Modern Cottage

Look how they smile at you a little as you season your food.

So one of our readers (technically one of Beth’s rad online friends from the days when she wrote a clever blog filled with wit and genius) surprised us with these kick-ass salt and pepper shakers as a wedding gift. True, they have stand-alone radness but are truly made EXTRArad (like the name of a software company or an energy drink) by their stylistic reference to our wall o’ fauxidermy. Since they deserve to be a true part of the tiny deer family, they will be forever in the living room on the coffee table. This means, of course, that they will get more use than any other salt and pepper dispensers we may own.

Also, when I took them out of the box I made them act out the scene from Friends where Ross & Rachel break up the second time. (You fell asleeep?!) Fortunately, Beth had already formally agreed to be my wife.

We’ve been married for 7 years as far as friends and family are concerned. Today the state of California officially agreed with them. Hooray for us!

Share in the winter? Yes. Summer? No.

It’s summer and that means time for TWO comforters on the bed. If you’re thinking, well that air conditioning CAN get chilly in the night, first, I need to sock you, and second I need to remind you that there is no a/c here. No. There are window fans.

And now, a poem entitled “Why Two Comforters Are Awesome.”

Oh Beth, thou furnace, why must you sleep in thermals when it’s 86 degrees out?

Oh Cat, thou fuzzy motor, why must you curl around my head until we stick together?

Oh ancient house, thou keeper of daytime highs, why must you bake me as I try to rest?

But soft, what peace through yonder bedclothes breaks? ‘Tis the solution since Beth is the sun.

Okay enough. But for real. We each have our own twin comforter with duvet cover, and no flat sheet for the bed (only the fitted sheet). Beth traps all her hateful heat inside her comforter and I cuddle one corner of mine like a pillow while the rest dangles to the floor and never the twain shall meet. We got the idea a few years ago from a hotelier in London who’d made our beds up like this. We brought the idea home for our own use and it’s been a really great solution. Plus I think it makes the bed look kind of unique and modern. Even with the big cat-slept-here dent right in the middle.

So cool it practically says “Ayyyyyyy.”

Oh it’s just so awesome. It’s like hospital cart meets ice cream bike meets 50s ice chest. For some reason I have a love of coolers. I don’t know what it is. Plastic lake coolers, soft-side stadium coolers, picnic backpack coolers — I love them all. But I ESPECIALLY love old coolers. (I’ll tell you about the one I found on the side of the road in another post.)

I realize this one isn’t a truly old cooler. I’m not even sure whether this is modeled on something that once existed or is a new invention designed with retro style. Either way I want it on my back patio. It could be the cornerstone of a sweet mid-centuryish outdoor kitchen.

Some grill company should have a look at this and design a coordinating grill. Look how that’s a million dollar idea and I’m giving it away for nothing! You, Weber, call me.

Break it down! (Get it? Cuz it’s biodegradable?)

Yard-party season is here! I love barbecues. People come over, eat, laugh, and compliment my house and food. It’s awesome for me, really. But sometimes by the time we’ve mowed the grass, dragged the coolers upstairs, made the salad, marinated the steaks, baked the beans, chopped the crudites, washed the berries, frozen the ice cream, and mixed the drinks, the last thing we can think about is washing dishes for 20 people. Then, try as I might, I can’t resist the allure of the Chinette. I’m weak.

So when I saw these biodegradable dinner sets I grabbed them! Biodegradable! I can feel completely not guilty about using disposable stuff since I can just dump them in our compost bin. The red will be perfect for the 4th of July (though they do have other colors) but mostly I love the cool, curvy modern design of the pieces. They’re fun without looking childish and they actually ADD to the look of the dinner table. Take THAT Dixie® Brand, with your waxy, cardboardy, bathroom-looking tableware! Suddenly I feel so free.