YiHung Stainless Steel Straws

Whenever we go out to a restaurant we prefer to drink from a straw - with the exception of wine! There has been a lot of press lately on the issue of plastic straws and the effect on the environment. So that prompted me to look on line to see what types of reusable straws were out there. It goes along with my husband’s general philosophy to bring along our own reusable leftover containers rather than collect whatever the restaurant has. It is a pain in the “b” but it is not a bad idea. For that purpose we got a few ziplock plastic light weight containers at the grocery store. So I found some stainless steel various sized straws on Amazon - made in China of course. It is a pack of eight - some straight, some bent - along with two cleaning brushes. They also come with different color silicon tips so everyone can claim their own favorite color. It seems we haven’t yet needed to use them because straws are still being provided in most places, or I simply didn’t have them on me when we needed them. Anyway, it seemed like a good idea. I’m sure we will have an opportunity to use them. We’ll just need to make sure we remember to clean them after each use. 

Contigo Spillproof Autoseal Stainless Steel Travel Mug

The last set of water mugs we bought were from Costco. The Contigo mugs came in a pack of two. We use them every day - one for water and one for diet ginger ale. I like to change them out every couple of years because of the black stuff that doesn’t seem to go away around the little crevices on the top of the lid. So I got a new set of Contigo travel mugs from Amazon - a pack of two with a slightly different shape - one silver and one blue. And with every product I ever get I always read the instructions. So I learned that there is a spring attachment inside the lid that can be opened so the drinking spout can be cleaned easily. That doesn’t hold true for the button lock on the top that keeps the cup “locked” so it can’t spill. So at least we know the drinking part is safe from the crud. I only wish they made wine glasses like this because it’s really hard to clean up red wine splashes. Or maybe we should start drinking wine in these stainless steel mugs? I don’t think so. It just wouldn’t taste the same. 

Olive Oil on Stainless Steel

We recently had our tiny condo outfitted with a new backsplash in the kitchen. Once the backsplash was added, my husband was not happy with the worn look and old color of the kitchen cabinets. So we decided to update the space and have the cabinets painted. Along with the cabinets, the old worn drop leaf table would also be painted the same color. We are half way through the project and decided that the appliances also needed some attention. They were also run down and had lost their original stainless steel shimmer. I just read somewhere that a tiny drop of olive oil could bring the shine out on anything stainless. I am usually skeptical about things like that, but thought we had nothing to lose. So after wiping all the appliances down, I touched them up with a bit of olive oil. It was really obvious where the oil was rubbed in and where it was not. Yes, it's not perfect, but it sure looks so much nicer than it did. Since the table is not in the room it doesn't yet look complete. But we are happy with the results so far. Let's hope it lasts for awhile.