I’ve got two reasons to like  Andrew Bockner, who designs and manufactures outdoor furniture , which you can see at the Andrew Richard Designs  showroom  at 571 Adelaide East. First of all, I love good quality, well-made things, such as the Bockner’s very new and very lovely Osaka line (shown left).  Bockner’s furniture is sturdily made from woven high-density polyethylene reinforced with nylon thread. That’s why it costs more than the stuff you can buy at your local big box. It’s also why it will retain its shape through rain, wind and sun for years, unlike woven vinyl.  Non-corrosive cast aluminum and stainless steel are used for frames, while teak is kiln- and air-dried after finishing to avoid rot.  If you’re thinking about investing in new outdoor furniture, do yourself a favour and check Bockner’s stuff out.  And ask out the outdoor living feature he’ll be launching in his store soon, or watch this space for more details. Second reason that I think Andrew is a kindred spirit? During a recent store preview, he gave me a huge bunch of pussy willows, which are one of my favourite things on the planet. How did he know that when I was a kid, my mother and I would head “uptown” in King City in search of these fuzzy harbingers of Spring? The best spot was behind the Cold Storage building on King Sideroad.  Apparently, others must share my affection — at least ten people on the transit ride home struck up a conversation with me about them.  Which proves, once again, that Torontonians are actually pretty friendly folk...or that we're really, really ready for Spring.

Does Red Green know about this?

If it’s spring, then prom season can’t be far behind. My favourite part of the annual ritual, aside from talking my friends out of selling a kidney to get little Tiffany that cute dress from Stella? The Duck brand duct tape Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest, for which high school students create prom outfits out of duct tape that are voted for online. Students (and cash-strapped parents!) can go to the website  for contest rules and a registration form. The couple with the highest number of online votes will win $3,000 apiece  in scholarship dollars. The school that hosts the prom of the winning couple will also receive $3,000. The couple earning the second highest number of online votes will win $2,000 each, with the high school receiving $2,000. The third place couple nets $1,000 for each of themselves and another $1,000 for their school.

Fussed by flying fur from four-legged friends?

No sooner had the ink dried on a recent column on vacuums than I got wind of a new addition to the Dyson line-up. The first thing I noticed was that the Dyson DC25 Animal is a beautiful shade of lilac. But it's not just a lovely to look at. This machine pivots and turns on a dime, and it can suck up dog and cat fur, which, as the owner of a Siberian Husky, I know can really fly at this time of year. Because it pulls out embedded dirt and dander, it’s also certified as asthma and allergy friendly by the Asthma Society of Canada. Look for it starting the beginning of April (yes folks, that's next week!) at Future Shop, Sears, Home Outfitters, and the Bay, for about $700. To launch the new animal vac, Dyson has a contest running. Enter a video of your fav furry friend and you could win a vacuum or other pet-related prizes.Click here for more info.

And speaking of my March column on stick vacs, if you were one of those folks who went looking for a Hoover Platinum stick vac and couldn't find it as the stores listed in the column, my apologies. Changes to the retail distribution were made at the last minute. The latest information I've been given is that Sears will have the Linx Stick Vac by next week, and that it will be Home Depot in May. I've also been told that you can go in to some Sears locations in the GTA, including Yorkdale Mall and Square One, and pre-order this item.

Would you like some wine with your trends?

I never need much of an excuse to run up to Aurora to the pretty JacKryn France store, which sells lovely French linens, furniture, soaps and other home décor accessories. So when owner Rita Theil told me that she’s doing a “Trend Watch” seminar — with wine and cheese — on April 2 to share news of what she learned during a visit to the recently-held Maison et Objet show in Paris. I signed up immediately. You can too - it will be fun (and free!). But you do have to pre-register for a 1 p.m. or 7 p.m. seminar. Call the store at 905-726-3451 to get more info or to book a spot.

Mr. Clean as the other man???

Ever so slightly dismayed to read on the Media in Canada website about Procter & Gamble’s new ad campaign to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Mr. Clean. The slogan is "the other man since 1959”, which is supposed to sing with the 25-to-54 female demographic market. Being somewhere in that group myself, I’ve got to wonder if that’s really going to excite the ladies (and what about the fellas!!) who keep the house clean? When I fantasize about “another man”, my thoughts – I must confess — tend to run more to, say, a trip to Morocco with Steve Tyler from Aerosmith, than a date to swab out the loo with a lantern-headed bald guy who's bound to be picky about house-keeping. HHHHMMM – imagine if they’d got Stevie T to become the new face of Mr. Clean? Now that’s a promotional strategy I could get behind. But there must be wisdom in the new campaign, which will no doubt eventually justify the fact that those hot-shot ad agency types make the big bucks while I toil away in freelance obscurity. In any case, there’s also a Mr. Clean website, on which you can enter to win cash, and plant virtual kisses on Mr. C’s face. I need a few bucks, so I may wander over there, as soon as I stop daydreaming about Steve Tyler scrubbing my kitchen floor – while wearing, perhaps a French maid outfit. Wow – I bet that Dude Cleans Like a Lady.

Your Own Yogurt

For those of who who saw me on Breakfast Television this morning, and want the recipe for home-made yogurt, I'll save you the trouble of scrolling down and reprint it here.It's super easy.Take about 1/4 cup of store-bought plain yogurt with active culture from the fridge and bring it up to room temp. You need this as a starter. Pour about 4 cups of milk (I use 2 per cent) into a pan and heat it to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. (You can also  use powered milk.)  Let the milk cool to between 108 and 112 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir in the yogurt, and then pour the mix into a wide-mouthed thermos that's been pre-warmed with hot water. Let it sit for between four and eight hours. For a sweet treat, I like to add a heaping dollop  of  sweetened condensed milk and a teaspoon of real vanilla extract.(Instead of using store-bought yogurt as a starter, you can also buy live active culture from a health food store such Noah’s Natural Foods. You'll spend about $4 for 30-gram package that makes about six litres of yogurt, and follow the directions on the package.)  Either way, it's economical and too yummy!

I got the basics for this recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (my FAV new cookbook) available at Chapters and at independent booksellers such as the Cookbook Store for about $29. For more great ideas, come and see my seminars tomorrow at 2:30 and 7 p.m. at the International Home and Garden Show.  Heads up - I've got some great giveaways!

International Home Show

If the International Home & Garden Show is here, you know that Spring can't be far behind. And about time, I say! This year's Spring show has tons of great features, including appearances by Karl Lohnes, William MacDonald, Frankie Flowers, as well as Neil Davies and Jay Purvis of HGTV’s The Fix. Some 500 exhibitors will be on hand showcasing the latest and greatest in home appliances, reno products, furniture and housewares. The show runs from Thursday March 19 - Sunday, March 22 at the International Centre at 6900 Airport Road in Mississauga. I'll be there on Friday at 2:30 and 7 p.m. demonstrating kitchen counter-top appliances that can help you save money (and I'll have some great giveaways).

Green case study

Turning cast-offs into something new, interesting and useful – aka upcycling – is a very hot trend right now. So when I saw what New York designer Jean Barberis is doing with old suitcases  and vanity cases, I knew I had to share. Barberis, whose stuff sells exclusively on Etsy, turns these relics into cute holders for everything from cocktail fixings to make-up. I also recently saw an old suitcase used to display jewelry  at Made. Clever, no? And to give credit where it’s due, I discovered Baberis while trolling a great website called The Alternative Consumer, which provides daily news on green products and lots of good info for those who want to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

 

Picking paints

Apparently, I'm  not the only one who's loving red these days. When I  got images from the spring colour pallette of Home Hardware's paint line, Beauti Tone, the one at the left jumped out at me. It features a confident red called Loving It. I do love the warm, rich shade and especially like the way the crisp white bed linens stand out against it.  

Several  rooms in my house (aka the Hodge Podge Lodge) need painting this spring, which means I've got to pick some paint colours soon-est. I'm really leaning toward strong colours like this red. But wait, wait, wait. I also love the soft, restfull scheme in the bedroom shot below, which features a shade called Business Suit.

 

I've got to stop dithering and pick some paints. I'm tempted to ask my friend, designer William MacDonald, to help me out. But I have a feeling he'd just tell me to stop dithering and pick some paints! What to do, what to do? And no, choosing beige throughout is not an option!!!!

 

If painting is on your project list, you might want to check out the ideas and tips on the Home Hardware website.  

 

 

I'll be back

Now, try to stay calm. On the Housewill be On Vacation for a week. I'm headed off to Florida to see the Aged Mother. That's six days of lying by a pool, reading trashy magazines and soaking up the sun. I may occasionally rouse myself and go shopping at Target, but I'm not making any commitments. See you in a week, by which time I sincerely hope Spring will have arrived in Toronto!