Random Tips Archives - Page 7 of 14

10 Tips for Allergy Friendly Decorating

June 7, 2011 By Michelle Barneck 2 Comments

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls Collective on behalf of Claritin®. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program.

I have allergies. I have had ever since I can remember. When spring comes and things start to look pretty my congestion gets ugly. My mom says I had a runny nose since birth. Lovely, I know. Allergies are the pits. Lucky for us there are ways to help control the sniffle, sneeze, head exploding joy by making some alterations in our home decor. Cool right?! Here are ten tips on how to make your home decor work for you and your (or your family’s) allergies.

10 Tips for Allergy Friendly Decorating

Keep clutter free and easy to dust or rotate frequently so things aren’t sitting. I love to rotate my living room decor based on season so this help eliminate things collecting dust.

Buy allergy friendly indoor plants. Here’s a great list of allergy friendly indoor plants and believe it or not many of them are beautiful and colorful!
Use fake flowers and greenery. I would never be able to have fresh lilacs in the house, but I love how the silk version looks in this pitcher aside my cherry blossom branch!

Leather couches instead of cloth are easier to wipe down. Admittedly, my couches are microfiber, but they are second best for wipe down purposes especially when scotch guarded.
Use washable bedding and wash in hot often. My son has an organic allergy friendly mattress pad and comforter from Natura that have been great!

Hang easy to wipe blinds instead of drapes that collect dust
Have a chest to store toys that are not in use so they don’t sit and collect dust. I like this one that is simple, but has a little something special in that it resembles a treasure chest.
Use washable rugs so you can toss them in the washing machine as needed
Paint over wallpaper collects less dust on the walls
Use tile or wood on floors instead of carpet that collects dust and germs. I have a lot of carpet, but I have it cleaned with the changes of the seasons and vacuum with a HEPA filter.

As you can see the theme here is pretty much stay dust free. That is the key to keeping your indoor allergies in check.

For more tips on relieving allergies visit www.Facebook.com/Claritin. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

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Let Me Reply to Your Comments…Pretty Please

March 1, 2011 By Michelle Barneck 8 Comments

What?! You don’t have your email listed on your profile?

No worries, House of Smith’s has a tutorial on how to add your email to your blogger profile. I did not realize how many people did not have their emails connected until I tried replying to comments and trying to contact giveaway winners. {Please} add your emails if you have not. I really want to be able to communicate with you! You leave me such fun comments and I go to reply back and get a {no reply}. Sadness.

Also, for giveaways, if you do not leave your email in the comments or have it linked to your profile I pick a new winner. I am lazy, if I cannot contact you, you cannot win.

So go, do it today. Then, next time you leave a comment I can chat with you instead of getting the “talk to the hand” reply. Let’s be friends.

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Super Bowl Recipes

February 1, 2011 By Michelle Barneck 8 Comments

Some go for the game, not gonna lie, I go for the food (and the commercials of course, I was an Advertising major, what can I say?!). You can’t have a great Super Bowl party unless it is accompanies by great Super Bowl recipes! Here’s one of our favorites.

Not sure where it came from, it just showed up one year and has been a favorite ever since. Seriously, these are always the first to go. You have to make them ahead of time, otherwise you will not be able to keep up with people stealing them off the plate! Trust me, I am usually the one doing the stealing. I don’t even like peperoncini, but the cream cheese tames the spice and makes a great combo!

Supplies:

Italian Dry Salami
Peperoncini (I bought sliced so I would not have to do it)
Cream Cheese
Toothpicks

Lay out a salami slice. Add a scoop of cream cheese and a slice of peperoncini. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

It is easy to adapt for kiddos, just leave out the peperoncini. My little guy ate like five while I was making the display for the pics.

Can you tell which team we are rooting for? Green and Yellow Toothpicks…

Yep, the Packers!

My team was pretty much chosen by birth since my maiden name is Packer.

BTW, did you like my footbowl? I won it from Frito Lay last year for this healthy football dip recipe. Another must have Super Bowl Recipe! It is basically the first few layers of 7 layer dip.

Stephanie Lynn over at Under the Table and Dreaming put together a HUGE list of Super Bowl recipes. Here are a few new ones I want to try…

Source: Food Network

Totally brings new meaning to bowl of snacks!

Source: Kraft Foods

We need a football to go with our field!

Source: Watermelon.org

They are totally killin’ me with this helmet!

Source: Bakerella

These burgers from sliced cupcakes and brownies are too dang cute!

Source: Love and Butter

If you can’t get enough of the cake pop trend.

Source: Betty Crocker

A super easy themed dessert

Source: Disney’s Family Fun

A fun little game to keep the kiddos entertained.

Hope you all have a fun and delicious Super Bowl and good luck to the Packers!!

Do you have favorite Super Bowl recipes?

Linking Up:
Anything Related
Topsy Turvy Tuesday
Take-A-Look Tuesday

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Make Snow Cones

January 31, 2011 By Michelle Barneck 3 Comments

It’s here. It’s plentiful, so why not make use of it?!

My little guy could sit outside and eat snow for hours so I decided to bring it inside and make snow cones. It is oh so easy to add a little flavor and kick up the fun.

How to Make Snow Cones

1. Scoop up a bunch of clean fresh white snow.

2. Mix up some “snow cone syrup.” I used one of those Welch’s single serving packets meant for a water bottle and mixed it with about 6 oz. of water. Countrytime, Hawaiian Punch (get them at Dollar Tree) and Kool-Aid makes the packets too so you could have a variety of flavors.