Almost everyone wants to eat healthier (we’d venture a guess that it’s among the top 10 News Year’s resolutions). But let’s face it–it can be hard. Despite good intentions, getting a fast food lunch or a snack from the vending machine is sometimes just the easiest thing.

Luckily, good design comes to the rescue (of our waistlines!) yet again. Sabine Staggl designed a modern “lunchbox” that not only carries food, but also tools, in the form of a plate, cutting board and bowl. And the box’s carries can be turned in to a tablecloth.

Very cool idea! It’s perfect not only for things like picnics, but for eating healthier at the office–no more excuses about not being able to prepare your salad in the breakroom.

What do you think of this modern lunchbox/food carrier?

Images courtesy of MocoLoco.

If you have been assigned to bring a dish to Thanksgiving dinner, or are even hosting the whole thing, check out this humorous flowchart courtesy of Chow. Who doesn’t love “The ancient marshmallow yams of sorrow”?!

Image courtesy of Chow.

This is such a cool idea! Do you have some silverware that’s looking a little old and boring? Maybe you’d like to finesse your flatware and get another set to remain un-finessed. Well, Apartment Therapy has an idea for you: spray paint your silverware!

You can do all sorts of funky colors or stick with a simple palette. And as Apartment Therapy reminds us, only do the handles — not the part of the utensil your mouth touches.

What do you think of this idea?

Image courtesy  of Apartment Therapy.

20 Ways to Bring New Light to Your Old Jack-o’-Lantern
Casa Sugar
Check out these creative pumpkin ideas…MLuxe especially likes to glitter pumpkins!

Last-Minute Halloween Ideas
MarthaStewart.com
Who else but Martha would have creative ideas for Halloween parties?

Pumpkin Carving with Power Tools
Charles & Hudson
“Pumpkin carving can be less of a chore by tackling it with your power tools. Nothing can replace the finesse needed to carve pumpkins but for some of the tougher jobs or larger pumpkins, a little 12 or 18 volt power can make the job go much faster.”

13 Easy Halloween Party Recipes
Real Simple
“There’s no trick to concocting these tasty recipes. Just prepare for screams of delight.”

Well, now! This definitely goes in the file of cool AND useful products. Check it out: a mini dishwasher that fits neatly into one side of your sink. It works with your sink’s plumbing and can wash up to five place settings at a time.

So what’s the problem? This product was discontinued by KitchenAid. While we’re sure they had good reason to do so, it does seem too bad: here is an easy way to fit a dishwasher into kitchens. People with older kitchens might appreciate not having to rip out cabinets to install a regular, larger dishwasher, and those with dishwashers might like an extra, smaller dishwasher for overflow. Plus, we would venture a guess that it uses less water than a traditional dishwasher.

Charles and Hudson (where we found this) wasn’t able to find out why it was discontinued, but they do note that at $1,800 it wasn’t very budget-friendly for such a small dishwasher. Maybe that is what killed it. Or maybe there were design flaws. Either way, it’s a great product concept that we wish we’d see more of!

Readers–what are some great home products that you loved and are no longer available? Let us know in the comments!

Image courtesy of Charles and Hudson

Now that it is “officially” (not officially meteorologically of course) summer post-Memorial Day and we can do things like wear whites and play croquet, it’s time to start thinking of how to cool ourselves with some refreshing libations. The days get hot, and it’s important to keep hydrated!

One hot trend is infused waters. Take a pitcher or some other container and add water and your infusion ingredients. These can be almost anything. You could go for the classic lemon and mint or get really wild with pineapple and cinnamon sticks. The possibilities are endless! Love To Know has some ideas to start you off.

Infused water amps up the taste of regular water and allows you to be creative. Plus its calories are negligible. So mix up a pitcher, or grab a beverage dispenser for your next party. We’re partial to this one from Crate & Barrrel:

Happy sipping!

Top image courtesy of wtfclem on Flickr.

We live an a world with an astonishing amount of food choices. You can eat an apple, or pick up a ready-to-heat apple “pie” at the gas station, for example. As we get further and further from our food sources, and even from the simple act of home cooking, it gets harder to know what in your food is, well, food. Nutrition experts may argue over the healthiest things to eat, but one thing is pretty clear: overly processed food isn’t good for you or the planet.

For help in making healthy (and perhaps by extension, green) food choices, Darya Pino, Ph.D, made a humorous flow chart at Summer Tomato to help you figure out if what you’re shopping for is food. It’s tongue-in-cheek, but it does make you think. Take a look, have a chuckle and make healthy and green food shopping choices!

In honor of our last post of 2010, we’ve decided to round up our most popular posts ever. Below are the top 10. Enjoy and we will see you next year for more great home living information! Thanks for reading this year.

• Built Around You: Laundry in a Closet
• Remodeling Using ‘Quality Over Quantity’
• Unusual homes: Cool conversions
• How To: Grow Tomatoes Upside Down
• Space-saving ideas for small spaces
• Built Around You: Stylish Bathroom Overhaul
• Small on Space, Big on Style
• New Uses for Old Windows
• Amazing Windows Created By Amazing Artists
• myMarvin Architect’s Challenge: Lake Cottage

DIY Project: Handmade Gift Wrap
Design*Sponge
Ever wanted to add an extra personal touch to your gift giving? Try making your own gift wrap. This how-to takes you through the process.

Which is Greener, a Real of Fake Christmas Tree?
The Daily Green
“For many families, the centerpiece of Christmas celebrations is the luminous, awe-inspiring tree set up with care in the living room. But with all the options now available, how do you know which Christmas tree is the greenest choice for the environment?”

Foodie Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids of All Ages
The Epi-Log
Wondering what to get your young gourmand? Here are some ideas from the editors at Epicurious.com.

Design & Decor Books: The Best of 2010
Apartment Therapy
“Even the most die-hard design blog addict will admit there is something special about flipping through the pages of a real, tangible book on home design. Throughout the year we have posted on a host of books about the home — from inspirational (and “aspirational”) glossy tomes to instructional and downright technical guidebooks.”

5 Last-Minute Green Gift Ideas
Re-nest
“‘Twas the weekend before Christmas, and just like this blogger, you’re scrambling to find some good green gift fodder. You forgot someone important (how’d that happen!?) or a few extra folks are coming to celebrate, and you don’t want to resort to some plastic crap that the giftee will end up sending to Goodwill anyway. What to do? We have some ideas.”

It’s that time of year when we maybe get a little introspective and start to take stock of how the last year has gone. Did we lose that weight we wanted? Read all those books? Finally get on board with this whole Twitter thing we’ve been hearing about?

Since home is, for many people, an important extension of self, Apartment Therapy recently featured five home resolutions they’ll be keeping in the next year. Great ideas, and it inspired us to think about what resolutions we want to do, home-wise. Here goes:

• Organizing: We’re going to rid ourselves of extraneous paper and shred old bills, as appropriate. We’ll also be organizing our closets and not just shoving the mess into there. New closet organizers, boxes and bins may also be pressed into use.
• Cooking: Eating out and supporting local restaurants is great, but cooking at home not only saves money, but allows you unprecedented control of the food you put into your body. Plus, you can flex your culinary muscles and become known for sparkling hosting and fabulous dinner parties.
• Curb appealing: With all the zeal over interior decorating, it’s easy to forget the home’s exterior. No more! This year, we will be painting, repairing, refreshing and landscaping to make our houses the envy of the neighborhood. New walkway? Flowerbeds? Our only limit is our imaginations!
• Greening: We want to make this year the greenest ever. So we’ll be looking at ways to make our homes — and our lives — more energy efficient. We’re going to try to re-use stuff more, evaluate whether we really need something and think of ways to buy locally as needed.
• Learning: We’re going to attempt to pick up some sort of DIY skill this year. Whether that means something like learning some home repair basics, or a softer skill like making our own throw pillows, we’ll be doing it for ourselves.

New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to keep, but we believe that if you start small and have a purpose, it can be done. What are your home resolutions? Let us know in the comments.