Halloween Recipe Fun: 2 Variations on "Dirt and Worms"

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's not too terribly early to begin thinking of fun things to make in order to turn your kitchen into a ghoulish Halloween laboratory for young children! It's fun to make your fall holiday decorations, decor, and treats at home, and we'll start bringing you some Halloween DIY ideas to get you in the festive party spirit. Today's featured video is from Modernist Cuisine, and it's a simple way to make dirt and olive oil gummy earthworms - gross fun for young and old alike. Click here for the complete recipe and preparation tips.

Bonus

For a completely different take on Worms in Dirt, click on the top photo for Martha Stewart's creation using, of all things, hotdogs and black beans.

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Is Your Home's Front Door Making a Good First Impression?

Irwin Weiner ASID - I don't think we notice our front doors very much while we're in the thick of designing and decorating the rest of our homes. But this is a certainty: Other people notice your front door, and it makes either a positive or a sour first impression.

A realtor just told me that the care and upkeep of each element of your home tells others whether or not you take good care of yourself, your belongings, and your home's general upkeep. A front door with peeling paint, a cracked window, faded varnish, or bad door hardware will give everyone the wrong signal when they visit you.

I picked some of my favorite contemporary front doors from an excellent UK supplier, Urban Front Ltd. Click on each image for more product information. Their doors are steel-reinforced hardwood, and you can also use this company for garage doors and interior doors. Some of the interior doors come with matching frames built with acoustic seals on all four sides and concealed or pivot hinges. A great resource to put into your Home Improvement file!

In today's featured video, we go behind the scenes at Urban Front and hear the designers talking about what goes into their products.

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Video: Triathlete Helps Us Plan Ahead with Fall Garden Design

Irwin Weiner ASID - I admit that I'm an interiors kind of guy, but I love a beautiful garden. It's more than curb appeal - those lush outdoor rooms add so much charm and extended living and entertaining space to a home. Now that autumn is officially here, it's time to start planning your fall garden design process, using these optimum weeks to plant new specimens, flesh out beds, and make those key transplants. My gardening goals are always to have a "swath" of color and texture and to try to have plants that add color and interest throughout the growing season - not just a burst of springtime hues and then washed-out greens throughout the rest of the summer and early fall. This video features an interview with Tracy DiSabato-Aust, triathlete/gardener and author of the book The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, and her tips for how to best plan your garden around this time of year.

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Hooked on These 6 Wild Modern Rugs

Irwin Weiner ASID - Rugs are truly becoming works of art lately. They're no longer meant to cushion high-traffic patterns or provide a cozy island to group furniture around in a room. The rugs I've chosen to share with you today are true works of art. They make statements, like the Wrinkle rug (see top photo) from Beglium vendor Papilio, made from recycled denim jeans. Click on each photo for more details.

Bubbles rug by Sonya Winner

Mambo/Gaudi from Tapecarias Ferreira de Sa

Submarino rug by Igloo for Odabashian

Death on the Dancefloor rug by Marta Baganta for cc-tapis, Milan

Boro1 silk mix rug by Jan Kath

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