homelife101 » Home & Garden

Waiting to get my Toyota Camry Fixed

homelife101 — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:30:00 +0000

I was excited a few months ago when my husband and I purchased our first semi-new car…a 2009 Toyota Camry. I call it semi new because it was a used 2009 with only a few thousand miles. It was a car my husband has been wanting since we drove a 2007 Camry as a rental a few years back.

The day after we purchased the car, the story broke on Good Morning America about the sticking gas pedal. Although we have not had any problems with the car, from recent stories covered on the news, I am able to tell that we do have a faulty gas pedal. I check the following site daily for updates.

Toyota Recall Information

In addition to the latest updates, on this site you will find videos on the following:

Stopping Procedure -Learn the proper procedure for bringing your vehicle to a safe stop if you experience a sticking accelerator pedal.
Pedal Assembly – A steel reinforcement bar eliminates the excess friction that can cause the pedal to stick.
Floor Mat Entrapment – The potential risk for floor mat entrapment of accelerator pedals in certain Toyota models.

Since it is such a popular vehicle, I know there are many others out there in a similar situation.

Drive Safely.

Why Doesn’t This Toaster Work?

homelife101 — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:53:47 +0000

I purchased two toasters recently - both of which didn’t work. I used the first toaster for a couple of weeks, then one day when I tried to push the lever down, it wouldn’t go down all the way. I couldn’t take that toaster back since I had already thrown away the box. So I stuffed the faulty toaster in the back of the kitchen cabinet.

I purchased another toaster – this time a little fancier. I decided to check the lever on this one before I used it to toast anything. I took it out of the box, pushed the lever down and to my frustration, it didn’t work. I returned it to the store immediately. When the clerk asked if there was something wrong with the product, I emphatically said, “Yes, the lever doesn’t go down all the way.”

It wasn’t until my mom and I were walking through the mall and I saw a toaster at Sears that a light bulb went on. I mentioned how cute a little red toaster was. My mom pushed the lever down and softly mentioned the words that are still ringing in my ears…”Of course the lever won’t go all the way down until it is plugged in.”

I must have made an inappropriate noise or had some sort of blank stare because she followed up her statement with the following, “Please tell me that you didn’t take that toaster back because the lever didn’t go down.”

We both got a good laugh out of it. When I got home I pulled out the first toaster I purchased. Sure enough it worked after all. I just needed to plug it in before pushing the lever down.

Snowman Photo Frame Ornaments

homelife101 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:59:56 +0000

I had an idea this year to add a Christmas photo ornament of my daughter’s first Christmas. Next year I may decorate the tree with ornaments that show the joyous family times from Christmas’ past. I found a festive snowman ornament from Michael’s craft store that looks oh so cute and makes me nostalgic every time I look at it.

These silver and white snowman photo frame ornaments come in a set of 3 and fit 2″ x 2″ photos. They include wire arms and are 3 1/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 5 1/8″ high.

Garmin Portable GPS Navigator

homelife101 — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 21:38:56 +0000

We recently purchased a new car (new to us that is). My husband thought it would be great to have a navigation system in the car. Although I have found them it to be quite useful whenever I borrowed my brother’s vehicle, I didn’t want to pay the money to have it installed in our new…used car.

We decided to purchase a Garmin Portable GPS Navigator. It turned out to be the perfect solution. I used to use mapquest or Yahoo’s driving directions to find my way around town but now I just plug the address into the Garmin Navigator.

I really like the portable option that enables me to take the navigator wherever I go. This flexibility comes in handy for using it in both cars. I also think the various options for accents and languages is a plus as well.

The Garmin Portable GPS Navigator is preloaded with City Navigator North America NT and has the following features.

4.3-inch touchscreen display with 2D/3D mapping perspective
Turn-by-turn directions with voice guidance and text to speech
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery makes it convenient for navigation by car or foot
Includes JPEG picture viewer, world travel clock with time zones, currency converter, measurement converter, calculator and more

Vanilla Bean Reed Diffuser

homelife101 — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 18:58:05 +0000

Reed diffusers are a wonderful way to layer scents in your home. In addition to air fresheners and candles, they help to keep your home smelling great. They provide comforting scents and are perfect for welcoming people into your living space.

The Nectaire Vanilla Bean Reed Diffuser contains a glass bottle and eight reeds and will diffuse fragrance for approximately six weeks or more. Contains no alcohol. Perfect for your home, office, apartment or dorm room.

Obama Chia Planter

homelife101 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:17:08 +0000

When I was in high school, a friend gave me a chia pet dog. Now there’s a Chia American Series that includes a Chia of our president, Barack Obama. The other Americans you can find in this series includes: George Washington, Hillary Clinton and Abraham Lincoln.

The Obama Chia Planter includes the following:

handmade pottery planter
Chia seed packet for 3 plantings
convenient plastic drip tray
planting and care instruction sheet

Whirlpool Stainless Steel Kitchen Appliances

homelife101 — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:03:44 +0000

I’m so excited. I just purchased new stainless steel kitchen appliances. Previously I had an all white kitchen with Restoration Hardware Shore Paint on the walls. I kept the bluish gray paint but added stainless steel appliances. It was definitely time for new ones.

The top burner in the old oven caught on fire a couple of years ago when I tried to used the self-cleaning feature and cook on the stove top (all at the same time). I’ve been cooking and baking with it in that condition for quite some time now.

The old microwave also caught on fire (by no fault of my own). The dishwasher no longer dries so I have been manually drying the dishes. Since I rinse the dishes thoroughly before loading them, it seemed almost pointless to use the dishwasher at all.

Admittedly I wasn’t experiencing any problems with the refrigerator but who wants a 10 year old white refrigerator when all of the other appliances are shiny stainless steel and new!

Fry a Turkey for Thanksgiving

homelife101 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:37:31 +0000

Have you ever fried a turkey for Thanksgiving? I have not. I’m almost scared to do so since I hear all kind of stories about deck’s catching on fire Thanksgiving day. However if I ever plan on giving it a try, I would probably use something similar to the Bayou Classic Outdoor Turkey Fryer Kit.

The 30-Quart Stockpot was specifically designed for frying whole turkeys. The perforated raised poultry rack allows the cooking oil to circulate evenly when frying, preventing the bottom from scorching. The grab hook provides a way to safely insert and remove poultry from hot cooking oil. The 12″ Stainless Steel Deep Fry Thermometer is perfect for maintaining a constant temperature of cooking oil when frying.

Keurig Coffee Brewing System

homelife101 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:32:00 +0000

I have a secret to share. I do not know how to make coffee – you know with the filters and stuff. So the Keurig Coffee Brewing System would definitely be my brewer of choice. To top it off, in addition to coffee it makes both hot chocolate and tea. It doesn’t get much better than that!

1500-watt single-cup brewing system for gourmet coffee, tea, or cocoa
Uses patented K-Cups; removable 48-ounce water reservoir; 3 brew sizes
Programmable backlit LCD display with digital clock and on/off timer
Temperature control; removable drip tray; 18 K-Cup variety pack included
Measures 13-1/4 by 10 by 13 inches; 1-year limited warranty

Harvest Welcome Flag

homelife101 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:00:03 +0000

The Harvest Welcome Flag features a cute, smiling scarecrow next to a stack of pumpkins while holding one in his arms. The words “Harvest Welcome” are written in the top right corner of this decorative fall flag. Adorable, this house flag is great from fall through Thanksgiving!

Harvest Welcome Flag features:

28″ X 40″
All weather polyester
Heat sublimated design
Will fit most standard decorative flag poles and hangers