Slipcovers are Indispensable

If you have kids, having slipcovers for your furniture is practically mandatory.  There is no easier way to protect your fine furniture until they have all grown up and gone away to University.  

The four biggest trends in slipcovers have to do with color. Solid darker colors are huge.   Perhaps most surprising new color schemes are purple and you can find slipcovers in every fabric from light lavender to a rich royal hue.

A not so surprising trend is desaturated colors that are reminiscent of the 70s and 80s.  You are also more likely to find slipcovers in a bright neon color such as Happy Face Yellow or Bubblegum.   Leopard prints are also still around to suit the sexy minded. Some of the patterns that are out are also kind of wild.  Zebra stripes, big floating bubbles and strange geometric patterns from the seventies are very hip and in.  So are stripes and patterns that look like sixties psychedelic.  You can also just get slipcovers that cheer your children up in general that have pictures of cartoon characters on them or child like themes such as lollipops or goldfish. 

If you like a more formal and adult look and just want to protect your furnitre the one trend in slipcovers that is a hangover from last year is towards the naturals such as taupe, cream and brown.  A good example of a store that is sticking to this trend is the Pottery Barn, which sells classic styles of all types of slipcovers in twill. Target also sells twill and cotton slipcovers in these basic colors. This year slipcovers have also gone from looking less like a cotton drop sheet to fabrics such as tapestry and chenille. 

Chenille looks great in more old-fashioned decors.  They are also good for kids who are little as the softness of the chenille is very easy on their soft skin.  A chenille bedspread makes a great nubbly soft surface for afternoon naps. 

Another trend is for slipcovers to be less fitted than they were in previous years so that they can different styles of sofas. If you think that your contemporary sofa can't be fitted with a slipcover then think again.  Search hard because slipcovers with tie ons that are practically one-size fits all are now on the market. If that fails then you can always have them custom made or sew them yourself. 

If you want your slipcovers to perform a dual function some big designers such as Martha Stewart and Ikea are selling reversible versions so that you can change the look of your furniture from season to season.  Usually these are sold in a two solid color version or with a solid color on one side and a print on the other. This is a great development because you never get bored with your furniture.  These reversible slipcovers for furniture are also quite great because if your kid spills something on them all you have to do is flip it over and voila your furniture is clean again! 

Here is a good store to buy slip covers

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Pickle Making Time

Pickle Making Just what are pickles anyway?  Pickles are quite simply any food that has been fermented in a brine made from sugar, salt and vinegar.  Pickles are a popular snack, side dish, and condiment. 

Types of pickles include dill pickles sweet pickles, bread and butter pickles and antipasto.  Aside from being completely delicious way to preserve food pickling any type of food whether it be a cucumber, tomato or even a strawberry makes it especially healthy for you. This is because the fermentation process acts as a preservative.

Pickles rarely go bad even if they are not stored in the refrigerator. It is also a versatile way to preserve food. In theory you could pickle anything – most things in your garden in fact. The pickling process can also make food even healthier for you. They get the saliva flowing and also help dispel gases in the stomach that may be causing the symptoms of indigestion. 

Pickles are becoming trendier as time goes on with antipasto being the height of the pickling art. Nowadays you will see everything from broccoli to artichokes to red peppers being served as antipasto on the finest of Italian restaurants. Greek peppers called pepperoncinis are often pickled and served as a spicy condiment. Various fruits may also be pickled in a sweet brine. A very nice pickled delicacy is watermelon rinds in brine. Here is a good recipe for simple Dill Pickles

Quick Dill Pickles 

Makes about 8 pints (8 mason jars of pickles) 

8 lbs. of 3- to 5-inch pickling cucumbers

2 gallons water

1-1/4 cups pickling salt1-1/2 quarts vinegar (5 percent acidity preferred)

1/4 cup sugar

2 quarts water

2 tablespoons whole mixed pickling spice

3 tablespoons whole mustard seed

1 tablespoon whole red and black peppercorns

14 heads of fresh dill4 –

20 peeled cloves of garlic (to your taste) 

1.         Wash cucumbers and garlic. Cut 1/16-inch slice off blossom end and discard, but leave 1/4 inch of stem attached. Dissolve 3/4 cup salt in 2 gallons of water. Pour over cucumbers and garlic and let stand 12 hours. Drain.  2. Combine vinegar, 1/2 cup salt, sugar, and 2 quarts water in a big pot. Add mixed pickling spices tied in a clean, white cloth. Heat to boiling.  3. Fill jars with cucumbers. Add 1 tsp. mustard seed and 1-1/2 heads fresh dill per pint. Cover with boiling pickling solution, leaving a 1/2-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in boiling water bath.  Bottling pints should take about 15 minutes. Bottling quarts should take about20 minutes. Y

ou can also make Sun Dills.  This is almost more of science experiment than a pickle recipe but the result is real pickles. Children will love to do this one with you. 

Pack whole medium sized cucumbers in quart jars. Add one sprig of dill and three cherry leaves Mix one-gallon cold water, one cup salt and one cup vinegar in a bowl.  Pour over cucumbers and seal with zinc lids and rubber rings. Place outside in sun for fourteen days.  During the fermentation process these pickles may turn cloudy and then clear up until they are ready to eat.

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