CNN reported that this year is the first time the annual gingerbread White House replica has included an interior view of the State Dining Room, including furniture fashioned from dark chocolate.

Other White House Christmas decorations include the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room, an 18.5 foot Douglas fir lit with LED lights and decorated with large gold ribbons. The White House is also decorated with six other trees which will be replanted after the holiday.

The Obama Christmas theme is “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew.” The First Lady said during the holiday preview on Wednesday that the theme was chosen because Christmas is a time that her family reflects on blessings, rejoices with family and friends, and renews commitments.

Resources for Making Your Own Gingerbread House

If you’re dreaming of building your own gingerbread house, visit Wilton for instructions on how to build several festive gingerbread house models, including Chocolate Wonderland, Fantasy Land, Holiday Chalet or even the High-voltage Christmas.

For more inspiration, visit the Sweetopia blog post, Gingerbread House Ideas, or for a small-scale, kid-friendly gingerbread house craft, visit Kaboose. Even the experts at BobVila.com have joined in with the fun of building gingerbread houses with their online instructions: Building a Gingerbread House. Plus, Cory at allrecipes.com has a recipe, supplies list and plenty of tips for making your own gingerbread house masterpiece.

(Image credit: Newscom)

Post from: Blisstree

Gingerbread Replica of White House

Icecream Love Tote Bag and the Dancing Bunnies Tote Bag both from mymimi. Reusable bag goodness wrapped up in an ultra cute package.

Hey! Fever Bath Mallow from Bomb Cosmetics! I LOVE Bomb products with a capital L for their ultra cute and often pretty qualities contained in their bubbly fun bath products. This pretty bath Mallow is full of natural Cocoa Butter. It’s hand mixed with delicate Heather flowers and pure Vetiver and Bergamot oils to help strengthen and calm in the tub. They make the sweetest little cupcake shaped soaps too.

Giimmo Rabbit Nightlight or the Giimmo Frog Nightlight – adorable little rechargeable LED nightlights with an internal LED light that gradually fades through the entire color spectrum, producing a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic effect. The light does not emit any heat and it’s portable so this little bunny or frog can go with you all over the house.

I’d get the tote, then put my cool bath mallow and nightlights in their and be on my way

Post from: Blisstree

Three Cute Green Finds

LED lights from C. Crane Company

Basics of LED lighting:

LED lights have been around for a while, since the 60s, but not until recently have people started using them in homes. LED lights aren’t that complicated but we don’t really want to get technical here. If you’re interested in learning how basic LEDs work read the LED primer at How Stuff Works.

LED lights are good for many lighting applications but not perfect for all home settings.  LED lights by nature are directional which means the light stays in one place. You can’t place a LED system under a desk and expect the light to spread all that well. That said, LED lights can still be part of a smart green lighting plan depending on how you use them.

Benefits of LED lights:

• Burn cool which can help to prevent home fires (at least from your light source).
• Burn efficiently which can save you money and saves energy.
• Consumer Reports recently compared some various LED applications with some regular incandescent bulb applications. The end result was that LED bulbs out-performed the incandescent bulbs.
• LEDs look nice. While they don’t fill a space with light, they are soothing for spaces and seem cleaner -  for example, LED Christmas lights seem really nice and clear compared to regular lights.

Negatives of LED:

• LEDs can cost more than incandescent bulbs, although there are places you can find nice deals plus they last longer.
• Cannot be used for all spaces.They won’t provide enough light (unless used in bulk) for say, a project area.
• May be too dim for outdoor lighting. It’s a toss up. I like the muted, chill look of outdoor LED lighting, but for people who want outdoor full-on illumination, LED is not the way to go.

Where you can use LED lighting in your home….

• LED reading lights in a specific reading area.
• LED bulbs for stairways or closets.
• LED recessed lighting.
• LED linear strip lighting.
• LED night light.
• LED showcase lights – for example to illuminate an art piece or a collection.
• LED lights for cupboard interiors.

Are you using LED lighting in your home? Where?

Post from: Blisstree

Using LED Lighting in Your Home

Above is the Ripple-15 running cold water, a LED blue light alerts you to this.  Run it hot and see red water instead! This nifty gadget is controlled via a small metal ball.

Crazy, but pretty cool. You can see it running hot, and read all the stats on the Ripple-15 at Inventor Spot.

[image via Inventor Spot]

Post from: Blisstree

The Cool Blue Ripple Faucet