A Friday Link Roundup: Places I've Been...

my "front yard" - it's very European

Every purchase you make is a trade-off – an expansion of the author’s point that you can have anything you want but you can’t have everything you want.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/07/05/every-purchase-is-a-trade-off/

As someone with no front lawn (seriously, I have a 4-6” wide strip of dirt between me and the asphalt), this article made me feel better. And, honestly, having lived with it for two years I now prefer having no front lawn. Because who really uses one?

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/plants/underused-uniform-and-ubiquitous-the-case-against-the-american-front-lawn-150531

Tips on writing – mostly from non-fiction writers/researchers, but plenty of it still applies. (I have visions of eventually selling a manuscript)

http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2011/06/02/practical-tips-on-writing-a-book-from-22-brilliant-authors/

Amen. My mom still gives the look like no other.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/05/granderson.bratty.kids/index.html

What I did (looked at) instead of writing like I promised myself I would:

http://www.houseofturquoise.com/

I wish I lived in Denver and had access to thrift stores with amazing clothes like these:

http://thethriftychicks.blogspot.com/2011/07/while-children-are-away-mommy-will-save.html

Ok, I’m putting this link on here for Jessie's Raised Eyebrow Award: yuppies go “green” and spend too much $ to do so. <le sigh> I’m going to pick on this article a little bit, not out of malice but out of a desire to better inform.

http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/simple-food-storage-solutions-for-your-kitchen-150566

1: Milk Jar – unless you’re getting your milk straight from the bulkhead, there’s no reason to transfer your milk to a jar. By the time you get your milk from the store potential chemical leaching will have already happened, negating the usefulness of putting it in glass when you get it home.

2: I don’t think I’d pay $7 for a reusable sandwich bag, but I prefer wrapping my sandwich up in a napkin anyhow.

3: $20 twine dispenser. $20 twine dispenser. No further comment.

4: Again, a napkin works too. If you want, you can soak said napkin in oil for a bit, wring it out and voila! It’s semi waterproof. Or just, you know, throw it in the wash and skip the oil etc.

5: $14 for two canning jars that don’t have a button-seal and therefore aren’t as safe to use in canning. OR you can spend $14 and get a dozen jars that are FDA approved. Just sayin.

6: So tiffin means lunch in Indian English, or a lunch container. I’m not sure how I feel about metal lunch carriers, so I guess I’ll leave this alone. But if anyone wants to get me a lunchbox, I prefer vintage TMNT.

7: Sure, it’s cute, but an actual paper berry basket or a colander works just as well.

8: And, finally, why on earth would you pay over $5 apiece for cloth napkins?

OK – I’m done now.