The All-Day Curtains
I firmly believe every room in a house needs curtains. They make a room more cozy and welcoming, but they also bring the room together. Once curtains are up, the room can finally feel complete.
Next to the living room, our bedroom is the place where we spend most of our time. (sleeping…) It’s important to me that this room, of all rooms, is the most cozy room in the entire place. And only curtains can top it off.
So one day when I was all alone, I decided to put them up.
Sounded like a great idea. Wasn’t so great.
Looks nice and even, eh? Yeah – it only took me 30 minutes. Ridiculous! Either I’m a real perfectionist or extremely slow. After this part was done, I thought it would a breeze the rest of the way. 30 more minutes, at most, and then I can watch the Rays’ game.
Not.
Don’t worry about those little guys. This was at hour #2. The game was on in the other room, and I had it loud enough to listen.
As I just finished up my latest round of bitching, I noticed the t.v was off. Turns out, we found out a few weeks later after buying it that our awesome t.v has a defect and will shut off for a few seconds.
I had to get this on film. I had had enough.
It came back on, but my curtain-putting-up-adventure was heading towards hour #3. After thinking I was missing some parts, got the wrong size, and hated the curtains – I finally figured it all out.
And the outcome? Not that bad…
Not that bad, indeed…
p.s. – that’s right, it started out early and ended up late.
Sponge Dockin’ It
We ventured out to Tarpon Springs on Saturday – it’s something ManFriend and I try to do at least once a month. We feel like we are in another country when we’re there, and it’s always fun to play tourists in a nearby town.This time, we had some friends accompany us and it made the trip that much more crazy interesting.
Tarpon Springs is known for being heavily populated by Greek families of all generations. The main street is full of small shops selling shell trivets, magnets, t-shirts and sponges. The sponge docks of Tarpon Springs is its main claim to fame. It’s crazy walking up and down the side of the docks, knowing men used to strap on those old diving suits and risk their lives to collect sponges. It kind of makes me feel bad when I use my shower loofah.
The best part though: where there are Greek families, there is Greek food. Glorious, Greek food. We pretty much always get the same things (spanikopita, hummus and pita, gyro, chicken souvlaki, baklava and maybe some Greek vino), but I made a promise to myself to try something new next time. But this time, we had to get the usual. And of course I didn’t get any photos before the food was eaten. It was hot, we were hungry, and it’s just that damn good.
I was on my best shopping behavior and didn’t buy anything this time (since we’re trying to save up for another, short vacay), but I couldn’t resist to at least look. You never know, you might find a gem. Instead, I found some good cigars and crazy-looking puppets.
{Fishing and sponge-harvesting boats}
{Sponges are everywhere – and every single shop claims to be the best shop in town}
{Not your typical sponge}
{Typical starfish, though}
{Ugh, I so wanted to steal this hanging crab trap. Too bad I’m 6 feet too short and it’s illegal}
{Crazy Chuckies – creeeepy}
{Greek-town goofin’}
Happy Weekend
This weekend we plan to get out of the house and head to Tarpon Springs, or “Greek Town” as we like to call it. It’s a tourist-y area filled with cute little shops, sponge docks (where real-deal sponges grow, not like the ugly ones you find at the supermarket), and AHH-MAZING food. The food is about as authentic as you can get. (or at least I think so)
I plan to buy some useless junk, eat a lot of good food, and hopefully get some great pictures along the way.
Also, to add a little dash of flavor to my Happy Weekend posts, I’m going to share my favorite song of the week. I’ve dubbed it as “My Favorite Song Friday” – I’m a sucker for alliterations.
This week, I’m loving “Whirring” by The Joy Formidable.
Awesome song, trippy video.
Enjoy…
I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
We Have An Outdoor Pet
Pretty much every night is spent outside on the patio. ManFriend and I sit out back, talk about the day, watch the sunset and grill some good food. A glass of vino here and there usually accompanies us as well.
Lately, the weather has been exceptionally nice, so we’re pretty much out there until it’s late. Now, I’m not sure how long it’s gone unnoticed, but we recently discovered we have an outdoor pet.
Every night, around the same time, we see his little head in the corner near the fence. He’s so sneaky and quiet that you never really notice him until you look. At first, I was “like get that thing out of here.” But now, he’s kind of grown on me. It feels good that this guy feels safe enough to hang around – same time, every night – and not feel in danger.
When I came outside tonight for the usual, he’s in his spot. And I just had to show him off to you…
Probably not what you expected – but we have a fondness for him nonetheless.
And yes, we named him Mr. Toad.
Much lurve little one.
ps. that’s my new youtube channel. i’m venturing into the world of filmography (from my phone) – look out.
A Gold Mine
It took me 2 years to save $13,000 and about 4 months to spend all of it. Literally. I have like $150 in savings right now.
At least I have something to show for it – but that is still a little ridiculous. I hate checking my bank account. It’s kind of depressing. But, ManFriend keeps reminding me that’s why we saved, so I guess that makes me feel a little better.
Or not.
Naturally, I’ve had to get a little creative when making those purchases that are not-so-necessary, but eventually we’ll need them (or want them). Sure scouring websites for the best price, downloading iPhone apps like Price Grabber, and clipping coupons can help sometimes. But I want to be even cheaper. I’m just that broke.
Then I discovered Goodwill. I used to think of it as a place with dirty clothes, random things people don’t want anymore, and just filled with junk. Well, it’s still sort of like that – minus the dirty clothes. But if you take the time to actually look, you may find hidden gems here and there. The drawback: it is time-consuming. Some days I can spend several hours there and only find a good book. Still good, but not great.
The other day I went on my weekly trip and looked through my usuals: furniture, vases, books, artwork and fabric. I found some great stemless vino glasses – all for about $.50 each. Score. We in the salted chocolate household can never have too many glasses for our beloved vino.
I moved on to the next aisle, and BAM! (Emeril voice) – a solid (and complete) China set. Ahahahaha! It’s ironic that I got this excited about something like this. It was just the other day I was complaining about the frivolity and uselessness of China sets. I said they were outdated. I said they were lame. I said they were a waste of money. Now I was saying I HAVE GOT TO HAVE THIS. I’m so weird.
I had to check it out just to make sure I was doing this. If I’m going to make this purchase (especially one that is so controversial), I had to ensure they were in good shape, a set of at least 8 and a decent price.
1. Real Gold
2. Real China
3. Perfect Condition
4. Set of 12
5. $25 Total.
A Gold Mine.
salted chocolate | life with a dash of flavor 