Great July 4th Recipes

We all love Paula Deen for both her sweet and sassy Southern style.  The recipe for her Red Velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting will make you hum yum the minute you chomp down and savor its taste on your tongue.

Since the beginning of time, cooking with fire has always meant gathering a clan of family and friends outdoors, and there is no more intimate assembly than hanging around the fire with the sweet smell of smoke and meat in the air.  There is also nothing more amazing than spareribs and we all know it is totally all about the grilling and barbecue sauce.   Our tastes vary whether it's from tangy or sweet, slow cooked or Texas style.  All Recipes.com gives you a fantastic choice of recipes to suit your individual taste buds.

Let's face it, no cook out is ever complete without a side dish including coleslaw.  Some like it sweet and some like the flavor of KFC's own.

The 4th of July may be a day of picnics and patriotic parades, a night of concerts and fireworks, and a reason to fly the American flag, but let's not forget it is a day to remember our independence as a nation, honoring  the birthday of the United States of America and the adoption of the Declaration that won us our freedom.

Wedding Hair Style Elegance

One of the most vital and impressionistic parts of your entire ensemble will be your wedding hair style. Once the dress and mode of makeup has been decided, the total picture is complete when you’ve chosen the style to compliment your face. The special jewelry items you choose accent your look, but it is your hairstyle that will take center stage as well when the camera is flashing. Hairstyles for a wedding run from casual to simple and elegant to exquisitely elaborate, or even on the border of the wild side.
 

Hairstyles for women over the years generally include spiraling curls, twisted up-dos, pulled-back tresses, or even a style that is only partially pinned up. Many brides and their attendants even opt to wear their hair naturally. When it comes to choosing the right look for you and your wedding party, consider whether you’d like to dress things up a little with some hair accessories or keep it toned down for a more sedate look.

 

Because everyone’s facial shape is different, some styles may not compliment your face. It’s best to sit with your stylist in advance of the wedding day and experiment what looks right on you. Make sure you take a camera along and take shots at all different angles as both of you won’t remember what you finally settled on when that special day arrives.

Accessories To Consider
• Flowers
• Decorative combs
• Antique hairpins
• Heirloom hair ornaments
• Crystals
• Feathers or feathered hair ornaments
• Pretty barrettes
• Decorated bobby pins

It’s all about your creativity. They not only personalize your hairstyle, but they can also help mimic the latest trends that caught your eye on the pages of one of the popular bridal magazines. To create your perfect bridal hair style and exceptional hairstyles for your bridesmaids, you might want to keep the following in mind:

Choosing Hair Accessories for Your Wedding Day

Usually, the bride chooses a hairstyle that will set her apart from her bridesmaids. Her style may be complete pulled atop her head, half-up and half-down, all the way down, completely curly, completely straight, wavy, and so forth. She may choose to don barrettes or hair accessories, or she may suggest that her bridesmaids do so. Perhaps she’ll decide against them altogether. Whatever the case, the selection of hairstyles for the bride and her attendants is a critical decision that will impact hundreds of photos taken at the wedding.
 
Fresh flowers for your hair speak with your florist

Many florists will have the latest tips and trends in flowers and which ones will work best as adornments for your hair. Check out magazines to get other ideas, and clip out pictures of the styles you like best.


Always do a trial run with your stylist

Because everyone’s facial shape is different, some styles may not compliment your face. It’s best to sit with your stylist in advance of the wedding day and experiment what looks right on you. Make sure you take a camera along and take shots at all different angles as both of you won’t remember what you finally settled on when that special day arrives.

Don’t go crazy

You really don’t want your barrettes or the flowers in your hair to take away from your headpiece or compete with your tiara. Ask your stylist for her opinion if you aren’t sure whether you can get away with both.

While accessories for bridal hairstyles can be lots of fun, many brides choose to wear their hair minus the adornments. Many times a bride may opt for curls or waves over fancy barrettes, decorative combs, or flowers in her hair. Simple bobby pins and a generous amount of hairspray can give hair all the lift it needs to withstand the entire wedding day.

How To Stage Your Home For Sale

When someone walks into your home and they gasp with awe, you know you have created a "Kodak moment" in their mind. Staging a home that epitomizes a Better Homes and Garden snapshot will most certainly remove a listing from the MLS in a matter of weeks as long as the price is just as attractive.

With the multitude of homes on the market today, competition is fierce and first impressions can kill a deal in the blink of an eye. Not every one has the panache of an artist, some may think that clutter makes a room look homey and striped wall paper adds character to a room. Are you willing to take that chance? Tis better to have 3 interested parties bidding on your home at once instead of turning off every one who walks through the door.

Believe it or not, there actually are staging companies who will come in and give your entire home a once over. Even interior decorators are providing the service as well for less than $200 (minimum 5 room house). They will view your home with not only a critical eye but through the eyes of prospective buyers.

Perhaps You Don't Have The Money

Remove anything not in its rightful place including old clothes, bathroom towels that are frayed and discolored, old chairs, piles of photographs, knick knacks, just plain garbage, toys all over the floor and old newspapers, mail etc. That means the back yard as well. If there is junk back there, get rid of it.

Can you see the table in the dining room? If not, clear it off and put a fresh table cloth on top that fits, and compliments the room. Set the table with your finest place setting to let the buyer envision what entertaining guests would look like. Set the mood.

If your rooms are carpeted, dirty or stained, shampoo them. Most major grocery and hardware chains have machines to rent if you can not afford a professional service. If you have hardwood floors underneath, you may want to consider ripping up the carpeting because wood floors add value and extreme appeal. Generally wood floors in older homes that were covered with carpeting stay in great condition and don not need to be refinished.

PAINT:

Do your rooms need a fresh coat of paint? If they are marred or faded ... repaint them. You may love a burgundy wall in your dining room but neutral colors lighten the room, will make it look airy, and roomy and match almost anything a buyer has to bring in. Better to leave them not needing to paint rather than, "Oh god, I hate that color!"

FURNITURE: If it's old, torn or stained either get rid of it or, cover it up. If the piece does not fit or match the room, move it to the cellar.

KITCHEN: Do you have too many small appliances or containers out on your kitchen counter? If so, remove them, and store them away. You want to create as much counter space as possible. If you have wood cabinets, scrub them down with Old English to bring back the luster and shine. Make sure your major appliances are as clean. Dirty spillovers and crusty grime is disgusting and will leave buyers not wanting to use them. The kitchen is the heartbeat of every home. If it's not inviting, you' will lose the sale. Before your perspective buyers arrive, have a cinnamon candle burning or better yet pour some into a tea pot and bring it to boil. The smell will wow them.

First impressions can never be reversed once the vision is captured and the damage is done. Taking the time to simply de-clutter an area, slightly change the color, texture, style or arrangement of a given area will truly create an attractive portrait of your home in the buyers mind. You don't want to take that chance and lose them at hello. 

WOW Them From Your Curbside

Have you ever pulled up in front of a home or driven pass one and the curb appeal just made you think, "Oh Wow!"

The WOW factor is priceless when it hits someone from curbside and that is exactly the appeal you want to accomplish when listing your home for sale. If you "don't get them" at the curb, you may as well kiss your chances of seeing them walk through the door goodbye. A perspective buyer's connection to your home can be rather immediate and if they don't feel one with your home the competition in your neighborhood will be their next focus.

Creating curb appeal does not have to cost a fortune but it will take a little bit of planning on your part before you post that For Sale sign on your front lawn. Approach your home with the eye of a shopper. You may want to scope out those other homes in the general vicinity also up for sale and see how your home compares to them. Be honest, critical and leave your ego at the door. What makes them stand out? What can you do to compliment the outside look of your property?

It could be as simple as taking something away i.e. removing clutter, putting lawn equipment & tools in their proper places, pick up fallen tree limbs or removing those touching the roof, clean out your gutters, remove spider webs, rake away the leaves and excess grass after you mow the lawn and trim the walkways, power wash the siding and clean all the windows inside and out so they will sparkle in the sunshine. If your shrubs are overgrown, cut them back and weed out around them.

Low Cost Additions

• Fresh paint on outside trim & front door
• Replace old door hardware with something new
• Brighten up the front porch with large pots filled with a colorful arrangement of seasonal flowers and hanging planters or ferns
• Place window boxes in the front as a compliment

Buyers also drive by after work and early evening which can change the outside "awe" of a home. You may want to also keep in mind the following:

• Is your entrance properly lighted? If not, add a decorative fixture or lamp/post. If you have already have a light post, surround it with an attractive bed of flowers including the color white as it shows up in dim light and reflects when the outside light is on.
• Set the stage and light sidewalks, along the drive way or highlight landscape elements with solar lighting you can find pretty inexpensively at your local discount stores.
• Make a landscape spot stand out with a spot light
• Open heavy drapes, shades, and blinds in the evening to let interior light out. Privacy sheers make buyers feel that your home offers privacy and at the same time present a gentle glow that looks attractive at night.
• If you can see a peek of your back yard, add gentle lighting to spark their imagination so they can envision it as space for entertaining guests.

Remember, buyers need to visualize in their minds eye what it would be like to occupy your home. You do not have to be a landscape designer to create a beautiful and captivating picture nor do you have to invest a lot of money to incite a "Wow Factor."