Well, Martha Stewart has made my day!

Not only did she and her staff recommend Kiehl's for their generous free sampling program (in the March 2007 issue of Real Simple), but they also recommend Sephora for similar reasons.

Sephora stores offer generous samples from the more than 150 cosmetics lines they carry. Just ask and a salesperson will hand you a packaged sample or fill jars with requested products for free."

Sounds good to me!

I read this in Real Simple magazine (March 2007):

Kiehl's hands out samples of every product it sells -- approximately 10 million giveaways a year."

Woah! I did not know that.

Looks like we're having minor toilet troubles... again!

Our house (and everything in it) is only 5 years old. We have 3 toilets, and I've already been through the "changing of the toilet seat" routine with them all.

Now, 2 of them have been constantly dripping water in the toilet tank.

Here's what I've learned...

I've written about some of the clever ways to fold things like shirts, napkins, and sheets.

I've also shown you some fun ways to fold towels into creative shapes and animals.

Now, it's time for the most practical folding technique that everyone can use on a daily basis: how to fold towels & keep them looking great!

I've heard it called "towel origami" before.

But I've always referred to it as "cute folded towels" and "unique ways cruise ships fold towels".

I've been keeping a collection of creatively folded towel photos for some time now.

I think it's time to share them with others...

I had an interesting conversation with the manufacturer of ChoiceDek and MoistureShield -- which are two of the leading composite deck materials on the market today.

The manufacturer is Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies (AERT).

The rep who answered my phone call got to play "20 Questions" with me. Fortunately, he was a good sport, and he was willing to tackle any question I sent his way -- even when it wasn't specifically related to his product(s).

This guy definitely went above and beyond to be helpful to me in my decision to go with composite decking in our new log home, or not.

One interesting thing that I learned had to do with the differences between buying home improvement supplies at places like Home Depot and Lowe's, compared to buying from local distributors and the manufacturer's own list of suppliers.

By now, most people realize the importance of using compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) to save energy.

It's one of the simplest things you can do to start living an environmentally-friendly life and to save money on your light bills.

BUT... did you also know that CFLs contain mercury which can be dangerous? Mercury is actually poisonous and can affect the nervous system.

I don't say this to scare you or to detract from the many benefits of using CFLs, but rather to assist you in the event that one of them breaks!