The holiday season is a wonderful time for family gatherings filled with cheer, delicious treats, gift exchanges and… trash. Do your part this holiday season to get more out of the former by producing less of the latter. Here are a few tips to cut the waste out of the season: Wrapping paper Nonfoil wrapping […]
holidays
Posted inHome
An Artist’s Christmas
Lisa Stirrett’s eyes light with excitement when she talks about the holiday season. “I love Christmas. I love when my boys come home,” she says. As long as she can remember, Stirrett helped her mother decorate their home. Even as a small child, those times are some of her fondest memories. “Every year, (my husband) […]
Posted inCommunity News
Giving Gifts that Give Hope
Hope is a gift on every child’s wish list, especially those in parts of the world ravaged by natural disasters and poverty. Giving hope lets these children know that the world hasn’t forgotten them. If you’re looking for a gift with a purpose, buying through the UNICEF Market program or its partners gives you the […]
Posted inHome
Professionally Deck the Halls this Year with ‘Christmas Carol’
An extraordinary love for Christmas was perhaps written in the stars for local Carol Burk, better known as “Christmas Carol,” as even her own December birthday happens during the Christmas season. “Christmas Carol” is also the name of her residential and business tree-decorating company, which she began 25 years ago. “One of my favorite parts […]
Posted inAt Home
Simple Seasonal Safety Tips
It may be the most wonderful time of year, but it can also be one of the most dangerous. Along with the cooking and decorations that make the season magical, the holidays present risks for home fires and burns. An independent survey conducted by Shriners Hospitals for Children found that many Americans do not follow […]
Posted inGarden
Winter in the Garden at Bloedel Reserve
Winter in the Northwest may not be the time of year when some people think of visiting a garden, but Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island embraces nature during every season of the year. History Prentice Bloedel, an innovator of the timber industry, and his wife, Virginia, purchased 150 acres with a residence in 1951 and […]
Posted inGarden
From Garden to Glass — and a Spoonful of Sugar
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. So goes the famous song, “A Spoonful of Sugar,” sung by Julie Andrews in the classic Disney movie “Mary Poppins.” Not intended to be about liqueur; however, the song hints to why liqueur came to be. Liqueur was the result of monks and alchemists trying […]
Posted inAround West Sound
Buying Fair Trade for the Holidays
So you want to buy ethically this holiday season, but you’re not sure how? Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church has you covered. On Nov. 18 and 19, the Gig Harbor church is hosting its annual Festival of Hope, a community-wide event dedicated to selling only fair-trade products and telling the stories of artisans from around the […]
Posted inFood & Entertainment
Time to Throw a Party
You are invited! Please join us as WestSound Home and Garden takes a look at the joys and challenges of entertaining. With a bit of preplanning and some sage advice from our entertaining experts, throwing a party can be as much fun for the host as it is for the guests. The candles are lit. […]