Refresh Your Home: What to Do With that Awkward Wall

wall image from http://greigedesign.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/weekend-wishes.html

Many homes have them, and many women struggle with the same dilemma you

have: what to do with that awkwardly placed or shaped wall in a prominent place

in your home. Perhaps it’s at an angle in a room that feels like it should be square.

Perhaps it’s an awkward length, and a full-sized couch is too long to be placed

against it, but chairs and loveseats are just too small. Perhaps it breaks up a space

that feels like it should be open and flowing. Whatever the case may be, get creative

with solutions to turn that wall from an eyesore into a prominent feature.

Consider Unique Furniture Options

Perhaps most standard furniture doesn’t fit the space quite right. If that’s the case,

look for unique items that may take a bit more hunting but will be worth the wait.

Many furniture companies now make midi sofas. Unlike other unique furniture items,

you can find midi sofas fairly easily, and they can be a great, cozy addition to your

home, perfect for curling up with the kids to read a bedtime story or snuggling with

your husband at the end of the day. You can also scour thrift stores, antique shops,

and flea markets to find unique pieces. This will take a lot more work, but it’s a great

way to get out with the family or some close girlfriends and look for items that will

enhance your home.

Turn It Into Art

If furniture fails you, or if you do find the right midi sofa and want to add some

pizzazz to your space, turn the wall into art. Custom paint a large canvas in

dimensions that fill most of the wall, or blow up a favorite photograph and have it

framed. You’ll want the art to be stunning and fill the room with something that’s just

your style.

Texturize

You could cover the entire wall in a texture that reflects the style of the rest of your

decor. Wood and weathered planks might work well in some spaces, or tightly

arranged rods of bamboo, adhered to the wall. You could even experiment with

different types of fabric, and perhaps create your own personal tapestry to hang

against the wall. Old windows are a cool option as well -- purchase several at an

antique store, and hang them in close proximity to one another to cover the whole

wall.

Paige One enjoys writing about a variety of topics, including home makeover ideas!

Disclosure: this is a sponsored guest post.

The Eight Question Meme and My SITS Day

Hey everyone. Today is my SITS Day. Welcome one and all! 

I have seen this meme on a few blogs lately  And thought it was a good way to introduce myself to you. I haven't done a meme in years!


1. What were you doing 10 years ago? 

I'm going to change this to 5 yrs ago. because a cute picture I wanted to use, I can't because my scanner isn't working. 

So 5 years ago, (2008) is around the time we took the kids to Disney World for the 1st time.

2. What 5 things are on your to-do list?

laundry
go to supermarket
watch One Live to Live & All My children online (Hulu.com) today - because today is the big premier!

enjoy your comments
and try to visit y'alls blogs back

3. What are 5 snacks you enjoy?


I am loving Chobani yogurt lately
pretzels
Peanut butter on anything
Nature Valley honey and oat bars

4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire:

I would love to travel more - especially to anywhere warm
I always dreamed of seeing the Grand Canyon too

5. Name some places you have lived:

Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Virginia 

6. Name some bad habits you have:

I guess I can be kinda lazy sometimes
and I have left my car's gas tank practically on empty sometimes, and hubby has run out of gas while driving it a few times - oops!

7. Name some jobs you have had:

Dunkin Donuts
worked in some Nursing Homes
Insurance Agency

8. Name those you are tagging for #OSBlog:

Anyone who wants to do this on their blog - be my guest! :)

Thanks for visiting and I hope to get to know you and your blogs too. Also check out my About Me page for more info. Thanks and have a great day! 

How to Keep Outdoor Fish Happy and Healthy

Summer is right around the corner, and it’s time to begin thinking about those

beautiful, lazy summer evenings where you can relax in your backyard. This year,

it’s time to build that outdoor pond or re-fill your existing one with beautiful fish.

But don’t act too quickly -- like any other living thing, fish need your care to ensure

they’re safe, healthy, and actually able to beautify your pond. There’s a lot of work

involved, but once you’re done your pond will look miraculous.

pond image from Fotolia 

Supplies You’ll Need

Be sure to purchase koi pond filters, which are extremely important to support the

health of your fish. The filters keep water moving, so it doesn’t become stagnant and

the filter cleans out toxins from the water, which are harmful to your fish. The more

fish you have, the more important it is to have a filter to keep your fish clean and

healthy.

Filters also help with keeping the water looking clean, which will keep your pond

beautiful and display-worthy in your backyard. They are relatively inexpensive but

will add longevity to the water and the fish in your pond. Because they keep the

water moving, they add a nice appearance to the pond as well, instead of stagnant

water just sitting there, the movement is quite nice to watch on a summer evening.

Protecting Your Fish

As you might imagine, it’s difficult to ensure that your fish stay safe from outdoor

predators, such as neighborhood cats. At times you are not home or at night,

consider purchasing a heavy-duty netting to lie over the pond, so if a wayward

neighborhood cat gets into your yard, your fish will be protected. In the colder

months, you’ll want to transport them to a safe area, such as a bathtub or a kiddie

pool in a warmer room. Be sure to transport some of their habitat water with them

-- transporting them into clean, fresh water is harmful to their health, because the

change in what they’re used to can be too drastic and make them sick.

Feeding Your Fish

Be sure to purchase food that’s appropriate for the kind of fish you have, and while

kids and adults alike may want to drop a lot of bread and other food into the pond

to watch the fish eat, discourage excessive feeding like this. Keep your fish on a

healthy diet to improve their lifespan. Discouraging other types of feeding will also

help keep the water cleaner.

Paige One enjoys writing about interior design topics, including outdoor decoration

ideas!

Disclaimer: the above is a featured guest post.

Stencils Online, LLC Review

I received a cool product to review. It is from the company Stencils Online, LLC.

Here is some product info:

Design your own with text and stock graphics! Custom stencils are great for t-shirts, signs, wall sayings, etc.

Get creative in designing custom stencils that are as unique as you are with a variety of features:
-An assortment of popular fonts to choose from
-Shape, rotate, stylize text and graphics with precision controls
-Hundreds of clip art designs


Here is a picture of the stencil that I got. And the cool thing is that you can go and design your own stencil.

My daughter actually made this stencil herself. It is really easy to do. Go the the Custom Stencil Design Studio to make your own.


I had gotten her a special paint maker that can write on glass. So she put this on her bedroom window:

If you like stencils, and want to design your own then check out this website. It's great for your craft projects, etc. Because you can make your own unique stencil.

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Homewares, Coupons and Star Wars - The Online Rebel Alliance

I have two passions in life - cooking and geekery, particularly that of the Star Wars persuasion. Generally, these aren't two specialist areas that tend to cross over too often. Sure there's been a couple of Star Wars cook books and novelty kitchen items that have come out over the years, but none of it has been too serious. I thought that my two loves were destined to be kept apart...that was until I was introduced to Williams Sonoma.

I'm an Australian, so it was only in the last year or so that I first heard of the Williams Sonoma. Interestingly, at the time of writing this article it was only just announced that an Williams Sonoma store has been set to open in Sydney. It must be kismet!

But I digress. Much to my delight, I discovered that Williams Sonoma stocked a wide array of Star Wars kitchen goodies. Cookie cutters...that are molded for icing? They've got those. Storm Trooper spatulas? You better believe that they have those. Entire cupcake decorating kits for both the Rebel Alliance AND the Empire!? Oh be still my beating geeky heart! 

I realize that Star Wars cookery is a very particular niche market, and that it’s not for everyone. And I guess that’s the point that I’m getting to. Williams Sonoma is a kitchen and cookware website that not only sells the highest quality products (most of which are free of geekery - I promise!), but they also endeavor to cater for everyone. Any old kitchenware site can sell nice things to nameless customers, but Williams Sonoma clearly cares about both quality, and personalization. In addition, they were clever enough to work out that most Star Wars fans are also highly likely to be partial to pancakes and cookies. Well played, guys.

There’s only one other thing that I love as much as kitchen goodies and geeky things, and that’s getting to save money on kitchen goodies and geeky things. That’s why I get super excited trawling through the Williams Sonoma sales tab on their website – there’s always insane bargains to be had. Let’s just say that whenever the Star Wars stuff goes on sale I almost go into cardiac arrest…and my partner is made temporarily deaf from my ecstatic screaming. Sorry sweetie!

Other ways to save money on the site, and other across the web, is by utilizing Williams Sonoma coupon code that are made available. This is where websites such as Nerd Wallet come in. Online coupon codes are becoming increasingly popular every year, and there are countless sites dedicated to them. 

However, it’s important to separate the trash from the treasure, and Nerd Wallet definitely fits into the latter category. I’m particularly partial to it due its versatility – it has coupons for everything. All the usual contenders are there of course – travel, restaurants, homewares, kitchenware and wine. Mommy does love a glass of shiraz. However, those are just a few of the huge range of categories, some of which are particularly specific. Military Shopping or Pet Accessories, anyone?

So if you’re looking to get some great savings, particularly from sites like Williams Sonoma that have incredible prices anyway, I highly recommend Nerd Wallet. Afterall, why pay full price when you can get a discount? There’s no longer any reason to not get a Yoda pancake mold, even if you’re on a budget.


*Disclosure: consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this article

WW "Daughter & Parks"

Even though my daughter recently turned 13 - she still likes going to the park. At least I think she does.

While visiting my Mom. We went to some of the different parks around her house.

#1

#2

#3

$100 Lowes Gift Card Giveaway

We are giving away a $100 Lowes Gift Card this week!

It is in honor of a new book, Start, by Jon Acuff that was just released. Everyone I know who has read it, has loved it!


It is really good at showing how you stop living an ordinary life and get your passions "unstuck".

The great thing is that it could be applied to nearly ANY passion.

To enter, simply click on the "Answer a Question about START" in the box below and follow the directions.

If you have a twitter account, you can even get an extra entry into the contest each day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck!

Thanks so much to HHE for sponsoring this giveaway & post.

Creative Bioscience Final Results & Giveaway - (3 winners)

Hi, guys remember my previous posts on Creative Bioscience? If not please visit here and  here to read them.

I want to tell you about my final results of my use of the African Mango 1200 that I received from  Creative Bioscience.

It has actually been over the 90 days that I was assigned this challenge. But I pretty much have maintained the  6 pounds that I said I lost in my last post about this. I am happy with these results. I possibly would like to lose maybe another 5 pounds. That is my long term goal.

I would recommend the African Mango 1200 that I took, to you. This is a good product to potentially jump start your diet. Check out my other posts, and the product website via the links provided above, for more information on this and the benifits of this product.

Win it: The sponsor is letting me giveaway this product. I am giving away a 30 day supply of the African Mango 1200 to 3 winners. (*so each winner will win their own 30 day supply of this product - ARV -$32.95 each)

Please enter using Rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I received the above product complimentary form the sponsor to review and offer in a giveaway.

WW "B Strong Boston"

If you "know" me, you'll know I grew up in a town just outside of Boston. I love The Boston Red Sox. And my husbands' and my family all still live in various towns throughout Massachusetts.

Even though I moved to Virginia almost 2 yrs ago, I still consider Massachusetts my second home. This picture was on the Red Sox Facebook Page today:

In honor of Boston and Massachusetts here are some pictures that I didn't share from last summer. While visiting my Mom, we went into "Harvard Square." We also strolled around the Harvard campus.


Kids on Bus on the way into Harvard Square in their Red Sox shirts:

One of the buildings at Harvard (this is as close as they'll get to going there - lol)

B Strong Boston! 

A Great Way to Help You Save on Glasses

Hello, guys! Several days ago Firmoo contacted me to collaborate with them because they are giving out free glasses and would like me to spread the great news to you! I am so glad to share it with you here as it is a wonderful chance for those who need glasses! You can’t believe your eyes? Yes, it is totally free for you! Frame + Lenses + Shipping = $0!


 I'm sure you remember some of my previous post on Firmoo. Don't you? Well I really love the sunglasses I got from them and if you need glasses I would really recommend them to you.

How long have you kept your current glasses? I can bet for most of you the last time you bought a new pair of glasses is three years ago or longer. It is highly suggested by professional ophthalmologists that you should have a yearly eye exam and replace your glasses regularly to ensure your eye health. If your prescription has changed but you still wear the old prescription eyeglasses, you are in high-risk of deteriorating your vision.


So are you thinking about getting a pair of new glasses but worried it would cost you an arm and a leg? Head over to  http://www.firmoo.com/z/blogger-crazy-giveaway.html  and get your free glasses now!

WW "Easter Vacation"

Hi guys! If you recall I went on my road trip last week. My husband set the trip thing on the car and I forget what the exact miles where, but it was around 650 miles one way.

Here is some pic's of my kids I took:

My mom does an Easter egg hunt. I took this before they started hunting:

They get money in the eggs:

My daughter in her nice Easter dress:

I have more pictures to share at another time. Hope you have a nice day!

Colgate Optic White review

I would like to tell you guys some more about Colgate Optic White products. I received the following products pictured below:

Of course as always, when I get products, my daughter wants them or some of them. She said I could have the toothbrush.

But when she tried the mouthwash she didn't really like it. The first time I tried it I was kind of surprised too. I couldn't place the taste at first. Then I looked as the ingredients and realized what it was. It is hydrogen peroxide. So if you don't mind that flavor then you will like this. My daughter said I could have the mouthwash. I have used it a few times since then, and don't mind it too much. I have also been using the toothbrush, which is a little different then I'm used to, but I like it ok.

My daughter seems to like the toothpaste and that is saying a lot, since if you couldn't tell she is kind of picky on things. So if you have kids they might actually like this toothpaste too.

 And the Colgate Optic White products are supposed to whiten your teeth more than 3 shades whiter and results start in one week.

If you would like more information on these products please visit these links:

Colgate website
Influenster review page

Disclosure: I received the above products complementary from Influenster.

Snugg Galaxy Tab 7 Case Review

Hey everyone. Recently I celebrated what is an undisclosed number - but it was my "blank" birthday. Well anyway, my hubby decided to go all out for my birthday this year.

He got me a Samsung Galaxy 7.0 tablet! I am really loving it!

And what does every good tablet need? Well a good tablet case right? He had gotten one from his friend, but it actually was for a different kind of tablet and didn't really fit mine the right way. That is why I was really excited to hear from someone from The Snugg.


I received this Snugg Galaxy Tab 7 Case Cover.

Isn't this pretty? This fits my tablet perfectly. Hey I just thought of why the company is probably called The Snugg. Because that is what this case does, it fits really snugly. The other one I had from my husband's friend did not fit right. It didn't have the the holes in the right places - if you know what I mean. The off/on button was covered, the volume and camera ones were too.

But my Snugg Galaxy case allows free access to all ports and my camera too!


Putting the case in this position is really cool:

Source: thesnugg.co.uk via Susan on Pinterest

This position is great for watching videos,  skype  calls, etc. I am really loving all the features of my Snugg case, and most importantly is that it is also protecting my tablet from any scrapes or bumps etc. Which I am a freak about and am being really careful with!

Please Visit Snugg.com to purchase this case. Now on Sale for $24.99!

You can also find lot's of other cases on the website too. For iPads, smartphones, etc.

Disclosure: I received a Snugg Galaxy Tab 7 Case Cover and Flip Stand in Black Leather complimentary from the company in order to review. No other compensation was given.

Save Money with Planning

When it comes to saving money thinking ahead is one of the best ways you can save money while shopping. First, do not go shopping without making a list of what you need and most importantly stickling to it. That way you will ensure that you actually buy what you need and not spend your money on various other ‘miscellaneous items’.

Figuring out what you ‘need’ is also important. When grocery shopping for example, look in your fridge and pantry and make a meal plan for the upcoming week. That way when you go grocery shopping you can focus on buying the ingredients that will allow you to use up what you already have in your home.

It is often good to check out online offers as opposed to shopping in store. You can save a lot of time and money that way. Before making a purchase check out what discounts you can get at the various retailers through websites such as http://www.save1.com/. It only takes a few minutes to browse but it can point you in the direction of great savings.  There is nothing worse than realizing that you could have saved money on items that you have purchased if you only planned ahead.