home to try it, right? Say yes, please!

Ok, so...Macro, check. Looks pretty good, don't you think?

Not super macro on either pic but I suspect I could have gotten closer, and with high enough resolution (haven't played around with the camera to know what resolution I have been using) I could crop way down and have super macro effect.

And no shutter lag, even with Nina running away in this pic. It's not the greatest pic, I know, but it was a good way to put the camera through its paces regarding shutter lag.

It came with a carrying case (carabiner attached, kind of cool), a 1gig XD card (all I really need, I dump the pics pretty often), and a micro SD adapter.

The downside is that it has a special battery, which needs a special charger (included). But I haven't found a newer camera that doesn't, which is probably because it's TINY, about the size of a CF memory card. It's not really a big deal when we're at home because usually there is enough time to charge the battery but when traveling it can be a bummer to have to pack another gadget, especially one that needs to be plugged in. But I can adapt easily, I suspect.

Oh, and here's proof that it's really supposed to be waterproof: the instructions say that after using it you should submerge it in water to clean it. Seriously.

being type a pays off sometimes

We are planning to go camping with a huge group of families in a few weeks and I am feeling some trepidation about it (why would I sleep outside on the ground? I spent the first 5 years of my life in a camper, BTDT, I have an ACTUAL HOUSE that I can sleep in). My reluctance is slightly mitigated by the possibility that our air mattress will fit inside our REI Taj 3 tent that we got as a wedding gift from the lovely ladies from my Chicago book group (and the promise of the company of friends and great photo ops).

So today we tried to set it up and wouldn't you know, the elastic in the poles was completely shot, totally unusable (why do I think of panties when I hear about shot elastic?). When I called REI customer service they said we were welcome to mail them the poles and tell them why we were wanting them covered by the warranty. That sounded like a total hassle and like maybe we wouldn't get them back in time so we decided to head over to the retail store, which is about 6 miles from our house. Sure, they said, we can put new elastic in and have them back to you by Wednesday. Awesome. They also asked me if my poles had been smoking up to much and that's why they weren't functional (huh? but funny, I appreciate someone who can just bust out with totally random crap to a complete stranger). It won't be covered by warranty but for the convenience I'm willing to pay (12$ per pole). I'm so glad we didn't get to our campsite and then try to set up a dysfunctional tent. It totally pays to plan ahead.

Oh, and we almost had to drag Nina out of REI kicking and screaming. She totally could have spent at least another hour or two trying on shoes.

again with the purse

Remember before when I was searching for the perfect purse and I thought I had found a pretty good one? Well, I ended up using it for a few months and then just...not. So it wasn't the right one for me. But I have been idly browsing purses online and in stores for a while. On Sunday afternoon I went out (alone!) to get something at Bed Bath & Beyond (I had some coupons) and it's right next to a Marshall's, so I went in on the off chance that a great purse was waiting for me. And it was. The best thing? It was almost half the price of the one I bought but didn't end up using.

Trust me, I am the last person in the world who thought I would love a mint green purse, but I do. Though the straps aren't across the body, they are wide enough to be comfortable perched on my shoulder, which is good enough. It has two perfect spots on the outside for easy access to my phone and wallet

It is roomy enough on the inside for the few things I like to carry around, with room to spare for when I need to carry extra (like a knitting project or my water bottle). It may even fit the bag of popcorn I always smuggle into the movies (mine is so much better than theirs, cheaper, and I know it's not from a GMO). Yesterday I carried 3 packages to the post office in it. It has structure, so it's not going to flop around when I put it down, and it zips on top. Love it!