Since one of my goals for 2014 is to cook more meals at home, I need a system to store and organize recipes. Office supply geek thing at work, clearly! I’ve been searching the internet for good recipes and culling the stacks of magazines all over my house for potential recipes and sticking them in a file folder. This is not an ideal way to find a recipe so I am headed out to the office supply store today to pick up a binder ($3.89) or two, dividers ($0.99) and an assortment of plastic sleeves ($12.79/box of 50) to store my recipes in a more orderly fashion. I like that the plastic sleeves will keep the recipes safe from spills too.
I’ve been searching all morning for a good source for standard 8.5″x11″ sheet protectors that are divided to hold two 5.5″x8.5″ sheets since I have a bunch of smaller pages from Everyday Food (now defunct) and to hold recipe cards instead of a box. Sadly, I have been unable to find any at a reasonable cost (most seem specific to holding archival photo prints and are quite pricey). I may end up with a small binder and sheet protectors for the Everyday Food recipes, specifically, if I can’t find a better option.
I will probably keep dessert recipes in a separate binder to keep all the binders light and agile. Besides, I don’t tend to use them with the same frequency as dinner recipes.
In case you are curious, I found a lot of great recipes on Budget Bytes, including easy-to-make crock pot dishes. Also, the Dragon Noodles dish is delicious, easy-to-make and infinitely customizable. I added frozen edamame to mine for some extra protein.
Does anyone else have a good system for organizing recipes?
Gold Foil Calendar on raspberry paper with easel stand $52. Refill only $38. Also available in Kraft with opaque white foil stamp. (via Sugar Paper)
I love the few, quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s. I use the time to potter around the house, tackling piles of papers, cleaning out my in-box (paper and digital), using Christmas cards to update addresses in my address book and other organizational projects. I try to write my thank you notes, catch up on correspondence, read books and catch up on movies. I really need a month but a week gets some of the projects checked off my list for the new year.
I love using the New Year as a chance to do things better. Lots of people talk about resolutions, but I think of them more as plans and goals. I often choose things that should be attainable in theory rather than things that are completely new habits or lifestyle.
So far, my personal goals are pretty humble:
learn to cook more meals at home (besides frozen pizza)
fix up my vintage bike (needs new rear wheel and tires)
keep riding my bikes (4-5 times a week)
keep writing lots of letters (and reply more quickly)
On the last day of Inkmas, my true pen was inked with De Atramentis Pigeon Blue! Not as romantic as a partridge in a pear tree but its my favorite ink (at the moment) so I thought it was worthy of being the last ink of the first annual Inkmas.
Initially, I ordered a sample of this ink because I loved the name. I used the sample up immediately and decided I needed a whole bottle but Goulet was sold out. A friend sent me another sample to hold me over until they restocked. The bottle I purchased is already half-used. That’s a true testament to how much I like this ink.
It’s not a true blue but rather a slightly grey turquoise blue. I’d almost call it a teal. There’s enough black in the ink to keep it from being garish but its still a beautiful color. In general, de Atramentis inks are super easy-flow, and Pigeon Blue is no exception. It makes the inks good options for fine nib pens and also quick drying which means I don’t track wet ink all over my paper.
The swab shows the range of color variation that makes for great shading in wider nib pens. Pigeon Blue is not waterproof or even water resistant all that much but it will hold up to the occasional slosh of coffee and pat drying.
I tried to find a comparable color in my collection but nothing I could find was all that similar. Diamine Aqua Lagoon 80ml ($12.50) was close but its a much more vivid, jewel-tone blue-green. Sheaffer Skrip Turquoise 50ml ($9) in much bluer overall and Diamine Soft Mint 80ml ($12.50) is much more of a green ink with blue undertones.
De Atramentis Pigeon Blue is available in 35ml bottles for $12.50.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Inkmas as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing all these wonderful ink colors with you. Happy holidays to everyone and please send your comments and recommendations for other inks I should try.
The samples above were written with my Lamy Studio brushed stainless steel with 1.1mm nib in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.
I’ve alluded to the latest Kickstarter project from Karas Kustoms for several weeks but I wanted to write-up a good thorough review with lots of photos to entice and satisfy any questions. So here it is!
Dan over at Karas Kustoms was kind enough to send me a prototype Ink fountain pen to get my opinion and allow me to share in the excitement. My initial impression taking this pen out of the package was “DANG! this think is huge!” Keeping in mind, I generally prefer smaller pens like the Kaweco Sport and little vintage jewels like the Esterbrooks. Both of these pens have plastic bodies and are diminutive in size so my perspective is a little skewed. I also have child-sized hands.
The Ink fountain pen in aluminum weighs 44gms with cap, 27gms without. This is fine with me since 44gms way exceeds my weight limit for a comfortable writing tool. The brass RETRAKT weighs 63 gms so if that pen is comfortable to you, the weight will be no issue.
The pen is machined entirely out of aluminum. Dan made a point of telling me that my pen is a prototype and there are still some finishing details that will be plussed-up in the production version of the pens. The shape is slightly tapered towards the end that gives this pen a refined look. The cap screws tightly onto the pen but cannot be posted on the pen when writing, though at 44gm, why would you want to?
The clip is an industrial strength, streamlined bauty that’s held on with signature Karas hex bolts that give the pen a nod to its industrial roots.
The grip area is slightly tapered but quite short. The screw tooling is pretty fine so even thought my fingers touched the ridges it provided a grip area and was not uncomfortable.
The nib is a Schmidt M nib which is a satiny-smooth, medium nib. I used it for the R&K Verdigris writing sample . I don’t usually use medium nibs but I found it easy to use. Its a stiff nib with no flex but its not so wide that my tiny writing was completely obscured. The nib is a #5 size so if you like the looks of the pen but want a different nib for it, you may be able to swap it out. Dan said they may be stocking other Schmidt nib sizes after the Kickstarter campaign concludes. No promises but its something they may consider. In the meantime, several online reatilers stock #5 nibs including Edison Pen Co.
The first pen to come to mind for comparison is my Lamy Studio in brushed aluminum. Both the Karas Kustoms Ink and the Lamy Studio feature understated, classic good looks. They are both weighty pens of similar length. The Ink is a bit wider overall though.
The advantage of the size of the Ink is that it can hold two short cartridges, a long cartridge or the converter that ships with the Ink giving lots of ink options and possibilities.
There are still 20+ days left in the Kickstarter campaign and many options to choose from with the Ink pen including an array of anodized colors, rollerball version and the option to have a brass or copper grip area. Prices start at $60 for the silver anodized version of the fountain pen or rollerball pen.
From top to bottom: Kaweco Liliput, Karas Kustoms Ink, Lamy Studio, TWSBI Mini, Kaweco Sport
Now, I just need to convince Karas Kustoms to make a mini Ink-ette and offer it in lime green anodized alumnium! A girl can dream, right?
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by KarasKustoms for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Today is one of those gray, winter days so I thought maybe I’d choose an ink that reflected the gray days for the eleventh day of Inkmas. Its called Diamine Graphite. I expected it to be a neutral grey-black. What I got instead was a very unusual grey-green. My first thought was that it reminded me of the wash water for Noodler’s Zhivago possibly.
Diamine Graphite has a ton of shading in a wide nib fountain pen but looks much darker when used with a crow quill dip nib. Even with the B nib on my Kaweco Art Sport, the ink was dry quickly which is a very nice trait considering the mess I made at the top of the page because the brush lettering wasn’t quite dry. Ah, the trouble with lefties!
Overall, I find a lot of interest in Graphite. Its not altogether grey but its not green either. It shades like crazy in my fountain pen but dips to a deep dark grey. Just like a gray winter day, there are still wonders and interest to be found.
I did compare Diamine Graphite to Noodler’s Zhivago 3oz/88ml ($12.50) and, at its full concentration, Zhivago is much more of a black than a grey but it was worth a shot. De Atramentis Silver Grey 35ml ($12.50) is close in overall color tone but Silver Grey is much more of a blue-grey than Graphite. I really couldn’t find a good ink match in my collection to Graphite so its definitely a unique ink.
The samples above were written with a Kaweco Art Sport with a B nib (review coming soon!) in the Quo Vadis Habana bright white, blank notebook. Dry times will vary depending on paper stock. Comparison samples were written using a steel dip nib with a bit of flex which causes some of the more liquidy inks, like De Atramentis, to run a bit. They are included for color comparison. Best efforts were made to achieve color accuracy but the limitations of camera, lighting and individual monitor calibrations may alter the final look. For best results, order a sample of the ink color you like best and try it before you invest in a whole bottle.
Shout out to Karen P. for sending me a sample of Diamine Graphite as well as the Diamine Salamander and De Atramentis Cement Gray. Much appreciated!
