Don’t Toss That Stale Bread! Many Ways To Put It To Good Use!

Who would have thought that you could put stale bread to so many good uses? The folks over at The Old Farmers Almanac sure did and they have quite an interesting list by author Margaret Boyles!

Did you know that stale bread dipped in milk was and still could be used as a poultice? This “renowned folk remedy” claims to help heal boils and pimples as well a remedy for splinters can be used with bread and cool milk.

How about cleaning up those small chards of glass you find even though you have cleaned up what you thought was all the broken glass? Yes, bread will help you with that.

Other uses on their list is for taking fingerprints of photos, cleaning out the coffee grinder, buttering corn on the cob and many more ideas!

Head on over the The Old Farmers Almanac article and see if you can put that stale bread to use with any of their suggestions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Free-Photos at Pixabay.com

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Tips For Planning a Fun Baby Shower

Baby Showers have been a tradition for many years throughout the world. Some countries celebrate after the babies arrival and others before the arrival. In earlier days, the baby shower before the babies arrival, was to educate the new mother to be on how to take care of the baby and to bring gifts she would need for the babies care. A blanket, booties, cap, etc. In the Victorian era, new mothers were not allowed to be seen in public soon after the baby arrived, therefore their baby shower was a tea party with gifts and the tradition of the parasol or umbrella was created and filled with the gifts.

Today we have all sorts of ways to celebrate a baby shower and many themes to choose from. The one key to a great baby shower is organization ahead of time. If you are going to have a baby shower for a new mom or mom having another baby, here are some steps you can take to make it a success.

Set The Date

Give your guests and Mom to be time to prepare for the party and mark their calendars. Try to set a date that is at least 6 weeks before mom to be’s due date. This way in case she goes into labor early, you run less risk of her missing her own party. This also gives her a chance to pick up anything she did not get at the party before the baby arrives. Also when letting her know about the shower, ask if there is anything special she wants for the baby or if she is registered at any store.

For the guests, this will give them time to plan for that day and purchase or make her a gift.

Invite the Guest

Put together a list of new mom’s friends and family. Place a note in the invitation of where the mom to be is registered or of certain things she really wants like, special diapers, bottles, clothes, etc and if they are choosing for a boy or girl. Include an RSVP so you can know not only how many will be showing up but this also helps with an idea of how much food to serve.

Delegate, Delegate, Delegate

Team up with another friend or a couple of friends and split up the responsibilities. Get together and make a list for Decorations, Food/Drinks, Games/Gifts and if it is a surprise party, who will be in charge of getting the new mom to be to the shower. Split up the list between your team or just you and a co host. One can be in charge of decorations and decorating the day of the shower, another the food, and another in charge of finding games and gifts for the winners. When considering the food, have favorites included that you know the mom to be will like.

There are plenty of online sites that have baby shower games to get idea’s from. When choosing the prizes for the winners of the games if you are on a budget, choose something that is not to expensive but useful. Scented candles, a gift card, a lotion and soap for the bath small gift basket, kitchen ware, pretty photo frames. etc.

Visit my board on Pinterest for a variety of ideas including Baby Shower Games.

Say Cheese!

Take plenty of pictures at the baby shower and put them in a photo album for the mommy to be to have as a keepsake.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Annalise1988 at Pixabay.com

 

 

 

 

Putting Up Your Home For Sale – Get Tips to Stage Price and Sell

When putting your home up for sale one of the first things you should consider is to contact a real estate agent. Set up interviews and see who you think will work the best for you, personality wise and their experience. Ask them to bring you a list of the homes they have sold in the past 6 months to a year, and then do a comparison to your home. What style homes did they sell, the location and the price. Do not be in a hurry, check out their Facebook, website and background. You are not committed to a Realtor until you have signed the contract to hire them. Once you do that, you can be committed for up to 6 months on some contracts and they can get up to 6% commission of the selling price of your home.

Compare Your Home For the Right Price

Do your homework. Go online and look up homes that have sold in your area and that are comparable to your home. Try to stay as close as possible to the square footage, bedroom and bathroom count, one story or two, pools etc. Your real estate agent should be able to provide you with comparables that have recently sold in your neighborhood.. Once you have a price average for your area, you may want to bring your price down just a bit to attract buyers. Or you can offer to pay part of the closing cost as another incentive. Your Realtor can help you with this.

Showing It Off

Home Staging is great for presentation and bringing out the best of your home. Walk around your home and make notes of things that attracted you to the home. Is it the beautiful deck you added on to the pool area? New Air Conditioner, added on a room or simply the style itself that makes living there so cozy. Ask some friends over and to give their thoughts on your home. This will come in handy later for pointing out the attributes to the potential buyer, the listing and a virtual tour.

Clean, clean, clean! There is nothing worse than someone coming in to look your house over and having to stumble over clutter or want to hold their nose from a bad odor. Do a through cleaning from top to bottom. Add fresh flowers, candles that are mild in perfume to various rooms. Hide the kitty litter box, pets water and food bowls and have pets outside if possible. Someone allergic to animals will not want to stay.

Windows – Give them a good cleaning inside and out. Open the blinds, curtains and shutters and let in natural light all over the house. Having a showing at night? Replace your light bulbs with a higher watt bulb.

Bedrooms – make sure they are clutter free and the beds are made. Clear off the night stands and bureau’s of any papers, books, make-up etc. Put kids toys in the closet and give the room a neat appearance. Think of a hotel room when you walk in. Only the necessities should be showing. Open the curtains and let in the natural light.

Bathrooms – clear off any make-up, medicine, tooth brushes, toothpaste, mouthwash etc and make the sink and bathtub clutter free and shine. Add fresh towels and clean shower door or curtain. Don’t forget to shine up the faucets and mirror too.

Kitchen – Open up the counter space by removing appliances like toasters, blenders, food processors etc and putting them in a cupboard. Wipe down the cupboard, counters, sink, etc and make what needs to shine, shine. Take down any magnets, pictures or kids art work off the refrigerator and give it a clean look. Give the inside of the oven and stove top a good cleaning as well as the microwave. Yes, the buyers may want to peek inside these.

Living Area – Fluff up those pillows on the sofa, clean any rugs and carpet. Dust the furniture and check to see if the drapes, shutters or blinds need a good cleaning or maybe fresh paint added on those shutters. If you have glass doors, make them clean and its a nice day open them up.

First Impressions

From the moment your potential buyer steps out of their vehicle, they are accessing your home, by the curb appeal. Make that first impression count and be welcoming. Have your landscape well manicured and kept up for the duration of your home on the market. Bushes trimmed, grass mowed and walkways edged and any flower or veggie planter boxes are full and pretty. When they walk up to your front door, have an attractive knocker or door bell and be sure that front door is appealing. A fresh coat of paint can make all the difference. Something we may not think is important, may be to the buyer. Even upgrading the numbers on your house can make a small difference.

Tell the World

The notes you have made about your home and the staging all done, its time to take pictures and video. Your real estate agent should be able to help you with these two very important details. Pictures and video should be clear and show off your home inside and out to its best. Add as many pictures as you can to your listing and other places online. With the Internet at our fingertips, buyers are going online to search for homes and you do not want to miss out on this opportunity to show off yours. Your real estate agent will include you in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and there are more places online like Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes.com, Zillow, Yahoo Real Estate to name a few. Don’t forget Craigslist and Facebook, Twitter and where you share on Social Media sites. Have your Realtor meet with potential buyers and be sure they can afford to purchase the house before showing your home so you are not wasting you and your Realtors time.

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy of midascode at Pixabay.com

Christmas Breakfast Treat – Crock Pot Slow Cooker Caramel Pecan Rolls

It can be delightfully hectic when it comes to cooking up Christmas morning breakfast. The crock pot can now be your best appliance in the kitchen with this easy yummy recipe, Crock Pot Carmel Pecan Rolls. These awesome treats are made with things you may already have in your pantry and fridge that definitely bring on the holiday spirit.

Imagine melted Butter, cinnamon, pecans, biscuit dough and brown sugar cooking up and filling your home with an amazing, get you out of bed, aroma. Get the rolls ready and pop into a slow cooker for 90 minutes and wa la, breakfast is served.

Thank you Recipes That Crock for sharing!

Get the Recipe Here Caramel Pecan Rolls

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :}

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy of mrsiraphol. at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Fun Facts and Stories to Share For Thanksgiving

In 1620 Pilgrims fled the Church of England in search of religious freedom. Little did they know when this journey would bring America a traditional holiday just over 200 years later celebrated every last Thursday of the month.

When the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock they had no idea what the new world would offer them. Unfortunately they suffered from the harsh winter and failed crops resulting in many settlers perishing.

If it were not for an American Indian, Squanto and his people coming to the rescue many more may have not survived. The Indian’s taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, squash and beans. By 1621 their crops were abundant and they shared their wealth with the Indians for a Harvest Celebration today known as Thanksgiving.

This harvest celebration was not for only one day, these people knew how to throw a party. The celebration went on for 3 days of feasting and games. Did they have Turkey? Yes, Wild Turkey and more than likely their feast consisted of Goose, Rabbit, Lobster and Codfish.. For the Pilgrims Wild Turkey was easy to hunt because they were in abundance and large in size. Even though they could fly, they could not fly very far.

They would have cooked their meat on over an open fire with a spit, a rod that would rotate on a frame with the help of someone turning the meat until cooked. They also had pots that could hang from the frame to simmer and cook the side dishes.

Over the years the other meats they had at their feast became scarce or very expensive. The Turkey remained the ideal meat to serve at Thanksgiving because not only is it affordable but low in calories, highly nutritious and delicious.

While we set out out best Chinaware for our table, the pilgrims ate from wooden plates, with spoons, knives and their fingers. Forks were not in Plymouth until the 18th century. As for the napkin, it was not placed on the lap, it was placed over your left hand shoulder hanging down the front so you could take a piece of meat with your right hand and wipe off your hand on the napkin.

It was not until over 200 years later that Thanksgiving Day was made an official holiday.

Sarah Josepha Buell Hale an American writer, influential editor and author of Mary Had a Little Lamb” spent 40 years campaigning for a national day of giving. She got her wish in 1863 when President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday.

I know in my house Football is a big part of our Thanksgiving celebration. Since 1934 the Detroit Lions have brought the tradition of a game on Thanksgiving Day. They have played every year with the exception of WWII between 1939 and 1944. The Dallas Cowboys also picked up on this tradition giving us even more enjoyable football since 1966.Bringing on this football tradition also brought on the snacks before the big meal.

Thanksgiving Facts:

An estimated 375 Million pounds of Turkey are eaten every Thanksgiving,

65 million Sweet Potato’s are consumed

80 million pounds of Cranberry’s are eaten

55 million Pumpkin Pies are consumed

In 1955 fully stuffed, frozen and ready to cook Turkeys were introduced to the public.

For 50 years the President of the United States has pardoned a Turkey from Thanksgiving day doom, starting with Harry Truman.

Breaking the wishbone started with the Greek and Roman Empire who brought the tradition to Europe and the English brought it to America.

Stuffing recipes were also brought from Europe. In the first Thanksgiving it was possible that the birds and fish were stuffed with herbs, onions and oats. The most popular stuffing today is breadcrumb, cornbread and oyster.

Corn on the Cob was given to the settlers by the American Indians which was a part of the first feast.

Mashed Potato’s were not likely a part of the celebration as they had not been a part of the settlers diet in 1620.

Sweet Potato’s were a Native American vegetable and were most likely at the first Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin and Apple Pie are the most popular desserts at Thanksgiving. (Also enjoyed is Sweet Potato Pie)

1969 Astronauts enjoyed food packets of roasted Turkey and the trimmings in space.

The popular TV show Friends had a Thanksgiving episode in everyone of the their 10 years on the air.

The 3 most popular way to eat Thanksgiving left overs is sandwiches, soups and casseroles.

Make Turkey Pies! They are so delicious and really help with the left overs.

Get Idea’s and Recipes over at Taste of Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Courtesy of Becris at FreeDigitalPhotos.net