Category Archives: Insight
No bag for me, thanks.
About a month ago I was in the checkout line at Target. The women in line in front of me told the cashier she didn’t want any plastic bags. She has a pretty full cart of items and hadn’t brought any reusable bags with her. I think the cashier and I must have both made the same perplexed face because she explained that she would just put the items back in her cart. Then she went on and told me that her 2011 New Years Resolution was to avoid plastic bags and how easy it is to cart purchases out to the car without a bag.
This was a light bulb, a-ha moment for me. I remember to take my reusable bags to the grocery store about 85% of the time, but even if I forget I can request a paper bag. I don’t have that luxury at other stores so I often just let the items be bagged up. And really, that’s quite silly and a little lazy on my part. How hard would it be to just carry out all the items without a bag like this woman did?
This got me thinking and after talking to Nate about it, we both decided to impose a plastic bag ban for 2012.
Our plastic bag ban rules are simple.
- Use a reusable bag if possible and if we don’t have one, then we will kindly refuse a bag and simply take the items without one.
- Use reusable produce bags (like these) at the grocery store. Mesh bags are lightweight and easy-to-see-through so you don’t have to worry about checkout. I have had a set for a couple of years and am always asked where I got them. I plan on ordering a few more sets this week.
- Cut down on other plastic bags around the house. Use recycled or compostable bags whenever possible. (I think this is a nice compromise especially with the kitchen bag liners. We will keep the convenience, but pay more for the more sustainable product.)
- Reduce our dependence on resealable zipper storage bags in the kitchen. Use glass containers instead for marinades and snacks.
Already this week, I had a couple of shopping trips where I had to ask the cashier not to bag my items. You have to be quick. Those cashiers are so fast on the draw, so I plan on stepping up my game. Soon I hope requesting “no bag” will be second nature.
I leave you with this mockumentary on the life of a plastic bag that was narrated by Jeremy Irons which is unfortunately true.
What a lovely holiday
It’s been a perfect two week holiday break for me (one of the perks of the new job). I was able to celebrate, relax and get a few things done around the house. What else could a girl ask for?
Memorable moments of December
I am a Christmas girl. I love the whole build up to the 25th. This year, it was really nice to have the time to enjoy all of it. Here’s my top five favorite things.
Decorations happened early
Once Thanksgiving is over, I am ready to start decorating for Christmas.
This year, I was able to have the perfect decorating schedule and get the tree up that first week of December.
At our house, the front room gets most of the focus. This year I added glittery stars to the mirrors along with the usual vintage ornaments in my glass lamp bases.
My coffee table got a backdrop of handmade Indian paper under the glass with a tray of some of my favorite ornaments and books on top.
Another vase of ornaments found it’s way onto the dining table. Most of my ornaments are vintage from my grandmothers but I have supplemented with ornaments mostly from Cost Plus World Market. I seem to gravitate there for Christmas stuff more than any other time of the year.
*****
Not one, but two dining tables
And speaking of dining tables, we moved the recently updated table into the back of the great room. The size of the table works really well here.
In it’s place, we moved my maternal grandmother’s table out of my office and into the dining nook.
It has a slimmer frame which works really well since the “dining nook” is really the passageway to the back of the house.
The table has a crazy marbled laminate on top and curvy chrome legs. We are still looking for proper chairs for it and probably switch out the rug.
It amazes me how much chrome we have in this house. Luckily I am now a chrome cleaning expert and got the legs nice and shiny.
*****
A gift of two amazing (cat) ornaments
One Saturday, my parents showed up with a present that couldn’t wait until Christmas. They gave us two ornaments. One for each of our cats. Pixel’s was very cute and playful…
… while Loki’s made me laugh for days. It’s strangely reminiscent of his personality… if he was a mariachi.
*****
My amaryllis bloomed on Christmas Eve
I picked up a amaryllis at IKEA this year.
I planted it in a white square pot from an old floral arrangement I had and watched the bloom daily.
I has my fingers crossed that it would open in time for our Christmas Eve dinner.
Only hours before dinner, it emerged. What a Christmas miracle. It’s still blooming weeks later.
*****
Two days of merriment with loved ones
There was a little of a Christmas shuffle this year, but it worked out nicely. Everyone was able to take a piece of the hosting duties and minimize that frazzled, stressed out holiday feeling you can get from too many expectations.
We hosted Christmas Eve dinner for both Nate and my family. I kept it simple with tri-tip salad, hot spiced shrimp and potatoes. I also served these awesome retro sodas with fun glasses and striped straws for the non-drinkers of the family.
Then, we drove over to my sister’s for Christmas morning for presents and brunch. One of my presents to Nate was a small pet carrier that he is wearing in the picture above. We haven’t tried it out yet, but I plan to video tape the maiden voyage. Could be a whole lot of crazy.
Then that afternoon, my parents hosted Christmas dinner for the extended family. It was really nice and lovely. Everything a Christmas Day should be.
Alright! Time for me to get moving on some projects. I have a whole list of to-do’s to accomplish before I go back to work next week.
Recap in photos
What have we been up to? Well, the last two months have been a blur. Here’s a recap from my phone and SLR photos.
Flashback: Finding a portrait
When we first moved into the house, I found a drawing on the top shelf of one of the bedrooms.
We assumed it was of the previous owner – Mary Jane.
I propped it up on our stove while we figured out what to do with it.
(Yes, those are mustard yellow curtains over the stove. See the before video for a better look.)
Should we hang it in a place of honor? Should we give it back to the family?
I couldn’t decide if it was cool part of the house’s history or a little creepy since Mary Jane had passed away.
But before we could make the decision, Mary Jane’s son stopped by to introduce himself and Nate gave him the drawing. Problem solved.
I still wonder where we would have hung the drawing if we kept it and if Mary Jane would approve of all the updates we have made.
Best of July
Every month I do a recap of my favorite moments of the month and one regret. Here’s my month of July. 
Favorites
Farmers Market
I finally rode my bike to the Sunday Farmers Market and filled my basket with fresh produce and herbs. I had been vowing to do this for months and Dagny and I finally took the initiative.
Toddler Teagan
This little one started calling me “ANT-EE” and Nate “NEAT.” Her vocab is growing every day. As my first niece or nephew, it’s been a thrill for her to call me by name, grab my hand and ask to be pushed on the swing.
Rebate Check
Remember my amazing wine deal at CVS? Well, I got my refund check! Yep, $25.00 payable to me making the deal completely legit.
New Frames
After months of super glued glasses, Nate finally got a new pair. He is now rocking a pair of Paul Frank tortoiseshell frames.
One good & sad moment
US vs. Japan
The Women’s World Cup Finals were disappointing for us rooting for the US team…
but I think we all felt okay with losing to Japan. Their fans were so much fun and I did smile after seeing them celebrate.
We’re back!
Coming back to work after a long vacation is a little tricky. We had such a nice time. So far I am trying to ease into the work life and keep the summer glow as long as possible. And because I have been so relaxed it’s time to ramp up the blog posts to get up to date. Today kicks off the first ever “double post week” in celebration. That’s right the next seven days will feature not one, but two posts a day. Get ready, this is going to be a wild ride!
To start us off, Nate posted our Mid-Summer To-Do List to keep us (really me) focused on our priority projects. I didn’t feel we accomplished a lot on our spring list, so were are pushing hard on the summer one.
Our main focus is the backyard. The now infamous concrete patio project is still on the list, but unfortunately we have had to slip in one maybe two other high priority projects before it. So stay tuned, we will be working through them all. Next up, the back fence project.
June Favorites and Regret
Why does June seem so long ago? Crazy how fast the summer goes…
The Favorites
How is your garden growing? Mine sprung to life in June. I was able to harvest tons of chard, carrots, radishes and beets before it got too warm. Now we just have two cherry tomatoes under the fig tree. Fingers crossed they do okay.
Last Day of School = Summer for Nate. The end of school is always a little stressful for a teacher. It was also the last day he taught in his first classroom. Next year he moves to a different room in a different building.
Anyone else watch the lunar eclipse on YouTube? The center point of Earth’s shadow passed across the Moon in the eclipse which wikipedia tells me is a relatively rare central lunar eclipse. The eclipse was only visible in South America, Africa, Europe and Asia so I was glad that YouTube was broadcasting it live.
Besides hosting a Father’s Day dinner at our house, the cats got Nate a card. Pixel is working on her “p”s. I can’t believe they make father’s day cards for cats, but then again I did buy it.
1 Regret
Guess this isn’t technically a regret, but was depressing. A big rain storm blew through Sacramento the last week of June. Our local fireworks stand flooded.
Luckily, as soon as the storm passed the water dried up and everything was lovely for the Fourth. Glad I got a photo of it though, this is as crazy as the weather gets here in Sacramento.
