Sohomade

There's nothing like the State Fair of Texas. It's Americana at it's finest, and entering the cooking contests is something we look forward to every year.

Lifestylist® Suzanne Felber has had a great fair this year - she's already won 4 blue ribbons! It take a lot of time and energy coming up with new recipes and concepts, and we'll be sharing those recipes on the Lifestylist website.

Happy New Year from all of us at The Lifestylist Brands. May 2014 bring you joy, laughter, and the opportunity to live life beautifully.

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!