You Can Never Have Too Many Bookshelves


January 8th, 2012

Christmas is coming, so we should be all decorating our homes with glittery candles, and little Santas and shiny snowflakes and centerpieces and table cloths and God knows what else. But even more important is all the space we need to receive guests, because there is no Christmas celebrating without friends over for a glass of wine, carols and jokes, coziness and happy vibes.

Consequently, I was just facing this past couple of days the following problem: I got tons of books all over the place. Stacks of fiction, dictionaries, huge philosophy volumes and magazines I wouldn’t want to throw away cause you never know when they’re going to be useful. They pile up on the floor of the living room, devouring all that space and looking messy. Solution to that, bookshelves obviously, but not any kind of bookshelves. Have you checked out what are the trends? If you haven’t, then you’re in for a big surprise. The new designs of bookshelves are absolutely magnificent, from the colors, to the structure, they’re going to blow your mind. So very interestingly shaped, they’re the sheer definition of creativity. It would be a pity to skip research online and just stop at the hypermarket for a boring squared metallic bookshelf and not take advantage of the multitude of options we now have.

Not only do they serve for book keeping, but can also add a very personal and modern plus factor to the whole appearance of your living room. You can now actually turn this utility item into the most mesmerizing looking object in the entire room. All you have to do is look for creative bookshelves online, and you’ll soon discover you a few too many.

Surprisingly enough, it is possible to store your books inside a properly built table and still look very fancy ! Or a chair, a couch, even inside the staircase itself ! The days of traditional shelves hanging down the walls are way gone. Nowadays, those that still are wall-attached look so carefully carved and curl up like true pieces of art. When you’ll have friends walking inside your living room, they’ll be too amazed to actually realize they’re looking at a bookshelf, they’ll be too busy being fascinated by their shape because they usually look like depicted from a contemporary museum of modern arts.

At the end of your search, you might consider hiring someone to build them, since you won’t find such craftship at the store down the street you’re living on, and you don’t find such beauties easily to order online either, but you do find ideas, that make everything seem worthy. Do get inspired and go for what most excites your eyes, some effort and time consuming but eventually you’ll be thrilled with the dream bookshelves coming to life, that you won’t regret anything. Christmas is coming, so take good care of those books lying on the floor and get yourself a Merry Christmas in a beautifully decorated living room with your loved ones.

Ibiza And Its Hidden Magic


December 19th, 2011

Usually when one says Ibiza, automatically says party. All of the party there is to have, in the world’s most famous clubs, because Ibiza stands gloriously as The Island Of Partying. However, you’d be surprised to find out how many other special things you can discover in Ibiza.

The existence of this stunning island dates back to 654 BC when it was called IBSM, pronounced Ibossim and was dedicated to the God of music and dance Bes. In Santa Eulalia, third largest town on Ibiza, you can look for the San Carlos village, the last hippy bastion in Ibiza. Speaking of hippies, you should know too that a large number of them came to settle on the Es Vedrà.

Furthermore, there are stories about this Es Vedrà – so-called mystical island rock, along the West coast of Ibiza. This one is said to be where Sirens lived in Homer’s Odyssey. Now add to that the numerous witnessed UFOs and the magnetic effects on navigational instruments and you might just want to experience the whole place by yourself or with a couple of friends, because who knows what gems you might stumble upon. The priest Don Francisco Palau recorded several revelations and encounters with ‘unearthy beings surrounded by light ‘ while he was meditating there. Numerous fishermen are no longer fishing in that area because they have seen gigantic circles of light emerging from the sea. Pretty interesting, I might add.

Next on the map of magic, there is the Cova de Can Marçà – underground caverns that are wonderfully lit by colored lights. After exploring these caves, you can enjoy a refreshing drink outside on the terrace and have a spectacular panorama. Among the cave lovers, there are perhaps some interested in ancient tombs. Well, Ibiza can provide places for them too ! Necròpolis del Puig des Molins represents burial ground from the 7th century BC and Phoenician times. Amulets and figurines from more than 3000 tombs are on display at the museum site.

Phoenicians believed that Ibiza was blessed by the Gods, because of the soil that is red and non-volcanic. Many people still wear pendants that contain the sacred soil to be safe from harm. The blessed island is predicted by Nostradamus himself to be Earth’s final refuge, after the nuclear catastrophe will destroy every form of life, due to its special type of environment to be the only life-supporting one. Who would have thought …

After hunting deep secrets and exploring hidden places it’s recommended getting your stomach out on a treat. It is called flao and is a bit difficult to track down, but totally rewarding. It is a dessert containing sweet cheese and mint flan. Resembling the American cheesecake, this one is more of a tasty pudding, a bit herby than other things you may have tried before but it will leave an aromatic trace behind so that Ibiza can remain a beautiful memory on plenty of levels. Look at this island beyond the partying, there’s simply too much magic awaiting !

Stock-Up Rock-Salt for Snowy Slippery Days


December 6th, 2011

You don’t stock up later, you don’t stock up tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, no no, no. You stock up now. Because Mother Nature is quite the most unpredictable mother of all, and while winter might not come as a shock, snow might do that and it might do it while you’re driving very relaxed on your comfortable roads to your much dreamed weekend getaway, or just home from work. Either way, it’s going to be heavy to deal with.

Salt’s been known for melting snow for quite a while now, but seriously, what does happen when salt is spread all over a snowy road? Well, salt actually lowers the freezing point of water and that makes the snow above that temperature to melt away. The city authorities are usually in charge of hiring staff to spread salt on the roads to prevent slippery. Sometimes, another strategy is used to melt icy driveways and that implies sand sprinkled all around and other chemicals that work only if the temperature are not above 32 degrees. Drivers find themselves in difficulty in such cases, mostly because they’re pretty much on their own, since nothing is as good as salt at melting ice and snow, so the roads aren’t as easily to drive on.

Wise authorities know though that salt is the best enemy in town, literally. Huge amounts of rock salt and there’s hope for safe driving anywhere. It comes in packs of bags, tens of kilos each on Rock Salt and it can be of different flavors, so to speak: both white and brown. Salt spreaders make this whole thing a lot easier by evenly and automatically salt all drivable areas in town and not only. There is a comfortable feeling in driving your car safely knowing nothing is going to slip, that the road is not going to wind up weirdly under your wheels and that you have absolute control of your vehicle no matter how much it snowed last night.

Weather service can predict only a small unfortunate fraction of what’s going to pour down from tomorrow’s clouds but snow management is to be handled with care before there is snow in the equation. Prevention is not a luxury, it is the simplest thing that can be done. Just think about all the snow removal, the shoveling, the blowers and the throwers. If they can make your tongue stumble just by pronouncing them, imagine how much of a complicated mess they make out of cleaning the roads for the frowned drivers. Let’s face it, there’s a bit of a frown when you start your car in the morning thinking of all the slippery streets you’re heading to.

Rock salt is like a magic wand to anybody’s comfortable driving anytime, preventing slippery drives in winter and assuring frown-free faces in front of the steering wheels. Better safe than sorry, better rock salt than risk the horrors of slipping on the icy roads, and eventually, better stock up those packs of salt than have to worry about others doing it for you.

The X Factor of All Bathrooms: Vessel Sinks


December 6th, 2011

We could say the beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but each and every one of them washes his or her hands countless times a day. Therefore, one must see beauty even in a vessel sink. At first read, it may sound silly enough, but truth is when you touch that vessel faucet, you want a sensation of cleanliness, you are actually looking to get your hands sanitized and what other better object in the bathroom to inspire health and welfare? Nothing but the sink!

The finer the material of the vessel sinks, the more enjoyable it gets to get your hands clean, so that a simple bathroom accessory has the potential to become a pleasure itself. You may have experienced the touch of elegant granite under the water, or the sparkling glass of a beautifully shaped sink .. they all give you a sense of class and style, but more important a certainty of health, because a vanity area is always based on that.

There are countless designs and Bathroom Vessel Sinks are ready to welcome you and spoil you with their various wonderful products that will most likely appeal to you so much that you are going to be eager to buy sinks for every spot in the house that requires one. For all the china and porcelain lovers out there, as well as for the more eccentric buyers, that would go for a more exquisite choice like onyx, there is no vessel sink to disappoint the eye. There are just too many shapes and colors for anybody to get tired of browsing, so that it keeps you searching in order for you to be sure you make the right choice when you press that order button.

I don’t know about you, but personally, I am so in love with wood, that having a vessel sink made of teak or oak sounds like the perfect bathroom accessory ever in all the universe. You know what else would fit like a glove to all that? Well, a widespread faucet with silvery looking round edges that make morning bathrooms rituals a lovely thing to start your day amazingly.

Vessel sink faucets are to be looked at more carefully from more points of view. Some may prefer just one handle and that’s it, while some find it unusually not to be two-handled. Some people like center set faucets, because conservative tastes do make bathrooms look from quite another century and that usually is a very attractive view to anybody in the house, well except the kids, but there are child-friendly vessel sink faucets that can satisfy any buyer on that matter. Usability is the most appreciated trait about a vessel faucet afterall, isn’t it?

Sinks are not to be changed every two weeks. Sinks should shine away a bathroom for years and years in row, to please the sleepyheads in the morning, and refresh every person that steps inside for a check-out in the mirror and some soap in his or her hands. Sink shopping is smart shopping, serious decision and a burst of colors and joy for anyone due to buy one.

A New Way of Clicking – African Clicking


November 25th, 2011

There is no limit to the wonderfulness of African art. Seriously, there’s so much to it you don’t exactly know where to get started. First things to pop on your mind are masks, artifacts, history, aesthetics, meanings, sculptures and all that jazz.? Surely, nothing compares to reading about the African traditions in a peaceful library, or browsing lovely pictures of an art catalog in the comfort of your own living room, or on the contrary, visiting a museum and take a sip of art in the middle of other people contemplating what used to be once vivid elements of a beautiful culture. Regarding the “used-to-be” phrase up there.. noticed how generally tend to refer to other populations on far away continents as possessing a past that we’d like to learn more about? I get the feeling that somewhere along the road, we fail to know more, if at all, about the current state-of-art and its magnificent artists that are creating yesterday’s cup of beauty.

It is of great importance, to get to see up to date art, have it right on your screen, neatly organized, unveiling before your eyes as you wish, how you wish it. Everything is digital nowadays, even more digital than ever before. It doesn’t take time to browse and read, to click and watch random things on the Internet, but it is likely to run out of patience once you decide for a more advanced search and try to go only for the relevant bucket of information. That is why you need to find websites that come to the rescue. Presenting quality photography, film, illustrations, music, painting, graphic design, animation and quite frankly, the list goes endless.

The diversity of the fields involved is quite overwhelming at first, because you come to realize there is so much you’ve been missing out on, that you’d like to check out each and every little thing posted yesterday, and two years ago. That, especially if you are completely new to this, but it proves to be just as engaging even if you are already in touch with this domain.

But once you get familiar with this type of art, you will love to keep connected. Like thousands of fans that regularly follow updates online, fresh out of the oven, and contribute every now and then with links of their own, to bring more enjoyable things to watch and read inside the community. So much for praising the fun you can have browsing. There’s an African saying from Ghana that goes something like this: “No one can corrupt you unless you are corrupt.”.

Nothing can make you try something new, unless you wanted to try it in the first place, but come to think of it there’s always a thin line between instinct and impulse, isn’t it?

Now I’ll leave you to whatever was filling your day 5 minutes ago, I’m off reading an article about Kinshasa Symphony, because apparently, in Congo, there is an orchestra of two hundred musicians playing Beethoven Ninth.

The Clever Choice in Garage Storage Cabinets


November 18th, 2011

There is no such concept as garage cabinets to make your whole day brighten up, because furniture will be furniture, right? Still, there is the possibility of a storage unit, made of steel, that not only can add the perfect utility touch you’ve been looking for ever since laying eyes on a catalog, but also increase the modern appearance status bar of your whole garage by a decent percentage. People say the ultimate sophistication is simplicity. Actually, to be more accurate, that was Da Vinci. On that tone, it’s time to apply some mastermindship.

Things to have in mind when you start looking into steel storage cabinets: structure, texture, color and free delivery for everyone! Because, let’s face it: the customer must stay happy, and a customer will not feel happy if he or she has to pay extra money to actually see the cabinet safely straight into his or her garage, ready to be used. Next on the tick-list: color; this is fairly fun, focus on picking a shade that makes you want to spend time in that garage. Electric red, opaque black or good old shiny grey, they’re all very much in, as far as trends go. For relaxing blue, you can take a surf around Arrow Spacemaker Storage Cabinets website and see which ones tickle your fancy more.

What about texture? This is a tricky one, because you feel like ignoring it at first browse, but one should know how to delay corrosion, which is number one enemy of any type of steel. Being clumsy also may result in severe chemical reactions due to solvents and moisture. Consequently, it is advised choosing a stainless steel finish that looks good and stays good.

Structure! Well, structure is almost everything, because garage storage cabinets are allowed to fail its essential purpose, to meet one’s storage needs, Pre-assembled cabinets can sometimes ease the painful process of putting it all together, that is usually a horrid time consuming matter. So, better look for those that don’t require too much of a headache. However, some of them are designed in such a way, that it gives you the opportunity to work some magic and personalize it your very own way, so you can have it done in a matter of minutes even if you’ve never touched a single screw drive in your life.

Price range is a very wide one: from around one hundred bucks to many hundreds, depending on how much clutter you want to store out of sight, perhaps you aim for a clever corner cabinet to complete the look of your garage, or maybe you are decorating the place from scratch and you need a whole system. Either way, there is plenty to choose from, it can be rolling, it can be fancy, fully functional – allowing more units to be added later on, it can contain a worktop or be more of a visual delight.

Entirely up to you, choose wisely or forever hold your pick!

Yellowstone will mark your first visit!


August 19th, 2011

Yellowstone was said to be the first one to make the national park history in the entire world. It is located in one of the most progressive country, United States.

Having an area of 3, 468.4 square miles equivalent to 8983 km², who would dare to miss this kind of nature wonder? It has been widely known in the whole world and each year, they kept a record of almost 3 million visitors of different nationalities. It became a tourist spot and a “must-see” place in the US that became also their pride.

Unlike any other existing parks worldwide, Yellowstone made its edge of having not only different kinds of animals but amazingly comprises also of a living lakes, flowing river, canyons, and mountain ranges even an active volcano named Yellowstone Caldera. It became a tourist’s source of fun, excitement and knowledge. One of the most outstanding features of this place is the Old Faithful Geyser and currently gained the most visits.

Aside from that, Yellowstone comprises hundred species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles including some numbers of either endangered or threatened animals. There are also vast forests and grasslands to educate you about millions of species of plants.

This place had become more accessible as it has its 5 entrance and exits. Lodging and campgrounds had made available also to accommodate visitors who wished to explore more of the place as it is impossible for you to see all of those for one day.

Yellowstone gained good feedbacks and testimonials over the past years. And was also featured to great movies as this place also was been used for movie shoots. It is a no-doubt that this place will going to mark your first visit. According to some records, the best season to visit this place is spring and fall aside from less number of visitors in that time freeing you to move and be supervised all the while, winter animals like bears and wolves are also available in sight.

There were no records of animal’s crimes or accidents as this place were being supervised, animals were being trained by professionals. This place exercises security to all visitors so that you will not be at risk.

Yellowstone has been giving out the best academic services to all tourist and new comers for a very long time. Since this was created in the year 1872. And it is rest assured that your first visit in this place will leave you some remarkable memories and new discernments about animal’s life and welfares, plants and trees growing processes as well as also some new facts about world’s nature and wonders. It will give you some explorations that will benefit you for a lifetime.

The dangers of carpeting


August 11th, 2011

One of the most terrifying things a consummate homeowner can experience is the problem of changing one’s carpet, or even trying to clean underneath existing carpet as part of a large remodeling or spring cleaning project. This is because the very first thing a homeowner will notice is that as soon as they lift up or move their carpet… the floor underneath is absolutely terrifying. Often, when a carpet sustains a spill or stain from a food or drink item, only a very small amount will actually make up the stain; instead, most of the spill will actually leak through the carpet, where it can remain until the carpet is actually removed and the mess is cleaned up. It’s not uncommon to hear of homeowners that pull up their carpet to see literally several inches of mixed soda, water, and liquor from one too many inattentive party guests. If one’s especially unlucky, this is the result of lower layers of carpet actually being fully soaked through with miscellaneous spills – not only do they have to clean up the mess, but the carpet literally needs to be rung out, and at least thoroughly washed and dried or else the same problem will happen again as soon as they replace the carpet.

Even if a homeowner is lucky or neat enough to have avoided any problems with stains on carpet spills, the act of actually replacing one’s carpet is extremely frustrating. For one, it can often be tedious and difficult to do without tearing the old carpet, which is a waste of time and money. Additionally, edges to carpeted areas often will have sharp and rusty nails sticking straight up out of the area surrounding the carpeted floor. This isn’t too concerning until one considers the idea of narrow, carpeted stairs. When remodeling the house I lived in as a child, I wasn’t able to easily access my room because the stairs had just as many places with nails on each step as safe points. It took a few weeks for this to be fixed, and believe me; it was unnerving in the meantime.

A third danger of carpeting is the expense. Nowadays, especially given the potential for stain absorption, It’s almost expected for a person to replace their carpet, a time-consuming, expensive, and even dangerous process! While, technically, stone and tile floors are equally susceptible to damage by staining (as spills, especially acidic substances such as soda can “eat” the finish of of a tile), it isn’t nearly as noticeable. The owner of a carpet floor will have a floor that boldly proclaims its spills for all to see, which means that the owner will likely feel obligated to replace carpets that have been spilled on even only a few times. While carpeting is a soft and attractive alternative to a house that is primarily wood, stone, or tile flooring, make sure you know what you’re getting into!

A Brief Overview of African Art


August 2nd, 2011

Authentic pieces of African art can be extremely diverse. However, there are often common themes and features which can be seen to appear within artwork from Africa – here is a quick guide to just a few of them.

Firstly, it should be noted that there is a huge focus on the humour figure within many different types of African art. Different figures and people have long been the primary theme within African art, although the merging of human and animal bodies is also not uncommon. This element can be seen to have had a huge influence of a number of European artists.

African art was also one of the first examples of artwork which incorporated the use of gems and precious stones. This is another element which can be seen to have been replicated in artwork across the world, right up until the modern era. Previously, western art was largely in thrall to classical influences, until Picasso and 20th century artists began to see inspiration in African art. Although it might be difficult to see how contemporary artists and sculptors, like Louise Bourgeois, or modern-day jewellers, such as 77 Diamonds, have been shaped by such influences, many of their European predecessors almost certainly would have been. This can also be seen as a product of the fact that African artists tend to favour sculptures, over two-dimensional pieces.

Within these three-dimensional works, African art is often relatively abstract, especially when it comes to scale and proportion. More often than not, African artwork does not follow a precise scale, providing more of an abstract representation of the people or scenes depicted. This quality is often considered to be similar to that of Ancient Egyptian artwork, which also avoided naturalistic features and styles.

In addition to this, African art is also heavily influenced by its practical uses. Many African works are specifically created for various types of ‘performance’, such as heavily decorated masks and robes which would usually be worn within a ceremonial context.

How to Survive a Road Trip – Alone!


July 27th, 2011

Now, we all can enjoy road trips every now and then. A lot of the time, they aren’t too long at all, and you can pass through some truly interesting, out-of-the-way locales.  In the meantime, it can be a great experience with your friends and family. But unfortunately, not all road trips work exactly like this.  In far too many of the road trips I’ve taken, I’ve ended up alone for days at a time, crossing the whole of the United States. To top it off, it seems I would always find the dirty and sketchy hotels instead of the charming and classic ones tucked away in the corners of the tiny towns I’d stop in.  So when on these long hauls across a country, what’s your best bet for making it through these harrowing experiences?

In a sentence, the answer is to take your time.  This is extremely counterintuitive, which is exactly why it’s so important to understand.  You would think that on a long, boring road trip all by yourself, you’d want to get the whole experience over with as soon as possible. While that may be true, it seems that haste makes waste almost all of the time in this case. By trying to hurry too much, for one, you’ll be stressing yourself out.  Because moving across the country in this sort of long process is always stressful, not to mention things such as moving or a sick family that are normally causes of this, it’s tempting to rush into the road trip, but this just increases your stress.  Plus, when you take your time on a road trip, you can stop to rest before you normally would. This means you can actually pick from the towns you stop in, instead of having to pick the last one you see as you get sleepy. Similarly, you can actually look around at the town’s hotel selection and talk to locals so you can be sure to find a gem instead of a pig sty.  Finally, I’ve been on enough road trips to assure you that being able to eat at a sit-down restaurant instead of fast food is a blessing.

The easiest way to actually accomplish this is to just be sure to plan ahead.  If you have an extra 36 hours on a trip, it’s hard not to spend the extra time anyway – and you still might end up feeling rushed!  Of course, in a true emergency, you might have to leave immediately and still not have enough time. In this case, just remember, you’ll get there a lot faster if you’re in one piece. Be sure to be smart and safe when you’re out on the road!