New Window Valance for our Newly Renovated Kitchen

      There are so many things we can do to enhance the look of our house. There is the never-ending maintenance like mowing the lawn, gardening, cleaning the house, repainting the walls, hanging your favorite decorations, re-arranging your furniture and a lot more. 

      Last January we repainted the walls of our kitchen because it didn't look appealing anymore. Our old deep blue valance needed to be replaced as well because it didn't match the new paint color that we chose. It took us a few trips to the store before we decided which window valance would match the new paint in our kitchen. The valance has bottle of liquors, wine glasses and grapes printed on it.  

      Although we liked the new paint of our kitchen walls, after more than five months we decided to have the kitchen countertop and backsplash renovated. We also replaced the old porcelain sink and even had our cupboards, walls and ceiling repainted. Fortunately, we don't have to replace our window valance because it matches well with everything we have changed in our kitchen. 

Hide From Summer Heat With Central Air

This is a Guest Post     


      With the dog days of summer nipping at your heals, the time has come to invest in Central Air. The cooling cocoon that wraps your whole home in a chilly oasis from the harsh heat outside is a luxury that millions wish they had access to. But switching to Central Air is not all cold comfort. A lifetime of in-room refrigeration has left you with a stockpile of heavy, bulky window air conditioners that you can't get rid of. Luckily, Chicago appliance removal experts are here to help.

     Not only are window air conditioners difficult to move, they are inefficient, wasteful and harmful to the environment. According to the EPA, most window air-conditioning units and dehumidifiers contain hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerant. CFCs and HCFCs are ozone-depleting substances that, if released to the environment, destroy the protective ozone layer above the earth. And depending on settings and age of appliances, window air conditioners can waste as much as four times more energy than central air.

      But as harmful as these air conditioners are in your windows, that is nothing compared to what happens to them in a landfill. When air conditioners are disposed of improperly, chemicals like freeon and HCFC are released into the environment and any foam, old metal grating and plastic are incinerated, causing further air pollution. So before these air conditioners take a permanent place in the back of your attic, or worse, in a landfill, call your local Chicago appliance removal expert to cart those old air conditioners away. It is by far the coolest thing you can do!

 

Newly Renovated Kitchen

     I had mentioned in one of my posts that we had our kitchen renovated. It wasn't a big renovation but it was enough that made us happy and satisfied. We had the kitchen countertop replaced from the old-fashioned white tiles to Silestone and the backsplash to Mosaics Floresta tiles. We also hired a painter to repaint all the cabinets in our kitchen. We did repaint the wall of our kitchen as well as the ceiling by ourselves. 

                   

Before

After

     We also had our old porcelain sink replaced as well. We like it a lot but it stained and gets dirty so easily. We decided to replace it with a stainless steel sink. Little that we know, it needs constant care also. We have to make sure that our sink is dry before we will go to bed. If we don't do this, water marks are very hard to get rid of afterwards. We have to use non-abrasive sponge to clean our sink and clean it with Bar Keepers Friend at least once a week.

      I told my husband also for many times that he could go to school to learn more about interior design. He is pretty good at it now and how much more if he gets more knowledge. He doesn't need to drive to go school or be absent at work because there are some great interior design colleges, such as www.interior-design-degree-online.org. He can take a class or two, or earn a full degree in interior design at the comfort of our own home.

But as always, household chores never ends.

Window Curtains

     Curtains are usually made of cloth intended to block or obscure light. These days they are used not only for concealing light but also for exquisite decoration. Curtains come in an array of different sizes, shapes, colors, materials and patterns. Thus it makes it difficult most of the time to choose which one that will look great in your house, apartment or office. 

     There are companies out there like the curtain makers in Leeds that will make an appointment to visit you with their variety of samples that will suit your needs at your most convenient time. With their many years of interior design experience, they can help you choose the styles and the color of fabrics you want for your curtains. Their full range of curtains accessories, huge collection of poles and racks and full fitting service will make your shopping with The Carolina Blind Company a good and pleasant experience.

     Besides curtains, Carolina Blind Company also sells blinds, fabrics, shutters, awnings and more. So before heading to a department store for your curtains need, please visit  www.blindsleeds.com/curtains/. You will be amazed with the variety of window treatments they carry.

Fresh Wave Odor Eliminating Crystals

      I am really anxious to buy this new product that we sell in the store where I work, the Fresh Wave Odor Eliminating Crystals. The biggest reason why I want to try this product is because it said to eliminate odor instead of just masking it. It is safe completely around pets children and people with asthma or allergies because it is non-toxic.  I tried quite a few air fresheners just to be dismayed afterwards because the bad odor still remain. 

      Two days ago I was lucky because the company that manufactured the Fresh Wave Odor Eliminating Crystals gave a sample to few employees to try it in our home. I was happy because I don't have to spend almost $15 dollars for a 16 oz crystal gel and I may not be satisfied. The sample which was given to us was an 8 oz jar.  I decided to put it in our car because it stinks.   Dog smells still lingered in our car even though we always washed the blanket that we covered in our backseat. Since Bones always come with us when we went to different places by car, it can't be avoided that our car will smell.  It is embarrassing sometimes especially when a friend will be with us in our car and oh, our car has an unpleasant smell. 


     In a week time or two, I will share with you the result of this product that I just tried out yesterday. By the way, you can put this product anywhere you want; in your car, closet, bathroom, boat, kitchen, etc. You can even place it in a shallow bowl to eliminate odors around the clock.

Secure Your Home and Properties

      Since burglaries are rampant in our neighborhood these days, our neighborhood watch has been created on every block to protect the homes and properties of the residents. Our block captain even sends us emails about any recent burglaries and things we can do to drive the burglars away. The police even encourage us to look after each other and look out for suspicious people even those who seem do not belong to our neighborhood. 

     One email we received from our block captain almost a week ago was interesting. The incident happened few blocks away from our house. According to the victims, at around 5 pm when they came home from work, they saw two "well-dressed" young men walking away from their house. They even addressed these young men without knowing that their house had just been burglarized. According to the victims, they even turned on their TV which they have just recently subscribed to www.localtv-satellite.com even though they weren't home that day so others would think that they were home. I guess these burglars had been watching them without being noticed for some time. How could they possibly know that there was nobody in the house when the TV was on? But on the other hand, if our neighbor had home security redlodge I am sure these burglars would not even attempt touching their doorknobs. Hopefully with the description given by the victims to the police as well as disseminating emails to all the members of the neighborhood watch, these people will be caught and put in jail. 

Fake Owl scares away birds

      Birds start nesting in our rafters every spring. For three consecutive years I was able to convince my husband to leave them alone, but not this year. Hubby just repainted our deck and he didn't want the birds to poop in our deck and dropped and left the grass that they used for nesting. So what hubby did was that he cleaned our rafters with all the nests after the young birds were able to fly. In order to drive them away without hurting them, hubby did a lot of research. One way he tried was to put a broom in an area where the birds love to nest. Unfortunately this trick was working for only a day.  Finally, he was able to find another way which most people who have decks had been doing every spring, put a fake Owl in their deck and garden to drive away pests and birds. The trick of putting this fake owl is to move it often from one place to the other. You can hang it by a string from a tree or under the roof-line of your house, mount on a pole and place it where your pest problem is located or you can fill it with sand and put on guard on your patio or among the rows of your garden. 

      So far no more birds hanging around in our deck since we hang the fake owl. Hubby is happy that the fake owl works. Sadly I miss the birds chirping. But hubby told me that he will buy a bird house one of this day and put it in our garden. That makes me smile....the birds will be having their house where they can build their nests.

My Episode from My Favorite Sitcom Sanford and Son

This guest post from Alice Wall

     One of my favorite television shows of all time is Sanford and Son. Even though this show debuted over 40 years ago, this show still has not lost its funny. Although there are many funny episodes, the one that sticks out in my mind the most was one that was entitled, "Wine, Women and Aunt Esther". I watch this episode on www.direct.tv. This episode starred Fred, his son Lamont, Aunt Esther and Fred's friends Leroy, Bubba, Skillet, and Grady.

     The episode begins with Fred and his friends coming home from a funeral. After talking and drinking, they decide that they want to make the best out of life while they still have time. They plan to have a big party that is complete with female dancers. Lamont tells them that this is a silly idea, but they do not listen. Little do Fred and his friends know that Lamont has a very unpleasant surprise for them.

     Lamont decides to teach them a lesson and gives the guys to much to drink. By the time the dancers have arrive, Fred and his friends have passed out. Disgusted, the dancers leave, and the party is over. The next morning, Fred wakes up with a hangover. He then tells Lamont that he has learned his lesson and from now on he is going to act his age.