Hailey's Helpful Hints

Over the past five years, front loading washing machines have gained some serious momentum in the United States. They are designed for high efficiency operation while using low energy. Although a great eco -friendly concept, there is a down side to this energy-saving washer model - mold & mildew build-up and unpleasant odors. Once present, these issues can be quite difficult to resolve. After my laundry post , a reader asked how to get rid of that moldy smell emitting from her washer. If you have a front loader, you too may be experiencing the same thing. Before I give you the mold prevention tips, I think it's first important to identify the source of the problem. Unfortunately the main source of the problem is most likely your washing habits. Do you leave wet loads sitting overnight? How full do you pack your washer? Do you always shut the door? Do you run a cleaning cycle? A musty smell is caused by a build-up of interior mold. Mold that can be prevented if you're will...

In celebration of the re-launch of Piper Designs - http://www.piper-designs.com/ - we baked our favorite cake this week; Diet Funfetti Pop Cake (or soda depending on what part of the country you are from). Ever made a cake with a can of pop/soda? Most haven't. And yes, it's possible. My sister and I discovered this recipe several years ago. I believe it originated from Weight Watchers. Ever since this monumental discovery, I've never made a cake any different. Why would I?? This is beyond simple and just as good (if not better) than the full fat version. Dying to know how to make this cake? Go to the store and buy any boxed cake mix of your choice and a can of diet pop. That's it. No eggs. No oil. Just those TWO ingredients. Trust me. IT WORKS!!!!! ~Diet Pop Cake~ Directions: In a bowl, mix the dry cake mix and one can of pop with a hand-mixer. Mix until lumps are gone. Pour mixture in greased 13x9 cake pan (or cupcake pan). Bake as directed on the box. My tried and tr...

Today's Fancy Friday post is a personal plug for my company, Piper Designs - www.piper-designs.com . I'm always raving about other company's products, I thought it was time to get you hooked on mine. A little over a year ago I started Piper Designs as strictly a kid's terry cloth company. My exclusive line of products consisted of bath robes, bath and beach towels, washcloths, burp rags and baby bibs. Although adorable, I was unfortunately unsatisfied with the manufacturers I was working with so I took some time to revamp Piper Designs' product line. I knew I wanted the future of Piper Designs to be a reflection of my simplistic style but didn't know what direction I wanted to take. I knew I didn't want to be like the million other super chic, trendy children's companies selling overpriced, impractical merchandise. As I looked at my son in his running shoes, denim jeans and zip hooded sweatshirt pressed up against my matching ensemble of Converse tenni...

I overheard a women telling her friend that she loves the new 'YES TO CARROTS' line recently added to the shelves at Target. Having never heard of the line, I spent some time dissecting the packaging and ingredients. I can almost guarantee that at some point growing up your mother yelled at you to "eat your carrots" because they were supposedly good for you. Guess what? She was right. Go figure. It's no secret that o range fruits and vegetables contains beta-carotene that serves as a good agent for anti-oxidants and anti-aging. It helps to reduce damage caused by sun and air pollutants. Yes to Carrots also has Dead Sea Mud which contains 26 different minerals . With the combination of these minerals and beta-carotene, the product line is extremely beneficial to allow the body soak up nutrients, hence, revitalizing and rejuvenating it. Where I have some beef with this line is that their website claims their products "combine fresh, unadulterated goodness...

Organization should have been my middle name. I love it. Anything I can have to make my life easier, you better believe I'm all about it. Growing up we had a battery drawer. Over time this once organized battery drawer accumulated other items; hammer, screwdriver, calculators, phone chargers. It drove me bananas to have to dig and dig only to realize that we were out of the particular battery I needed. My mom knowing this was such a hot button of mine, gave me a battery organizer a few years ago. Talk about getting old when you get excited about receiving a battery organizer as a gift! All you moms know that if you have children, you go through a lot of batteries. With the battery organizer, all of my batteries are in one place for instant accessibility and I know exactly what my inventory is at all time. This particular Battery Rack Organizer can be used in a drawer, on a shelf or mounted to a wall. A built-in battery tester helps you determine the remaining strength of a battery...

Ever wonder how being "tan" became so popular? Well here 'ya go. Back in the 1920's CoCo Chanel went on a Mediterranean vacation and came home with the hottest new fashion accessory - a "tan." As a trendsetter and female icon of the time, women went ga-ga over CoCo's golden glow. The result: An increased consumption of baby oil and sunbathing as a mainstream past-time. As the years passed, skin cancer sadly struck and wrinkles became an issue. The result: The birth of Coppertone's first sunless tanner in 1960. A genius idea but far from perfect. My adolescent years were spent in a perpetual quest to stay tan all year. Growing up in Washington where the sun shines all of about two months, I made exceptions for my orange streaky ankles and dark knee caps just to have that year round sunkissed look. My bathroom cabinet was stock-piled with 1/2 used bottles of sub par sunless tanners. Sadly I never found one that did the trick before I completely gave up...

Last week a Facebook post caught my attention. The post headline from Modern Moms read, "8 Things to Stop Doing Just for One Day." I thought it was so freeing and empowering, I wanted to share with you. Give it a try. One day isn't going to kill you. And remember, now is better than never. 1. Stop nagging! Try not to nag your kids or your husband about what they should be doing or what they're doing wrong. Instead, focus on the positive and compliment them for what they are doing right. This may just give you a whole new perspective on your attitude. 2. Stop eating processed foods We all know processed foods are bad for us, but we eat them anyway. Try - just for one whole day -to go without this junk. Just to prove that you can. 3. Stop smoking or drinking We're not asking you to cut it out of your life all together, but if you do happen to smoke or enjoy a daily glass of wine - try going without it for just one day. You may surprise yourself in realizing you d...

For those of you that know me well, you know that I'm a recipe substitute'r . Whenever possible, I will mix up the ingredients to make it as low fat as possible. No oils. No butter. Fat free milk. Egg substitute. I'll admit they don't always turn out the greatest and I don't usually give them to the neighbors but my husband 9 times out of 10 loves them. And poor Chase - well he doesn't know any different. ;) Now I know the words "fat free" and "desserts" don't usually go hand-in-hand but trust me on this one - this recipe is delici -o-so! Spritz with some Spray Butter and heat in the micro for a few seconds and you'll be going back for seconds. ~Fat Free Banana Bread~ Ingredients: 1/3 c. sugar-free applesauce 3/4 c. light brown sugar 3 egg whites (3/4 c. of egg substitute) 3-4 bananas 1/3 c. water 1 2/3 c. flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. baking powder Non-fat PAM cooking spray *If you want to add some fat, add 1/4 c. chopped nuts an...

Last weekend my sweet girlfriend Jodie, who knows me all too well, gave me personalized note cards from Paper Culture as a gift for baby Lance (our soon-to-be #2 in 8 week. Eeeek !) Talk about instant obsession. Nothing speaks to my heart more than simplicity and modern design. Paper Culture accomplishes both! How didn't I know about this fabulous stationary company sooner?? They have everything from holiday cards to birth announcements; baby showers to graduation invites. Their minimalistic design makes me smile. What's even more spectacular about this company is that they plant a tree in your honor for EVERY order and all their cards and envelopes are 100% post-consumer recycled. Love that. They are packed inside a die-cut box made from 100% recycled materials as well. Thoroughly eco -friendly and simply mah - velous . So there you have it. I was tickled pink this week by a box of note cards. I'm telling ya' it's the little things in this life that mean the most. ...

There's something about Martha Stewart that bugs the living daylights out of me but I will give it to the lady, she's magnetic when it comes to anything "home." Macy's home department has bought into the Martha Stewart empire and is advertising that you too should "Buy into the magic of Martha." As I was browsing for bedding ideas, I came across a fantastic way to spend more quality time with your kids - invite them into the kitchen! Sound like a messy situation you'd rather not entertain? With what I found at Macy's, you just might re-think that... My son is all about baking these days. "Cooooo-kieeees" to be exact. It's a love/hate relationship in our house. We want to encourage his creativity and love the excitement but despise the temptation the cookies bring. Especially while I'm plopped on the couch engulfed in a mindless episode of The Bachelor. But these awesome kid's cooking/baking sets now make it possible to brin...

Everyone needs a go to salad. One that's fancy enough to serve at a dinner party but one that your kids will still eat too. No matter how many times I make this salad, I never get sick of it. I love it's versatility. There are a million ways to get creative with it and still have it taste equally as delicious. For me, it's the balsamic dressing that makes it though. Yes, it's homemade but so so easy. It even tastes good drizzled on chicken breasts. ~ Balsamic Spinach Salad ~ Ingredients for Salad: 2 packages of fresh Spinach leaves 3/4 cup pre-chopped nut of your choice - Toasted Pecans, Walnuts, Almonds or Pine nuts are best. 3/4 cup dried Cranberries - Craisins work great and if you don't like Craisins, you could omit for Dates or Raisins. 1/2 cup crumbled cheese of your choice - Goat, Feta, Gorgonzola or Blue. I prefer Feta. Optional: Apples, Grapes, Rasberries, Pears, Celery, Cucumber, Red Onions, Croutons. Ingredients for Dressing: 2/3 cup Olive Oil 6 TBS. Suga...

Everyday this week I am going to highlight something random that I love. Let's start this off with a few power packed, butt-kicking at home workouts that will get you results. If you've been needing alitte motivation and finding "you" time is an issue, these will be your saving grace. 1) Jillian Michael's "30 Day Shred" - HUGE FAN of this DVD!!! Who doesn't have 30 minutes!?!?! Well it's actually only 20 minutes. Even better. ;) For only $10, you can get whipped into shape with the celebrity trainer from the hit series "Biggest Loser,"Jillian Michaels. She bases her "no-nonsense workout on the 3-2-1 method: 3 mins strength, 2 mins cardio, 1 min abs. In just this short video, you will feel like you've spent an hour in the gym. You will need free weights, anywhere from 3-10 lbs. Want more from Jillian Michaels? Check out her series of workout DVD's here . "No More Trouble Zones" is also one I highly recommend. 2) T...

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I {heart} you all and am overjoyed with the love you give to Hailey's Helpful Hints. One thing that is especially on my heart lately is keeping life in perspective and trying not to stress over the little things. We are surrounded by "stuff" and influenced so easily with an overload of information. I was especially reminded of this after I received an email from my dad on Friday. Along with the forwarded message, he wrote "Let your kids be kids and just enjoy life." This came at such a fitting time for me. Ironically I was just having lunch with my husband talking about the day to day pressures of life - the expectations of breastfeeding, vaccinating your children, buying organic, cleaning with "green" products, dangers of high fructose corn syrup, limiting your child's tv time, enrolling them in school. In the end, does it really matter? Based on the blurb below, the answer is no. Granted I strive to be the b...

With Valentine's Day tomorrow, this Sweet Sunday is devoted to spreading the love. These are fun treats for the kids and can be sealed in a zip-lock bag in the freezer for several days. If you don't like chocolate, you could always make plain sugar cookies or even snickerdoodles are good. And if strawberry isn't your thing, any pink/red ice cream will work. Some of my festive faves: Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia and Bubble Gum. ~CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM SANDWICHES~ Ingredients: Makes 24 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1/2 cup cocoa powder 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 large eggs 1 tablespoon milk 2 to 2 1/2 pints strawberry ice cream, softened Directions: 1.) In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle atta...

Over the holidays, I received an unexpected Happy Holidays card in the mail from Tory Burch with a $100 gift card enclosed. Wondering how the heck I scored that?? Yeah - me too. Tory probably wanted to thank me for the one and only time I've ever purchased anything from her very stylish but out-of-my price range store. So with my gift card in hand and Chase and Dave in tow, we set out for an evening activity. My husband being the frugal man that he is made it very clear that $100 of free money doesn't justify spending an additional $100-$200 of our own money. Humph, he's never any fun. Little did he know that the only thing under a $100 in that store is a pair of flimsy, plastic flip flops that I could find at Old Navy for $5. Minus of course the signature Tory emblem shining back in my face. Upon arriving in the store, I bee-lined straight to the flip-flops. My shoe of choice. I immediately laid eyes on a pair of leather flips that were only $115. Score. That was painless...