Activities For The Labor Day Long Weekend

by Pocatello Electric

We all like long weekends, but sometimes we don’t know what to do. Labor Day is a perfect day to take a break from any work, including housework and laundry! Take time to rest a little and spend some quality time with friends and family. Here are some ideas for a successful long weekend:

Play outside!
Is the sun shining and is the weather good? Take advantage of this perfect combination to organize a game of soccer or baseball with people you like to be with. If you are not sport buffs, just take time to sit in the backyard and talk about your favorite movie or anything that pleases you and your guests!

Make a brunch!
We all love to spend a little more time in bed on weekend mornings. Of course, the best thing after that is a good brunch with fruits, pancakes and chocolate milk!

Do nothing!
Sometimes, the only thing that we want to do during a long weekend is nothing! Just hanging there with a cup of coffee; observe nature in your backyard; or sitting by the window and leaf through a book or a magazine. Take a deep breath and relax…

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Back To School Tips & Ideas

by Pocatello Electric

Back-to-school is for many of us synonym of supplies, lunch, home works, mess and lunch again! When this time of the year is coming, we start to stress, to be tense and we are trying to be organized (which is not that easy sometimes!). Here are some organizing tips to help everyone being more relaxed at the back-to-school:


Make a space for children’s backpacks: 
In the lobby or anywhere else, take time to make an exclusive space to put the backpacks when child come back from school. It could be a storage bench, a wall shelf with hooks, a big basket or a large storage box.

Create a study area: 
To facilitate the productivity and reduce the homework time a study area is a must. Ideally, it should be a quiet place without any source of distraction like TV, video games, tablets, cell phone or any toy. The room could be filled with bookcases, a bench and/or chair, a work desk and maybe comfortable furniture where to read and study like a small sofa or a recliner.

Prepare in advance: 
To save time and avoid stress in the morning, preparing in advance is a good thing! The day before or even during the week-end, we can prepare lunches, sport clothes and organize backpacks for the upcoming week.

Choose outfits the night before: 
If we are still lacking time in the morning, choosing the outfits the night before could make the difference!

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4 Good Ways To Celebrate Independence Day!

by Pocatello Electric

Celebrate with friends!

Pack a lunch, your joy and bring a couple of friends to a place where you all feel free and love for the sake of the peace that it gives you inside.

Make a patriotic picnic with your family!

Prepare sandwiches, veggies, chips, dips and all the things you like. Add a touch of America to it; make little American flags on toothpicks for the cupcakes, give your sandwiches American President names to distinguish them, buy some American flag napkins, etc. Ask your children to give a hand, they will love it! Then find a green place to eat and have fun together.

Decorate your home originally with the American flag!

If you receive guests for this special day and want to add a touch of America in your home, there are a couple of things you can do to be in tune with the theme of the day: Paint Mason jars with the American colors and then use them to add flowers or candles to the table center; fix your utensils and napkins together with blue, white and red ribbons; make American flag place mats, etc.

Go to an Independence Day parade!

In most cities and/or states, there will be a big parade to celebrate the dedicated day of America. Go see your city’s website to know which activities or special events will be close to home and choose the one that seems the most interesting to you. Don’t miss the fireworks!

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Wooden Look In Your Kitchen

by Pocatello Electric

If you are one who does not like the look of stainless steel, glossy black or off-white appliances in your kitchen, we have a solution for you: custom panels! Wood panels are sleek and easy-care. You will certainly fall in love with these masters of camouflage!

Everything matches perfectly together; even the wine cooler has a wooden look!

I promise that it’s not a closet, it’s the refrigerator!

Mixing wood and metal is trendy this year!

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Summer Is Coming Soon: It's Time For Parties!

by Pocatello Electric

The sunrises are knocking at your windows.  It’s time to celebrate the return of the warmer season of the year with friends and family… it’s time for BBQ parties! Let us give you a plan for a perfect, delicious BBQ party that nobody’s stomach will ever forget:

Make your own BBQ sauce! Take a look at a delicious BBQ sauce recipes you can use for ANY meat you want!

Prep. Time: 5 mins / cook time 45 mins 

·         1 ½ cup ketchup

·         ⅓ cup Apple cider vinegar

·         ⅓ cup Soy sauce

·         ¼ cup Worcestershire

·         1 TBSP minced garlic

·         1 tsp dry mustard powder

·         2 TBSP yellow mustard

·         ½ tsp black pepper

·         ½ cup minced onion

·         ½ tsp garlic salt

·         2 tsp red pepper flake

1.    Simmer all ingredients for 45 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently.

2.    Strain chunks out, and refrigerate until ready to use. Flavor improves overnight.

Then, make two or three different salads with fresh ingredients like; avocado, strawberries, blueberries, spinach, apples, corn, pineapple, shrimp or whatever you like!

Try to grill something else than meat. Veggies have a pretty good taste after spending a few minutes on the grill!

Make a fresh homemade juice! Lemons and frozen fruits are excellent choices. For adults, add a punch of their favorite alcohol to personalize their drink!

Finish this delicious and pleasant meal with a fruity ice cream, and there you go!!! The perfect BBQ party is done!

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Enjoy The Fresh Taste Of Homemade Bread

by Pocatello Electric

Impress your guests with your own bread for Easter dinner! Here is an easy recipe of homemade bread with only 4 ingredients.

Ingredients

• 6 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (and a little more for the work surface)
• 1/2 t. instant or active-dry yeast
• 2 1/2 t. salt
• 2 2/3 cups cool water

Directions

1. In a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine dried ingredients (flour, yeast and salt) and stir a little bit to make sure that everything is well mixed. Add the cool water and stir until all the ingredients are well incorporated; the dough should be wet and sticky.
2. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap. Let the dough rest 12-18 hours at room temperature. When surface of the risen dough has slightly darkened, smells yeasty and is dotted with bubbles, it is ready.
3. Flour the work surface and place the dough on it. Sprinkle with a bit of flour. Fold the dough over on itself once or twice. Lightly flour your hands and tuck the dough underneath to form a rough ball.
4. Place a large rectangle of parchment paper on a cotton towel and dust it with flour to prevent the dough from sticking to it. Place the dough seam side down on the parchment paper and dust with a little more flour. Wrap the dough completely with the parchment paper corners and the towel as well. Let rise for about 2 hours (until it has doubled in size).
5. For about 20-25 minutes before the dough is ready to be cooked, preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot in the oven as it heats. When the dough has fully risen, carefully remove pot from the oven. Unwrap towel and parchment paper from around the dough, slide your hand under the bottom of the ball and flip it over into the pot. Shake the pot a little bit until the dough is well distributed.
6. Cover and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for 12-15 more minutes (until the crust starts to turn brown). the internal temperature should be around 200 degrees (you can check this with a meat thermometer).
7. Carefully remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a wire rack and then you can slice it!

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Tips To Optimize Your Laundry Room

by Pocatello Electric

 Shelves + laundry baskets: 
As good for clean clothing as for the dirty ones, multiple baskets are so useful in a laundry room. Sometimes, the only problem is space. A simple way to solve this dilemma is with shelves! Installing shelves is fast and easy. You can put them under the washer and dryer or on the sides if you have enough space. Then, identify each basket with how you want to separate your loads; blacks, whites, clean stuff, etc.

Clothes line across the room: 

When the sun is gone and rain is all over the city, an outside clothes line is not very useful. Solve the problem with an inside one! Under the machines or close to the window are perfect spots. This is an easy, economical and ecological way to dry clothes inside the house, without a dryer.

"Lost & found" board

Isn't it frustrating when you lose socks in the dryer and never see them again? A simple solution is to make a dating place for socks! Take a cork board, pins and a little space on the wall and there it is. To make sure everyone in the house understand this new tool, identify it with an original but clear name like Lost & Found; Clean, Single and looking for mate, etc. Be creative! 

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