Search Results for: blog creating a white christmas indoors

Real Life Christmas Grinches

It seems as though every time I turn on the television I see yet another news report about some wacko dismantling, destroying, or stealing homeowners’ outdoor Christmas decorations. Just this week alone, seven homeowner’s in our city reported incidents of vandalism and theft involving outdoor nativity sets and inflatable holiday lawn decorations. It got me wondering whether this was an isolated event (as in just in the Midwest) or whether real-life Grinches are stealing Christmas decorations across the country? I discovered that while it is not a national epidemic, there have been numerous reports of holiday vandals wreaking havoc on … Continue reading →

Tips For Maintaining Your Christmas Tree

So you’ve got your Christmas tree up and decorated–congratulations–you’re ahead of the game in my book. In a previous blog I provided tips on how to choose the perfect Christmas tree, but that job is just the first step. After you cut your own tree at a farm or pick one from a lot you should have it wrapped with some type of netting to bring it home. This makes it easier to transport; protects the tree when you bring it in the house; and makes it easier when you put it in the stand. Which is a great tip: … Continue reading →

Tips For Choosing The Perfect Christmas Tree

The first Saturday in December is traditionally the day our family picks out and puts up our Christmas tree. We’ve hunted down the perfect tree on tree farms (where we not only pick out just the right tree, but also cut it down ourselves), tree lots, and believe it or not, one year I even helped my sister-in-law pick out a Christmas tree from the back of a semi-truck parked on the side of a rural highway. No matter where you choose to purchase your tree there are some hard and fast rules you want to keep in mind before … Continue reading →

It’s Beginning To SMELL A Lot Like Christmas

In a previous blog I told you about my 2-year-old daughter’s insistence that we get our Christmas decorations up on the double. Last night we finished getting up all but a few (I winced each time I unwrapped decoration after decoration–all were neatly swaddled in tissue paper—the pain derived from the thought of how long it would take me to take down all that we were putting up). But, Christmas only comes once a year and since we will be only spending part of it at home this year I figured I would indulge my daughter and get a jumpstart … Continue reading →

Creating A White Christmas–Indoors

In previous blogs I listed ways you could add a few touches of nature to your home’s holiday décor. Some people living in warmer climates may have a harder time finding some of the items needed to pull off a completely “natural” look. If that’s the case with you–don’t fret–this blog’s for you. I grew up in Hawaii, where the closest thing we had to a true white Christmas was a flocked tree. (Which was technically more silver than white and only stood in our living room for one year–that’s all it took before my mother decided we would “never … Continue reading →

Let There Be Light

If it were a crime to be eating leftover Halloween candy in late November, I’d be in jail right now. There’s something not quite right about stuffing your face with Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins while stringing up Christmas lights. Which is why I did the former rather than the latter today. Apparently, I was the only one. It seems all my neighbors were on the same page this weekend: “Let’s add some holiday twinkle to our homes while Michele polishes off her kid’s Halloween treats.” Mission accomplished. On both fronts. Listen, I’m all about decking the halls, but my family … Continue reading →

Tips for Taking Great eBay Photos—LIGHTING

You’ve got the right camera, you invested in a tripod and you have learned a few tricks regarding focusing, now it’s time to shoot those items you want to sell on eBay, right? Not so fast. There are a few more tips you want to keep in mind prior to pointing and shooting. In this blog we’ll discuss how proper lighting will help you achieve prize-winning photos that will attract more potential buyers to your auction item. Avoiding Hot Spots. If you are shooting in direct sunlight or illuminating your auction item directly under an unfiltered bulb you run the … Continue reading →

Decorating Your Home For Kwanzaa

In my previous blog I discussed the holiday of Kwanzaa. We are now just a week away from the start of the seven-day festival, which focuses on heritage, family and community. Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one and is meant to serve as an inspiration to African-American families and the community. And while the celebration begins on December 26th and ends January 1st, neither the observance nor the decorations should be combined with Christmas, Hanukkah or the New Year. People celebrating Kwanzaa deck their homes in black, red and green. That color scheme is carried throughout the … Continue reading →

Decorating Your Home For The Holidays—How Do You Stack Up?

An 18-foot Douglas fir decked out with glass ornaments, red satin bows, and cotton snow; 10-foot tall Nutcrackers standing guard at the entrance to a living area; hundreds of yards of garland, dozens of wreaths, and half a dozen gingerbread house centerpieces… no, I’m not describing what the inside of my house looks like this time of year; rather I’m describing all the Christmas pageantry inside the White House. Did I mention the first family’s home even has ivy topiaries shaped like their pets– Scottish terriers Barney and Miss Beazley, and the first cat, Willie? It may put our house … Continue reading →

My Daughter’s Letter To Santa

Let me start by saying that this blog doesn’t include a heart warming anecdote about my wonderful child penning a letter to Santa asking him to forgo her presents in lieu of establishing world peace and providing adequate food and shelter to the millions of needy children in the world. While those are wonderful wishes, and ones I hope will some day make it on my child’s Santa wish list, my kid is 2-years-old and frankly she doesn’t even like Santa. In fact, she is deathly afraid of the guy, and when asked what she wants Santa to bring her … Continue reading →