Everyone needs a break from rich artery clogging fare after the holidays.  So have your friends over for a healthy dinner. Keep it simple and you’ll find yourself having a dinner party every week. It doesn’t have to be stressful at all.

The house may not be as decorated as it was last month, but you don’t need to go all out. A beautiful house plant that you can enjoy the rest of the dark, winter season is well worth the investment. I go to Trader Joe’s to get fresh flowers. They are inexpensive and I separate the flowers in the bouquet into smaller arrangements I put throughout the house. Try putting Asiatic lilies in a small bathroom, they scent the room while they beauty it up.

You don’t need to have the house spotless. It can be an excuse to clean a few things that you tend to put off. For me having a weekly dinner keeps my table cleared of the daily pile of papers it can collect and the rug vacuumed. It works perfect for me, since I procrastinate on my daily chores.

You don’t need to make a meal out of a food magazine. If your friends have a favorite dish of yours you can always make a healthy version of it. I make a version of biscuits and gravy that my friends always ask for. I make whole wheat biscuits and gravy with no fat, vegetarian sausage and fat free milk. You get all of the comfort but don’t regret the indulgence later.

One of my favorite mid-week dinners is slow cooker full of veggie chili or of split pea soup. Be sure to put in dry beans the night before since they take so long to cook, add veggies and seasonings in the morning before you go to work.

Try having veggie burgers and baked sweet potato fires instead of the normal beef and greasy fries. Making a healthy meal is easier than you may think.

• A Healthy Dinner Energi Gal has been complaining that we haven't been eating as healthy as we should...
• The Art Of The Dinner Party I love being the hostess. That is no shocker to anyone that knows me. It...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Hostessing & Party Food & Winter Entertaining | No Comments »

Ever since I was in college I’ve hosted an annual Christmas tree decorating party. I’d buy a live tree and all my friends would make ornaments out of things they had around the house. You’d be surprised at how creative you can get when you don’t have the money to run out and buy ornaments. Cotton ball snowmen with felt cut out for their faces, paper cut out snowflakes, fresh oranges with cloves stuck in them all make an unique tree.

Now I have a whole supply of crafting supplies and tools, not to mention access to half price Michaels’ coupons. You can still make popcorn balls, string fresh cranberries, and create paper doll angels. But there’s a wide variety of crafting ideas for you to choose from. You can make ornaments from wire, cereal boxes, silk flowers, beads, yarn, and more. Need some help getting you ideas into reality? Disney’s Family Fun site has a ton of great ornament tutorials. I love the felted wreath one myself.

Decide on a few specific ornaments to make and purchase the supplies ahead of time. It’s a good idea to cover your dinner table with plastic bags and tape them securely underneath. If you will have kids at the party, you might want to put down a drop cloth too. It won’t make you happy if you have red paint on your beige carpet. But with the right precautions, there will be nothing to worry about.

Put on Christmas music to set the atmosphere. If your prefer play a few old Christmas movies or cartoons. Either way it will set the mood for your party. Make a Crockpot full of hot apple cider. Add cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, whole peppercorns, and orange rind to make it taste really special. You can have a nice rum or bourbon for adults to add to theirs if they want. Next year I bet someone will ask you to make it again. It’s always popular at my house during the holidays.

People work up an appetite creating ornaments, so you’ll need to make some snacks. A tray of finger sandwiches is always a welcome sight. Make sure to include something for vegetarians, and make a few lettuce wraps if you have any friends with a gluten allergy. You can use the same fillings in the lettuce wraps. Bib lettuce or iceberg hold up the best as a wrap. They will all look beautiful arranged on a Noritake holiday plate. Assorted bar cookies are another winner. Peppermint brownies and cranberry blondies are beautiful additions to your spread. Your table will be all dressed up for Christmas as well.

• After Christmas Clearance Sales I've made my list of items that I am looking to buy at the after...
• Christmas Traditions I am sure all of you are pretty tired at this point of me telling...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Holiday Entertaining & Hostessing & Winter Entertaining | No Comments »

Thanksgiving is growing nearer and I’m confident that you have your menu ready. You’ve already arranged to get extra chairs, folding tables, and even silverware if you need it. But have you put any thought into your table centerpiece yet? Don’t get me wrong, the food is the focus of this holiday, but it’s always nice to add a special touch on the table as well.

You can go the traditional route and have some Indian corn cobs, or a basket filled with the season’s beautiful winter squashes. Of course, whatever you pick needs to go with your table linens. You could try a tall rectangle glass vase filled with autumn leaves and pine cones. You could get a square glass vase and fill it with popcorn and a pillar candle. You can even get colored popcorn for a more unusual display. Remember, if you add anything in with a candle; make sure what you add not flammable.

Another vase idea is to find some branches in your own backyard and put them in a large vase. You can add in some flowers as well, to make it a spectacular addition to your family’s meal. Hollow out mini pumpkins or gourds, then add a votive inside. They are delightful candle holders.

Don’t forget about your houseplants. They can go on your favorite Noritake dish surrounded by leaves or mini pumpkins. Use a cake plate to raise it up from the table. Doing this gives any center piece more dimension, and catches the eye more readily. Fresh flowers are always a welcome sight on the table. Try for warm orange colors if you can find them. Also don’t be afraid to get some poinsettias early and use them as well. The white ones are my favorite to have before the Christmas holiday kicks in.

Big trifle bowls of apples, pomegranates, and pears is another dynamic center piece. Plus it’s one you can eat for dessert too! A bowl of citrus can be pretty too, especially when you add in some kumquats and satumas. My favorite functional ‘center piece’ is sliced oranges, limes, and lemons in big glass pitchers of drinking water. It add great flavor and is amazing to look at too.

Try mixing and matching some of the ideas above to create your own master piece. You could create a vase of white roses in a clear vase lined with kumquats. Or add a houseplant into the center of a bowl of Indian corn. Mix dried leaves in with mini pumpkins and pears. The possibilities are truly endless.

• Antique School Table Antiques -> Furniture -> Tables, Stands If you're looking for antique furniture like an antique...
• I have a table of data in Access 97 containing lots of records with different towns. I don’t want to create a query for each town, so how can I extract data depending on the particular town I want? This is best down using what’s called an Access ‘parameter query’. When it’s setup and...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Fall Entertaining & Holiday Entertaining & Thanksgiving | No Comments »

Thanksgiving is coming up fast, so you need to start thinking about it now. No matter how busy you are now, it will only seem worse the closer to turkey day that you begin. Making a plan isn’t doing all the work at one time. You will be making a chore list to make your life easier.

The first order of business is to order a turkey if you want a fresh one. You can try local farmers to see if they still have any organic ones. They may cost more, but the taste is worth it. If you’re not interested in a fresh turkey, go ahead and buy a frozen one. Don’t wait too long, or you may find yourself without a turkey on the big day!

Make a menu plan for the big day. If you are having guests bring something, make sure that they tell you what they want to bring now. This way you can fill in any holes yourself. A typical menu would look something like this:

• wine - I suggest a mix of red, white and rose to give everyone something they’ll like.
• soda, sparking water, juice
• slow cooker pear delicata squash soup or other winter squash soup
• field green salad with chopped apple and dried cranberries
• turkey
• cranberry sauce
• stuffing
• mashed potatoes
• green bean (regular or in casserole form)
• sweet potato (baked or in casserole form)
• creamed corn
• dinner rolls
• pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or another of your favorite desserts

Make a shopping list so you don’t find yourself running out to the store at the last minute. Include baking supplies, seasonal vegetables, stuffing mix, and add some Indian corn and mini pumpkins to decorate your table with. Order the list by each store you need to go to make it easier.

Make a list of anything you may need to rent or borrow from friends. I always borrow a few extra chairs and a card table myself. Think about silverware, serving platters, and dinnerware too, are you sure you have enough? Now is a perfect time to bring out you best Noritake plates, and your best silver.

The day before give the bathroom a thorough cleaning and vacuum and mop all the floors. Go ahead and make your pie(s) and soup if it will reheat well. You can even begin to set your table if you don’t have cats that are likely to nap on your clean pressed linens. Take your frozen turkey out of the freezer and put in the fridge for the night. Chill the white and rose wines.

You can setup to have a separate kids table, like the one we all knew growing up. If you do it separate or together cover the tables with matching tablecloths to add some extra ambiance to your dinner. Make a center piece by scattering the Indian corn and mini pumpkins on various places on your table. Go ahead and put wine glasses and coffee cups on the table, so you have less running around to do during your dinner party.

The morning of Thanksgiving cook the Turkey, stuffing, and other dishes that need to be made the day you eat them. Set the table early if you didn’t set it the night before. Open the red wine to breathe. Go ahead and open the chilled wines as well and put them in an ice chest to keep it cool.

Most importantly take a half hour before your guest arrive and enjoy the feeling of having everything ready before the last minute!

• How To Choose A VoIP Services Provider? VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol is relatively a new addition to the cutting edge...
• Eight Tips for Deer Hunting Success When it comes to hunting deer, it is vitally important for you to pay attention...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Holiday Entertaining & Hostessing & Seasonal Entertaining & Thanksgiving | No Comments »

When you think of a spooky setting, one scene that may come to mind is a forest – a haunted forest of course.

The most inexpensive way to set up a haunted forest at your house can be found in your own backyard. If you don’t have any trees in your yard, you can ask a neighbor to help you out, or even buy some fake branches at a craft store.

First, think of how you want to display your Halloween tree(s). In a vase as the table centerpiece you would want a smaller, more narrow branch. But for a large front porch display, you could use branches as large as small trees.

Look for branches that are not rotted or crumbly. We want them to hold together through our crafting, and the bewitching night as well. You want to get some spray paint. I’d recommend black for a traditional look, but you could be bold and use glow in the dark paint. I’m thinking of making a few small ones to line my walk and paint them with the glow in the dark paint for a creepily ‘lit’ pathway. Feel free to match them with any Halloween party theme you may have chosen. Red, silver, green, and purple are also good Halloween paint choices. Not to mention you can glue glitter on them for a glam look as well.

I like to keep my trees simple. Painted black and showcased in a tall, clear vase filled with Halloween trinkets, or in a large fake stone planter stuck right into the dirt. I try to select branches that look more like little trees, with quite a few limbs to hang things from.

Go through your trunk of decorations from Halloweens past, and see what would look stylish on your tree. You will want to add a string or twisty tie to secure them. This is especially important if you plan on having the tree outside, where wind and rain could be an issue.

Part of the fun is decorating your own ornaments. You can use shrinky dinks, glass ornaments, even cutouts to decorate to your party theme. Any craft that you love can be used. I love the felted ornaments that I’ve seen. Just remember to only use weather resistant ones outside. You can dip glass ornaments into a solution of alcohol inks and water to create a ghoulish swirl. Take a look at this tutorial on the Ranger Ink site.

You’ll have a bewitching time making your own decorations. It’s also an opportunity for a tree making party, so invite a few friends over and let them enjoy the fun too.

• How To Throw A Children's Character Birthday Party Without Spending A Fortune We recently celebrated a birthday in our family. I love to throw a great party...
• Trees, part 6 Skyscrapers of nature: 'Wild Trees' I wasn't surprised today when I found, while looking at something else, an email I...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Fall Entertaining & Halloween | No Comments »

Fall brings the pumpkin harvest and the opportunity to carve them. There’s nothing like a jack-o-lantern to get everyone in the Halloween spirit. Bright orange, haunting white, even spooky blue varieties all liven up your house - inside or out.

Depending on the area of the country that you live in, or the temperatures this year, you need to carefully time when to carve your pumpkin. Having smelly, moldy pumpkins all over you porch is not the kind of creepy you’re going for. If it’s a long Indian summer where you are, carve your pumpkins no sooner than a week before Halloween.

Funkins are also popular now. They are carvable fake pumpkins. You can get these at any craft store. You can carve them, paint them, decorate them any way you would a regular pumpkin. The best part is you can save and use them many years to come. If you have a little one you can create a collection of their jack-o-lanterns as they grow up.

Nervous that your pumpkin won’t turn out the way you have it pictured in your head? You don’t have to be an amazing artist to carve a detailed pumpkin. Templates make intricate designs easy for all of us. I was surprised at how my first pumpkin carving party went once I brought out some templates for everyone to use. Even the people that had never made one before felt comfortable. And made really amazing ones.

A few sites get free pumpkin carving templates:

• Disney Family Fun
• Dot Com Women
• Extreme Pumpkins
• Better Homes and Gardens
• Celebrating Halloween

Feel like it’s too much trouble and mess to carve? Don’t underestimate the effect of whole pumpkins. Buy in different sizes and in exotic colors like white, blueish-grey and anything else you can get in your area. Your local farmer’s market or Whole Foods store should provide you a wide selection, including heirloom varieties. You can cluster them on the porch and line your walk with them. You can even stack them on top of each other if you can find some with flatter tops and bottoms.

• Save Time, Money and Space in Over 80 Ways If you're looking for handy gadgets, tools and various items that can save you time,...
• Happy Halloween! As we get ready for the trick-or-treaters, here are a few pictures of the pumpkins...

Posted by Myriam under Decorations & Fall Entertaining | No Comments »