It has been so cool to use organic local fruit from nearby orchards for this process, and to change the fruits with the seasons.

The process is quite simple. Just stuff a bunch of fruit into a jar and cover it with vodka (lately we’ve been using Tito’s Handmade Vodka for the value, but we first made it with Prairie Organic Vodka, after out Minnesota relatives visited, and that honestly tasted smoother) then agitate it twice a day for two weeks. To agitate, you turn the bottles upside down and then upright ten times. Then strain it through a cheesecloth and funnel it back into a bottle.

I know that pineapple infused vodka has been popular lately. Let me know if anyone tries any other off-the-wall flavors – like peppers or cucumbers!

If I don’t post about it after a while, feel free to comment and ask me, “Yo, what’s up with you cleaning the top of that dresser off? Ever gonna do that?”

I posted about it because I want to do it.

Eventually.

We had a good weekend though. My husband had the whole thing off and we took the little one to the first Farmer’s Market of the season, in the rain. He ended up buying a bike rack for his new bike and I bought some empty glass jars and a few other materials and experimented with using food for facials. For the past few days, I’ve been slathering a sliced tomato, among other things, on my face. I’ll tell you all about it ~ perhaps tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are some pics of the flowers we received for our fourth wedding anniversary (which, like my husband’s birthday, I forgot about) and for my VERY FIRST MOTHER’S DAY!!!

Now there is Pinterest!

Pinterest is a social catalog service. Think of it as a virtual pinboard — a place where you can post collections of things you love, and “follow” collections created by people with great taste.

Here are some screen images of my Pinboards:

I’ve been using the easy image capture and save functions of Pinterest to save images of miniature foods made from polymer clay – something I’ve been wanting to try for a long time but have been too intimidated by – and miniature knits. This is the bookmarking site that I have been needing. I have been bookmarking various miniature food and dollhouse websites and blogs for a while, but this allows me to compile images from them and still save the source so I can go find them later. The images all put together are gorgeous and inspiring and can be cataloged in many different ways.

People are using the site for inspiration scrapbooks as well as for sharing their shopping ideas as in the holiday gift guides that people are compiling.

Ah! A beautiful new way to waste time!

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]]> http://www.thejoyfulhousewife.net/2010/12/very-pinteresting-a-new-social-eye-candy-website/feed/ 1 http://www.thejoyfulhousewife.net/2010/10/brilliant-signage/ http://www.thejoyfulhousewife.net/2010/10/brilliant-signage/#comments Wed, 20 Oct 2010 21:09:32 +0000 Jessica http://www.thejoyfulhousewife.net/?p=257 Continue reading →]]>

I saw this sign in a store in a small mountain town in Colorado this summer. It is reminiscent of Erma Bombeck or Fran Lebowitz. It is so brilliant that I worship whoever thought it up. It reminds me how much I don’t love other peoples’ kids, but I expect I’ll be more comfortable with and even grow to like my own. : ) As long as nobody gives them espresso or a free kitten while my back is turned.

What you’re looking at: Open-faced sardine sandwiches. Tim brushed some garlic onto toasted baguette pieces and added some baby arugula from the farmer’s market, a sliver of fresh Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. We paired it with fresh fresh produce from the local farmer’s market – Armenian cucumber, and heirloom tomatoes, drizzled in olive oil, salt and pepper.

I’m so lucky to be married to my husband! As you may or may not know, I’ve been finding cooking to be a real challenge lately. I’m trying hard to be inspired, but I’d really just rather not cook – at all – ever! But last week he got home from work early and made lunch for us. This lunch could be right out of Bon Appetit or Gourmet Magazine as far as I’m concerned – except that our photos were taken with an iPhone – still can’t find my camera charger!!!!! – so the quality is meh.

Tim’s been pushing the sardines on me lately because the omega-3s and other stuff are sooo good for our growing baby’s brain as well as for me, since the only meat I eat is seafood. They are extremely low in mercury.

Interestingly, my small-town-Iowa-boy husband, who eats more pork than anyone else I’ve met, has been going mostly vegetarian himself in the past several months. But lately, he’s been asking constantly if we should buy fresh fish to grill, from the local guy who has it flown into our small town (Tim insists that the fish selection here has been of higher quality than from the fish market in Denver). And he seems to want sardines every night before dinner!

Except that I haven’t been as much in the mood for fish lately. And sardines are only recently beginning to be palatable to me ever since I got pregnant. Luckily for me, these sardines have earned 5/5 tins on the Society for the Appreciation of the Lowly Tinned Sardine blog – which I know about because my adorable husband told me. Meaning? They taste great! They are mild and not “fishy” at all. I think I’ll definitely trade in canned-tuna for these for the rest of the pregnancy.

I really recommend that you give them a try.