I love these measuring cups. Really, really.

And these Babushka cups. I would so want these if I were a little girl:

They remind me of my little nesting dolls that I’m sure are still somewhere at my parent’s house. One of my good friends when I was in kindergarten was a girl that had recently moved from Russia. Actually it wasn’t Russia, but it was somewhere Russian-controlled at the time. I think. My memory fails me. Ukraine? Anyway, I like nesting dolls.

Found on Etsy in CalicoVintage’s shop.

But I’m pretty sure I’d have to be a real hippie and 7 feet tall. Or a a hippie Southern belle. If I wore this now I would look like a 7 year old girl playing dress up with her mom’s old clothes from the 70s.

This is pretty too.

Found on Etsy in thedabara’s shop.

It’s a little too much like a slip though. If the top edges weren’t scalloped I think it would look more like a real dress.

I really like this bag. Yes it’s made of walrus hide, which is unique in and of itself. If you know me then you know that I really like walruses. You would think that I would be appalled at carrying around such an atrocity, but no. The bag is made, what’s done is done. And I’m pretty sure there is no production line or black market for walrus hide bags so I don’t think that walrus’ will be in danger. I could be wrong though.

Found on Etsy in TopsyDesign’s shop.

Speaking of walruses, this wood sign caught my eye as well. Reminds me of reading Through the Looking Glass when I was young.

Found on Etsy in CountryWorkshop’s store.

It’s fast, it’s easy, it’s compact, it’s the Yike Bike! I think this is just a brilliant idea. Developed by New Zealander Grant Ryan, it’s the lightest and most compact electric bike in the world. You can view a video of it here in action, it’s kind of difficult to describe otherwise.

It has so many features for such a small bike. List them, you say? Well that’s easy…

• It weighs less than 10kg, or 22lb. (thanks to it’s light carbon frame)
• Very compact, you can carry it onto the bus, no more locking your bus onto the front of the bus
• Limited to 20 km/h (12mph) for safe riding in a busy city (Same speed as the Segway by the way)
• Anti-skid brakes for easy braking and short stops (See it going over a cattle guard, up a hill, through gravel, and emergency stops here)
• Easy to maneuver
• LED brake lights and turn signals (controlled by your hands so you never have to take your hands off of the brake or accelerator)
• Mechanics are all contained so your clothes won’t get caught

Here it is all packed up:

And this last one which I thought was a rather decent point, “The handlebars are at the side rather than in front so in the event of  an accident or need for an emergency stop the rider’s head or body is not catapulted into an obstacle.”

See?

Weird looking? Yes.

Awesome? Yes.

Useful? Yes.

Safe?! Yes.

I’m sold.

But it’s going for around $5000. Uh-huh. So much for easing congestion. I’m doubting that many people will pay that much for one. Ah well. That’s my 2 cents.

*All facts and pictures were found on the YikeBike site located at yikebike.com.

Fingertip mitts. Microwave clips. Whatever you want to call it.  It’s silly.

Am I the only one that thinks this is useless?

Let’s start with the fact that it is less useful than a dish towel. Which is my usual weapon of choice when taking something hot out of the microwave. It’s never failed me. Besides, the hottest things I take out of the microwave are mugs. I’m not entirely sure how that would work with fingertip mitts.

This looks dangerous. You can only use your fingertips, so if it’s something awkward or a little weighty it will probably fail. I just can’t see the benefit of spending $5 on such a thing. Especially since it’s supposed to magnetize itself to the fridge.

I just wouldn’t want this on my fridge. For one thing there is nothing on my fridge, except for a magnet for Pagliacci’s Pizza. And that’s only there because our roommate put it there. I can just see it, anyone who came in the kitchen would ask what is was for. And then proceed to laugh at me.

I think I’ll pass.

Photo from containerstore.com

It’s a miracle fruit! It makes lemons and limes sweet! It takes the pucker out of grapefruit! It makes beer taste like chocolate! It’s the miracle berry! It’s flavor-trippin’!

So tonight I went to my brother-in-law’s house for an evening of fun and games. And my other brother-in-law had brought Mberry Miracle Berry Fruit Tablets!

Ok now I just sound like an advertisement. Which this isn’t, I wasn’t compensated at all. Just for the record.

Really, these tablets are amazing! If you aren’t familiar, the berry basically makes sour foods taste sweet. It’s caused by a protein called miraculin (miracle berry…get it?). It basically rewires how you perceive these flavors. The pills last anywhere from 1-2 hours depending on the person. And no, no side effects. It’s been all the rage now because of this New York Times article.

Anyway, I dissolved the tablet on my tongue, making sure it touched all the taste buds. Then I bit into a piece of lime. And let me tell you…it was delicious! It tasted kind of like an orange, but not. I could have eaten so many of them. But one of the warnings of this product is that the product does not change the food, only your taste buds. So even though you could eat several limes, it would be really hard on your stomach and not recommended. I tried lemons as well, but they tasted just like lemons. But sweet. Some people drink lemon water while using a tablet and the lemon water tastes like lemonade.

Short story is that it’s a lot of fun. Some foods don’t really seem any different, but some (like the limes) are massively sweeter. There are a variety of foods the Mberry company reccomends you try with. Some are:

• Citrus fruits (like candy!)
• Vinegar potato chips
• Wine
• Beer (still the beer aftertaste, but going down it’s kind of like chocolate)
• Acidic foods

Some food completely loses it’s flavor when you try it. Like salami or darjeeling tea. It gets stripped of it’s saltiness or acidity and it becomes bland. And they strongly recommend against trying vodka with it, it’s described as tasting like rubbing alcohol. Although in my opinion that’s what it tastes like anyway, but whatever.

I’ll just say that the limes were absolutely the best. I can think of a lot of other foods I’d like to try sometime. Some users report differences between the brands of the tablets. Some have tested sucking on the berry and compared it to the effects of a tablet and they are the same, except the berry’s effects last longer.

How about you have these at a holiday party? It would be such a hit. These really are a lot of fun. Kids would have an absolute blast.