EPISODE #68 -
SATURDAY APRIL 9, 2011
Thanks! For
all of you that came out to see Robin and David last weekend at
GardenPalooza. David had 50 containers of his mom’s sourdough
starter and they were gone in just a couple of hours. Of
course, for those of you who didn’t get any, you can always
check out the story and links from
last week’s show to learn
how you can make your own.
Now, about
this weather! I’m sure glad we did all those stories last fall
on getting prepared for the winter. Those tips on weatherizing
the home were great and we have noticed a real difference in the
heating bill. Another way to stay warm is to drop by Oliver’s
in Lake Oswego. They have a great menu and we opened and closed
the show there to say hi (they are new to Lake Oswego) and as an
excuse to have a great meal Stop by and see them if you
are in the area.
Hang in there
spring is on the way!
Garden Related Décor
Bringing the
outdoors inside can be messy, unless you find some really cool
décor items that do the trick. We found some really neat items
at Terra Casa
(503-577-8242) in Damascus. Linda joined us to show us some hot
indoor/outdoor items for your home. The first thing she showed
us was some very attractive lights. These lights are different
from your ordinary light because they look like flowers and
leaves. You can work them into your regular dried flower
arrangements to really add the ‘wow’ factor. Next we looked at
a bunch of inspirational sayings that were etched on pots,
plaques and stones. These are not only great to look at; they
carry some nice little messages as well. These décor items are
meant to slow you down while you are in the garden (or in your
home) as you read them and as a reminder to take the time to
relax. The next items we looked at were place mats and
coasters, but these had a little weight behind them! That is
because they are made out of small stones. They looked great
and you can be sure they won’t blow away at your next outdoor
dinner party! These are just a few of the great garden gifts
and décor items at Terra Casa. Stop by and check them out.
They are just 10 minutes east of Clackamas Town Center in
Damascus.
Tile Surfaces
Last week we
talked to Barry at
Cascade
Flooring America (800-942-0376) to chat about some of the
newer designs that are available this year for hard surfaces
like counter tops. This week we continued our conversation with
him about tiles and other solid surface choices. We started by
looking at a large piece of tile that was designed for kitchens
and bathrooms. These pieces are great because they allow for
minimal grout lines because you are working with larger pieces.
Next we looked at tile with patterns. These pieces are made
with fine details molded into the tile before it is fired in the
kiln. These make a very nice accent to your existing tile
counter tops. Taking that idea even further was the tile that
was patterned to look like wood. This can be staggered and if
you weren’t paying attention, you would think it is a real wood
floor, but it is much more durable!
The next
piece was a slate piece, but it wasn’t… this one was a piece of
tile that was patterned to look like slate. They even made it a
little rough so it feels like slate! Barry took us to another
part of the show room where they had real slate and porcelain
tiles lying together on the floor. Even side by side you can’t
tell the difference between the two different materials! Robin
brought up one of the perceived drawbacks to tile and that is
the coldness of the material. Your toes can get cold walking on
it. Cascade America has a solution for that as well. They can
add a heated coil under the tiles during installation that will
keep your feet nice and warm. These are just a few of the
different choices that you can pick from. For help in choosing
what is good for your design and floor plan stop by and check
them out.
NYC – Wine Braised Chicken
In this ‘Now
Your Cooking’ segment our own Chef David joined Jenna at the
NW
Natural Appliance Center (503-220-2362) to share one of his
family’s secret recipes, ‘wine braised chicken’. First we
browned the chicken in a pan with a little oil. Your chicken
has to be dry and thawed out or it won’t brown correctly. Once
it is browned on both sides it can be taken out of the pan. You
can empty out some of the oil from the chicken and then add your
vegetables to sweat them down and soften them up. We added
mushrooms, onions, garlic cloves and shallots along with a
little butter back into the pan. Once everything was nice and
blended together we added a little wine and then the chicken.
Once the chicken was back in the pan we added enough wine to
come up to about 1/3 to ½ of the way up on the chicken. We then
simmered the chicken for about 15 minutes. We were using the
Dacor stove which had a special double burner system that allows
for the very low heat you need for simmering. It also had a
continuous grate so you can easily move pans back and forth
across the cooking area. After about 15 minutes we turned the
chicken over and let it go for about 15 more minutes and it was
ready. This is an easy recipe that you can use over and over
again, and people will love it every time! For more information
check out this link to the NW Natural website.
Furniture Cleaning
The one
place where you spend a lot of time relaxing in your home could
be your couch or recliner. It is also the one piece that is the
first to get stained. Now, how do you tackle those stains?
Monique from
Bassett Furniture (503-469-8333) joined us to give us some
tips for getting those stains out and saving your furniture.
First she covered leather care. There are 2 different kinds of
leathers used in furniture. If one has a shine or gloss to it,
it is treated and is somewhat protected. If you spill something
on it you can wipe if off without too much damage. If it has a
dull look it is an untreated leather and if you spill something
on it, it may cause a stain. The benefit to this leather is
that those little stains and oils will help create a patina to
the leather over time; A very nice look for some leathers. You
should also clean and condition your leather twice a year.
If you have
a fabric cover to your furniture you should check for a cleaning
code for your furniture. If you can’t find it on your tags, you
should check the cleaning instructions you received with your
furniture when you bought it. The first code we saw was a ‘W’.
This means you can clean that fabric with water without damaging
it. The second code we saw was an ‘S’. This means that you
need to use a solvent when cleaning. You may also run into a
‘dry clean’ only fabric under the S symbol. You will also see a
‘W-S’ symbol this one can use either a water based, or solvent
based cleaner. The final code is an ‘X’. this is a vacuum or
brush only type of fabric. This type of fabric can suffer real
damage if treated with water or solvents. No matter which type
of cleaning method you can always pretest on a small hidden area
before proceeding. The one thing that Monique recommends is to
treat your fabric when you buy. This will protect your
furniture and make the cleaning much easier. She demonstrated
this by showing us 2 types of fabric that had been treated and
not treated. After a spill, using a clean white damp cloth you
want to blot the stain and remove as much as you can before
moving to another cleaner. Blot, don’t rub. Rubbing will cause
your fiber to break down and wear out faster. If you can use a
fabric cleaner, have it handy. The quicker you can work to
remove the stain the better your results will be. If you have
any questions about furniture cleaning or fabric choices, stop
by the Bassett Furniture store in Beaverton.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
We all want
to take all the necessary precautions to be safe and keep our
loved ones from harm. Because of this, most of us have
installed smoke detectors to warn us in the event of a fire.
But what if the danger was silent and unseen? That is the
problem with Carbon Monoxide. This odorless and tasteless
poison can sneak up on you in a closed space and can be
undetected until it is too late. Because of this, the Oregon
Legislature mandated that all rental properties, group homes and
new home construction be required to have a carbon monoxide
detector installed as of April 1st of this year. To
learn more we stopped by
A-Boy
Plumbing and Electrical Supply (503-287-0776) to chat with
Lisa about the new rules. She also told us about the newer
models that don’t require a lot of tools or know-how to
install. You may want to look at a combination model as well.
These models combine Smoke detectors and CO (carbon monoxide)
detectors together. You can even get them with long-lived
batteries so you don’t have to worry about them going dead when
you need them! To get answers to any of your questions, you can
stop by any of the A-Boy locations around the metro area.
Deck Accessories
The last few
weeks we have been talking to Chris at
Parr Lumber
(360-887-7277) about decks. We have learned about how to
prepare them for cleaning and preserving, what types of new
materials are available for the home owner that is looking to
replace or repair a deck and this week we learn how to customize
your deck with different accessories, a ‘pimp my deck’ kind of
story. First of all there is so much that you can do with the
decking boards with all the color and trim choices it looks
great just to begin with. But to really give your new deck
class and character you should look at the railings, lighting
options and other trim features to set your deck apart.
Starting with railings, you can get any number of color choices
and styles. One of Chris’s favorites was what he called the
‘party railing’. This is a railing that is wide enough to hold
a plate or a drink, something everyone needs when you are
entertaining outdoors. There are lots of different options for
railings from decorative composite pieces to ones that are
completely plastic PVC and fit over an existing wood post.
Plus these railings are very secure so you don’t have to worry
about them failing or falling over. They are built to last.
You can also get glass panels, cable and iron railing to match
your outdoor décor.
Next we
moved to lighting. You can now get all kinds of different
lighting choices. These lights add an ambiance to your outdoor
entertaining and they are also functional as well. They are a
low voltage type of light which means you don’t have to worry
about getting a ‘charge’ out of installing your lights. The
wires can also stay hidden under one of the post covers or
railing covers so they stay protected and last a long time
without weathering. The light is a nice touch to your evening
entertaining. If you are interested in building a new deck or
adding some of these features to your existing deck, stop by and
learn about Trex or TimberTech at your local Parr Lumber
location. |
||||
Website design and content ©2009-2011 Gustin Creative Group.
Please send website inquiries to
gustingroup@comcast.net. |