Because the neighborhood we live in was just chosen as one of the “Top 10 dreamiest places to live” by HGTV
Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York
This neighborhood’s historic charm, top-notch restaurants and shopping, and proximity to Prospect Park make it an attractive alternative to Manhattan for families and professionals. Seventh and Fifth avenues are Park Slope’s main commercial areas, while other streets are occupied by renovated brownstones, which can sell for millions of dollars.
See the list here.
Tags: brooklyn
January 27th, 2009
Check out the food coop
Sign up for a sewing class at home ec I did this today!
Buy a trainer package
Have a stoop sale
Clear old work clutter out of office
Start using pearbudget
September 23rd, 2008
Dishy
pre2001-2008
In the spring of 2001 we bought a used portable dishwasher from friends who were having a brand new fancy one installed in their kitchen. It cost us $100 and was a lifesaver many times over. To say its been on its last leg for a while is an understatement. There’s been a wheel missing for as long as I can remember, making it difficult to move the 18 inches to the sink. About 4 years ago the door latch stopped working and you have to really bang it closed which is a complete pain in the ass, then right before Matthew left the little soap holder inside broke. The past few times I’ve used it I noticed the dishes were far from clean and got totally grossed out. Today after emptying it for the last time I broke the sad news to Matthew that we were going to have to ditch it when he comes home. I refuse to keep up the farce of rinsing the dishes, loading the dishwasher, listening to its loud clanking for 45 minutes then washing half the dishes again. Since new portable washers are running about $700 and we are moving next summer (to hopefully an apt with one already installed) I just don’t see the point in spending the money. Besides, I already have a perfectly good dishwasher that works like a charm. His name is Matthew.
September 1st, 2008
Won’t bore you with the details but we cancelled the stoop sale we were supposed to have this weekend due to crazy pouring rain and decided to do tons of home organization instead. It was time consuming but productive. Nothing like going through Matthew’s huge crate of cables and wires and putting them in tiny labeled ziplocs to make you feel better.
I also threw out every beauty product that was over a year old. I was shocked at how much went into the trash. Do this folks, it makes you feel sooooooo good. Unless you people are not like me and actually throw things away. “But one day I might need that tiny 4 year old sample of Angel for Men” whaaa? Yeah I am over that. Everything gets a teeny tiny box and that is it.
The good news is that we put more things aside for the stoop sale. The bad news is that home organization makes the house messy in the process. We did the only thing you can do to motivate yourself to finish cleaning your house when you have already been doing it for 2 days straight. Invited someone over for dinner.
Tim came, we had the somewhat mislabeled “Chicken in Wine” - thanks to Granny Fairclough for the original recipe we copied while in Vancouver. Matthew updated slightly and here you have it:
Chicken in wine (or chicken and mushrooms, or chicken in OJ)
2 packages cut up chicken (we used a mix of cutlets and thighs)
2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 can mushroom soup (we used Amy’s instead of campbells. Amy’s has alot less salt so we had to add a bit back for flavor)
8 oz chicken broth
½ cup orange juice
½ cup dry white wine (we used Gerwertztraminer)
4 julienned carrots
1 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
In the dutch oven, on the stovetop:
Shake chicken in seasoned flour and sautee in oil. Remove chicken then add mushrooms and sautee. Add OJ to deglaze the pan.
Combine remaining ingredients, add chicken and transfer to oven.
Cook for 1 hour at 350 in covered dutch oven.
You can also cook chicken and mushrooms in a pan then transfer all to a casserole if you do not own a dutch oven. Thats how Granny did it!
Apologies for the lack of quality photos but Matthew was in charge of this one and I only came running with the camera when I started smelling the deliciousness. It smells VERY good. Then as soon as I snapped these 2 the buzzer rang. Tim came in and I completely forgot what I was doing. If I took a less messy plated photo this would look a lot more appetizing but trust me! Its good!
Verdict: We served it with zucchini and boiled new potatoes. Next time we might try rice like Granny’s recipe called for. It makes a gravy and would be great in the winter with mashed potatoes. We will definitely add this to the rotation, especially when there is a bit of white wine left in the fridge. There were leftovers and I already called them.
Tags: recipe
August 4th, 2008
About a week before we left for BC the wifi on Matthew’s 2 year old MacBook Pro decided to stop working. That’s not entirely true, it would work SOMETIMES which is ever so much more frustrating. When we were in Seattle our friend Mark (likes motorcycles, long walks on the beach, and is insanely smart about technology) diagnosed it with a hardware problem. Matthew frowned on the outside but was actually ridiculously excited and immediately started building a new computer at the apple store online while we were sitting in their living room trying to enjoy a “How I Met Your Mother: Season 1″ marathon. When he told me the computer of his dreams would be about $3,000 (Matthew+supa computer=true love 4E) I was ridiculously not excited. I mean REALLY, isn’t there another option. After a little google searching he came across this scam and put the necessary items in a cart. Again, I was all like “Come on! a teeny tiny screwdriver, its that really necessary”
The box of parts and supplies came this morning and he got to work.
Me: Did you back up your computer?
MP: Yes (no)
Me: Maybe you should move that coffee
MP: I will
I have nothing to say really because its been 2 hours and his computer is totally and completely repaired for $60 (including shipping) and about 8 minutes of work.
Tags: husbandry
July 25th, 2008
