RACHAEL RAY

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and we should all take the time to tell our moms and grand moms we love them, right? But what is the right thing to get for them? If your mom is like mine, then every time I spend any significant amount of money on her gift she complains that I spent too much. I get it; she wants me to save my pennies…

So the trick with Mother’s Day more than any other day, is to not get gifts that are too extravagant. Instead, find something that comes from the heart, since that’s what matters most right? So here are a few Mother’s Day gift ideas. Let me know what you think.

1. Flowers- who doesn’t love flowers, right? I personally feel that nothing brightens up my digs better than a bouquet or two. But how about putting flowers in something other than a vase? How about a beautiful teapot or even a cool pair of galoshes or gardening shoes?

If you are going to give a potted flower, I recommend orchids - my favorite for indoor longevity.

You can pick these up just about anywhere for under $20, they last for months if you take care of them, and beyond if you REALLY take care of them, and nothing classes up the place more than orchids. Good bang for the buck. I love that.

2. Spa Gift Certificate- Making mom feel well pampered is well worth it - I’m sure all moms out there can agree. Why not buy mom a certificate to a massage or a mani/pedi at a neighborhood spa or salon? I did this once a few years ago and bought my mom a massage, but it was her first one ever in a salon and I thought she might be nervous. So, I bought my dad a massage too, and they both felt much more comfortable. You don’t have to do that, but if you are taking your mom a bit out of the comfort zone with this gift, why not take her and get a little something done yourself and then head to lunch together … that way the anxiety level is nil.

3. Pictures- Last year for Christmas I made an album of family photos for my mom. Rather than pillaging her own collection, I got together with a cousin and an aunt and scanned in a bunch of photos of her and our family that she had never seen (or hadn’t for years). This was a huge hit, my mom was really moved and it was great to sit next to her and go through all of them together. Good times. If you don’t have the time to do all of that research and trolling for pics, I love these new digital picture frames.

They are super cool, and you feel a bit like a magician when you give them to a techno-un-savvy mom or grandma. Make sure before you give this one that you load it up with family photos so there is no work involved. Just plug it in and enjoy.

4. Food – Who doesn’t love food? Since I am no Rachael Ray, I leave the making of delectable goodies to her, but when it comes to buying tasties, I know just where to go. For virtually every occasion perfect for food gifts, I get something from Zingermans . They have some of the tastiest treats around, and there is still time to order and get something delivered for the weekend. If your mom is nearby or you’re an adventurous kid that wants to do something nice for mom, I recommend a breakfast in bed. You can’t go wrong with that. The first time I ever made my mom breakfast in bed, I was probably around 9. I made the mistake of mixing an egg into her drink and was disappointed that she didn’t drink it. Kids, learn from my mistake: eggs are never good in a drink. At least not orange juice …

5. Jewelry or Perfume – If you really know your mom’s taste, feel free to navigate these waters. I find that although every woman really loves both, they can be deeply personal purchases and therefore hit or miss. But if you get it right…it will really knock the socks off mom.

Finally, never forget the card. All moms love heartfelt prose, even if you don’t write it yourself. But try to take a little time and write something really nice in the card. Not just “Happy Day Mom,” which believe me I have gotten plenty of mileage out of. Instead reminisce about a funny time, or special time and remind mom about it in the card. Makes anyone warm and fuzzy. Or, if you know your mom has a favorite poem, verse, or song, buy a blank card, and copy in the text, for another personal touch.

Also, always give of your time on this day. Spend time with mom and if she’s not around definitely give her a call to tell her how much you love her.

Mom…everything I am I owe to you, to your dedication and love. Thank you today and always. I love you!!

My Mom and Me

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL YOU MAMAS!

One of the things that I love most about Easter is dying all those eggs! I really dig seeing them go from pearly white to bright and colorful right before my eyes…as if by magic!

This year I am going to try out a few cool and out of the box dying techniques that I want to share with all of you. I test drove a few of them but many of them i will be trying for the first time this Easter. If you try any of these and you love them or you hate them, do tell!

Tie Dyeing eggs: This is a super cool and easy technique, I totally dig it because it’s made possible through reusing old silk neckties…pretty cool!

Here’s What You Need:

- Raw eggs
- Glass or enamel pot (this one is very important. Metal pots react with the vinegar you need to dye your eggs. not good)
- Silk ties, blouses, or boxers, cut into pieces large enough to cover an egg (the uglier the tie, the prettier the egg)\
- White cotton sheets (or pillowcases or old tablecloths), cut into pieces to cover silk-wrapped eggs
- Twist ties or rubber bands
- 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
- Warm water
- EVOO or Vegetable oil
- Paper towels
- Tongs or spoon

Here’s How You Do It:

1. Cut silk into a square (or a piece) large enough to wrap around a raw egg (I used a seam ripper to rip the ties open from the backside, and was able to get about 4 good sized pieces of silk from each tie)

2. Wrap a raw egg with a piece of silk, making sure the printed side of the material is facing the egg. Silk can still be used if it doesn’t fit perfectly around egg.

3. Place the silk-wrapped egg in a piece of white sheet, pillowcase, or old tablecloth and secure tightly with a twist-tie.

4. Place the egg(s) in an enamel or glass pot. Fill pot with water to cover eggs completely. Then, add three tablespoons of white vinegar.

5. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down, and simmer for 20 minutes (longer if you plan on eating the eggs).

6. Remove eggs from water with tongs or spoon and let cool.

7. Remove silk from cooled egg.

8. For shiny eggs, wipe with EVOO or vegetable oil once your egg has cooled.

Here’s A Tip:

Light colored ties (ie. Yellow) don’t turn out all that great. The colors that turn out best are dark colors like navy, burgundy, dark green, etc. And anything black will yield a grey egg, an ok look if your going for it.

All Naturally Dyed Eggs: This Easter I am going to try and use natural coloring from fruits and veggies to dye my eggs. Here is a chart I found that shows which fruit or veggie will produce which color. If you give any of these a shot, let me know how it goes!

- Pale Red: Fresh beets or cranberries, frozen raspberries
- Orange: Yellow onion skins
- Light yellow: Orange or lemon peels, carrot tops, celery seed or ground cumin
- Yellow: Ground turmeric
- Pale green: Spinach leaves
- Green-gold: Yellow Delicious apple peels
- Blue: Canned blueberries or red cabbage leaves
- Beige to brown: Strong brewed coffee

Here’s How You Do It!

1. Put eggs in a single layer in a pan. Pour water in pan until the eggs are covered.
2. Add about a teaspoon of vinegar.
3. Add the natural dye appropriate to the color you want your eggs to be. (The more eggs you are dying at a time, the more dye you will need to use.)
4. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Remove your eggs, let them cool and shine with some EVOO of Veggie Oil.
Onion Skin Eggs: I just loved the way this egg turned out, and I love the fact that my tossed away onion skins can have an afterlife!

Here’s What You Need:

- Raw Eggs
- Onion skins (pieces as large as possible)
- Twist ties or rubber bands
- Salt
- 3 tablespoons of white vinegar
- Warm water
- EVOO or Vegetable oil
- Paper towels
- Tongs or spoon

Here’s How You Do It:

1. Soak your onion skins in a big bowl of water. Be careful with your onion skins. When they are dry, they are pretty fragile and you want to keep them as large as possible.

2. Just dip the squares of cloth in the water, then wring them out so they are damp. Also dip the eggs in the water; it helps the onion skins cling to them better.

3. Wrap onion skins around each egg. If you are lucky, you’ll have skins from the top or the bottom of an onion. These naturally conform to the shape of the egg. If not, just make sure you cover the entire surface of each egg with pieces of onion skin. The water should help the skins cling to the eggs.

4. Place an onion skin wrapped egg in the middle of one of your squares of cloth. Wrap the cloth snugly around the egg so the onion skin presses tightly against it. Securely tie off the top of the cloth with a twist tie or a rubber band.

5. Carefully add each bundled-up egg to a pot of boiling water. Boil them for seven minutes or so, until they are hard boiled. If you happen to crack one of the eggs when you are putting them in, add some salt to the water; that’ll supposedly keep the whites from leaking out of the crack.

6. Once your eggs have boiled long enough, carefully pour off the boiling water and run some cold water into the pot to cool the eggs down.

7. Carefully remove the twist ties or rubber bands and take the eggs out of the cloths. Peel off the onion skins and low and behold the shells of the eggs will now be covered with beautiful patterns transferred from the onion skins in shades of brown, yellow, and green.

8. For shiny eggs, wipe with EVOO or vegetable oil once your egg has cooled.

Let me know how your Eggs-plorations go!

Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that the most famous movie line about decorating is: “No Wire Hangers!” and while this is an ideally accurate, but somewhat restrictive point – especially if you just got back from the dry cleaner, or you’re talking about stuff way in the back of your closet that no one will ever see unless they are over the top snoopers – an even BETTER point to make these days is: “No Paper Napkins.” That’s what I would say if I were in a movie. “No Paper Napkins!” But maybe with a kind-of French accent, like … “Non, non, non! Non Napkin Papier!”

Why would I say this? Because it’s is a major component of the band wagon where I want you all hopping, that bio-diesel fuel running wedding limo carrying … the Marriage of Sustainability and Luxury. Nothing sets that special occasion tone at a dinner party like cloth napkins. Make every dinner a special occasion, and your kids begin practicing for those dreaded business lunches at an early age. It’s really no more work. Just train everyone in the family to use them (buy a cheap set for pizza in front of the TV), and remind them (forcefully, if necessary) that it is their responsibility to get their napkin in the wash. And whether you get these napkins from the finest Italian Linen specialist or the cheap and cheerful section at Target, you will be making a surprisingly far reaching green design choice. Imagine the trash space a years worth of your paper toweling takes – not to mention the cost. Add some festive hand and dish towels to you kitchen to take the idea even further, while giving a fresh breath of new patterns and color. Replace toilet paper with … every good idea has its limits.

Links:

Slice of Pizza Napkins - Red Deco www.target.com

Napkins for the Kids- Fruits www.fabkins.com

Steak Au Poivre Napkins - Gold Ginko www.dermondpeterson.com

We are all getting heavy into gift wrapping season. Some of us love it, and some of us can do without it. I happen to be in the first camp – I get really into gift wrapping. I think every family needs at least one designated wrapper, someone who really digs it. In my family we had my father, and he taught me.

Last week, I went into the studio to show Rachael some out-of-the-box (no pun intended), gift wrapping projects. As often is the case, there wasn’t enough time to feature everything, so I ended up left with a few super cool ideas that I’d like to share.

In my family there has been for years, an unpacking gift conspiracy. It all started with my uncle Angel Luis, who would shake his gifts to hear how they rattled, hold them to his head, put them in front of a light (to see if he could look through the gift wrap). We, as kids, decided to take things one step further, and would unwrap the sides and peek at the label on the box, fold it and tape it up again so no one would know.

If you’ve got family like us, then you can see why I was out to find a way to wrap a gift, especially for one of those small but ridiculously expensive tech gifts everyone has on their lists (cell phones, digital cameras, ipods, etc.) that would resist detection.

I started with an ordinary VHS tape. Imagine your kid’s horror to discover that instead of the new iPod Nano he wants, you’re slipping him a classic VHS of Aladdin, his childhood favorite. Bwah ha ha!

5 small screws hold the tape together. Remove these with a small Phillips head screwdriver. Next, remove the guts of the tape, two large reels that come out super easily. What’s left? The perfect cavity for a small tech gift…

Remove the tech gift from the box it came in, coil the cords, and pop it into the VHS tape. Plug the two holes where the reels would normally be with black construction paper, put the tape back together, this time without the screws, and put the tape back into the case.

Now for the fun part – you can customize the cover. The one I made for Rachael is based on the cover of Goodfellas, because she’s got a thing for true crime movies and TV shows… I replaced, Joe Pecsi, Ray Liotta and Robert DeNiro with Rachael, John and Isaboo, using Photoshop magic. Check out the results below:

I also made a version for more of a compilation gift. I plan to give my boyfriend’s family a copy of the Planet Earth series (if you haven’t seen it you should check it out, just amazing) but I wanted the gift to be more substantial, more than just a box of DVDs. So I found these decorative film tins online, a nice gift for any film buff, and pretty inexpensive. Double stick tape a DVD, or DVD set to the bottom of the tin, fill the remaining space with microwavable movie popcorn and movie candy, and give a movie night (or movie nights) in a box. This cover also allowed for some personalization. Though really for my boyfriend’s family, it was appearing on the show, so I taped on a photo of Isaboo to the top of the tin, and the gift was ready to give:

What are you guys giving as gifts for the holidays? Planning any bait and switch wrapping projects? Let me know all the thrills and spills!

Happy Holidays!

There is just about enough time before the big holiday stretch to make some of these holiday liqueurs. Every year my dad, Francisco, makes these and they always end up being such a hit. They are of course a delicious sipping treat, before or after dinner, but they also make a tasty addition to ice cream and holiday cakes…a tiramisu with out the rum is like a day without sunshine.

Here are my dad’s top two liqueurs…these make awesome holiday gifts. Make a batch, split ‘em up and spread the love. As Rach says, its always 5 o’clock somewhere!

Cranberry Liqueur (this recipe makes 6 cups)
2 cups of crushed frozen cranberries
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 cups Vodka
4 or 5 slivers of orange or lemon rind

Combine the ingredients and mix them well. Store in a tightly covered glass jar in a cool place for at least 20 days, Strain, bottle and enjoy.

Ginger Liqueur (this recipe makes 2 ¼ cups)
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1 ½ cups Vodka
¾ cup sugar syrup (sugar syrup is made by combining ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup boiling water, dissolve and cool)

Combine the ingredients and mix them well. Store in a tightly covered glass jar in a cool place for 1 week, Strain, bottle and enjoy.

Here are some tips if you are going to cook up some of these recipes:

- Always use glass jars with tight-fitting lids. If the jar that you have happens to have a metal lid make sure that you put a piece of plastic wrap between the jar and the lid

- Since you will be using a lot of Vodka, there is no need to buy the super expensive kinds, instead buy the least expensive 80 proof or higher, charcoal filtered brand available.

Let me know how your adventures in DIY liqueur go. Cheers, or Salud! as we say in Spanish, and Happy Holidays!

Winter is not the time for your water heater to go kaput…The other day my contractor friend, Mike, dropped by my place to borrow a couple of tools. When I opened my storage closet, I heard a gasp of horror behind me. I thought he was going to lecture me about the mess, which didn’t seem fair, as I’d cleaned it only months and months ago, so I was shocked to hear: “Is that really your hot water heater?” But not as shocked as I was when I saw what he was talking about. The poor thing was terminal. Rust spots poked right through the enamel like zits on a prepubescent Transformer, but I couldn’t quite tell if there was water leaking so I poked at them – “Don’t touch those!” Mike screamed.

I’m a home expert. These things aren’t supposed to happen to me. But they do, just like they happen to everybody – just gotta cope. I try to get something out of these migraine-inducing domestic disasters, by using them as a chance to go Green at a manageable pace. When that appliance finally tanks, at least look at your more sustainable alternatives. What you find may be surprising.

Mike helped me install a tankless on demand hot water heater (they have been really big in Europe for years and have now made their way across the ocean). It ran a little more expensive than a standard water heater, at $550, instead of $350 but by instantly heating the water I use as I use it, rather than endlessly refilling that tank, it does wonders for both my electricity bill and the water table. It also allows me to fill my tub when I’m in the mood for a luxurious soak, something impossible with that old clunker. Best of all, it’s only the size of a large dictionary, so that extra $200 also bought me a whole new closet!

I am working with HomeGoods on something really new and exciting for the holidays. For those of you who don’t know HomeGoods, here is the skinny – they’ve got a ton of stores nationwide, each with a ridiculous selection of furniture and accessories at cheerfully affordable prices. Whatever the project I am shopping for, whether it’s a viewer who wrote into Rachael’s show because their bedroom wasn’t sexy enough, or a couple with conflicting taste in home décor (she wasn’t too fond of dead animals all over the place), I have always been able to find something great there. So I am completely psyched to be working with them now!

Check out the screen grab below:

This holiday between cookin’, eatin’, wrappin’ and packin’, check out www.homegoods.com and see what I’ve got shakin’. I will be giving decorating, entertaining and gift giving tips to get you through the holiday season, and blogging each week about one juicy holiday topic or another. I’d love your input and support!

Happy Holidays!

Evette

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and at the top of everyone’s mind is getting all of the food prepared for the big, thankful feast. But once we’ve perfected our recipe list, and done all of our shopping, exhaustion sets in, and getting the decorations together often becomes a last priority. So, I’ve got some great Thanksgiving decoration ideas that can be put together at the last minute and on the cheap…

- I love pine cones, and use them to decorate around the house all season. Glue small ones to a piece of ribbon and tie around each guest’s napkin to make these easy place settings.

- Fill a beautiful bowl (I tried it with a silver plated one and wood one) with a mixture of whole bean coffee and nuts and tuck in lots of little votive candles. As the candles warm, the mixture will exude the scent of the coffee, filling your room with a holiday smell.

- Make an easy mantle or table-top centerpiece by filling crystal glasses or champagne flutes with cranberries, fruit and nuts, and topping each with a votive candle. Line up down the mantle, or Thanksgiving table, or group them in the center.

- Cut sprigs of thyme, oregano or whatever herbs you’ve got and tie them in with your silverware, then watch as the aroma relaxes your guests. Smell is part of decorating too!

- Scrabble pieces can be super fun place settings, this works great for smaller gatherings. Spell each guest’s name out on the little wooden scrabble trays, and put them on top of each guests place setting. Maybe it will drum up a game later!

- Fall leaves are beautiful on top of place settings. Using gold or silver magic marker, write your guests names on the leaves, or add something meaningful, like why you are thankful to have them, or what you are grateful for. Try oak leaves for their magnificent shape, and maple for their dramatic color.

Also: check out the Thanksgiving tabletop ideas I showed Rach on the show last year. There were some really good ones in there.

Click here

What have you guys got planned for Thanksgiving? Going somewhere, staying home, cooking up a storm…Let me know!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I’ve always wanted French Doors, with a single, frosted-glass light. Technically, these are called “single light French Doors”. I love the large pane of glass. It lets light in, and making things seem more open, more inviting.

So, now that I am in heavy project-mode, I wanted to switch out my hollow core doors to the French ones I have coveted for years. But I got total sticker shock, when I went to shop for them. The frosted ones (or sandblasted, as they are sometimes called), were all special order, and cost $450 each. Minimum. Seriously! I quickly fell out of love with them.

Clear glass ones, I could find for less than $125 each, so I just needed to accomplish a frosted look myself. There are two main products designed accomplish this, and I found they varied pretty dramatically in effectiveness. First, I tried the frosted glass spray that comes in an aerosol-type spray paint can.

Disaster. I don’t recommend it. It fills your home with fumes, and looks patchy at best. I am sure this type of application is fine for small projects – just don’t try it with French Doors, floor-to-ceiling windows, etc.

Next I brought in the big guns … I called my dad. Francisco (Frank to most) Rios, is quite possibly one of the craftiest people on the planet, and perfect to help me apply a frosted window film. And frosted window film was my last hope, after the spray mess. Luckily, a giant sheet (4 feet X 6.5 feet) of privacy film costs less than $20 – a huge bargain, if it worked.

We poured ourselves over the directions, and even tried to watch a tutorial video on the company’s site, which unfortunately was down. www.gilafilms.com

And the final product was really amazing, virtually indistinguishable from a $400 + frosted glass door. check it out!

Ta Dah! My Frosted Doors

If you decide to do this at home, here is the step-by-step, along with some tips I learned the hard way, so you don’t have to.

You will definitely need a helper for this project, so invite, plead, bribe, or coerce as necessary.

You will also need:

- The special liquid stuff for applying the film, should be available in the same display
- A really sharp exact-o or utility knife
- Coffee filters
- Clear tape

Read the directions thoroughly, as they are informative, and make complete sense. But here are some tips that the packaging may not tell you.

- Don’t install these until your home is dust free. I tried to do it when there was still a little too much drywall dust in the air. Not recommended.
- Take the roll out of the box, and spread it out on a virtually dust free surface. Generally, up on something is better than on the floor, to minimize the dust factor.

We worked on the floor… Not recommended

- Clean the glass super-well with window cleaner, and then rub with alcohol.
- Make sure you scratch off stuck-on paint, glue, price-tag gunk, etc. A razor blade rubbed across the glass at an angle should do the trick.
- Use coffee filters, which are virtually lint-free, to rub the glass surface completely clean. These work tons better than paper towels, and even newspaper
- Always keep both the film and the glass wet with the special liquid stuff. Problems arise when one side gets dry – bubbles, upturned corners, and worse.
- Keep the film off the floor, or it will attract dust like an angry magnet.

Happy Frosting! I’d love to hear how it goes!

I am constantly in the middle of one DIY project or another. Usually there are roadblocks, hitches and complications to every one that I do. So whenever an idea actually works relatively hitch free, I want to sing it from a mountain top.

I’ve been slowly trying to do some upgrades around my apartment, including revamping my kitchen a little. The paint job was still in good shape, I just wanted to add some shelf liners, a pull out trash bin, and switch out the hinges on my cabinets. The hinges that I had were coated with paint, and made the cabinets look old and cruddy.

Me and My Paint Coated Hinges

Have to admit, I initially went for the simple, store-bought solution on this one, but when I tried to buy matching hinges at the store, I realized that they just don’t make them anymore. To install new ones, I would have to re-drill holes and re-hang doors. I’ve done this before. Sometimes this teaches you how to do things better the next time. Sometimes this teaches you how never to do them again ever because it’s such a big pain in the butt. This case was the latter. It’s painstaking, to put it politely, to hang all the doors square again. Avoid this project whenever possible.

But I wanted my hinges to be like new, so I tried boiling them in water on the stove. Sounds crazy? Hot water is an invaluable soaking medium. Dissolves sticky stuff, breaks down bonds, and all that good stuff (or good de-stuff).

You can use this with any hardware, not just hinges. It worked incredibly well! Here is what you do:

1. Remove the culprit hinges

2. Boil them in a pot of water with a few drops of dish soap, and leave them soaking for about 10 minutes or until the paint is nice and soft.

3. Using a small wire brush, or an old, firm toothbrush, scrape off the softened paint.
4. Let your hinges dry and install them on your doors, practically as good as new.

This saved me a bunch of money. On the low end, the 24 hinges I had in my kitchen, at $4 a hinge, would have set me back $96 to replace.

I would make sure you do not attempt to boil off lead paint (in general, anything pre-1978). Don’t have any science on this, but lead paint isn’t something you want to mess with in general.

Try it and let me know how it goes!