I have a new toy – this silicon ice ball mold from Muji. It fits together with pressure, you pour water in through the little hole at the top and the next day you have a sphere of ice. I’m just waiting for an excuse to have a big bowl of punch with balls of ice floating in it. And think of the Halloween possibilities. The sphere is pictured here in a pint glass, and it keeps a glass of water very cold.

We have a new mattress, yay! We decided to get a basic (non pillow top) firm mattress from Everrest here in Seattle. The showroom is cramped, and has a picture window that looks out over the factory floor. I have to admit I dig this sort of rough authenticity. The guy there was helpful and left us to flop down for as long as we liked. Scott liked this mattress the best of all we’ve tried so we went ahead and bought it. We bought just the mattress (we’ll be getting a platform bed) and it was incredibly inexpensive, and delivery and take away of our old mattress cost just $10. We also got a memory foam pad from Costco which we haven’t popped open yet. Since we don’t really know what type of mattress we like just yet the inexpensive route works for us right now. My second choice was the zip-off pillow top from the Seattle Mattress Factory.

As for my questions in the previous mattress post – everybody reports that they use normal mattress pads and sheets on top of memory foam. One person wrote to say she had trouble with her memory foam pad slipping off of her mattress, so she took off the terry cloth cover, wrapped a regular mattress pad around everything, put on sheets and it’s been fine since. And I got a good recommendation for Soaring Heart futon and natural bed company, and other local Seattle bedding company.

If you happen to be looking for a new mattress I definitely recommend looking around to see if there are any local mattress companies, the prices are very reasonable. Also, Apartment Therapy is continuing it’s exploration of bedrooms and mattresses this month and has a whole lot of entries on futons, mattress pads, and the best mattress you can find.

Torie of Totinette wrote to tell me she and her friend Cathy are starting up a monthy art and craft sale in Portland called Crafty Wonderland. It will be the second Sunday of every month at the very cool Douglas Fir Lounge. The first show is April 9th, admission is free, and there will be a few DIY tables for your enjoyment.

Brown Cupcake Liner Update: The intrepid Laura took a trip to John Lewis and reports back that the shop has stopped stocking the brown cupcake liners (but she asked and they were able to find some in the back). However, the packaging reveals they are available here at Edsol Party Supply. They do ship outside of the UK, and will confirm rates when you order. A few people have reported that online sellers in the US are saying the dark brown liners are no longer available to them.

My slide into crazed domesticity is continuing with my current source of admiration, an ice cube tray. We don’t use a whole lot of ice in this household so having one tray in the freezer is plenty. I bought this OXO ice cube tray because I liked that it was covered. The cover slides off so you can release just a few cubes, and it helps keep the ice fresh. But what they don’t describe on the product page is that once the ice is frozen you can store the tray on it’s side squeezed between the bags of frozen ravioli and edamame, perfect for messy crammed freezers. And, the cubes have a rounded shape to the bottom so you don’t even have to shake them out of the tray, just crack the tray and push down on one end of the ice cube, it slides right out – no more coaxing out with fingernails for me (ew). (If I ever offer you a cold drink I pinky swear I won’t actually touch the ice that goes into your glass.) Additionally, reading reviews shows that it’s a good tray to use for freezing stock or baby food as it keeps odors in while freezing.

It’s time for another game of Where In The World Are Dark Brown Cupcake Liners?. The previous round found them at Confectionary House but them seem to have gone away. (52 Cupcakes shared the same information.) A little banging away at Google reveals a possible source at John Lewis (a UK retailer), but they aren’t on the website. There are unbleached cupcake liners at The Baker’s Catalogue, not quite the dark brown candy paper look I think is desired. So, in the interest of my growing obsession, anybody know where to find these? (Added a few days later: see the update.)

I have heard rumors that Sprinkles Cupcakes has the entire world’s source of these locked up in a vast warehouse underneath Los Angeles, you didn’t hear it here.

I’m playing catch up:

CHOW is suspending publication, whaaa. I hope they are back in print soon. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the site.

perfect pizza dough at 101 Cookbooks

so cute hot chocolate cakes in a cup (scroll down a bit for the picture)

how to tell quality ice cream without tasting it at Accidental Hedonist

cozy for a coffee press at Craftlog

I like rooibos tea

MoCo Loco love – Snottebel decorative light strands and zip rug

Every once in a while I look online for a specific wine, it rarely shows up. But three seconds in Wine Searcher and I found five places selling it online, bliss. via Accidental Hedonist, thanks.

general advice for selling on Ebay at Ask Metafilter

yummy cute pincushions at the fabulous new whip up

and

omg these magnetic LED throwie things are so neat via Make Blog

We’re going to buy a mattress, and since we’re in no hurry I’ve been keeping notes:

I keep coming across references and recaps of the Consumer Reports article on how to buy a mattress, some of which you can read here. I also found a Seattle Times article Before you buy a mattress, get a firm grip on the basics. Among all the very, very many reviews it seems like the people who report the mattress became bumpy or showed obvious signs of forming depressions were those who bought pillow top models. So, I’m shying away from pillow tops in favor of getting a memory foam topper, or perhaps a feather bed, something removable and replaceable in any case. Memory foam can be warmer than regular mattresses and it displeases some people. I wanna try a Duxiana Bed, but I don’t think I can afford to even enter the showroom.

People seem to really like the memory foam mattresses, and a pretty consistent value seems to be the one you can buy from Costco (they also have memory foam mattress toppers). However, we’ve been told that you are meant to not use sheets with the memory foam and instead sleep right on the special stretchy flannel fabric cover that comes with it. After years of sleeping on some 400 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets I’m not so sure I’d like to give them up. Anybody have any experience or opinions on this one?

We started trying out mattresses by going to Sleep Country (we were lured by the end-of-the-year sale) and had a less than memorable experience so we left quickly never to return. I’ve been seeking out Seattle local mattress places as I’ve seen suggested you should do. The Seattle Mattress Company carries a few models at good prices and has a little showroom in Ballard near Cafe Besalu. The person there was attentive and friendly but not pushy. One model they had was a firm bed with a zip off pillow top. They also had memory foam and natural latex mattresses. We have not been to the Soaring Heart Futon and Natural Bed Company yet (which I knew about from the very sweet ad they run in The Stranger showing two sleeping men wearing wedding bands). They have futons and traditional spring mattresses made from natural fibers. The prices reflect that, and they have lots of good information on the website. Last is another place we haven’t been to yet, it’s on 15th along the side of Queen Anne — Everrest Mattress. The offerings look pretty standard and the prices look good, I’ll report on it if we visit the showroom.

Apartment Therapy on mattresses:

– Tepurpedic mattresses and an open thread

– finding a good mattress fit

– on 1-800-Mattress

– lifespan of a mattress

– what kind of mattress do you have poll

Ask Metafilter on mattresses:

– how to buy

– suggestions for brands

– should I continue to use box springs?

– on memory foam and on sex on memory foam

– sheets for 8″ memory foam and discussion about the fitted sheet clips

Slightly related — bed linens for different preferences by DoubleUps for Beds. It looks like the sheets are sewn together near the foot and takes care of that stealing of the covers problems. Looks like exactly what this guy on Ask Metafilter was seeking. (Anybody got a Metafilter account? Wanna add to that thread?)