Costco Shopping Trip $63.48

Well, it appears we are back on the salad train. And that’s a good thing if you ask me. 

For  the first time in a long time the Mediterranean Crunch salads that we like so much looked great so we grabbed a few while we were at Costco a few days ago. Also, for the first time in many, many months, the blueberries actually tasted like blueberries! It was a great shopping trip. 

My neighbor told me Kerry Gold butter is on sale through May 3rd so we’ll have to grab a few boxes the next time we’re there. Which will probably be soon seeing how this is plant buying season and all.

Market Basket Shopping Trip $62.64

Market Basket had steak tips on sale for $9.99 a pound {I think they’re $12.99 a pound now at Costco} so the HH picked up just enough for 3 meals.

That’s the one thing about buying meat at Costco that stinks. If you’re just cooking for two, who the heck wants to spend $50-60 on a package of meat in one go? Not us.

Fact: Market Basket has the best rotisserie chickens. Another Fact: We’ve had tremendous luck with avocados so far this year.

Meals We’ve Been Eating Lately…

Big beautiful salads. 

And tuna salads too. 

Steak tips, mashed potatoes and leftover salad. 

Lucy loves mashed potatoes. So we always let her pre-rinse the pot.

Split pea and ham soup. 

The HH’s chicken soup. He makes the BEST soups!!

Pickety bits. Does it get any healthier than that? 

Dinner out with friends: Grilled Caesar salad. 

And short ribs with deep friend cauliflower ball and broccoli rabe.

More salad. This time with bacon. I’m not sure which I like more on a salad… Bacon or roasted chicken. How about you? 

Sometimes all you want is a slice of peanut butter banana toast for dinner. 

Best breakfast ever! Overcooked lentils, fried egg, avocados and tomatoes.

And last but not least, bacon, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and avocados.  

The eating has been good around here lately! Let’s hope the salad trend continues. It really is my favorite thing to eat. 

Hey! It’s the weekend already, can you believe it? I hope you have a good one. We’ll be working in the yard. How about YOU? And cool plans? Anyone going clubbing? 

~ Mavis

OTHER

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Mostly these days it’s my husband who does the grocery shopping. I make the list, he gets the things, he comes home and I put everything away. 

If it were up to me I’d buy enough groceries for an entire year and be done with it. But he has a burning desire to leave the house everyday and well, I don’t. But every once in a while, I’ll go with him. 

Yada yada yada… I went with The HH to Market Basket the other day and spotted this in the produce section.

Veggie Wash!? Would you buy this? How is this even a thing? What’s wrong with using just water?

Are you kidding me? People wash their produce with soap? I had no idea. 

Would you buy this? Curious minds want to know. 

~Mavis

OTHER

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Yesterday a neighbor brought me a bouquet of “May Flowers”. How sweet was that? She collects the flowers from a secret patch in the wild.

The tulips we planted last fall in front of the fence, on the side of the house and in buckets are looking pretty good. What’s not looking good are all those glorious tulips that bloomed last spring. 

Apparently the varieties we planted weren’t hardy enough to last past the first season. I was in denial {maybe they’re just late this year?} but the HH dug up the soil and sure enough… No bulbs.

What a disappointment! I’m super bummed because I had HIGH hopes of selling boatloads of tulips on my garden cart this spring. 

I’ll have to do some research this summer to see what varieties are super hardy. The daffodils are back though.

We have so many seedlings right now. It’s bananas! I’m still bringing the lavender seedlings in at night.

But the chives are outside full time now. All 10 million of them.

Things are getting kind of crowded inside too. Every windowsill is filled with rhubarb. And I have {2} 8 foot benches with pepper and tomato seedlings on top of them.

The tomatoes and peppers won’t be planted outside until the end of May. So things are going to get really crazy here in a few weeks.

Rhubarb seedlings!

Peppers!

Tomatoes!

It has been less than a week since I planted the first round of Shasta daisy seeds and they’re already up! It’s hard to believe that in just 6 weeks it will be time to start planting beans and zucchini in the garden. 

Summer. It sure sneaks up on you. But you know what? I am ready! How about YOU? What are you growing in your garden right now? 

Anyone harvesting anything exciting yet? Curious minds want to know. 

~Mavis

OTHER

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Did you know today is National Tea Day? Yes, yes it is! So in honor of National Tea Day I wanted to tell you about the T-Magitic collapsible tea kettle I’ve packed in my bag for every trip I’ve taken over the past 2 years. 

Yes, it is really that cool! And yes, the thing paid for itself after just two trips from not having to buy hot beverages at the airport for me and my travel companions.

If you are an avid tea drinker like me, then you’ll want to add this to your packing list the next time you travel. I’m not a heavy packer {1 carry on and a personal item is my limit} but I always make room for my collapsible kettle when I travel.

I first discovered the collapsible kettle waiting for a flight at Logan airport. I asked a family who was using one to heat up water for their ramen cups if I could snap a photo. They said yes, and then I sent it to The HH and told him I needed one. 

By the time I had landed, the kettle was ordered and by the time I returned home, the kettle had already arrived. 

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but more and more hotel rooms are removing coffee makers from their rooms. I suppose it’s a way for companies to save money and get guests to purchase a coffee in the lobby? Who knows. 

All I know is that I love my collapsible tea kettle and if you’ve an avid tea drinker like I am, maybe you want to look into getting one too.

It’s so easy to use! Just flip the handle up.

Raise the kettle walls and pop the handle in the slot, fill it to the water line, put the lid on, plug it in and turn the kettle on. 

It’s really that easy! To quote OHAM reader Michelle, “The collapsible tea kettle is the best invention ever!!” Yes Michelle, it really is! You can use it anywhere there’s an outlet.  

Keep Calm and Carry On, 

~Mavis

OTHER

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Get Back To The Basics + Learning to Unplug

I didn’t go down any rabbit holes {hooray!} and kept my phone on silent for the majority of the week. I love when that happens.

In The Kitchen

I was planning on making a lentil salad but I overcooked the lentils and ended up just having them with eggs instead. I’ll have to try again. 

On a side note, have you ever tried Tate’s chocolate chip cookies? The HH brought home a single serving bag of the minis and they were pretty good. Thin and crispy!

Kitchen Goals For This Year

• Master the pear frangipane tart from Standard Baking Company. 
• Put my Weck jars to use.
• Use two bins of beans {working on it}

Rug Hooking

I finished the special order table runner, listed some big bundles of wool in my Etsy shop and started another rug. I’m hoping to have another grouping of rugs and pillows to offer around Mid-May. 

My {wool} plan for this week is to do a little spring cleaning and go through all my wool bins and “office” area. 

We are planning on sanding the floors in the two front rooms at the studio in May so I need to go through everything, get organized, pack everything up and clear out the rooms.

Rug Hooking Goals For This Year

• Finish drawing out all my patterns, making kits, dyeing wool by March 31st. 
• Release 10 new rug hooking patterns/kits.  {3 down 7 to go}
• Hook 27 of the patterns from the “someday I’ll hook these” bin. {4 down 23 to go}

Go New Places – See New Things

I still have a use it or lose it airline credit I need to redeem by the end of summer. I don’t even want to think about it right now though. There’s too much other stuff going on. All I want to do is to play in the garden right now.

Travel Goals For This Year

• Travel someplace {internationally} that I’ve never been before.
• Travel somewhere in Maine {overnight} that I haven’t been before.

Places I’ve Been So Far This Year

• Boston {Birthday getaway}
• NYC 

Walk And Stretch More

I got a few walks in last week and was able to add to my heart shaped rock collection. My longest walk was 3 hours.  I still need to come up with a stretching routine though.

Walking/Stretching Goals For This Year

• Get into some sort of stretching routine
• Fast walk a 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon {signed up for a half marathon}

Garden

I started two flats of Shasta daisy seeds and I think I’ll start two more. I love daisies and I love that they come back year after year too. 

Plus they make a great seasonal flower border too!

Garden Goals For This Year

• Rework the driveway and garden areas {in progress}
• Go crazy and plant a ridiculous amount of flowers {working on it}
• Step out of my comfort zone and plant some flowers I’ve never planted before

Paint

I finally had time to break out the paint and brushes! Yesterday I painted the beadboard in the entryway next door. It looks so good!

The HH did a really nice job installing the beadboard. Today he’s going to sand the trim around the doors {and fill a few spots} and once that dries, I’ll paint the door and floor trim. Then I’ll paint the walls.

I still haven’t decided on a wallpaper yet. The HH thinks we should just paint the walls white and be done with it. I think it might be fun to do something a little crazy. 

We’ll see.

Hey! Can you believe it’s Monday already? Have a good one!

~Mavis

Painting Goals For This Year

• The Van Gogh wall
• The gallery wall down stairs
• The captains wall in the hall
• Trim and walls 

OTHER

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