Jen (booizzy.com)'s Profile

I've ditched cable and desktop computers, but I'm hanging onto my camera and my flash drive. My cellphone takes crappy pictures, and with an Eyefi card, my camera is pretty capable.

Also my flash drive saved the day this weekend when I was visiting my parents and discovered a nasty virus on my dad's computer that kept him from getting on the internet. It just took a few minutes to download the fixes onto another computer, copy them to the flash drive, and run them on the affected computer. Dropbox wouldn't have helped us at all.

I've been using paperlesspost.com the past few years for holiday cards, and it's great.

I just got a number pad lock for my backdoor, and it's so much more convenient. I want to upgrade all my locks now.

I have pea gravel in a large chunk of my backyard and have been pretty happy with it. I have flagstones in the area closest to my house, and most of stray gravel ends up there. It's easiest enough to sweep it up every few weeks.

Our weed barrier has degraded significantly, and we do get weeds popping up in the spring. We picked up a propane torch specifically for weeds that knocks them out in no time. We also use a leaf blower to clean the leaves out of the gravel twice a year.

It's not maintenance free, but it's a whole lot easier than the grass was. And we use a small fraction of the water.

I have Cuisinart combo unit. It has a blender and food processor attachment, but just one bottom motor piece. I find that I use the food processor all the time in the summer for making pesto and hummus, but I hardly ever use the blender. It's still nice to have both.

I have an LG model too, although it was a lot more than the washer/dryers listed above. Mine has a line that indicates how full it can be for drying, and I usually just do loads that size so I can leave them in for drying.

The LG also has a time delay so you can put a load in at night or in the morning and have it timed to be done when you wake up or get home from work. It's very convenient.

If you don't want to eat them, you could always use them to make pomander balls:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pomander-ball-Christmas-gift/

They're easy to make, smell delicious, and last forever.

I have a showerhead by Evolve with this technology built into it, and it's great if you have a traditional water heater. Unfortunately, I upgraded to a tankless model a few months ago, and it doesn't let enough water through to keep the tankless water heater running.

I've lived in Salt Lake City for nearly six years now. It was supposed to be temporary, but it has grown on me. I have a great circle of friends, bought an inexpensive house close to downtown, bike everywhere including to work, and have access to some of the best outdoor recreational areas anywhere. You won't make as much and the politics are crazy, but it's definitely got it's good sides.

I also loved Seattle when I lived there. I'm not sure how the economy is these days though. I'd skip Phoenix though. Way, way, way too much sprawl there.

I second the stovetop espresso maker. They are inexpensive, easy-to-use, and they won't be another big appliance sitting on your counter. We pair ours with milk frother like the Chambord or Bistro from Bodum for amazing lattes.