Thinking Outside the Box (of Chocolates)

Relationships often require out-of-the-box thinking in order to successfully navigate day-to-day obstacles and still keep romantic flames burning strong. Every year, couples are given the opportunity to apply their well-honed skills to create a fresh and unique Valentine’s Day celebration. This Valentine’s Day, ditch the restaurant and chocolates, and explore some new ways to express [...]

Do-It-Yourself Home Projects Help You Save

(Family Features) This year, everyone is looking to save on their household budget. But just because you’re scaling back, doesn’t mean you can’t make some improvements around the house. Use these DIY home improvement and cleanup tips from the experts at Grime Boss to help revamp your home, without spending a fortune: Repaint the walls [...]

The Art of Repurposing

The need for change is a natural desire, especially with the changing of seasons. Often times it seems as though redecorating a home can only be made possible with a large wallet, but this is far from the truth. With a little time and creativity, the items in your home can be revamped and used [...]

Smart and Green Gardening Resolutions for 2012

Even if you don’t make (or keep) New Year’s Resolutions, I know you are interested in living smarter and saving money. As you consider ways to make small changes in your life, don’t forget to review your gardening practices. “Greener” gardening can save time and money and lets you enjoy your landscape while doing your [...]

Let Your Little Elves Deck the Halls!

Time to Deck the Halls? Even Your Little Ones Can Help! By Nicole Tyler Blair Any mother with small children knows how much they love being little helpers, especially during the holidays. But it can be more than just fun bonding time for parents and kids; Liz Martin, a pre-K teacher at The Goddard School [...]

Six Ways to Lower Heating Bills Now

A typical family spends about $2,200 a year on home utility bills, and heating eats a big chunk of that money, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A few small actions now can pay dividends in cutting energy costs down the road. The heating experts at the Carrier Corporation offer six tips to keep those [...]

Top Ten Tips for Smarter Home Improvement

For many homeowners, the return of warm weather signals that time of year to launch the long-awaited home remodeling or backyard patio project. With the typical major kitchen remodel topping $58,000 and the cost of a new roof topping $21,000, according to the National Association of Realtors 2009 Cost vs. Value Report, taking on even [...]

Do It Yourself…Really!!!

So, I’m looking looking at all of these beautiful images in Veranda last night when I come across this piece of art that is literally a grey circle on white paper.  So you know what I started thinking to myself…”Art, really?  I could do that!”  Now, granted, I’m sure the person who bought it just [...]

Projects for Sanity

I’m a “project” girl. I always have some kind of thing planned either for the kids or around the house. It’s my own personal way of staying sane. My husband has this way cool job. He’s a marine biologist and always comes home from work with interesting stories. I reply with “I vacuumed the lint [...]

Ornament Idea

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxshirley While I was Christmas shopping the other day I saw a beautiful idea for Christmas tree ornaments. When I walked into a small gift shop, large, clear glass ornament balls hung from invisible string.  Inside these oversized ornaments were feathers-peacock and other varieties.  The ornaments were very striking, and I’m sure would look beautiful [...]

Fun with Fleece

® http://www.flickr.com/photos/twopinkpossums Fleece technically means wool, which is hair from various animals including sheep, llamas and al pacas.  The strands of hair on these animals are coarse and become interlocked and matted together, trapping in heat and keeping the animal warm.  The fiber is also slightly water resistant.  When the animals are sheered, the fur [...]

A Few Knitting Stitch Patterns

Here are a few pretty basic stitch patterns using just a regular knit and purl stitch. © http://www.flickr.com/photos/versicolor The above photo depicts a stockinet stitch, the most basic and common stitch pattern. Stockinet Stitch Row 1: knit Row 2: purl Box Stitch: Row 1:  k2, p2, k2, p2 Row 2:  p2, k2, p2, k2 Row 3:  [...]

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