Back in 2004 I was able to travel to UK and stayed there for almost 7 months in my cousin's house. It was their first house in UK and they were very excited to become a homeowner there. Before I came there, she already told me about the big difference of the lifestyle as well as on how you take care of your stuff. I think wherever you live house insurance is a must if you own a property. But she told me that you can also purchase contents insurance to secure your belongings in case something happened.
I was really ignorant about it back then. When I first learned of it, of course I thought it was neat. Now that I am here in the US, insurance providers also carry those services. Most home insurance also cover contents of your home but there are some restrictions I believe. This is really a great deal since you will have peace of mind knowing that you can still recover something in case of any loses.
Aside from the insurance, we also purchase extended warranties for big appliances we have. Just recently, our microwave handle have some chipped on it. My husband called the company and since it is under warranty, they replaced the handle at no cost. I like how fast the services also. This is why we are happy with our decision about securing not only our house but the contents of it as well.
Content Insurance
Our Tree this Christmas
I thought we can get a real tree this Christmas, but we decided to make use of our artificial one instead. So after Thanksgiving we had the tree up and we're working on the decors. I have red and gold for color theme this year for our ornaments as well as other house decorations.
I was at the store to get some Christmas bows but I am aghast at how pricy it can be. One bow will cost you $5. So I went to youtube and watched some instructions on how to make one yourself. I found a good how-to video which is very easy and voila I did my own Christmas bows. I had fun doing it. I utilized my old wired ribbons for my trial ones. It came out good and from now on I will do my own Christmas bows.
This time around I did not buy too many gifts for everybody. I just picked out 2 each for our girls and also for hubby. Our DD1 also picked out something for her teachers at school that she gave to them on their last day before their Christmas break. In all, I think for next years to come I will do a 2-color theme for decorations. It looks neat. I can recycle one color a year and pair it with another one for next year. We'll see if I can keep it as our family tradition as well.
Organizing Kids Bedroom
Having to live in an apartment has its pros and cons. It is great that you don't have to pay from your pocket any maintenance work or no yard to tend to, but among its cons is the lack of space. We only have two bedrooms since the complex we live at do not have three bedrooms layout. So this means lack of space or storage for all our things. We have two kids and as they grow we also accumulate stuffs. This is why I wish we have enough space to put additional kids lockers.
Our toddler have toys that my husband disassembled in order for it to fit in their bedroom's closet. It is a hassle for me because every time she wanted to play I have to put it together for her. If I have lockers for kids I can just put the toys inside it and when they need it I will just pull it out and give it to her.
Right now the closet is so full. Toys and clothes are in one closet. Although the clothes are neatly hanged but the shelves are just full of different knick-knacks. I was thinking of getting children's lockers that we can hang to organize their books and small toys or games. That way I can save floor space and their bedroom will be arranged or organized. I am just so done with the clutter. This will be one of my main task this coming new year.
Steam Team Austin
Having your own property comes with a lot of responsibility as well. But it will be very rewarding in the end once you have your own home or property. You can do everything you want with it, decorate it, paint it, and just about anything to add value to your property. We sure wanted to own our house one day and we can't wait for that time.
Our friend in Austin just moved to their new house and she said she can't explain how relieved she is now that they have their own place and settled. She told me that they have a hard time selling their old house too since they did a lot before having it sold. They did not hire professionals to clean up instead they all did it by themselves. It paid of in the end though.
But they could have hired the steam team Austin for all that they need though. This cleaning company deals with everything you need to professionally clean residential or commercial buildings. Accordingly they are known as one of the best upholstery cleaning companies austin that clean everything upholstered.
When it comes to fire and flood damage the steam team can also help. They have fire damage repairs austin services as well as hurricane water damage austin services. I told my friend about this company and she will surely check them out if they need their services. When we have our own place I will feel comfortable getting professional help when it comes to things like these rather than doing by it by ourselves and we'll end up messing up.
Steps to Winter Proof My Home
Contribution by Paula Gonzales.
Though I don't live too far north, winters can sometimes be quite severe. It's not enough to wing it - properly preparing for the winter season is very important. Even if the season is a bust, it's better to be safe than sorry.
The first step is to make sure the house is all sealed up. Drafts make the house uncomfortable, and they can also cost me big money in heating bills as precious dollars float out the door. To this end, I put up storm windows and doors. If there are any problem windows, I'll put up plastic on the inside to cut the drafts. There are also products to help prevent drafts from traveling underneath doors.
I also make sure that my backup systems are all ready. I have a generator ready just in case of a winter blackout, as having an ice cold house would be both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous. I also make sure all my winter supplies are ready, including shovels, salt sand, and my snowblower, all in preparation for the first major snow storm.
At the end of my winter proofing regime, I make sure to take some time to relax with some hot cocoa. Sometimes I'll read, while other times I'll sit down and enjoy my satellite TV from www.expertsatellite.com. Whatever my choice, I relax in my toasty, winter proof house and enjoy a job well done.
Giants of San Fran
Guest post written by our friend Trent Horton.
Man, I can't believe the Giants made it all the way to the National League Championship Series so far! I never would have thought it possible seeing the line up they started off with on opening day. But after calling up Buster Posey in June, their offense has really started to take off and help their awesome pitching staff. While I'm not a fan of Brian Sabean, I've got to admit he's made a lot of great moves this season to get the Giants to this point. From the picking up of Aubrey Huff and Pat Burrell, the trades for Javy Lopez and Ramon Ramirez and the claiming of Cody Ross off of waivers, it seems like almost every move has worked out to get them into the postseason.
The only thing I have to complain about is manager Bruce Bochy. His over managing has probably cost them a number of games and made things a lot closer than they had to be. This whole season the slogan for the Giants has been "Giants baseball: It's torture." I think a lot of that falls on Bochy and his insistence to make as many changes as possible on each and every day. Thankfully they have the pitching staff to overcome all of Bochy's mistakes and once in awhile even Bochy's shenanigans pays off. So far I've seen every game this year thanks to satellite TV from www.TVByDirect.com and I hope to see them in the World Series!
Bedroom Ceiling Fan
I am so glad that we do have a bedroom ceiling fan or else it is going to be very hot inside especially during the summer. Even now that it constantly rain outside we still feel muggy inside the house. We don't have air conditioning system or shall I say the apartment complex we live in don't have it. I don't know why they didn't install it when it could very well help tenants to be comfortable.
Speaking of ceiling fans, the picture here is very nice to have as fixture in a home. This casablanca atria ceiling fan is from Hansen Wholesale ceiling fans. They have the nicest ceiling fans I saw online. If you are looking for one, it is very timely to check out their huge sale. They have wide selection from casual, outdoor, indoor, and formal ceiling fans. If only I can replace the ceiling fan we have, I would definitely get one from them. Find out who makes the best ceiling fans here!
Preferred Tiles
My friend who recently moved to their own house told me that she's very glad they were able to choose fixture for their house when it was built. I think this is very common if you choose a newly constructed house. You can select or opt to upgrade fixture and furniture as well as choose the products you want for your future abode.
I like the idea of having to choose because you are the one who will live in the house and most of us wanted to have the perfect one for our first place. When me and husband talk about our future place I would tell him my preferences even the tiles to be used as back splash for the kitchen and bathroom tiles. The color of the cabinets and counter tops, as well as the type of appliances.
Talking about tiles, I don't like big subway tiles. I prefer the smaller ones and for the back splash I like the shine of the glass tiles. There are just so many wants I like for our first place. But I know we have to be realistic. We can always make an upgrade in the future though if we can't have the perfect one.
Kitchen Decorating
I wish to have a nice size kitchen whenever we will have our own place. Yes, a decent size kitchen where I can cook and bake along with my two dughters especially when they are already old enough to help me in the kitchen. I love watching kitchen renovation shows and other programs from design channels because it gives me idea on how to decorate.
When it comes to decorating, I think all of us wants to coordinate the decor we use for any space in our place. I myself love to match everything. My husband is the same. I don't like clutter and if possible I want to use stuffs that are durable and will last. When it comes to kitchen organization, I like the jk adams products. The maple wood they use for their products is of high quality. The other day while I was cooking I told my husband that I will throw the spice rack that we have. The color is mismatched to other kitchen furniture and fixture that if ever I will get a new one, I would get the jk adams spice rack sold in their online store. The color would very well be matched with the rest of the organization and storage we have already. Surely it is fun to see a well decorated kitchen.
Rain Collection
I love watching HGTV specially the house hunting and also decorating ideas. I've seen an episode wherein the house hunters wanted a green house or at least it has features where you can save energy. One house has rain barrels that the previous owners used for rain harvesting. I think it is a cool idea.
I know back in the Philippines we have rain water barrels at the back of our house. It is right down below the gutter where the rain will be caught. My parents have been using it ever since. We don't have a regular supply of water then. We used to go to rivers and streams and get water for drinking and other needs in the house. With the rain barrels we can store water and used for taking a bath, wash clothes and water our plants.
If you have your own house and want to go green, you can recycle rain water. There are rain barrels for sale online. Just check it out and start helping our environment by conserving water. It will be a great help to lessen utility bills. I definitely will get one once we have our own place.
Wish We Have a Curbside Mailbox
Living in an apartment has it's advantages and disadvantages. There are the financial aspects, maintenance as well as some perks and what not. Ever since I got here in the US I only live in an apartment. So I kind of get used to it already and somewhat knows what to expect especially if we are looking for one when it's time for us to move to anther duty station.
One thing that I do wish to have though even if we are living in an apartment 
complex is to have a curbside mail box. Right now the mailboxes in our complex is located in one area far from our building. It is situated in a gazebo-like building right inside the entrance gate. If I am not out and about for the day it entails a lot of effort to go out and check our mails. Whereas having the curbside mailboxes you just run out to the curb of your building and get your mails.
Often times also there are mails that belongs to other tenants that I get. I believe it is because of the unit numbers being mixed up. Just like the other week, I did not bother to check the mails I got and when I reached our unit it so happen that one mail is not ours. So I went back out to put the mail in an outgoing box. If only we have the curbside mail boxes then I won't walk far out with our girls in tow returning the mail. This happens all the time and I can't wait to have our own mail box when we have our very own house.
Better Bathrooms
If we are going to do house hunting again, I will still stick to my check list. Under my list is to have better bathrooms or shall I say a kind of bigger one where we can have more space to store toiletries, towels, cleaning supplies among others. Right now we are living in an apartment and my only concern with our bathroom is not much cabinetry to store towels and other bathroom necessities. Although the bathroom is a fair size but the design doesn't maximize the space available to put cabinetry in. I found some good designs of bathroom suites at Better Bathrooms and their site is betterbathrooms.com. I think their products can cater to whatever bathroom size you have. If only our bathroom now has the kind of suites that they have then we would have more space for storage.
Anyways, I learned more that Better Bathrooms is UK's fastest growing bathroom company. They've been in the business for more than 20 years and they are very knowledgeable about this business. They buy products in bulk thus being able offer the merchandise at a discounted price. If you are in UK and you wanted to do bathrooms renovation, check out Better Bathrooms.
Check Out Style Hive for Cool Stuffs
I joined a cool fashion hub online and this is Style Hive at stylehive.com. As the world's largest social shopping community, you can find amazing deals, giveaways, new trends in fashion, accessories and many others. I was browsing the site and I came across lots of links and sites that offer cool stuffs for home and for everyone. They have a blog that is solely in giving information of what are buzzworthy deals that includes coupon codes and saving codes and what's new in the shopping world.
I found the link to this beautiful iron key hook (in picture) at Style Hive that I think is what I need to place our keys. Our daughter loves to play with our keys and one time we were looking for it but can't find it. Good thing was she remembered where she left it and she was able to get it for us.
I would love to have this Urban Outfitters hook not only because of its purpose as what I've stated above but also love its design and can be a wall art decor as well. If you want to know more about similar wall designs and decors, check out stylehive.com. I am pretty sure you will find a lot more that will suit your taste.
I Need a Comfortable Bed
I blogged before that we need a new mattress for us in the master bedroom since the one we have is old and kinda hard. Although hubby negated that he is comfortable in our bed. Yeah right, that is why he keeps tossing and turning at night, restless (grin). Anyways, I asked him many times about it but since it is not really our priority so it goes to the back list. We bought new mattress but it was for our DD in her bedroom. Now that my back is aching everytime I wake up in the morning I think it is deemed necessary for us to prioritize it. I was looking at sleep number bed when we bought our daughter's mattress. I told hubby it would be nice to have such a bed. You have a remote to adjust it's softness or hardness and also position it accordingly. Have any of you uses such kind of bed? Does it really give its promise of comfort? It looks like you will have a good rest when sleeping on that bed. You don't need a pillow too to prop up your head when sleeping. You only need to elevate the head area. I have to put it in my wish list and hopefully in time we can afford to have one like it.
Beyond Ordinary Cookware
Being a stay at home Mom entails a lot of hard work. Aside from taking care of the children, there are the household chores like cleaning, cooking, doing the laundry, and etc. Everything is so routinely and it is up to you to do some diversion in order for you not to get bored. But anyways, speaking of diversion I was thinking of learning how to cook. Of course I know how to cook but only simple dishes that I learned from my mother. I like to learn how to bake cakes, pastries, breads and learn to cook main dishes that I can serve when we invite friends and family. With this dream I also wish to own cookware that can really help in preparing the food. I found this site, movecookshop.co.uk, that offers cook wares that are beyond ordinary. Just like this one in picture, this is called Le Creuset Tagine that is very unique. It is a cast iron that is very good in slow cooking. Accordingly, this type of cookware is one of the best there is in the market. It can retain heat thus energy is being conserved. I like to have one of this in the future. Right now I am trying to collect recipes and even joined cooking club online so I will be able to get more information. I hope I will be determined to achieve this goal.
Our DD's Updated Bedroom
I have said in my other blogs that we did some updating in our DD's room. We already disposed of her crib and other baby gears leaving only the furniture like the changing table and cabinets for her clothes. Hubby bought a full size mattress with bed frames and I also bought the Disney Princess bedding sets and curtains. Now that she has her own big bed she is sleeping in her room every night and also at nap time. I am sleeping in there too since I can't leave her just yet. We are looking for a bed rail since the bed is kinda high. When she can sleep without waking through the night then I will stop sleeping in her room.
HIgh Definition
Most of the shows I am watching on television are broadcasting through a high definition. In order for you to get the desired effect, I believe, you need to also get the HDTV or the high definition television. Right now we have a 32 inch HDTV. My husband was thinking of getting a wider screen that is appropriate for the living room, wherein he can watch his favorite sports and enjoy it. I agree with him but we have to think about it since it is not really our priority. If, in any case, we are ready, I saw this telly below at buy.com and I like to have one like it. Since the price is not really that much we will be able to save money for it and then we can indulge our family with the wider screen in a few months.
Cleaning Gear
Having a small child really requires you to always make sure that your house is being cleaned from all debris. This is why we got a lot of cleaning gears as well as cleaning supplies in the house. I have a lot of floor mops that we need for cleaning our kitchen and bathroom floors. Our DD loves going to these two rooms in the house so we have to make sure it is always clean. Glad Daddy is here now, he's the one who does the mopping.
Bathroom Sinks
I wish we have two bathroom sinks so me and hubby will not fight who uses first. We are not fighting literally though :-) It is just that it will be cramped if we stand up together in the bathroom using it. With our apartment before, aside from having two bathrooms, our master bath have double sinks so it was very roomy. Here in this new apartment the bathroom is large but there is limited counter space. It will be cramped some more now since there will be three of us using it. But I know this will not be forever because I will make sure when we have our place our master bathroom will have two sinks. I found sinks that I like at faucet.com and I know we can get sinks there when we are ready to have our own house built.
Protect Your Property
Nowadays it is very important to get protection for any untoward that may happen in our lives. This, I think, is the basic thing that we can do to secure ourselves as well as the rest of the family. Even if we live in an apartment or have our own home we need to have home security. If you need more information about how to get home security, you can check out homesecurityinformation.com. You can get a lot of helpful information from this site. There are also tips and information on what type of home security you can get for door, windows and the likes. Check them now and don't delay protecting your property.
