Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 296

Mom's Pumpkin Bread Recipe

Halloween is right around the corner, which means Thanksgiving isn't far behind. And it's definitely pumpkin season. So I figured it would be a good time to bake some of my mom's crowd-pleasing pumpkin [...]

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A-choo! The case of the allergic houseguest

This week's reader dilemma: "I am allergic to all pet hairs, I usually feel like I have the flu when I am around pets too long. With the holidays coming, I am sure I [...]

Get the Musty Smell Out of Clothes with Vodka

If the sweaters you're pulling out of storage have a bit of a musty smell to them, use this trick to banish those bad smells. After spot-testing, spray clothes with a few spritzes of [...]

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Save 20% on the Aladdin To-Go Insulated Tumbler

This glossy 20-ounce plastic cup makes sipping spillproof. Available in four colors. Visit aladdin-pmi.com, and enter the code REALSIMPLE at checkout to save 20 percent. *Discounts are available October 1, 2011, to November 30, 2011, [...]

Tops Malibu

Tops Malibu is a party supply store from Oregon that produces really beautiful and sweet party supplies. Love them! Filed under: Instant Entertaining

Handmade vs. Store Bought

  It's almost become ubiquitous on TV, in popular movies and books: Harried working mom doctoring some store-bought item, trying to pass it off as handmade. Whether it's cupcakes for a school function, dessert [...]

Keep Your Knives Sharp

Knives can be one of the most intimidating things in the kitchen. From knowing which knives you need, to which knife is right for each cutting job, to how to sharpen your knives, there's [...]

Get Ready to Hit The Heights

Hi, Bookies: So probably no surprise, given how very, very close it came to winning our October poll, but Peter Hedges' The Heights is the pick for November. (Rules of Civility did have a [...]

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Heartbreak Serenade

I come from a family of four children: a constellation of daughters born first, three years separating each one from the next, enough years to harden us into being inventions of our owns. And [...]

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Are you a collector or a pack rat?

My brother recently introduced me to the television show American Pickers on the History channel. For those of you unfamiliar with the premise of the program like I was, the series focuses on two [...][image error]