PLAYGROUND COTTAGES HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS.

Curtains or Blinds?Posted by admin on January 19th, 2010

We have been thinking lately whether we would replace our curtains with roller blinds. It is cheaper to get blinds and easier to clean if you think about it because curtains, while it may look cheaper at the onset, may actually cost more considering you need to have it laundered every now and then.

I am just apprehensive as I really am not excited about plastic or wooden blinds. Plus the pleats of the usual blinds might get destroyed as we have a toddler in the house. Roller blinds like these one would work though:

How to Stay PositivePosted by admin on January 16th, 2010

I saw these lovely steps on keeping positivity over at the Reflections blog and it made me decide to try and lose weight the natural way (diet + exercise + discipline = hard work!) than trying out phenphedrine.

Smile – Wherever and whenever you can. The one thing in life that we should be infinitely generous in is in giving out our smiles. In addition to putting yourself in a positive state, you will also positively affect the people around you as well.

Read positive, motivational books or quotes – This is a fast and convenient way to put yourself in a positive state of mind.

Call a friend – Give an old friend a call and make it a point to talk only about positive things.

Get out of your usual environment – Go to the park or anywhere that is nice and peaceful. By being in a new or not frequently visited environment, you will not be affected by any negative association that you may have with a certain place, i.e. your office.

Work on your goal setting or review the goals that you have set.

Listen to uplifting and positive music – Well selected classical music or movie soundtracks will usually do the trick.

Read motivational and positive stories – For example, books like Chicken Soup For The Soul. Or just do a search on the internet for motivational stories.

Exercise – working out can encourage a positive state of mind. It helps to release stress and puts you in a heightened state of awareness which induces positive thinking.

Creative expression – creative expression through activities such as writing/journaling, drawing, painting, playing musical instruments, dancing, photography and others can encourage positive thinking. Take up lessons or regularly set aside some time for these activities.

Sing and dance along to your favorite song.

Enjoy a nice cup of afternoon tea or evening wine while putting on some soothing music in the background.

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Lovely BathroomPosted by admin on January 16th, 2010

I love the wood + shade of green that was used.

This would be better if there would be a his and hers sinks and this adjoins to a walk-in closet, don’t you agree? I am wishing for a white tub as well (I might as well wish for some  belly fat reduction since I am wishing!).

Care to tell me what’s the name of that lovely shade of green? I am loving it.

Source.

Natural Fat FightersPosted by admin on January 16th, 2010

I thought I’d give you a list of top fat burners the natural way. We all know that there are hundreds of synthetic fat burners in the market and while they may work, nothing beats doing things the natural way.

• Fruits rich in vitamin C like limes, lemons, oranges, guava, grapefruit and tangerines have fat burning properties so they may be called as FAT BURNING FOODS or FAT BURNERS or FIGHTERS. Vitamin C dilutes the fat and makes it less effective and helps in releasing the fat from the body.
• Apples: Pectin in apple restricts the cells to absorb the fat; and also encourages water absorption from the food which helps in releasing the fat deposits from the body. The antioxidants in apples may help prevent metabolic syndrome, a condition marked by excess belly fat or an apple body shape.
• A recent research reports that calcium in dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt act as fat burner that can boost weight loss by increasing fat breakdown in fat cells. Research has shown that eating 3-4 servings of dairy products a day is more effective at enhancing weight loss efforts than calcium supplementation alone. So eat dairy products that act as fat burners.
• Calcium Rich Dairy Products
  The University of Tennessee researchers found:
• Overweight people who consumed 3 servings a day of calcium-rich dairy lost more belly fat than those who followed a similar diet minus two or more of the dairy servings. The calcium supplements didn’t work as well as milk.
• Nuts help feel full while also increasing the body’s ability to burn fat.
• Chilies: Foods containing chillies or cayanne pepper are considered to be as foods that burn fat. Chillies contain capsaicin that helps in increasing the metabolism. Capsaicin is a thermogenic food, so it causes the body to burn extra calories for 20 minutes after you eat the chilies.
• Proteins: Protein rich foods and high fiber foods are the best as foods burning belly fat. Protein needs more energy to digest than fat as so eat low calorie dairy products, beans, whole grains, oatmeal, eggs, etc. as much as possible.
• Lentils are high in protein and soluble fiber, two nutrients that stabilize blood sugar levels, therefore lentils are a great tummy flattener.
• Some of the other foods that may be included in the list of fat burning foods are asparagus, beet root, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, chillies, beans, soybeans, sweet potatoes, blueberries and watermelon.

Small Bathroom Decorating IdeasPosted by admin on January 16th, 2010

While I was looking for some home remedy for acne, I got distracted and saw some beautiful ideas for small bathrooms.

 
Notice that the cart has wheels! It is mobile! I love it. (It is also something I see in my handyman store so I can copy that look!) I wish we had a tub though.

This is something I want to do with my pantry cabinet. Seriously. I didn’t even think it would work with my many vanities. Maybe I can do this with my dresser?

Source.

This Is Cozy.Posted by admin on January 16th, 2010

I love this kitchen. It looks lived-in. The clutter is a design in itself – and most of all, it is something I can envision us living in!

Back when we had no bed, I should have converted our mattress into something fun like this:

The colors – red, green, yellow and some orange are just too inviting. I wouldn’t dare play with those colors but they look good together in these photos. If only houses can be treated as easy as acne with differin. Everything is so much expensive these days.

Source.

DetoxifyingPosted by admin on January 16th, 2010

After all the pigging out we did during the holidays, I would not be surprised if everyone wants to go on a diet. Somebody even wants to do colon cleansing. Naturally I was curious about and researched on the benefits of colon cleanse. Here is what I found:

1. reduction of constipation
2. elimination of diarrhea
3. avoidance of colon cancer
4. experience of significant weight loss**
   (The average colon weighs up to four pounds. But it is nothing unusual at all for the effective process of colon cleansing to flush away as much as ten to thirty pounds of stagnant fecal matter out of one’s body.)

WOW. Is someone convinced or what?

Small SpacesPosted by admin on January 14th, 2010

I spent a lot of time browsing the Small Spaces blog, as we have a small house and I have been quite focused on trying to make it more homely for us (as we are stuck here for at least one or two more years).

This won’t work for our living room as our sofa rests on windows that open up to the kitchen. But I was thinking I can make the shelves work along the TV rack. Let us see. I love minimal designs with clutter elements that make the house look more :lived in:, if you know what I mean.

Obviously, I was not able to look over the Medicare supplement quotes I was supposed to review tonight.

setting up a nice office at homePosted by admin on January 13th, 2010

I have been working at home for almost two family  years now. It has been the best set up for the family as the kids are still young and we need someone to be there for them all the time. Naturally, that would be me, the mother. Inasmuch as I would like to be a housewife and stay-at-home-mom, we need to generate two incomes to be able to support our living. I am just extremely lucky I get to be able to stay at home and still be able to generate a decent income for the family.

It comes with a few rules though. Since I still work at home, I need an area solely intended for me to really work. It has been a work in progress for close to two years already but piece by piece we have completed my workstation. It still needs a bit of finishing touches and organizing but it is all set. I am dying to have some office furniture ordered at Intercounty, specifically their leather office chairs.

I have to be honest, you can find me glued to my workstation more than 12 hours a day so I would need a more comfortable, ergonomic chair. If I can find a red chair in there the better!

This comes in red, I want it! Maybe for my birthday!

Snowed In.Posted by admin on January 9th, 2010

I have heard from the new and from friends in the Midwest Coast how very much they are snowed in. I cannot even begin to imagine how cold it is. A friend who loves animals earlier lamented that sea turtles and manatees cannot take the cold anymore and there have been reports that a few are frozen. Now I understand why people are so excited to go out and travel and book destin florida vacation rentals when the sun is out in the US. With winter lasting so long, you can surely get cabin fever.