Kent Nafziger Photography

There are two new reasons that I love being the assistant for Kent Nafziger Photography… 
Finn and Trig. 
 
Kent photographed these five week old babies for an hour and a half. It was an unusually long shoot, but we were having a lot of fun!
 
Oh and their parents…calm, cool, collected and clearly in love.  But really, who wouldn’t be?!  More photos to be posted soon at www.knafziger.com.

How to Follow Megasimple

I’ve had a few questions from some loyal readers about how to follow this blog.  Well, ok, two questions and one was from my mom whom I’ve noticed still isn’t following?.  Here is a little technology post to help you out. 

What is Following? Following a blog just means that you want to let the author and readers know that you are a fan.  It does not mean that you will receive updates when I post.  If you want to learn some ways to keep updated with my blog, I’ll give you some ways later in this post.

You will want to become a follower of my blog if you want a chance at a future MyLittleBicklets give away.  Hint Hint…it’s going to be a special give away for anyone following this blog! 

To become a follower of my blog, go to my following widget and click on the "Follow" button. 

A popup will appear similar to the one below.  It may look different if you are already logged into a Google or Twitter account.

Ways to stay connected with my blog If you want to keep up with my blog, there are a couple of ways I’ve found to do this

1. Set up a Reading List on a Blogger dashboard.
   If you have a blogger account, you can keep track of the blogs you follow via your Reading List on the Blogger dashboard.  If you don’t have an account, it is pretty simple to set up.
2. Add my RSS Feed to your RSS Feed Reader Another way to follow me is to set up an RSS Feed Reader.  I personally use Google Homepage and have all of my blog feeds set up in one page.  WikiHow has a great article on how to set up igoogle.
   
3. Get my blog updates automatically in your Outlook 2007 email
   If you have Outlook 2007, you can receive my posts automatically.  Simply right click on RSS Feeds and then click on “Add a new RSS Feed”.  Enter http://megasimple.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default into the box, then click add.

Etsy Artists Supporting Relief in Haiti

Check out these Etsy sellers that are donating their proceeds to the Haiti relief efforts.  These items would make great Valentine’s Day gifts! Click on pictures for links to each item.

              

    

Etsy Color Search

I’ve discovered yet another really fun way to search for Etsy items.  Go here and move your mouse over the color dots.  Find a color you like, click on it and Etsy searches for items that contain that color.

Cabin Fever

I spent the morning at Cabin Fever in Defiance working on some blog posts while Kent researched ellipticals.  Kent wanted to look into purchasing an elliptical and I’m feeling a sense of urgency to buy one before we start the financial peace university in a couple weeks  Clearly I need this course. 

Back to Cabin Fever. It is quiet and they have free wifi. Check out the menu here. There are two locations in Defiance. I enjoyed a mocha and Kent had a cup of the dark roast coffee.  We’ll definitely come back.

American Furnishings

While searching the internet for remodeling/design ideas I came across American Furnishing and put it on my list of places to visit.  The retail store is located in Columbus so we stopped by on our way home from Hocking Hills. It was worth the stop.  Their pieces are found in foundries, barns and factories and repurposed into furniture within 10 Ohio facilities.  Checkout their philosophy here.

Overall it was too pricey for our remodeling budget, but was still fun to look nonetheless. Some of the pieces inspired us to look for similar items that fit our budget.  For example, there was a really rustic set of old lockers that I could picture in our breezeway for storage.  We’ve since found a couple school auctions in our area and plan on trying to find a similar set at a fraction of the cost. 
The Hoover Cabinet, Hook Rack and French Mattress Chaise were three of my favorites.


Kent and I both really liked the component tables too.
 
These coffee bags are produced from recycled coffee bean bags and retail for $29.00.
Next time your in Columbus stop by and check them out at 2017 Polaris Parkway. Find details and store hours here.  You can also check out the American Furnishings blog called Betty The Crow.

Little Cabin in the Woods

For our 6th anniversary we went to Hocking Hills and rented an Old Man’s Cave Chalets A-frame cabin.  We did the same thing last year and couldn’t wait to go back.  It was a very relaxing long weekend.  
The hiking in Hocking Hills is really beautiful.  We only hiked one day because it was a rainy weekend. Below is a picture of Cedar Falls and Ash Cave. We didn’t mind that it was rainy because our cabin had a fireplace and hot tub. I spent a majority of the weekend in front of the fire.
We didn’t venture too far from the cabin, but did make it into Athens to visit my sister at Ohio University. It was great to be back in Athens and hit some of my favorite spots.  Bagel Street Deli is always a must when I’m in Athens.  They write the menu on chalkboards.  I like chalkboard menus. Chalkboard menus are a good sign.  A sign that you are about to eat some of the best deli sandwiches ever.  
The brick walls are covered in chalk name drawings along with tiny sculptures, made from the foil bagel wrappers, nestled in between the bricks. 
 
If you ever get the chance to go…I highly recommend the Wendy’s Way (smoked turkey, cream cheese avocado,sprouts) or a Fowl Shot (turkey, veggie cream cheese, provolone, sprouts, spicy mustard).
After you have a bagel head on down Court Street and check out the amazing organization called Passion Works.  Passion Works is a premier art studio that supports collaborations between artists with and without developmental disabilities. In one stop you can visit the art studio… 
the gallery and…

the retail shop.  I love the passion flowers.  They are made from recycled aluminum. I wanted to buy something and decided on a string band onsie for my nephew.
 
The front window is a work of art.  We starred at it for awhile on our way out.
Then we headed over to another local favorite, Casa Nueva for some guacamole and a salsa sampler.  Casa Nueva is a worker owned cooperative.  I like that concept.  Learn more about them here.

2010 Money Plan

Doing more with less, saving and increasing our giving are some of our financial goals for 2010.  We’ve registered for Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University to help us reach these goals.  Go here for more details on where the Financial Peace University is being offered near you. 

My friend, Lindsey also has started writing on her money saving blog again.  She has mastered couponing and I know I am going to learn and save a lot by following her too!  Find tips, scenarios, couponing strategies and more by following her money saving journey at www.randomlindseythoughts.blogspot.com.

Hummus

We love hummus and have always wanted to try and make it.  This summer we went to Neomande in Raleigh, North Carolina.  It is a Mediterranean deli and grocery.  You can find Neomande’s famous original hummus recipe here.  I modified it a little by using canned beans instead of dry.  I also added a little more olive oil.

 
The Ingredients: 3 cans garbanzo beans, 2 cloves garlic, three lemons, 1 c. tahini, 1/3 c. olive oil, cilantro 
Chop two cloves of garlic in a food processor. 
Add the garbanzo beans and pulse.
You may need to add 3-5 T. of water to help the food processor mix everything smoothly.

 
Add the juice of 3 freshly squeezed lemons.  Approximately 1c.
Add 1c. of tahini. 
Add 1/3 c. of olive oil. 
We like to eat hummus drizzled with a little olive oil
and with some freshly chopped cilantro on top.
Serve with carrots, pretzel chips, warm pita bread or crackers.

Cooking Confession #1.
I forgot to add the second garlic clove.  I had to cut the recipe in half and make it twice because my food processor wasn’t big enough to hold the whole recipe.  The second time around I forgot the garlic.  It needed the second clove.  Note to self…start looking for a larger food processor or just put them both in the first batch.