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Considering how much I’ve relied on my Birdies, you can imagine my delight when I learned that the company was launching its very first sneaker: the Swift. Birdies Swift sneaker, from $120; birdies.com As the first-ever sneaker designed for outdoor wear from Birdies, the Swift combines the sophisticated look and seven-layer cushioned insole of the Starling with a sturdy anti-slip sole for street, park, and on-the-go wear. And it lives up to the Birdies standard: My pair is as supportive as the running sneakers I wear for long pandemic walks, with a chic look that’s as appropriate for a casual day at the office (whenever those happen again) as it is for a day in the park....

The sheets are made of long-staple cotton with a percale weave, so they feel crisp to the touch and have a lovely matte finish. This makes them perfect for hot sleepers who prefer cooling bedding. My legs never feel like they’re sticking to these sheets when I’m a bit overheated, and I don’t wake up drenched in sweat in the middle of the night with them. I never thought I’d be the type of person to use white sheets, but I love how the window pane pattern looks on my bed....

Solution: Don’t put dirty rags back in the closet. It’s too hard to distinguish between clean and dirty ones. Launder them after use. Keep small clean rags in a hanging bag so you don’t have to worry about folding or stacking them. Larger towel rags can be stacked on a shelf. Solution: Position your vacuum cleaner front and center, so it’s easy in, easy out. Hang the hose on a hook to free up floor space and to keep from tripping over it....

In a new series called “Is It Worth It?” we’re testing out the extra steps recipes call for to see if they’re worth the additional effort. Think: peeling chickpea skins for creamier hummus, refrigerating cookie dough overnight for more flavorful results, and, in this case, tossing blueberries—or any fruit—in flour to keep them from sinking and/or bleeding. I began by making two batches of our blueberry streusel muffin recipe. In the first batch, I removed two tablespoons of flour from the total amount the recipe called for....

Enter: color psychology. According to this theory, wearing certain colors can actually boost your mood. Now, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to color psychology. The way colors affect people has to do with their individual experiences and perceptions. While there is statistical evidence to show that colors like red are typically viewed as “powerful” and “attractive,” this doesn’t apply to everyone. In other words, your color psychology is completely unique to you....

According to Business Insider, a 40-pound block of cheddar—which is the benchmark for trading cheese on the market—reached $2.585 a pound on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on June 8. This means prices were up by nearly 160 percent from April’s price of $1, which was a 20-year record low. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly every aspect of our lives, from getting used to social distancing and working from home to maintaining a social life over video chat, stocking up on face masks, and of course, cooking nearly every meal at home....

Why Is Wet Hair More Delicate? “When hair is wet it’s more likely to break,” says Siobhán Quinlan, creative director, stylist, and colorist at Art + Autonomy Salon in New York City. “And if your hair has been highlighted, you want to be especially careful with it when it’s wet.” To get a little scientific, when hair gets wet, the proteins that make up each strand (keratin) form weaker hydrogen bonds, rendering it more susceptible to damage from being pulled, stretched, bent, or otherwise roughly handled....

One: Thriller The first ingredient is an attention-grabbing plant, also called a thriller. This plant takes center stage in a container, serving as the star of the design production. All additional plants relate to this player in some way. Usually, the thriller plant features an in-your-face shape with a strong upright growth habit. Thrillers typically unleash flower power by blooming nonstop all season, or they unfurl dramatic leaves. In containers viewed from all sides, place a thriller in the center....

A few year ago a couple of my friends flew to Dallas and joined me on a little Dallas to Austin road trip to attend a food blog conference called BlogHer Food. And on our way, Kimber (who lived in Dallas for years), introduced us to three great places to stop on a Dallas to Austin road trip. And in my book, not just three places but three must places....

I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of traditional Thanksgiving stuffing. Most of it is filled with dry bread and onions, which means I’m out. And honestly, I just don’t think it smells, tastes, or looks that good. This stuffing, however, is awesome. I make it regularly throughout the year, not just for Thanksgiving, but it makes a great Thanksgiving side as well. It’s adapted from this recipe that I tried years ago with a few changes to make a version that my family prefers....

When we used to live in Texas, there was a restaurant there that served little cups of cannoli dip with cannoli chips covered in powdered sugar. My son doesn’t like authentic cannolis, but he absolutely loved that dip. So we quickly started making our own cannoli dip at home and still do regularly to this day. This is one of those easy recipes that you’ll make once then make it over and over again because it’s just that delicious....

An Irish Speciality Before I met my husband I’d never even heard of shepherd’s pie and now it’s one of our family’s favorite recipes thanks to my part Irish husband! I mean theres a reason I have so many St. Patricks Day games on my site! I mean what’s not to love? Meat, good. Potatoes, good. Veggies, good. Yep – shepherd’s pie is all of the best things all in one delicious dish....

My go to drink for as long as I can remember when I’m getting something a little special is cranberry and orange juice mixed together. My mom got me hooked on the combination years ago and to this day, it’s still one of my favorites. It can be in a cranberry orange bread, cranberry orange muffins, or even just the actual juices combined in a yummy drink like this Thanksgiving punch....

The holidays are the perfect time to get together with family and friends, but it can be hard to come up with a menu that everyone will enjoy. While most people enjoy the desserts like peanut butter blossoms and cranberry orange bread, I always recommend having some sort of Christmas appetizers too. With people being as picky as they are, I love to make appetizers that give people a choice, like this Christmas charcuterie wreath I made a few weeks ago, and this Christmas tree cheese board....

That’s why it’s important to weigh the financial practicalities to ensure that moving is the right step for you and and anyone else you may be moving with. Whether you have your sights set on renovating, downsizing, or relocating, finance experts say you’ve got to ask yourself these six questions to get a handle on how a move will affect your budget. Do you want a turnkey house or a fixer-upper?...

First, find the basic shape of your face: Oval Faces are narrower than they are long, with a rounded jawline. Square Faces are roughly as wide as they are long, with a strong, square jawline. Heart-Shaped Faces are roughly as wide as they are long, with a jawline that comes to a point at the chin. Round Faces are roughly as wide as they are long, with a rounded jawline....

While this post is sponsored by Bays® English Muffins, all ideas and opinions are 100% honest and my own. You all know that I love parties. One of my favorite things to do for food is to set up a make your own pizza party. There’s no easier way to do this than by having them make their very own English muffin pizza – way easier than making pizza on traditional dough!...

This posts contains affiliate links. If you purchase via these links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. New Year’s Eve Game Idea I’m a big fan of printable games for New Year’s Eve! I love to put one printable game in each of our New Year’s Eve countdown boxes and play one each hour leading up to the big midnight celebration! This New Year’s Eve Would You Rather game is a fun new addition to this year’s New Year’s Eve party!...

I love a good scavenger hunt – always have, always will. I mean just for Halloween I’ve already shared a clue based Halloween scavenger hunt and a Halloween decorations hunt where you have to find particular decorations. And then I have about fifty other scavenger hunt ideas from other holidays and occasions. It’s kind of my favorite. Sometimes, however, you just can’t get together in person to do an actual group scavenger hunt....

This ghoulish recall Halloween game is perfect for whether you’re looking for a classroom game, a virtual Halloween game to play with family across the country, or even just something to do on a big screen outside at a Halloween party!! The basic idea of that game is that you show players nostalgic Halloween pictures and give them a few seconds to memorize the pictures then ask them specific and sometimes obscure questions about the pictures to see what people can remember....