Happy #thinkingoutloud Thursday! No idea what I’m going on about? Click here!
1. A quick order of business before we get into the true ToL randomness. You guys may have noticed that I changed the format of my recipes a little over a month ago, and this was mainly so that I could offer you some spiffy new options. See, Spoons recently partnered up with Ziplist, which is a super awesome shopping tool that not only lets you save recipes online and keep them organized in your very own personal recipe box, but actually builds you shopping lists based on the ingredients in the recipes you’ve saved so that you know what you need to pick up when you’re in the store! Cool, right?!? Here’s how it works…
In Spoons’ navigation menu, you’ll see a link to “Recipe Box,” which will take you to your own personal recipe box where all of your recipes, shopping lists, and meal plans are saved. And if you’re not yet a Ziplist user, no worries! It’s quick, easy, and free to sign up!
To add a recipe from Spoons (or any other blog that uses Ziplist) to your recipe box, all you have to do is hit the “Save” button located in the upper right hand side of my recipes, and it’ll go straight to your virtual box where you can start making shopping lists and meal plans.
And the best part is that there’s even an app you can download on your phone so you don’t have to worry about forgetting your list at home (story of my life). I hope you guys like the changes and find them useful! 🙂
2. Speaking of changes, I recently reorganized a few things in my kitchen cupboards and I feel like I don’t know where anything is anymore… which makes prepping meals a tad bit annoying since I’m either going to the place where something used to be, or having to stop and think where it now is. Reminds me of when I first moved in and felt completely awkward and lost in only a few square feet of space. Hopefully I get used to it soon.
3. As for why I was reorganizing in the first place, it was to make room for this guy right here…
… with “this guy right here” being a Santevia Alkaline Gravity Water Filtration System. My parents have been using one of these for something like 5 years now, and whenever I go over there, I can’t help but notice how much better that water tastes compared to what comes out of my little pitcher filter, and how much better it is at satisfying my thirst, too. I’ve been wanting to get my own for a while now, but I kept putting it off because I had no idea where I’d put it… until one day I just got fed up and decided to take out one of the shelves in my pantry and stick it in there.
I don’t want to go into too much detail in this post about how awesome this filter is, and how important it is to drink good quality water with the proper pH balance, but I’d be more than happy to write a separate post if you guys are interested… Let me know!
4. I spy with my little eye… Spoons on the radio!
And no, I have no idea what it actually was. And yes, I did stop to listen to Journey’s Don’t.Stop… Beliiiiiieving when I came across it while station surfing.
5. I also spy with my little eye… an interesting choice of wheels 😆
6. So I had a complete Damsel in Distress moment the other day… I was all excited to bust into my new mango kombucha, but I could not for the life of me open the bottle when it came time to drink it. Like, no amount of grunting and cursing would ‘Open Sesame’ that sucker up. But after about 5 minutes of working up a sweat and literally shredding the skin on my hand, I came up with the brilliant idea to pop on a rubber glove and I managed to get the cap off on the first shot. Why did I not think of that sooner?!?
7. Oh well, at least I was able to console myself with one a few of these…
… which I actually had to whip up a second batch of because the first one disappeared so quickly. And I’ll probably have to whip up another because I was hoping on bringing them with me on a road trip this weekend, and I doubt there’ll be enough left over by then. Oops.
8. As for where I’m going… I’ll be heading up to the mountains on Saturday morning and I can.not.WAIT. It’ll only be my second time going up to the mountains in the fall, and it may just be one of my favourite times of the year to visit. Fingers crossed that the weather holds up and it doesn’t decide to rain!
No questions… just tell me whatever comes to your mind! 😀
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I have the same trouble with lids all the time at the office! I love these Kevita Water Kefier drinks (like Kombucha bottles) and every once in awhile I come across one that will NOT open 🙂 the best thing: a rubber band! They are everywhere and you can even layer a couple on the lid for extra grippy-ness….
A rubber glove to get the cap off – brilliant!! I need to remember that one because often times I can’t get a jar or something open & have to go asking my husband to open it, which always makes me feel like a weenie. lol Have a great time in the mountains!! 🙂
Where ya headed this weekend? Jasper? (I still haven’t been there yet. Boo.)
Have you found the mango kombucha to be flat? Mine always is. Also, I haven’t had a trilogy Synergy in a while, but treated myself to one last weekend. I was not impressed to discover it’s still overly-fizzy. WHY.
Yeeep, Jasper this time around. Going the other way in a couple of weeks 😉 And the mango definitely isn’t as fizzy as I’d like it to be. I think grape is still my favourite. Trilogy used to be, but yeah… that damn fizz is just insane.
Oooh have fun in the mountains! Hope you get some fab weather to go along with it too!
That’s one thing that I am truly thankful for about living in Scotland, our water is so pure there is no need for a filter. Seriously, our water tastes like the best mineral water! I guess that’s why they bottle it up and ship it all over the world!
I love the ziplist- what a clever idea! ENJOY your weekend- I’m so jealous! Haven’t been to the mountains in YEARS
Hahahahahaha I have the same issue! But sometimes even when I use the rubber grip, I still cant open it! Which is exactly what happened this morning haha. They really don’t want anyone getting into those bottles! And I’m just curious, is that rocks at the bottom of the water???
It is! They actually help add minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, and zinc back into the water!
The ziplist is a great idea! I have recipes all over the place. That is something I need to get more organized in. We have hard water where I live so all my dishes come with white rings out of the dishwasher. So annoying.
Good water is so important, that filter looks awesome! I have a bottle that filters the water as I drink it and I swear I drink 10x more water because of it!
When I’m having difficulty getting lids off, I always tie a rubber band around it and that usually helps a ton, haha! I have a few bottles of nail polish that just permanently have rubber bands on them since I can never unscrew the tops…and I’m jealous of your trip into the mountains, have fun! It’s definitely something I miss when I’m not in Alberta.
Those water filtration systems are legit. My grandparents have something similar and I’m always downing water when I’m there because it just tastes….cleaner.
Perfect timing to head to the hills and take in all the fall foliage. Have a great rip!
Those mountains look GORGEOUS!!!! Have so so much fun!! We’ve got a wedding this weekend, and I’m the Matron of Honor. AH!
take lots of pictures of the mountains for me! 😉 randomly on my mind right now….I have a sore throat and I’m not sure if it’s because of the concert I went to Tuesday night or because Chef-friend gave me his cold. Either way, thank god for lemon tea.
Oh noes! Feel better soon! Eat ice cream 😛
I’m so sad my alarm is going off! I want to lay in bed longer! If the weather is nice, I’m going to take a walk during the day today though so that should be fun!
I had a damsel in distress moment a couple weeks ago with my jar of apple butter. I was really excited to try it out and it would.not.open. And it was the middle of the night so I couldn’t exactly call anyone for help. I was almost in tears by the time it finally opened haah
Good Morning Amanda!
I would be interest in hearing about the Water Filtration System. My Mom always said a lot of our all of a sudden colds, flu, etc. comes from our drinking water. Our water here is questionable lol and tired carrying those 24 packs of water that everyone else drinks!! ugh
Thanks, have a great weekend in the Mountains!
Arlene
The zip list feature is really cool. 🙂
Enjoy a wonderful weekend in the mountains! Looks gorgeous. Thank you for hosting the weekly link up!
And thanks for linking up 😀
have a wonderful trip this weekend! the mountains are so gorgeous, and peaceful <3
The chiro that I work for has a water system in the office and I swear it’s the best water EVER! Anytime I go in for an adjustment or for work, I always make sure I leave with my water bottle filled because it’s just that good and yes, SO much better than what comes out of a little pitcher!
So my phone has been conking out on arriving at your site since yesterday; fingers crossed this comment gets through in one piece. I LOVE the sound of the recipe box…there’s been countless moments in the store where I’ve attempted to recall what all goes in that recipe..of course actually making a list is too tedious a chore these days 😉 .
Enjoy the mountains 🙂 ..we need an “As we speak post” sometime *hint*!
😆 I was actually -just- thinking that it’s been a while since I’ve done an “As we speak…” post. We’ll see what shots I manage to take while I’m gone!
Funniest thing! I just visited my acting instructor’s class and she offered me a glass of alkalized water. It had rocks at the bottom(I’m guessing where the minerals come from). I recognized it instantly when I saw your picture! Are they having some kind of campaign or something since I’m seeing it more often? I got to get myself some sort of filter like that. I don’t know whether or not to become pH conscious or not(there’s a lot of debate), but having alkalized water doesn’t hurt!
No campaign that I know of! I’ve just been wanting one for a super long time and finally decided to bite the bullet.
So funny about the Kombucha because I’ve had the same problem randomly with those bottles! At some point I realized the cap was just about fused on and long story short I’ve almost severed limbs trying to get those caps off. The rubber glove tip I will have to try next time it happens! Looks like you’ll have an amazing time this weekend in that beautiful scenery! Gorgeous and peaceful 🙂
Wow that zip list is really cool! For some reason when I am cooking, I like to have it printed in front of me, it annoys me when my iPhone screen keeps going off, or I have to scroll down with sticky fingers, so I always write a shorthand version. I hope someone invents some way that I don’t have to do that…..projector screen….ooh maybe I just thought of a genus idea 😛
Still loving your bars, must give them a try!
I prefer the old fashioned hardcopy version as well, but my recipe organization skills are a mess 😆
The rubber glove trick has saved me on many a occasion!! I get so frustrated when I can’t open up a jar and I’m determined. #firstworldproblems. Also, the picture of the mountains is simply beauteous.
I went to karaoke the other night, and I seriously considered singing “Don’t Stop Believing.” It’s just that good! I have a regular Brita filter right now, but I DON’T have room for a fancy filtration system, so even though I want it, I’m going to pretend like you didn’t say it’s better because I have nowhere to put it!
Sooooo much coolness. That is indeed a seriously legit new recipe plug in. And that is a serious filter! That thing looks so boss. I would love to have a water dispenser/filter on hand. We have one at the office, and it basically saves my life. Have so much fun getting out and enjoying the gorgeous scenery!
The Ziplist thing is so cool. My recipes are all over the place -in a box in the pantry, in excel, word, on sticky notes. If it wasn’t for my blog, I’d have no organization to them at all. I’d love to hear more about your water thingy. Our water in AZ is horrible. You really have to drink bottled with all the minerals in it.
I hear that! I jot down recipe ingredient ideas sometimes and don’t bother to title them so I have no idea what the heck it was that I was trying to make 😆
I’ve been DYING to get up to the mountains this fall. The leaves are so gorgeous. My friend and I are supposed to go but his schedule doesn’t really match up with mine so we’re trying to at least do a day trip. I love the scenery 🙂
And that recipe box is really awesome and I don’t even cook. But I do like bookmarking recipes so that’s a super easy way to do it 🙂
That water thing looks so cool! I want one!
Talk about a reminder to finally (!!) start using the Brita water filter I bugged my mum about getting me – it was on offer at a store where y parents live – the very morning of ny move. And have yet to start using …. five weeks later. I can only blame lack of space and motivation. Woops. I’d better set it on my to-do-list. Or wait for you to sing the praises of yours and convincing me. That worked with the dry brushing and oil pulling before after all – thanks for that again!
Hope you have a wonderful trip into the mountains this weekend! That pic is gorgeous. I am hoping to mark Canada off my bucket list next year. I have been wanting to go for what seems like forever now!
The ziplist thing is pretty cool!
Also, I’d love to learn more about the water filter y thing 🙂
Before I started on my autoimmune meds I couldn’t open ANYTHING. It was soo embarrassing. One day at work I was really thirsty and couldn’t get my water open. I walked all around and the only person I could find was my bosses, bosses, boss. I had to ask him to open it. #megaEmbarassed 🙂
I hope the mtns are wonderful!!!
Happy Thursday!
I actually did notice you changed your recipes a bit. It makes (it my opinion) easier to save and read. Not that I’m your only blog reader LOL. Your granola bars always look so good. I was telling you before, I’ve tried to do that glaze trick and it only ends in disaster.
I actually find that a lot of it depends on the kind of chocolate you melt. I’ve run into problems with dark chocolate before, but find that milk chocolate usually works pretty well. And if you want to use something darker, it helps to add a tiny bit of coconut oil to make it smoother.
So how can I place an order for the granola bars?! Yum! I hope you have a great time this weekend. I’d love to spend the weekend in the mountains.
oh the damn mountains!!
Look before you leap!
Oooh I want that water filter! Boston water is so-so… but yeah that filter looks fantastic. And Ziplist- what a good idea! I like that a lot. (I always forget ingredients at the store… also if they could send someone to my house to make sure the recipe comes out looking the way the pictures look, there is pretty much nothing i wouldnt pay for that service 🙂 ) have an amazing weekend- those mountains are gorgeous!
Oh wow, sooooo jealous of your mountain trip!! Fall in the mountains definitely is absolutely stunning. Have a blast!!!
Wow! I never knew that grocery list feature of Ziplist. Thanks for filling me in, Amanda!
Oooh, fun trip coming up this weekend!! Enjoy it to the fullest!
I have had so many instance when I almost set the kitchen on fire trying to open a jar or bottle – my dad used to heat the lid of a bottle/jar with a candle or flame of some sort – and it would open up real easy – though it’s never been that easy for me! GAH!
Yes – very interested in hearing more about that filter! And your trip is gonna be filled with so much leaf porn! Safe travels and hoping you have a wonderful weekend lovely lady!
Leaf porn! 😆 Omg I love it <3
Those no bake sunflower seed bars look so yummy! Don’t you love/hate when you bake something for an event or weekend and then you end up eating them all?! lol
Enjoy the mountains this weekend, I’m sure they will be beautiful!!