Carbon Monoxide alarm! Install one today!

This is a request that you all install a carbon monoxide detector in your homes. I purchased one last week to justify buying a wireless doorbell, and I'm extremely thankful for it.  My roommate had a rough wake up yesterday when it went off. She called the fire department, who took an initial scan and then evacuated our apartment. Then they sent a fireman all suited up to take another reading. According to what they found, if the carbon monoxide detector hadn't alerted us to the extremely high levels of CO, we wouldn't have woken up this morning.


This is the alarm I bought, and I will now recommend it to anyone and everyone: Kidde Combination Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Alarm with Talking Alarm ($39). It actually talks to you and lets you know if you should be worried about smoke or CO.

Update (7/29): Join Kiddie on Facebook! They give away a carbon monoxide alarm every Friday!
Also follow Kidde Safety on Twitter

The last socks you'll ever want to buy.

Stroke Socks.  These are amazing socks.  Socks you actually ask for at Christmas time.  Socks that make your "business casual" more like "business awesome."  These striped socks are durable as heck and rarely get you chastised when you are breaking dress code.  They come in 17 different color patterns, including two in shorter sizes. I regularly wear mine when I need to wear a suit. They are the perfect trouser socks for work shoes, but also line a boot nicely. Stroke Socks: you want them. Trust me.

The back story is pretty sweet too: J. Stroke is a designer/audio composer who felt that socks were lacking in many areas.  So he designs a few socks and can't keep them in stock.  Ten years later, he's still selling socks and continues to amaze (at least this reviewer).

Stroke Sock about page
Twitter of the guy who introduced me to Stroke Socks

Cherries: they're the pits!

Building shelves and attempting to start running again (I might've promised someone I'd do a half marathon with him in October) has left me pretty sore. Thankfully I have an awesome Cherry Stone neck pillow ($30). I'm a big fan of cherries in almost every form and this neat little pillow is made out of dried cherry pits that you put in the microwave for two minutes and it provides a moist heat for your hurts. There are some that come with essential oils already inside them, but it without any additional scent it has a nice earthy smell.


Another option is the Cherry pit pad from esty ($15). This one is sports themed, which makes me happy, but they have other designs. Look forward to more cherry products on here, I have family from Traverse City, MI: Cherry Capital of the World.

Amanda Palmer: Rockin' the Ukulele

I have a friend who joined the circus and he is a big fan of Amanda Palmer. The circus fact isn't actually relevant to this post, but has always impressed me nonetheless. Today he got pretty excited about the release of Amanda Palmer Performs the Popular Hits of Radiohead on her Magical Ukulele. She released 1000 copies of a red vinyl album, and I'm happy to report that my friend managed to reserve one. I was sadly too slow to act to get the LP (which is now on my wish list) but am pretty excited to download the digital version ($0.84 – ??). Ms. Palmer is allowing her fans to pay as little as 84¢ for the download, but they have the option to pay more. Good business model? Maybe not, but it does nothing to diminish her fans' loyalty.

It's Ukulele Time! website
Amanda Palmer on Twitter
My friend who is no longer with the circus on Twitter


Note: I thought I would do a Music Monday theme and was actually really excited that I had two weeks in a row with music ideas, but then realized that Monday was yesterday. Now the goal will be to have some music every week, though it won't always be on the same day. For this to happen, I need constant recommendations. I can't rely on my circus friend to be the sole provider of musical advice (though, I do admit he has a pretty good nose for such things. Or ear. Or two ears even...). So please send any new bands, songs, or otherwise musical ideas that you're digging to 4ambooks@gmail.com and I'll give it a listen!

Building Bookshelves: fun on a Sunday

Moving into a new place with limited storage can be a challenge. This is why man created shelves and why Sweden gave us IKEA. What I've discovered while attempting to organize my new space with shelving:

• Wood is not cheap. I was hoping to build some heavy, built-in bookcases but found that the shiny, real kind of wood costs about as much as just buying a wall of shelving from the above-referenced store. 

• You don't need to own a saw to build things. The nice men at Lowe's will cut down wood to your specifications. (However, this doesn't meant that I don't want a saw($75): PORTER-CABLE  7-1/4" 15-Amp Laser-Guided Circular Saw.) 
• Splinters are inevitable. 
• I could really use a tool bag (Bucket Boss 06007 GateMouth Jr. Tool Bag, $17).  My last one was a canvass Trader Joe's bag that my cat took offense to last week. 
• Three 16"x57"x1" shelves can hold a lot of books. I'm glad I only did three and left room below incase I want to refigure my desk to fit there. I'd need to borrow someone's saw though... 

Overall, this was a great project, costing around $100 for three shelves here and four shelves in the kitchen. Plus I have a leftover piece of wood roughly 16"x15"x1" that I can't wait to paint.  If I did end up buying a bookcase or two for my bed room, it would be IKEA's Billy Jäder bookcase ($50), which is covered in quotations by William Shakespeare. 

Wish list with a purpose: Ample Harvest

Do you garden? Do you end up with way too many zucchinis and beans at the end of your harvest? Well instead of foisting them upon your unsuspecting neighbors and co-workers, you might consider donating your excess produce to an Ample Harvest food pantry. We all know that fresh, locally grown food is great, why not share the extras with your neighbors in need?

Ample Harvest's goal is to provide access to healthier produce at food pantries that might otherwise go directly to waste or compost.  "Most food pantries can provide only canned vegetables and fruit to their clients." They also work to put local food pantries on the map, searchable by Google and in the phone books, which makes sense as most pantries IT departments are probably pretty darn small.

How you can help:

• Save the extra produce from your garden.
• Find a pantry near you. 
• You can donate fresh produce even if you don't grow it! Pick up a few extra servings of fruits and veggies and drop them off.
• Download (.pdf), print and hang a flier encouraging gardeners to share their harvest.
• Donate to Ample Harvest.
• Educate yourself and others on Hunger in America.

Ample Harvest website

Ample Harvest on Twitter

Ample Harvest iPhone app (Yeah, there's an app for that..)

What is Blik? It's Wall Art!

If you guys follow my twitter*, you probably already know about Blik Wall Decals.  The one I could see going fabulously on my currently naked walls is their Foxy decal ($45) based on a Threadless t-shirt. I've always had a thing for foxes. (Not familiar with Threadless? If you like being clothed, then I would suggest checking them out for your graphic t-shirt needs.)  Vinyl wall decals are a great way to decorate large sections of your wall without damaging the paint job. This is especially important if you are renting and don't want to spend a few days repainting or spackling before moving out.

Designs at Blik aren't just based on t-shirts. They also have ones that look like classic video games, giant flowers, crazy animals and pretend headboards (for when space is an issue). Some of their vinyls are made to go on non-wall stuff like iPods or computers.

Following Blik on twitter is a great way to find out about new designs and sales.  For example, on Friday everything was 15% off because they were going to a party, so I went ahead and bought a little something for above the fireplace in our living room.


Blik Website
Blik on Twitter

* I laugh every time I reference an audience. Not even my mom reads this. I doubt she reads my twitter, either.