Words of Wisdom - On Excellence

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." Aristotle

Our own little Spa Bathroom

The bathroom remodel is coming along smoothly. A large part of the costs for our bathroom was for the tile installation, and now that it's almost all in - I can really see why. And it is SO WORTH IT!

The tile color is called China Gold Slate - and we have 12" everywhere except the shower pan which has 1".

Here's our little work in progress.. a "wetroom" of shower and bathtub, all tiled in. And a closeup of the natural maple cabinets with Uba Tuba granite countertop. The rest of it was all covered to protect it.

You can declutter your computer too!

I have this tendency to keep EVERYTHING in my life- whether or not I really want it or need it even though throwing things away (or giving them away) makes me feel so much better. The lastest thing that's been pissing me off at how cluttered it's gotten is my Windows Start Menu. Here's a YouTube video that made my day. Organize YOUR Start Menu today!

Deep Thoughts, By Jack Handey

The crows seem to be calling my name, thought Caw.

I had no idea, until this very moment, that Jack Handey was a real person.

Demolition begins!

Our bathroom remodel starts today! Ray from Kitchen Plus is our project manager - and they're estimating the remodel will take 3 weeks. Just in time for us to be able to paint and lay carpet in the rest of the house before our busy summer visitor season begins. Pictures of the old bathoom below:

Edit: The old bathroom is gone!

One Earth

We attended the Seattle Green Festival today and saw some interesting local companies. One noteworthy store for me is a place called One Earth One Design. They have everything from cabinets and lighting - to tables and chairs - to toys, bowls, cleaning products.. etc. They also do interier design, they have monthly Free Film Nights, Cooking Classes and Guest Speakers. I'll have to check out their store in person. It's kind of like an Eco-friendly Walmart.


A promising company is Synergy Design Studio. They seem like a very new company and they don't have much of their portfolio up yet, but I like what I see so far.

We were hoping to find a lot more high design, eco-friendly products but I was disappointed with the selection. I'd like to find some really nice furniture and carpet. I think there's real demand for it though, so hopefully there will be a lot more in the next couple of years. (If anyone takes my idea and starts a multi-million dollar company, don't forget your good friend Sara.)

Cheese Heaven - Wow

I found my new favorite - I don't even know what to call it- cheese preparation? At Whole Foods today they had samples at the cheese counter, one of which is a triple cream I've never tried before called Jean Grogne. (Yes, I'm eating healthy - but a little of my favorite cheese can go a long way.) It takes a lot of willpower for me to pass up a stinky triple cream. Apparently it's made by Robert Rouzaire, the same cheese maker who makes one of my other alltime favorite cheeses - Pierre Robert (pronounced without the T at the end).

So anyway - my new "recipe" discovery that I'm sure to bring as my contribution to the next dinner party we're at:

Jean Grogne soft cheese
Topped with Marcona Almonds (They're shiny, and from Spain - they come toasted in Sunflower Oil)
And then drizzled with Honey.

Oh wow.. heaven.