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Outfit Your Home With an Address Plaque

Posted by Admin on January 26th, 2012 filed in Decorating
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I have found that sometimes spending a little time on oft-overlooked details of your home is a great way to set your home apart and make it really pop. Take your address plaque, for example. Have you thought about your house numbers at all lately?

Address plaques sit on the front of your house, identifying it for the world to see. They are necessary identification, but they can also be an effective way to add charm and interest to your exterior home.

Imaginative and unusual address signs might seem like an unnecessary extravagance, but when your goal is to create a high-profile and high-quality home with curb appeal, don’t skimp on this little detail.

You can also have a lot of fun shopping for house address plaques. There is something out there that will suit any taste and decor scheme. Bungalows, stately brick, basic siding and log homes — these are just off the top of my head — but there would be something there that would fit each of these house styles.

Have fun shopping to outfit your home — it’s so worth it!


New Daddies

Posted by Admin on January 22nd, 2012 filed in Shopping
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My son just became a first-time dad a little over six months ago. While it’s understandable that most of the focus is on the new mom, I don’t think it’s right to forget about daddies…especially brand new ones enjoying the process of parenthood for the first time.

I think it’s a good idea to send new dad gifts to remember the contribution of new daddies. Many new dads are heavily involved in the whole process, midnight feedings and diaper changes and all. Why not extend a special wish of congratulations to them, too?


Rustic Furniture

Posted by Admin on January 22nd, 2012 filed in Decorating
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Have you seen some of that barnwood furniture making its way into homes now?

If you have a taste for rustic and casual, you’re going to love this. The wood is weathered and aged, full of character and neat textures.

It’s perfect for a rustic kitchen or family room.

I tell you, this stuff is definitely going on my go-to list of furnishings I want to use the next time we redecorate.


Doodle Lately?

Posted by Admin on January 22nd, 2012 filed in Family, General Abundance, Health
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Done any interesting doodling lately? You know, when you’re talking on the phone with a pencil and paper in front of you and one thing leads to another…pretty soon you’ve filled half a page with an unplanned, impromptu work of art!

As it turns out, doodling can have therapeutic benefits. Not only does it stretch your imagination and encourage you to think creatively, it can be a peaceful escape from stress.

You can choose to follow the rules…or not. Here are some suggestions:

  1. Put pencil to paper and make a closed loop. Strive for a never-ending shape without openings.
  2. Go back and fill the areas with different patterns and shading techniques. You can even add handwriting, geometric patterns or cartoon pictures.
  3. Increase the size of the shape to fill the whole page.
  4. Never erase — even if you make what you think is a mistake, try to build it into the design.
  5. Go back and add color with color pencils.


Interior Decorating

Posted by Admin on January 17th, 2012 filed in Decorating
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Anyone else feeling a rut? We’ve lived in our home for 15 years now. In the first year after buying the house, we were pretty busy redecorating most of the house. We painted, carpeted, paneled, put up fresh curtains and bought furniture. We got it all purty…and then lived in it!

Now, fast forward to now and I’m starting to see some tell-tale signs of wear and tear. I think it’s time to update and make things fresh again.

Winter is the perfect time to start pouring over magazines like Real Homes magazine to find fresh and interesting ideas. I even love to look at the holiday homes for inspiration because these homes are usually decorated with a stylish flair.

In fact, several months ago, we spent a week in a rental home down in Hot Springs, Arkansas. This was a little arts and crafts bungalow that I absolutely LOVED. The style and chic elegance just oozed throughout every room of the house. Tons of antiques and unusual quirks made it so cozy and welcoming. This is why choose HomeAway! The homes are gorgeous!


Winter Projects

Posted by Admin on January 15th, 2012 filed in Winter
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What keeps you busy on cold winter days? Do you use your time to clean house and reorganize? I know…it’s good for the soul. A person can only do so much, though, before burn-out occurs. I like to balance good, old-fashioned reorganizing with some enjoyable winter crafting projects. I have several different crochet projects going right now. I also have a quilted tabletopper that I am GOING to get done this winter. My girls are also wanting to spend some time digging into beading projects, so I am sure we’ll be tackling some jewelry designs, too. As I write all this, I’m not sure the winter will be long enough! Instead of stretching on out ahead of us, we’ll be measuring it by micrometers! Before we know it, we’ll be planning the garden!


Fingerless Gloves

Posted by Admin on January 15th, 2012 filed in Winter
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I splurged a little today. I finally got tired of yanking off my right-hand glove to operate the touch screen on my phone. I decided that it was time to join the throng of fingerless glove wearers and I’m so glad I did! These little babies are so pretty and chic — no, nothing like welding gloves. No, mine are a hand knot combination of purple and pink. There is a mitt cover that slides over the fingers if I have to scrape windows or something nasty like that. When I need my fingers, the mitt buttons on the back of my hand. The yarn is so soft…I think it’s alpaca wool. A girl needs a little splurge sometimes!


Summer Pool Memories

Posted by Admin on January 15th, 2012 filed in Summer
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Somewhere along the way I lost my love of the water. As an adult, I watch my little fish…I mean kids…swim all summer long. They cannot get enough of the pool and they go at least once and often two or three times each day to frolic in the water.

As a child, my family had a membership to a neighborhood pool that was located about four blocks away from our house. From the time that I was old enough to bike independently, I would ride my bike there in the early afternoon and meet my little gaggle of friends to spend several hours playing and hanging out in the water.

I’ll never forget how sweet that first splash into the cool water was…especially on those muggy summer days when there was absolutely NO relief from the heat! Those were good days…great memories.

Even though I’ve lost my love of the water, I’m glad that my kids will have similar memories of growing up swimming in the local swimming pool.

It sure does make it easy when there is a pool located near our home. I have no worries about buying pool supplies and having to maintain a pool in our backyard. Pool accessories are expensive! I’m very thankful that our small city has a municipal pool.


Build a Snowman!

Posted by Admin on January 15th, 2012 filed in Winter
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We here in southern Wisconsin are finally enjoying the first measurable snowfall of the winter season. On January 12, believe it or not! It’s been very warm and dry here all through the months of November and December. Our heating bill has appreciated it, but the kids have been literally jumping up and down to get out and play in the white stuff.

A few things slowed us down this week and limited the amount of time we had to play in the snow, unfortunately. Number one…stomach flu! What a bummer, THAT is, I tell you! Number two…the snow was light and fluffy. Not the sort needed for packing to make snowmen and snow forts.

It was perfect for snow angels, though, I must say. Even the toddler went out to discover what snow was all about!


Hey Homeowners!

Posted by Admin on January 10th, 2012 filed in Internet
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OK — do I have your attention? Even if you’re not a homeowner but you have a home…listen up…interesting stuff coming right up!

I recently found a website that I’m excited about. You are really in for a treat! This is a one-stop destination for anyone who owns a home or lives in a home — hopefully that covers just about everyone reading.

Here’s a brief overview that will hopefully get you over to this website for some hot interior design before you even finish reading everything I have to tell you. Really…this is a cool website!

This is a unique place where professional designers and homeowners can come together to share and get inspired. There are over 200,000 interior and exterior photographs. In addition, you’ll also find many informative articles penned by design experts. What’s more, the site even features product recommendations to help you choose the very best items for your home. Take advantage of the social tools to update the world as you go about your remodeling projects, too.

Have you recently finished a home remodeling project and you want to shout the news from your rooftop? Head over and start sharing! You can upload photos of the whole process into your very own ideabook. Yours will be one of many on the website…you might even browse through other members’ ideabooks for additional inspiration. The give and take never stops at Houzz.com.

If you are a professional, you can use this website to spread the word about your amazing talents and experience — gain free exposure and showcase your skills. What could be better than free advertising?


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