My Favorite Things: April 2012

 

1. Downton Abbey. I know, I know, another TV show. This one is really different from anything else we watch though! It's set in England and the first two seasons (all that's out right now) span from 1912-20. The aristocratic Crawley family owns Downton Abbey and the show revolves around their lives at the estate, as well as their servants'. Lots of big, historic events make their way into the show and affect the characters, like the Titanic sinking, WWI and the Spanish flu. Nathan and I burned through the first two seasons at record speed and then realized season three wouldn't be out until 2013. Quite honestly, I'm not sure if I can make it that long.

2. Anthropologie Volcano candle. Have you ever walked into an Anthropologie store and wanted to bottle up the delicious smell to take home with you? I have! And I finally asked one of the employees about the scent. It's this Volcano candle. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's to die for. Citrus-y, fresh, a little bit exotic and lovely. Our bedroom now smells like an Anthro store. Which is totally fine with me.

3. Klean Kanteen. I'm really bad about drinking water. I'm the girl who never drinks anything with her meals, just because I don't think of it! I've really been trying, however, to be better about getting hydrated and my Klean Kanteen helps. I keep it filled on my desk and typically go through two a day. Not sure if that meets my water quota for the day, but at least it's better then where I was!

4. Carry On by Fun. I've listened to this song 20 times a day for the last week. And I'm not sick of it yet. Take a listen!

5. The Hunger Games series. OK, I'll admit it. I was that person who was realllllly skeptical of this series. I never got into Harry Potter or Twilight, so it's kind of amazing I even picked up the first Hunger Games book. But once I did I was HOOKED. The stories are so addicting, just like everyone says. I'm on book three now, and I'm going to be sad when it's over. I'll be doing a GoodReads review soon!

So what are YOUR favorite things this month?

My Favorite Things: March 2012

With this crazy warm and sunny weather we're having, I've got summer on the brain! Can you tell? :)

1. The blooming tree in our front yard. I always wanted a tree that bloomed pretty, fluffy flowers in the spring. And now we have one! Our whole street is lined with these bright, white trees and it looks so inviting when you drive into the neighborhood. I know the flowers won't last long, so I run to the window every couple hours to make sure it's still there.

2. Sweetie Fry (and Nathan ... he's definitely a favorite thing! :)). We had heard rave reviews about this new Cleveland Heights hot spot, and last night was the perfect time to try the infamous ice cream and french fries joint. We didn't opt for fries (although they looked delicious), but the ice cream was amazing. I could tell my peanut butter with hot fudge was homemade, but in a top notch kind of way (did that even make sense?). Nathan went with a maple bacon cone (yes, real chunks of bacon in that puppy!). Ice cream aside, I felt pretty plugged in to the community sitting in the cute cafe. If you're a Clevelander, definitely check it out!

3. Our new Fiskars lawn mower. Ever since we decided to buy our house, Nathan's been drooling over lawn mowers. We have a really small yard, so he finally settled on this no-motor option. I was slightly nervous about it, but we broke it out yesterday and it works great! The name ("Momentum") doesn't lie though. Nathan said it works better the faster you go, so if you happen to drive by and we're running around the yard, don't be alarmed.

4. Spool No. 72. This crazy warm weather makes me want to break out all my sundresses and go frolic in a field. :) I don't really NEED a new dress, but I like to look at them, and Spool No. 72 is my current favorite window-shopping (screen-shopping?) store. I especially like the two shown above!

5. Starbucks Iced Skinny Caramel Latte. I'm not kidding you, it's like I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I switched from the hot latte to the iced one. Yes, I get this drink year-round, and the cold version is so refreshing. Perfect on a warm afternoon!

6. Smash. You're probably thinking, Does this girl only ever watch TV in her free time?? The answer is ... sometimes, but as I get into busy season I'm really working on being a little more purposeful with my time! More on that later. Back to TV. This show is so addicting. It's about a musical being made, like from the verrrry beginning through the workshops through ... Broadway? We're not there yet, but I could really see this musical about Marilyn Monroe hitting the stage in real life. The songs are amazing, so I hope that's where they're headed.

Mouth-Watering Toffee

We've been in our house for a month and a half and haven't met our neighbors yet. What better way to break the ice than delivering them a box of delicious, homemade toffee? My mom has made this stuff for as long as I can remember and it's a huge hit with my family. My cousin and I eat roughly 27 pieces each every Christmas. There's just something about it that keeps you coming back for more.

Here's the recipe. Super quick and easy!

Ingredients

1 cup pecans, chopped 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed 1/2 cup butter 4 1/2 ounces (no need to be precise) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Butter square pan or dish (9x9x2 inches). Spread pecans in pan. Heat sugar and butter to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, 7 minutes (This is important because it's what makes the toffee hard. It will go through lots of different consistencies here). Immediately spread mix evenly over nuts in pan. Sprinkle chocolate pieces over hot mixture; place baking sheet over pan so contained heat will melt chocolate. Spread melted chocolate over toffee. While hot, cut in squares (I actually prefer to break it by hand after it's set). Chill until firm.

My Favorite Things: February 2012

1. Insanity (the workout). Nathan and I decided to forgo a gym membership for awhile and just do Insanity each night at home. Oh.my.gosh. Have you done this workout?? It's intense. And intense is not a strong enough word to describe it. Jumping, twisting ... SO fast for so long. Almost every night we end up laying on the floor screaming, "I can't do anymore!" I love it, and I hate it. I love to hate it.

2. Swiss Miss French Vanilla Hot Chocolate. I recently discovered that this flavor of hot chocolate exists, and I am now addicted. It's so rich and creamy, especially if you use milk instead of water like they suggest. The perfect prime-time-TV-watching drink!

3. New Girl. At the beginning of the season, Nathan and I tried this show a couple times and decided it was too weird for us. Somehow, we watched another episode later on and afterwards looked at each other in amazement wondering how we'd let this gem pass us by. It's SO hilarious and totally different than any other show we watch. Zoey Deschanel's character is so dorky, and I love it. The only problem: It's not an hour long!

4. Insulation. After we bought our house, we went around with Nathan's work's infrared camera and realized our house had next to no insulation. It was quite drafty. It hurt my energy-engineer husband's soul to think of living in an extremely non-energy efficient house, so we decided to have the house insulated. Our house may look like swiss cheese (when you get an old house spray foam insulated, they have to poke through the siding) at the moment, but it's really warm!