I was flipping through a brochure of a home store yesterday when I spotted a green carpet. M and I have talked about buying one for the balcony floor where the kids have their extended play area. Right now it’s just partly covered with a small piece of an old carpet and a rubber puzzle which covers only a small portion of the area. It would be nice to cover the entire floor or at least most of it so the kids will have a bigger space to play on. Unfortunately, the one I saw was expensive.
We really haven’t looked around different stores for this plan but usually there are stores that offer discounts or cheap carpets, discount laminate flooring and other home stuff. I guess we have to add it to our to-do-list so we don’t forget!
Who’s Candice? She’s my favorite interior designer based in Canada which I got to know from her TV show, “Divine Design” wherein she does makeover of homes. She really has the talent to turn boring, ugly and dated spaces into magical, modern and elegant interiors! It’s like everything she touches, turns into one great work of art! You should see the faces of her clients during the “magic reveal” portion of the show. They’re in awe! They usually say “I can’t believe this is the same space!”. And I agree.
How she incorporates textures, fabrics, colors, state of the art technology, function, etc. etc. in her design is what makes her rock. You should catch her on TV or better yet, search for Candice Olson in Youtube.Though she sometimes uses her own designed products, I still wonder where she gets her super-duper elegant fixtures and furnishings. Does she also go hunting for wholesale hot tub covers or skips it and goes to stores selling high-end stuff? I’ve seen some episode where the clients have limited budget and yet Candice can still deliver great designs. And for that I call her a genius.
Furnishing on a budget is challenging. With so many things to spend for, one has to make a painstaking research and compare materials which don’t cost too much but still look classy and appealing.
Good thing there are cheap alternatives to the real thing, such as the faux wood blinds that my sister used in the condo unit which I mentioned few posts ago.
Here you can see that aside from the living room, the kitchen window also used the faux wood blinds.
With more than 6 window panels in the unit, big amount of money was saved as there’s no need to provide curtains anymore. While curtains need to be regularly cleaned, washed and pressed; care and maintenance of wood-like blinds is easier, just wipe with damp cloth and you’re done.
After spending days in the hospital few weeks ago, I’m back to my daily routine at home now, but this time we have little A, our new addition to the family. Whew! Life’s getting busier every day for me. With all the tasks at home, I hope they’re enough to keep me active and lose those unwanted tummy fats. I am not considering bariatric surgery at least, but I do want to trim down my waist after giving birth to little A.
Every mom has her own style of coping up with her kids’ mess, whether it’s an ice cream smeared on a newly washed white shirt or red crayons scrawled all over the wall. Some mothers can be so strict even up to the point that the kids can’t enjoy being at home anymore, while other moms don’t mind the mess at all. I know a mom who keeps her house spotlessly clean and even her décors, indoor plants, televisions, computers and other appliances can’t be moved or touched. So just imagine how her kids feel so restricted at home, they can’t move about or else her interior design arrangements will be ruined.
IMO, for responsible parents, it’s a matter of keeping a balance. While it’s okay to be tolerant with kids playing at home, it’s also essential to teach discipline and inculcating in them a sense of responsibility and respect for order at home and learning how to keep things tidy. One good idea is to teach them how to keep and store their play things after a game or how to fix and arrange the room. If a kid did something wrong, e.g. doodled on the wall, or poured some sticky liquid on the floor tiles, don’t blow off your top, but just point out their mistake and let them clean it up properly instead of doing it yourself.
I noticed yesterday that a tile in our bathroom has loosened from the wall. I bet after sometime, all the other tiles will come off due to the moisture inside. it’s because they are just glued to the partition wall!
Pretty glass tile!
I wish the owner of the flat will change the tiles in our bathroom to this kind of tiles. It not only looks good, they’re easy to clean too. But it might be difficult to stick it to the wall with a glue coz of its weight. Well, its just a wish. We won’t be staying here permanently anyway but I hope the tiles we have now will hold for as long as we’re living here!
A dripping faucet may seem unlikely to cause a big difference in your water consumption. But don’t take this problem for granted. According to the estimation calculated by the Water Science for Schools 1 gallon of water is equivalent to 15,140 drips; 1 liter is equivalent to 4,000 drips. If not addressed immediately, how much gallons of water are wasted each day? Hmmmm… think, think, think! I know sometimes it may take weeks before a homeowner fixes this problem. Sometimes all that’s needed is to change the faucet, (try the Danze faucets brand) or replace the gasket. It helps when there’s a handyman in the household (yoohooo Dad!)
A nice reminder for us to immediately take action whenever we have leaky faucets from Awareness Ideas, would be this Water Conservation Magnet:
When we transferred to our new flat last February, we brought along cuttings of the umbrella plant. I’m glad to say that it thrived well and has become a healthy plant. So from it’s temporary pot (of KFC bucket), it deserved to live and flourish in a nice pot.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
The pictures were taken 2 months ago. Now the umbrella plant has grown taller and bigger. it will take a few months more till it will need a bigger pot. Or I’ll just cut off the long stems. It really feels rewarding when the plants grow well under our care. It’s even more rewarding when they give us flowers or fruits.
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Little C has been co-sleeping with us at night since she was a baby. It worked well with me coz I didn’t have to get up (and go to the other room where her crib is) to nurse her, so we got through the night with little interruptions which was also good for her dad who has to work the next day. But now that she’s getting bigger, she also needs a bigger space to move coz she’s fond of rolling and turning on the bed when she sleeps. It happened many times that I placed her beside me to sleep, only to find her hours after already near my feet. That’s how little C is, still active even when sleeping! Once we get back to Prague, we might start separating her from us at night when she sleeps.
Scouting and comparing childrens beds at this time would be appropriate to get enough ideas on what kind of bed to get her. One thing is for sure, the bed should be wide enough to accommodate our mobile little girl in sleep. It should also be soft for her to jump and play on.
the cutey pink Horse & Carriage bed
One nice place to browse on is the Time 4 Sleep website which sells all kinds of beds. They have pretty designs for children’s beds such as the Pink Jeep bed, the Horse & Carriage bed (which I really find cute!) or the Princess bed which has an ample storage space underneath for kids’ stuff and toys. There are still plenty to choose from! I hope to find the right one for little C there!
Public toilets can sometimes be unhygienic. Since it is open for everybody, you don’t know how the toilet is used especially if it’s a common toilet for both men and women. To save yourself from having to hold that toilet seat again, a new and innovative product is out! It’s The Shandle: Toilet Seat Handle – a nifty toilet seat handle should I say! It’s a tiny piece of material that you attach below the toilet seat which is treated with antimicrobial protection that stops the growth of icky invisible bacteria.
It works well for homes too. I can see big grins in women who have stubborn men at home; those who always need to be told to put the seat down! Right? Well, this solves your problem ladies. With the hygienic power and the various pretty designs of Shandle, you wouldn’t mind at all lowering the toilet seat yourself. And you don’t have to remind them yourself too, coz Shandle will do that for you!
See these lovable designs:
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