Archive for the ‘ Home & Garden ’ Category

At Least I’m Reading

Author: Holland Saltsman

Jan 28

With 13 days left until the official Chinese New Year starts, here’s where I am with my preparations and resolutions. Once everything kicks in, I’ll update with much more detailed info.

Cooking More – I’ve tried 3 new recipes over the last week and 2 are keepers. Also, I’m getting better at remembering to thaw out my ‘make-ahead’ meals that I do on a semi-monthly basis at Time for Dinner.

Eat More Paleo / Blood Type O – Not so good. Having a difficult time at breakfast and damn those chips & salsa.

Get up earlier – I’m reading Laura Vanderkam’s What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (ebook) and it’s a strong, persuasive argument for not hitting snooze. I also joined the Hello Mornings Challenge that started today and maybe tomorrow I’ll actually get up early for it.

Find an exercise to do 3/week – I carved out the time that I could go exercise, but so far haven’t made it out the door.

Read 43 books – 10 books so far. Okay I cheated and started counting on January 1 AND I read really fast AND I LOVE books. Next post, I’ll give my favorites from 2012.

Watch 15 Independent Films – 1 so far. I may have to partner this with spending quality time with husband as that’s harder to plan that I realized.

For the remaining ones, I’ve done zip, nada, nothing but that’s what so ingenious about this plan. When most people are already falling off the wagon with their resolutions, I’m just getting started! Anyone else with me?

 

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The Year of The Snake

Author: Holland Saltsman

Jan 21

credit BBDesigns on etsy

For the first time ever, I am making a serious concerted effort to celebrate the Chinese New Year on February 10th, 2013. Truth be told, it will have given me 41 additional days to sort our my resolutions and goals for the year. January 1st arrived much too quickly and I didn’t want to make any knee jerk resolutions. According to ‘research’ people born in the Year of the Snake are reputed to be thoughtful and wise and to approach problems rationally and logically, seldom instinctively. While I was born in the year of the dog (we can find fault with many things and are noted for our sharp tongues), this particular snake year seems to be aligned with where I’m headed.

Life Simplified continues to be a great place for me to provide shortcuts, solutions and suggestions for living a more simplified life both here, facebook & on twitter. Moving forward, for this particular year, I’m also going to share my quest to follow through on the many goals, ideas, & resolutions that I always WANT to accomplish, but somehow (always) let slide.

In no particular order…

  • Cook more.
  • Eat more Paleo or Blood Type O foods/diet.
  • Prioritize husband / couple time.
  • Find an exercise that I will do 3/week.
  • Entire family to learn basic Spanish.
  • Read 43 books (tracking on goodreads.com).
  • Watch 15 independent films.
  • Get up earlier, even if it’s 15 minutes.
  • Go to bed earlier, turn off bad TV.
  • Less screen time, more kid time.
  • Focus on positive, stay present.
Nothing like learning rocket science, but at least if it’s public, there’s more accountability. And what I’m really hoping is that this helps me direct my time as opposed to wondering where it went. What’s on your agenda for this forthcoming Chinese New Year? I’d love you to share any of your own shortcuts, solutions and suggestions for getting where you want to be! GOOD LUCK!

 

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Not to be nitpicky but…

Author: Holland Saltsman

Oct 16

Sadie & I, treatment #2

Okay, I get it. Well we got it & now I understand it. Lice, nits – the whole works and I’m not confident that I’ll ever quit itching. After 5 days, 4 treatments and 17 loads of laundry, we’re all clear but that is something I never want to go through again. Because I didn’t get much direction from doctor or pharmacist, I’m going to save you a lot of time and tell you what worked and didn’t…for us.

  • Nix Lice treatment – it’s pesticide for your hair?!? Recommended by pediatrician, but not for me.
  • Fairy Tales Hair Care- great online video (including Step 3 which is pouring yourself a glass of wine), decent lice treatment but really like their preventive spray which I will use EVERY day for the rest of my life. All natural, organic.
  • Quit Nits – smelled the best but not most effective
  • Lice MD – BEST for getting rid of lice & nits
  • Tiny teeth metal comb at drugstore, better than any ‘included’ combs
  • Use lots of clips, do very small sections, comb every direction & wipe comb every time

On the up side, I got some serious quality time with both my kids. BIG talks that might not have happened and a lot of movie watching while we literally went through each other’s hair with fine toothed combs again & again & again… (“So happy for my husband who has been travelling since the whole mess started”, said no one ever).

UPDATE 1 WEEK LATER…Apparently none of the above completely worked but Lice Busters St. Louis did. Save yourself a lot of time, laundry and frustration by contacting them first. Wish I would’ve know about Lice Busters from the beginning. Thanks Libby & Susie.

 

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What’s your time worth?

Author: Holland Saltsman

Oct 8

In one single encounter the other day, I believe that I made a choice that would make my mother & Laura Vanderkam proud, while simultaneously embarrassing my children (always a bonus). We were in the midst of another week where we all seemed to be running, coming & going. Recently I went back to work full time after 3 years of part-time work and we are all still adjusting.

While driving my daughter to soccer practice, I noticed a lawn care truck in front of a neighbor’s house. A seemingly nice man was putting away his mower when I shamelessly accosted him and asked if he had any time to cut our grass. Typically this falls into ‘husband’ category, not that this Kentucky girl hadn’t handled a SNAPPER mower on my childhood farm for MANY years, but said husband had been dealing with his own crazy work stuff and getting home late and exhausted. Lawn care is certainly not in our budget, but at this moment when our grass had gotten to an almost embarrassing level, I decided that I could shave some money from one budget line or work a few additional hours JUST TO GET IT DONE.

My kids says that in the heat of the moment that I told Ron Busken (Busken Lawn Care) that I loved him when he agreed to the task (I’m denying it) and off we sped to soccer. Read the rest of this entry

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Obsessed with Oils

Author: Holland Saltsman

Jan 9

I tend to get overwhelmed about which oils to use for cooking or dressings so I was thrilled when Andrea Karim of WiseBread put together one of the most comprehensive articles on The Best Cooking Oils: For Your Heart & Wallet. It covers the gamut from extra virgin to avocado, coconut & peanut to name a few.

For further ‘research’ Vom Fass will turn anyone into an oil aficionado. Who knew that you could infuse orange, peperoncino, basil or chili to make a culinary master out of me? At your local store, you are able to sample dozens of these delicious oils in addition to a huge selection of Aged Balsamic Vinegars and Liqueurs , my favorite is the Latte Macchiato.

To finish off my oil obsession, I went in search of a fun dispenser / cruet. My top picks were from Folk Art Guild, Generate, & Red Candy.

 

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Holiday Gift Ideas

Author: Holland Saltsman

Nov 28

As someone who revels in finding the right gift for the right person at every occasion, it’s really hard to come up with a condensed list at this time of year. So, for this post, I’m going to stick with a few favorite finds and over the next couple of weeks, I’ll share books & ‘gifts that give back’ with you as well. Hopefully you’ll find something for everyone and if not, let me know! Also, take a quick look at my previous gift posts as some of my earlier favorites may be just the right one you’re looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Do you like me – I mean really “Like” me?

Author: Holland Saltsman

Oct 31

If you’re anything like me, you may follow different people or companies through a variety of avenues-  twitter,  RSSfeed, direct email or facebook. In case your main way of connecting with Life Simplified is something other than facebook, I wanted to share a few links with you that I had recently posted ‘over there’ as I’d hate for you to miss any great shortcuts, suggestions or solutions.

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10 Days till Father’s Day

Author: Holland Saltsman

Jun 9

I know it’s cliche to link all things ‘grilling’ to the men but I’m happy to take a back seat in summer & let my husband take charge of dinner. Here’s a few things for grills / open fires that can keep it interesting…and me out of the kitchen!

Stainless Steel Branch Skewers – Shish kabobs are branching out with nine individual prongs, perfect for veggies, meat or marshmallows.

Rome’s Square Pie Iron (sandwich maker) – Simply place two pieces of buttered bread in the clam shell style compartment and stuff with preserves, cheese & meat, pie filling or whatever you want. Close the lid and toast.

Long Handle Salt & Pepper Shaker – Perfect for those hard to reach areas on the grill and a patented extra long finger grip handle keeps your hand away from the heat.

School Pride Mustard – This sweet and hot mustard can be used as a dip or on top of (almost) anything grilled & better yet, get your favorite NCAA team on the label.

Swashbuckling BBQ Sword -  Grab him a mask and visualize Johnny Depp Read the rest of this entry

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8 Essential Summer Must-Haves

Author: Holland Saltsman

May 30

Technically, summer is a few weeks away but with longer nights and higher temps headed our way, I’m gearing up with these great finds below:

*Zoku Quick Pop Maker – Now you can create your own customized frozen pops, including cream-filled varieties, in as little as seven minutes.

*Chef’s Case – Five Sauces: Pomegranate Teriyaki, Lemon & Mint Chili, Garlic Chili, BBQ Figs and Red Wine Onion plus three professional spice blends that can be used in a myriad applications, from the exotic to the everyday.

*CPX 6 High Tech LED lantern -  Stays lit for 25 hours, comes with a 4D battery pack or you can purchase 6V rechargeable battery pack.

*Watermelon knife – Microserrated blade quickly cuts through tough rind and slices cleanly through the delicate, delicious flesh.

*Flower Ball Vase – A clever alternative to the quintessential vase which lets each beautiful cut flower (from your gorgeous garden) enjoy its space.

*Ready, Set… GLOW! – Read the rest of this entry

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“Hear’s the Thing”

Author: Holland Saltsman

Apr 23

After years or borrowing my family’s headphones, I finally went in search of my very own. I promised myself that good headphones would be the key to  start exercising. Here are ones, plus a few accessories, that made the final cut:

  • Zipbuds earphones – Tangle resistant zipper integrated cabling keeps your cables in line so you spend less time untangling your earbuds and more time listening to your music.
  • Vers earphones -  individually crafted with sustainably sourced hardwoods & Bamboo, and produce that familiar, natural sound quality Vers has become known for. Also, for every tree Vers uses in production, they re-plant 100 through their partnership with the Arbor Day foundation.
  • iFrogz EarPollution Plugz with microphone
  • Skullcandy earphones – IF I was a sports fan OR badas*
  • Modcloth funky headphone splitter
  • fredflare GIANT earbud speakers
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