Hints from Hester

It’s a freezing Saturday in many parts of the country.  Most folks are stuck inside without much to do.  So, we thought we’d check in with our favorite home econ-ologist to answer some of your questions.


Dear Hester: Would you please send me a potpourri recipe? It would really help if it were edible since I’m on The Zone, I don’t provide any actual chips with dip for my guests, and sometimes they get really confused and choke on some Eucalyptus bark. Thanks much! – Suzi Colonakis, Basking Ridge, NJ

Suzi:  Here is a recipe for potpourri that is not only nose candy, but your guests should also find it delicious!
You will need:

2 Cups Cheetos™            
2 Cups Kaffir Lime leaves

38 Whole Allspice balls    
1/2 Cup Orange Glo™

1 Sprig of Pineapple Sage
1 Origami Swan (garnish)
Allow mixture to “cure” in your root cellar for at least six-eight weeks, and then serve and enjoy!



Dear Hester: I have an old Gucci purse I just can’t bear to give to the less fortunate. Oddly, I’m also an environmentalist by the way. How can I recycle it? - Bitsy Stingington, Bridgehampton, NY

Bitsy:  An old purse provides a plethora of opportunities, silly! Why not try:



• Storing photos of loved phones you have no plan to give a kidney to, and don’t really rate placement in the professionally paper-cutout enhanced scrapbook album you have on the living room shelf.
• Keep pet supplies in it. Like press-on rhinestone monogrammed toenail studs, or a preventive puke-catching Pashmina.
• Give it to a to a cross-dressing male child for dress-up. He may not thank you now, but I can assure you, he will later!

Dear Hester: Is there a way to get CRAYON OFF MY FACE? - Sienna Burns, Severn, MD



Sienna: Oh my do you have a budding artist in the house? Too much Playdough and not enough Van Gogh? Ah well, it happens to the best of us. But we still have to hang that crap on the fridge. Unless you buy subzero stainless steel. Here’s a tip: take a brown grocery bag (not plastic!), and place it over the crayon and carefully press a waffle iron onto it. Or you can use Scrubbing Bubbles and massage it in until the marks are gone. Then you can use chalkboard paint to smooth across your face to make it look like new again.