Monday, Monday… or more links about changing the clocks, spring cleaning and Bjork’s cave

links

Watch the above video so that you can explain to your kids (or your roommate) what Daylight Savings Time really is.

And then before you argue about whether or not changing the clocks is worth it, read about how, evidently, the U.S. economy lost $433,982,548 in 2010 because of daylight savings time and is poised to fare similarly today.

One fact that is indisputable: Spring is around the corner. And with that, the sudden need for spring cleaning. Or maybe you’re like me, and the more pressing issue is that your in-laws are about to come to town. Whatever your motivation, it’s time to get scrubbing. Apartment Therapy has a Floor-to-Ceiling Guide to Spring Cleaning that is bound to make life a tiny bit easier– at least on the planning end of things.

And to get the job done in the greenest (and often most economical) way possible, check out Krrb’s super simple recipes for all-natural cleansers.

Clutter doesn’t just come in the form of magazines and snow globes… probably the most overwhelming pile of clutter in any of our lives these days is the digital variety. Here’s a list of 17 apps to help us all deal with clearing the cobwebs out of our hard drives.

Of course we are supposed to be cleaning up our bodies as well as our bookshelves… but if you’re not feeling up to a juice fast, just take one of these cleansing baths instead. So much more civilized.

Or maybe you just want to get out of your house and not think about this stuff at all. The Bjork show opened at MOMA this week and they built an Icelandic cave for the occasion that looks well worth checking out.

Another thing I really don’t need, but totally want regardless

art
Petronas Sign, by Brian Alfred. On view at Ameringer McEnery Yohe through March 14.

Petronas Sign, by Brian Alfred. On view at Ameringer McEnery Yohe through March 14.

Hands down, the award for best tittle of a gallery exhibit this season goes to painter and animator Brian Alfred. It Takes A Million Years To Become Diamonds So Let’s All Just Burn Like Coal Until The Sky Is Black is up at Ameringer McEnery Yohe in Chelsea for just one more week (through 14 March) and is absolutely worth the long trek through the cold and snow to go check out.

His (mostly) large scale graphic paintings are inspired by auto racing, but to me they seem more about the thrill of speed and how the regular world is abstracted when you move so quickly through it, and less about showy cars and the road. I say this because I can’t for the life of me imagine ever wanting a painting of a racetrack, or anything to do with one, and yet I absolutely fell in love with one of the smallest pieces in the show, Petronas Sign. I suppose I always did have a thing for signs…

One of these days I am going to be a person who goes to galleries in Chelsea and actually buys things. But for now, I count myself lucky to be able to experience and have my mind expanded by work like Brian’s.

It never hurts to be reminded of the potential diamond in every piece of coal.

Last night’s dinner: White Beans and Wilted Greens Stew

food
Bon Appetit white bean and greens stew

This white bean and wilted greens stew is a good solution for the wintertime blues.

I have stew on the brain, and what with this endless winter we seem to be having here in the northeastern United States, I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m even seriously considering getting a slow cooker and becoming one of those smug home cooks who just throws a few things into the pot on my way to work (singing all the while, I’m sure) and then returning with wine bottle in hand, when day is done, to some kind of slow-cooked masterpiece.

But I have yet to take the plunge. Plus I work from home.

Instead, I cook stew the regular-people way. And while I love myself some hearty beef stew on a cold winter’s night, I also have been trying to lighten up on the red meat consumption. Which is why this white bean stew from Bon Appétit seemed so appealing. Plus it so happens that I have an excess of white lima beans (also known as butter beans) from an over exuberant shopping spree at the health food store a few months back.

Now dried beans do require overnight soaking, but if you put them in water the minute you wake up (6 am, in my case) they are good to go by around 1 or 2, so you could easily be eating dinner at 7 pm. I actually soaked the beans all day, cooked the stew in the background during the evening while we ate something else, stuck it in the fridge before bed and let it get all nice and flavorful and ready to eat the following evening.

I also skipped the dried chilli flakes, in deference to my daughter, who can’t deal with pepper of any kind. But I did include the anchovies which I think really deepen the flavor without you even being aware of them once the stew is finished. The recipe also claims that the Parmesan rind is optional, and maybe it is, but boy will you be missing out if you skip it.

Click below to see the whole recipe, and be sure you make enough for leftovers as it makes a most satisfying snowy day lunch as well…

— Read more

Make your own tinted lip balm!

health/beauty - kids
DIY lip balm with crayon and coconut oil

Tinted lip balm, handcrafted in about 10 minutes.

What’s not to love?

  • Pick a color from one of the millions of semi used crayons you have lying around (if you have kids, that is).
  • Peel off the paper.
  • Break the crayon in half and put it in a small container (a ceramic ramekin or a metal measuring cup… just something small and non reactive)
  • Add a heaping teaspoon of coconut oil. (for stronger color, use a bit less oil)
  • You can even toss is a bit of shea butter if you have some lying around.
  • Then heat some water in a small skillet.
  • Once the water is hot, place the bowl (with the crayon and oil) in the water, turn off the heat and wait for the crayon and oil to melt.
  • Mix them up till the color is evenly distributed
  • Pour into a small metal or plastic container.
  • Let it cool down.
  • Use your new lipstick!

    • We used a heart shaped tin from Etsy, but you can use small tin or glass jars, or you can really go for it with lipstick molds and containers.

    Non-toxic, like the crayons. Beneficial, like the coconut oil and the shea butter. Beautiful, like good make up should be. A perfect rainy (or snowy) afternoon activity.

    Another thing I really don’t need but totally want, regardless

    home
    Hand turned glass jars by Boston Bottle. On Food52. Photo by Bobbi Lin

    Hand turned glass jars by Boston Bottle. Available at Food52.com. Photo by Bobbi Lin

    Actually, I do sort of need these glass containers because I am slowly trying to wean myself of any plastic storage for my food. And those ubiquitous mason jars can only take a person so far. That said, there is no gun bearing down on my head forcing me to buy these particular jars. But man are they lovely. And they would look so nice on my kitchen shelves. I might even be more motivated to soak and cook the growing collection of dried beans I am amassing… if only they were stored with the dignity these Boston Bottle hand turned jars afford.

    Or maybe I’m just kidding myself.

    Whatever. I’m sure I’ll cave within the next month and buy one or two.

    At least I know myself.

    Monday, Monday or more links about Leonard Nimoy who I’m really going to miss, even though I never met him

    links - people
    Mr Spock plays guitar

    One of my all time favorite photos of Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock. Just casually sitting on a couch playing guitar. Genius.

    Here are a few interesting things I came across while trolling the web (as one does in these situations) for more stories about the venerable Leonard Nimoy.

    The hometown obituary of Leonard Simon Nimoy (1931 – 2015) in The LA Times.

    Nimoy explains the Jewish origins of the Vulcan hand salute.

    So Nimoy made an album (see photo above) which may not have been a critical success, but it sure sold a lot of copies. Here’s his version of If I Had A Hammer which kind of makes me love him all the more.

    Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhuru) actually had a legitimate singing career before embarking on her five year mission to explore strange new worlds.

    But perhaps everyone’s favorite Star Trek performance artist is William Shattner, whose rendition of Rocket Man will go down in history as one of the greatest stage performances of all time.

    DeForest Kelley (Dr McCoy) begs to differ.

    Not to be outdone, Mr Sulu (George Takei) has blessed us with this incredible cover version of Let It Go. That’s right. Let It Go. From Frozen.

    Watching all of these videos really makes me sad that I missed the Star Trek cast parties…

    Mr Nimoy, you will live long and prosper in all of our hearts. Thanks for everything. Have fun out there.

    Another thing I really don’t need but toally want, regardless

    home

    butter box

    This item comes from a land where people get big hunks of butter from farms and put them in boxes like this one that they leave unrefrigerated on the counter, not at all worried about the butter going bad. These people are secure in the knowledge that their food is good.

    I would like to live in this land.

    But from the looks of this website, I should probably be moving to Denmark, which isn’t happening any time soon.

    This does not stop me from admiring this butter box from afar, however. Or any of the other lovely things in the Helkak webstore…

    How to fold a fitted sheet

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    fitted sheet

    This is my husband’s version of a properly folded fitted sheet.

    We tend to do our laundry on the weekends, when there is more time to spread out, and somehow it feels more OK to leave a huge pile of unfolded laundry on the extra bed for 24 hours. (Don’t ask me why, it just does. Maybe it’s because we spend most weekends in a house where there is an extra bed…) This weekend, my husband (who, it should be noted, began folding his clothes before bed at age two) took on the job of folding everything and putting it neatly in the laundry bag for transportation back to Brooklyn. He’s very organized and has recently really gotten into storing complete sets of sheets inside one of the pillowcases, so you just pull out one neat bundle and you’re all good for making the bed. A great idea if I do say so myself.

    This morning I pulled out one of the aforementioned pillowcase bundles and discovered that, evidently, Josh’s folding skills do not extend to fitted sheets. (see photo above) This is ironic, as not only is he a folding fanatic, but he also oversaw the production of the incredibly useful One Kings Lane video called, appropriately: How To Fold A Fitted Sheet.

    At the risk of being accused of trying to be the next Martha Stewart, I am posting this video here. Because most of us, no matter what we think, don’t really know how to fold a fitted sheet properly. And all of our lives would be vastly improved once we mastered this skill. Which takes about 5 seconds, by the way.

    You can thank me later.

    Monday, Monday– or more links about Black History Month (better late than never)

    links
    annie eastley

    Without the work of Annie Eastley, space travel may never have been possible.

    Engadget is profiling African American pioneers in the universe of science and technology. Check out how Annie Easley helped make space flight possible and then go here to learn about other groundbreakers.

    The 50 essential African-American independent films, according to the master listmakers at Flavorwire.

    This month, Stylelikeu decided to keep the Black Lives Matter conversation going by asking groundbreaking African American trendsetters with inspirational personal style and asking them what it means to be black and all sorts of other stuff. Start with their moving profile of style icon Lysa Cooper and then dig around for more.

    I just listened to this recently discovered 1962 speech by Martin Luther King, Jr and was struck both by the power of his words and by how far we have yet to go to achieve the dream.

    Listen and be inspired by the music of the Civil Rights Movement by checking out this playlist on 8tracks. Or if you’re feeling flush, this Smithsonian Folkways CD called Voices of the Civil Rights Movement looks pretty damned good.

    A book is always a great place to start when tackling difficult subjects with your children. Here’s a list of 11 kids books that address and celebrate the African American experience from the Huffington Post.

    History is being made every day. Consider being a part of it by checking out what the people at #BlackLivesMatter have to say and keeping the conversation going.