We’ve moved
Posted By A Rustic Home on December 28, 2009
We’ve relaunched the website and moved the blog.
Please visit us at – http://bearathome.com/rustic-home/
and don’t forget to visit the shop - http://store.bearathome.com/
A Rustic Home
Celebrating the rustic lifestyle
Welcome To Our Site...
Bear at Home celebrates the places and products which remind us of a simpler time when craftsmanship guaranteed satisfaction, and service was just good business. We hope these items will grace your home and inspire future generations of memories.
Seriously Simple Holidays
Posted By A Rustic Home on November 25, 2009
Seriously Simple Holidays — When the joys of the season are upon us, wouldn’t it be great to enjoy them for once? Best-selling author Diane Rossen Worthington offers all the secrets for entertaining with no stress, just lots of style.
Essential equipment, suggestions for setting up an in-home bar, great homemade gift ideas, knowledgeable wine and cheese pairing notes from wine expert Peter Marks, and plenty of simple and simply delicious menus cover any occasion from Rosh Hashanah to Thanksgiving to New Year’s.
From drinks and appetizers to entrées and desserts, each festive recipe is designed to reduce prep time and streamline cooking techniques, so hosts can spend more time at the party and less in the kitchen.
Seriously Simple Holidays
The Thanksgiving Table
Posted By A Rustic Home on October 25, 2009
The Thanksgiving Table — For novices, orchestrating The Feast is no easy task. And even for old pros it’s a bit of a challenge. Enter The Thanksgiving Table—offering you everything you need from foolproof cooking secrets and techniques and classic and innovative recipes, to menu suggestions and simple, elegant table settings.
Support School Gardens: Contact Your Representative
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 22, 2009
From the National Gardening Association
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
|
National Gardening Association | 1100 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT 05403 | (802) 863-5251 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Steal from the neighbors
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 22, 2009
OK, let me clarify. I am not suggesting you pick Mrs. Brown’s prized begonias. What I am suggesting is that you take a look around the neighborhood to get ideas as to what works where. It is likely that you and your neighbor’s share similar soil conditions and weather patterns. Your plants will likely thrive if you take note where things are placed in your neighbor’s yard.
I had a bougainvillea that was just miserable. It was because I had placed it where I wanted it instead of where Mother Nature intended. Don’t fight Mother Nature, she always wins. My neighbors on the other hand had vibrant lush bougainvilleas. So, I placed my plant in the same western exposure as the happy plant next door. All of a sudden it was happy, go figure.
Take a walk around your neighborhood. Notice which plants are thriving, where there are placed, when do they get sun, etc. Then consider similar placement in your yard.
Happy Gardening!
Easy BBQ ribs with your CrockPot
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 17, 2009
As we head into fall, I like to break out the slow cooker. I love being able to throw in some ingredients and go about my day, knowing there is a warm, delicious meal waiting at day’s end. I thought you might enjoy the simple recipe for BBQ ribs.
- 2 lbs. boneless ribs (Beef, Pork, Baby-back)
- 1 lg. onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp. garlic salt
- 1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Broil the meat under the broiler in your oven for about 10 minutes each side. Long enough to slightly brown them. I like to brown the meat before putting it in the slow cooker. Browning tends to release the natural juices while reducing some of the fat.
Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on the low setting for 6 to 8 hours.
The result – tender ribs that melt in your mouth. Simple and delicious!
How to Make a Fruit Fly Trap
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 13, 2009
Chef Keith Snow from http://www.harvesteating.com demonstrates an easy way to get rid of pesky fruit flies.
This is a quick and easy solution to those pesky fruit flies.
Halloween Bears
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 12, 2009
Halloween Bears
These Bearington Collectibles are the perfect Halloween gift for the little goblins your life. Each bear is made with the impressive attention to detail and the dependable high quality you’ve come to expect from the Bearington Collection of stuffed toys.
How to Build a Compost Pile
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 11, 2009
Tia Pinney shows us how to create a quick and easy compost pile. Personally, I always like to add some worms to help the process along and their castings (fancy word for worm poop) are nutrient rich. Everything that goes into the compost pile doesn’t end up in the landfill – yea!
Tia Pinney is a Teacher Naturalist and Adult Program Coordinator at Mass Audubons Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
garden, gardening, compost, how to, compost pile
The Potted Garden
Posted By A Rustic Home on September 10, 2009
If you don’t have a lot of space or don’t live on the ground level, don’t despair – a lush garden can still be had. It just may need to be in the form of a potted garden.
When planting in pots make sure there is plenty of drainage. In the ground, there is plenty of drainage. In a pot, you risk your plants sitting in water which will cause root to suffocate or rot. Make sure there are several drainage holes in the bottom of the pot, and place a layer of small pebbles or rock at the bottom of the container to further facilitate drainage.
Plants in containers need more frequent watering than garden plants. Containers in full sun on a stone, brick or concrete patio can be like little ovens, thus they will require frequent watering. I have found that as long as the containers are not sitting in standing water, you can water every other day.
When I first started gardening, the New Englander in me demanded order. OK, I was a little uptight – neat, orderly rows with very little variation. YAWN! I have since moved to California and gotten a little less stringent – I love to mix textures. I have agaves next to roses. Jades next to dwarf lemon trees. It’s a mish mosh, but it makes me happy. And isn’t that the point. Your garden shouldn’t be a chore; it should be your oasis from the craziness called life. Have fun, mix it up a bit.
I have also worked in a few herbs, a cherry tomato plant and even eggplant – while not exactly a Victory Garden – it is pretty cool to make pesto from basil grown on the back porch!
Or the really cool thing about a potted garden – when you get the urge to move things around, you don’t have to dig up the yard!
Happy Gardening!