January 23, 2012

Do You Know the Difference Between Gelato and Ice Cream?

Do You Know the Difference Between Gelato and Ice Cream?

Gelato is Italian for ice cream, right? Well, not exactly. True, they are both dairy, they are both cold, and they are both desserts, but the similarities end there.

For starters, they look different, with true gelato resembling something more like frozen yogurt than ice cream, and in many displays, it looks like flavored whipped cream. Here’s some more detailed, delicious insight into the two treasured desserts:

American vs. Italian Ice Cream

American ice cream, we all know, has a pretty high milk fat content. Legally in the United States, a product must have 10% fat to use the label “ice cream.” Higher quality brands of ice cream have about 18% fat, which makes for a delicious ice cream, but a pretty pathetic gelato.

Gelato has a much higher milk to cream ratio. This means that the milk fat content …

January 20, 2012

The Psychology of Color [Infographic]

The Psychology of Color [Infographic]

Did you know that fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Pizza Hut use the color red in their logos because the color red is proven to stimulate the appetite? Or that blue is often used in corporate logos because the color blue represents feelings of something being non-invasive?

Even more interestingly, did you know that during the 15th century green was the preferred color choice for wedding gowns because green has long symbolized fertility? White wedding gowns were not always the norm, which is a pretty radical thought when you look at the wedding industry today.

There is an unspoken psychology behind colors and how they make us feel–whether we like it or not. The following infographic explores color psychology, including what specific colors have long symbolized and why, as well as what colors are best suited for the walls of a particular room in your home, which I will definitely be taking note of when I move into my new home next month.

January 19, 2012

Winterizing Your Yard: Better Late Than Never

Winterizing Your Yard: Better Late Than Never

I look forward to gardening season like kids look forward to Christmas, and I always feel a bit melancholy when winter comes and I’m stuck indoors looking at seed catalogs. However, the season doesn’t end with the first hard frost.

How you prepare your garden for winter will have a huge bearing on how easy and successful gardening is the following spring. There’s still time if you haven’t already winterized your garden. Plan to spend a few hours outdoors the next time it’s mild and dry, even in the dead cold of winter you do get a few scattered warm days. Here’s the to-do list that I follow each fall and winter:

Trim back damaged or diseased plants and tree branches. Do heavy pruning any time between early and late winter, when the tree is …

January 16, 2012

3 Ways to Cut Food Costs and Get Back to Basics

3 Ways to Cut Food Costs and Get Back to Basics

From the small restauranteur saving a dollar per case of shallots, to the largest car manufacturers getting a half-cent off each gallon of paint, all businesses benefit from cost-cutting. Getting just a little bit more bang for your buck is in your best personal interest, too–ever pass by a gas station because the one down the street sells gas for three hundredths of a penny less?

Being frugal does not mean you have to sacrifice every little thing that helps you get through the day. It just means using your creativity to maintain your lifestyle as best you can through any economic turmoil. Even if there’s no turmoil, what does it hurt to have a little extra money lying around?

When it comes to keep your food habits, you can absolutely get imaginative without sacrificing quality. With …

January 15, 2012

Yoplait Frozen Smoothies New Chocolate Banana Flavor and $1.00 Off Coupon

Yoplait Frozen Smoothies New Chocolate Banana Flavor and $1.00 Off Coupon

Smoothies are an excellent, wholesome option to indulge your sweet tooth without running to the cookies, cakes, and candies. Instead of copious amounts of sugar and a whole lot of things your body doesn’t need, smoothies are delicious and sweet and packed full of calcium and fruit.

As much as I love a good smoothie, I don’t always have the best and freshest ingredients that I would like. In those cases, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies are a great backup plan that I have gone to again and again, without losing one ounce of nutritional value. Yoplait Frozen Smoothies contain real fruit, live and active cultures, and 50% of your daily value of calcium, and can be enjoyed by just adding milk and blending.

Yoplait Frozen Smoothies have just recently introduced the newest flavor, Chocolate Banana. …

January 5, 2012

Stop Bad Pet Behavior — Comfort Zone with Feliway Review

Stop Bad Pet Behavior — Comfort Zone with Feliway Review

I have written about our younger cat Vincent here before, and about the behavioral issues we experienced with him from the time he first came to us when he was just 8 weeks old, up until fairly recently. Vincent was the second cat to come into our home. We also have Devin, a female cat who is significantly older than Vincent, so I really didn’t know what I was getting into when my partner and I were asked if we would be willing to take in a kitten who was very different than the exceptionally-behaved, low maintenance cat we had for years.

Vincent had energy like I had never seen before; he climbed up curtains, scratched our furniture obsessively, was afraid of the lid on his litter box, and would urinate where he slept, whether it …