2012 February | The Home and Garden Cafe

First Signs Spring Might Be Coming to Ohio

February 25, 2012 By Linette Leave a Comment

Normally this time of year we have snow on the ground most of the time. We’ve gotten off really light this year, with hardly any snow! I’ve actually been watching some of the spring flowers start to pop out of the ground for the last couple weeks. It’s super exciting for me, since I’m always ready for spring and warmer weather.

Here are some tulips reaching their tiny leaves up toward the sunlight.

Here are some daffodils sprouting right up there. I should have dug these up and spread them out last fall!

A few of my perennial herbs are starting to sprout, like this French Tarragon.

I’m ready for those fresh herbs and flowers straight from the garden! I think I’m coming down with a serious case of spring fever!

Filed Under: Garden Tagged With: daffodils, herbs, spring, tulips

Have You Tried clipix Yet?

February 10, 2012 By Linette Leave a Comment

The last couple days I’ve been playing around with clipix. It’s a new social bookmarking sight that lets you “Clip” the things you like and store them all in one place. You can even organize them onto clipboards like this clipboard I made with some of my favorite cupcake flavors.

I’m a foodie, so I think Clipix would be perfect for organizing all the yummy recipes I come across and want to try out later. It will be like my own online recipe and cookbook! This time of the year I’m all about soup!

It’s not just for clipping recipes though. There are tons of things you could do with clipix.

When you come across clothes or styles you like you can create a clipboard for it.
Favorite books you want to read.
Holiday inspiration
Party ideas
Wedding planning
Movies you love or want to see
Craft ideas
Your bucket list

We’re getting ready to remodel our kitchen. I think I might set up a clipboard with some ideas to share with my husband. There are a ton more ways you can use the clipboards I’m sure!

You can sign up with your email and a password, or use your Facebook or Twitter account to sign up. Once you get started there are some really cool features I’ve noticed.

You can add a “Clip” button to your toolbar, then when you’re on a page and you want to save it to a clipboard, just click the button.
For most websites the description automatically fills in from the title of the article or blog post.
It also tells you where the clip is from.
You can share your clips with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or via email when you are clipping them.
One of my favorite features is the ability to make a clip public, only share with friends, or keep it private. I can clip things just for me if I want to!
There’s also an iPhone app, so you can take your clipboards with you wherever you are, or add to them with photos you take while you’re on the go.

Here’s a video with more clipix information.

Check out my boards here: http://www.clipix.com/visitors/default.aspx?uid=1389. I need some friends over there, so go check it out and sign up! What would you use Clipix for? Let me know below!

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Filed Under: Home Tagged With: Clipix, photo sharing, social bookmarking, social media

Red Pomegranate~ Color, Click, Capture Photography Challenge Week 1

February 3, 2012 By Linette 3 Comments

One of my goals for 2012 is to get better with my photography, and to take it to the next level. I’ve been studying everything I can the last few weeks. Right before Christmas I bought myself a gift, a Nikon D5100 DSLR camera, and I love it! Now I just have to figure out how to use it, hah!

I decided to participate in the Color, Click, Capture photography challenge hosted by East9thStreet, A Helicopter Mom, Nap Time Is My Time and Sunshine and Sippy Cups! Each week the challenge is to find something to photograph in the selected color. The color this week is RED.

Since my food photography is what I want to improve, this week I decided to get up close and personal with a pomegranate. I took a gazzillion shots, but here are some of my favorites.