kevinnowak.com

Stamps.

Love these new "green" stamps that that post office has out right now...

  

Green Beans.

Our little garden has really been growing like crazy the past few weeks.  The cucumbers are growing faster than we can eat them actually.  Already had to give a handful away.  We'll have to make a note to plant less next year, and maybe stagger the planting so they're not all ready at the same time!  The tomatoes and the peppers are starting to get close.  Maybe a few more weeks and we'll be eating those.

     
     

     

  

The green beans were ready for a first harvest this past weekend and I think there should be a round 2 in a few weeks as well. 

  
  
     

How's your garden looking?

Pork Roast.

Just getting around to posting this, but a few weeks back Kel dug out a killer pork roast we had in the freezer from Butcher Boy.   The pork was premarinated and seasoned so we just had to throw it in the oven.  She paired it with some carrots/parsnips and a side of jasmine rice. 

  

  

How good does that look?  Tasted even better!  The carrots/parsnips were a simple olive oil and balsamic recipe and she doctored up the rice with some herbs from our garden. Pretty quick and simple dinner... 

First Harvest.

We made our first "harvest" from the garden last night in the form of a cucumber. 

  

Peeled, sliced, and with a little Ceasar dressing on top....perfect!  They're starting to grow really fast now, so we're going to be eating a lot of cukes in the coming weeks. 

Veggie Garden Update.

Okay...remember our little veggie garden we planted at the begining of last month, well get a load of it now! 

  

When we got back from our trip I had to add all sorts of sticks, poles, and props to keep everything climbing.  Did some serious pruning of the tomatos too. 

  

Everything is growing like crazy and we're already using some of the basil, cilantro and things like that.  At this rate it won't be long until we need to harvest the tomatos, cukes, and green beans!

Veggie Garden.

A few weeks ago Kelly and I decided to build a vegetable garden in our backyard.  We had been talking about it for a while and it's been something we've been eager to do, just hadn't gotten around to.  We made the decision last week when we were up in Boston for Easter so we made sure to grab some supplies we knew we'd need.  Leaves and newspapers.  Bob-dog still had a few piles on the edge of the back yard so we bagged those up and snagged a ton of newspapers since we don't get the paper delivered daily to the house. 

As with any project...its gotta start with a trip to the hardware store!  Here's Kelly, relegated to the back seat since the 2x8's had to ride shotgun! 

  

Once we got home it was time to unload all the supplies and start laying things out.  Riding back with two bags full of manure was perhaps the worst part of this entire project.  We had all the windows down too!

We were about to construct what many of you have probably heard of before...a "lasagna garden".  It essentially means that you build up alternating layers of organic material and peat moss topped off by some enriched soil and mulch to keep everything moist.  Just like making a dish of lasagna. 

  

First step was to level the ground.  It didn't look bad, but once we snapped a string line we were sloping 6inches over 10feet.  Needed to do a bit of digging to level things out.

  

Time to lay down 3 layers of newspaper and water it down.  This prevents weeds from growing!

    

Layer of grass clippings. [and a few egg shells and coffee grinds thrown in for good measure!]

    

Layer of leaves.

    

       

In the end we planted several types of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, a few herbs, some green beans and a few heads of lettuce.  Can't wait until it's all ready for harvest!

       

And here's the final product...Complete with fencing to keep any pesky varmints out!

      

   

So if this thing works I'm sure it'll be because of the imported leaves from Norfy and Boston Globe pages! 

I think that there's actually a law here in NJ that you have to install your own backyard garden at some point...they do call it the "garden state", right?

[all photos taken with the cell phone, so please disregard the poor quality] 

New Ketchup Packets.

This post relates back to early March when I wrote about the inefficient and environmentally insensitive ketchup packets that the Heinz company has made for nearly half a century.  Well, as someone pointed out, there was good news on the horizon as Heinz had just announced they were coming up with the first redesign of the traditional ketchup packet in 42 years.    This was music to my ears.

Kel and I don't stop for fast food too often, other than when we make the trip up to Boston, but last night after I picked her up from her bi-weekly NYC trip we were trying to figure out what to do for supper.  For some odd reason Kel suggested Chick-fil-A and it was on.  We made a B-line to the place as we were ravenous.  After we ordered we turned around to grab some napkins, straws, and ketchup when we realized that they had some of the new packets on hand.  I was excited!...probably more so than I should have been. In any event..we sat down and gave the new design a test drive. 

  

    

It was great.  you get 3x the amount of ketchup you normally get and it's already in a nice little dipping cup.  More ketchup, less packaging waste.  Me likes!

 

p.s. - Hey Chick-fil-A, what's the story with still using styrofoam cups?  Welcome to 2011! 

Free Water Filter?

Need a FREE water filter for your fridge?  You might be in luck!  [notice how you all perked up at the word FREE!]

The good folks at Whirlpool sent me the wrong filter for our fridge last week.  We're on a subscription plan and for some odd reason the wrong one came this time.  I made a call and they're resending the correct one as we speak, but they said to just toss this one. 

Of course I can't just throw this away...so I figured I'd offer it up to you guys.  This thing goes for anywhere from $30 to 40 bucks online so why should it just go to waste and and up in the trash?  The packaging says it'll work on select models of Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Amana, and Jenn-Air refridgerators.  Check your filters model # and if it's #4396841 this bad boy is all yours!  Just send me $5 bucks for the shipping and I'll send it out.  Here's a link to the actual filter  if you want to double check that it's the right one for you.

First come, first served.

  

The red tip is actually a cover that's over the inserts.  Hopefully someone can put this to good use...

Salvage Shopping.

A few weekends ago Kelly and I went with Patrick and Kristin to do a bit of salvage/antique shopping.  We hit up 3 great spots in the city and had a blast.  We weren't looking for anything to specific, but if we found some pieces we liked were would have certainly snatched them up.  We did have our eyes open for some stained glass to hang in our entry foyer as well as a buffet/console table for our kitchen.  No luck on either of those, however. 

Up first on the trip was a small store in the Port Richmond area called ReStore.  This place had a few levels filled with everyday items that had been salvaged from older homes.  Lots of doors, shutters, sinks, and that sort of stuff.  Kel and I are now thinking about getting an old door to replace the modern looking one that leads out to our family room.  So I think we'll be heading back to this place at some point!  One of the coolest things in the store was the staircase that lead up to the owners private residence on the 3rd floor.  It's entirely made of steel and cost her about $10,000.  Worth every penny if you ask me! I bet a lot of people don't like the fact that there's no railing and the risers are open. 

       

       
       
       

 

Stop #2 was not too far away at a place called Provenance "Old Soul Architectural Salvage".  This was a huge industrial warehouse filled with interesting things for buildings that have been demolished all over the city.  They have everything from bathtubs to granite columns to massive chadeliers that were taken out of churches.  Pat and Kris did get some cool metal stars here to hang on thier walls at home. 

       

       

       
       

After this we went to the Architectural Antiques Exchange.  This place was high-end all the way.  Everything was extremely expensive and we could tell right away it was not the place for us.  Hell, they were selling fully enclosed bar rooms for thousands and thousands of dollars.  Even some simple stained glass pieces were $750+. 

       

       

       

       

        

This last photo here of the Brownie camera was actually snagged at a local antiques store near our house.  Since we've finally ordered a couch, loveseat and chair for our living room we're starting to think about how to decorate that room.  We'll probably hang a number of photos as well as use the digital frame I got for Christmas.  We also want to get a few old cameras to have around as well.  So this was the first of hopefully a few.  Bob-dog is going to provide an old Polaroid or two as well!
 

Anyway, the one common theme in all three of these places?  A sever lack of heat!  They're all in old buildings and warehouses that leak like sieves so they just can't afford to heat them.  So if you go in the winter months, wear a good coat!  

Our final stop in the city was the several block-long strectch of Pine Street called Antique Row.  What a dissapointment this was.  Only a handfull of shops, not the 12 they advertise, and they were all horrible. Don't waste your time down here. 

After checking out these places in Philly we stopped at a custom stained glass shop in Merchantville, NJ called NTS Glass Works.  After talking with the guy there we learned that for only a few hundered bucks he could custom make us a stained glass piece to use in our house.  We could design it however we wanted and also control what colors were used.  Seemed like a win-win for us.  We save money over buying an antique that might not be exactly what we want, and we get the design it exactly as we wish.  So we're probably going to work bath and forth with him to come up with a design in the next few weeks.  Should be a fun process!

Our final stop of the day was at a store called The Painted Cottage.  We had already visited this place once a few months and gotten a great piece that we're using as a TV stand in our bedroom.  We figured a stop there could help us land this buffet thing we wanted for the kitchen.  They didn't really have anything that worked for us, but the owner told us that as long as we didn't mind waiting, they have a carpenter in house who could build us exactly what we wanted using reclaimed wood.   So now I have to sketch up some ideas and have him give us a price to see if this make sense. 

All in all it was a great day and it's always fun to explore new spots in town.  I especially like getting a glimpse into the built worlds past by looking at some of these salaveged pieces. As one of the shop-keepers told us, "nothing is made in America anymore, so we need to hold on to this stuff and make sure it doens't end up in a dump somewhere". Very true.  

Priceless.

Came across this graphic on a t-shirt at the gift shop at Longwood Gardens...very cool!