One night last week, I was feeling rather.....motivated. Motivated to cook. Actually, I think, motivated to be distracted in the kitchen for a few hours--do you know what I mean? Sometimes it's really nice to be focused on one thing for several hours. And it's even nicer when that one thing reaps quantifiable results. I made yams. I made
Having a plant in the house is important. I have this belief that if your house has some sort of living foliage inside; your house is then a home. Aside from this, common houseplants actually purify the air. They can filter out things like formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and benzene from the air. NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of
If you don't already, go to your nearest thrift store on a regular basis. There are treasures to be had. Finds to discover. Trinkets to claim. Look at this. It's a carousel. Made of some metal of some sort...zinc maybe? No idea. It's certainly not a recent creation. Look at the details. Doesn't it just capture you? Pull you
No matter what holiday you celebrate in December, I think they all have one thing in common. Light. Candles. Brightness. Perhaps that sounds sappy, but seriously, let's look at some of the holidays. Christmas + Christmas Lights + Lots of songs about stars + For those that attend Church or services, many sects of Christianity use a
It happens. You haul bags and bags of crap into your home over a period of days, months; years. But, an equal number of bags do not go out. In fact, it seems like not even half as many bags of stuff you bring in; go out. This is a dreadful problem that causes me anxiety and disdain for, well, myself. I am happy that I've been improving my
I've recently re-discovered crochet. I think it started when I found a book called "Lacy Crochet" and there was something about the addition of the word 'lacy' that suddenly made it sound so appealing. I ventured out a few Sunday's ago to acquire some teeny tiny crochet hooks (I only had big, fat, massive hooks I used for making scarves....the
There are times during the year when I buy an actual greeting card from the store. But mostly, I make one myself. Most of my gifts don't require a big card and they don't require something other than a one or two-line note and a signature inside. I make these for most of my gifts, and I think you'll find that they make a nice addition to any
My previous post on this topic, How to Stylishly Wrap Baked Goods, has been getting a lot of traffic since it went up. I guess because you, like me, think it's a dumb expense to have to go run out and buy a box and a bow for something. Having to do that kind of ruins the enjoyment out of making something for others. So, for most, using what you've
When I saw this at an outdoor arts festival, I was intrigued by the texture. There was an entire basket of these things and so I went over to them. Then I touched them. Oh, so soft! And I picked up a few. Oh, so light! And I showed my husband. That's nice, honey. I found the lady running the booth. Or, she found me. I asked her about these
I found this book in a 200-year-old church turned into a hub-bub of an antique store in Metamora, Indiana. It was $2. And worth every penny. The cover was ripped off the book, so the title page is now the cover. This amazing book will tell you your horoscope, teach you how to tell fortunes, decode your dreams and explain palmistry to you.
If you're like me, you don't have very many dishes you're willing to part with. OK, actually, I don't have any dishes, platters or otherwise that I want to part with. It seems that this, this little detail, is what holds people back from gifting each other baked goods. (That, and maybe, oh, I don't know; time.) But you don't want to look cheap
Letter writing is a lot of fun. You 'meet' people from all over, learn new things and end up with an interesting pastime. I have several pen pals and I so enjoy getting a handwritten note from someone far away. I keep my more recent ones in a hollowed-out book. These are the ones I've recently responded to or still need to respond
There's nothing quite like fried chicken; especially when it's really, really good. So good that you think about it on a regular basis. My husband, Victor, makes this heavenly delight on occasion. It's incredible. Incredible. The chicken is always juicy, the breading is crispy and crunchy and flavorful. I've noticed that one of the
For my Dad's birthday this year, I got him a few really nice cigars from a local tobacconist here in Cincinnati. Upon arriving home, I realized I didn't have an appropriately sized box to wrap them in. So I thought, how do you wrap cigars? Like this, I suppose: And guess what? No tape, no staples and no glue were required to do this.
Ahh, foliage. It has the ability to drastically improve our living spaces and an almost equal ability to make us feel like incompetent plant owners. How many of you just can't seem to keep houseplants alive? I picked this little guy up for $6 the other day. Look how beautiful it is! This is a Desert Rose Sorbet. It's a succulent
You know, you might not be able to buy every little thing you see at the store, but you can certainly 'eye buy.' That's what I do, I 'eye buy.' It's kind of like window shopping, except I either take a picture or rip a photo of what I want out of a magazine. Then I stick it up here. And it satisfies me greatly. Because sometimes I
I just had to share this photo of one of my beagles, Hairy. He’s probably the worst dog in the history of the world, but we love him so much. He’s chewed through expensive electronics, very nice dogbeds, peed on our bed, peed on our pillows, pooped in the cup of a bra (not kidding) and gotten himself stuck inside the kitchen
