Keeping up with stuff

I often put an important item in a "safe place" so I won't lose it, and then forget where it is. I've tried using the technique below with Excel, but I don't always have access to the file.

So here's a good solution my hubby found using a passport as an example - make a private, searchable database of locations via email:

I put the item back and then I emailed myself:

Subject: Passport
Message Body: In your backpack in the closet.

I also applied the label "Stuff." This way when I lose my passport next time I can simply pull up my email and see where it is located.

My Kind of Gardening

This caught my eye: "Some plants thrive on neglect." Bingo! Maybe I can have flowers on my balcony after all.

Succolents. Never heard of them. "They love to bask in the sun, and they won't dry out, because their fleshy leaves have a built-in water supply."

Aeonium
Echeveria
Black Rose Aeonium
Blue chalksticks
Rattail

*Make sure to use a fast-draining, soilless potting mix designed for succulents and cacti.

Simple Substitutes

If you need help with a substitution for a recipe, check out Switcheroo. Did you know that a mixture of milk and vinegar will work if you don't have buttermilk?

Best Nail Polish

I have awful nail problems in the winter and will try anything to make my nails look fairly decent. These are ranked the best:

1. For brittle nails - Nailene Titanium Strength
2. For soft, peeling nails - Opi Nail Envy Soft & Thin
3. Best top and base coat - Essie 3-way Glaze

Quick Crab Cakes

2 1/2 cups potato chips
1 lb. lump crab meat
1/3 cup tartar sauce
1 1/2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbs butter, thinly sliced into 6 pieces
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Heat broiler. Crush potato chips. Add crab meat, tartar sauce, mustard, and peppers. Stir to combine. Form into 6 patties and place on foil-line baking sheet. Top each with a pat of butter and broil until browned, 1-2 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Garden in a Pail

Everyone knows I don't have any shade of green thumb, but I might be willing to give this a try. Garden in a Pail is a galvanized pail filled with everything you need...gloves, soil, and seeds for your own mini herb garden or flower bed. This might look nice on my balcony, but I wonder how long it would take for me to kill it!

They have other items that would be fun to try or great for a gift:
Gardens in a Bag
Blooms in a Bag
Pocket Gardens
Mini-Bouquet Favors (I'm always a sucker for a party favor!)

Perfect Food Pairings

1. Tomatoes and Avocados
(How convenient that I love and often prepare a tomato, avocado, mozzarella, and olive oil salad!) Tomatoes contain the antioxidant lycopene and the fat in the avocado helps the body absorb seven times more lycopene. Research suggests that lycopene is associated with reduced risk of macular degenerative disease, serum lipid oxidation and cancers of the lung, bladder, cervix and skin.

2. Spinach and Oranges
Spinach is a great source of iron, but our body doesn't absorb it well when we eat it alone. Add an orange to your spinach salad and the vitamin C converts the iron into a form that is more available to the body.