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Chocolate Raspberry Swirled Mini Cheesecakes
These chocolate raspberry swirled mini cheesecakes are the perfect bite of summertime freshness. Your party guests will love them! Summer is the time for me to use fresh fruits in many of my cheesecake recipes. I love the lightness that they give to the dinner menu, and they are perfect to serve when you have […]
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DIY Wood Shutter Makeover
This DIY shutter makeover project brings back some life to a worn out looking house, but does it on a budget. Shutters have been used for years to add beauty to your home and also to give some privacy to windows. Note: Power tools, electricity, and other items used for this project can be […]
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Savory Chicken Tikka Masala Curry
This recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala is perfect for me and he loves it too. It has just a hint of heat and is full of flavor. I love savory chicken curries and I love International crock pot recipes, too. My husband can take curries much hotter than I can, but I love to combine […]
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DIY Succulent Strawberry Planter
This DIY Succulent Strawberry Planter is a great way to display a variety of succulents in one planter so that each plant has its own special space. If you love succulents as much as I do, you will want to check out my guide for buying succulents. It tells what to look for, what to […]
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Tips for a Front Door Makeover – Before and After
This project for my front door makeover is one that I have been wanting to do for several seasons. A beautiful front door transforms the entry to your home, adds great appeal and gives a pop of color to an otherwise bland and boring entry. Note: Power tools, electricity, and other items used for this […]
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Warm Tuscan Bacon Potato Salad – A Grill Side dish
This week, the star side dish for our weekly barbecue is a warm Tuscan bacon potato salad. The motto in our house all summer long is “it’s time to fire up the grill.” We grill most of the year, but in the summer time, our BBQ works over time. And all of our grilled meats […]
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How to Repair a Broken Planter
It’s time to repair a broken planter! I recently bought one (on purpose at a discount) to have a matching set. But it needs some TLC. Do you have a planter which is broken but you still want to use it? I had this situation, recently, and decided to just repair my broken planter. It […]
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Mandarin Orange Cake
This mandarin orange cake has a summer time freshness that will delight your family members just like it did mine. Summer time, for me, is all about recipes using fruits and vegetables. I love the light, fresh taste that they give to recipes. Delight your Family with This Delicious Mandarin Orange Cake. Start by assembling […]
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DIY Decorative House Number Signboard
This decorative DIY house number signboard adds a touch of class to our front entry and we put it together quickly and easily. The front entry to any home gives visitors a first impression, whether it be bad or good. Our entry needed a big makeover this year and I wanted to add a house […]
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17 Tips for Creating a Cottage Garden
I love a cottage garden. I am not a rule follower by nature, especially when it comes to gardens, and I love the way a cottage garden throws caution to the wind in the rule department. Do you like lots of flowers, flowing lines and a not so formal look? Then a cottage garden might […]
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DIY Hose Pot Holder
This DIY hose pot project will give you a place to put your hose and will also add a decorative touch to your garden bed. Hoses are a necessity for any well cared for garden, but they often end up messy, tangled and full of kinks from sitting out on your lawn or garden bed. […]
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When to use Ratcheting Pruners
One of my favorite pair of pruners for heavier garden work is my ratcheting pruners. They make light work of heavy tasks It does not matter if you have one small hydrangea bush or a yard full of garden beds. At some point, you will need to remove some dead growth, overgrown branches or untidy […]
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Pros and Cons of Gardening with Raised Garden Beds
Many homeowners have smaller yards, but would still like to enjoy the benefits of home grown vegetables. For them, gardening with raised garden beds may be the answer. Vegetable gardening normally requires large plots of land in order to get good harvests. But this is not always possible in today’s world. This is where raised […]
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Mailbox Makeover Adds Instant Curb Appeal
If your mailbox has seen its better days, like mine had, it might be time for a mail box makeover! Nothing creates a first impression in your front yard more than a well detailed and maintained mailbox. Unfortunately, mine was an eyesore and needed a lot of TLC, so I recently spent the afternoon giving […]
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30 Tips for a Great Vegetable Garden Harvest Plus 6 Garden Recipes
Follow my 30 tips for a great vegetable garden harvest, and you will be bringing in baskets of fresh vegetables all summer long this year. Do you have a great vegetable harvest, or is yours just so so this year? Summer is that time of the year when vegetables are starting to really show up in […]
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Summer Time Hot Dog and Fresh Vegetable Stir Fry – Perfect for Outdoor Eating
This summertime hot dog and fresh vegetable stir fry could not be easier to prepare. During the summer time I am always looking for simple recipes that are easy to make and lend themselves to outdoor eating. All that is needed when it is done is to add a side salad and serve dinner on […]
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Celebrate the 4th of July with a Patriotic Fruit Flag
Impress your Friends with a Patriotic Fruit Flag. We had friends over for brunch on Sunday, and I wanted to add a festive patriotic accent to our table since the holiday is just a week away. I wanted something that we would eat (I hate wasting food on craft projects unless I plan to serve […]
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Green Beans with Garlic and Mushrooms
This recipe for Green beans with garlic and mushrooms is the perfect way to make a vegetable the feature on a summer dinner plate. I love summer time cooking. It gives me a chance to make vegetables the star item in my dinner time menu. Have a steady supply of beans all summer long! Green […]
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Birth Order – My Sisters and Middle Sister Wines
Do you believe that the birth order of your siblings plays a part in family dynamics? I come from a very large family of 6 children, born and raised in Maine. I am the oldest, with 3 middle sisters and two younger brothers. When I learned about Middle Sister Wines and their varieties of wines, […]
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Garden Make Over – 14 Tips for a Success – Before & After
This year, we spent the summer on a garden make over. I thought it would be fun to share the tips that I learned during the process. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my “what will […]
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Caprese Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad
This Caprese Tomato Basil Mozzarella Salad is simple to make and is the perfect way to showcase the tomato and to add some color to your dinner plate. For me, there is nothing quite like the taste of garden fresh tomatoes, especially those that you have grown yourself. My tomatoes have just started growing this […]
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DIY Old Bookcase Garden Make Over
My latest project is this old book case garden make over that adds color to my garden bed and becomes a great place to store garden tools. I love to re-purpose tired and dilapidated old furniture and household goods. It is fun to think outside the box and come up with a new way to […]
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5 Tips for a Flourishing Summer Garden – Help Your Garden Take the Heat
Gardening in the summer months can be a challenge. These 5 tips for a flourishing summer garden will help to get the best out of your plants, both outdoors and inside. If you’re late to the game on spring gardening, no fear. There’s still time to create a beautiful, vivacious garden at home. Given the […]
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DIY Cement Blocks Plant Shelf
This cement blocks Plant Shelf project is the perfect way to show off a collection of plants and to add a focal point to a garden bed. I love recycling old materials into something new. A big collection of cement blocks got a new lease on life today. This not only saves me money but helps […]
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My 10+ Favorite Vodka Drinks
My favorite Vodka drinks are those that are full of flavor, since I rarely drink spirits neat. For me, there are two ways to drink vodka – for purists – neat, with no mixers or flavorings and in mixed drinks and, for casual drinkers, in mixed drinks and cocktail recipes. Everyone who dabbled into the […]
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Sounds of the Southwest with Musical Planters
I have a new garden bed which has a South West Focal point as a seating area and I have carried the colors of turquoise and terra cotta through the garden with both accent pieces, planters and plants themselves. These musical planters are a whimsical way for me to ring in the sounds of the […]