It's been easy to love things this month now that the warmer temps are here. It's amazing how much light and warm air affect my mood! Here are 5 things I am enamored with this month.
1) My new Santoku knife. I broke the tip off my old chef's knife last month trying to separate two pieces of frozen chicken, so it was time to buy a new all-purpose knife. My friend L advised me to get a Santoku with a flat blade instead of a traditional chef's knife. I was delighted to see knives from high end maker J.A. Henkles at Target, so I bought a 7" forged steel beauty for the low price of $29.99. I love it! The blade is so sharp, the handle feels great, and the flat blade makes controlling things much easier. I dare say that it's leading me to eat more salads because I am looking for an excuse to chop some veggies just so I get to use my knife. Hey...whatever works!
2) Scented linen spray. I have been trying to get to bed earlier lately to boost my energy level, and one of the ideas I had to make bedtime enticing was scented linen spray. The idea is that you mist your pillowcase with a little scented water and let the smell carry you into dreamland. I found a very nice Ginger Mint scent at HomeGoods for $5.99 and so far it's been very nice. I do recommend spraying things about an hour before you go to bed, though. Any sooner and the smell may be a bit overwhelming (speaking from personal experience on that one!) In addition to HomeGoods a friend just clued me in to the fact that you can get pillow mist at stores like Bath & Body Works. I had trouble finding any and honestly it never occured to me to look there, but I will when this bottle runs out (or when I get sick of the scent and want a new one).
3) Colorful fabric on a corkboard. My guest room/office is decorated in a graphic black and white scheme with pops of lime green in the toss pillows on the bed. I wanted to find a way to bring that color into the other side of the room, so I found a piece of bright green fabric that matches the pillows at my local fabric store (only $1.99!). I stapled it to the cork board above my desk and it changes the entire feel of that side of the room. This is what I face while I work from home or pay bills, and it's just the pop of high energy I wanted in that space. The fabric square was premade and a little narrow for my cork board, so I plan to buy some 1" wide white ribbon and hot glue it around the edges to cover the gap. The whole thing should cost me less than $5 and I absolutely love it.
4) Buds on the trees. My backyard is a conservation land, so when I look out the window or go stand on the balcony I see a line of trees. This morning I noticed that suddenly they'd gone from stark, bare branches to having lovely green mini-leaves all over them. It was like being reborn. (Sounds melodramatic, I know, but I do not do winter well. Spring is a big deal to me -ripe with possibilities).
5) Barnes & Noble. I'm trying to watch less TV, but it's hard to avoid turning the thing on when I get home from work at night. So I've started heading out to B&N some nights. I may sit and thumb through a book I'm thinking of getting, flip through magazines to look at pretty pictures, or just people-watch. Our local store has a Starbucks cafe and a large lounge style area with several easy chairs and tables. It's really a great place to relax, or even go when you need to concentrate on work but not go into the office. I worked an entire Sunday there and got far more done than I would have sitting at home distracted by dishes or laundry that needed doing.
So there you have it. Five things I love this month. Happy Spring!
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