***And the Winner chosen by random.org after removing any duplicate comments by the same person (Which I then added back in) is Heather Lafter. More great giveaways are coming this month. so keep trying!***
Have you ever wanted to know how to make your own chain-mail bikini, grow rock candy, properly open a pomegranate, carve a radish rose, tie a bowtie, remove various stains from clothing, peel and devein a shrimp, get your kid to eat vegetables, serve a banana as an octopus, or understand vitamins and their proper doses?.
Are you the coach of your kid’s soccer team but you don’t have a clue about the rules and techniques of the game?
Do you wonder how long various foods stay good in the refrigerator?
Do you want to try to heal yourself with home remedies or perform first aid?
Are you horrible at Dave Letterman’s “Know Your Cuts of Meat” game and want to brush up on which cut of meat comes from which part of any animal’s body?
Do you want to know how to pick the best airline seat, tie basic sailing knots, mount a camel, compose a memorable photo, pick a lock, or mold a false fingerprint?
Have I got a book for you. It was sent to me by Harper Collins and it’s called Show Me How — 500 Things You Should Know — Instructions for Life from the Everyday to the Exotic. The book covers fashion dos and don’ts, beauty how-tos, cooking, crafting, survival skills, romantic instruction and a ton more. From the incredibly useful to the hilarious, it’s fun just to “read” all the way through. But it doesn’t involve a lot of reading because it’s almost completely picture based. The illustrations are fun and although I plan to use it as a conversation-piece on an end-table in my living room, I’ll also likely refer to it for basic instructions on how to do just about everything.
Reading through, I kept thinking, “OH MAN! I wish I’d had this last month or last year when I needed to…” Because I didn’t have this book or apparently a brain or internet connection, I gave a perfectly fine cast-iron skillet away to Goodwill because it had become rusty. Never again thanks to the page on derusting a cast-iron pan.
With Thanksgiving on the way, I’m grateful for the straightforward instructions for weaving a lattice-top pie, roasting and carving a turkey and making perfect gravy from drippings.
Thanks to this book I now know that a Vesper is an actual alcoholic beverage, not invented by James Bond, and how to make it should I ever eschew my teetotaling ways.
This is one of the best coffee table books I’ve come across and it would make a great gift. Although if you win it, you’ll probably have a hard time giving it away so you’ll need to buy another.
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment listing one thing you’ve always wanted to know how to do. I’ll draw a random winner Saturday at 10pm PST.
And I’ve got more great giveaways and gift guides coming up! Squeee!!! I’m so excited for Christmas.
I would like to add that I am not only entering the contest I *am* soliciting advice so anyone may feel free to reply to that comment. I reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllly want to know the answer to this one.
I want to know about barbeques. I come from a coutry where we don’t have barbeque and am living in one where the climate is same all through the year making it fit to have barbeque during winter 😉
Oops! I do not even know how to use the word ‘barbeque’!
I want to know how to make GOOD southern style baking powder biscuits…(think Cracker Barrel) and speak Japanese…odd combo of things that top my list
I want to know how to match colors!! Seriously, every time I look in my closet I am overwhelmed by what colors go with other colors and how to match shades and patterns…. I wear a lot of blacks as a result. 🙂
I would like to know the proper way to tie a tie.
Is there a section in there that tells you how to be yourself even in uncomfortable social situations? Or maybe how to be the perfect mom that raises perfect children? That would be nice 🙂
I have always wanted to know how to moonwalk. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’ll channel my younger-self. When I was 6, on Thanksgiving, at the dinner table, we were all giving thanks for something. I thanked God for Michael Jackson.
I loved his music so much.
My parents thought it was hilarious. I was being completely sincere.
To learn to moonwalk would be a childhood dream come true.
Good luck to everyone! I hope whoever wins this book, loves it!
I’ve always wanted to know how to take beautiful photos of my kids. It’s so hit and miss with us…
I would really like to learn how to tat.
I have alway wanted to know how to ice a cake nice.
I’ve always wanted to know how to cut up a chicken.
I would like to know how to get my kids to smile beautifully at the same time and for as long as I want in order to take photos.
Uh, and how to dress in order to appear 30 pounds lighter. Or better yet, a way to lose 30 pounds that involves copious amounts of dark chocolate.
Okay, really, one thing I want to know is how to wash socks so they stay white and don’t pill or get holes in them after three wearings.
That books looks awesome.
I’d love to know how to wake up in the morning with an instant witty, sparkling personality. I am SO not a morning person.
(Please don’t include my earlier repiies in the drawing. I’m sharing my wealth–heh!–of knowledge, not trying to stack the deck in my favor.)
Hmmm… the one thing I have always wanted to know how to do would be to swim. Thirty-nine years old and don’t know how to swim… pitiful…
I would love to know more about what I don’t!
Thanks for such a great blog!
I’ve always wanted to know how to sew my own cute summer skirts.
(sending you love…all the way from downtown Seattle!)
I’d like a beginner’s course on ice sculpting. I think it would be a fun hobby!
I’d like to learn how to make a sound using a digeridoo. I’ve tried it and just didn’t get it. Is that in the book? It does look like a really neat book! Another great Christmas gift idea!
I’ve always wanted to know how to whistle really loud with two fingers in my mouth. Never have learned that trick.
I would like to learn how to get kid pee smell out of a mattress. Yuck. And I would like to learn how to win one of Kathryn’s uber-awesome contests.x
What do I NOT want to know how to do? Make and decorate beautiful cakes. Speak another language. Play an instrument well. Dance. Do rock-climbing. Knit. Paint. Write a novel. Be a really good photographer.
Looks like I have a whole lifetime of pursuits ahead of me! Maybe winning this book would get me off to a good start.
I’ve always wanted to know how to make a cool kite.
I keep wanting to learn how to nicely fold a fitted sheet. My linen closet would thank you if I win!
I always wonder how long to keep food in the fridge. Pick me!
Wow! What an amazing idea for a book! Put me on the list, definitely! Oh, and I am so glad to hear that you are on your way to feeling like your best self. Wonderful news indeed! =)
I didn’t want to replicate someone else’s, but I agree with Paul P about learning how to whistle. Neither my dad nor my brothers have been able to teach me, so maybe a book would help! I’m putting this book on my wish list even if I don’t get it through this give-away. Thanks for the chance, Kathryn!
I want to know how to play the piano….and not just any song, I want to play Great Balls of Fire like Jerry Lee Lewis and rock out sometime. You know like in the movies, where everyone is haning out and then someone jams with a rockin tune…..ah if life were like the movies!
I’d love to know how to teach a kid to ride a bike. With no screaming. Or how to teach a kid to put away their own clothes. Or how to teach a kid to put on his own socks…
I would love to know how to blow glass! Although the picture that shows how to moon walk has me intrigued. I’ve never been able to do that very well.
I want to know everything!! Okay, so maybe that doesn’t really answer your question. I would like to know how to keep my floor clean. Why don’t wood floor stay clean for more than a nanosecond after being swept?
Also, I would like to say that I’ve just discovered your blog and am really enjoying it.
I’ve always wanted to know how to track a cat. Or how to make Eggs Benedict. Or the difference between Koi and goldfish.
And this just sounds like a really cool book to add to my already-gigungous book collection.
I want to learn to dance without looking like a buffoon!