Be Prepared for your Thanksgiving Road Trip

You just have to make it through this week of work, and then you get to go home for Thanksgiving.  No matter how long your drive is, you need to make sure you are prepared for holiday travel.  Keep reading to find out how to prepare for your road trip.

Planning to hit the road for the Thanksgiving holiday to visit with family and friend? You won’t be alone. The AAA forecasts 42.5 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, marking a 4-percent increase over last year. Before you embark, consider these tips to help prepare you and your car for whatever challenges might be faced on the road.

1. Fuel up. Don’t head out on a long trip without a full tank of gas. In addition to topping off the tank, also check fluids and tire pressures before you leave.

2. Be prepared. Bring supplies in the event of an accident or medical issue. Stock your car with an emergency kit—especially a flashlight, blanket, first-aid kit, and some basic tools. Also, bring water and extra snacks, just in case.

3. Pack smart. Check your vehicle’s load capacity to make sure you aren’t putting too much weight in the car. On most new cars, the total weight you can carry is printed on a placard (sticker) inside the driver’s door jamb. This load rating includes all the passengers and cargo. Also, make sure your gear is packed properly and will not be a hazard if you stop short.

4. Track it. A portable GPS navigation system will help you get where you’re going, making it easy to find gas stations or restaurants along the way. Traffic-enabled devices can warn of roadway congestion, and all units can assist in finding an alternate route. Also, a navigator can help direct emergency services to your location, should something happen. (See "Video: Don't let a GPS navigator steer you wrong.")

5. Kid prep. If you’re driving with kids, make sure you pack enough snacks, water, games, videos/DVDs, and music to keep them occupied during your journey. (See our "10 tips for a stress-free road trip with kids" for more advice.)

6. Traveling with pets. Be sure to secure your pets, either with harnesses and seat belts or by placing them in a crate. Animals can be a dangerous distraction when driving and physical threat in an accident, should they travel about the cabin or escape onto a busy motorway. Bring water, food, toys, leash, and clean-up supplies—you never know.

7. Be patient. During busy travel times, expect to hit traffic. It may make sense to drive late at night or early in the morning to avoid the rush and ensure you get to your destination on time and with minimal stress. A GPS device with traffic information and an exit guide can help you navigate around congestion and help find desired pit stop locations.

8. Don’t be distracted. Cell phones and driving don’t mix, so if you need to send a message or make a call, hand your phone to a passenger or pull over. It’s not worth risking your life or others on the road.

9. Buckle up. Always use your seat belt, make sure children are properly secured in a car seat and are seated in the rear seats if they are under 13.

10. Watch for weather. If you’re driving in wintry weather, make sure you clear off the snow and ice for better visibility, allow for longer braking distances, and reduce your speed. (Check out our winter driving guide if you are headed to a snowy location.)

11. Keep control. There could be a variety of scenarios on the road, but if you stay calm and be prepared you can get through any challenge. Check out our story “Surviving the worst-case scenarios” for more on driving in fog, snow, or if you car has brake failure, overheats, or your tire blows out.

For more information see Consumer Reports.

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Free Pie!

 This free event features pie tastings and demos from the best chefs in Santa Fe.  The event will take place on Saturday November 10th from 1pm-5pm.  You will get to try various pies and bid on your favorite pies.  The proceeds go to the "Building Hope Project" through The Food Depot.

Free event features pie tastings & demos by Santa Fe's top chefs; raffles, and holiday pie auction to benefit The Food Depot's 'Building Hope Project'

If you love pie (and who doesn't?), don't miss the Santa Fe Harvest Festival's 2012 event, Holiday Pie Mania, on Saturday, November 10th, 1:00-5:00 p.m. at Builders Source Appliance Gallery, 1608 
Pacheco St. Enjoy delectable tastings as you watch Santa Fe's top chefs demonstrate how to make their signature holiday pies (recipes provided). No time to bake this season? Bid on your favorite holiday pies, to be freshly baked in time for your Thanksgiving and other holiday celebrations.

Admission to Holiday Pie Mania is free – plus you will be able to "share a piece of the pie" with those who need it most: proceeds from the pie auction and raffles will benefit The Food Depot's "Building Hope Project." The project's goal is to build a 16,000-square-foot warehouse on Siler Road that will significantly increase The Food Depot's capacity, allowing distribution of 10 million meals per year. http://thefooddepot.org/

Holiday Pie Mania's emcee will be well-known local Chef John Vollertsen (aka "The Pie Piper") and sponsors include Blue Star, KitchenAid, Sub Zero and Wolf.

For more information see New Mexico. 
Lincoln Place 

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Happy Halloween!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!

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Prepare for the Holiday Season

  Starting now there will be many occasions that gift wrapping will occur.  Kids birthday parties to Christmas there is always something to wrap a present for.  Here are some great tips on creating an easy present wrapping station in your house.  This will prepare you for the whole year, including the hectic holiday season.

Yeah, we went there. Consider this the first salvo of the holiday season, for we are here to talk about organizing gift wrapping supplies. Of course, there are many occasions that could arise between now and the end of the year which would necessitate wrapping a gift, so if it makes it any easier to swallow, let's pretend we are posting this to make packaging your Aunt Tilly's birthday gift a little bit easier. But the reality is the sales and shopping will begin more sooner than later, and this project puts all of your wrapping needs at your fingertips.

Open up a random closet in your domicile and see what is hanging on the back of the door--some ties, a few belts or possibly a handbag or two. Jen at I Heart Organizing recently featured an impressive use of that often wasted space, an uber-organized gift wrapping storage station, courtesy of Cassie from Hi Sugarplum. It has it all--tags, tape, scissors, ribbon, bags and anything else you could possibly need. Using a modular rack system and a series of baskets allows for large and small items to live harmoniously side by side and doesn't allow an inch to go unwasted.

The metal magnet strip is a great addition, as is the birthday reminder sheet. While we may never achieve organizational prowess to this degree, we figure anything beats our current system of...well, no system at all.

For more information see Apartment Therapy.

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Decorating on a Budget

Are you having a Halloween Party for your friends this year?  If you do not have a lot of money to decorate, you can still have a spooky apartment for the party.  Here are six cheap do it yourself Halloween decorating ideas.

This Halloween, get creative and use supplies found in your home for green-friendly Halloween decor.

 Planning ahead for Halloween will allow you to budget, as well as reduce the environmental impact of the festivities. Rather than purchasing every Halloween décor piece from the store, consider making your own by reusing supplies found right in your home. To go green this Halloween, read on for our suggestions of taking old things in your house and turning them into new, spooky decorations.

Mason Jar Pumpkin
If you have canning jar lids laying around, this project will give them a new purpose. Gather together lids of the same size. String the lids together, tying the string tightly. Evenly spread the lids around. Next, stick cinnamon sticks in the center. To create leaves, cut some out of burlap. This goes perfectly as a centerpiece on your dining room table or coffee table. It can also be placed on a shelf on top of books.

Head in a Jar
If you’re looking for creepier decorations, this one is perfect for you. Use a wide mouth jar for this project. You’ll also need a great picture that goes in the jar. It needs to be a flattened image of a head. Run a quick search on a search engine, and you should find some great examples. Print this image on thick and slick paper, making sure it will fit into the jar. Roll the picture and place it in the jar, making sure it fills up about ¾ of the circumference of the jar. Fill the jar with colored water. This can be placed in the fridge to creep out the midnight snackers. On Halloween night, drop a few glow sticks in the jar for added ambiance.

Tin Can Luminaries
To upcycle old soup cans, use them for luminaries. If you have several cans, create a design in the cans, from ghosts to spelling out “BOO.” To start the project, fill the cans up with water and stick them in the freezer. This allows you to hammer a design into the cans without denting the cans. Use a nail and hammer to create the design. Once the ice melts, dump the water and place tea lights into each can.

Mummy Cereal Boxes
Old bed sheets in your linen closet that don’t fit any beds in your home are perfect for this DIY Halloween craft. Cut the fabric into thin sheets. Then, take empty cereal or cracker boxes and cover with the white sheets. Once the box is covered, tuck the end in. Optional: attach googly eyes.

Halloween Garland
Take old cardboard paper towel rolls and paint them pumpkin orange. Then, slice them into thin strips and create pumpkin shapes. Use twine to string the pumpkins together and hang on your wall.

Bat Mobile  Head out to your backyard and pick up one or two sticks from the yard. You’ll also need clear thread, or fishing line. For the bats, you use thin cardboard, such as cereal or cracker boxes. Cut several bats from the cardboard, and hang the bats to a branch. Hang in various lengths.

For more information see Apartment Guide.

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Monday was National Pierogie Day

Cheese, Bacon, and Potato are just some of the types of pierogies you can have.  Monday was national pierogie day.  They are Polish version of the a tortellini.  Make sure to check out this great how to pierogie recipe.

Whether you spell it pierogi, piroghi or pierogie, authentic homemade pierogies are a delicious treat and a Pittsburgh tradition. Here in Pittsburgh we eat more than 11 times the pierogies of any other city in the nation, according to a recent survey, with pierogi fillings ranging from standard potato and cheese to sweet prune. A popular Pittsburgh business, Pierogies Plus, ships pierogies as far away as Alaska and Hawaii. The Pittsburgh Pirates even hold a pierogi race during the bottom of the 5th inning at every Pirates home game.
Sour cream in the dough is a favorite secret of many Pittsburgh pierogi makers.

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream, plus extra to serve with the pierogi
• 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• butter and onions for sauteing
• ingredients for filling of your choice (potato & cheese filling recipe below)

Preparation:

Pierogi Dough
 

To prepare the pierogi dough, mix together the flour and salt. Beat the egg, then add all at once to the flour mixture. Add the 1/2 cup sour cream and the softened butter pieces and work until the dough loses most of its stickiness (about 5-7 minutes). You can use a food processor with a dough hook for this, but be careful not to overbeat. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes or overnight; the dough can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Each batch of dough makes about 12-15 pierogies, depending on size.
Prepare the Pierogies
 
Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. Serve with a side of sour cream for a true Pittsburgh pierogi meal.

Homemade Pierogi Tips:

1. If you are having a hard time getting the edges to stick together, you may have too much flour in the dough. Add a little water to help get a good seal.
2. If you don't want to cook all of the pierogies right away, you can refrigerate them (uncooked) for several days or freeze them for up to several months.
3. You can fill pierogies with pretty much anything you want, though potato and cheese is the most common (recipe below). Sweet pierogies are often filled with a prune mixture.

Potato, Cheese & Onion Filling: 

Peel and boil 5 large potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and 4-8oz of grated cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want your pierogies), adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, chives, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1" balls.

For more information see About.com

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Apartment Tips to Steal

Make the most of your apartment, big or small, with these great tips from Joanna Smith at Better Homes and Gardens. We've pulled the top three here, but check out the full post here.

It's tough to maintain openness in a crowded apartment room, but choosing armless furniture helps create an airy, unfettered look, giving the illusion of more space.

 "Floating" furniture makes for a great floor plan, but it leaves a wide expanse of boring sofa-back in the open.

One thing apartments often have going for them is open wall space. Rework a pair of sturdy bookshelves into an attractive storage wall…Cover them with curtains that match or complement your window treatments

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