Online Cooking?

I'm finally back up and running and trying to get back into the swing of things. I lost a lot of info in the great tech meltdown of 2009 so I'm still trying to get everything back into their right place. I'll resume regular posting soon but I did want to pop in and share this little beauty with you.

Have you checked out The Mixer? It's an online cooking school from Betty Crocker! I just found out about it today and am so excited. It's free and has great instructional videos, recipes, and some places to talk to other students. I'm definitely going to be taking a few classes. What do you think?

Have you embraced technology when it comes to cooking? I spend many hours digging through online cooking blogs and saving recipes that I want to try. I do love having a lovely "old fashioned" recipe book but there's something very easy about bookmarking a recipe, bringing the laptop into the kitchen, and cooking.

I have my staples (Better Homes & Gardens, Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart, All Recipes etc) but my absolute favorite thing about the internet is that it's like one giant cook book. Think about it. It's full of family recipes from so many different times, and from all over the world. It's full of new ideas, and old favorites! If you tried, you couldn't get through every one. Amazing.

I know you are all itching to know my favorite reads so here you go:

I love The Kitchn because it's a great mix of recipes, tips, and reviews.

Pink of Perfection is a total culinary crush for me. Sarah has an amazing way of writing about food and an uncanny knack for coming up with just the perfect recipe!

Smitten Kitchen grabs your right away with the amazing photos. If you can pull your eyes away from them then you'll find out that the recipes are delish!

If you're in a bit of a cooking rut then you should check out Eat Make Read. Kelly tries lots of different things and you'll never get bored!

I have a ton more, and if you like these and would like for me to share more, then just let me know!

What do YOU want Housewifery to be?

I'm so very excited.

In just a couple of days I'll be doing my very first giveaway on Housewifery. Even better, I've got a few more lined up after that. Are you excited?

Now it's time that I ask you for YOUR advice! What sort of postings would you like to see on Housewifery?

Do you like Instructional posts?
Tips?
Long rambling posts where I talk about myself?

I really want to know. Tell me, and it's yours.

Before the holidays another Blogger asked me to do use my tiny bit of experience as a Pin-up model to do a Pinup Makeup Tutorial, would you be interested in things like that? Are you all interested in other facets of "vintage" life besides housewifery?

I know that I am brimming with ideas but I really want to know what you think. So... tell me!

I'll choose one suggestion as the winner of my very first giveaway!

12 Decorations to make in a jiffy

I know we're all in the midst of decorating for the Holidays. I'm almost done and I'll share some pictures when the very last string of lights is up but in the meantime I wanted to share some really great tips from Real Simple. I just love Real Simple!

Easy Holiday Decorating 101 is a great collection of 12 decorations you can make from the craft store without lots of crafty experience. No glitter and glue to clean up after! Some of these definitely fall into the "why didn't I think of that?" category!

Here are some of my personal favs from the article...

Feathers & Fairy Lights
Wrap your banister with fairy lights and feather trim. This would also look so pretty along a fireplace!


Jingle Bell Knock
Who needs a boring doorbell when you have some sleigh-bells jingling? Thread some festive ribbon through the tops of giant bells and tie them to your front door. This is also a great excuse to use all of that ribbon I know you all have! ;)


Felt Placemats
Wow, this one really made me slap my forehead. I have PILES of colorful felt and I never once thought of creating place mats out of them. What an easy way to brighten up your holiday table.


Snowmen-scape
I can't wait to try this one out. How cute are these little snowmen? I want to perch them on every ledge in my house, especially since they are so easy to make! Join two Styrofoam balls with a toothpick and then stick them down with double-stick tape. Voila - instant festivity.


These are just some of MY favorites but there are even more to choose from, 8 to be exact. These ideas are a great way to perk your creative side into high-gear and look beyond the typical decorations and make things more personal.

Vampire Power MUAHAHAH

These days I’ve been trying to think of easy ways to cut costs and save a little money. We all know the economy is a little shaky right now and a gal should always be looking for ways to pinch some pennies. The hardest thing about cutting costs is that most of the time it requires effort and change. If something takes too much effort or causes me to have to change things dramatically I just won’t do it. I’m bad that way.

Well, gather round sweeties because I have a haunting tale to tell!
Have any of you heard of Vampire Power? Yes, yes, I know it’s Halloween and the Vamps are out in full force but this is even scarier because it happens year-round!

Vampire Power is the electricity that is used when you have your appliances plugged in but switched off or in standby mode. My mother always told me to unplug things when I wasn’t using them but I thought she was just paranoid about fires. Turns out, yet again, she knew what she was talking about.

I did a little research and it turns out that you can spend close to $1,000 a year on your electric bill by having all of these things plugged in when not in use. Things like Cell phone chargers, computers, TV, your Xbox 360, and electric toothbrush all continue to drain energy while you think they are just sitting there!

I was astonished, and curious, so I took a little wander around the house to see just how much we had plugged in. Holy cow! Our household is a veritable smorgasbord of electronic devices and all of them are plugged in all the time.
So how do we slay the Vampire power? Do we need a stake? Garlic? Buffy?

Nope, the lovely people over at Best Buy have some super easy tips on how to rid yourself of Vampire Power. They also have an incredibly cute vintage horror style PSA explaining Vampire Power.

Unplug
Unplug things when you’re not using them. Simple.

Use a power strip
Plug everything into that and then just turn the power strip off - easy peasy!
I was happy to see that most of our things are plugged into a power strip. I don’t feel so bad now.

Turn it off
Completely shut down your computer.
Oooh I’m bad at this one. When your computer is in sleep mode it can cost you up to an additional $70 per year.

Buy Energy-Star appliances
Whenever you’re in the market for a new appliance you should always look for the Energy Star products. They can reduce your energy bill up to 40%!

Vampire Power Awareness Day is tomorrow, October 30th.
So get to it ladies - unplug! Besides, wouldn’t that money be better off in your pocketbook?

Seasonal-izing your home

Ladies, it’s time to seasonal-ize your home. Just as you update your wardrobe for the seasons so must you make sure your home is current.

Out with the shorts and sandals, so out with the filmy breezy curtains and light linen pillows.

Don’t get yourself into a tizzy. There’s no need to spend all of your housekeeping money on a brand new look. It’s cheap and easy to change up the look of your home for the new season.

By adding just a few key accent pieces you’ll be feeling the coziness of Autumn in no time.

The easiest and cheapest way to update the look of a room is to change up the following pieces:




For just a little more investment you can also switch out your Curtains or add some Slipcovers to your furniture.

These items make a room. Don’t fret if “autumn” colors don’t go with your current décor. You don’t have to follow the season to the letter. You want an atmosphere not a cliché. Your house doesn’t need to be all pumpkins, branches and leaves.

Switch out your normal throw blanket with a warm cable knit or faux fur version. Use chenille or suede pillows. Choose a deeper shade of your currant curtain color. Add some spicy scented candles. Make an effort to use heavier warmer fabrics and tones. You’ll see the difference immediately.

If you're a little low on cash but big on craftiness why not knit yourself a lovely nubby throw or use some of that left over corduroy to fashion some pillow covers. That would add an even more personal touch to your home and save some pennies for a steak dinner!

Why not make a delicious cup of hot apple cider and mull over some ideas. I'd love to hear your suggestions and see some great photos of your Autumn Decor.

Happy Fall everyone!

Grocery dot com

Sometimes there is just so much to do and so little time!

One great way to cut a few hours of errands out of your day is to do your grocery shopping online. If you haven’t done this yet it may seem like a strange idea but grocery shopping without leaving the house isn’t such a new concept. Years ago my friends and I used to use Schwans.

Schwans day was always a great day. The man in the van would stop by our houses every week, present us with a glossy catalog and we’d pick out all of the frozen items that delighted us. He’d head to the van and bring in our order. It was just that easy. Their food was great too. Well, Schwans has now embraced the internet age and you can order their items online for delivery to your home. I do hope they still have the Van Man. There was something so decidedly retro about having a food salesman bringing your items. He always had the best tips and was known to thrown in a freebie or two for you to try!

More recently I was without a car and in desperate need of some groceries. I had a coupon for free delivery from Safeway.com so I decided to give it a go! I was delighted to find out that their “personal shoppers” are trained to select the freshest produce and you can even put notes on your order for special requests. Need some very ripe banana’s for the Banana Bread you’re baking? Just put that in the notes section and they’ll be sure to seek out the ripest bananas. You can also specify back up items in case the one you really want is out of stock. One feature I really loved was being able to save my favorite items to a shopping list for me to revisit regularly. No need to search around later.

With Safeway you can schedule your delivery date and time for as early as the same day (if you place your order early enough in the AM) or up to a week from now. Be sure to pay careful attention to the sale dates if you’re ordering food for delivery a few days out.

There are lots of online grocery options these days and there are lots of reasons to try them out but I won’t be switching permanently. I love wandering the aisles and discovering new products. I actually really enjoy grocery shopping. I get some of my best meal ideas by adventuring through the store. But the next time I’m in a rush and need to stock up without running out I’ll definitely be using my online supermarket!

Give one of these a try!

Net Grocer
PeaPod
Albertsons
Amazon Groceries

Mashable has a great listing of all the regional and national online grocer sites.

Spring Fever

Ahh after what feels like months of rain and dreariness the sun is out and the temperatures are getting a little warmer. It's harder and harder to concentrate at work. We have a wraparound deck at the office, complete with patio furniture and a BBQ. Who wants to sit inside at a desk with that around?

Spring fever = Spring cleaning. Over the next couple of weeks I'll be posting tips and tricks to break the spring cleaning out into pieces rather than a weekend of a deep scrub down. Think of it as a way to nab a few more hours at the park rather than with your hands in hot water.