My Favorite Cleaning Tips and Blogiversary Giveaway

The Reviewer Badge:

As a member of the BlogHer community, I was asked to write a post on my favorite cleaning tips as part of their Life Well Lived - Getting Organized feature. After yesterday's announcement that we are moving, there is so much organizing and cleaning that has been done these past two weeks, that it is the perfect time for me to share my quick tips!


My five quick tips for cleaning in 10 minutes or less when company is on the way:

1. Using an All Purpose spray and a paper towel, spray down your kitchen counter tops, sink and faucet, and stove top. Wipe up and voila! You are done. Why is this one thing I always do? Because guests always come in and stand in the kitchen. There may be dinner cooking with many plates and pots, but as long as everything is clean, no one will notice the chaos. Bonus time: wipe down the handles on your refrigerator or the inside of your microwave. I usually just go straight to the bathroom...

2. And using All Purpose Anti-Bacterial Wipes, wipe down the sink, faucet, and toilet. Don't worry about the shower/tub, as most guests either don't notice, or they have also not cleaned their shower/tub in over a week. But as long as you have a clean toilet and clean sink where they can wash their hands, the rest of the bathroom will look just as clean. Bonus time: using the same wipe, quickly run it over the tile floor to pick up any hair that may be lurking from your last blow dry, especially behind the toilet where it likes to hide.

3. Dust surfaces using a paper towel sprayed with an All Purpose spray, and turn on ceiling fans. Dust surfaces in the rooms in which you know guests will most likely be during their visit, and leave the other rooms for another day. I will be the first to tell you that I don't dust often enough. Usually the evidence is found on our ceiling fans, so once you quickly wipe down dusty surfaces, turn on the ceiling fan so that the newly cleaned areas will dry quickly, and guests won't notice a dirty fan.

4. If the house is a wreck, and you have to chose between cleaning some surfaces or putting away piles of mail, clothes, and other house clutter, ALWAYS take the 10 minutes or so to clean the surfaces being used most. These are what guests notice, not the pile of mail sitting by the front door - they probably have a similar pile at their house. The other clutter can be thrown in drawers, closets, and rooms that you can close off so guests won't notice.

5. Fluff or straighten pillows on the way to answer the door. It makes it look like you were always expecting them.

Those are my five quick tips, and the secrets to why my house always looks ready for guests (just don't peek in our closets- I love to stash!). Now, be sure to check out BlogHer's Life Well Lived Spring Cleaning Tips and share your favorite cleaning tips here to win a Kindle Fire and $50 Amazon gift certificate.

And, today a cleaning kit to be used with my Five Quick Tips is up for grabs as part of the 3rd Blogiversary Giveaways. Go here for more information and to enter!

Cheers!

My friend Nikki sent me a wonderful article today about the benefits of drinking Champagne, from Health.com. Champagne is not only a health booster, but can help calm dry skin, and be a great slim cocktail alternative with only 78 calories per glass! The article also gives a great recipe for salad dressing using leftover champagne from New Years, and starting off 2011 with a healthy meal. And its last benefit: a Spirit Lifter... I think we all knew about that one. Check out the article here, and join me as I toast to 2011, and start drinking more champagne!

Cheers!

The Hostess is on Facebook

It is the inevitable. Everyone is on Facebook. My mother was on Facebook before me, if you can believe that. For many reasons, I will not have a personal page, but see the potential of having one to promote this blog and and to easily share the recipes and ideas that I post here. So please come by and check it out here, and be a FRIEND of the Hostess!

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight I am carving my pumpkin. It is not as big, or will be as lavish, as some I have done in the past, but the pastime of pumpkin carving is one I have to do year after year.

If you have never carved a pumpkin, or need some tips, Martha Stewart has a great tutorial here. Or for an easier reference, you can go to my post last year on Last Minute Pumpkin Carving Tips.

Wish me luck that I make a good one this year (photos to come!). Good luck with your pumpkins!!!

Genius!

Ever have some angry clients at work ruining your day, being stuck in rush hour traffic that takes you 2 hours to get home, or getting into the 10 items or less lane at the grocery store, only to find an old lady there with an entire cart full? Its just one of those days, when all you want to is go home, relax, and pour yourself a glass of wine.

Except....You can't find the darn wine opener.

No fear- someone (in France, of course!) has found a way to prevent utter desperation and depression and get to the wine. Simply use a shoe and a concrete wall to open that wine bottle.

Genius, I say!

Blackboard Eats

Dinner reservations to Camino with dinner at 30% off= UNAVAILABLE

Why?

I am no longer in San Francisco. :(

Unless you live in the most fantastic culinary cities in the country (New York, LA, or San Francisco), you can find unbelievable restaurant deals every Wednesday from a great new site called Blackboard Eats. If you live anywhere but here, you can still take advantage of Blackboard Eats* everywhere else by ordering food and drink products right to your door. They also advertise for other great deals around your city, and around the blogosphere. Check them out!

*I do not work for Blackboard Eats, nor do I get paid for this post. I just like their concept and their products.

Napa & San Francisco

We took a little vacation this summer.... an important one, in fact: Our Honeymoon. I know what you're thinking.... we have been married for a year and a half. But the truth of it is, we couldn't go anywhere after our wedding, due to some work training and other friends' weddings. So we decided to take it this summer. We still told people it was a delayed honeymoon, since we got married in January... of LAST year (we left out that minor detail). So off to California we go!

Napa Valley and a little town called Yountville were our first stops. The grapes and vines were in full bloom, and the countryside was so lush.

We went to several vineyards: Silver Oak, Grgich Hills, Merryvale, and Cakebread. All were so beautiful and it was so cool to learn about how they cultivate and age their grapes, and end up with such delicious wines. We tried lots of different types of wines, even though the standard Cabernet Sauvignon is our go-to wine. We may have even come home with some bottles, to open only for special occasions.

Napa Valley is not just about wine though. The food there is equally amazing. We went to Ristorante Tra Vigne, a recommendation from some friends, and I have to say that their fresh mozzarella changed my life! They make it on site, and it had just been pulled out of pasteurization that day. Then they place it in a small bowl with a little fresh olive oil, and warm it up just enough. They bring it to your table and slice it for you, and then you spread it over their freshly baked and toasted sourdough bread. It is HEAVEN! Here's me with what was left of it:



We also went to Mustard's Grill for dinner.... I had their famous Mongolian Pork Chop, which was delicious. However, my husband got the New York Strip, which was even more amazing!! Lets just say, we didn't leave hungry!

Our next stop on our trip was on our way to Monterrey/Carmel. Fifteen years ago, when I was last in California, my family stopped in a little town called Gilroy, the "Garlic Capital of the World", and tried some amazing garlic delicacies. So on our trip this year, we happened to be in time for their Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival. I insisted that we go. While it was ten times as large as any festival we have here in Florida in all its craziness, it was definitely a great experience. I made my husband try Garlic Ice Cream (I have had it before and liked it a lot!), since he is a hugs ice cream lover. Here he is, trying the Praline Pecan Garlic Ice Cream:

It was pretty delicious, but we wish we had ordered it like seasoned festival-goers scooped into half of a cantaloupe. A new idea for summer!!!

After Monterrey/Carmel, we drove up Big Sur and Highway 1 up the coast of California to our last destination: San Francisco. There, we saw the redwoods at Muir Woods, took a tour of Alcatraz, and hung out with the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf.



There were also so many great restaurants, but here were our favorites:

Bobo's: The Steak, The Crab. This restaurant certainly lives up to its name. We met some of our California friends at their favorite steak joint on Lombard Street. They have a bone-in filet mignon that is out of this world, and with an iron skillet roasted mussels, crab, and shrimp combo to start with, they made the restaurant live up to its name. Their sides are served family style, with amazing pancetta brussel sprouts and a twice baked potato the size of my arm. While it is not the most well-known or popular restaurant in San Francisco, it is definitely one not to miss!

Our last stop before heading home was Scoma's seafood restaurant on the Wharf. While it doesn't have the best view, it does have some of the freshest seafood right off the dock! Order the LazyMan's Cioppino for a real treat (recipe to follow).

Between the wine, restaurants, and amazing sights, our honeymoon was certainly worth the wait!

Our trip to Charleston was wonderful! We got to eat AMAZING food, visit lots of antique shops, and even check out a Charleston Riverdogs Minor League Baseball Game! Here were our favorites from the trip:

Hominy Grill - for any meal. Truly incredible, homemade food that warms your soul. I even bought their cookbook during this visit, I love the place so much.

Tristan - a wonderful upscale restaurant with a diverse food selection, great wines, and modern atmosphere. We went here to celebrate a special event, but would also be a great date-night spot.

Pavillion Bar- rooftop bar at the Market Pavilion Hotel on Bay Street with amazing atmosphere. Grab a drink overlooking all of Charleston, this is the best view in town!

Charleston Riverdogs- We actually had the most fun at the Charleston Riverdogs game. As featured on the Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel, the stadium offers many unique hot dogs that are all delicious! The stadium also offers fun activities for kids, and the baseball is pretty good too!

For more places to go, a fantastic quick guide to Charleston, visit the Design*Sponge blog here: Design*Sponge

The Hostess Eats Out!

Have you ever had a friend come into town and want catch up over dinner? You think quickly about how messy your house is from leaving in a hurry this morning, and how the only things in your fridge are leftovers, because you were planning on going to the grocery store tonight after work. Most of the time you are the Hostess with the mostest - but not today. Eek!

Well to save time and face, you have to GO OUT TO EAT. Where you ask? There are great websites designed to help you narrow down your choices in a flash. The first is a website called Open Table. Open Table brings up some of the best restaurants in you area that take reservations. From your desk at work, you can make reservations for a number of people at a specific time, and it will send you a confirmation via e-mail. It also rates the restaurants based on user reviews, including Best Service, Special Occasion, Best Ambiance, or most Notable Wine List (my fave), if you are having trouble deciding. You can still look like the Hostess with the mostess when you meet your friend at the packed restaurant, and they not only have your reservation, but your table is waiting.

Another fabulous website is Restaurant.com. They offer gift certificates to local restaurants for a discounted fee. So for example, you are going to the new Italian hot spot, go to Restaurant.com for a gift certificate worth $25 for only $10. Before you purchase, they tell you the minimums that must be spent when using the certificate... for example, most $25 certificates are valid on a check of $35 or more (excluding alcohol). They e-mail you the certificate within minutes of purchasing it online, so you can print it and use it the same day (or hour!).

What is great is that they often offer specials of 80% off the price of their certificates, and TODAY if you use the promo code BITE, you can get a $25 certificate for $2. That's a savings of $23!!! So if you do the math right, on a $35 check, you will only pay $2 (for $25 certificate) and $10 for the difference.... a meal for two people worth $35, all for $12!!!

You can still be the savvy Hostess, even when eating out. It just takes 5 minutes on your computer, and you will have reservations and savings at your fingertips. And your friend never has to know your secret!

Party Leftovers

There have not been any FTH recipes posted lately due to a stomach bug that had me steering clear of food. When I started to feel a little better, the first thing I asked myself was "Is it something I ate?". Thanks to Wired Magazine (and my husband for showing it to me!), I found a great site that can answer that question, as well as a million more about the food you have stored in your house.

StillTasty.com has a simple to use website that has expiration times for foods, broken down by category (dairy, vegetables, etc), is specific with foods like cheese listing it by type (Roquefort vs. Gouda), and whether the product is opened or unopened, raw or cooked. It also has raw food handling tips, storage solutions to keep your foods fresh, and how to make leftovers last longer.

Now you will know exactly how many days those leftover scallops and pasta will last!