We love coming across a restaurant that only the locals seem to know about. You know the kind! From the outside it might look old or cheap. But the moment you walk in you are greeted by friendly staff, a wonderful chef and fabulous home cooked food. Usually we hear about these by word of mouth.

So we thought, why not try a “word of mouth” local restaurant directory on the internet! But not just a list of restaurants – you can find that anywhere! We want people to put in their favorite local eatery – the one that might not be fancy, but makes the best food. So we called it, Area Gems, to highlight your area’s “gem” of a restaurant.

Obviously there is no way we can do this on our own. This has to be a restaurant directory created by folks like you and me. It is a way you can support your favorite local restaurant, while telling others just how great it is.

Will you help us build this new site? If everyone who visits puts in just one restaurant, we will have a site simply brimming with awesome ideas for a great local place to eat. But we can’t do it without you. Will you take just a moment of your time and plug in your favorite fabulous Area Gem?

Click here to add your favorite restaurant - and thank you for helping!

Question. What do you do when your six year old wants to use glitter IMMEDIATELY and you don't have any in the house? Make some!

Here is an easy recipe for homemade glitter - using salt! First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour either table or sea salt into a bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir. Add more food coloring if needed.

Spread your "glitter salt" on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for ten minutes. Then take it out, carefully break up any clumps and let it cool. This glitter salt can be used for art, but can be used in cooking too. Just imagine green salt at Christmas, red salt on Valentine's Day and salt glitter on your child's artwork. How fun!

Imagine taking a bottle of Tabasco sauce and shaking it into your mouth. Immediately your mouth is filled with a sweet, wonderful flavor. You then chase it with some vinegar, which melts like sugar in your welcome mouth. Are you dreaming? Not if you have just eaten a Miracle Berry from the plant Synsepalum Dulcificum!

Indeed, a new craze is spreading around the world. People are beginning to host Tasting Parties using what is deemed the “Miracle Fruit.” When you eat one of these berries, a molecule binds with your taste buds, making sour and bitter foods actually taste sweet! The effects last from thirty minutes to as long as two hours.

Some are hosting parties in which you pay to get in, and are given one berry upon entry. After eating the berry, you are given an array of sour and bitter foods, from limes to hot sauce and wine. Each of these foods taste incredibly sweet, which may or may not be pleasing to some!

Imagine the possibilities. Eating a berry before swallowing bitter but necessary medicine. Or giving a reluctant broccoli eater a berry before dinner!

Miracle Fruit is not for everyone – and is more of a gimmick nowadays then something easily accessible and regularly used. But if you would like to try it, you can visit www.miraclefruitman.com for a fun personal trial!