Lifestyle & Function

Farmhouse Style: How to Get the Look

Farmhouse style is popular in home decor right now. Its simplicity and mix of textures and materials is appealing, even if you don’t live on a farm. Want to incorporate farmhouse style in your home? Here’s how to get the look: For a farmhouse look, combine neutral colors with wood and metal. In farmhouse style …

Save Your Rugs from Holiday Stains

Whether you hosted a holiday get-together with your whole neighborhood, or simply prepared Christmas Dinner for your family, one thing is for sure… inevitably, things get messy.  While accidents are a reality of hosting, the aftermath of Uncle Ralph’s fourth glass of red wine or the ‘artwork’ from your child’s chocolate pudding fingers on your …

Preparing Your Kitchen for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is almost here! I am hosting our family Thanksgiving this year, so I need to get organized before I start cooking up a storm. Here are some tips for preparing your kitchen for Thanksgiving. First, I start by getting out the recipes I’m going to use. That way, I can make my grocery list …

Weekend Project: Quick Steps to Winterizing

Whatever the weather where you are today, the calendar assures us that fall is just a couple weeks away. Fall ushers in the cooler temperatures and with it, this money-saving weekend project: winterizing your home. Knock out a few simple must-dos now before the thermostat drops and you’ll be well on your way to a …

Tips & Tricks for a Smooth Back-to-School Transition

Here we are again… the beginning of a new school year!  It feels like summer just started, but my kids have been back in school for a week now and I am back in my classroom as well.  A new school year is always a challenge, but having cleared that hurdle successfully for the last …

My Favorite Summer Recipe: Lemon-Cucumber Refresher

The dog days of summer have arrived.  And when the temperatures heat up, I’m less inclined to heat up my kitchen, so we eat a lot of chilled salads and sandwiches and entrees fresh off the grill.  But my favorite summer recipe of all time is this refreshing beverage, guaranteed to cool you off on …