8 Reasons You Should Switch to Wool Dryer Balls

Wool dryer balls - the greatest thing to happen to laundry since the invention of the washer and dryer! I love finding eco-friendly products to keep my home and family happy and healthy.  Laundry products are a big area where your choices can impact not only your and your family's health but the environment too. ...

Snowscapes and Fun with Waterlogue App

We got a rare proper snowfall today (six inches!) and it was magical. The man and I went for a couple of walks to bask in the beauty and that wonderful silence when all you can hear is the snow falling.  And our neighbor's adorable toddler squealing with delight.  That was pretty wonderful too. Of...

Holiday Decorating Tips

I REALLY love decorating my home for the seasons and holidays.  Over the years I've developed a system that makes it easy and fun and hopefully keeps things looking fresh and festive.  Here are some tips to get your holiday decorating going: Keep Your Stuff Organized If you don't know where stuff is or it's...

Coffee Reheating Hack

Coffee has a profoundly special place in my life.  If I saw irrefutable proof that coffee shortened your life by many years, I'd be like "see you soon, Jesus!"  Yep, I'm one of those crazies who buys fancy beans, grinds 'em herself in a fancy burr grinder, and brews it all up in fancy ways...

FreshWorks – Miracle Boxes for Your Produce

Y'all need to get yourself a set of these babies, STAT! (as ever, my product reviews are my own, unsolicited opinions - I don't get anything for sharing about products I love). Some people impulse buy in the candy aisle or the shoe department.  Not me.  I impulse buy in the produce aisle.  Those jumbo...

Bird Feeding Tips – Keeping “Undesirables” Out of the Feeders

How to attract lots of beautiful birds while keeping squirrels and other undesirables at bay.

Container Gardening & the Perfect Grape Tomato

I am not much of a gardener, but I simply couldn't do without my little container garden that I cram into the only corner of our back porch that gets any sun.  I love being able to nip out while I'm cooking and grab a handful of fresh basil, oregano, mint, lemon thyme, rosemary or parsley....

Safely Thawing Frozen Fish

You learn something new every day - at least I try to!  Despite living fairly close to the Atlantic Ocean, one has to work hard to find decent fresh fish around here, so I tend to buy fish individually quick frozen (IQF).  And YES, I always check my Seafood Watch app to make sure I...

What to do With All Those Tomatoes!

One of the blessings of summer is having a garden that gifts you with ripe, luscious tomatoes. But at some point those tomatoes are piling up on the counter, and even your friends don't want any more.  What to do?  We grow a mix of heirloom and hybrid "slicing" tomatoes, and they are too watery...

Deer-Proof Flowering Perennials & Shrubs

Make no mistake, that little cutie will grow up to be a marauding menace, a furry, four-legged locust that you will want to throttle with your bare hands.  And then eat. Even though I live in the sprawling suburbia of North Raleigh, deer are a serious problem.  Recently I was talking with a friend who...