We were hard-core campers when we started our hunt for a cottage three years ago. We snorted at Coleman stoves, we snuffled at air mattresses, we were all backcountry and portages. But hard-core is just that: hard. And life with three kids (Harper, 10, Oliver, 7, and Jessica, 5) soon left my husband, Paul Kilback, and me longing for something more permanent.
We were wrapping up a whirlwind tour of mobile homes with our realtor (by this point we’d seen every possible application for Astroturf, including a bathroom floor!), when we suggested she show us her lowest listing, a 900-square-foot cabin three hours northeast of Toronto. With no plumbing, no electrical and no drywall, it was essentially a box. But it was a well-built box, and more important, it stood on four acres of forest with 250 feet of shoreline. Our realtor looked at us cockeyed, her voice half disdain, half disbelief: “If you’re into that sort of thing,” she said. Apparen
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I don’t know that I would ever have a use for a Mortal or Pestle but that is most likely due to the fact that I just don’t know how to apply them with the small amount of cooking I do. If I did need one, these little amazing colorful gems by Tahir Mahmood would fit the bill. Tahir also has some other equally amazing products. I am really loving the selection of modern, color coated lighting, these pieces would really make a statement in a room. Tah
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Californication? This beautiful work space and coffee tables by J. Rusten Furniture Studio is made in the form of California state. The pieces are manufactured of natural wood, the color is also natural to highlight the texture of the wood. The finish is non-toxic; though each table has only three legs, they are very stable. Such pieces would look nice in any traditional or modern interior. It’s an unusual eye-catching design that maybe is not so comfortable but good-looking and funny. If you like California, if it’s your native state but you moved somewhere – remind yourself of your motherland in a stylish way!
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Driving in the hot weather this past weekend was nuts. Thank God Saratoga Consignment Studio is air conditioned! I took a lot of pictures of the chairs I liked. A customer of ours is looking for accent chairs as he is renting out his track-side home for the summer, so I was browsing around. The store offers draperies, pillows, chairs, sofas, end tables, desks, beds and mirrors, many of them at reasonable in prices. There is something for just about anybody’s style. I was most impressed with a carved bookshelf from India, yellow club chairs and a Harden Chair. Saratoga Consignment Studio, recently moved their location to Rte 9, 3306 South Broadway,in Saratoga. Cal
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We have already told you about some Japanese furniture like a modern drawer that may be used as a room divider. One more piece is a storage system in the best traditions of Japan. This storage system called Mushiki was created by designer Tomás Alonso from Spain. He took the main principles of classical Japanese furniture like simplicity, natural color and stylish shapes and realized them all in one piece. Mushiki has a round form and it’s modular, you can put in as many drawers as you like. If you use just one then Mushiki may be used as a side table or a night stand. The piece is available only in one color – color of natural wood.
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Why is it that a second home so often comes first in your heart? Ask the Starks. They love their busy lives in Calgary; Susan and Shane with work, and daughters Kelly, 16, and Jamie, 14, with school and ballet. “Most dinners, we just grab a sandwich on the go,” says Susan. But the Starks have an escape route from that frenetic pace – one that leads to relaxing family time, and has a great view of the Northumberland Strait, a place far from Calgary in more ways than one.
A cozy second home
Interestingly, they practically rebuilt their Calgary home, but better. “We fixed the mistakes,” says Susan, like installing a wood-burning fireplace in the sunroom, making it ideal for year-round lolling about. And thank Read more…
Water use can often increase up to 50% during the summer months, and a large part of that number is due to watering plants and lawns!
Some of the things you can do to reduce the amount of water you use is to water your plants in the morning when its cooler, so water loss through evaporation is far less.
Sprinklers can spread water unevenly, so check around the garden to determine what the moisture levels are around your lawn. Also, soaker hoses can be attached to a spigot to distribute water more efficiently than sprinklers.
Consider filling your garden with water-wise plants instead of exotics. Use local flora to beautify your garden. It’s more natural, and it will save water.
Consider an investment in a rain barrel. That way, you aren’t using tap water to water your plants. Rai
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