Crushing on the slow cooker

So, as those who frequent my blog and my Facebook page are already aware, I've been growing pretty fond of my slow cooker. In the last two weeks, I've used it to make beef and broccoli, Philly cheesesteaks and pineapple chicken, all to rave reviews from my husband.

Fellow Yourhome blogger Vicky Sanderson has also admitted a "culinary crush" on the slow cooker, recently writing a round-up of a few different models and sharing recipes on her blog.

And, if last week's poll is in any way accurate, we're not the only ones having a bit of a love affair with the slow cooker.

Just over half — 51 per cent — said the slow cooker would be among their kitchen crushes for 2009, while just over a third said they weren't interested in the slow cooking trend.

The remaining 15 per cent said they didn't know (but I'm guessing some of them might be swayed before year's end!)

Vote in this week's poll, on whether Is a builder obligated to disclose to a purchaser that a suicide occurred in the house just before the sale closes (learn more in Bob Aaron's column), on the front page.

Cool Toronto design blog

While I do hope that my dear readers continue to follow me, Vicky and Yourhome.ca for all their decor, design, shopping, real estate and cool product needs, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of great blogs that I check in on regularly to keep myself informed and inspired.

KITKA design toronto is one of those blogs. A real newcomer to the scene, having launched on Jan. 8, it's run by Toronto couple Juli and John who are pooling their "collective obsession of all things related to interior design into one."

The blog, which has been frequently updated thus far, shares great decor and design with a local flare.

I love the variety of postings on this blog, ranging from cool finds they already own (and how they use them in their space, including the figurines in the baking cupboard) to great stores and even DIY-block printing, along with pretty pictures of interior spaces (such as this one designed by Lisa Canning.)

I'll try to share some more of my favourite design blogs as these long winter weeks wear on, but I'd also love some new ones to add to my bookmarks!

Email me or leave a comment to share your must-read blogs.

Fun and fashionable kids' "worm" chair

I don't have kids. I don't even know a lot of kids. But still, how cool is this chair?

The worm chair, which is part of the Prototype competition at the Interior Design Show, is designed by sisters Bolette and Louise Blaedel under the name bObles.

The chair, which is not yet in production, is intended to be both fun and functional.

Kids can sit on top of the chair, as shown, lay it down and lean over it for activities on the floor or balance on it. I bet an enterprising kid could figure out even more uses for it than I can!

BObles was started when Blaedel was on maternity leave and had trouble finding children's furniture that children want to play with and parents don't mind having in their living room.

So, along with her fashion designer sister, she decided to make her own.

The company currently makes a line of tumbling animals, see the lime elephant at right, which are foam seats/stools that kids can rock, sit, balance and play on. 

And they're cute.

Tackling the box room: Part II

We're almost halfway through January, which means the deadline for meeting my New Year's resolution of clearing out my second bedroom is rapidly approaching.

I'm starting to feel like there's no way I'm going to make it. But, I'm still going to try.

This room, which has been piled with partially full boxes of books, office supplies and random odds and ends, has been an eyesore since we moved in last July.

I've succeeded in cleaning up the entrance to the room and unpacking a handful of boxes. It's only a dent. I have, however, succeeded in purchasing a new dresser for my bedroom, which means I can unpack my bin of towels and linens. As a side benefit, my bedroom is now much more organized and my television now sits upon a much more secure perch.

About eight boxes still remain in the "box room" (which will hopefully be dubbed the second bedroom/office by the end of the month), blocking the route to the closet, which further hinders my unpacking attempts. They are also blocking the space where I want to move the desk, so I'm playing a very complicated and heavy version of tetris with my boxes in order to clear a path, which, of course, just makes the room even more unmanageable.

I'm not giving up yet. I've still got two weeks to unpack the last boxes, find homes for all random goods that I'm not quite ready to toss (i.e. two cordless phones, in case I someday return to having a landline...), move the furniture and give the space a thorough clean. Wish me luck.

Things are getting steamy

I hate ironing. With a passion.

I'll put off doing it to the absolute last minute, then frantically try to smush the creases on my blouse with an iron that's either too hot or too cool — which is a problem, either way — and then give up, rushing out the door looking like I've already lived a full day, and perhaps napped, in my clothes.

OK, so maybe it's not that bad. I do occasionally look and/or feel a wee bit crumpled, but I feel a safe distance from the "I slept in my clothes" look.

But now pressed clothes are within my reach. With the new Rowenta garment steamer that I was sent to try, I can plug it in while brushing my teeth and it's ready to go before I am. A quick pass over the offending crease takes me from crumpled to pristine (though the subway ride does all it can to prevent me from getting to work that way).

I was initially a little wary of the steamer, what with my acute aversion to ironing. I also was fearful of the whole hot steam thing — which can realistically burn your skin as well as your fabrics.

But I bit the bullet and tried it on one of those fateful mornings when I was crumpled and in a rush, and was totally sold.

It's quickly become an easy way to press my clothes in a hurry — to the point where I'm actually pressing t-shirts and pillowcases!

Just because I'm a convert though, doesn't mean that you less iron-averse types should shed your traditional pressers. You won't get crisp lines with a steamer — meaning those perfect pleats and collars will still need some traditional TLC.

But for this girl-on-the-go, the stand alone steamer is a match made in heaven.

(Read more on steamers and steam irons here)

Home resolutions

We're nearly halfway into January, and it's time to start making progress on those resolutions! (Read mine here, along with my first status report).

And, according to last week's poll, I'm not the only one making home resolutions, though I may be the only one sharing them!

Just under half of voters – 46 per cent – said their New Year's resolutions include changes or improvements to their homes.

A quarter – 25 per cent – aren't promising any house-related results in the new year while 11 per cent said they didn't know.

The remaining 18 per cent said they don't set resolutions.

And now that we've at least started to set our plans for 2009, it's time to start thinking about the changes that the New Year will bring.

As I wrote earlier this week, slow cookers are expected to flourish in 2009 (hopefully along with a lot of innovative recipes!) as people eat more often at home, seek comfort foods and slash budgets (cooking larger meals for leftovers as well as using cheaper cuts of meat are two ways the slow cooker is wallet-friendly).

And, check out Vicky Sanderson's slow cooker reviews as well as recipes on her blog.

Will the slow cooker be your "culinary crush" for 2009? Vote on the front page.

Tackling the box room

On Monday, I enthusiastically promised to tackle my second bedroom/storage room as part of my New Year's resolutions.

I already kind of regret it.

Encouraged by the promise of a new year and the vision of a sparkling clean Martha-esque home, I delved into the room with vigour on Tuesday, sorting through boxes, purging stacks of unsorted mail and uncovering three partially used rolls of stamps. That should last me through a few Christmases.

I cleared the desk area, removed all non-book items from the bookcase and started to sort desk items, stationary and seasonal items into the appropriate bins and baskets. I returned screw drivers, Band-Aid boxes and a few rogue dishes to their respective homes.

I even went so far as to poke my head into a few of the open, partially-emptied boxes to start to sort and purge their contents. Then, I looked at the clock. Three hours and barely a dent. Sure, about three square feet of the room is now sparkling and organized, but the rest is still occupied by boxes and piles of things that need to be sorted, or which have been sorted but their home resides somewhere under the remaining boxes.

And then I realized my task was quickly snowballing on me.

Returning the Band-Aids to the bathroom meant acknowledging that I could really use a second basket for storing things in there. Opening the bin of spare linens, which are currently in the rotation but generally homeless, made it even more apparent that I need a new dresser for storing such items. Hanging up out of season clothing in the spare closet meant I needed more hangers.

After one day, my relatively precise task — to empty the boxes — became a never-ending laundry list of everything I've failed to accomplish around the house thus far.

This may take longer than I originally thought. But I'll start with those hangers and that dresser.

Slow cookers hot for '09?

While anchoring may be the premiere trend expectation for 2009, this is really a catch-all term for the many things people will do to nest in the coming months — from purchasing cable knit blankets and gourmet hot chocolate to kitting out home bars and theatre sets.

One fascinating facet is the prophesied rise of the slow cooker. One such prediction comes from the CBC's Food Bytes team, which writes that as people stay in more, they will turn to the slow cooker, "the perfect vessel for comfort food, and turning inexpensive cuts of meat into nourishing meals."

As a new-ish slow cooker owner, I'm still learning to branch out from the chili and pasta sauce standbys, but certainly enjoy coming home to a warm, cooked meal after a day of work.

And, I recently learned there's lots of room to grow — props to Food Bytes for sharing the link — with the "A Year of Crockpotting" blog.

Blogger Stephanie was a little ahead of the curve, spending 2008 trying a different recipe every day. From a solid beef and broccoli recipe (which I tried yesterday) to candles and even a full turkey, she reviews each effort — including some failures — for a full 366 days (it was a leap year).

What do you think? Will you dust off your slow cooker and/or try some new recipes this winter?

My New Year's resolutions

While asking (and patiently waiting) for readers' New Year's resolutions for their home (share yours below, on the story, or by email), I've had time to think up some of my own. They're not all that different from goals I started working on earlier in the year with my newlywed nesting project, but, in order to actually see completion in 2009, I've realized I'm also going to need to set some deadlines. (After all, don't we media-types thrive on that kind of pressure?)

To recap on my progress so far, I've rearranged my living room into a more habitable space, adopted green cleaners to improve my indoor air quality (and save those brain cells) and bought a new sofa.

So, to move forward in 2009, I hope to complete the following three tasks:

1. Unpack the remaining boxes from my move last summer. I know it's shameful that I have yet to do so, but the longer I wait, the more daunting it becomes. Plus, I can shut the door when entertaining to hide the mess. My goal? To have the boxes unpacked, the clutter chucked and the space re-organized by the end of the month.

It will be very nice to have a functional second bedroom when friends and family come to visit (apologies to those who already spent their visits on a futon in the living room) and office space the rest of the time.

2. Make a few key purchases to make my life easier. You know how when you move into a new home you always discover a few items that you didn't realize you'd need? Well, those realizations started coming in August, yet I still am struggling to work around them.

For example, in the living room, I could really use a small side table for resting mugs, wine glasses and books while reading and hanging out. Without it, these things end up on the floor, where they are just out of reach from my cozy perch on the chair, and where, left forgotten, they tend to get stepped on. Other such items include a knife block (my new knives don't fit into my existing one, so instead they lie in a sharp, menacing heap) and another dresser to store linens and hold the bedroom television.

It's harder to set a deadline for this one, because it contains multiple and varied items, all of which will require research and multiple scouting trips. However, I should really have started the purchases by February and have them done sometime this summer.

3. And finally, I need to have more fun with my home. Renting often comes with a sense of impermanence, but that's no reason not to slap some paint on the walls (with the landlord's OK), hang some more photos and art and really embrace this space as my current home - even if it is only temporary. This will be an ongoing project, but could very well have the biggest impact in making my rental feel like a home.

Wish me luck!

(Image from Shutterstock)

POLL: Hosting duties

The holiday season, and all its parties, are now pretty much behind us. The treats have been eaten, the drinks drunk and a steady dent put in the piles of inevitable leftovers. (Check out healthzone's fitness guide to help get your waistline back on track).

During this time, just over a third Yourhome readers (37 per cent) hosted a holiday party, according to our latest poll (though I'm thinking that many of us were too busy with hosting and party-going duties to cast a ballot!)

Sixty-one per cent opted to skip the hosting duties and two per cent said they didn't know if they'd be holding their own party.

Now, with much of the entertaining behind us, it's time to box up the decorations, clean up the messes and get started on 2009 - complete with some home-related resolutions.

I know we're already three days into the New Year, but I'm still setting mine, though I'm certain they will include unpacking my "box room" and better organizing my office space.

Vote in this week's poll (on the lower left of the front page) on whether you set New Year's resolutions for your home, and share them by commenting on the story, this post or by emailing me.