Kitty Deschanel

*Do not add chia seeds - see note at the end of this recipe. In response to my popular Instant Pot Explosion blog post, I've had a few blog readers ask for my oatmeal with quinoa recipe, which is made in the Instant Pot. This seems a bit odd...you guys aren't trying to recreate that gooey mess in your own kitchens, right?  My recipe does make delicious, foolproof Instant Pot oatmeal. It's only for patient people though. Whatever you do, do not manually release the pressure valve at the end of the cooking cycle! This recipe is also great in a Crock Pot, though that method takes longer. I like to set the temperature to Low before bed. What a hearty, indulgent breakfast to wake up to!  I've been cooking up batches of my Oatmeal with Quinoa for years, long before I'd heard of the Instant Pot, and have even gifted the dry ingredients to health-conscious friends and family, who've suggested I sell this. Shark Tank, here I come! Oatmeal with Quinoa Featured

Happy nearly new year, bloggy friends! 2017 was the year we finally, finally got to move into our mountain dream home, 6 years after purchasing a 13-acre lot in foreclosure. Parts of the house are really coming together, like our hallway bathroom, kitchen, and guest bedroom. Other rooms may take another 6 years to complete. Theater? No, I'm pretty sure that giant space with the fancy ceiling and $1,000 of glass doors was always intended to be a storage space for boxes and miscellaneous junk. The plans must have been mislabeled. One of my favorite rooms in our new house so far is the small bathroom off our hallway. With a curved floor, it's a bit unusual. SN created the countertop himself out of a single piece of alligator juniper. The oversized mirror I ordered from Wayfair, called a Honey Mushroom mirror, really pulled everything together. The blue vessel sink was a $25 clearance find and the Emtek lead crystal doorknobs were marked down to even less. Plus, it happens to h

With a post title like that, you know this is going to be a good one. SN and I recently enjoyed a weekend with his family in a Kansas farming town. We stayed with his aunt and uncle, visited the mayor (his grandpa), and marveled in all the small town activities...like...ummm...going for a stroll down a residential street. While we waited to cross that street, stopping to look both ways more out of habit than necessity, a homeowner ran out to us. He asked if we were lost. I thought he was excited to have someone new to talk to, even if it was only to give directions. SN said we'd better end our stroll, lest the sheriff come question the strangers in town. When we returned home, I decided to send a little thank you gift to SN's aunt for her hospitality. I found the cutest plate online and was sure she would love it. Look at this little piggy plate. Isn't it adorable? Wouldn't you be so surprised and happy to receive it in the mail? I liked the design so much

Here is a mattress reviews repost from almost 3 years ago, updated for 2017. I was about to add "just in time for your holiday guests," but I'm probably a bit late for that, considering most overnight Christmas visitors will start arriving within the next week. I suppose there's still time to receive a mail-order mattress by then. Your New Year's guests are going to be so comfy!   Since publishing this blog post of the seemingly endless options and choices in the world of mattresses, SN and I have moved and have ordered two additional Amerisleep beds. Okay, on to the blog post and updated mattress reviews... A friend recently purchased a new mattress for her son, who is attending college in New York and relies solely on public transportation. I'd recommended  Amerisleep  to her, which was perfect because it could be shipped directly to his door, but after discussing it, we decided that investing in an Amerisleep twin mattress might not