Reader Cassie wrote in with this question. Please leave your suggestions in comments!

“I have a horrible time picking paint colors. I’ve been to a couple of websites that offer to paint a room with a color so you can visualize the paint in a space, but these programs seem too cartoonish. I was wondering if you knew of any websites with actual photos of rooms that also give you the paint name or number. Too often I see inspiration rooms and love the color but can’t find the color at the paint store. Any suggestions?” –Cassie

Click the link to see what we managed to turn up. And be sure to offer other tips to Cassie in comments! Read the rest of this entry »

Rummaging through my cabinets this afternoon I found a half-full package of bulgur (aka. cracked wheat) that I had bought way back in February when making vegetarian chili for the superbowl game. I was immediately inspired to recreate one of my favorite side dishes, Mushroom Bulgur. There is a restaurant in midtown Manhattan that serves this dish alongside turkey meatballs, and it has quickly become one of my favorite combinations. Cooking bulgur is similar to making couscous, except you cook the grains a bit longer. It’s simple, healthy and totally delicious. — Erica P.

Click through for Erica’s recipe! Read the rest of this entry »

We’re new to the whole houseguest thing, but boy, are we making up for lost time. The past few months have seen five visits from friends and family (including one visit of SEVEN people at once). We did our best to be good hosts, but I confess that every trip included at least one day where one of us wanted to curl into the fetal position until everyone went home. This is what I’ve learned (the hard way):

1. Know your visitors. Don’t expect anyone to do something that you suspect they won’t be comfortable doing. Friend has a fear of driving in a strange city? Accept it and be prepared to chauffeur — or line up other people who will.
2. Hire a housecleaner. We didn’t, and the stress of doing a last-minute deep clean on top of making beds and putting out towels and blowing up air mattresses almost did us in.
3. Don’t buy too much food ahead of time. Once everyone has settled in a bit, make the first outing a trip to the grocery store. Everyone will have what they like to eat — and they’ll chip in for provisions, too.
4. Be realistic about your plans. I had visions of how I would WOW my visitors with the best of Seattle each day. And then I spent more time stressing over trying to fit it all in than enjoying being with the people who were also there to see me. Really, planning one outing per day is FINE.
5. But do plan. Ask people what kinds of things they want to do when in town — Outdoorsy? Touristy? Shopping? — and make a daily schedule ahead of time. You can always dump the schedule later, but it will save time and brain cells by not having the “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” conversation each day.

So those are my tips. What are yours? –Mary T.

We often look at the pages of catalogs and wish we knew the details of where they were shot: who lives there? what color is that wall? can we visit? Well, in the new Pottery Barn catalog, some of the pages were staged in the house of a familiar face, Domino editor-in-chief Deborah Needleman. We’ve admired her amazing and spacious loft before, but this video, Where I Live, gives us the tour we were really craving. (It’s crazy how cute her kids are.) We’re also kinda digging the white sectional that was shot there… are we just being persuaded by clever marketing? Perhaps. What do you think: Are you more likely to shop from a catalog that’s shot in real people’s homes?

This is a re-post of one of our favorite recipes from a couple of years ago. I made it again this weekend and remembered how great it was. Definitely worth a second look! This time I used roasted chicken instead of grilled, and put the mangoes on just before serving to keep them fresh. Enjoy! — Angela M.

The other night I excitedly tried out a recipe from my new cookbook, Food & Wine’s Best of the Best. There are so many great dishes in there, but Susan Spungen’s recipe for peanut noodles with mango was just what I was looking for. Essentially it’s a bit like Asian sesame noodles, but with snap peas, cilantro, chives and cubed pieces of fresh mango. I immediately decided to adapt it just a bit, and added (Foreman) grilled chicken to make it a main course. I also used whole wheat spaghetti to up the good-for-you factor, but found I didn’t need a whole pound of noodles. The sauce required buying a few ingredients I didn’t have in my pantry, like dark sesame oil and rice vinegar, but now that I have them I will definitely make this again. The best thing about this dish is that it is even better cold. Chad was out of town, and I munched off the leftovers for a whole week. It would be a great bring-to-work lunch. Click here to see the whole recipe. Do you have a favorite dish that’s great for lunch the next day? I’d love to hear your suggestions. — Angela M.

How many times during the work week do you find yourself dashing out to your local salad/soup/noodle restaurant for some quick takeout lunch and yet another set of those landfill-clogging plastic utensils? These ToGo Ware reusable utensils might just be your new best friend! I know the earth is seriously digging them. The utensils are made of sustainably harvested bamboo and the cute wrap holder is made by WEAVE, a women’s cooperative on the Thai-Burma border. They’d be perfect for a picnic! Available here for $19.95. –Meg D.

Read more of Meg’s tips for stylish, green living at her blog, Style Saves the World.