Apartment: Lauren

I found this on A Southern Yankee in Manhattan who in turn took the idea from MMM more than a year ago. I stumbled upon the post this morning, and I thought it would be a fun exercise. Farrell lives in a lovely house- she has moved on from apartments, lucky girl- but maybe she will participate when she returns from her long weekend. Here goes (maybe it will shame me into improving my housekeeping habits):

1. What kind of SOAP is in your bathtub right now? Irish Spring and Fresh Milk Milk.

2. Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? No : (

3. What would you change about your living room? We have two old man recliners, but no couch! Someday...

4. Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? No dishwasher. Some sacrifices have to be made in exchange for having a "Junior Four" in the city.

5. What is in your fridge? Milk, fresh spinach, onion, three types of cheeses (!), bread, butter and other condiments.

6. White or wheat bread? Prefer white but generally buy 7 grain. Sigh.

7. What is on top of your refrigerator? Cereal, a blender, plastic wrap and sandwich bags.

8. What color or design is on your shower curtain? Plain white.

9. How many plants are in your home? 0- I kill plants, despite being the daughter of a horticulturalist.

10. Is your bed made right now? No. (My mother will be ashamed of my tackiness.)

11. Comet or Soft Scrub? Baking soda.

12. Is your closet organized? Yes! It is the most organized thing in the apartment.

13. Can you describe your flashlight? We have one...somewhere.

14. Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? Tervis Tumblers with the UVA logo.

15. Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No. Again, sad.

16. If you have a garage, is it cluttered? n/a

17. Curtains or blinds? Blinds, but would like to get some curtains.

18. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two.

19. Do you sleep with any lights on at night? No.

20. How often do you vacuum? I swiffer a lot...

21. Standard toothbrush or electric? Electric.

22. What color is your toothbrush? White.

23. Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? Yes.

24. What is in your oven right now? Long casserole dishes, cookie sheets, etc. that don't fit anywhere else.

25. Is there anything under your bed? The fiance's college diplimas, a step ladder, and a drying rack. Oh, and some free weights.

26. Chore you hate doing the most? Picking up. I am fine with cleaning- it is getting all the stuff put away that I hate.

27. What retro items are in your home? The aforementioned recliners, one of which belonged to the fiance's grandfather and then moved to various uncles' frat houses throughout the 70's and 80's.

28. Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? Ha. We have a nook.

29. How many mirrors are in your home? One, over the bathroom sink.

30. Do you have any hidden emergency money around your home? No.

31. What color are your walls? White.

32. Do you keep any kind of protection weapons in your home? The free weights?

33. What does your home smell like right now? Hopefully nothing, but sometimes I burn a really nice India Hicks candle.

34. Favorite candle scent? India Hicks Island Living Casuarina candle (I actually bought it at a sample sale).

35. What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? n/a

36. What color is your favorite Bible? White.

37. Ever been on your roof? No.

38. Do you own a stereo? We have some kind of nice radio...

39. How many TVs do you have? One big one, which was the fiance's gift to himself after her proposed : )

40. How many house phones? None.

41. Do you have a housekeeper? No, but tempting...

42. What style do you decorate in? Mish-mash of hand me downs, which I think of as a very "Virginia" way of decorating : )

43. Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? I like a mix, but get very overwhelmed in fabric stores.

44. Is there a smoke detector in your home? Yes.

45. In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you'd grab if you only could make one quick trip? Pictures, jewelry, paperwork.

It Comes in Waves!

Now that nearly all of our friends are married, Farrell and I are experiencing the second wave...the baby wave. It seems like every week someone else is pregnant! A newly pregnant friend expressed last week that she hopes to have a baby friendly house that is organic and in line with her sense of style. I started looking around the internet and found that shopping for organic baby products is about as fun as shopping for, well, any sort of organic product. It's just not as fun! The most aesthetically pleasing site I could find is Kate Quinn Organics. Does anyone out there have suggestions for other options?

Shabby Straps

How cute are these Shabby Straps, found on Etsy?

I am planning on picking up a few as gifts for my camera-loving friends (they come in appropriate sizes for both point-and-shoot digital cameras, as well as the SLR/DSLR variety), and maybe one for myself!

Got Basil?

If you have an inordinate amount of basil growing in your garden this summer (me! me!), one of the easiest ways to put it to use is to make homemade pesto. My extremely easy recipe is below. I love pesto as a dip, spread, pasta topping, or pizza base. It is good in the fridge or about a week and also freezes well.

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Olive oil
3 tablespoons pine nuts (I have heard you can also use walnuts)

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Place basil leaves in small batches in food processor and whip until well chopped (do about 3/4 cup at a time). Add about 1/3 the nuts and garlic, blend again.Add about 1/3 of the Parmesan cheese; blend while adding about 1/3 of the olive oil, pausing to scrape down sides of container.Process until it forms a thick ,smooth paste. Repeat until all ingredients are used, mix all batches together well.

Are You Participating Tomorrow??

http://www.takeyourdog.com/

If you're not reading...

Summer is a Verb then you are missing out! (Don't be confused- much of it is tongue in cheek...I think.) -LG

Wedding Wednesday

Anyone have suggestions about where to find pretty low heeled wedding shoes? Unfortunately I am too tall for these beauties from Stuart Weitzman:

Recession Garden Progress

Just a little update on the progress of the garden....

(please excuse the weeds, those were dealt with after the photos!)

Our first vegetable! A lone cherry tomato. There are inklings of peppers and other tomatoes coming in, too.....

Wedding Wednesday (on Thursday)

The Sarah dress from Coren Moore. No, this isn't "the dress", but if I had been having an outdoor wedding there would have been no question. So cute and pretty.

Beach Beverages

Headed to the beach this summer? Check out this feature from Food and Wine on the top Beach Wines - tasty and in beach-safe containers!