Keeping the Castle - Housekeeping & Homemaking Tips

October 31st, 2008

Book Review: Extreme Entertaining Made Simple by Eduardo Xol

A new book by Eduardo Xol, one of the designers on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, will be out next week. Ahead of the release, I received a copy of Extreme Entertaining Made Simple to look over and review for Keeping the Castle.
In Extreme Entertaining Made Simple, Eduardo shares his philosophy of using the […]

By Maricar -- 0 comments

August 2nd, 2008

The Winner of the Domino Magazine Subscription

Thanks to everyone who threw their names into the hat to win a 1-year subscription to Domino magazine!
I picked the winning comment using random.org. And the number that was picked was:

#85! Congratulations to Patti!
PattiJul 30, 2008 at 6:26 pm
This magazine is wonderful. I’ve picked it up a few times, but don’t subscribe! Thanks […]

By Maricar -- 0 comments

July 5th, 2008

Home Magazine Round-up (July 2008)

Over the past months, I subscribed to quite a few magazines. Some of them still have to start arriving. I don’t know if I’ll eventually regret the subscriptions. If simply become clutter, I will. But my rationale is that I’m looking for one (or two) good house and home magazines. And the only way […]

By Maricar -- 1 comment

June 27th, 2008

Rice Cooker Meals

I know about crockpot cooking and pressure cooking. But it’s the first time I’ve heard about cooking entire meals in a rice cooker. Sure, I have a rice cooker (can’t live without it!). But I use it for one thing and one thing only: cooking plain (aka steamed) rice.
I didn’t even realize that a […]

By Maricar -- 0 comments

June 5th, 2008

The Winner of the Book, The Peaceful Nursery

If you’ve been following the giveaways over the past month, then you know how this goes. :) First, random.org helped me pick a number:

Comment #8, who is:
Kathy ScottMay 29, 2008 at 7:36 am
Great ideas. Thanks for the chance.

Congratulations, Kathy! You’re the winner of the book, The Peaceful Nursery by Laura Forbes Carlin and […]

By Maricar -- 0 comments

June 3rd, 2008

Home Magazines on Sale on Amazon (6-3-08)

Amazon is having a sale right now on home magazine subscriptions. This is the perfect time to subscribe to the most popular home magazines. These are some of the deals I saw today on 1-year subscriptions, with as much as 75% off on a few:
House Beautiful (on sale for $12; cover price is $47.40)
Martha Stewart […]

By Maricar -- 1 comment

April 23rd, 2008

How to Know if You are Organized

How do you define being organized? Does everything have to be neatly aligned? Do your folders all have to be the same color?

Rosemary Chieppo, a professional organizer and author of Clutter, Chaos & the Cure, defines being organized very simply:
If you can find what you need when you need it, you’re organized.

That’s it. […]

By Maricar -- 0 comments

April 16th, 2008

Review: Cooking Light Complete Cookbook

Touted as Cooking Light’s “most comprehensive and user-friendly cookbook to date”, the Cooking Light Complete Cookbook doesn’t disappoint. With more than 1,200 recipes and 600 photos, it is a hefty reference book for any healthy kitchen.
Some of this cookbook’s features are:
* a binder that wipes clean* a complete entertaining section* tips and techniques for […]

By Maricar -- 2 comments