Have you entered the Jonathan's Spoons Giveaway?

There's still time to win a flame-blackened coffee scoop and be the coffee snob you've always wanted to be!  Click here!

Don't Forget the Outside!

We love to decorate the interiors of our homes to make them more pleasing to ourselves and to guests, but we also care about the outside of our homes and our yards as well!  Mailbox and Beyond is a family-owned and operated company located in Wilmington, Delaware.  They specialize in high-quality home and garden decor, such as gorgeous address plaques and mailboxes. 

Mailbox and Beyond is a company dedicated to dealing in the best merchandise available from the best companies, and they are a licensed dealer of Whitehall products.  They are also committed to fair shipping prices, strong customer relationships, superior product knowlege, and dependable customer service.  You can rely on Mailbox and Beyond to supply all of your home and yard accent needs with hassle-free personalization.

Want to make it a little easier for guests to find your residence all while adding beauty to your home?  An address plaque from Mailbox and Beyond looks stylish adorning the front of your home.

Mailbox and Beyond has an extremely large variety of address signs to choose from and then to customize to meet your specific needs.  These signs come in a variety of shapes, and you can also choose from various colors as well as from the style that attaches to your house or the style that stands in your lawn as pictured below.

Not only, as you can see from the pictures, does this great company have beautiful house address plaques, Mailbox and Beyond has a wonderful selection of quality doorknockers, doorbells, doormats, bird baths, sundials, bird feeders, garden hose holders, mailboxes, outdoor faucets, lanterns, and more! 

Visit Mailbox and Beyond to make the exterior of your home just as lovely and inviting as the interior.





(*This post brought to you by your friends at Mailbox and Beyond.)

Third Review and Giveaway with Jonathan's Spoons!

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

I am so excited and fortunate to have already been able to host giveaways for Jonathan's Lazy Spoon and Cattail Spoon in the past few months.  And now I get to review and give away yet another product from this great company!

 Don't you just love buying quality handmade merchandise that comes from the U.S.?  I do too!  That's one of the many reasons that I love Jonathan's Spoons.  Since 1979, Jonathan's has been crafting functional and beautiful kitchen tools that extend far beyond spoons.

Aren't their designs so unique?

For this review, I received a an absolutely gorgeous piece from Jonathan's Flame Blacked Collection, in particular, their Flame Blackened Coffee Scoop.  It measures five inches and holds 1/8 of a cup (give or take since these are hand-carved) if you'd like to use it as a measuring utensil.

You're going to love this scoop, especially if you're a big coffee person like me and like to have all the special trappings that come along with drinking it.  How much more fun would it be to scoop your coffee in the morning out of your wooden scoop from Jonathan's Spoons?  It's smooth, lightweight, and beautifully made.  All of the products I have received from this company have proven to be absolutely exceptional, and their customer service is impeccable as well:  Friendly people and fast shipping.  I can't recommend Jonathan's Spoons highly enough!

The kind folks up in Pennsylvania at Jonathan's Spoons have offered to give one Till Death Do Us Part reader their very own Flame Blackened Coffee Scoop. 

Ready to win?  Here's how!

To Enter:(Please leave a separate comment for each entry.)

1. Follow Till Death Do Us Part via GFC. (Mandatory)

2. Like Jonathan's Spoons on Facebook.  (Mandatory)

3. Leave Jonathan and the gang a nice comment about their spoons, and let them know I sent you!

4.  Find something else that catches your eye from Jonathan's Spoons.

5. Follow Till Death Do Us Part on Twitter.

6. Like Till Death Do Us Part on Facebook.

Six ways to win! This giveaway is open to residents 18 years or older in the continental U.S. All entries will be verified. Winner will have 48 hours to claim their prize before another winner is chosen. Please make sure your email address is included in your entries or profile. Giveaway will run until  Sunday, July 8 at 9 p.m. CST. Winner will be chosen via Random.org and announced here asap.

Good luck!


(*Author was supplied with free product to review.  All statements and opinions, however, are solely that of the author.)

Beautiful Bathrooms

We all love making over our houses, from top to bottom, inside and out, every corner has to be to our liking.  Usually, to spruce up our bathrooms, we change the wall colors, the tile, the shower curtain, the cabinetry, the towels, and the decor. Have you ever considered changing the sink?  Well, if you haven't, maybe you should visit www.edenbath.com! 

Eden Bath's products are inspired by nature, and they make absolutely beautiful sinks, namely their stone, glass, and copper sinks.  Their stone sinks come in a variety of materials such as marble, travertine, granite, limestone, basalt, and onyx.   These gorgeous materials are all-natural and the sinks are hand-crafted to be a beautiful addition to your bathroom. These sinks range in colors from creamy whites to honeys to natural browns to deep blacks.  The stone selections also come in a variety of shapes both modern and natural, and they are polished and finished with a beautiful yet subtle luster.  Your spa-style or natural bathroo is begging for a stone sink from Eden Bath.

Eden Bath also offers a lovely selection of glass sinks to choose from.  These are crafted from tempered glass, which seperates them from run-of-the-mill glass.  It's a durable, high-quality material, and some models are even hand-painted.  The glass selections come in a rainbow of beautiful colors to select from, and they are available in a variety of round styles in classsic as well as modern patterns.  I think these would look beautiful in a bright, colorful bathroom.

For a bathroom decor with a more rustic or classic feel, a copper sink from Eden Bath may be the right selection for you.  These sinks are made in Mexico by skilled artisans.  All the copper sinks are crafted from all-natural copper and are entirely hand-hammered.  Each style has a distinctly old-world feel and a rich, dark coloring that is sure to be a unique addition to your bathroom.  To me, these have such a masculine feel and would look fantastic in a simple, rustic or cabin-style bathroom.

Don't neglect your sink when sprucing up your bathroom this summer.  Choose a unique and stylish sink from Eden Bath!



(*This post brought to you by your friends at Eden Bath.)

Petunias, Petunias, Petunias

Need I say more?

Three Ways to Preserve Basil

I just love basil.  It is hands down my favorite herb.  I use it in everything from rices to chicken to sauteed squash to delightful little wheat bread, mozarella, and tomato sandwiches I make myself for lunch.

There are three ways I preserve the basil I grow in my garden.  Regardless of how you want to preserve, you need to harvest the basil with sharp scissors or garden shears.  Be sure not to cut it too low so that it will continue to grow and produce more leaves.

Method 1:  Freezing

Once you've clipped your basil, clip off the individual leaves.  Bring a pot of water to a boil, and dip each basil leaf into the water for 3-5 seconds.  This is called blanching.

Prepare an ice tray of water.  As you blance each leaf (or pieces of leaves if they are too large to fit in each section), place them, completely submerged, in each section).

Freeze them as you would ice cubes and dump them in a freezer bag.  They're then ready to thaw and use in soups and stews.

Method 2: Drying

This is my second-favorite way to preserve basil because it's so quick and easy and allows a lot of hands-free time.

Prepare a cookie or baking sheet with a wire rack.  It's important that the leaves are able to "breathe."  Arrange them on the drying rack as shown below.

Set your oven to its lowest setting and "bake" your basil for five minutes.  Turn your oven off, and allow the basil to continue to bake until it's completely dry.  You can them crumble it into jars.  Repeat....and repeat.

Method 3: Basil Butter

Method 3 is my absolute favorite method for preserving basil.  It's also the one with only one picture (go figure!).  That's ok though, because it's beyond simple. 

Set your butter out a few hours ahead of time to let it soften to room temperature.  It's much easier to work with.  Process it in a food processor, and then add the desired amount of fresh basil leaves.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet, and freeze (or refrigerate) for several hours to firm it up.  Like so...

I then take all my delicious frozen basil dollops, put them in a freezer bag, and use them in everything all winter long.  I throw a few chunks of basil butter in rice, spaghetti, chicken dishes....you name it.  It tastes just as fresh as it did the day I prepared it.  Really!

Now's the time.  Go out and grab your basil!

Be the Hostess with the Mostest

There’s no denying that summer is the time to throw a party.  End of the school year parties, graduation parties, birthday parties, engagement parties, weddings, showers, backyard barbeques…it’s officially the time to celebrate!

It can be trickier than you first realize to host a truly memorable, truly fantastic party.  We all know that throwing the perfect party isn’t as easy as we all try to make it look.  Sometimes, especially when we’re hosting a large number of people, such as for an engagement party or wedding, we’re tempted to go the route of renting equipment for our shindig.  Even though it may save you a little money in the short run, renting the needed party supplies may not be the smartest idea for several key reasons. Often, rental equipment may not be available at the time you need it, and the supplies may not be in the best party-ready condition.  Not to mention that the selection of rental companies is often limited while still being quite expensive.

Why not invest in purchasing quality equipment that you can use over and over through the years as you host your own fabulous parties?  Meet EquipSupply, the company for all your party needs. 

Are you hosting an elegant indoor soiree?  EquipSupply carries silver chafers, coffee brewers, table covers, and gorgeous chocolate fountains.  You’ll be the shower queen for years to come, and you’ll never have to rely on rental companies.

Do you have young kids and want to save on expensive event locale fees by hosting your own birthday parties at home?  EquipSupply has what you need for fun birthday parties!  Their inventory includes beverage machines, popcorn carts, hotdog machines, cotton candy makers, and more!  This would also be perfect for churches or charity organizations who sponsor carnivals or other events.

Is an outdoor event in your future?  EquipSupply has a full line of canopies, tents, tables, and table covers.  They also carry outdoor generators if your event is a little bit further from home!  And if your outdoor event happens to be during chilly weather, EquipSupply offers patio heaters to warm things up and keep the party going.

Invest in your own equipment, and celebrate for years to come with EquipSupply!

(*This post brought to you by your friends at EquipSupply.)