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A SOUPER Valentine's Day Gift

2012-01-27T11:43:00.000-05:00

I am always trying to come up with something thoughtful teachers gifts since they work so hard. I also like to make things that don't necessarily need to be eaten within a few days. They get enough of those types of gifts. A few years ago we did these Cookies in a Jar which I think went over well. This year I was looking through my Gifts in a Jar book I purchased even before I was

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2012-01-25T09:31:00.000-05:00

I never got around to posting these at christmas but I figured what is more Valentine's Day than Red Velvet and even easier, Cupcakes. Disguised for Valentines Day! I am not sure why I bother making desserts for big groups of women. They never eat, I made 24 of these for a party and no one touched a single one. They don't look that bad do they? Anyway, I found this recipe in December's

Get Wired Wednesday Blog Hop

2012-01-24T15:31:00.000-05:00

I am honored to be a guest host for Get Wired Wednesday. Come join the fun and meet some new bloggers in the meantime. If you are a new follower of mine, please let me know you are following and I will follow you back! I'm wired are you? Our Guest Host This Week Is: Close to Home If you would like to be a Guest Host for Get Wired Wednesday Blog Hop, just let us know. We

Smart Business--Guide for artists and crafters

2012-01-23T11:34:00.000-05:00

Remember I mentioned having a an networking lunch with three amazing women in my town. Well I thought I would start introducing them to you and seeing their amazing accomplishments. Like myself, they are moms, they started businesses so they can be home with their children. Such inspiration. Meet Laura Trevey, watercolor artist and editor of the art and design blog, of Bright, Bold and

How well does your vacuum work? Dyson review.

2012-01-21T10:52:00.001-05:00

I remember the time when if my husband, then boyfriend bought me anything domestic related, I would throw a fit. My first christmas gift from him while dating was a bread maker. Now I find myself asking for domestic things for big holidays. Since we bought our long haired and soon to be shedding a lot puppy this past fall, I knew our old vacuum would not be doing the trick. I researched a

Snowman Soup

2012-01-20T07:41:00.001-05:00

Like most of the United States, Va is having mild winter temperatures. We do not always expect snow but my daffodils are starting to emerge. We have had few requests for hot chocolate so far this winter but I am not sure I want to say that too loudly. When my Family Fun Magazine came yesterday I browsed through it before going to bed. I fell in love with these Melted Frosties that I made them

How do you eat your popcorn?

2012-01-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

I had all intention of making a recipe to celebrate National Popcorn Day. However, yesterday was a bit crazy and never got around to it. I did particpate in a blog networking meeting where I met with three wonderful women in my area whom provided great inspiration and ideas to improve our blogs. Stay tuned, I will be introducing them to you all in the coming posts. With Valentine's Day around

PB & B (Peanut Butter and Brownies)

2012-01-16T12:52:00.001-05:00

Don't laugh this recipe came from my daughter's Southern Living Kid's Cookbook this time. I made these for a dinner we were invited to and I was trying to make two different varieties for blogging purposes. Children were invited as well so thought I would have a vote on flavors. The best part of this recipe is that it adapts a brownie mix, little measuring required. I made half of the

Amazon Twitter Blast---enter to win $100 Amazon gift card

2012-01-15T08:03:00.001-05:00

Everyone loves Amazon Codes. Join Kobiso to win $100 to Amazon? Complete the entries in the Rafflecopter below. You can come back and do a few each day or do them all in one sitting! Good Luck! /*{literal}<![CDATA[*/ window.RAFLIN = window.RAFLIN || {}; window.RAFLIN['815c331d'] = {id: 'ZDg0MTU1NmVjYmJmNjNlNTBiMjEzM2Q0NjlkMjlmOjUyMQ=='}; var url='//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/

National Dress Up Your Pet Day

2012-01-14T16:18:00.002-05:00

Even pets need a day to celebrate in their honor. In celebration of National Dress up your Pet Day today, my children decided to put some glam on our puppy. I know it is a silly holiday but the first year of our dog I thought we would participate! Should have done this when she was smaller, as she barely fits in their old Halloween outfits. **The Children were Supervised, as you do not

Tide Coldwater Detergent Review

2012-01-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

What word comes to mind when you look at this picture. Helplessness, terror, disaster, overwhelmed? Fortunately these clothes have all been washed but now I have to fold them or convince the children to do so... However, this is a normal site at our house. Three children, a dog and husband creates a lot of laundry. I am not sure about your boys but they go through 3 outfits a day...

Barefoot Contessa's Old Fashioned Banana Cake--What Happened?

2012-01-11T16:05:00.000-05:00

If you have been a follower for a while you know how much of a Ina Garten fan I am. Well yesterday I had a few dark bananas and tired of the bread/muffin route and just thought I would look in her books to see if there was a recipe. Much to my excitement there was a Old Fashioned Banana Cake. I am not a big cake maker but this is only a one layer cake and looked so yummy on the picture.

Mini Cheese-stuffed Meatloaves

2012-01-10T08:39:00.001-05:00

Coming home from my Costco trip this week I found myself with 4 1/2 lbs of Organic Beef. Fortunately these are packaged in 1 1/3 lbs so I can just plop them in the freezer. My family is not a big red meat family but I crave it once in a while. This seems humorous to me as I was a vegetarian through out college and until I met my husband in my mid 20's. Although tacos is an easy route I

Cleaning out your Fridge

2012-01-09T10:30:00.001-05:00

I am not the type of person who has it on my calender to clean out the fridge every 6 weeks, or one who wakes up and says I feel like cleaning out my fridge today. After the new year, I think many of us get the get organized and de-clutter feeling. Maybe it is subliminal advertising because next to all the exercise equipment ads in the store weekly ads there is usually a lot of sales on

Tyler's Coffee Review

2012-01-07T08:02:00.000-05:00

My morning does not officially start until I have a cup of coffee. I am not that fussy but I prefer home brewed to the strong flavors of another nationally known company. I usually don't even purchase their beans. I don't drink caffeinated soda so this is my one pick me up in the morning. Since I only have it in the morning I try not to worry about the bad affects of teeth dyeing etc. I

Double Duty Pork-- 2 Dinners with Little Effort

2012-01-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

Now that school has started again and the after school activities are in full gear it is hard to put dinner together in the 30 minutes between pick ups. Here is a great way to have 2 dinners for the week with little effort the first time. That means only one grocery store run and the family is happy for at least two nights. I love the ease of pork tenderloins. They can be prepared in so many

Feeding a crowd with Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

2011-12-31T09:02:00.000-05:00

Maybe you are entertaining for New Years Day or planning on having some company to watch football one weekend. No need to fret and stay busy in the kitchen while your guests are having fun. Better yet you may want to make some make ahead meals for when school is in full swing. This Southern Living Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole recipe can be made up to a month ahead and frozen. You don't

Natural House Cleaning Products-Review and Giveaway

2011-12-28T07:51:00.003-05:00

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:7Powered by I hope everyone is still relaxing for a hectic holiday season. Although the last thing you want to think about is cleaning, I am sure your homes are in need after the many visitors and just family being home. This is one product I am really need to rely on the company for true results. The product I have been testing for the last two

Happy Holidays from my family to yours

2011-12-24T08:44:00.000-05:00

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday season. Not sure how much more I will be posting these next few days. I want to thank all my readers for taking the time to visit Close to Home and hopefully finding useful tips and recipes. Have a safe and relaxing holiday if you are staying close to home or visiting friends or relatives. These are the stickers I made for holiday gifts from Customized

Last minute party or neighbor gifts

2011-12-21T07:25:00.001-05:00

It's crunch time for Christmas. Neighbors are starting to distribute their little tokens of friendship and the kids might have a few more days of school if you are lucky. So what can you put together that is inexpensive but thoughtful. Remember the cookies in the jar but you don't have the correct size jars on hand. I am pretty sure you have festive gift bags or smaller containers on hand.

Boxwood Christmas Tree

2011-12-19T17:40:00.000-05:00

In a previous post I discussed bringing your outside in to decorate your home for the holidays. My master gardner neighbor brought this gift to me a few years ago. Although I can not replicate it, I attempted and think it worked out pretty well.I was actually thinking of making these for my children's teachers but after making 2 I got tired of them and thought I would destroy my boxwoods with

Instant party--Rudolph's nose drink and Melting snowman cheeseball

2011-12-18T17:33:00.000-05:00

Anyone can throw a party over the holidays, but why not add some themed elements to make it more festive. For a recent event I hosted I had to add some flair to the ordinary items. For beverages: I added little candy canes to the glasses. These were fruit flavored so it would not take away for the flavor of this festive drink: Rudolph's nose. To make it easier on me, I mixed enough mixer to

Italian Rainbow Cookies

2011-12-15T15:13:00.000-05:00

The baking season has begun, at least at our house. I have been eyeing this recipe since my November issue of TASTE OF HOME, arrived. Although growing up in an italian household, we never had these at home. I remember trying them once or twice with a bakery assortment. They do require a lot of steps but it is fairly easy. Just be sure your oven racks are even....mine were not in correctly

My 5 minutes of Fame & Kids Cold and Flu Kit Giveaway--

2011-12-13T13:15:00.001-05:00

CLOSED True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:12Wow I had my second live television experience this am. The first was in high school with our golf team, but I had a team behind me. When I was asked to go on our local TV program to discuss Cold and Flu products for children I was definitely hesitant but some friends convinced me it was a win win situation. Thanks to their support and

Drop in and Decorate Party with Girl Scouts

2011-12-11T12:32:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard of Drop in and Decorate, cookies for donation? If you have not it is worth looking into if you are looking for a service project for a group or just and way to help the community with your girl friends. Drop in and Decorate is a non profit organization that was started by Lydia Walshin to help people get together and help their own community. The premise of the