How-to

Every year around this time, I, like so many others, start thinking about my New Years resolutions. Not surprisingly, they typically revolve around ways in which I can (and should) be more healthy. This year, the plan is to get to the gym more, cut back on adult grape juice, and jump on the smoothie bandwagon.   I’ve long known the health benefits that come from starting every day with a nutrient and antioxidant rich smoothie, but every time I try to whip something together, my blender falls short. That’s where Blendtec Designer Series Blenders come in.

Smart thermostats, smoke detectors, door locks and appliances have gone mainstream and are finding their way into more homes than ever. What sometimes gets lost in the list of cool things those smart devices can do is that they are connected. Without an Internet connection, most of them fizzle. Poor Wi-Fi means a poor user experience and for many people, their wireless router is the weak link in the smart equation. In this post, I’ll review the network and computer essentials for a smart home that lives up to the billing.

Adding outdoor tech to your backyard patio can create a high-tech entertainment hub for the Summer. Here are the products you need to make it happen.

When you have a tiny house, you don't have a lot of room for extras. But if you want to work out at home, there are ways to add a home gym to a small house.

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.

 So much photography is made nowadays solely for the purpose of posting to social media. How do we know if the images we post are truly worth sharing? Today I’m going to give you some tips to help you post images that will spark conversations and inspire your audience.  

Like it or not, there’s no denying that back to school has arrived once again. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were all celebrating not having to come up with another lunch for kids who were sick of the ‘same old, same old?’ I know by the end of June I was ready to pull my hair out because my kids were sick of everything, but now that I’ve had some time away from the daily lunch grind, I’ve got some great ideas for back to school lunches. 

A lot of people do a pizza night at least once a week, and for many of us that night is usually Friday. Having pizza for dinner is a nice, casual start to the weekend and there are so many different varieties you just can’t get bored of eating it. If it’s pizza night at your house and you’re staring at the same old ham and pineapple, here are a few of my favourite pizza recipes to add some inspiration to your pizza night.  

Learn how to take amazing photographs of your kids this Christmas! We've got 5 practical tips that anyone can use to make some wonderful holiday memories.