Nest: A Review

Let me start off by stating that this is not a paid advertisement/post. These are personal opinions about Nest. :)

I've actually had a few people ask how I like our Nest, so a blog post sounded like a good idea!

Josh surprised me with a Nest one day after I had commented that it would be nice to be able to control our thermostat from our phones. Lazy? Yes.

As far as I know, you can only purchase it from Lowes...but don't quote me on that. 

Basically, it just replaces your current thermostat. It took him about an hour to re-wire everything and let me tell you, it has been a dream come true! :) Also, it's much cuter than a normal thermostat...

From your wall unit, you just turn the dial to adjust temperatures and settings. You can set it to be on certain temperatures at certain times, and it has a HOME and AWAY setting, which is helpful with energy conservation during your summer vacations. ;)

Oh, but the best thing?? It learns all of the settings that you like, so after a few days, it'll start adjusting the temp to what YOU like when YOU want it. So, we like the house to be very cool at night so we sleep like babies. Not newborn babies...maybe babies who have been dosed up with Dimetapp. Well, after a few days of having Nest, it already knew we liked that, so around 10pm, it would automatically switch to 69°. Yeah, we like it at 69....moving on! :)

Here's what the app looks like on my phone: 

Oh, I guess I should point out that, since we've added on to the house, we've also added another Nest for the new part. We have them labeled...eventually, they'll communicate with each other like little robots. :)

 A view of the AWAY setting:

I really love that we can control the temps from our phones because on really hot days (like today!!), we can set it when we leave work, and the house is nice and cool when we arrive!

Oh, technology.

Pork in the Pot

If you're on Pinterest, first, follow me! 

Second, you've probably seen this recipe floating around there. Sho nuf, I had to make it. You can find the original link here, but I'll recap for you.

Cinnamon Apple Honey Crock Pot Pork Loin  <-- How's that for a name?? :)

You'll need:

A pork loin (apparently there's a difference between a tenderloin and a regular loin...just get one that doesn't have a lot of fat on it)

Cinnamon

3-4 apples, cut into thinnish slices

Honey

A crock pot (did you see that coming?)

 

Rinse off the meat! (That's what she said.) Sorry. Then, cut slits into it. Drizzle some honey in the slits, then place a slice of apple into it. I used 4 small apples. Do this in all of the slits, then place the loin on top of a bed of apple slices in the crock pot. I also added a little apple juice (maybe 1/2 cup) in case it wanted to dry out, since there weren't any other liquids preventing that. Then, just sprinkle cinnamon over all of it and set the crock pot to 8 hours. 

I made this and gave some to my parents and Josh ate it for dinner. I actually didn't eat any. Not because it was gross or anything...I just wanted a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats for dinner! :) They all said it was good...so I'm going to believe them. The pork did look good with the cinnamon apples though. So try it! Did I take an "after" photo? Nope! Sorry. :( 

Coffee Newbie.

Hi, my name is Victoria, and up until today, I had never had a cup of coffee. Of course, I've tried it before. I've just never liked it. Then, a few days ago, I had this extreme craving for it! I was driving by a Sonic and figured I could get an iced coffee (even though I really wanted from McDonald's). Well, all they have is iced coffee ice cream something so I didn't get anything.

Today, the craving came back. I actually had to make coffee this morning for free breakfast at the store and had to ask a few people how the heck to do it. Later on, I had to have some coffee. So I skidaddled over to Mickey D's and got me a big ol' iced coffee with French vanilla flavoring. It. Was. So. Good. Then, a few hours later, the craving came back. Again! Ohmygoodness...does this mean I'm addicted?! Already?! All I know is I can't wait to try Starbucks. I don't think I'm ready for hot coffee yet. I'm not a big hot drink person. It burns my wimpy tongue. How do people drink hot coffee anyway? Doesn't it hurt your mouth?

What kind of coffee do you like?