water, water everywhere...

...and not a drop to drink!

So I'm nursing. And anyone who has ever nursed a baby knows that it's basically a full time job. Sometimes, I don't even know when one session has ended and another has begun because it seems endless. And anyone who has ever nursed a baby knows that terrible thirst that sets in riiiiiiight after the baby gets a good latch! Seriously, I look over and see my glass of water just a little bit too far out of my reach. SO FRUSTRATING!

So I've been on the quest to find the perfect water bottle for nursing. My criteria:

- the right capacity.  Too small, and I can chug the whole thing.  Too large, and I don't want to carry it with me when I leave the house.

- leakproof! I need to keep it on the sofa or bed next to me and not rely on a side table since the baby may be nursing on the side opposite the table, etc.

- one-handed opening. One hand is helping baby while the other is free for vital things like playing on my iPhone or drinking water.

- no straw.  I can't chug from a straw. Can you?

For a while, I used a bike bottle, but it wasn't perfect. It's kinda noisy to drink from, and if you have an almost sleeping baby, you will not be psyched about waking them! It also made it hard to chug, as I'm prone to do when I'm trying to drink about 1,000 cups of water a day and when I'm super thirsty.

So I finally found "it", and I beg you to buy the same one for any nursing mom you know.  The one thing I don't like is that it's plastic, but if it was glass, it would be too heavy to tote around in the diaper bag, and I'm not sure if it would work in stainless steel.  But anyway.  DRUMROLL PLEASE.....

The Contigo Jackson Water Bottle in the 24oz. size!

 

This bottle has it all.  An easy, one handed opening; it's leakproof; you can take the whole top off and fill with ice, if you like.  

Best money I've spent on nursing gear so far!

Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz

We like coffee.  A lot.  We're not "must have coffee or can't function" types.  We just really like the taste, and we like the sort of pomp/circumstance of its production.  Nor are we so snobbish that we only drink hipster coffee made by men with beards and bowties.  Granted, Rush is sort of hipster (he has three pairs of Sperrys!) and a beard, but he won't wear a bowtie no matter how much I beg.

Needless to say, we're not big on typical drip coffee in our house.  The journey to coffee heaven has been a fairly long one.  One day a year or two ago, I decided I wanted an espresso machine, so I could make lattes, so I bought us this little, inexpensive DeLonghi EC702 Espresso Maker.

DeLohghi EC702 Espresso Maker

And we liked it for a while.  But it just didn't have the horsepower we wanted.  The espresso was definitely passable; It just lacked depth or something. 

But in the meantime, we used the heck out of our Bodum Chambord Double Wall Coffee Maker.  She was an wedding gift, and we love her, but things came to a head because Rush accidentally broke the glass carafe, and it took us a while to find the replacement piece.

Bodum Chambord Double Wall

 
And because that wasn't enough, and I had heard nothing but good things, I bought Rush the Chemex 6-Cup Coffee Makerfor our anniversary.

Chemex 6-Cup

Which leads us to today.  For Christmas, Rush and I decided to upgrade our espresso machine.  Our rationalization is that we owned the old one for a year and half, so our cost per use was minimal.  Plus, our adored dog sitter likes espresso, so we gave the old one to her as a thank you.

After quite a bit of research within our price range (sub $500), we picked this baby:

Breville BES840XL

The Breville BES840XL Infuser Espresso Machine. She's still petite and compact on the counter, but she's definitely next steps for us.  With the magnetic tamper, gauge to help us get in the right range, pre-programmed shot sizes, and moveable steam wand, we quickly felt like we had moved up in the world.  Oh, and there's a little storage spot in the bag of the drip tray for unused accessories.  Makes great espresso and comes with built in storage?  Heavenly.

So what's next for us?  Perhaps, for now, I'll just have another cup of coffee.  Hmm... which maker to use...

Kreg shmeg

Kreg.  Weird name but gosh it's a fantastic little product.  If you fancy yourself a handyperson and like to build stuff, the Kreg jig (I have this Kreg R3 Jr. Pocket Hole Jig System) makes pocket holes with ease and accuracy.

I made a really basic tabletop this weekend for an outdoor table and used my Kreg for the pocket holes to tie all of the table top pieces together.  The project renewed my love for the Kreg.  And I needed to share my love publicly.

Via

Recipe Box Roundup

Full disclosure, I don't use a recipe box, but I think they are just about the most charming thing ever.  Perhaps I could get over my laziness for one of these little numbers:

Macys - $15

Rifle Paper Co - Out of stock  : (

Amazon - $37

Crate and Barrel - $25