7/4/10

If you're planning a weekend brunch with friends and family, consider doing a farm stand party with everyone. Make a list of local green grocers that sell locally grown produce, flowers, eggs, meat and honey and shop together for what's available. Then prepare everything fresh at home for the brunch: Someone makes an arrangement of flowers, another cooks the farm fresh frittatas, and someone else makes the freshest fruit salad ever. Yum!

7/3/10

On the next rainy day, fold up your umbrella and stick it in the side of a large houseplant in your home. The residual water on the umbrella will slowly drip down the sides and onto the soil of the plant, giving it a slow, gradual watering.

7/2/10

Many of us are switching to cast iron pans for their ease in cooking and as a healthful alternative to potentially harmful Teflon-coated cookware. Since dishwashers and cast iron pans don't mix, consider cleaning your pans with an all-natural solution: olive oil and coarse salt. Make a paste from lots of salt and about a tablespoon of oil and scrub away the inside of the pan. Rinse away with hot water and dry clean.