How to keep warm in a cold house.

When you live in an old rickety house with poor insulation, it can be really really hard to get warm.  Hopefully these tips can help you out.....

Tips for Getting Toasty...

1. Use space heaters!!!  These little guys pack a lot of punch.  They seriously work really really well. You have to make sure to close your room off to keep the heat in.  Camp out in the warmest room!  And these things suck up a ton of electricity, so.....don't use one in each room in the same area of your home or you might trip the switch and find yourself out in the cold with a flashlight searching for the right switches in the circuit breaker.  Not fun.  This has happened to us a few times.  It also happens if you have one heater on, plus TV, dvd, phone & laptop plugged in, and the lights on.  Just sayin.
2. Light candles.  It really works.  Sure it's a small amount, but it's still fire.  You'd really be amazed at the amount of heat that candles can generate.  The great smell and glow they create is so warm!
3. Cuddle up to your favorite furry friend.  Dogs & cats are the coziest!!!
4. Layer.  Don't be ashamed to wear long johns, fuzzy socks under slippers, sweats, scarves & hats....gloves?
5. Bake.  Turn that oven on.  It will heat up your kitchen.  Make some warm comfort food.  Mmmmm.
6. Consume hot beverages.  Tea, coffee, and hot chocolate are so amazing when it comes to warming up!  Just holding a warm steamy mug makes you feel taken care of.  Hot soup and bread are also really great in a freezing house.
7. Dry your hair!  I always think I'm going to heat up in the shower (since I like mine scorching hot), but it never ever works.  Because even in the steamiest shower, you are still naked (and wet!) in an ice cold bathroom.  Plugging in a space heater helps a lot (be extra careful with your appliances around water!).  Just make sure every inch of you is bone dry before you step out of the bathroom.  You have to get into the habit also of closing yourself in and creating little pods of warmth when you're in a cold house, so remember to keep your bathroom door shut when showering or it will ruin the whole thing.  If you have someone in your house that loves you a lot, you might be able to convince them to throw your towel into the dryer, and bring you a hot towel (and maybe even hot clothes too!).  If using lotion, consider switching to that kind you can use in the shower, or an oil (they don't feel cold), or at least warm up your lotion a little in your hands before slapping it on, because lotion can make you cold all over again.  Layer up, and lock in that heat by getting under a blanket stat.
8. Watch a movie.  Turning on the tele will generate a lot of heat.  So will a laptop sitting on your lap.What a nice excuse to cuddle up with a hot drink and watch a movie in bed?!  It's survival.
9.  This sounds ridiculous, but go outside for a while.  Take your dog on a walk, or shovel snow.  When you come back in, your house won't seem that cold after all. It will actually feel quite cozy!
10.  Tack up blankets to your windows.  It looks ugly, but hey, it works.  Check your insulation.  Sometimes old houses are really poorly insulated.  If you have the money, spend a little time repairing the cracks, and replacing old windows & doors.
11.  Call the repair guy.  It might be an easy fix.  Honestly, you might just need to change your furnace filter.
12.  Close off rooms you aren't using regularly.  The guest bedroom doesn't need to be heated.  Shut off the vent and close the door.  Remember, every time you open it you will lose the precious heat you've been working so hard at keeping.
13.  Get an electric blanket.  Or at least make your bed as comfy as possible.  Flannel sheets, a down comforter, and a heavy quilt will work wonders.
14.  Stop watching movies about snow!  They say if you look at something warm, you will actually start to feel warm.  It sounds dumb, but sometimes we can trick our minds into thinking differently.  Watch a desert or a surf  movie.  Look at summer vacation photos on your laptop, ......be thankful you aren't sweating buckets in a swampy jungle!!!

...I hope these tips can help.  Tell me, what are your tricks for staying warm??

Spinach Manicotti

...one of my boyfriends favorite meals is manicotti.  I don't make it for him very often, because it's such a messy and fussy thing to make.  But it's winter.  And it sounded really REALLY good.  A nice warm Italian meal on a really cold day is so good.  The secret ingredient here is the nutmeg, which adds just enough balance to the bold tomato and garlic flavors in this dish.  I hope you guys like it as much as we did!

Spinach Manicotti

1 package of manicotti noodles
1 LG package of fresh spinach (about 6 cups)
2 C ricotta cheese (part skim)
1 egg
1/3 C shredded parmesan cheese
1 jar of Newman's Own marinara sauce
garlic, oregano, nutmeg, salt, pepper, olive oil, cooking spray, and basil

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Dig out a large casserole dish.  Line the dish with your uncooked noodles in a single even layer to see how many fit in your pan (this is how many you will cook).  Fill a large pot with water, add olive oil and salt and bring to a boil.  Cook noodles to al dente (you don't want to cook them all the way because they will become hard to stuff and they will fall apart).  While your noodles are boiling, spray your casserole dish with cooking spray and sprinkle the pan with a light layer of oregano.  Meanwhile, pull out a large saute pan.  Wash and drain your spinach.  Fill your pan with as many spinach leaves as possible (they will reduce down while cooking, making more room for fresh leaves, which you can just throw on top of the wilted ones, stirring as they cook) and cook them on medium heat.  When the leaves are cooked, add your garlic ( I like to use the kind you can find minced in a can next to the fresh garlic in the produce section in the grocery store...just about half a tablespoon full), and reduce the liquid out of the leaves, draining if necessary.  Then take the spinach off the heat, and add your ricotta and parmesan cheeses, salt and pepper, egg, basil, and a light sprinkle of nutmeg.  Mix the spinach/cheese mixture and to make things easier for stuffing.....put it in a pastry bag with no tip, or a ziploc bag with a corner cut off to pipe your cheese mixture into your noodles.  Place your noodles in your greased casserole dish, and start piping a little cheese mixture into each noodle.  (Twist the end of your pastry bag to prevent mix from escaping out the top.  This is a messy meal to make!)  Wash the cheese off of your hands, and then pour your maranara sauce over the top of your noodles, and bake for 30 minutes.  Serve with some nice warm french bread, and this makes a fine filling and comforting winter meal.

Winter is so Magical!!!

Feeling bitter, cold, hum-drum?  Are you a little scroogey this year?  Here's just the thing to cheer you up....
Type these key words in your Google Image search......

Our Pink Christmas Tree
Snowman
Christmas Cookies
Pretty Wrapping Paper
Mint Cupcakes
Hot Cocoa
Pine Trees
Snowed In
House Christmas Lights


These images make me so so SO happy!!!!!!

boo

A few days ago I got a package in the mail.  !!!  My ghostie arrived.  Isn't it so cute?!  I have been admiring Skunkboy Creatures for a while now, and I am so happy I decided to buy one!  The ghost looks even cuter in person.  I'm always so pleased with my Etsy purchases.  I feel so good supporting independent artists.  I don't remember where I saw this goal, but somewhere out there in the blogging world I saw that someone had a goal to support handmade buy buying at least one item per month.  I think that is such an awesome idea.  Most of us can afford to buy ourselves a little something every month (think about all the Starbucks!), ....why not buy that yummy fall scented candle from Etsy instead of Target?!  Christmas is coming up too.  Personally, I am making all of my Christmas gifts, but I would much rather buy something handmade with love than some mass produced crap at the mall.  I am so excited to stay at home and make my gifts!!  I will save tons of cash, and feel good about what I am giving.  I will be at home snuggly in my pajamas instead of buzzing around all those swarms of angry holiday shoppers.  It stresses me out even thinking about holiday shopping.  In fact, I may have to stock up on baking and food staples so that I don't have to go out to the grocery store as much in December.  Crowds give me such anxiety.  Well, now that I have Christmas on the brain, I'm off to look up recipes for bath goods.  Happy Haunting, and Happy Shopping everyone!

goodbye winter.

  Crazy how the first day of spring was filled with big fat fluffy snowflakes huh?  Snow & ice & bitter cold have been replaced with daffodils & rain & green green grass.  I usually love winter, but have been longing for spring since mid February when our heat went out.  I had figured that we were so close to spring that we would be fine to just wait it out for a while.  Space heaters, socks, and sweatshirts can only get you by so long.  Needless to say that I am thrilled that comfier times are in order.  I can't wait to get the yard in order so we can go shopping for garden supplies!  The strawberries we planted last summer have sprouted bright new vines, and fresh new chives have sprouted too!!  I just love seeing everything spring to life again!  What is springing up in your yard?



....................................................................hello spring.