Tricks and Treats

Halloween is almost here! Hope everyone has their costumes ready!

While I do love the candy that comes with the holiday, Halloween has plenty more treats to offer. I found this awesome recipe on www.Care2.com for a pumpkin face mask that will make you look and feel fabulous, especially when you take off all that scary Halloween make-up!

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/pumpkin-face-mask-vitamin-rich.html

One of my absolute favorite treats in the fall is pumpkin pie! I could probably eat it every day of the year, but it’s much more special if I hold out for Halloween/Thanksgiving. I love to make them, but I have yet to try baking an organic pumpkin pie. I found this mouth-watering recipe, which I’m going to try out, and figured I’d share it with you. If you have any good recipes, or baking tips, please feel free to share. I know my way around the kitchen but I can still use any help I can get ☺

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/organic-pumpkin-pie-recipe.html

Also, I don’t know about you guys, but it’s starting to feel very chilly in my apartment. Almost time for the heat to come back on. While my West Coast blood has thickened a little, I’m still a complete wimp in the winter and I love making my apartment warm and toasty. As I learned last year, which was my first ever East Coast winter ever, and not an easy one at that, is that the warmer your apartment the higher your bills are. To avoid astronomical bills this season, here are a few energy efficient tricks for heating your home from www.energysavers.gov. I will definitely be using some of these tips this fall/winter!

Heating and Cooling Tips
• Set your thermostat as low as is comfortable in the winter and as high as is comfortable in the summer.
• Clean or replace filters on furnaces once a month or as needed.
• Clean warm-air registers, baseboard heaters, and radiators as needed; make sure they're not blocked by furniture, carpeting, or drapes.
• Bleed trapped air from hot-water radiators once or twice a season; if in doubt about how to perform this task, call a professional.
• Place heat-resistant radiator reflectors between exterior walls and the radiators.
• Turn off kitchen, bath, and other exhaust fans within 20 minutes after you are done cooking or bathing; when replacing exhaust fans, consider installing high-efficiency, low-noise models.
• During the heating season, keep the draperies and shades on your south-facing windows open during the day to allow the sunlight to enter your home and closed at night to reduce the chill you may feel from cold windows.
During the cooling season, keep the window coverings closed during the day to prevent solar gain.

Hope everyone has a very safe, warm, scary, and happy Halloweeeen!