Solve these 4 Embarrassing Bathroom Mistakes!

August 19, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Here’s the SCOOP on POOP.

Everybody does it, according to this book. But it doesn’t have to make you gag or groan.

Here at Smith & Edwards, we’ve collected a HUGE pile of accessories for your throne room. We wanted to make a big stink about them because they will make your life BETTER!

Two of these have been featured on the hit show SHARK TANK and they need to be in your bathroom.

Emma Lee from our Housewares department was our brave volunteer to show you 4 embarrassing situations that can happen at ANYONE’S house – even yours! – and what you can do to prevent odor, injury, and discomfort.

You and your guests will be glad you’ve thought through these scenarios! This is funny sh–…. stuff!!

YOU WERE GONE SO LONG, I THOUGHT YOU FELL IN!

I don’t know about you, but that’s the WORST phrase to hear after coming back to the table at a restaurant. Come on, there was a line for the restrooms!

Even WORSE than hearing that phrase?

ACTUALLY FALLING IN.

Don’t fall in! Let the Illumibowl light your way!

Have you fallen in because someone left the seat up? Tripped over the toilet?

Gotten hurt getting the light on? Been blinded by a brilliant bulb?

UGH!

No longer.

The Illumibowl’s an LED toilet light that will SAVE YOUR BUM.

Why we recommend the Illumibowl toilet bowl light (get yours here):

Great for all ages of aimers
No more blinding bright lights
Motion-activated light that will shine a steady color or multiple – your choice
Featured on Shark Tank!

SO CLOSE… BUT SO FAR AWAY

Bathroom wipes are a comfort – but only if they’re within reach!

You’ll find a collection of wipe dispensers that fit right on your toilet paper holder, keeping those must-haves at your fingertips.

Bou’De is the classic white dispenser, and for the kiddos, there are pink and blue wipe dispensers (these come with STICKERS!). For the outdoorsman in your life, we’ve got Bob’s Butt Wipes. These are “wipes that work as hard as you do!”

Why we love these hanging flushable wipe dispensers:

The polish after the toilet paper
Aloe freshness, within reach
Sewer & septic tank friendly
Refillable!

SQUATTY POTTY

Also a huge hit on Shark Tank, this plastic stool elevates your legs to make the bathroom less of a strain. There’s science behind it! The plastic’s easy to clean, and we also carry bamboo Squatty Potties for an elevated experience.

Why we love the Squatty Potty:

Perfect height & angle for a smooth movement
It helps you poop better!
Easily stores against the toilet bowl

SPRAY BEFORE YOU GO – NO ONE WILL KNOW

Poo-pourri is one of our Housewares manager Vickie’s FAVORITE products to sell. She even places it in our employee bathrooms (is she just being nice, or is she trying to say something?)

Poo-pourri comes in a HUGE range of scents, from Juniper Woods (juniper, eucalyptus, and citrus) to Tropical Hibiscus (hibiscus, apricot and citrus), and Trap-A-Crap (cedarwood & citrus).

Here’s why Vickie loves selling Trap-a-Crap Poopourri before-you-go toilet spray:

Odor trapper for any crapper
Spritz in bowl and proceed to stack logs as usual
Wipes out odor
Eliminates embarrassment

BONUS BATHROOM MUST-HAVE: WOODS WIPES

OK, ok, so we’ve got everything you need for SERIOUS bathroom problems.

There’s one more gem that’s great in any outdoorsman’s bathroom and is EQUALLY great as a white elephant or gag gift.

For the outdoorsman who has it all: CAMO TOILET PAPER.

When it’s time to unload, just stop, drop, and unroll. For the poo-fessional hunter & home enthusiast, comes Hunter’s Helper Woods Wipe, the leafy-soft & biodegradable camouflage T-P. Also available in blazin’ orange, and for a limited time, pink camo (for doe ‘doo).

So there’s the scoop on poop for you, from Smith & Edwards. Your business is our business, whether that’s in the home, in the cabin, or where the bear goes. We’ve got your back!

Come on in or check out our online store for all this cr– I mean, everything you could possibly want for your bathroom and home. We know our stuff!

No comments

How to Make Dried Apricots & Apricot Jam

August 17, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

What do you do with a couple pounds of fresh Utah apricots?

Some of the best ways to preserve that fresh, tangy sweetness are dehydrating apricots and turning them into apricot freezer jam.

Maggie & Hannah are 10-year-old friends, cousins, and daughters of Smith & Edwards employees. They gave it a shot! Here’s how they did – and if they can do it, YOU & your kids can, too!

Making Dried Apricots

You’ll need:

Food Dehydrator
Kitchen knife

Wash and dry the apricots. Then, cut the apricots in half. Lastly, separate the halves, and pull out the pit.
Now arrange the apricots on your dehydrator screens. You can actually place them closer together than this, because they’ll shrink as they dry.
Let them dry according to your dehydrator’s instructions. This batch only took Maggie & Hannah about 1 hour.

Making Apricot Freezer Jam

We used:

Mrs. Wages Freezer Jam Mix + sugar & lemon juice
Canning funnel
Ball® freezer jam jars
Canning scoop (this one’s a customer favorite!)
Spatula and potato masher
Mixing bowls

Cut and discard the apricot pits, then mash the apricots.
Add sugar, lemon juice, and the Freezer Jam fruit pectin, according to the package directions.
Stir, then ladle the apricot jam into freezer jam jars.
This apricot freezer jam will keep in the fridge up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer up to a year!
Their grandmother has a secret about adding crushed pineapple to the recipe. Try it out and see what you like!

Your Turn!

What’s happening in your kitchen? We love to see pictures of what you’re making! Leave a comment, tag us on Facebook or Instagram, or send us an email.

No comments

You asked for them: Havalon Knives are here!

August 10, 2016 - posted by Chris Jacobson

Introducing Havalon Knives, some of the sharpest, lightest blades available.

Click here to see Chris demonstrate them!

They are also one of the hottest hunting knife brands out there right now, and customers have been asking us for them for over a year. We got them in in 2016 and you can find them on our Web Store now, too!

Havalon, a smaller branch of Havel’s Inc. is bringing super lightweight, surgically sharp blades to hunters, trappers, and taxidermists with their innovative designs and functions. Normally the use of “surgically” doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a buzzword.

However, here it’s the real deal where Havel’s Inc is an actual medical supplier. They have been putting scalpels in surgeons’ hands for years.

We Recommend: Piranta & Baracuta

These knives vary in design to suit a variety of needs. While they make others, the Piranta and Baracuta might be their most popular lines.

The Piranta is a no-nonsense folding knife that has a replaceable blade. Using a replaceable blade just means you never have to worry about a dull knife again.

Carry around a couple of spare blades with you just to be safe, and then in the midst of field dressing, should the blade need to be perfectly sharp again, just pop a new one on.

The Baracuta series is fundamentally the same knife, and Havalon has invested in a beefier handle and longer blades. Both styles give you color options and most importantly, blade options.

The beauty of these knives is you can change out the type of blade edge you’re working with on the fly. Havalon gives you bone saws, fillet, scalpel, and non-puncture options.

My hunting customers LOVE this option.

Fileting fish with the Havalon Piranta

Whether you need a new pocketknife or a good hunting knife that won’t let you down out in the field, take a look at Havalon at Smith & Edwards. Click here to shop our huge Hunting Knives department.

Watch how to change a Havalon Blade:

Written by Spenser England with Chris Jacobson

No comments

Summer Stress Relief for Angry Mamas

August 2, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Are you an angry mama?

We get it! If you’ve spent the summer driving the kiddos to practice, camp, and sleepovers, all while thinking to yourself “Well, when do I get to take a vacation?”…. you’ll find some great ways to RELAX at Smith & Edwards.

Check them out!

Summer Stress Relief: 5 Fun Distractions

Angry Mama kitchen goodies
Scrubbing the microwave is one of my least favorite things to do…. maybe it’s because I’m 5’2 and the microwave is literally over my head.

Vickie, our Housewares manager, found this cute & hilarious line of kitchen goodies that no mama should be without.

Check out the Angry Mama microwave cleaner (just add vinegar & water!), silicone lid opener, and mat.
Adult Coloring Books:
Did you know? August 2 is Coloring Book Day! Coloring isn’t just for kids.

In Ogden, I’ve even seen adult coloring book groups meeting at Grounds for Coffee downtown. Get a group of your girl friends together and have a coloring book night.

We’ve carried kids’ coloring books for a long time, and we’ve added fun floral, geometric, and designer adult-friendly coloring books. Plus check out the 99-cent pack of crayons – I love colored pencils, but you don’t have to sharpen crayons!
Lotions & Body Scrubs
Your hands have done so much: held your babies, changed their diapers, pulled your earrings back from their little fingers, fixed meals, taken care of the dog, vacuumed, loaded load after load in the dishwasher – time to pamper them. Choose some J.R. Watkins (the same brand that makes high-quality spices) or Caldrea lotions & body scrubs to thank your hands for everything they do for you.

With scents such as Lavender, Grapefruit, Coconut Milk & Honey, Pear Blossom Agave, Pomegranate Acai, and even Peppermint rejuvenating foot lotion, you’ll finally start experiencing the relaxation you deserve.

You’ll find Watkins, Caldrea, & more soothing body scrubs & lotions by aisle 12 in our Housewares department!

For those aches that won’t go away, we also carry pain relieving creams, sprays, gels, and menthol camphor vapor rubs & mists.
Aromatherapy
That’s right, Aromatherapy is coming to Smith & Edwards! In September we’ll be carrying the Airome line of essential oil diffusers.

You’ll find essential oils at Smith & Edwards soon as well as these ultrasonic essential oil diffusers. These diffusers use ultrasonic vibrations to create a soothing mist of water and essential oils. All the benefits of essential oils plus a wonderful room scent in an elegant LED-lit diffuser.

In the meantime, check out our deliciously-scented line of McCall’s candles.
Take time for yourself!
No mama should have to feel like she’s in it alone! Take time for yourself – you can’t give & care for everyone on an empty tank.

Leave the kids with Grandma while you check out a pickleball league, comedy show, First Friday Art Stroll, yoga class, bike ride, or a craft night with friends.

No comments

How to Freeze Beets

July 29, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Beets are a yummy vegetable packed with nutrients like manganese, potassium, copper, magnesium, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin B6. They’re a delicious Utah summer crop, and you can freeze beets to enjoy them year-round.

Our produce experts Vickie Maughan, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, teamed up to freeze beets last week and here’s how they did it.

You’ll need:

Disposable gloves
Kitchen knife
Pot of water
Ziploc freezer bags

How to Freeze Beets

Put on your gloves!
Wash the fresh beets and cut of the beet greens, leaving 1″ of beet green stems. Don’t remove the tails or beet green stems, because if you cut them off, the beets will bleed out and lose their color.
Boil the beets in a pot of water until tender. Then, set aside and let them cool off.
Boiling the beets with their stems & tails on will keep the rich purple-red color from bleeding out!
Peel the beets. You don’t need a tool: you can massage the beet skin, tail, & beet green stems and they’ll fall off the beet in your fingers.
Slice, dice, cube, quarter, or halve the beets any way you’d like. We love mandolines for slicing vegetables!
Put in a freezer Ziploc baggie with as many servings as you’ll want.

You can freeze them individually like cherries (click here), or if your family loves beets, you can freeze them all together.

Tip: Flatten the bag when you put it in the freezer so they stack nicely and will thaw evenly.

This winter, you can take the bag out to enjoy garden-fresh beets at the peak of their flavor. Microwave or lightly simmer them in a covered pan with butter, when your family’s ready to eat!

If you liked this, you will LOVE our other frozen food storage tips! Make sure you check out How to Freeze Cherries and How to Freeze Corn.

No comments

Lauren’s Summer Adventure: Exploring Oregon

July 27, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Lauren Clark wrote in with her Summer Adventure:

Adventure is in the eye of the beholder. There are many adventures around every corner. An adventure can be as simple as a picnic with the family, to something more complex, such as a vacation or a new living location. We can choose whether what we are going through is an “adventure” or something else.

This summer, my adventure included spending time with my family while in Oregon USA. We were able to go on a family trip for the first time in 3 or 4 years. It was great to reminisce about old times and build new memories together. We were able to see some beautiful sights and enjoy the surroundings of nature.

We were able to go zip lining.

I loved walking along the beach for miles and miles. It was amazing to see the vibrant green color, and the enormous size of the Redwood Trees.

The highlight of this adventure was finally being able to see Crater Lake. It was a beautiful sight that will not soon be forgotten.

Everything from seeing these beautiful sights, to having our car overheat and the AC not work, made this trip the perfect Summer Adventure.

This Oregon adventure was a well timed event, because just as life seemed to be getting settled, it threw us another adventure.

No matter where life takes us, we have to embrace the adventure. I am so happy that I got this time with my family and was able to make those memories that will last a lifetime.

No comments

How to Freeze Cherries

July 20, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Here in northern Utah we’re lucky to get large yields of cherries in late June & early July! While there’s no end to what you can do with fresh cherries – cobbler being my favorite! – freezing cherries is a wonderful use for these short-seasoned juicy treats!

Freezing cherries will let you taste that sweetness even in January. Plus, you can use these for your shakes & smoothies.

Vickie, our Housewares manager, and Jean from Pettingill’s Fruit Farm, got together to show me how to freeze my own cherries. Take a look!

You’ll need:

Cherry pitter
Long cookie sheet with sides or jelly roll pan, that fits in your freezer
Short plastic drink cups or tupperware
Large, flat spatula
Ziploc freezer bags

How to Freeze Cherries

Wash the cherries and remove their stems. Tip: use a colander!
Pit the cherries. Jean & Vickie like using the OXO cherry pitter, and collecting the pits in an extra jar or measuring cup.
Place the pitted cherries on the cookie sheet.
Secret Tip: Double decker your cherries! Place short drink cups or tupperware on the cookie sheet and place it in the freezer. Then, fill another cookie sheet with cherries and place it on top of the cups to freeze twice as many cherries!
Let the cherries freeze overnight.
A chest freezer is GREAT for freezing cherries…
The next day, take a spatula and release the bottoms of the cherries from the cookie sheet.
Gather the cherries and place them in freezer Ziploc bags. Quart, gallon – your choice!

Questions we get asked about Freezing Cherries

Q: Is it messy?

YES! Wear surgical gloves so it doesn’t stain your hands, and wear a work shirt.

Pitting cherries is messy business! Wear gloves.

Q: Why not freeze them in bags from the get-go?

By freezing them individually first, they don’t get stuck to each other. Then after you put them in the bag, they break apart easily.

Q: What can you do with frozen cherries?

Vickie LOVES to make smoothies with frozen cherries. YUM!

Eat these fresh-picked as a treat when the snow’s flying in January, just like you were eating it fresh in July!!

Do you have more questions for us? Leave a comment & let us know!

If you liked this, you will LOVE our other frozen food storage tips! Make sure you check out How to Freeze Beets and How to Freeze Corn.

Looking for more food preserving, dehydrating, or canning supplies? Click here to see canning supplies on our online store!

No comments

Chaser has Landed! (Limited-Edition Ty Beanie Boo)

July 6, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Look what just landed – We’ve got “CHASER” the Limited-Edition Teeny Ty at Smith & Edwards!

Chaser cannot be purchased at any store, so we’re giving him away – FREE! Even his tagging is super special and sparkly.

Careful, Chaser’s still teething – he might nibble your finger!

Just follow the 3 steps below to enter to win this cute red dragon Beanie Boo before July 30th, then stop in to see all of the Teeny Ty characters we now carry.

We’ve also got Beanie Boos in a variety of sizes and characters – come check them out! Shop for Ty Beanie Boos & Teeny Beanies online at Smith & Edwards here.

Or, visit us at Smith & Edwards off I-15 at exit 351, at 3936 N Highway 126 in Ogden, Utah.

How to Enter the Chaser Beanie Boo Giveaway

1. Click here to enter the Giveaway on Facebook by July 30, 2016.
2. Name/Tag the Ty® Beanie Boo lover in your life as a comment under the post! You can enter more than one person (or multiple people can enter the same person), just make sure each entry is added as an individual comment to the post.
3. Make sure you “like” and share the giveaway post.
That’s it! Giveaway ends at midnight (MST), 07/30/16, so enter and share!

*NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook.

No comments

Tell us about your Summer Adventure: You could win!

July 1, 2016 - posted by Rose Marion

Tell us about your 2016 summer adventure in 250 words or more – include a picture or two. We LOVE a good story!

If we publish your story on our blog, you’ll receive a $25 Smith & Edwards in-store gift card!

To enter, email us at info (at) smithandedwards.com with the subject line “My Summer Adventure” with your pictures & at least 250-word long story. Deadline: July 31, 2016.

Time to get outside!

No comments

John’s 4 Stihl Leaf Blower Tips

June 2, 2016 - posted by Jerica Parker

After a long, cold winter, it’s time to clean up. Planting new flowers, mowing the lawn – all the little things to make your yard beautiful again. It’s the time of year to break out all our lawn care equipment again.

As people are preparing for the summer, we often get questions about troubles getting all the tools tools to start up after long, cold winter storage.

Tool Troubleshooting: 4 Leaf Blower Tips

Many people are ready to use their gas powered leaf blowers, but it can be hard to get them started after winter. John, part of our team in the Lawn & Garden department, has thought of 4 possible solutions for this:

Stale fuel. Fuel doesn’t last forever. If it doesn’t get used, it can get old and stop functioning how it’s supposed to. Try refilling with clean, fresh fuel. Click here to check out the best EPA-compliant fuel cans we’ve found.
Spark plugs. This is a very common solution for blowers not starting. Check your spark plugs, and if any of them have build-up, it’s time for a replacement.
Air filter. Check that your air filter is clean and not plugged up. If not, you know it’s time for a change.
Fuel filter. Not as common, but equally a potential solution. Check that your fuel filter isn’t clogged up. If that’s the case, replace it with a new filter.