Rain Collection System

Hooray! We finally had our rain collection system installed. We hired our neighbor to install a little piece of gutter that will feed into our barrel. One inch of rain will collect 175 gallons. Oy vey!

We had it installed on the side of the house that we will use for our raised garden beds this year. It's out of reach of the dog and chickens, which will keep it a little safer (although I imagine the neighborhood cats will make their way to it).

We ordered the rain barrel a long time ago from a project to raise money for a Montessori school. It's just been sitting around for the longest time while we figured out where to put it and how to install the gutters.

I wish we lived in a city that would let us use the gray water to flush our toilets. I mean seriously. Why wouldn't a city allow that?

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Our Living, Growing Scrapbook

I'm making a commitment to keep our scrapbook updated. In that vein, I went to Snapfish to upload some of our Christmas photos. I debated about whether to upload them to Walgreens and pick them up or upload them to Snapfish and have them sent to our house. In the end, the Snapfish route was only a little more expensive (I went to retailmenot to get a coupon code), and I think I am more likely to stick to my scrabooking resolution if the prints are delivered to my house.

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Chlorine Water Filter

One of the items on my pre-conception list was to add a chlorine filter to our shower head. Sure, I understand that we need chlorine in our water to get the nasties out of it, but it really makes sense to remove it before saturating my skin/eyes/mouth in it every day.

That's where this dandy little filter comes in handy. I did a bit of searching, and this one seems to have several positive reviews. Plus, I couldn't beat the $14.74 price. It looks easy to install and use.

I'm eager for it to arrive!

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A Family Mission Statement

As Matt and I continue to talk about expanding our family with the addition of a baby (we're not even thinking about starting to try until the end of the school year), it's important that we continue to clarify for ourselves what kind of family we are and what kind of family we strive to be.

I pulled out the writer's notebook and asked Matt to indulge me in a little brainstorming session. Here's what we've come up with so far (in no particular order):

We are a family that...

• values health and wellness in the form of regular exercise and healthy eating.
• makes it a habit to eat home-cooked meals together and prioritizes conversation and connection while eating.
• resolves problems, issues, and conflict respectfully and in a constructive rather than destructive way.
• does professional work that is meaningful, enjoyable, fulfilling, and good for the world.
• makes time to laugh together and express appreciation for each other.
• shares responsibilities equitably but covers for each other when needed.
• cultivates community and connection among friends, family, and neighbors and continuously seeks to expand our circle.
• Aligns our lifestyle choices and actions with our concern for the environment.

We still have more to go with regard to gardening, traveling, supporting each other, building trust, fighting consumerism, etc.

It's definitely a work in progress!

This process reminds me of a book by Steven Covey: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. I need to excavate this book from my shelves and reread it.

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DIY Idea: A Window Chalkboard

Ever since I saw the above image, I've been wanting to transform an old window into a chalkboard and magnetic surface. A chalkboard will fit very nicely into our old schoolhouse theme (we have a science lab table in our dining room, an old desk to hold our succulents, a slate from the 1800s, a wire gym basket for Hoss's toys, and one of those giant wall maps that pull down).

It's taken me several weeks, however, to find a window small enough for our purposes. Well, honestly, it took me three trips to my favorite vintage store on three different weekends. And then I found a great window. It's not "perfect" because it doesn't have different sections like the window featured above (imagine the possibilities!), but I had to compromise because it was a great size and price (I also got a large terra cotta planter, an enamel basin for our lettuce, and the window for $12).

My plan is to paint it with magnetic paint first and then with chalkboard paint. When I made a magnetic/chalkboard calendar in my classroom, the magnetic part didn't work very well. This time, I'll do as many coats as I can get from the paint can. I'm also a little unsure about painting on plastic (which I realized is what the pane is made of). Hopefully painting the surface with magnetic paint first will act as a primer.

I also want to make my own magnets to go on it!

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Pound Cake Present

I'm going to visit a friend I haven't seen in a while, and we had some leftover pound cake from dinner last night (which, by the way, I highly recommend you bake! It's pretty easy to make a delicious-tasting cake from this recipe).

Wax paper + ribbon + sticky note = instant present

Voila!

Happy Saturday to all of you...

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Monthly Dinner Party

Apron courtesy of Anthropologie

Matt and I like to have friends over for dinner, but if we don't make a concerted effort to do it, the entire month can fly by with no dinner parties.

At the beginning of the month, I like to sit down and decide whom to invite for dinner that month. Matt hates such calculated planning, but he puts up with it!

Last month, we met a really cool couple at a party. They seemed like the perfect choice for January's dinner party.

Now we have to decide what to serve...

I'd like to serve a salad and bread, so pasta seems like a logical choice. Or, maybe we could make little flatbread pizzas using this crispy rosemary flatbread recipe from smitten kitchen with toppings from this flatbread recipe at fresh365. Yum!

Ooh. I could make focaccia bread from scratch, which I haven't done in a long, long time. I wonder if the timing could work. I could be home from work by 4pm today.

4:00-4:15 = Get bread ingredients measured and dumped in bread maker
4:15-5:45 = Dough cycle
5:45-6:15 = Rising
6:15-6:30 = Baking

Yes! It works. Dinner is at 7:00pm.

Now for a new salad....

How about salad with a lime-garlic dressing?

Yes, I think that will be just the one.

Now for dessert. It might have to be another pound cake. The one last week was just too darn good. Perhaps with this simple strawberry topping.

As for the drinks. It's going to have to be pomegranate soda from Whole Foods. I'm already cooking a lot.

Sounds fun!

Before I sign off, I should make a precise schedule for myself, so everything gets done at the right time (shh...don't tell Matt about another one of my tendencies to over-plan...):

• 4:00-4:30 = Make pound cake
• 4:30-5:20 = Pound cake cooks
  
• 4:30-4:45 = Get bread ingredients measured and dumped in bread maker
• 4:45-6:15 = Dough cycle
• 4:45-5:15 = Make salad + dressing
• 5:15-5:30 = Prepare pizza ingredients
• 5:30-5:45 = Caramelize onions
• 5:45-6:15 = Pick up the house
  
• 6:15-6:45 = Rising
• 6:50-7:00 = Prepare pizza dough
  
• 6:45-7:00 = Bread baking
• 7:00-7:05 = Assemble pizzas and put in oven when guests
  

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