Aluminum Foil Trick - who knew?

Have you seen the email going around about the tabs on the sides on aluminum foil? Thanks to Tanna at www.completeorganizingsolutions.com for the great tip!

"I’ve been using aluminum foil for more years than I care to remember. Great stuff, but sometimes it can be a pain. You know, like when you are in the middle of doing something and you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. And written on the end it said, “Press here to lock end”. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can’t count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up."

New Favorite Frozen Treat

I'd seen the ads in some magazines, and today I finally picked up a pint of Hagan Daazs' Honey Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Granola. One word - fantastic. It's loaded with sugar, but sometimes you just have to enjoy the good stuff!

My Grandmother's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam

A few weeks ago I posted a recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie, one of my favorite flavor combinations. Today, I'm sharing with you a taste that brings me back to childhood: my Memme's Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. I made my first batch the other day and after realizing how AMAZING it tastes (with very little effort), I made a second batch!

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
5 cups rhubarb, cut up into 1/2 inch pieces
3 cups sugar
1 cup drained crushed pineapple

Mix and let sit 30 min. Bring to boil on stovetop for approximately 15 minutes or until rhubarb is cooked. Add 1 large package strawberry jello.

Now, take (half pint canning jars) about 4 of the jars (without the lids on!!) and microwave them for 2 minutes to heat up the jars (instead of doing a tiresome water bath). Get them out of the micro. while they're hot and pour in the hot jam almost to the top. Tightly seal it up with the lid and then immediately turn it upside down for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stand it right side up and you're done! You'll hear the lid "pop" after a while.

As good as this is on toast, it's heavenly on vanilla ice cream - trust me!!

You can find the canning jars just about anywhere - the grocery store, craft store, hardware store, etc.

Reader Decorating Question

Reader Question:

I need to refinish my night stand. It is currently a country green. the walls of the room are a pale yellow, the furniture is a very dark brown and the bed coverings are a metallic gray. Any suggestions? I can either paint it or stain to match the bed and dressers.

Great Question!

The reason I like this question is because so many of us have pieces around the house (or in the basement or garage) that could work in the house if only they fit into the room. Since you're working with a small night stand I think you can do this project in about 2 hours and for very little cost.

I recommend painting it to give a little pop of interest to the room. You'll want to start by priming it (Bulls Eye works great, just one small pint/quart) 2 coats. Once that's dry, paint 2 coats of semi gloss. I pulled out my trusty Ben Moore color wheel and, based on the colors in your room, recommend something very neutral. I'm thinking a tan with some gray undertones:

Benjamin Moore: "Sparkling White" or "Natural Wicker". If you goto Home Depot they can match the color with their store brand paint at no extra cost.

Thanks for the question!

ASK THE ORGANIZER/DECORATOR DAY!

It's that time again! Time to email me your decorating/organizing questions. Don't be shy and don't feel like your question isn't worthy!! I'd like to start 2 new weekly postings, to keep things interesting, "Ask the organizer/decorator" and "A peak in my house", where I'll share personal tips and pictures with you. So go ahead and drop me an email and challenge me!

Getting stains out of teacups

Believe it or not, this life-long coffee drinker has converted to tea! Of course, I couldn't just drink normal tea like everyone else, I had to become addicted to the hard to find African Redbush tea, which is the fabulous red (and always caffeine-free) variety. With added milk, it tastes wonderful. I like the fact that I'm no longer filling half my drink with cream and sugar!

I recently figured out an easy (and cheap) way to knock the tough tea stains out of my nice white tea mugs. I picked up some Oxi-based cleaner (powder) at the local dollar store (it's called "LA's Totally Awesome", I swear I'm not making this up!! As a child of the 80's, I love the Valley Girl reference). I filled the cups with a little scoop of the cleaner, hot water and let them soak. 15 minutes later, I wiped them clean and they looked perfectly new again.

Enjoy the tip and let me know if you've tried this!

Low Cost Organizing Ideas

Okay, I sort of feel like this post is "cheating" a little, since I'm pointing you to someone else's organizing tips :) Real Simple Magazine's June issue arrived yesterday with a terrific cover story called "Easy Organizing: 99 affordable ideas", see link below:

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1738886,00.html

It's a terrific quick-read listing of organizing solutions and products. Some under $2! But I must stress, and can't stress this enough, don't buy the product and THEN organize. You must organize (sort, purge, organize) first and THEN go shopping! Don't eat your dessert before dinner, my friends! It almost never works!

A lot of the things I'd seen before, but some of my favorite products were featured:

1. The Corner Dinnerware Cabinet Organizer, $9, www.organize.com
2. The Rationell Variera Rack, $3, www.ikea.com

Organize.com and the Containerstore.com are excellent sources, once you're ready for solutions.

Enjoy this month's Real Simple's tips and let me know which ones you're going to try!

My "famous" Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

I found this pie recipe in Woman's Day Magazine about 4 years ago and it's one of the most-requested recipes I have! Nothing says Spring like rhubarb in New England. When I was a kid, my Peppe (Grandfather) had a beautiful patch of rhubarb in his garden and made strawberry rhubarb jam every summer. It brings me back to a simpler time in life!

Strawberry Rhurbarb Pie
1 refrid. ready-to-use crust

Crumb:
1 c. flour
3/4 c. oats
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted

Pie:
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
4 2/3 cup 1/2 in pieces rhubarb
24 ou. strawberries, halved
1 T grated orange peel

Heat oven to 400. Fit pie into 9 in deep plate. Flute edges. Line baking sheet with foil.
Topping: mix 1st 4 ingred. in med. bowl. Add butter. Toss with fork to form crumbs.
Mix together sugar and cornstarch in med. saucepan. Stir in rhubarb. Bring to simmer over med. heat and stir often until juices thickened. Add strawberry and orange peel. Toss to coat. Pour into crust. Gather crumbs, handful at a time and gently squeeze into clump. Break in small pieces, sprinkle over pie. Bake 50-60 min. until fruit bubbles at edges and top is golden. Cover with foil if browning too much. Serve with vanilla ice cream!!

Scout Boxes/Totes

This weekend we visited family in Maine for Mother's Day. It's always nice to stop and take a break (on the way up) in my absolute favorite little coastal town, Portsmouth, NH. As I was walking by a Hallmark store, I noticed these fabulous totes in the window. The company is Bungalow (www.bungalowco.com) and they make these cool totes and boxes called "Scout". I love the choice of fabric and am a sucker for anything that has multiple storage capabilities. Check them out!

Great Kid Dessert for Parties!

This is one of my favorite "kid" desserts. I made it today for my son's last day of preschool (!!!). It was an emotional day and the sweets helped all the mothers get through it! I can't believe this chapter of our lives is over!

SAND RECIPE

2 boxes Nilla wafers, ground in food processor to look like sand
1 8 ou. cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
1 cup powdered sugar
3 small boxes French Vanilla instant pudding
3 1/2 cup milk
1 12 ou. Cool Whip
8 inch plastic bucket with shovel

Mix cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. Set aside.
Mix pudding and milk. Fold in the Cool Whip and the cream cheese mixture. Mix well.

Butter the sides of the bucket. Alternate layers of pudding mixture and "sand". End with about a one inch layer of sand on the top. I topped the thing off with some chocolate seashells, which really made it special! I had my made just for the occasion from the local chocolate shop, but I believe Lindt sells them by the box.

Refrigerate and enjoy!!

Spring found my new shrub!

You have to picture the scene. I walked out to the front yard Saturday morning to stake the arborvite shrub my husband and I planted (about 2 weeks ago). My plan was to wrap a strong piece of twine around the trunk before tying it to the stake. I reached into the center of the shrub with the twine and almost jumped when I saw a beautifully crafted robin's nest filled with the most beautiful Tiffany box blue eggs! Saturday there were 2 eggs and yesterday there were 3. I told my son about the nest and when we went to take a peek the mother bird was sitting on the eggs! I was so excited. I love the whole cycle of it all. I planted ornamental grass in my perennial garden last fall, they died, and this robin used parts of the dead grass to build her nest. I'm in awe by this little nest! As you can guess by the name of my business, Bird's Nest Interiors, I love nests. I have a couple faux nests in my house tucked away on bookshelves. When I first saw this one, I actually thought my husband took one of my faux nests and put it in the shrub as a joke! Happy Spring! Finally finding it's way to Southern New England!!!

The Latest Yard Sale Piece

Here is a picture of last Saturday's yard sale find: a hutch with bookshelf on top that I somehow fit in my car (in 2 pieces) and painted a high gloss white. I'm crazy about this and it was $5! The guy selling it was thrilled to get it out of his garage and I was thrilled to give it a new life. I've been saying this for years, but yard sales are simply the best way to find furniture you want to experiment with. When I picked it out, I figured it would end up in my daughter's room or somewhere in my living room...but the master closet it where it landed! I love not knowing where, but knowing "Yes!!" And for $5, if it didn't work I knew it wasn't any big loss. Okay, I have to run...it's Saturday morning. Any idea where I'm off to?

New WRAPPING Product from Hallmark

I'm about to jump into my car and go get a roll of some of the new self adhesive wrapping paper from our friends at Hallmark. It's apparently like one huge sticky note: easy to use, easy to make a mistake and reposition....you get the idea. I'm considering using it as a shelf liner for a great new bookcase I bought at at yard sale Saturday and (yes, you guessed it) painted glossy white. It's very cute in my master closet, holding my summer bags and sandals. I'll let you know if I get some of the paper and discover all sorts of wacky ways to use it! Enjoy!