...I'm the Gingerbread Man! But everyone knows where the Gingerbread Man hides out. That's right: his Gingerbread House.
Yes, folks, it's Gingerbread House-making Season. It's time to pre-heat those ovens, mix up some icing, and start building!
Like any good new home construction project, the building of a Gingerbread house must start with a floor plan. Check out this guide to building an abode fit for Sweet Street. You'll find floor plans, building tips and construction steps. We won't hold it against you when the hard hat is dusted off for this one.
For a little added inspiration, take a second to ingest this cute little Gingerbread Dreamhouse action figure sequence.
Got a Gingerbread House worth bragging about? Add it to our MyProjects section. Good luck!
There's only one thing scarier than a "Nightmare on Elm Street" movie marathon, and that's a clogged drain. Yep, Hitchcock's got nothing on backed-up plumbing.
This is a busy time of the year for the folks at Roto-Rooter, according to their latest newsletter. Why? Because amidst the excitement of carving up the pumpkins and positioning the ghoulish gourds on the front steps for all to see, few people actually stop and think, "Wait, maybe putting these pumpkin guts down the sink isn't such a good idea."
It's understandable. Who wants rotting innards sitting in the trash can for days on end? It's much tidier just to wash the stringy, smelly slop down the drain and be done with it.
Unfortunately, the pulp and seeds soon harden, clogging the drain and disposer. The resulting plumbing bill is enough to scare the socks off of John Carpenter.
So, follow Roto-Rooter's advice this Halloween season. Don't put pumpkin guts down the drain, in the garbage disposal or in the toilet. Wrap them up in newspaper and throw them in the trash, or even better: compost them!
I'm all for the integration of advanced technology into household appliances -- I love hood fans that turn on automatically when they detect heat from the range, double-ovens and pan detection features on induction burners. But when the ringing of a nearby cellphone can cause the oven to turn on without warning, I start thinking about lines and sand.
If the Maytag oven in question met the safety standards of the Underwriters Laboratory and the American National Standards Institute, is this just a case of a "rogue oven" -- or is this an indication that the safety tests for potentially dangerous products in our homes are woefully inadequate?
This electromagnetic "crossing of the streams" also has me wondering what other appliances in the home we'll see affected by proximity to cellphones. Microwaves? Dryers? And what does this say about the devices we're holding two inches from our brains half the day?
All I know is that I won't be leaving my cellphone on the kitchen counter anytime soon.
The Kichler booth at this year's K/BIS was all about the benefits of LED lighting and its energy-saving Design Pro LED Disc. This slender disc light uses 75 percent less electricity than incandescent light bulbs. And its slender profile (only 3/8") make it perfect for lighting under kitchen cabinet, inside a curio or above a mantel. It features easy installation with three feet of wiring already spooled inside. Easy to see why this light won the Lighting for Tomorrow award. Check it out if you are at the K/BIS at booth B3650 in Hall B. To read more about energy-efficient lighting and LEDs, see this article, which is part of our green homes special series.
We saw four new LG products at the company's booth at this year's K/BIS, which were impressive. LG is showing its new 4-door refrigerator that features a bottom freezer drawer and an extra-tall water dispenser that allows users to fill just about any size pitcher with water. Its double-built oven features with a LCD touch screen, pre-loaded recipe bank and convection system. The steam washer/dryer reduces odors, removes wrinkles and has an exclusive allergen-reduction wash cycle. The steam dishwasher features extra-large capacity, energy efficiency and a gentle setting for cleaning fine china and delicate stemware. Check out these products and more at the K/BIS in booth C2010. And, personally, we thought the booth's DJ rocked and made it a fun booth visit!
One of the booths we are planning on visiting at this year's K/BIS is GelPro, the anti-fatigue floor mat for kitchens. This gel-filled floor mat relieves pain caused from standing on hard flooring, something well-known to cooks around the world. The mats are available in a variety of colors, fabrics and styles to suit your home's decor. The fact that nearly 40 percent of GelPro's customers purchase multiple mats says something about their quality.
