Obviously, they look super cool. But the Roost Hemingway Muddlers aren’t just for looks. A muddler is a handy bartending tool that can kick up your cocktails from “ho hum” to “oh yum!” Plus, they are totally fun to use- you get to use a groovy flick and twist o’ the wrist. Since we received our new Roost Hemingway Muddlers, we have been exploring all sorts of ways to use them. Here is our easy guide to using and caring for your muddlers.
How to Pick the Right Muddler
Here at AML, you’ll notice that when your order your Hemingway Muddler, you will actually receive a set of 3. Why? Well, because each one is a little bit different and serves a distinct purpose. The first muddler has a star tip and a narrow shape. This makes it ideal for reaching down to the bottom of tall, skinny glasses. The star tip is perfect for tearing into tough citrus fruits at the bottom of the glass, and releasing the oils from their peels.
The second muddler is smooth and sleek with a rounded tip. This one is ideal for muddling delicate mint leaves and other herbs. This way, you can get the herbs to release their oils without crushing or bruising them. In drinks, the point is not to tear into herbs or shred them into tiny ribbons. The point is to give them just enough abuse to get them to release their fragrant essence.
Lastly, the third muddler is the tallest one, with a smooth, flat tip. This makes it ideal for mashing soft fruits, such as papaya and mango, into the bottom of a glass. Plus, you can use a handy tip from mixologist Eben Freeman of Tailor Restaurant in New York City, and use this muddler to easily crush up ice cubes.
There is nothing quite like kicking off your sandals during the summertime to stroll barefoot across your soft, verdant lawn. But unfortunately, maintaining a finely manicured lawn is an activity that can be extremely straining on both your wallet and the environment.
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Maintaining a Turf Lawn = Not Eco-Friendly
Running a lawn mower for just one hour emits the same amount of pollutive gases in the air as running 40 new cars for the same amount of time! Not to mention, every year, over 13 million gallons of gas are spilled by homeowners as they fill up their lawnmowers, trimmers, edgers, and other landscaping power tools.
This year, we are encouraging all of our family and friends to try a wonderful product called Eco-Lawn, which allows you to mow your lawn only about once a month. Let’s face it, mowing is not only bad for the environment, but can’t you imagine about 100 other ways you would rather spend your time when your outside in your yard? Pushing along a noisy, sputtering machine that burps out stinky fumes is not our idea of ideal.
The Benefits of Using Eco-Lawn:
Once you have planted your Eco-Lawn, you only need to mow it about once a month. This will help you minimize the time you spend behind a gas guzzling lawn mower.
There is very little watering necessary with an Eco-Lawn. Therefore, you’ll save both money on your water bill and the Earth’s valuable resources. Plus, with a less swampy yard, you are less likely to attract grubs.
Eco-Lawn requires no application of dangerous chemical pesticides or fertilizers, so it is safe to use around your children and your pets. There is no chemical runnoff that will end up in your groundwater or in nearby streams.
Eco-Lawn contains a type of grass that has very deep-reaching roots. These roots make the lawn particularly drought resistant. They are able to reach deep into the soil in order to naturally reach the nutrients that they need.
From left: unmowed, mowed
How to Use Eco-Lawn
Depending on the region in which you live, the time at which you should plant your Eco-Lawn will vary. If you live in a warm, southern state such as Georgia, you can plant it as early as March or April. In you live in a cooler state, such as Idaho, you’ll probably want to wait til May. Planting in the spring means watering during the summer to get your new Eco-Lawn established. If you can wait, why not take advantage of the rainy season, and plant your new Eco-Lawn in the fall. If you are going to be planting your Eco-Lawn over your existing lawn, there are just a few easy steps for you to follow.
Mow your existing lawn as short as possible. If you are able, mow it to less than one inch in height. If you have a dull lawnmower blade, this is actually good in this instance. It will help to damage the existing grass that you want to plant over.
Rake the surface of the yard to get it all nice and even. If you’re planting in the spring, be careful not to raise any weed roots to the surface. Rake thoroughly to remove sticks, grass clippings, rocks, and other debris.
Spread 1/4 inch of organic compost in order to create a nice, fertile base for your seeds.
Sow your Eco-Lawn seeds using 15 seeds per square inch. A 5 pound bag of Eco-Lawn covers 1,000 square feet.
Rake the area gently so that the seeds are just barely covered with soil.
Roll the area with a lawn roller in order to help prevent soil erosion.
Water every day for 3 weeks after planting. It is best to water early in the morning when the water will not evaporate in the mid-day heat.
This 7-step method is the most natural way to replace your current lawn with an Eco-Lawn. Now, until your Eco-Lawn fully takes root, your “traditional” lawn will continue to grow. You’ll have a full grown Eco-Lawn within about 4 years. If you wish to replace your traditional lawn more quickly, you do have the option of getting rid of your current lawn with an organic herbicide before planting your Eco-Lawn. You will, however, then have a lot of dirt til your new lawn grows in. The above method is gradual, but it allows you to make a smooth transition without ever being without grass in your yard.
Watch Patty Moreno of Garden Girl TV install Eco-Lawn
Other Alternatives to a Traditional Turf Lawn
Yarrow- Yarrow, or Achillea millefolium, doesn’t make much of a play surface, but it can handle a bit of foot traffic. You can also find it in a variety of colors such as white as pictured here, gold, and red.
Clustered Field Sedge, or Carex praegracilus, grows to resemble a traditional turf lawn. However, the good thing is that it tends to be thicker, fuller, and greener. You can occasionally mow it if you’d like, or just let it go to create a lush meadow-like lawn.
Hard materials such as flagstone, oyster shells, recycled concrete, and decomposed granite make great turf substitutes. Here we have pictured flagstone with moss. Pretty cool, isn’t it? And hard substances such as this can stand up to wear and tear, and take plenty of foot traffic.
Creating a customer account when you just want to buy something can be such a drag. As the owner of an online business, and someone who spends a lot of time on other websites, even I can get frustrated by trying to accomplish the most simplest of tasks like, creating a customer account. For what it’s worth, I’ve decided to produce short, video instructions to help our customers get the most out of shopping at aHa! Modern Living. Eventually, we plan to start publishing garden-related videos.
Once your account is set up, you can start earning aHa! Rewards on every purchase for online store discounts.
Here at AML, you’ll notice that when your order your Hemingway Muddler, you will actually receive a set of 3. Why? Well, because each one is a little bit different and serves a distinct purpose. The first muddler has a star tip and a narrow shape. This makes it ideal for reaching down to the bottom of tall, skinny glasses. The star tip is perfect for tearing into tough citrus fruits at the bottom of the glass, and releasing the oils from their peels.
