Category: Home and Yard

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Quick Trip for Garden Decor

On my way home from work today I stopped off at one of my favorite discount stores. They have a great section filled with all sorts of outdoor items. I found some upside down hanging planters for only $0.99. I was really excited because they are normally between $15 and $20. I got three and plan to use them for peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries. We already had one with strawberries at home, but the strawberries seem to disappear the second they are ripe so I figured an extra one couldn’t hurt.

In addition to the planters, I got some soil, plant food, and some seeds. I kept walking through the various aisles in search for some cute, kid friendly, garden decorations. I found a pretty wind chime with butterflies that I know he girls will love. I also found some pink and purple bunnies on little wooden posts that will be great for Easter time.

Speaking of holidays, I also found a couple giant four leaf clover window clings that I can hang up on the sliding glass door for St. Patrick’s Day. I think they will look great accompanied by homemade rainbow light catcher ornaments I plan make with the girls.

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Tips for Choosing Quality Bed Linens

If you are ready to change your bedding, you may not know where to look for quality textiles. Some companies plan a New York textile show or have showrooms where you can browse. When you go shopping, here are tips for choosing quality bed linens.

Thread Count

This used to be an indicator of quality linen but that is not true any more. Some companies cheat by twisting the yarn and making the thread count higher. If the thread is softer by nature, then the cloth will be softer than a cloth with the same thread count. For example, you can have a lower thread count of Egyptian cotton and it will feel softer than cloth with a higher thread count made with lower quality thread. In reality, a 1000 count sheet may be rather stiff.

Weave

Some people like crisp sheets, like a percale, and others prefer softness, like sateen. In colder climates, many people prefer the nappy feel and warmth of flannel. This is a matter of personal taste and one weave is not superior to another.

Material

Material is also a personal choice. Here are 4 types:

 

  • Cotton – Cotton is preferred by many because it breathes. The best are Egyptian, Pima and Sea Island.
  • Supima – These sheets are made of pima cotton, known for its softness.
  • Polyblend – Some prefer these because they do not wrinkle easily.
  • Linen – Linen is good for warm climates because it is light and soft.
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Pumpkin Patch Hunting

Today I went to the local Pumpkin Patch and hunting the most perfectly round big pumpkin I could find. I had a large one last year that was taller than it was round and it carved really nice. But I wanted something different this year.

The pumpkin patch had the pumpkins grouped by size. The really big ones were $40! Wow! I couldn’t believe that people are willing to spend $40 on a pumpkin that they don’t even eat – they just carve it and set it outside to decorate their porch.

The one I decided to buy was beautiful and I only paid $25. I think I could have found one cheaper, but this is a charity sale for the church youth group. I figured that since Halloween is supposed to be a holiday for the kids anyway, that supporting a youth group with my money was the right thing to do.

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Unique Wedding Favors and Making Them Special

I know I posted about wedding favors already but I wanted to keep going and share a little bit more about them. You really can offer your guests unique wedding favors. Surprise your guests with something they have never seen before. Maybe give them something that will bring a laugh or smile to their face.

Unique wedding favors tell the guests something about the couple. Give your friends and family a personalized calculator and they might think you are trying to help them balance a budget. If you give them a bag of Jordan almonds they will know that you wanted to offer them a tasty treat. Even further, share with your guests a scented and monogrammed candle and your guests can relax in the luxury of their home to the lovely aroma your flavor provides.

Your wedding favors can even enhance your wedding theme. For example, say you have a destination wedding, maybe you could pack little acrylic suitcases with a tasty treat. If you have an outdoor wedding, think about providing your guests with a small picnic basket to remember the occasion. A cute idea for a Las Vegas wedding could be to pick up some toy coin machines that you personalize. There truly is a unique wedding favor for every taste and style.

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Happy Labor Day weekend

Well it looks like it’s going to be a great Labor Day weekend The weather is supposed to be warm and sunny, and we have been invited to my brother’s house to hang around his pool and enjoy some grilled burgers and chicken. We plan to bring a nice grape salad to chip in with the food.

I hope that each and every one of you has a safe and happy Labor Day. Unfortunately it’s also the sign of Autumn beginning but that’s okay. All things must change!!

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Critters Getting Into My Garden

I have a garden that I planted this year. It’s in the only spot of my whole yard that gets enough sun to grow anything. My neighbor lady is mad at me for planting the garden there – she says that I should have put it in my back yard instead of the side yard, because “no one wants to look at that!” I have to tell you – I was actually offended that she told me that. I don’t see anything wrong with having a small vegetable garden in the side yard, and there are so many trees in my back yard that nothing will grow back there – not even grass!

For the past several mornings when I go to check the garden and water it, I have found one of the bean plants broken off and ruined. I suspect that some kind of critter is getting into my garden at night and breaking off the bean plants. We have skunks, foxes, rabbits, raccoons and deer in my neighborhood. Do you think any of them are interested in beans?

I have no idea what kind of critter it would be – and I sure hope that it is not my neighbor doing it to spite me!

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Summer Squash Recipe

I found a great summer squash recipe that has become a favorite here too.  It’s a New England Summer Squash casserole type dish.  I thought you might like to give it a try.

  • 2 pounds (about 6 cups) of Yellow Squash
  • 1/4 cup chopped Sweet Vidalia Onion
  • 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
  • 1 cup Sour Cream
  • 1 cup shredded Carrots
  • 1 8 oz Herb Seasoned Stove Top Stuffing mix
  • 1 cup melted butter

Boil Squash and onion for 5 minutes and drain. Combine chicken soup and sour cream. Stir in shredded carrots. Fold in squash and onions. Combine stuffing mix and melted butter. Use a 12 x 7 casserole dish. Put half of stuffing on the bottom of the pan, then the squash mixture and top with remaining stuffing.  Bake at 350 degree for 25 – 30 minutes or until heated through.  Serves 6 unless they really like it and then it only serves about 4.

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Saving space

I don’t know about you, but I’m all about saving space. Having grown up in a house that gave me a very small bedroom, I am always looking for ways to maximize my space. Because of this, I end up using a lot of the walls to store things. One example of this would be using wall mount speaker brackets to put my small speakers, so I wouldn’t have to use up any shelf space of desk-top space. One advantage of this is that it protects the speakers from being knocked over by small pets that may be going exploring when your back is turned!

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Pesky Old Groundhogs

My first memories of groundhogs are probably unusual unless you grew up on a farm. I did not grown up on my grandparent’s farm, but we did spend a lot of time up there visiting my mom’s parents. I believe that my sister and I were left on the farm for a couple of weeks when she gave birth to my youngest sister. I was not yet in school, so being gone from home for 2 weeks in October was not a big deal to anyone.

My grandparents had bought a huge property when he retired from the Navy. They had cows, pigs, dozens of cats who lived in the big barn, and two hunting dogs. My grandfather would often take the shotgun out to the fields and kill groundhogs. He said they were bigger pests than roaches and needed killing or they would destroy his crops.

So my experience with groundhogs is that they must be killed – not celebrated and expected to guide us on the next 6 weeks worth of weather conditions.

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Thank Goodness for Climate Control

Sometimes I wish that I lived in an area where it was a constant seventy-six degrees out. Someplace that had no natural disasters, and where it only rained at night between the hours of 2am and 4am. Where the economy is good, the government is good, healthcare is good, and people were friendly. I take that back – I don’t wish that sometimes – I wish that always! But I don’t even know if a place like that exists, so here I am, stuck in a location where it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I am lucky to have a furnace to keep me warm when it is cold out, and air conditioning when it is hot out. And if I need a repairman to either the furnace or air conditioning, a phone call to Cary air conditioning takes care of that problem in short order.

Yes, I do love the creature comforts of climate control in my house! I have become quite spoiled!