Saturday, March 7, 2009

How to Celebrate One’s Birthday?

Have you already decided how to celebrate your birthday? Don't have any ideas? You can organize a wonderful holiday! Today we or, to be more exact, our friend Valentina will tell you how to make that day unforgettable. It can be not only a birthday party but any celebration - one just needs a pretext :) (By the way, a couple of weeks ago we described how to make ordinary days unforgettable.)

Here comes the story on how the Perevedentsevs family decided to celebrate Valentina's birthday.

"When my husband and I were returning to our native city after Christmas holidays, we were discussing my January 9 in the train. I had never celebrated that day away from home. And this time we were discussing how we would invite guests, what we would do. To tell you the truth, the discussion was quite sluggish unless I thought that I would like…some Italian compleanno. I love this country! - may be one day I will even learn Italian :)

For our guests to find themselves at least for 1 minute under the tender Italian sun (most of them had never been to that country), we invented various things:

- different notes in Italian appeared Read the rest of this entry »

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A Cake in 5 Minutes

Waiting for the guests? So many things should be done. Mummy has to do the house, to dress her baby, hubby and herself, to lay the table in a festive style.

Would you like some advice? Start the preparations from making the cake! It will take only 5 minutes but then you will be able not to think about sweet things for tea any more.

Marshmallow cake. Recipe

- dice 3,5 marshmallows and put them into a bowl with a flat bottom and high sides
- cover the marshmallow with sour cream
- next layer
:

Read the rest of this entry »

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Original Presents. Lighting Fitting Made of Loofah

Women's Day is not as far as it may seem.What to present the nearest and dearest ones with?

The best present is known to be the one which is handmade. For example, this original lighting fitting made of vegetable sponge.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Sunday, March 1, 2009

A Tasty Pie of Quick and Inexpensive Preparation. Recipe

When Sophiya had arrived in our family, I started drinking baked milk litre after litre - it was said to improve lactation. Because of that or, may be, because of some other reason, when our daughter turned 3 months old, she became allergic to the milk protein. Then I had not understood yet what caused the allergy. Thus, I took away everything from my menu except for boiled buckwheat, bread, white sea fish and green apples.

Any nursing mother would agree that it is very difficult to be strong and cheerful living on such food when you have a babe in arms. I longed for something tasty!

And at that point I remembered the recipe of my brand-name pie. Brand-name as it was the first dish I learnt to cook at the same time upgrading some other recipe. It is a pie which can be made quickly. A pie which does not need a large variety of ingredients. And, finally, it is a pie which suits any situation and any holiday (Women's Day, Christmas, a friends' meeting, etc.).

The recipe of the pie with apples, dried apricots and nuts

Ingredients:

1 egg Read the rest of this entry »

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A Hat and a Pillow – Two in One, or What to Do with Seams

Babies who have not turned 1 often sleep in the pram while being outside, especially during the cold season. However, the producers of warm hats do not always pay attention to this fact.

For our daughter Sophiya, we bought a woolen hat for winter. For the first time, the hat was put on her in October when she was 5 months old. It was not comfortable for her to lie in it at all - the little started "shaking" her head several times before she finally fell asleep.

I understood the cause of it only when I saw a bright pink trace - the trace of the seam on the back of her head. What could be done? Our granny was about to run to the store and buy one more hat.

At the family council (where the granny was also taking part) we decided

Read the rest of this entry »

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What to Present? Ideas of Original (Handmade) Presents

Christmas and St. Valentine's Day were celebrated not long ago but new holidays are already on the way, for example Women's Day/Mother's Day. During several months you have to generate a bunch of ideas on what to give your dearest and nearest ones. We will help you in that!

"My girlfriend has her birthday coming soon but I've got no idea what to present her with. She's got everything!", "And what should I do with these goblets?! I've got too many of them already!", "A nice thing but there is no space on the shelves left… but I can't just put it into the garbage", - we are sure such contemplations are known to many of you. At least, they were known to us.

One eight-years-old girl was asked what to do to feel joy. One of the answers suggested by her was the following: "you may give presents". As for us, we cannot say what brings us more joy: to give or get presents. But we know for sure that most joy and a great sense of content we get from making presents.

First, it is interesting to make presents with your own hands. Not long ago, there were ribbons, beads, and pieces of cloth on the table but now they have turned into an elegant handbag, a nice hat or a fur toy-mouse.

Second, it is a good way to express your individuality. Exclusive things can be bought either for much money or done by you. In the second case you'll get the colour, size and style which will fit and match exactly you.

Third, making something with your own hands you put one special thing into it which can not be bought for any money - you fill it with your love.

And fourth, you may involve children, from babies to teenagers, into the process! A child who has not reached 3 years old will only watch and touch the "ingredients" but at that time the creative images will be leaving their trace in his visual memory. Moreover, when the thing is ready, he will have a feeling that he has taken part in the creation of "beauty"!

What is so special about the present? The thing we give is not as important as the attention! Thus, handmade presents are considered the most valuable.

In the past, the idea that a present can be not only bought but also made somehow skipped our mind. It took us much time to, finally, invent what to give a person for that thing to be useful and not commonplace. And now we simply do not have such a question - ideas come long time before the event (if not - read further :) ). All you need is a little bit of imagination and creativity.

When we make presents, we, usually, either paint, or take pics with a camera, or write, or knit, or everything mentioned and something else :) .

What else can be made with one's own hands? Judging by our own experience and the experience of our friends, one can:

- write a poem, a fairy-tale or even a book and then, having decorated it with illustrations, have it bound;

- make a card with an appliqué from dried flowers and then put some lacquer onto it;

- model a toy from clay and special plastic material and then colour it; Read the rest of this entry »

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