Five “Favorites” (1st ed.)

I found an even more easy link-up than 7 Quick Takes.

And so…here are five favorite-right-now things from the most consistent blogger on the internet.

1.

Homemade “Almond Power Bars“

These are incredible! Wow. I didn’t even put the chocolate layer on top, and they are still absolutely delicious. [I am afraid to use the chocolate, because I know I will love it, and then there will be no going back.] Ryan doesn’t like almonds or coconut (which is pretty much what these are), but he said they were palatable, perhaps even good. I made a batch with the virtuous intention of “cutting them into individual servings and freezing them for future snacking.” [Apparently “future snacking” involves eating half the pan in less than 24 hours.]

2.

Natural Ant Killer

This is our first Spring in the new-to-us-but-very-very-old house. And all of the lovely Spring showers sleet brought an infestation of ants. Blah. Ugh.

No, the ants are not one of my favs.

However, after extensive googling of “natural ant killers” I came across this tutorial [essentially Borax + sugar + water]. It has been amazing! I put lots of lids with this concoction on the counter tops [the army of insects preferred locale] and after only an hour, one of them looked like this:

[Lovely, eh?]

It’s been a few days, and the mixture seems to be working! And this warrants a fav.

3.

“G”

[picture via Mollie Wetta]

You’re not supposed to have favorites among your nieces [and I don’t…promise!], but just this week, G is my favorite.

Why? Because this is such a special time in her life. Last Sunday was her first piano recital, this Sunday is her first holy communion (!!!), and next Sunday is her dance recital. A busy little lady.

Oh, and apparently, she is basically becoming me, for better or worse. For example, her teacher describes her writing as “having a distinct voice…which is very dramatic.”

Indeed.

4.

Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout

We had some friends over for dinner last week, and they brought this beer. It was probably intended for Ryan, and, yes, he thinks it’s pretty amazing. However, I am the one madly in love with it. Somehow it is deeply chocolate-y, without being too sweet. Bold and yet still smooth. How is this possible? Magic, I tell you.

5. 

a “made” bed

[Sorry I didn’t take a picture of our bed. I thought that might be a little creepy.]

This seems a little ridiculous, I know. We try to keep the “main” area of the house tidy-ish throughout the week, but neither Ryan nor I usually care about having the bed made…so we don’t do it every day.

However, for some reason lately I’ve been needing more order in my life, so part of this pursuit has been actually making the bed every morning. I can’t even put into words how organized and peaceful I feel when I walk into our room. It is such a little gesture, but it has made a big impact on my attitude. I think I can consider myself a grown-up now.

So, there you go…now see what everyone else in the blogiverse is fav-ing right now.