PLAYGROUND COTTAGES HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.

Locsin FurniturePosted by admin on March 19th, 2010

Sometimes it is hard to believe that Pinoys can be this talented!

Just look at all his work (more after the jump!) – truly amazing. This is one of the reasons why I am so inspired lately. Looking at nice things is really one of the most effective natural treatments for depression!

If you google him – “Locsin Furniture” – you will see a list of websites of furniture from Europe and overseas. I am not surprised! They use synthetic rattan by the way.

In 1979, Roberto M. Locsin established Locsin International, a Philippine manufacturer and exporter of furniture and lamps, together with his wife, Cindelyn B. Locsin. The formidable partnership led to what is now known as a trusted name in the international furniture market.

You can read more about them here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Go Zenni when it Comes to Eyeglasses!Posted by admin on March 17th, 2010

The #1 online Rx glasses store recently got featured in article at Examiner.com!

Eric’s Review of Zenni Optical has just reaffirmed what long-time customers of Zenni Optical already knew – it has the Lowest Price Progressive Glasses out there in the market, and that cheap doesn’t necessarily mean that quality is sacrificed. You can get eyeglasses from Zenni Optical for as low as $8.00 – nobody can beat that price!

Toronto Canada Tourist SpotsPosted by admin on March 16th, 2010

A friend is so excited, in a few days, she will be visiting her sister who just delivered the most adorable baby girl. She will be there to help out during the first tough months but she is also excited to do some sight-seeing! Toronto hotels have been fully-booked during the Winter Olympics so she is thankful her niece decided to show up a few weeks after. She wants to go to the CN Tower, Casa Loma, experience the African Lion Safari, Medieval Times Dinner, Ontario Science Center and Wild Water Kingdom!

Benefits of Gas FireplacesPosted by admin on March 15th, 2010

Remember the song “Chestnuts roasting in an open fire”? It’s a famous Christmas song that lets me remember a lot of fireplaces among houses during holiday season. Thankfully, technology has given us convenience in making fireplaces in our house without the soot and smoke with electric and gas options. The major advantage of having a  gas fireplace is that it is easy to light, requiring only the flip of a switch to ignite, being ready to give warmth whenever you want them, without preparation. That is why most homes now have a fireplace even if they are in a major city, apartment or neighborhood. It also can mimic the look of a real fireplace as providers have faux wood and lighting effects with their products now!

With a direct vent fireplace, you do not need to have a chimney installed even. All you need to have is a pipe from the fireplace to outside your home. Though direct fireplaces are not easy to maintain than electric fireplaces, they provide that physical real warm essence that you can’t really get from electric fireplaces.

Now gas fireplaces have three types of vent free fireplace: gel-fueled, electric-fueled and gas fueled. A ventless gas fireplace is an excellent addition to any household and can improve the décor greatly, while providing a secondary heating source. They can mimic a roaring fire just as well as an electric or gel fueled ventless fireplaces; if not better!

Celebrity AddictionPosted by admin on March 12th, 2010

Hollywood was once again shocked with the news of the death of one of the Lost Boys, Corey Haim. Corey Ian Haim (born December 23, 1971) is a Canadian actor, known for a 1980s Hollywood career as a teen idol. He starred or co-starred in a number of films such as Lucas, Murphy’s Romance, The Lost Boys, License to Drive and Dream a Little Dream. He has been known to have battled with his drug addiction for many years and his death was caused by drug overdose, as initially reported. How many celebrity lives, most of whom are very good quality actors and actresses, like Heath Ledger, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, have to go through addiction before getting any help.

It must be hard on them, if you think about because if even if they enter rehab, paparazzis are bound to get into it. That is why most celebrities who decide to check themselves into rehab prefer Passages Malibu Center. They value all their patients’ privacy and are a very confidential place. You can check out the Passages Malibu Blog to know more about them.

Passages Malibu actually prefers the holistic healing over detoxification. They have a unique approach to holistic drug and alcohol abuse recovery in which they treat the underlying cause of addiction. They are located in Malibu, CA which is near Hollywood (and most celebrity homes). Remember how Matthew Perry handled his addiction to sleeping pills, Steven Tyler to painkillers and just recently, the controversial Tiger Woods admitting himself to a sex rehab center!

Summer Clothes.Posted by admin on March 10th, 2010

Hello Summer!

The summer heat is unbearable, as much as winter has given record-breaking temperatures in the East, this summer is giving us record-breaking temperatures as well. The highest recorded as 37C and it is only the start of summer. We need summer clothes fast! Well, the kids have complete clothes (too much clothes in fact!) I need summer clothes – shirt dresses, shorts (I dont have any!), tank tops! I need to buy a new swimsuit too. I need a women’s style guide to buy these things because I am not trendy when it comes to fashion.

But for me to be able look nice in all the summer clothes I plan to buy – I need to work out first and lose weight. My friend recommended I try running or yoga and the thought of fitting into yoga clothes scared me!

Let’s try running first!

Completing a Family Room.Posted by admin on March 10th, 2010

Do you know what makes or breaks a family room? It is not how big (or flat) the TV is, whether you have a speaker with sound surround, a home theater system or gaming consoles. It is how big, comfortable and cozy the sofas are!

What you see are sofas from SofaSofa (http://www.sofasofa.co.uk/).

From left to right (clockwise): Fixed Cover, Loose Cover, Traditional leather, Contemporary Leather Sofas

Admit it! The first thing that makes you comfortable in a family room or in any house is the sofa. Members of the family spend such a huge amount time in there – it’s where most family bonding moments occur. So it is no surprise if families spend endless amounts of time looking for the perfect sofa, and grab it even if it would be out of the budget.

I personally like a family room with a mix and match set of sofas. I really am not a fan of leather sofas – but it would be great if you have toddlers because spills can just be wiped clean and the sofa will be all brand new. I would love a sofa with a loose cover, simply because I am practical – I admit I am fickle-minded and there would be times I would like to change the look of a room. With a sofa that has loose covers, it would be easy for me to change looks, maintain the covers and have new sofas every now and then!

This Hadley 3 seater sofa has a great shape, it looks so comfy too:

Impending Car WoesPosted by admin on March 10th, 2010

The husband surprised me last weekend when he told me that from now on, he will be leaving our vehicle at home and he will just commute going to and from the office since he doesn’t go anywhere except there when he is in the city. If you know my husband, you would be shocked to hear this – he hates commuting via public transport. He would rather postpone an errand than commute if our car is in the repair shop of it’s number-coding day. So I didn’t stop asking him why the sudden change of heart. Well, it turns out he still hasn’t renewed his license (and he was supposed to have renewed it two months ago), and he thinks our car is going to give in anytime soon, so he thinks it would be best for it to stay here and be used for short travelling. He told me it also would be a great opportunity for me to finally learn how to drive, most especially now that we have so many plans for the kids’ activities. It will also help me a lot when I do errands when he is not around.

It doesn’t keep me from worrying though because it means that we really need to find a new car to replace it with soon. We are still saving for one and based from my projection, we can only afford to buy one at the end of the year but if the car breaks down, we are going to have a hard time going places. The husband said we just need to have it checked for repairs and schedule it for maintenance every now and then. There are jeep accessories we can replace it with too. But part of me doesn’t want to even try to restore it because I just want a new car already – we could just direct all the expenses to the new car we will be buying. Living in the suburbs really puts the need for a car on top of your list.

House Plans for Us.Posted by admin on March 10th, 2010

We might just push through with the impossible dream after all.

That is how determined the husband is to have us move out into a home we can call our own by next year. He is right, we are not getting any young and we need to make sure that whatever we invest now we can finish before we die. I do not want to burden our kids with loans we never got to fully pay. So we have been talking (sometimes, debating to be honest) over home plans and how we want to execute our house plan. We do not take this lightly, this is our home, something that we will be living with maybe for the rest of our lives!

And we are seriously considering doing that. We love talking about future plans. The things we like in a house, the style, the type of furniture. In fact, the husband even got architectural magazines for us to pore and browse over.

There are very nice prepared house plans at HousePlansandMore.com – you wouldn’t need an architect for it!

I really hope our house plans will push trough next year. If not next year, the year after next.