Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo

grace in small things, National Blog Posting Month

A tradition of gratitude

11/17/2015 Nichole

We’ve been sharing our Favorite Parts of the Day over dinner since Poppy suggested back in 2011. Pete’s highlights nearly always include the snacks he enjoyed over the course of the day, Poppy always appreciates time spent with friends, and both kids love it when they wake up in time to have breakfast with Rockford. My favorite parts of our days tend to be snuggles, watching the kids succeed in their various activities and — when I have the opportunity — recharging with some alone time. Rockford is generally, like his son, grateful for his food and time spent with me and the kids.

I love hearing what the kids find memorable and enjoyable. It’s always fun when one of their friends joins us for dinner, too, and Poppy and Pete include them in our family tradition. It usually throws them off a little a first, but then they too start to enthusiastically rehash the best parts of their days.

Just like in 2011, when we first started talking about our Favorite Parts of the Day, I tend to focus on the negative. Sharing our Favorites has become one of my favorite parts of our days, and I think it’s helped me accentuate the positive a bit, at least for a few minutes while we sit down to dinner.

menu plan Monday, National Blog Posting Month

A menu plan with very little preamble

11/16/2015 Nichole

My dad is coming to town sometime this week, so there’s a good chance that at least one of these meals will turn into “Hey have you been to that restaurant? We should try it.” I’m at peace with that.

Monday: Co-op potluck: I made Orzo Salad with Spicy Buttermilk Dressing, and I think I used too much garlic because it is fragrant.

Tuesday: Crockpot chicken tacos: Chicken + taco seasoning + salsa = dinner. (Well, and tortillas, cheese, etc., but it’s still pretty easy.)

Wednesday: Pizza subs: This was a Poppy request. We had them a lot back when we had a kids’ choice day every week.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner: I bought a bag of shredded hash browns from Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago, and they really hit the spot. They didn’t have any the last time I was there, but I’m holding out hope that they’ll have them again this week.

Friday: Cheeseburgers: Poppy will be spending the night with a friend, so we’ll indulge Pete’s love of cheeseburgers.

Looking for more menus? Check out OrgJunkie’s Menu Plan Monday linkup!

Domestic Blitz, National Blog Posting Month

Five light fixtures that will not work in my kitchen (and one that might)

11/15/2015 Nichole

The light fixture in our kitchen is original to the house. It’s a small fluorescent circle, and it doesn’t really provide enough light to illuminate the workspace. It’s also pretty boring. I’d like to replace with with something that both provides more light and adds some pizzazz. Our kitchen is very small, though, and we have 8-foot ceilings. So I need to find something that’s flush-mounted or close to it, and there aren’t a whole lot of flush-mounted lights that are also snazzy.

Also, cool light fixtures cost a lot of dollars.

Here’s a selection of light fixtures that caught my eye this evening. Most of them won’t work, but one of them might if I can convince myself to spend the money on it.

Anemone by Robert Abbey

The Anemone flush-mount wall fixture would definitely be a statement piece in our kitchen, but with its 23-inch diameter I’m afraid the statement might be “Look how small our kitchen is! The light fixture takes up most of the ceiling!” And also it’s $700.

Zanadoo by Arteriors

Zanadoo is a spiky wonderment. The pros: I could use it to hold marshmallows, and I love it. The cons: Not only is it even bigger than the Anemone, it’s $1,920.

Hope by Francisco Gomez Paz and Paolo Rizzatto

It’s stunning! It’s bright! It’s ginormous! It’s $6,000.

Meurice by Jonathon Adler

I don’t love the shape, but it would definitely light things up. It’s $1,592, though, so it doesn’t really matter whether or not I love it because we’re definitely not buying it.

Maria S.C. by Pani Jurek

An artist in Poland makes these using test tubes. You can fill them with water or flowers or whatever you’d like (so long as it’ll fit in a test tube.) At $266, it’s the least expensive fixture on this list, but it’s too long for our 8-foot ceilings. I do love the idea, though.

Sense II by ET2 Lighting

This one is unique, it’s neither too wide nor too long, and it’s more affordable than the most of the others I like. It’s still nearly $500, though, and that’s a lot of money to spend on a light fixture.

The most likely scenario? We’ll keep the 1956 fixture and attach some battery-powered lights to the undersides of the cabinets. (Which I’d also like to replace, but that’s a post for another NaBloPoMo post.)