A Low-Cal Indulgence, A New Floor Lamp for My Bedroom & Puzzles are Back!

Working on a table setting for tomorrow’s Tablescape Thursday, but thought I’d pop in with a few goodies and ideas I’ve been wanting to share ever since I arrived back home. One of the first things I needed to do upon my return was head to the grocery store to stock up on a few things. If you’ve been reading BNOTP for a bit, you may know I’m not the biggest fan of hot coffee, but I do love iced coffee, especially when the weather turns warmer.

On a whim, I decided to try this Land-O-Lakes Lactose-Free Half and Half since regular milk and my tummy do not get along. I prefer my coffee unsweetened but do love it with a little milk. I spotted the non-dairy Coconut Milk whipped topping nearby and decided to give it a try, too.

Oh. My. Gosh! This combo is so good! It feels so indulgent, like a wonderful specialty drink from the corner coffee shop. Amazingly, as delicious as it looks and tastes, it’s not very many calories. The iced coffee (Stoks) is unsweetened, so zero calories there and 2 tablespoons of the half and half is only 40 calories. The Reddiwip whipped topping is only 10 calories for two tablespoons. So, the whole drink is only around 50 calories but tastes sooo indulgent! I feel very fancy drinking my iced coffee right now as I type this. 😉

Anyway, just had to share this concoction because it is delish and makes me feel just a tiny bit spoiled! lol

 

When I visited Italy several years ago, it rained almost the entire time I was there. Literally. The entire time! Arggg. I still took pictures though almost all included gloomy skies.

Positano, Italy Overlooking Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta Church and the Amalfi Coast

 

I was so excited to find this puzzle a few days ago. It’s almost the exact same view I captured in my cloudy-sky photo, only it pictures a gorgeous sunset. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it’s actually in stock! Puzzles have all been completely sold out the last few months since so many folks have been stuck at home and buying them all up.

Not sure how many they have, but as I type this, there’s at least one of these available here: Positano Puzzle.

Beautiful Positano Puzzle

 

Here’s one more that’s currently available, you’ll find it here: Space, Planets Puzzle. It feels very timely with the recent Space X launch back in May.

Space, Planets Puzzle

 

Puzzles are still pretty scarce right now and they will probably remain that way for a while, but here’s one more I found that appears to be in stock. I love this view! You’ll find this one here: available here: Puzzle of Dreamy Positano.

Positano Puzzle

 

Once you complete your puzzle, if you can’t bear to tear it apart, I found a super-easy way to preserve them for framing or display.

 

I love this method because it doesn’t involve using messy, sticky glue that distorts the surface of the puzzle. You’ll find my fast/easy tutorial on how I preserve puzzles I wish to keep here: How to Save or Frame a Jigsaw Puzzle Without Using Messy Glue.

 

Changing gears, you may remember I purchased a pretty floor lamp for my workspace while I was away visiting with my son, dil, and grandchildren.

Floor Lamp for Office, Mercury Glass Ball Lamp

 

I liked it so much, I ended up buying a second one to use back home. I knew right where I wanted to place it and couldn’t wait to see how it looked!

Beautiful Floor Lamp for Reading Chair, Office, Bedroom

 

I  had been hoping to find a floor lamp for this corner of my bedroom for a while now. This lamp is a bit more modern/transitional than the other floor lamps I have in my home, but I love how it looks here in this corner. It will provide some much-needed light in this corner when I settle down in the evening for a bit of reading before bedtime.

If you’re in need of a pretty, sparkly floor lamp, you’ll find this one available here: Mercury Glass Floor Lamp.

Floor Lamp, Mercury Glass Ball Style

 

Okay, I’m off to play with the dishes! See you tomorrow for Tablescape Thursday!

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Comments

  1. franki parde says

    Drinks’n sparkles ‘n POSITANO..OH, MY!! Just one of my favorite places to visit ever…franki

  2. I was told by a nurse practitioner many years ago that the only thing that needed milk was a baby cow. Why don’t you try unsweetened almond milk? It is only 30 calories per cup and no saturated fat. I’m glad you are home safe and sound. I think you brought the cooler weather home with you. It was beautiful yesterday.

    • I’ve tried it many times and I just can’t stand the taste of almond milk. It tastes terrible to me. I like almonds though…just not almond milk. I do love real milk, though. A2 milk is what I normally drink or have with cereal.

    • Pam, the other thing that strikes me as funny is a lot of folks who are saying we don’t need milk are the same people who are still eating cheese and butter, not to mention yogurt. I wonder why dairy in “milk” form is the one dairy that they think you no longer need.

  3. Donna Nance says

    Your new lamp looks right at home by your reading chair. Very pretty! We use Califia Farms nondairy products. Their almond milk creamers in all varieties are delicious. They also have one that is half almond and half coconut milk. The pecan caramel is a real treat. There is also an oat creamer but I haven’t enjoyed the oat milk products as much as the almond or the coconut. We buy their unsweetened almond milk and even use it in cooking.

  4. Gayle Kesinger says

    Susan, after you posted the lamp previously I was just entranced. I loved it in spite of the fact that it totally did not go with my current decor. Impulsively I purchased it and of course could not find a way to use it. It does have a great light to read by. So my daughter who lives in California received it as a gift and loves it. Fits perfectly in her home. Kind of an expensive lesson to learn because having it packed and shipped was NOT cheap. Still love the look of the lamp!

  5. Oh that drink sounds delicious! I’ve never learned to like coffee (except in Haagen Dazs ice cream!) but I’m going to adapt your non-dairy ingredients into other drinks just for the low cal benefits! 🙂 I DO love some whipped cream! Thanks as always for the other great ideas too!

  6. Love that Nancy Drew puzzle. Where did you hang it? And I think I could be tempted by your new concoction; it sounds delicious.

  7. I love the lamp. Also a good price for such a pretty.

  8. The fabric on your older upholstered chair is gorgeous. LOVE it!
    Blessings,
    d

  9. Love your floor lamp! I hadn’t put together any puzzles in a very long time but I have completed 4 (1000 piece) ones since the shutdown!!! Once I start, nothing else gets done!!!!

    • Thanks!
      Ha! Cheri, I’m the exact same way! Once I start one, it’s all I want to do. I have to tear myself away to do any work around here and I find myself staying up really late at night working on them. They are addictive!

  10. Cyndi Raines says

    I have never even had desire to drink coffee, but I do like the smell of it brewing. Funny thing though, this past winter I tried a sip or two of my husband’s and didn’t like it hot at all. However, he let about a half of a cup get cold and later on in the day I remembered what you said, that you like it cold so I thought I would try it and I totally agree, it was so much better, I actually liked the taste! How weird is that! So the other day I actually poured a half cup, put a little Italian cream in it and let it get cold, even adding a few ice cubes. Wala! It was good! So I just might try it again that way. Thanks for the suggestion. I do like your lamp also. I also ordered the whitener for teeth, eager to try it. Are you still pleased with the product?

    • Cyndi, you and I like the coffee the same way! 🙂 I never drank any coffee at all until just a few years ago. Like you, I liked the smell of it brewing but hated the taste. Plus, I do not like hot drinks. The only thing I ever like to drink hot is hot chocolate in the wintertime.
      The way I make my iced coffee, it’s really more of a coffee-flavored milkshake. lol I usually pour about 4 to 6 oz of coffee into a glass. Then I add a little water because I don’t want it too be strong. Then I add either A2 milk (2%) or just recently…the lactose-free half and half…depends on what I have on hand. I only add around a Tbsp of the half and half since it’s really rich.
      Since I discovered the Coconut Milk Reddi-Whip, I’ve been topping it off with that.
      I made the mistake of buying A2 creamer a few days ago, not realizing it was sweetened. Yuck. I ended up pouring it all out. I thought it was just creamer, but I should have known better since it said “sweet cream” on the container. I don’t like my coffee to be really sweet, which is why I never buy any of the specialty coffee drinks in coffee shops. Whatever they use to flavor those makes it sickeningly sweet. I love my little concoction because the only sweet part is the Whipped Coconut Milk on top…so not too sweet.

  11. Cyndi Raines says

    P.S. Also I have never really been a puzzle person, thinking it would move too slow for me, but this Covid isolation time changed that. Have put together 4 now and I have really enjoyed it. They have been only the 300 piece ones as they move along nicely and fit my card table, so I am pleased. Now that we are out in the yard until dusk, I’m too tired to get another one going, but if we have a hot, steamy summer like some are saying we are supposed to have, I’ll be doing more, so the card table is staying up, lol. They are addictive and once I start, I find myself staying up until it’s done! Will need to be more disciplined and stop to save it for the next day.

    • They are sooo addictive! Once I start one, I have to force myself to stop doing it to do other things around the house. lol Then I’m sad when it ends, especially if it’s a particularly beautiful puzzle.

  12. I love cold coffee too, but no way I can drink milk, especially coconut milk. Starbucks Frappuccino made with almond milk tastes like strained oatmeal. So disappointed. Love the lamp but so would ‘a whole bunch of cats’

  13. Susan, glad your lamp worked out so well. What a great find that puzzle is! Uncanny how close it is to the picture you took. I suppose that’s a popular viewpoint for pictures; it’s beautiful.

    I don’t drink a lot of cow’s milk, but sometimes I do crave it. I see where you said you don’t like almond milk, have you ever tried coconut or cashew? I thought both of those were much better than almond when I tried them, but they are all a bit of an acquired taste, imo.

    Looking forward to seeing your new table-scape tomorrow!

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