My Favorite Things of 2011 (so far!)

"If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it will change.  If you're in a good situation, don't worry it will change."

The year 2010 was very full of change for me.  I moved about a millions times trying to find a nice apartment in Milwaukee - thank you again for all your help Mom! I got a promotion, started the transition into a new job, only to decide to completely leave that company and relocate to Texas.  Got a new job, got a new apartment, finally had a NON long distance boyfriend.  So yeah, a lot of change.  There are so many new people and places in my life right now, I can't even begin to list everything!

It's not always easy, my family and close friends are all over 1,000 miles away.  I don't have a lot of my normal "constants" around me.  So, while I would like to list all of my favorite people; of whom most are very far away, I'm going to settle for my favorite things.  Mainly because these "things" don't cause me to get as emotional. Plus they all live in my kitchen...way closer than Michigan. 

      
 

The first is an apron my Mom made and gave to me as a Christmas gift.  As C can attest to, I am a "full contact cooker," as he calls me.  In other words, I'm really messy and loud.  I spill a lot of things, I burn my fingers a lot, and don't even think about watching TV or having some peace and quiet while I'm in the kitchen, it just doesn't work.  Due to this, one of the things on my Christmas list this year was an apron.  My Mom went above and beyond, and used her sewing talents to make me a very cute, and one of a kind, apron.  The pattern is perfect, but my favorite is the "Made with love by Mom" label.  I've been using it a lot lately, and it's always nice to feel like I have my Mom by my side!  Now if only she could help me be a little less clumsy :)

I spoke about my new pan in one of my older posts.  I can't say enough about this thing; it's simply awesome.  It's heavy and huge, and perfect for making anything and everything on the stove.  I haven't taken the best care of my other pots and pans, but this one gets special treatment.  I even asked for wooden spoons so I wouldn't scratch the bottom!  *Other uses include knocking someone out.  The pan weighs roughly 10 pounds - ok so I'm a bit dramatic, but it is heavy.

OXO Good Grips are what I'm storing all of my dry ingredients in now.  The lid seals with a press of the button located on the top.  These are plastic, but are pretty thick.  Hopefully this means I can't easily break them, when I inevitably drop them, but I'll keep you posted on that! They're great for sugar and flour.  You can easily pour out of the containers, plus they're see-through so you know exactly what you have stored in each one.

I actually found these little containers at Tom Thumb, which is starting to have an interesting selection of cooking utencils!  They have a magnet on back, so they stick to your fridge.  I bought three, and put parsley, garlic salt, and Lawry's seasoned salt in them.  It's perfect for spices you use a lot, because they're readily available.  They also have two settings to pour out of when you turn the top, to help better distribute how much you need to use.

Last, but by no means least, my new favorite shoes.  I'm on a kick right now of buying one of a kind things, and have recently become a huge fan of http://www.etsy.com/, where everything is original and hand made.  I found these at the shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LaPlumeEthere?ref=seller_info, and LOVE them.  They're suede and have feathers on the upper part by my ankle.  I haven't worn them yet because I don't want to get them dirty or have any of the feathers come off (even though they are very glued on, and don't seem to be moving anytime soon.)  That just tells you how attached I am, I won't let them leave the house.  I only wear them inside on my safe, and soft carpet.  I think C thinks I'm crazy, he caught me telling them "I love you."  Guys just don't understand.

The year has just begun, and I'm sure it will again be full of changes and surprises.  My list of favorite things and favorite people will be updated and hopefully added to.. that's life I guess.  The first picture on this post was my favorite trip from 2010. We went to the southern part of Maine for a family trip with our significant others, it was beautiful and very relaxing.  Looking forward to the adventures 2011 brings.

Happy Monday :)