Archive for December, 2009

Right now blazers are really in. They serve multiple purposes, so it makes them a perfect wardrobe essential when it comes to teen fashion. A black blazer can be worn with jeans, skirts, dresses, you name it. A blazer will keep you warm and it will give you that extra boost of style that you might be looking for with your winter outfits.

Depending on what you’re looking for, blazers can be found all over the place. If you are shopping on a budget, I suggest you start with your favorite teen fashion thrift store. You will be able to locate blazers of different size and color in almost all the many sections of a thrift store. A lot of times, females prefer to have a more fitted look so I usually direct them to the young boys department. Often these blazers will be smaller and more fitted. The problem you might come across at that point is that the sleeves are too short. A good way around that is to go with the “rolled up” look, which is also popular with the 80s craze being back in fashion.

The next place you can look is your favorite department store. Again, depending on what you want, you can look in all the departments. Here you will find just as many color and style options, but the price will go up as you are buying brand new clothes verses the thrift.

No matter where you find the perfect blazer, you won’t regret getting it. As the weather turns and the air gets chillier, this fashion statement will keep you warm and keep you in style. Enjoy your shopping!

When you plan to have a baby boy or girl, it may be useful to know the early signs of pregnancy. So you can be better prepared. There are many signs of early pregnancy. Some of them can be found out by yourself. While others can be found out through certain medical measurement.

Missing a period is probably one of the most reliable signs of pregnancy. Sometimes your period may become irregular due to medication or emotional change. But if your life doesn’t change much, you should expect a regular period. If you are a few days late, it is very likely that you’re pregnant.

When you find you may get pregnant by missing your period, you can take a home pregnancy test using pregnancy prediction kit available in drug stores. The test measures the levels of hCG in your urine. If you’re pregnant, the hCG level will go up, and will continue to increase quickly when you’re pregnant.There are many different brand of home pregnancy predictor kits in the market, you should read the instruction before you perform the test. A positive result is a sign of pregnancy, while a negative result may not confirm you’re not pregnant. It is usually recommended to re-do the test after a day or two.

Home urine pregnancy tests are quite accurate. But if you are still concerned, you can take a blood test, which is the most accurate test for pregnancy. The blood test measures the hCG level in your blood which can be done any time of the day. The quantitative tests can also predict if your pregnancy is healthy or not. For a healthy pregnancy, your blood hCG level should double every 48-72 hours in the first few days after you miss your period.

When you find you’re pregnant, you may be very curious if you will have a baby boy or baby girl. Unfortunately, the early signs of pregnancy with a boy and a girl are quite the same. So you can hardly tell your baby’s gender by this early stage. The website How to Conceive a Boy shows you some natural methods to conceive a boy or a girl.

Knowing how to care for your flower garden can make a big difference in the look and over-all health of your plants. Here are some simple spring gardening hints to make your garden bloom with health:

1. The essentials must always be given major consideration.

Your flower garden must have an adequate supply of water, sunlight, and fertile soil. Any lack of these basic necessities will greatly affect the health of plants. Water the flower garden more frequently during dry spells.

When planting bulbs, make sure they go at the correct depth. When planting out shrubs and perennials, make sure that you don’t heap soil or mulch up around the stem. If you do, water will drain off instead of sinking in, and the stem could develop rot through overheating.

2. Mix and match perennials with annuals.

Perennial flower bulbs need not to be replanted since they grow and bloom for several years while annuals grow and bloom for only one season. Mixing a few perennials with annuals ensures that you will always have blooms coming on.

3. Deadhead to encourage more blossoms.

Deadheading is simply snipping off the flower head after it wilts. This will make the plant produce more flowers. Just make sure that you don’t discard the deadhead on the garden or mildew and other plant disease will attack your plants.

4. Know the good from the bad bugs.

Most garden insects do more good than harm. Butterflies, beetles and bees are known pollinators. They fertilize plants through unintentional transfer of pollen from one plant to another. 80% of flowering plants rely on insects for survival.

Sowbugs and dung beetles together with fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms are necessary to help in the decomposition of dead plant material, thus enriching the soil and making more nutrients available to growing plants.

Other insects like lacewings and dragonflies are natural predators of those insects that do the real damage, like aphis.

An occasional application of liquid fertilizer when plants are flowering will keep them blooming for longer.

Always prune any dead or damaged branches. Fuchsias are particularly prone to snapping when you brush against them. The broken branch can be potted up to give you a new plant, so it won’t be wasted.

Aren’t scented candles one of life’s more benign pleasures?

Scented candles are so relaxing. They create a warm ambiance and smell so nice. What could possibly be wrong with lighting a scented candle?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but while the fragrances and mood enhancing ability of scented candles may be alluring, their by-products are lethal. These days scented candles are filled with artificial fragrances and chemical ingredients that are too toxic to ignore.

Chemical Fragrances Turn Into Toxins When Burned

Most aromatherapy and scented candles contain chemical fragrances. When burned, they are converted into toxins such as acetone (an ingredient in nail polish remover and paint thinner), benezene, toluene, particulate matter and soot. Not only do the soot and chemicals get all over your home, but they get into your nose and lungs where they can do serious harm.

Even Natual Substances Can Turn Into Toxins When Burned

Even burning pure essential oils drastically alters their delicate constituents into potentially harmful substances. Heating to a high temperature can do the same.

Paraffin Wax As Dangerous As Second-Hand Smoke

Paraffin candles are as dangerous to the lungs as second-hand smoke. The more candles you burn, the more the harmful effect is multiplied. That’s because when burned, paraffin releases benzene and toluene – known carcinogens. These toxic substances are inhaled into you and your family’s lungs and leave residue on walls, ceilings and fabrics. The soot from paraffin candles contains many of the same toxins found in diesel fuel.

Lead in Wicks

Developing countries lack the resources to monitor the safety of products. Candles from China, South America and other developing countries often contain lead in the wicks. Burning a few leaded wicks for only a few hours will increase lead levels 9 to 11 times over acceptable limits. Just burning 4 metal-wick candles for two hours can result in enough airborne lead concentrations to pose a threat to human health. Some homes where leaded wick candles are burned frequently become so toxic, they cannot be sold.

Harmful Additives

Slow-burning candles often contain harmful additives. Gel candles contain petroleum with butylated hydroxyl toluene, not exactly healthy substances. Plus, they have a tendency to explode when overheaded.

“Candles are fast becoming one of the most common unrecognized causes of poor indoor air quality,”” says Diane Walsh Astry, Executive Director of the Health House Project, an American Lung Association education project in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Soy candles are less toxic, if you don’t mind burning genetically modified plant matter. Frankly, I don’t want to support the GMO industry in any way, shape or form, nor do I want any GMO residue floating around my air space.

The bottom line is, burning any kind of aromatherapy or scented candle is essentially poisoning yourself and your family.

Are There Any Alternatives?

What can you do? How can you enjoy fragrances in your home without releasing toxic and even lethal substances into the air?

First, if you must burn a candle, make sure it’s beeswax. Beeswax candles are considerably safer than paraffin and metal-wicked. But they are expensive and not as readily available.

Secondly, try diffusing essential oils instead. Rather than burning essential oils, diffusers work like atomizers, breaking up molecules into a microscopic mist and sending them out into the room. When you diffuse with therapeutic-grade essential oils, you are actually benefiting your body and lungs. Diffusing is a safe, easy and healthy way to infuse your favorite fragrance into your home.

The Ultrasonic Diffuser is a brand-new, state-of-the-art system that can diffuse even the thickest of oils.

As human beings, our olefactory sense is an important part of life and should be enjoyed. Harmful and toxic fragrances can be easily avoided. There’s no need to forego infusing your home and life with wonderful scents. Simply diffuse natural fragrances and essential oils instead of burning dangerous scented candles.

The bob hair style - an absolute classic  – and lets face it most of us have had a bob shaped hair cut at some point in our lives. THe cut can range from the classic Louise Brrookes version to a softer more forgiving version as seen on Victoria Beckham pre pixie cut and Meg Ryan.

A bob hair style can be worn at chin, shoulder or slightly longer and clever use of colour will enhance the cut and texture of the version you go for. For example if you can carry off the sharp Mary Quant style bob a glossy head of colour such a chocolate brown or bright ash blonde will look fabulous. Where as if you go for something more textured and choppy get your stylist to weave some high or low lights  – depending on your base colour to give the hear depth and texture.

My own bob hair style is changing and evolving at the moment I was sporting a full fringe (bangs for those of you Stateside) with the length sitting just below my ears  – now its hitting my shoulders  the fringe is swept to one side and the its all a bit mussy in texture (aided and abetted by many a  styling product) and I have had lots of caramel high lights woven through. But you see thats what I love about the bob hair style it lends itself really well to being adapted when you (like I have done ) decide to grow your hair – keep the pain barrier to a minimum.

So ladies my advise get your self a bob hair cut on your next visit to the salon – just flip through some style magazines and hunt out the shape and length that works for you.

When you first decide to replace your old boards and carpets, or just your carpets, with hardwood flooring, you are spoiled for choice. It is also very difficult to see what your home will look like from a few samples. You really need to see the wood installed, either in a showroom, or in a friend’s house. Also, you need to consider how your house is decorated. Not all woods go with all wall colours.

Many people choose oak simply because it is light and hard wearing Walnut wood flooring is good also, although unless you get natural walnut it can be very dark. You may be wondering which wood to buy; that’s not surprise, as most people are at first.

These days rural and rustic are very popular, largely because most people live in cities or suburbs, far from the idyllic villages they dream of. So it is not surprise that rustic finishes on wood flooring are also popular in some quarters. Despite the fact that these wooden planks are all machine planed and finished, people are ready to pay extra for hand scraped wood. Handscraped oak flooring is popular in London and the Home Counties.

Although lacquered finishes are quite good these days, but they can get scratched badly by things like skateboards and roller skates. If so, they need to be sanded down and relacquered, which involves quite a lot of work.

Oiled oak flooring is very durable. They are good floors for busy areas. It is important to keep the wood in good condition.

The alternative is laminated flooring, but these materials do not last well, and are easily damaged.

There is a variety of reasons people decide to paint the interior of their homes. Some do it for decor reasons, and others do it because things are starting to look dull and worn. No matter what your reasons for interior painting, there are a few things you should know before you attempt to do this on your own. The benefits of doing it yourself is mainly about saving a lot of money. Take some precautions for safety of those in the home and also be aware of how much you are spending.

Before you start interior painting in any room, you should have it cleared out. You can pile things in the middle of the room if clearing things out is not an option, but having the room empty is a good idea. You should get some good drop sheets so that any spills or drips are caught before hitting the floor. You can plan to be careful, but accidents happen all the time. Protect your floors and furniture. Take care when covering items in the middle of the room, or else you might find yourself shopping for new furniture as well.

Make sure surfaces are clean before you start interior painting. This might mean you have to do some scrubbing, but it is going to make the difference between a good job and one that looks awkward in many places. After you have cleaned and dried your surfaces, you can begin your interior painting, but make sure you pay attention to the details. Cut in and paint all of the hard spots with a brush that you can not get to with a roller first, and make sure you learn to make even strokes. A second coat is always a good idea.