Category Archives: Posts

less waste home

March 13, 2011Postsberkeley, berkeley bowl, cottage, monterey market, pasta shop, zero waste homesusan

I know that we are on our way to making the cottage waste free but its a lot of work! Must celebrate the small achievements:

*Last weekend we visited the Pasta Shop and bought a pound of provolone sans the extra packaging. They wrapped it in paper for us because we didn’t bring a container but hey its not plastic.

*Planning on hitting up farmers markets but for the time being are enjoying the Monterey Market which offers the same perks of bulk produce with zero packaging.

*Have been filling containers since we’ve lived in Berkeley at the Berkeley Bowl and I rave about their big refill bottles of Giovanni shampoo & conditioner, Kiss My Face soap, and Dr. Bronner magic soap. It feels great to not go through all those plastic bottles.

*Buying more and more bulk foods now from all over Berkeley. Great for nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, grains, pasta, cereal, teas, and chocolate. Next I want to try filling spice jars, sugar and flour as they run out.

I aim for my kitchen pantry to some day resemble this pantry from a Tasha Tudor illustration.

the king’s speech

March 6, 2011Postsfilm, king's speechsusan

I saw the King’s Speech well over a month ago but I loved it so very much that I think I want to see it again, sooner than later. Anyone else want to go??

I have lost the ability to enjoy food

February 19, 2011Postsfood, pregnancy, sicksusan

In keeping up with the long titles, here we are: I have lost the ability to enjoy food. I have this low grade nausea all the time and food just doesn’t taste good. Its a bummer because cooking and eating food are my great pleasures. I am really not even that far along but I feel “morning” sickness already.

A few people have said that I must be having a girl because I am already so sick. I don’t believe it but its interesting how so many do.

One doctor that I spoke to, who is also pregnant, said she had severe sickness early on and she could only eat bagels and pasta. They sound plain so that makes sense since I am not enjoying anything with too much flavor. So far I am not going to eat hard boiled eggs ever again and my favorite pad thai noodles are out, at least for now.

My mutant sense of smell is also increasing daily and the other day I smelled maiki eating a banana from two rooms away. Pretty funny really. I am lucky that maiki is taking all these new changes so well. He has been very supportive!

winter inspiration

February 18, 2011Postsballet, dancers, debbie powell, julie morstad, nutcracker, sf ballet, Tchaikovskysusan

In December I went to see the Nutcracker at the SF Ballet. I looked forward to it for the whole month. I went with special people and we got all dressed up. We took the BART train right to Civic Center on a cold winter night. The ballet house was decorated so beautifully and the costumes and production were fantastic. It was really fun but I think I rather like the idea of going to the ballet rather than sitting through the whole actual production. I am fascinated by these two snapshots of dancers by Debbie Powell and Julie Morstad. I have the attention span long enough to stare at these images over and over again throughout the week since seeing them. ^_^

pumpkin pecan pancakes

January 23, 2011Postsbreakfast, cottage, pancakessusan

This morning’s breakfast was so good—even better than IHOP. ^_^ As you know, I like the easy peasy, just add water pancake mix. I usually add soy milk and cinnamon and then whatever strikes my fancy. Today I added lots of delicious ingredients to make the best evar pancakes!
* pancake mix
* soy milk
* oatmeal
* flax
* pumpkin puree
* spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
* pecans