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Beautify Your Backyard: Five Tips to Create a Homegrown Sanctuary

Today we welcome GE Lighting who is guest posting about lighting your backyard.

As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, homeowners will be spending more time in the outdoors, especially in their own backyards. Here are a few tips on how you can turn this space into a summer sanctuary:

Create an extension of your home with your deck, gazebo or sunroom. Decorate the space with the same fabrics, furniture and accents as the house’s interior to create an outdoor escape. You’ll have the perfect romantic getaway or relaxing nook without leaving your property.
Breathe new life into old furniture and reupholster cherished pieces with all-weather fabrics. For items that are wicker or wood, grab a can of paint and a brush to add flowers, swirls and polka dots for a fun, garden theme. For the more artistic decorator, these shapes can be done freehand, or run to your local craft store for stencils and embellishments.

West Elm’s 65% Off Sale, GoodLivingKitchen.com

West Elm, the modern, contemporary furniture arm of Williams-Sonoma, is having a sale of up to 65% off some really great pieces to brighten up your home decor for the new year. A few items I think are great buys: striped jute cotton rug ($12.99) — chunky plaited wool rug ($59.97) — organic clover bath mat ($24.99) — teak bath shelf ($39.99 – $89.99).

On the Net: www.westelm.com/shop/sale

FOOD FINDS

Have you seen Palmolive’s microsite, GoodLivingKitchen.com, with B. Smith as the celebrity spokesperson? I love when companies embrace diverse angles to reach various online communities. GoodLivingKitchen.com is a wonderful site filled with healthy recipes and kitchen tips for busy moms who want to entertain and cook like pros.

I wish that the site had a social networking component such as a Facebook page and a Twitter account to connect with and also the ability to leave comments on articles. It is such a well-developed site that the only missing component is the social aspect.

On the Net: www.goodlivingkitchen.com

March 27, 2009

in family, home, news
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Tips to Prevent Foreclosure Fraud

I know how important it is to know your rights about your mortgage loan and whether a company is trying to defraud you out of your mortgage, even if it is close to foreclosure. A dear member of my family, even when we warned him to be careful when dealing with “foreclosure counselors” who offered deals that were too good to be true, got caught in a mortgage scam. Even though he was able to keep his house, now he has a mortgage that he’ll never be able to pay it off. That’s not what he wanted, but he got tricked. Knowledge is power, so here are valuable tips to help you detect a foreclosure scammer a mile away.

Sissy Osteen, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension resource management specialist, said to be sure the agency you are getting counsel from is on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s list of approved agencies.

“If you are approached by foreclosure counselors either by mail, phone or in person make sure they are on the HUD approved list,” she said. “The HUD Web site is www.hud.gov or you can call them at 877-483-1515. Most HUD counselors provide no-cost counseling services and some provide low-cost counseling.”

On the Prowl For New Office Furniture

I’ve always been a sucker for really great office furniture. It can be anything from a well-suited, ergonomic chair to a beautifully fashioned modern desk. Whatever it is, I want it! Since I do so much work in my home office, I rely on well-designed office chairs to keep my work pleasant and productive. Some chairs are certainly more pleasant to sit in than others, to say the least.

As a work-at-home mom I spend countless hours scouring the Net, updating my Web sites, blogging, calling other moms, and scheduling conference calls. It is imperative, then, that I have the most comfortable office furniture around. That also includes really great office desks that are functional and practical and have enough storage space including deep drawers and a long desk drawer where I have instant access to my pens, planner, and paper. And since my children are homeschooled I also have to keep in mind how much they need comfortable and stable desks and chairs as well.

After having moved a few weeks ago I have my eyes set on redoing my entire office and why not? I have a beautiful, huge window where the sun streams in every single day and I want to feel like I am really in an entirely new environment. Changing environments is a great way to change how productive you are in your life and buying a new chair, desk, storage solutions, or even a new rug can usually jump-start forward thinking and creativity in your life.

I think I will begin slowly instead of refurnishing my office all at once. I will begin first with a new office chair because comfort is key! It won’t be anything fancy and it certainly won’t cost me a fortune, but it will definitely do its job well. Then I will move to picking out a new desk, even though I am a little wedded to the one I currently have. It is definitely a nice desk, but I want something a little more modern with simple lines and creative storage space. In fact, I am looking for a lot of storage in a relatively small space. Anybody else have that criterion for a desk? That’s not too much to ask, is it? I want enough storage space so I don’t have to purchase a file cabinet to boot. Wait. Maybe I just need to throw out all my unnecessary junk. Sounds like a plan.