How-to

When I first heard about the Belkin WeMo Smart Wifi Slow Cooker, I knew this Smart Home appliance would be something I’d like. With built-in Wifi, I could turn the slow cooker on and off remotely, and I can’t begin to describe how excited I was about that. No more overcooking! Read on for the recipe I tried out in the Belkin WeMo Slow Cooker.

Did you know that with some activity trackers, you can actually set it up to see how your friends are progressing as well, and even compete with them? Here’s how it works.

Our road trip continues with a good old-fashioned pit stop at the Happiest Place on Earth. For some people, going to Disneyland means hitting all the shows, parades, and attractions. We like to do that too, but because we have annual passes and go so often, we’ve added to our adventure by becoming hunters for the best dishes and treats in the park. There are a lot of treats to be had, and they’re more delicious than you may think.

Have you ever heard of “brinner?” Until I read up on 2015’s food trends the word brinner had never entered my vocabulary, but now it’s all I can think about. Get your griddle ready and try a few of these great brinner recipes.

With 802.11ac (Gigabit Wi-Fi) now mainstream, we are currently in the midst of a big wireless router replacement cycle. I’ve tested so many routers in the past year that I’ve lost count. Despite the potential payoff of a new router, many people are reluctant to make the upgrade. Routers can be intimidating, and once our Wi-Fi is working, it’s such an integral part of our homes now that we’re naturally reluctant to do anything that might rock the boat. After getting a taste of what the latest generation of 802.11ac routers can do, I finally made the jump myself, replacing my own aging router. And to help you understand everything that’s involved, I chronicled every step of the process. Hopefully this account of one person’s Wi-Fi router upgrade will help to demystify the process and show why it’s worth doing.

I’ll come right out and admit it. Until fairly recently, I wasn’t a big fan of experimenting with spices. Part of the reason was because I was stuck in a rut after years of cooking for kids who would turn their noses up at anything that wasn’t completely traditional. Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and even spaghetti sauce-if I added even a touch of spice, they wouldn’t eat it and I’d end up making them something else. Now that I’ve started experimenting with spices, I’ve taken the most basic dishes I’ve always cooked and jazzed them up until they are virtually unrecognizable. Here are three of my favourite recipes to get you started experimenting with spices.

We’ve said goodbye to all things kale and hello to cauliflower, given up on the cronut and opened our ovens to the southern buttermilk biscuit. Thanks to the latest food trends, menus this year are going to be seriously delicious. Here are a few recipes you can try at home to tap into what’s hot in food for 2015.

Even if your dining room table is currently covered in electronics and newspapers or your closet is chaos, there are still simple steps you can take to organize your house. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming either – just take it one baby step at a time. Here are a few proven organizational strategies I’ve used to get control of my clutter and organize my home like a pro.

When my children were younger, I remember my wife and I contemplating questions like: when is my child ready for music? and How can I make sure they’ll like it? Even though we’re both classically trained pianists and I write and produce music for a living, we STILL grappled with these questions! Well I’m going to try to give all parents some answers. In addition to my own perspective on this subject, I bounced a few ideas off Jennifer Gasoi (2014 Grammy Award Winner- Best Children’s Album). She obviously has some fantastic insights and tips. You’ll see her perspective liberally peppered throughout this post.