EMPOWERED MOM

My favorite part of the house is where there is a huge window and lots of books in sight. No, I am not talking about the library which I have frequented when I was in school. I am talking about my dream house. When I saw this photo being shared by friends at Facebook, I suddenly remembered how I wanted my house to be.

It may not look like that in particular, but it has the same effect and purpose that I would like to have dividers as wall panels and bookshelves all in one. That could really be a great space saver. Whoever thought about this, I would like to say that the idea is also in head, but have not really made it into a reality yet.  This is good for rooms in the attic or houses built with huge spaces between the roof and ceiling that another room could be made into a study. Quite fascinating, isn’t it?

Now, if you ask me how the house would look, or what design I have in mind, my answer will not be as precise as the parts that I am hinting. I will not say that it is how this house would look. This, by the way, is the dream house of a friend of mine from Singapore who works at my uncle’s shop. And I think his dream house is lovely. I snatched this photo from his Facebook album, by the way.. hehehe..

Unlike my friend’s dream house, my dream house is not what you can see from the outside, but the different parts you will see inside. I think I am quite weird in that aspect, but, that’s just how I see it. Well, there is more to a home that what one sees outside anyway. Maybe in the next posts to come I shall post what design the dream house would look like… All I know for now is that, I would like wide open spaces, much like the house we lived in two years ago, which was just walking distance from my parent’s house. But of course, I would want to have spaces in the house that shall be utilized for some valuable things and collections, so that they don’t have to be scattered all around. That way, we get to save space and allow for a wider, more open space that I do not really have to scrimp on furnishings and appliances.

Spring is a season for new beginnings and fresh starts. It’s also the perfect time to spruce up your home with a few new decorative items. Here are some budget-friendly projects to help you brighten up your home with accents of spring.

Lampshades
Add a touch of spring to your home decor by wrapping a perky floral or colorful striped fabric around the outer perimeter of a lampshade. Embellish the fabric-covered shade with unique buttons, colorful ribbon, sparkling jewels or glass beads. You can also use fabric paint to add some energetic life to a plain lampshade. Use pre-cut stencils or trace over patterns if you don’t feel comfortable painting pictures freehand. Paint your lamp base with a glossy paint to give it some glistening pizzazz.

Vases
Line up six clear bottles in similar styles and heights — arrange them in two rows of three so they are touching each other. Wrap gardener’s twine around the grouping two or three times and tie the loose ends in a bow. Fill each vase halfway with water and add a variety of colorful, fresh wildflowers, resembling a miniature spring meadow. You can also put one stem of a specific flower, such as a daisy, poppy or daffodil, into each of the bottles in lieu of the wildflowers for a neater, more uniform look. Replace clear bottles with brightly-colored bottles to add an instant burst of bold color to your room.

Furniture
Bring nature indoors by refreshing a dresser or chest of drawers with a new coat of paint. Furniture typically requires sanding and priming before applying a finishing paint color. Cover your furniture piece in a soft hue — light lemon or sage green paint colors help to create furniture that imparts a “fresh as spring” appearance. Paint the drawer fronts a shade of white and allow the paint to dry completely. Stencil or decoupage botanical motifs onto the drawer fronts to add a classic natural element.

Fabrics
Remove the toss pillows on your sofa, chairs and beds. Cover them in assorted bright fabrics that complement your decor and add a sprinkling of spring accents throughout your home. Fabric colors in turquoise blues, sunny yellows, lime greens and tangy oranges help to liven up any room. Create colorful place mats,  table runners, Roman shades and window valances in coordinating fabrics to continue your spring theme. Give new energy to an old chair by reupholstering it in a colorful poppy print or earthy tree pattern.

Wreaths
A natural grapevine wreath hanging on your front door provides a warm, spring welcome to guests. Trim your wreath with silk flowers, miniature birds’ nests, colorful ribbon, sphagnum moss, small wooden bunnies and artificial eggs. Florist’s tape and wire often work well in securing decorative items to a grapevine wreath. Hot glue is an alternative adhesive but needs to be handled safely.

Christy Levine currently writes for edrugstore.md site, an online facilitator for Viagra, Cialis and Levitra online.  Christy uses her research skills and extensive professional contacts to compile an informative Expert Podcast Interviews Section

Last Saturday, we went off as early as 4 in the morning to move our stuff to our new apartment, and our parent’s belongings to the new place where they shall be temporarily staying while waiting for the great move in “the house up there”. It was quite a taxing move, but it’s all worth it.

At our apartment, there are quite a few changes that we shall apply. Like putting up of the curtains as the place would look dull without them. The wooden flooring need to be shined with wax every now and then. I need to find a really nice rug to match the decor, as well as provide a better sitting area. We shall still be using the throw pillows instead of huge couches. Kind of similar to a Japanese sitting area. I would also place my “Butsudan” there so it kind of works through the decorating scheme.. As for the kitchen, my sister and I decided to place velcro on screen sheets to detach them whenever we shall cook in the kitchen area.

So far so good. But the water has not been restored yet so we wait final moving until there’s water already…

It might be the last thing on your mind when planning a long weekend away, but those huge, built up laundry piles aren’t going to wash themselves when you get back. If a weekend away in the great outdoors is on the cards for you soon, then you’ll want to know your washing machine can handle what’s going to be thrown at it.

Don’t worry if your washer isn’t quite up to the task – there are plenty of models out there that can take care of outdoor wear and tackle tough stains. One programme to look out for is the dedicated sportswear option. This cycle is specially designed to take extra care of breathable fabrics, while giving you a deep, thorough clean. You’ll find this programme on many of LG’s premium washing machines, such as the F1479FDS.

In fact, the F1479FDS was born to tackle mammoth weekend washing piles. Take its huge 9kg drum for example. A drum of this size can hold 45 T-shirts worth of laundry at any one time. Now, we know you won’t just be washing T-shirts, but that should give you a good idea of how much you’ll be able to pack into this one.

Another one of LG’s great innovations is their TrueSteam™ system. If your family comes back home with a load of dried-on mud and grass stains, there’s nothing better than the power of steam to shift them. As steam particles are smaller than water droplets, they can penetrate deeper into your fabrics and give you a more thorough clean.

Look out for LG’s 6 Motion™ technology too. Models with this feature use six unique drum rotation combinations which are tailored to different fabrics. The intensive scrubbing motion is particularly effective at banishing those stains out of your weekend washing.

When you plan to have tree houses, it is best to ask the person who you want to build the tree house for. Especially when you are intending to build a tree house for a child. Children are imaginative. They tend to have their play setting intertwine with what they fancy and what they want in reality. Just like this photo Lili and I saw at Facebook the other day.

She told me she wants to have a tree house like this one. Not too high, and not too low. Plus the lighting and set up makes her imagine she is in a fairy camp of some sort, and the house is a Fairy Magic House.  Well, that is because my little girl is fond of fairies and magical creatures. But if you ask my little brother about the kind of tree house he would like, the design will be very different. But if you intend to save and build only one tree house for two kids with different likes and wants, then you have to start building their ability to compromise and agree on things, otherwise, you will be forced not to build anything at all.