Today on Weekend Meanderings my kitchen deep clean and refrigerator reorganization, a classic Gin & Tonic and a couple outfit ideas.
Happy weekend, friends!
It’s Saturday and I’m joining Kim and Elizabeth for Weekend Meanderings.
Our weekly roundup of inspiration and goings on.
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We have radishes!
No tomatoes yet, but as a radish connoisseur, Jim is overjoyed with this garden development.
I met baby Dylan this week and had a nice visit with her mom and grandma.
She slept like this the entire time I was there and made the cutest little sounds.
SPRING LATE SUMMER KITCHEN CLEANING
You know how one thing leads to another? Or ten others? That’s what happened this week when a problem with our freezer drawer led to a trouble shooting expedition, led to emptying and cleaning the freezer, led to emptying and cleaning the refrigerator, and finally cleaning the entire kitchen.
I started by dusting the walls, moldings and kick space under the cabinets with a long armed Swiffer. What did we do before Swiffers? Then I cleaned all the painted cabinetry using a couple drops of dishwashing soap in a bowl of warm water … and two microfiber cloths. One to wash and one to dry. It took a long time. If we ever renovate another kitchen remind me to choose flat front cabinetry … fewer places for dust to settle.
Jim was so alarmed by my sudden cleaning frenzy that he fished out the thermometer and tried to take my temperature. Very funny, and offensive, but not entirely unwarranted. After washing all the cabinetry I did the same with our counters and backsplash. I love Murchison-Hume’s all purpose cleaner cleaner in the original fig scent … it smells divine. As does Method’s Glass & Surface Cleaner in mint. I use baking soda in a restaurant style shaker for scrubbing sinks.
After I finished with the cabinets and countertops, I vacuumed the floor and Jim went over it with the steam mop. For some reason steaming the floors has become his thing and I’m not mad about it. He also handles cleaning and polishing our butcher block countertops using Boos mystery oil and board cream. He uses it on our cutting boards too.
My kitchen cleaning essentials ~
REFRIGERATOR ORGANIZATION
And you thought things couldn’t get more exciting … let’s revisit the root cause of my cleaning extravaganza. Our freezer drawer is getting a lot of ice build up making it hard to close and big pieces of frosty ice coming flying out when it opens. We have a Subzero fridge freezer combo … it’s our third time with this model. And each time it’s had an issue. We refer to it as the Substandard. Why do we keep repurchasing it … that’s another story. I contacted Substandard Subzero for service and learned that we’re out of warranty and a service call is $200. That’s $200 just to show up. The first appointment is several weeks away so I got out the manual and learned that we should be cleaning the condenser every 3-6 months. Oops. That could be the ice build-up issue. We were also overdue to change the water filter. Jim did both. But it appears this has not solved the problem and we’ll be investing in a service call. At least we have a clean kitchen.
How do you organize your refrigerator? I’ve found that using clear bins of various sizes works for me. It’s helpful to categorize smaller items into bins … and it’s easy to slide the bins in and out. On the rare occasion, holidays and such, that I have large items that take up a lot of space, I remove the necessary bins and keep them in the garage until order is restored. I also like the beverage organizers for cans of flavored water and wine or other large bottles. But my favorite thing about this system is opening the refrigerator and seeing organization. Priceless. As you can see, my salad spinner is taking up a lot of room on the top shelf … full of just washed greens from our raised bed garden!
These are the bins and containers I use to organize our fridge ~
Before ordering organizers it’s important to know your refrigerator’s interior depth. Our fridge is built-in so it’s shallower than most (same goes for counter depth models) and so it requires a shallower bins. What’s that saying about measuring twice and cutting once.
TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL
Tuesday night my friend Jane and I went to see Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. It’s playing through August 27th at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco and then moves to the Center for Performing Arts in San Jose. You can find the entire North American touring schedule here.
The show is incredible. And incredibly moving … and powerful. The musical arrangements, singing and dancing are exactly what you’d expect … AMAZING. The energy of the entire cast is off the charts. If you lived through the Tina Turner comeback era of the 1980’s you’re familiar with her story and the show addresses it all with jarring depictions of domestic violence. In Ike and Tina’s marriage and the marriage of Tina’s parents. Of course this is an integral part of her story and allows for an even greater appreciation of everything she overcame to achieve her hard won and well deserved superstar status. I walked out of the theater feeling that no one deserved that success more than Tina Turner. If you can, go see this show!
We were in a hurry to get to the show on time and forgot to take pictures. Jim volunteered to be our Uber driver and we tipped him extra to snap a photo when we got home. It was dark, but you do what you can.
CLOSET CLEAN OUT, PART III
Two weeks ago I started a major closet clean out. Major as in serious purge. Last week I took some of my more current things to ReChic, a local consignment boutique. And this week I dropped off donations at the Goodwill and our local Assistant League chapter’s Wayside Inn Thrift Shop. It’s the best thrift shop located in a historic building in Downtown Lafayette. My aunt, who is very involved with the Assistant League in Bellingham, Washington, taught me early on that shopping thrift stores in more affluent areas is the way to strike gold wardrobe-wise. When Auntie Cookie came to town she made a bee-line for the Wayfside Inn. She found so many great pieces there over the years. The Assistance League does so much good work, particularly Operation School Bell.
Pulling together outfits is a lot easier since the purge. It seems counterintuitive, but having fewer pieces in my closet … not to mention being able to see them all … has sparked a little creativity in me. Getting dressed for the theater, or any occasion, would normally result me standing in the closet staring aimlessly and thinking I have nothing to wear. Followed by a panicked trip to buy something new. I’m happy to report I got myself dressed twice this week with pieces from my closet mixed and matched in new ways. Neither outfit is anything special, but pairing things in ways I haven’t before feels so good … it just like wearing something new!
Blazer | T-Shirt | Denim | Earrings | Leopard Flats | Bag
My second outfit triumph this week involved pairing a black, knit Target dress (I bought it last year and it’s no longer available, too bad because its one of my favorites … this is similar) with my Rails chambray shirt tied at the waist and OluKai flip flops.
Is this a groundbreaking outfit? No. But I’d never thought of pairing these pieces before. It helped that I could easily see both at the same time in my much less cluttered hanging racks. So I’m feeling pretty good about myself.
CLASSIC GIN & TONICS
Last night I got back to basics and made classic gin and tonics. Or G&Ts as we say in the business! See my G&T mixing Reel here.
As with most drinks there are a variety of opinions on how to mix them. I went with 2 oz of gin poured over ice and topped off with tonic water. If you prefer to measure, I’d say 4 oz of tonic water. At least. I’m heavy handed with the tonic, Jim prefers a lighter touch. Do what makes you happy. Garnish with two lime wheels, squeeze the juice of one into the glass first. To be extra festive, adorn with an edible flower!
G&T accoutrements ~
Current favorites ~
And that’s what I have for you this week.
Let’s see what’s inspiring Kim and Elizabeth …
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Any thoughts you’d like to share?
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Cheers from Snowberry!
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