And We're Back...Miscellaneous Monday Time!

It feels like an eternity since my last post, and even longer since I have been able to share the joy of Pumpkin Wednesday with you all!  Even though my desk is still a wreck, my closet is clean enough that I can now put all of my clothes away.  Hey, I'm not perfect but it's a start...

In case you forgot, on Monday I like to spread some internet fun and post a few random facts I have run across during my free time on the weekends...

• I didn't catch all of the Oscars last night, but apparently I need to go and see The King's Speech.  If you saw it, did you think it was best picture worthy?  I also love trivia, so check out these five fun facts about the Oscars, including the fact that Oscar winners must sign an agreement saying they will not sell their winning statue to a collector without offering to sell it back to the Academy for $1.

• If you're looking for a great and easy dinner recipe check out Kelly in the Kitch's recipe for Lemon Rosemary CrockPot Chicken.  The ingredients are simple and the meal is best with some added vegetables and perhaps noodles or rice.

• Speaking of crock pots, don't cook anything in the crock pot again without buying some crock pot liners.  They are essentially plastic bags that you put inside the pot so that when you remove the bags, so goes the mess and other crud that normally gets stuck to the crockpot.  The food doesn't taste funny either.  Trust me, as someone who does not like to clean gross pots, these liners are a lifesaver.

Courtesy of the Jansson Family Blog

• As a quick note to everyone who is living in a home/duplex/basement apartment.  It's beginning to become just warm enough to melt all the snow that has accumulated over the winter.  In fact, there was a huge amount of flooding in the Northeast Ohio area today which caused quite a bit of damage to all kinds of property.  If you're a homeowner, it may be worthwhile to evaluate whether you need flood insurance, and for those of you renting, take a quick minute to check with your landlord about the condition of the basement and gutters.  It's always better to be a bothersome tenant than one with soggy belongings.

How did you spend your weekend?

Looking forward to a productive Tuesday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

Hello All and Happy Pumpkin Wednesday.  If you are so kind to take time out of your day to stop by the blog you know that today is probably the best most entertaining of the week.  You probably also know that the last time I posted before today was the same time last week on Pumpkin Wednesday, sad face...

You only post about me? No way!

It's very unacceptable that I have been so out of the blogging loop.  But if my desk is a microcosm of my life you understand where I am right now....

So much clutter! Bah!

So, I am taking the rest of the week off, and I will return on Monday, back to post about more than just my cat (although she is excellent).

Fine, don't give me any attention until next week...

Have a great rest of the work week and weekend!

Looking forward to getting organized!

Pumpkin Wednesday

Monday is Valentines Day and Tim and I don't really "celebrate" this holiday.  However, Pumpkin and I have always had a special relationship and she always gets me a card for Valentines Day.

A Very Special Relationship

This year, like every other year, she has my mom help her get the card from the store.  It would be too strange for Pumpkin to head to Target and get a card herself.  So today when I opened my package from my mom I also got this from my kitty:

And because Pumpkin is so thoughtful, my mom decided to send Pumpkin a gift....

Pumpkin has really enjoyed the laser pointer and is looking forward to relaxing with the catnip mice later.

Do you spoil your pets on holidays?

-Happy Pumpkin Wednesday! 

Check out Modern Vintage Detroit

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about food.  Don't get me wrong, I love cooking but it's essential to get the blog out of the kitchen every so often.

In a long overdue post, I wanted to share with you a wonderful "green" business started by a 20-something in Michigan.

Modern Vintage Detroit, "is a Detroit based upcycling business that creates modern heirlooms from vintage and discarded items."  Kaitlin, who is also an attorney in the Detroit area, started this business after seeing someone selling cakes at a farmer's market on cake plates that she made out of old china plates.  She says she always loved to bake and thought making cake plates was an interesting idea.  Kaitlin says she really had no idea how one would actually make a cake plate, and didn't really know what sort of materials would be involved.

We had an interview via e-mail and here is the inside scoop about her business, which is here on Etsy, so head over after you read and take a look at her "Sustainable Modern Heirlooms."

Me:    Tell me more about how you actually "make" your new designs.  Do you do the glasswork yourself and what types of materials do you use?

Kaitlin:  I do all of the work for the glassware myself, besides the initial cleaning, which my boyfriend generally does when I bring items home from thrift shops and garage sales.  The process starts when I make a visit to the thrift store and look around at the glass pieces available.  I've decided to focus mainly on clear glass at this point because I like things that are decorative but still neutral enough to fit into almost anyone's decorating/dinnerware scheme.  The toughest part was figuring out what sort of glue to use to attach the pieces.  I bought at least 5 different kinds of glue and did even more trial runs before I found a combination that worked well.  

Me:   What are your goals/hopes/dreams for this business?  Any other "upcycled" products  you are looking to branch into?

Kaitlin:  I would love to continue making upcycled glassware in the future, and I think it would be great to move into designing custom glassware for weddings.  Weddings are great because you can make glassware for desserts, candles, and even floral centerpieces.

I've started to branch out into recycling old glass canisters, carafes and bottles with chalkboard paint.  They're not as visually appealing as the cake plates, but are more practical and can make use of even more discarded materials.  I also really love milk glass and vintage green glass though, and I would love to branch out into making more pieces from those materials at some point.  

Me:   What challenges have you faced getting your business started?

Kaitlin:   Making time is a huge challenge.  Every hour I spend on MVD activities is an hour out of my free time, so it's been tough to balance the business with a full-time legal career.  I really enjoy cooking as well, and so I've been trying to find a way to merge the crafting and cooking into one venture.

The internet has been a great resource - it's the place I do my research, sell products, and network with other crafters.  I never thought I would join Twitter (you can follow her @ModernVintageD), but I started an account for the business and it's been a great tool.  

Etsy is a great site, although it's difficult to stand out amongst so many talented artists and crafters to get exposure for your products.  I never realized how important photography was going to be on my Etsy site.  I've never taken a photography class before, and I work with a standard Canon digital camera, but I've been trying to do my best in putting up quality pictures of my work.

Me:  What is your favorite piece?

Kaitlin:   This one is one of my favorites because it was the first cake plate that I successfully made with my final glue formula and the first listing on Etsy.  

Thanks to Kaitlin for answering all my questions!  I wish her lots of success with her inventive business.

Do you, or someone you know, have a business/project like Modern Vintage Detroit? Let me know and I can feature it here on Everyday Domestic Diversions.

Can't wait for Pumpkin Wednesday!

Miscellaneous Monday: Super Bowl Recap

Hello friends!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend and if you are a football fan, I hope you had fun watching the Super Bowl last night.

It turns out that most of you reading this tuned in to watch the Packers and the Steelers play, as the Nielsen Company (who posts the famous Nielsen ratings) claimed nearly 162.9 million people watched Super Bowl XLV.  That's a crazy large number and gives me hopes that the NFL and the player's union will be able to strike a deal to keep next season on track.

So last night, like many other people, we went to a Super Bowl party.  Our host was a Packers fan, and we had one lone Steelers fan in the group.  I wanted to bring something that would represent both teams, so here are my recipes for my party food.

Steelers Salsa---Black Bean and Corn Salsa 

(adapted from this recipe at Allrecipes.com))

Ingredients:

1 (15 ounce) can yellow corn, drained

2 (10 ounce) cans white corn, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained

1 bunch finely chopped cilantro

5 green onions, finely sliced

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1/3 cup lime juice

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and let everything sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour to let the flavors meld.  There are no hard and fast rules, so feel free to make some substitutions or additions.  

"Green" Bay Dip---Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

 (made with a one change to Ellie Krieger's recipe)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 cloves garlic

1 (9-ounce) package artichoke hearts, defrosted, rinsed and dried

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, excess liquid squeezed out.

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 cup (4 ounces) Neufchatel cheese (reduced-fat cream cheese)

2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Pita wedges or crudites, for serving

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook stirring occasionally, until softened.  Add garlic and cook 3 to 4 more minutes, or until onions are light golden but not browned. Remove from heat and cool.

In the bowl of a food processor combine, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, Neufchatel, mozzarella and salt and pepper. Process until smooth.  Add the artichokes and combine on pulse.  You don't want to lose the structural integrity of the artichokes. Add cooled onion-garlic mixture to the food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

Transfer mixture into 9-inch glass pie plate which has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until heated through.

Finally, I always like to watch the Super Bowl for the commercials.  I didn't have a lot of favorites, but one struck me as downright hilarious...

I feel no need to comment on the whole Star Spangled Debacle, the Seat Debacle or the Weird Halftime Show, but I would really love to know what you think!

So how did you celebrate the Super Bowl and what was your favorite commercial?

Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!

Pumpkin Wednesday

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday Friends!

Since I have started working and am not home to bug her, Pumpkin spends most of the day watching TV.  After all this coverage of the overzealous coverage of the"Winter Storm" Pumpkin thinks she can do a better version of the news than the major cable networks.

So today I give you, Pumpkin's Brief Daily News.


Tonight's Headline


It's cold, all over the country.  It's really cold and snowy in Chicago, so cold and snowy that nearly 1000 drivers had to abandon their cars on Lakeshore Drive!  How can you stay clear of the storm?  Move South (but not to Texas who is experiencing cold weather too!) and until then, stay inside, preferably under a warm blanket.

Cat+Warm Blanket=Cat Happiness

Weather Forecast


Cold, icy, rainy, or wintry mixy.  Avoid going outside, and if you HAVE to go to work, don't get angry!  Just be prepared and take both snow boots and an umbrella.

No! Don't Make Me go Outside!

Sports


It's almost time for the Super Bowl!  I'm rooting for Green Bay because I like Cheese.  Stock up on your snack foods. I like pretzels and beverages for Sunday's festivities.

Pumpkin loves pretzels, in fact, she loves all salty snacks

How much more winter storm news coverage can you handle?

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday!

It is Precipitating Everywhere

Hello friends.  Hope you are surviving this winter weather monstrosity and keeping warm inside!  I know a lot of offices and schools will be closed tomorrow around the Midwest/East Coast, but if you have to head out tomorrow make sure to drive carefully.

Photo Courtesy of Ian Britton and Freefoto

I'm really struggling to post as I adjust to my new work schedule.  I feel old, but after a day at the office, a visit to the gym and then making dinner, I am sooooo tired!  I love posting on Pumpkin Wednesday, but I'm going to have to work hard to keep the blog from turning into cat lady central....

Pumpkin is too lazy to take over the Blog.

So tonight, here is my lazy post...A link to my earlier post about snow preparation and for all my Denison ladies, a link to my post about removing salt stains from your leather shoes!


I'll take pictures of the snow/ice/whatever here in Cleveland and you take pictures wherever you are, and then we can share on the blog!

-Looking forward to a safe and happy Pumpkin Wednesday!