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Things Loved Lately

September 16, 2013 By Dusty Rogers 15 Comments

It’s been a few weeks since my last “Things Loved” post, so let me catch you up on some of the things I’ve been enjoying lately!  From helpful kitchen tools and tips, to a no-chip manicure, lunch & life breaks and my current photo obsession – read on to discover more!

TLCollage2

1.  Squish’s Over The Sink Colander

squish_collage

I’ve always had an issue with my old large colander. It sits in the sink, elevated less than an inch from the bottom, so when I drain a large pot, I have to do it super slowly at the speed my sink drains so it doesn’t fill up with water, seeping up into my colander and getting sink germs all over my pasta.

It’s annoying.

I’ve been doing this for years – but not anymore!

I spotted the Squish Over-The-Sink Colander while shopping at Target and had to have it.  There are arms on each side of it that pull out, balancing beautifully over the top of my sink, leaving plenty of space between its bottom and my sink’s bottom – no more sink germs in my penne!   With a 6 quart capacity, it’s large enough for even my biggest batches of pasta, and if all that wasn’t enough, it also collapses into itself so it can be stored FLAT.  No more giant old colander taking up valuable storage space in my kitchen!

2.  Using my KitchenAid Mixer to shred meat:

KitchenAid_Mixer_Shred_Meat

I learned this great little tip last year after spending hours shredding pork by hand for our 4th of July BBQ sandwiches, and now that I have a KitchenAid Mixer I was finally able to put it to the test!  I roasted up a huge pork loin, pulled it apart into large chunks to put in my mixing bowl, and then used the paddle attachment to shred it.  All it needed was a few spins on low, and I had perfectly shredded pork – I couldn’t believe it!  I’ve also tried this quick and simple shredding technique with chicken and it works like a charm.  Give a try the next time you’re shredding meat, and save yourself a ton of time!

3.  Shellac nails

shellac_manicure

Before heading to Atlanta at the end of July to attend the 2nd annual Haven Conference, I decided to give a shellac manicure a try.  I love having painted nails, but I hate dealing with chips – especially if I’m traveling.  Shellac manicures promise to stay chip-free and shiny for at least two weeks, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it was true!  I chose a very light color so it’s a little hard to see, but I took the above photo of my shellac manicure one week later and it still looked great!  Another thing I loved was how quickly the polish dries and “cures.”  Once the shellac polish was applied I rested my nails beneath a UV light and within seconds they were done!  I instantly was able to dig around in my bag to find my wallet and pay without having to worry about damaging my brand new manicure.  It was fantastic!  Handbag digging was the first test, but the real test came when I got home and tackled an afternoon of cleaning.  I hand-washed a sink full of dishes and scrubbed two bathrooms, and afterwards my nails still looked as perfect as they did before I left the nail salon.  This is truly one tough – and lasting – manicure!

4. Yoga at lunch.

Yoga

It’s been a goal of mine to give yoga a try this year, and as fate would have it, my office started offering a free yoga class on Fridays!  I have the flexibility of a telephone poll and am absolutely terrible at it…but I already love it.  I’ve been working a lot lately and struggling to find balance with it all, but these Friday afternoon lunch (and life) breaks when all I need to focus on are stretching, bending, and breathing seem like a good place to start.

5.  Printstagram

printstagram

If you’re obsessed with Instagram (like I am), prepare yourself to become obsessed with Printstagram, too (like I am).

Printstagram is a great little online company that takes your Instagram pictures and turns them into prints, greeting cards, posters, stickers, mini-books – all sorts of fun stuff!  I placed my first order about a week ago and my prints arrived in just a couple of days!  I ordered a few sets of the large squares (they come in sets of 24 for $12) and the quality is fantastic.  The pictures look exactly how they appear in my Instagram account, and the cardstock they come on is surprisingly thick and sturdy.  Kate loves carrying family photos around with her, and these are perfect!  I’m so impressed with Prinstagram that I’m already eyeing up some of their other products for Christmas presents!

Have you given any of these things a try lately? I’d love to hear about it!

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This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. 1
    Ashley says:
    September 16, 2013 at 3:54 pm

    Love that strainer! I always get grossed out by the potential for my food coming in contact with “sink germs” as well! I also hate how much space they take up in my limited cabinet space. Looks like I’ll have to make a stop at Target this week. :)

    Reply
    • 2
      Dusty @All Things G&D says:
      September 19, 2013 at 9:33 am

      I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, Ashley. Yay for no sink germs!

      Reply
  2. 3
    jbhat says:
    September 16, 2013 at 6:53 pm

    I love getting shellac manicures. Regular polish chips on me if I look at it wrong.

    Good for you with the yoga!

    jbhat

    Reply
    • 4
      Dusty @All Things G&D says:
      September 19, 2013 at 9:20 am

      Thanks jbhat! I’d love to get my nails shellacked on the regular, but sadly it’s not in the budget. (sad face)

      Reply
      • 5
        jbhat says:
        September 20, 2013 at 9:13 am

        Oh, it’s not in mine either. But I did it for a trip to Napa last spring and then for a wedding.

        Reply
  3. 6
    Ashley B says:
    September 16, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    I wish my office would consider yoga or something similar. That would be great!

    Reply
    • 7
      Dusty @All Things G&D says:
      September 19, 2013 at 9:19 am

      I hope they do, Ashley – it’s such a treat!

      Reply
  4. 8
    melissabix says:
    September 17, 2013 at 11:28 am

    i love prinstagram too- they are kind of like old school Polaroids and fun to stick all over. and the shipping is SUPER fast! I also have gym access at lunch and take classes and run on the track and it is AWESOME. i dont really have much time otherwise to work out so its perfect. Glad you love Yoga! Fun to do with work peeps too! nothing say team bonding like some stretching :)

    Reply
    • 9
      Dusty @All Things G&D says:
      September 19, 2013 at 9:18 am

      So true – the shipping WAS super fast! Don’t you just love working out during work hours? Seems like such a treat to fit it in then versus 5am!

      Reply
      • 10
        melissabix says:
        September 19, 2013 at 9:59 am

        totally :) feels like a huge jump on the day!

        Reply
  5. 11
    Prazenjc says:
    September 19, 2013 at 2:39 pm

    Hate to be a “Debbie Downer” for the nail treatment, but the chemicals in those are not good for you at all and I was surprised to see it on a post from you, since I took you for a gal trying to live as healthy as you can. My nails didn’t come out from the shellac polish well (peeled terribly), even when I let the salon remove it (did it both ways: me removing and then tried again w/them removing–hoping it would work). Then I saw a show that educated me on the unhealthy effects of the chemicals. I recommend anyone research further before doing this kind of manicure.

    Reply
  6. 12
    Dusty @All Things G&D says:
    September 20, 2013 at 10:39 am

    Oh wow, that’s actually not something I had considered. Do you know if OPI’s shellac is worse than OPI regular polish? I’m still learning about chemicals in foods (and still make mistakes or poor choices often, so please don’t consider me your poster child for that, lol!) but I’ve yet to dive into chemicals in makeups and other body products. It’s all so much!!

    Reply
    • 13
      Prazenjc says:
      September 21, 2013 at 9:30 pm

      The show I watched said it was better to wear regular nail polish compared to shellac. Bur of course they recommend wearing natural/organic polish……very hard to find, IMO & I wonder at how long those last….

      Reply
  7. 14
    Jill V. says:
    September 20, 2013 at 6:32 pm

    I bought a squish this week, used it last night – sink germs GROSSED me out too when straining pasta – and the collapsable feature sold me! Now what to do with my nearly-new Pampered Chef nesting colanders?

    Reply
    • 15
      Dusty @All Things G&D says:
      September 22, 2013 at 8:24 pm

      I have one Pampered Chef metal mesh strainer and I’m keeping it to rinse my quinoa or other little foods that might slip through the larger holes of the squish one. Hopefully you still find good use for yours, Jill, otherwise I’m sure there are some friends who would be happy to take it off your hands!

      Reply

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