Sohomade

All of us at The Lifestylist Brands would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. May it be filled with family, friends, love and great food!

Happy Holidays from The Lifestylist® Brands. Here's hoping that your holidays is shiny and bright!

Summer is definitely here, and it's heating up in Texas. I turn into a really lazy cook when it gets so hot, and we do the Lifestylist® version of a salad bar many evenings.

Everything gets prepped - even the kids help plate their favorite ingredients -then we put everything on the island and people make their own salads as big or small as they choose.

I've stopped buying the bagged lettuce and greens because they are expensive and taste like chemicals to me. With the OXO Salad Spinner you can easily use heads of lettuce, spin them and even serve them in the bowl of the spinner. The kids love to help, and it's fast and easy for me.

To win won of these great products from OXO, go to the Lifestylist® Food blog and enter. there are 7 different ways you can get additional entries, and winner will be announced on May 11th.

There's nothing better than a fresh salad using produce from my garden and my local farmers market.  I love just setting out all of the prepped ingredients and letting people make their own salads to suit their tastes.

Texas isn't known for their lettuce though, so being the Lazy Cook that I am, I've been buying bagged greens so there's no work involved. I've been finding lately though that many of these have a chemical taste to them, and they are expensive! The salad spinner I've had is a pain in the neck - it's messy, hard to clean and doesn't seem to really spin much of the water off.

Leave it to OXO to have the perfect solution - their Good Grips Salad Spinner. It is so well designed it's actually fun to use! OXO must have a lot of engineers on their team because not only do they include great features in their products, they are features that perform perfectly. It seems to be a very thoughtful company that truly cares about giving us thoughtful products that can make our time in the kitchen more productive and enjoyable.
The basket and pumping device  of the salad spinner are so well balanced you actually use a brake button to slow down and stop the spinning. It has a non-slip base that keeps it in place on the counter, and since you pump with a downward motion you can use it one-handed or have the kids help you out in the kitchen. My grand kids love using it to wash and spin the spinach for their favorite "Say Cheese Spinach Bake" that we make together. Not only has it helped them enjoy working with me in the kitchen, it has also gotten them to like spinach!
Now for more great news. OXO has not only sent one of these super salad spinners to me to try out, they have also sent us another one that I can give away to one of my lucky readers. All you have to do is leave a comment below as to what unique way you will use your new salad spinner. There will also be some ways that you can earn extra chances to win including "liking" the OXO and LifeStyleList Facebook pages. The contest will run through May 18th 2012, and if the winner doesn't respond to us within 24 hours of being notified we will choose another winner.

You need to be a resident of the US and over 18 yrs. old to enter. This contest has no affiliation with Facebook. OXO provided the two salad spinners to us at no charge, and the opinions are our own.

 

Daisy loves the Lifestylist® philosophy of Life Celebrating Style.  She is also open to any excuse to wear her favorite hats and attract attention.  Mardi Gras Greetings from Daisy the diva dog and the Lifestylist® family!

Seth Godin is my guru. He is so no nonsense but funny at times, intellectual but down to earth, and what I really love about him is that he can get a point across faster than anyone else I know. His Purple Cow book started me on a new road to being more involved in marketing and social media so I'm forever grateful. When I worked on the Purple Cow House Campaign with Patriot Homes I made sure to get permission from Mr. Godin, and we credited him for the phrase (and gave out his Purple Cow Book).

Today I got a great post from him titled "Simple Thoughts About Fair Use". So timely, and as always so well written. In this new blogging, social world I'm always stunned to see how many people are using other people's photography, ads, brands, and stories without permission. This article is a must read for anyone who is even thinking about posting on Facebook, Twitter, or a blog and using someones text or images.

I'm fortunate enough to have access to a very talented photographer - Lisa Stewart of Lisa Stewart Photography. The images you see in my blogs, on my Lifestylist Design Facebook page and on my website have been shot specifically for my use. I do that so I'm not using other people's work and having copyright infringements.

Lifestylist® is a term that I successfully trademarked in 2002 - my registration number is 2583235. I'm very proud of this because I thought I had a good idea and made the extra effort do "do the right thing" and spend the time, effort, and money to trademark it. You would be amazed at how much time I've had to spend since them protecting my mark because people haven't bothered to do their homework and see that it's trademarked before they use it in their own businesses.

Before you decide that you have discovered the next great phrase, or "borrow" a photo from someone else be sure to read Seth's post. Wondering where to learn more about these topics? The US Patent and Trademark Office has a great site, and it is also where you can search trademark registrations and applications.

Anyone who reads this blog knows this Lifestylist® is not keen on mixes, but I'm going to make an exception with this recipe.
Breakfast is a hard meal for me, and I know that my daughter has a tough time getting something healthy into my grandkids before they all head out to school. This is the LifestylistFood® version of a recipe I found on Pinterest, and I'm crazy about it! It's easy enough that the kids can make them themselves. By adding the ham and cheese you get some nutrients that can hold you over until lunch, and these are so moist you don't need butter or anything else on them. Be sure not to substitute something else for the buttermilk - it gives these the moistness and kick that makes these so special.
Breakfast Biscuits
Ingredients:
1/4 cup lean ham, sliced and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups Bisquick®
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put all ingredients into a bowl and stir just until combined. Scoop into buttered muffin tins, and bake 15-18 minutes or until tops are lightly browned.

One of the questions I get asked the most is how I ever decided to become a Lifestylist®, and where did I get my training.
I've been called a storyteller many times and it's an accurate assessment - I use my talents and materials to tell a story in a home. Hopefully this story explains to the potential homeowner why their lives would be better by living in this home, and what they can expect from the community, the builder, and from the experience. To tell the story, I collect thousands of items - old and new - that I incorporate into my LifeStyled homes.
This weekend I decided it was time to go through some of the things I've collected, and it's been quite a trip down memory lane. I discovered a trunk I forgot about that had family photos from the early 1900's that gave me a glimpse into my family history I hadn't been aware of. Through this discovery I'm finding I come from a very artistic family full of risk takers. This ostrich photo with my great aunt will now always be one of my favorites.
It seems I've been in the media longer than I remembered for my decorating skills. My mother and both grandmothers were very talented in the design fields, and I was lucky enough to be nurtured and inspired by them. This article from 1969 shows me as a 13 yr old showing off some of my skills with my mother and sisters. Apparently I also had my own booth at the church bazaar selling paper flowers and copper enameled jewelry that I made. What's funny is that after seeing this, I may have to try this again - it's really a fun idea!
I'm honored to be a Lifestylist®, and I love having the opportunity to help others find their passions in life. This holiday season remember what makes you happy, and share that passion with your friends and family - you might even find a new career by doing it!

We are so proud to be involved in the home building business, and many of our customers are small privately owned companies that build homes for local families.
All of our Lifestylist® companies are built around the idea that if we buy from local companies and support our local businesses we help them to become homeowners and live the all American dream of owning a home of your own.We loved the 8 years that we were the Lifestylist® for Patriot Homes - we always did at least one Patriotic themed model home, and I think they were my favorites.
I'd like to say that I'm an example of dreams coming true - I married early, never finished college but here I am owning my own business and being able to help others.
If you are looking for a Lifestylist® to help merchandise and add Lifestyle to your homes, please contact us at: answers@lifestylist.com, or take a look at our website at: www.lifestylist.com
Let's all support locally owned businesses and bring jobs back to America!

Happy Thanksgiving! This holiday is about food and family, but even more than that I like to use it to remind me how thankful I am for what I have, and for those around me.

For over 25 years my parents were very active doing disaster relief with The Salvation Army, and even raised the money for a state of the art canteen for the Tyler Texas location. Whenever there was a disaster or need and my parents got a call they dropped everything and hit the road. One of the most memorable phone calls I ever received was when Hurricane Katrina hit and my parents answered the call. They called me when they were outside the Super Dome not having a clue what was going on inside. For six weeks they were in the French Quarter feeding the volunteers - my Dad always joked he always wanted to have a restaurant in the French Quarter and he finally got his wish!

Whenever this Lifestylist® could I joined them on the road helping my Mom cook up to 2,000 hot meals a day and seeing first hand what mother nature can dish out. People were so sweet and hospitable, even though many had lost everything that they had. It was always hard to leave - I wanted to stay there and help rebuild.

This year I have been blessed to be involved with three amazing organizations - Shared Housing, Genesis Women's Shelter and HomeAid/Homebuilders Care. I am always so drawn to the kids - many of them have seen things we can't even imagine, but they always have the best manners, always say please, thank-you and give the best hugs :)

It's harder than ever to make a living, but even if you can't make a donation to a worthwhile charity think about donating your time -you'll be very thankful that you did.