tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31892737094733996432024-03-19T05:02:41.427+00:00Call Me LizFashion, Lifestyle and TravelElizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.comBlogger440125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-47933534682776842652023-05-05T19:24:00.004+01:002023-05-05T19:30:00.181+01:00The Best Ways to Show Your Bridesmaids Your Appreciation<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666667px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.666667px; text-align: left;">Your bridesmaids can really be invaluable when you're getting married. They can help you with a lot of things, from planning everything for the big day to helping to set everything up when the day arrives. You can end up asking a lot of them when you need their support, and they can give a lot of their time and money to being there for you. Doing something to show your appreciation is a kind thing to do before, during, or after the wedding. But what exactly can you do to show your gratitude and thank them for being such good friends?</span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMZuzqC6dkR6bmpt8w0-Cim1obAhdDlH0LLr-0hMdflgmrF7h-TyK1MqRKK22X-rL1XcKVkIB57Pm0-boJRtdUD5twnrZm7p_iAMFQa3uVgPRzbs0rVonENvGdXWWq3MWxPajChhY5f0H1NvxjSXaCGM5oxL2_9bFbruiDtcOVGUGlkBFkgs9aL8iJw/s6016/samantha-gades-nA3zSEUPjn0-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="6016" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjMZuzqC6dkR6bmpt8w0-Cim1obAhdDlH0LLr-0hMdflgmrF7h-TyK1MqRKK22X-rL1XcKVkIB57Pm0-boJRtdUD5twnrZm7p_iAMFQa3uVgPRzbs0rVonENvGdXWWq3MWxPajChhY5f0H1NvxjSXaCGM5oxL2_9bFbruiDtcOVGUGlkBFkgs9aL8iJw/s320/samantha-gades-nA3zSEUPjn0-unsplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; widows: 2;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Give Them a Personalised Gift</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;">A gift is often the first idea people think of when they want to show their appreciation to their bridesmaids. Although you might already be buying their outfits, it's definitely worth thinking of gifts that are just for them. Consider personalising them to their tastes, whether it's <a href="https://www.marthabrook.com/product/customised-branded-notebook/" target="_blank">branded notebooks</a> for girls who like to journal or some beautiful jewellery for someone who likes a bit of glitz and glam. It could be something that serves as a memento of the day, but it could equally be a gift that plays more into your bridesmaids' interests.</p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Value Their Opinions</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;">Your bridesmaids are lending you their time and support, and one of the most important things is to ensure you appreciate that. <a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2021/10/wedding-guest-ready-with-chi-chi.html" target="_blank">Planning a wedding</a> <span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">can be super stressful, but it's crucial to remember that they're doing you a favour. Being kind to your bridesmaids and remembering that they're your friends, first and foremost, is a must. One of the ways you can do this is by asking for and valuing their opinions. While many decisions are ultimately your choice, they might have something important to say at different stages in the wedding planning or on the day itself.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Keep Them Up to Date</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;">Keeping your bridesmaids in the loop is also essential if you want to treat them with respect. As they're there to support you, it's important that you ensure they're up to date on anything that might affect them. Whether that's when they need to turn up for a dress fitting, what their makeup will look like, or what (if anything) they're expected to do during the wedding, you need to make sure they have the latest information. As well as treating them with <a href="https://www.insideweddings.com/news/planning-design/dos-and-donts-how-to-treat-your-bridesmaids/43383/" target="_blank">respect</a><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, it also means that your wedding planning and wedding day will run more smoothly.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: large;">Acknowledge Them on the Day</span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Choosing to acknowledge your bridesmaids on the day is a touching thing to do, and it doesn't have to take very long. It's something that the bride or anyone else can include in their speech. It could be a quick acknowledgement for all their help and for being there, or you might want to talk a bit more about them and mention specific things they've done for you. This could be a good time to give gifts too.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Show your bridesmaids that you appreciate them by acknowledging their help and being gracious and respectful.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p></div><p>Liz x<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666667px; orphans: 2; widows: 2;"><br /></span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-35650741355217106612023-04-17T21:48:00.001+01:002023-04-17T21:48:50.148+01:00Modernising Your Home? 5 Tips To Get You Started<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What exactly does it mean to bring a modern touch to your home? A contemporary look is one that is defined by its simplicity and attention to detail. It's about clean lines, uncluttered spaces and deliberate use of materials and textures.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no one right or wrong way to modernise </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2022/04/how-to-renovate-your-home-on-budget.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your home</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. However, the following tips can go a long way to helping you add modern elements and touches to your home decor with ease.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-23f0c1ce-7fff-f593-bdc1-accccec8cdb8"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPg10DiDBbdJ4O1TAzNsmT5K2-WrJH6zxlXQFi1bEnrmXobGYmHYQbkW7Mv6tsmTvRd-44T220KZ1vcRioD6BFX9-Dset_TfH-zmRk_n7JysH0--wYR4WnntXwrBX3sGTZRRWGq7DtWqNdKpoJXrC0Gjzkw0fI-ffD3Fjn7XtjhMl7FobL0l9E7ZrPQ/s5344/pexels-andrea-davis-5417293.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5344" data-original-width="3861" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCPg10DiDBbdJ4O1TAzNsmT5K2-WrJH6zxlXQFi1bEnrmXobGYmHYQbkW7Mv6tsmTvRd-44T220KZ1vcRioD6BFX9-Dset_TfH-zmRk_n7JysH0--wYR4WnntXwrBX3sGTZRRWGq7DtWqNdKpoJXrC0Gjzkw0fI-ffD3Fjn7XtjhMl7FobL0l9E7ZrPQ/w462-h640/pexels-andrea-davis-5417293.jpg" width="462" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. Declutter</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before you even think about changing anything else, modern living requires decluttering. This doesn't mean you need to get rid of everything but going through what you already won and removing things you no longer want or need is an excellent place to start. Decluttering doesn't always mean you need to get rid of items. It can simply be redistributing them throughout the home, putting them away into cupboards for storage, and just removing them from display.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. Update Flooring</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is your floor worn out? The flooring in your home can instantly detract from the goal you are working towards, and regardless of any other changes you make will always be a focal point. Rejuvenate old wooden flooring, swap out stained carpets for new flooring, add rugs or swap for engineered, wood, laminate or vinyl flooring in paler colours to complement the modern aesthetic.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. Neutral Colours</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.livingetc.com/advice/neutral-color-schemes" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modern homes are primarily focused on the neutral colour palette</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, so painting walls and purchasing furniture in neutral colours can help to give you a clean, fresh look that allows you to modernise your home. Choose colours that work with the light in your home to add brightness and give the illusion of space.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. Go Eclectic</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Modern homes aren't always about obtaining styles and monochrome beauty, although this does work well. It can also be about combining different textures and styles together to create something with character. You could invest in modern </span><a href="https://www.thehairpinlegcompany.co.uk/collections/desk-dining-table-legs" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #4a6ee0; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">hairpin legs uk</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for your dining table while adding sumptuous dining chairs that have been freshly upholstered for a more traditional look.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Choose antique pieces to merge with newer styles for something truly bold and impactful. Try it in one room to see how you feel about it before carrying this style or theme throughout the house.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. Lighting</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your choice of lighting shouldn't be overlooked. Light fittings are no longer a functional aspect of a room but an effective way of pulling your style together or creating a wow point. You can really </span><a href="https://www.thespruce.com/lighting-fixture-update-ideas-5220094" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">modernise any space by updating your lighting</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to more modern styles. An excellent idea for a modern touch on lighting is to add recessed ceiling lights, which can complement traditional styles in the room more discreetly. Alternatively, choosing larger modern pendants or chandelier styles can help you to type up a larger room or a room with high ceilings.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conclusion</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creating a modern home needn't be hard. You can work with what you have to get started, update or upcycle existing furniture and declutter for a more cost-effective way of modernising your home. Then you can look at other areas, such as updating flooring and painting walls, to complete your efforts in creating a more modern space.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></p><div><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-30905695856938198572023-04-17T10:52:00.006+01:002023-04-17T10:53:24.797+01:003 Important Factors For Designing The Perfect Bathroom<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Are you thinking of updating your bathroom? Aside from </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2023/01/things-to-consider-when-remodelling-your-kitchen.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #4a6ee0; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">kitchen renovations</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, bathroom renovations are one of the most popular areas for the home for people to invest in. Typically a well-furnished bathroom can add around 4-5% to the house's resale value should you wish to sell soon.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2e4cff34-7fff-e71f-0b91-56e3779c2268"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But what should you keep in mind when it comes to refitting your bathroom? Read on to learn more.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tzTjXPROxw9bWAa4qhTIIi5bBzJXI_pWkr3yhnAc7GuDnZvJ7wpO9wq20-8ab6Qq6EPs5ILK0VnFQerlwZqetAbZslkQG6oVrkjPLUFN5vInf3ouyQfggQirxLl2gXKzNIeM5uvyCNq7CbW15wsn_4FusNm8vajtErByJWtdxkRsCS4yX8DPPuDNrA/s4368/pexels-jean-van-der-meulen-1454804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2741" data-original-width="4368" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2tzTjXPROxw9bWAa4qhTIIi5bBzJXI_pWkr3yhnAc7GuDnZvJ7wpO9wq20-8ab6Qq6EPs5ILK0VnFQerlwZqetAbZslkQG6oVrkjPLUFN5vInf3ouyQfggQirxLl2gXKzNIeM5uvyCNq7CbW15wsn_4FusNm8vajtErByJWtdxkRsCS4yX8DPPuDNrA/w640-h402/pexels-jean-van-der-meulen-1454804.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Size and Design
</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You always aim to maximise every single inch of space in the room and ensure the design works for the size and layout. Don't be afraid to </span><a href="https://www.idealhome.co.uk/bathroom/bathroom-advice/planning-a-bathroom-190893" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">move bathroom fittings around to improve the flow and layout</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and avoid any issues with being able to use the space efficiently. If you find your bathroom doesn't work for you now, how can it work better to allow you to move around it easier without compromising on design? Don't forget to think about storage options too. Get creative where you can; use recesses in walls or block in the base of a sink unit to add hidden storage and shelving options. Can you build shelves into the wall around the bath or in the shower to avoid having to add units? The small details will make a difference to the finished room and allow you to use as much of the space as possible.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lighting
</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The lighting of your bathroom shouldn't be an overlooked aspect. It is integral to how your bathroom will look and feel once it is finished, so you should pay as much attention to the lighting as you do to the design and fittings of the rest of the space.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your bathroom needs to be lit enough to be functional but also have a relaxing vibe to it too. Pay attention to the natural light in the room, any mirrors you will be putting up and the style of tiles you will be using. All of these aspects will play an important part in creating the right atmosphere. You don't need to stick to one type of lighting for your bathroom; you can mix and match styles to create the correct type of lighting and vibe for your bathroom, from spotlights to </span><a href="https://www.thewalllightingcompany.co.uk/pendant-lights/bathroom-pendant-lights" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #4a6ee0; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">bathroom pendant lighting</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, flush ceiling lights and more.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Colour Scheme
</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Along with your lighting, the </span><a href="https://www.bhg.com/bathroom/color-schemes/colors/best-bathroom-colors/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">colours you choose for your bathroom</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> will heavily influence the finish and style. You want to choose colours that work with the natural light you get in the bathroom, don't overpower the space, especially for smaller bathrooms and complement the tiles you will be using. Balance out darker colours by pairing them with lighter shades; for example, if you want to use black or charcoal on the walls, balance this out with a light-coloured floor or copper fittings to add a different texture and brighter colour. Or add depth with a deep blue against white fittings or wood panelling. Test out a few different colours before committing to them to ensure they work well with the rest of your design and lighting choices too.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 17pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conclusion
</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Redesigning a new bathroom comes with many important decisions, but before you start, it's best to take a step back and look at the room as a whole and what you want from it before deciding on the final design. Make decisions based on the space you have, the room's flow and lighting to help you elevate your new bathroom design and avoid critical mistakes.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></p><div><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-38566894862201915222023-03-08T19:10:00.005+00:002023-03-08T19:11:27.093+00:005 Tips To Make Your Staycation Even Better<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">The idea of a sun-filled vacation can be an appealing one, but then there’s all the effort of actually planning it out and getting there. Even the thought of airport security can cause a lot of stress. If you don’t want to deal with this, but still want a trip, you could try a staycation.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ef0f8094-7fff-d327-255c-5bf41d604ca4"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Increasingly popular, these holidays focus on staying in your own country and visiting somewhere more local. It avoids the need for travelling abroad, and lets you have just as much fun.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That alone could be more than enough to convince you to have one. Do you want to know how to make your staycation even better? With a few tips and tricks, you can make sure you’ll have an amazing time on the trip.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwCEB5TYqkZndo8ittnNeLEZfpwmXVb6XJuwhTTK8USd7ZhRHryffVcYdHbe7MASvJdqIoqOMRuZkS4nkpKi1oZ71pQEPwa-CeuRgtsuCvVzpjLu4YGpCCjhBDv8oamzkIz6kPSBql9dxPr3j1OOEy7knpNf_vTi9BJ9Bak-p6lGCuNagGu-1RzTzbQ/s1920/beach-gfdd10c950_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1920" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkwCEB5TYqkZndo8ittnNeLEZfpwmXVb6XJuwhTTK8USd7ZhRHryffVcYdHbe7MASvJdqIoqOMRuZkS4nkpKi1oZ71pQEPwa-CeuRgtsuCvVzpjLu4YGpCCjhBDv8oamzkIz6kPSBql9dxPr3j1OOEy7knpNf_vTi9BJ9Bak-p6lGCuNagGu-1RzTzbQ/w640-h400/beach-gfdd10c950_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1c1351fb-7fff-df9b-8a1f-5f36ae6def1f"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Why Have A Staycation?</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Before diving into planning your staycation and making sure it’s amazing, it’s worth looking at why you should have one. Why choose to stay close to home when there are countless places abroad where you can go? As it turns out, there are multiple reasons to </span><a href="https://www.aaa.com/traveltips/9-reasons-a-staycation-just-might-be-the-new-vacation-572022" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">choose a staycation</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">The largest of these are:</span></p><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Avoid Travel Headaches - </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As mentioned above, a staycation doesn’t come with the hassle of getting through airport security and taking a flight. You’ll have far fewer headaches when you’re on the way and back.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your Budget Goes Further -</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Travelling abroad comes with flights and baggage fees, which means there’s less money to spend on the rest of the vacation. A staycation naturally doesn’t come with these, so your budget goes a decent bit further.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More Pet-Friendly -</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> If you have pets, you mightn’t be able to bear the thought of not being with them for the length of your trip. It’s close to impossible to bring them on trips abroad, but staycations offer you the chance to bring them with you. No more dropping them off at the kennels so you can have a trip.</span></p></li></ul><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">With how appealing a staycation can be, it can seem like a great option. You’ll have more than a few reasons to go on one. Make sure you know how to make your staycation even better to make it an amazing trip. Five top staycation tips will play a decent role in this.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">How To Make Your Staycation Even Better: 5 Top Tips</span></h2><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3863; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Pick The Right Hotel</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">From </span><a href="https://www.lodging-world.com/uk/wales/gwynedd/betws-y-coed" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hotels in Betws Y Coed</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> to studio rentals in London, you’ll have quite a few places to choose from when you’re on a vacation. Make sure you pick the right option for you. Once you have a destination in mind, you can narrow these down relatively easily.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Have your needs in mind to help with this, and check them against the hotels themselves. The more they meet your needs, the more appealing they should be. Use these needs and desires to narrow down your options and pick the right hotel.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3863; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">2. Pack A Boredom Box</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the only drawbacks of a staycation is there’s a decent possibility of rain and bad weather. That doesn’t mean you need to get bored when you’re on the trip. Bring a boredom box with you to avoid sitting around the accommodation twiddling your thumbs. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Cards, a Jenga set, and similar things could all be included in this. Whatever you and the people going with you enjoy could be worth taking with you, as long as it fits in your bags. While you mightn’t end up needing to use this, it’s always worth having on-hand.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3863; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">3. Look For Free Cancellation</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">As excited as you could be to go on your staycation, things could come up between now and then. That could mean you’ll end up needing to cancel your trip. You wouldn’t want to lose some money if this happens, and finding options with </span><a href="https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/coronavirus-hotel-cancellation-and-change-policies-updates" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">free cancellation policies</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> could avoid this.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">While these usually have a deadline for you to cancel so you can get a refund, it gives you some breathing room. If anything happens, you shouldn’t have to worry about the financial side of things. Check the policies of your hotel and anything else you’re booking to see if they have this.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3863; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Do Your Research</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Before you book anywhere for your staycation, it’s worth doing a little bit of research. Making sure the accommodation is high-quality and somewhere you’ll like is practically mandatory. Outside of that, look at the various things to do when you’re there.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">The more time you put into this, the more of an idea you’ll have for what you can do </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2018/06/5-reasons-why-you-should-travel-by-boat.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">during your vacation</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">. You wouldn’t want to get bored, after all, and spending time looking around for things to do should prevent this.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">The more things you have to do, the better your staycation should be.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1f3863; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">5. Book As Early As Possible</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">You’ll already know you’ll have to book hotels for your staycation. If you want to avoid paying through the roof for this, it’s worth booking your accommodation as early as possible. You could even get an early bird discount with this, saving you a pretty penny for the rest of the trip.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Booking early also means you’ll have more options to choose from. If you leave things until the last minute, some hotels can be booked out. Any ones that are left will cost an arm and a leg. Save yourself the money - and stress - by booking as early as possible.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">How To Make Your Staycation Even Better: Wrapping Up</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Figuring out how to make your staycation even better can seem complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. Focusing on your needs and going somewhere you’d love are all you’d need to do, but a few other tips can help make it amazing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Booking as early as possible, doing your research, packing a boredom box, and similar staycation tips are all great options. While you’ll need to put a little effort in, it’ll be much less than planning out a holiday abroad.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.295; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">With the various reasons why a staycation can be an appealing option, there’s no reason not to consider it.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Liz x</span></div></span></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-58757565866305905172023-03-04T08:09:00.005+00:002023-03-04T08:12:29.288+00:00The Keys to Running a Successful Website<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Running a website is easy. Running a </span><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">successful</span><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> website? That’ll take some work. According to estimates, there are </span><a href="https://www.howtogeek.com/845500/how-many-websites-are-on-the-internet" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">around 2 billion websites</span></a><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the internet, which is another way of saying that you’ll have a lot of competition for visitors. Of course, the vast majority of websites receive what amounts to zero visitors, so it’s not quite accurate to say that you’ll be competing with 2 billion sites. But it’ll be difficult to get ahead even if you’re up against only a fraction of that number.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s no magic bullet that’ll pull in visitors to your site. But there are things you can do that’ll greatly enhance your chances of success. In this blog, we’ll run through some of the key factors that can contribute to attracting visitors.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoMGJmyR7h3oej6R28tRpq4XLd40fVLTqDEYtGMBePHJHSIGqtyJD6YBvxlRmyyTzyuhrFONKyxS-1Ghj6C8ydWRkt49_87-VNI9lkmtp_0vgbjN-mFKm7SRsW-jmZSeKUIfPXxZF5QdCApjVSSXiXJWTQvjUayNdRHDhVqc80UEMtfHpZA6xyiUr2w/s6016/dell-dpbXgTh0Lac-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4016" data-original-width="6016" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKoMGJmyR7h3oej6R28tRpq4XLd40fVLTqDEYtGMBePHJHSIGqtyJD6YBvxlRmyyTzyuhrFONKyxS-1Ghj6C8ydWRkt49_87-VNI9lkmtp_0vgbjN-mFKm7SRsW-jmZSeKUIfPXxZF5QdCApjVSSXiXJWTQvjUayNdRHDhVqc80UEMtfHpZA6xyiUr2w/w640-h428/dell-dpbXgTh0Lac-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Clear Vision</span></div><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-eb93e1a0-7fff-a97b-54c9-d629a716e5bb"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There are plenty of general websites out there. But those sites typically don’t receive any visitors, purely because they’re </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">too</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> general. A good website has a main area of expertise or a unique selling proposition. For example, it could be a website that focuses on a specific sports team, or it may deal with issues relating to parenting and family life. Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">what</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> the site is for, so long as it’s instantly clear to people when they land on your homepage. Offering specialist content will also help with your Google ranking, which will also help to boost your visitor numbers. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Modern Design</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Web users have high expectations regarding the look and feel of the websites they visit, and rightly so. The standard of websites is exceptionally high, and there’s no reason for someone to spend time on a website that doesn’t live up to expectations. If your site has a clunky or outdated design, then, in all likelihood, your visitors will leave the website and look elsewhere. In this day and age, getting a well-designed website couldn’t be easier. You can work with a web designer if you want, but you can also use a pre-made, customisable theme that’ll bring your site in line with modern standards.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Great User Experience</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Website owners have a responsibility to their visitors. If you’re going to ask people to spend time on your site, then you need to offer a great user experience. After all, web users don’t owe you anything — they won’t spend time on your website just because you’re there. There are many ways to provide a great user experience. For example, you can make your website easy to navigate; your visitors should be able to get to where they want to go, with as little difficulty as possible.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s also important to avoid annoying your visitors. A site that contains too many popups, adverts, or dark patterns, to name just some of the frustrating aspects of the web, will be sure to push its visitors away. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Well-Functioning</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">The content and look of your website are important. But those things will be of no use if your website isn’t well-functioning. A site that is broken can’t deliver its goodness to its visitors! Take a look at the big websites, and you’ll notice that you rarely, if ever, come across any site malfunctions. While you may not be able to reach the same level of excellence as those websites, it is something that you should at least aspire to. It’s best to check your website from the user side from time to time to check that all the changes you’ve made behind the scenes are working as intended. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Analysing the Data</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">You might </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">think</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> that your website is doing well, but unless you dive into the data, you can’t know for sure — and you can’t know how you should be improving your website, either. In this day and age, there’s no reason not to take a look under the hood to see what’s working, what’s not and other key pieces of information that can shape the future of your site. Google Analytics has historically been a common tool for this purpose, but, with many people having </span><a href="https://fatjoe.com/google-analytics-alternatives/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">problems with GA4</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">, many alternatives have risen in prominence. Ultimately, once you have the right tool, you should find that you can get all the data and information you need to guide strategic decisions for your website. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">User Engagement</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Many website owners tend to think that their website is just a voice with which they send their messages out to the public. But those types of websites tend to fall flat, and it all has to do with taking the wrong approach. Rather than viewing your website as a means for sending your thoughts, opinions, and messages, it’s best to view it as a facilitator of conversation between you and your audience. Websites that make their visitors feel included generally do much better than ones that don’t. How you do this will depend on the type of website that you operate, but it could be something as similar as addressing the audience, asking for their feedback, and responding to comments. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Quality Content</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">A website could have the greatest design and functionality on the planet, but if the site only has </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">low-quality</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> content, then it’s unlikely to be successful. People want to engage with valuable content more than they want to look at pretty website design. The days of filling a website with as much content as possible and hoping to attract visitors are over. Today, it’s quality that rules, not quantity. It’s much better to publish one </span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2020/08/06/four-simple-tips-for-writing-effective-blog-posts/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">well-thought-out article</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> rather than ten hastily-written articles. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Useful Information </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s important to focus on providing fun and enjoyment to your visitors. However, it’s just as important to include useful information, such as your contact information. This is especially important if you’re running a business, but in truth, all websites would benefit — you never know when one of your visitors will encounter an issue with your site. And when they do, they’ll want to get in touch. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Plus, listing as many contact methods as possible just helps to create a professional look and feel, and that alone can give your website the edge over the vast majority of other sites. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Error-Free</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There’s no such thing as a perfect website. Still, it’s best to strive for perfection! The consequences of having many mistakes and errors on your website can be costly, after all. A website that has multiple spelling and grammatical errors, lists incorrect information, or has broken pages will lose the confidence of its visitors. And once that happens, it can be difficult/impossible to get them back. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Marketing Your Site</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Building the website is half the battle. The other half is </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2018/11/black-friday-festive-emails-to-inspire.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">marketing your website</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> so that as many people as possible are able to find you. There are a million ways to get your website out there, with some more effective than others. At a minimum, you’ll want to invest in your site’s SEO credentials, so that your site scores highly on Google’s search results page. It </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">might</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> be possible to find success without currying up to Google, but we’re not sure how you’d do that! </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There are more subtle ways to market your website, too. For example, by building a strong social media presence or writing guest posts for popular sites with a backlink to your website. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUUO5Q2wiICiP-eHqjkvGV85MXUgayt-1WnTrBHyyL5FxzoF9XoskWgJg9KxSObzWxXiTEs0s4aq57kDxGXX48CtuToajhY0FNSqGkiFXK3IooHPS0MoS3h58Grcl88qbEVPKetOUBYg5RAxqI4Xjrfao1_UGF1F1d9ILxAbUiYnHOLE74Q0PEAJQpA/s5184/le-buzz-studio-KiEiI2b9GkU-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="5184" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrUUO5Q2wiICiP-eHqjkvGV85MXUgayt-1WnTrBHyyL5FxzoF9XoskWgJg9KxSObzWxXiTEs0s4aq57kDxGXX48CtuToajhY0FNSqGkiFXK3IooHPS0MoS3h58Grcl88qbEVPKetOUBYg5RAxqI4Xjrfao1_UGF1F1d9ILxAbUiYnHOLE74Q0PEAJQpA/w640-h426/le-buzz-studio-KiEiI2b9GkU-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-033f417e-7fff-d04d-b386-9fe82acba8f8"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mobile Responsive</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you know that more people today browse the web on their smartphones than they do on their laptop or computer? It’s true — and that means that your site needs to work just as well on mobile devices as it does on a computer, perhaps even more so. There are plenty of plugins that’ll help you to get a mobile responsive website, which will ensure that your website automatically responds to your visitor’s device and adjusts accordingly. People really don’t like viewing a desktop screen on their devices!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Avoid Clutter</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">People don’t like cluttered rooms in the real world, and they don’t like cluttered rooms in the virtual world, either. A website that has too much going on provides a sensory overload for visitors that they don’t enjoy. Keep things simple. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Check the Speed and Function Across Various Devices/Browsers</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your website might work brilliantly when you check it on your device. But that doesn’t mean that it’s guaranteed to work just as well on all other devices. Indeed, in some cases, you might find that your website fails to live up to expectations in a hugely detrimental way, such as running overly slowly or failing to load correctly. As such, it’s recommended to check that your site works well across all device and browser types. You don’t necessarily need to do this all by yourself — friends and family members can help. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Conclusion</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re going to take the time and effort to put together a website, then you’ll want it to be successful, even if it’s only in a lowkey way. At the very least, you’ll want to avoid pushing your visitors away due to easily avoidable errors. Take the tips that we’ve outlined above onboard, and you’ll have created a framework that gives you the best possible chance of success.</span></p><div><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #0e101a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></div></span></div></span></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-28326563558705819982023-02-28T19:29:00.000+00:002023-02-28T19:29:11.078+00:00From the Coast to the City – What It’s Really Like to Live in Essex<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essex is a county in the south-east of England, bordering London and stretching all the way to the coast. It’s a popular place to live for many reasons: it’s got great transport links, plenty of open space and a buzzing city life – all without being too expensive or hectic. In this article, we take a look at what Essex living is really like.</span></p><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-836425f7-7fff-fe94-a4f6-cec8c67d1de0"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhAT41o3NgYPNywRrDJhIRrOQDFSJZledoFR6rSdVWECpXhsMH-JkxfuQLjGmYbUIJrvKfGllwyrHBfYTCIvhQZ84hoQfoIDBkdVrUQtiRumFkWRPb5ENos-3ujx5P9nncyP-Ih84aeaa_oFypRJpllWSZ61BHjjivP2t0H3M4cZntpoYu6obXW7R8w/s3000/nick-page-6Fkyxd8_IBY-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="3000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKhAT41o3NgYPNywRrDJhIRrOQDFSJZledoFR6rSdVWECpXhsMH-JkxfuQLjGmYbUIJrvKfGllwyrHBfYTCIvhQZ84hoQfoIDBkdVrUQtiRumFkWRPb5ENos-3ujx5P9nncyP-Ih84aeaa_oFypRJpllWSZ61BHjjivP2t0H3M4cZntpoYu6obXW7R8w/w640-h426/nick-page-6Fkyxd8_IBY-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></h2><span><a name='more'></a></span><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Coastline</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essex is home to some of the most stunning coastline in England, from Southend-On-Sea and its iconic pier, to the rural charm of Walton-on-the-Naze. It’s a great place for sailing, swimming and just enjoying the views. The nearby towns are buzzing with bars and restaurants, making it a great spot for a weekend away.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Communities</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Smaller communities like Brightlingsea, Maldon and South Woodham Ferrers offer a more peaceful way of life. Here you’ll find </span><a href="https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/food-and-drink/establishments/22566362.10-best-historic-pubs-essex/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">traditional pubs</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, small independent shops and friendly locals who will welcome you into their community with open arms. There are also plenty of activities on offer – from bushcraft and sailing courses, to long country walks.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The City Life</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essex is also home to two vibrant cities – Chelmsford and Colchester. Both offer plenty of entertainment with cinemas, </span><a href="https://www.mercurytheatre.co.uk/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">theatres</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, bars and clubs all just a short drive away. For those who love the outdoors there are plenty of parks and open spaces to explore. If you want more excitement, London is just an hour away by train!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Types of Houses</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The housing market in Essex is varied, with everything from traditional Victorian terraces to modern apartment blocks. It’s a great area for first-time buyers, as there’s plenty of affordable housing around – although house prices are rising fast. Make sure you have reliable </span><a href="https://www.simplythatch.co.uk/roof-thatchers-essex/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">roof thatchers</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Essex because your roof will be exposed to the elements of the sea since Essex is close to the coast.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Business Opportunities</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The county has a thriving business community and lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs. From </span><a href="https://www.itresourcescorp.com/best-tech-companies-essex-technology-companies-in-essex/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tech start-ups</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to luxury lifestyle brands, Essex is a great place to start and grow your business. There are also plenty of skilled workers in the area – from web developers to graphic designers.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Education Opportunities</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essex has wonderful education opportunities with a range of universities including University College London (UCL), The University of Essex and Anglia Ruskin University. There are also plenty of excellent secondary schools in the area, both state and private.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lifestyle</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Living in Essex has many advantages: it’s a safe and friendly place to live; it offers easy access to London and the rest of England; and there are plenty of activities on offer for all ages. Whether you’re looking for an urban lifestyle or something more peaceful, Essex has something for everyone!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Overall, Essex is a great place to live – with the best of both worlds. Whether you’re looking for beach days and country walks, or buzzing city life, it has something for everyone! With its good transport links, affordable housing and friendly communities, Essex is a great location for anyone looking to make it their home. So why not come and explore what living in this beautiful county has to offer? You won't regret it!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-72394999749935719482023-01-28T16:57:00.006+00:002023-07-14T09:49:56.670+01:00Things to Consider When Remodelling Your Kitchen<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; orphans: 2; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">Are you getting ready to do a kitchen remodel? Kitchen remodeling can be exciting. The kitchen is the heart of the home and making it as comfortable as possible is always a great goal.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">If you're getting ready to do a kitchen remodel but you're not sure where to start or what you need to make a priority, here are some tips that will help.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlkvOYYoibHp7Gol-X5QvTFJsURcrWv0PcQ2Cdy-PuvRiNqosSM7CdqW-r6wvhauTa2X9XgAI_brhzOF--aknlX44x5Yt8X1JJsu6D45-Yo97XreM5gK33zTe29sTVdawrV7ECa6jN_EuFbzfm99le9gozsI3GLK-IEN-XjaWJN59nxznxaNzwByhbw/s6000/im3rd-media-FJZtZldA-uE-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlkvOYYoibHp7Gol-X5QvTFJsURcrWv0PcQ2Cdy-PuvRiNqosSM7CdqW-r6wvhauTa2X9XgAI_brhzOF--aknlX44x5Yt8X1JJsu6D45-Yo97XreM5gK33zTe29sTVdawrV7ECa6jN_EuFbzfm99le9gozsI3GLK-IEN-XjaWJN59nxznxaNzwByhbw/w640-h426/im3rd-media-FJZtZldA-uE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><br /></p><h2 id="h.msrto97j948" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Remove Walls Carefully</span></h2><div><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you decide to remove walls make sure that you do this as carefully as possible. Not all walls in your home can be removed if you want to expand your kitchen. Some walls in </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2023/01/how-you-can-genuinely-create-more-space.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your home</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are load-bearing while others aren't.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you're making this a DIY project you must consult with somebody who has the experience, so you can know which walls are load-bearing and which ones aren't.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt;">With that being said, if the vision that you have for your kitchen involves removing a structural wall, there are ways you can get around it. You should get a licensed contractor to help you do this. Just prepare for a little extra spending.</span></p></span></div><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.u1dyprd7zqtu" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Island or Not?</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">When you're remodeling your kitchen you need to decide whether or not you want to incorporate an island in your design. Some kitchens just don't have enough space for an island and you need to make sure that you don't try to force an island where it cannot comfortably hold.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-01818117-7fff-342a-1702-36db6c6802fb"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most </span><a href="https://www.simon-taylor.co.uk/kitchens/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">luxury kitchens</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> have islands, so If you do decide to build an island, carefully consider where you're going to put electrical outlets on it, so that you can keep your island up to code.</span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.7xalvpdkfytb" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Consider Lighting</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-8c1d28ee-7fff-6cc7-ca39-58f32ebbe7ee"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In a kitchen, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/realestate/lighting-a-room-simplified.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">lighting is very important</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so it's important that you revamp the lighting if things are dum in the kitchen currently.</span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">You're going to need some ambient lighting for general illumination of the kitchen. Consider where you are going to put task lighting as well. You will need these lights to be able to see the tasks that you are doing in the kitchen at night.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Kitchen Splashbacks</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">A kitchen splashback is a section of your kitchen wall designed to protect the wall behind it from splashes and splatter while you’re cooking. Traditionally, a splashback would be made with tiles, as they are more hardwearing than painted walls and can be easily wiped clean. But t</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px;">here are other options, depending on your style choices.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">You can also find <a href="https://www.custom-splashbacks.co.uk/" target="_blank">cut-to-size kitchen splashbacks</a> that will fit into your space perfectly. This makes your life much easier and makes your kitchen look more professional. It can help you achieve the look you’re going for, while also being perfectly practical. </span></span></p><h2 id="h.x2uw05w5unt4" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Choose Appliances Carefully</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">When you are selecting new appliances you need to choose wisely. Carefully consider your budget for your appliances and put this aside ahead of time. </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Do not leave this for the last minute. If you have remodeled your kitchen in a certain way you need to consider the quality and longevity of your appliances. You also need to consider whether they are energy efficient or not. Look at the size and also the features.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b7c0fbd6-7fff-a890-326f-a691c6f0829d"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Consider buying </span><a href="https://money.howstuffworks.com/personal-finance/budgeting/5-appliances-to-buy-used.htm" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">second-hand appliances</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> if you need replacements. Often people upgrade their appliances to newer models not because their appliances are not working but because they want the latest model. You could get a second-hand fridge or even a dishwasher for a very low price.</span></span></span></p><h2 id="h.ssgqslatkmbj" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">Start Renovating</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that you know some of the most important things you should bear in mind when renovating your kitchen, it's time to get started. Making sure that you focus on the most important things, is what will keep you on the road to success with your kitchen renovation.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Liz x</span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-57878517307701616202023-01-20T18:39:00.013+00:002023-01-20T18:49:32.249+00:00How You Can Genuinely Create More Space In Your Home<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are numerous benefits to having more space in </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2023/01/transform-your-home-office-into-luxury-haven.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the home</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. For one thing, it allows you to host guests more easily, which is great if you want to spend more time with your friends and other loved ones. It also means that you will probably find it easier to relax in the home, which is something everyone wants from their own home of course. And you’ll find that it tends to lead your home to being more comfortable as well.
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The truth is that it’s easier to create space in the home than you might think. There are larger projects that can achieve this, as well as smaller changes which make a perceptual difference. In this post, we’ll look at both of these types of alterations, and discuss just how they can create more space for your home in a short time frame.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" dir="rtl" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcfzymAv_HsACVW9hq5LJXiIxpzEOiMEUtjOQcXLExgVcJ0EovSyTNAYJW6oY0gq_UdVkMIJc5wE1eE8M7RhrXgCMuLZKDteNBSbRHTb4fvpORW6UvJJNHOEQRa3wRyJ8UD3_5XL1AdCJfvGUy9ZAroZAQf5Rj4EnBdh7NgGKERAzhjDEsci23de35Q/s6720/pexels-gustavo-galeano-maz-12791475.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4480" data-original-width="6720" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcfzymAv_HsACVW9hq5LJXiIxpzEOiMEUtjOQcXLExgVcJ0EovSyTNAYJW6oY0gq_UdVkMIJc5wE1eE8M7RhrXgCMuLZKDteNBSbRHTb4fvpORW6UvJJNHOEQRa3wRyJ8UD3_5XL1AdCJfvGUy9ZAroZAQf5Rj4EnBdh7NgGKERAzhjDEsci23de35Q/w640-h426/pexels-gustavo-galeano-maz-12791475.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><p dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;"></p><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Build In New Storage
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Sometimes the main kind of space you are looking for is storage, and that is something that’s relatively easy to build in to any home. You can put up some shelves, build a cupboard, or however else you might want to approach it. You might be surprised at how easy it is to actually build some new shelves, and it’s something that is worth thinking about. Even if you are not all that </span><a href="https://www.mybuilder.com/blog/10-ways-to-create-space-in-your-home" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">experienced with DIY</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">, it’s likely that you can build in new storage easily enough.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Once you have room for everything to be stored, either on display or not, it’s going to reduce clutter visibly - and that means that you will have a profound sense of more space throughout the home.</span></p></span></span></div><p dir="rtl" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Reduce Your Belonging Bulk</span></span> </div><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4ce1556b-7fff-f763-4483-ee428e0b6bd3"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Of course, that </span><a href="https://www.architecturaldigest.in/content/increase-storage-space-home-ideas-solution-small-house/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">decluttering process</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can be made a lot easier simply by reducing how much you are storing in the home in the first place. If you have a lot of stuff lying around that you are just sure you don’t really need, that’s something that you can do to help, is to declutter by removing some of them from the </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">home.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5a566fff-7fff-bac4-6e9b-cd3398f839c5"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether you sell belongings, find a place to store them outside the home, such as a garage, or whatever else, you are going to find that it makes your home a lot more spacious to be in. It’s amazing how much of a difference something this simple can really make to the experience in the home, so it’s worth thinking about.</span></span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Convert The Loft
</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the larger projects you might want to undertake is to consider a loft conversion. This is one of the most popular means of literally expanding the amount of space the home has, and it’s likely going to make a significant difference to your home’s value too. So it’s really the kind of thing that is worth looking into.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-1c369c5e-7fff-72f3-2937-e272604f654f"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To convert your loft, you have a few main considerations you will want to think about first. For example, you might want to try a </span><a href="https://www.create-spaces.co.uk/loft-conversions/mansard-loft-conversion" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">mansard loft</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> conversion, which is a way of maximizing the space of the roof so that you end up with the biggest possible area in the new room. In that sense, you will be creating as much new space as possible.</span></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, any loft conversion is going to make a difference, so if you are in a position to try this out, you might want to do so and see how it helps.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Place Mirrors</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone knows that you can use mirrors to create a </span><a href="https://www.livinginashoebox.com/20-clever-ways-of-maximising-vertical-space-in-your-small-home/" style="text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">sense of space in the home</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. If you are keen to do this, it’s best done in conjunction with the other material things on this list. But there is no doubt that it can make a noticeable difference, and it is certainly worth doing if you want to have the most space possible in your perception of the home.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRWaWvGgsQhOMJo2THmIC2sbsJ8hS74aP9AT-qAi0JdH8ASKdX5_VXc9wvQN3ELlGqWblbkZnRwVXhoypa7QlHpBKSCw-e2-2faUll5FJhDACnXoY-gl1eZCC7QQTnbIxg4LcRP9hoRmsEeGDP6We4CaT-ZAntGqzmWnisOU4oZU9Y8BECWHiusaZww/s5616/pexels-pixabay-271624.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3748" data-original-width="5616" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyRWaWvGgsQhOMJo2THmIC2sbsJ8hS74aP9AT-qAi0JdH8ASKdX5_VXc9wvQN3ELlGqWblbkZnRwVXhoypa7QlHpBKSCw-e2-2faUll5FJhDACnXoY-gl1eZCC7QQTnbIxg4LcRP9hoRmsEeGDP6We4CaT-ZAntGqzmWnisOU4oZU9Y8BECWHiusaZww/w640-h428/pexels-pixabay-271624.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s all about where you place mirrors and how you approach it. For instance, you’ll find that having two mirrors on opposite walls tends to create a lot more space than just one on one wall. But you might not actually want that much space, so it’s all about balancing it out as necessary. If you do that right, it could really help the home to be a lot more spacious.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d1d4cb39-7fff-34c4-cfab-99ea3db2f056"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those are some of the main things you might want to try out if you are keen to create a lot more space in the home. If you do all of the above, it’s incredible how much bigger your home is going to feel, so that is something to think about.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></span></div></span></div>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-3370615072837501522023-01-10T11:08:00.001+00:002023-01-10T11:08:13.833+00:00Transform Your Home Office Into a Luxury Haven With These Stylish Remodelling Tips<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">A home office is becoming an increasingly important part of many households. Not only does it provide a dedicated workspace where your family can focus and stay productive, but with the right design and styling, it can give your home a luxury feel. If you're looking to remodel your home office and give it a touch of opulence, this article will provide all the tips and advice you need. </span></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFBhkNvwhk9oHZzHJsDErMAd1QjBzDgQjDEnhJUDIW-ESc-rqWIO8TVgaCa5Or5TdQ31z1mBWYx6HSh4qKb9qJGgXCGmFeSXhkxngnKMiZwerDeEtceKq-7dyQIG8Xp8tan2zZFcl9H6NYz8TujQgRF57-82Y11kDCIKO3O1yKO4e12dniqdWPHsy6g/s3500/pexels-huseyn-kamaladdin-667838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2422" data-original-width="3500" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFBhkNvwhk9oHZzHJsDErMAd1QjBzDgQjDEnhJUDIW-ESc-rqWIO8TVgaCa5Or5TdQ31z1mBWYx6HSh4qKb9qJGgXCGmFeSXhkxngnKMiZwerDeEtceKq-7dyQIG8Xp8tan2zZFcl9H6NYz8TujQgRF57-82Y11kDCIKO3O1yKO4e12dniqdWPHsy6g/w640-h442/pexels-huseyn-kamaladdin-667838.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-ee9123a6-7fff-1df8-726d-14eded3f8d53"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Choose An Elegant Colour Scheme:</span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A great place to start when it comes to home office remodelling is to think about </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2020/11/5Interiorstylesyouneedtotry.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">interior</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> design. The paint colour or wallpaper scheme you choose can have a significant impact on how luxurious your space looks and feels. Opt for lighter shades of paint, like soft beiges and whites, which will open up the room and make it look more spacious. Alternatively, if you want to create a </span><a href="https://www.hgtv.com/design/decorating/color/moody-and-dramatic-color-pairings-pictures" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dramatic</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> atmosphere without overpowering the space, go for darker tones such as charcoal and navy blues. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add Some Glamorous Furniture: </span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One surefire way to give your home office a touch of luxury is with some stylish furniture pieces. Invest in quality materials that are both aesthetically pleasing and durable. For example, opt for a sturdy wooden desk and a leather executive chair to add some sophistication. And don't forget to include some luxurious touches such as gold or chrome accents. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Create An Inspiring Atmosphere: </span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Creating a calming atmosphere in your home office is essential when it comes to remodelling this space into a luxury haven. Incorporate features like </span><a href="https://www.pauljamesblinds.co.uk/shutters/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shutters</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on your windows and rugs on the floor, which will add some colour and texture to the room while also helping to regulate temperature and muffle the sound. You could even hang artwork on the walls – pick something eye-catching but not too distracting so that it doesn't detract from your work. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Include Practical Storage Solutions: </span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When remodelling a home office, it's essential to make sure you have plenty of </span><a href="https://www.realhomes.com/design/home-office-storage" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">storage solutions</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This will help keep your workspace organised and clutter-free so that it remains an efficient space for work. For example, invest in a filing cabinet or drawers to store important documents. At the same time, some stylish baskets can be used to tidy away any excess items that aren't needed day-to-day. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Invest In Home Office Software:</span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't forget about the technology when it comes to home office remodelling. Invest in some useful software solutions that will make your work more efficient. This could include time management tools or project management applications. You should also consider investing in a high-quality printer and scanner to print documents or store digital copies of necessary paperwork easily. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Add Luxurious Finishing Touches: </span></h2><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No home office remodel would be complete without some luxurious finishing touches. Whether it's fresh flowers on the desk or </span><a href="https://www.travelandleisure.com/style/shopping/benefits-of-candles" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">scented candles</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> burning in the corner, these little details are what really add a touch of luxury to this space. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remodelling your home office into a luxurious haven doesn't have to be difficult. With the right design tips and advice, you'll be able to transform this space into a stylish and practical workspace where you can stay productive and remain inspired. Start by choosing an elegant colour scheme, add glamorous furniture pieces, create an inspiring atmosphere, include practical storage solutions, invest in useful home office software and remember to add some luxurious finishing touches. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-9530621018838398332022-12-29T08:39:00.008+00:002023-01-10T11:09:48.118+00:005 Secrets for Younger Looking Skin<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; orphans: 2; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">Looking young and fresh is something that we all want. Nobody wants to look old before their time! Luckily, there are some secrets to keeping your skin looking young and radiant. This blog post will discuss five of the best tips for younger looking skin. Follow these tips and you'll be on your way to a more youthful appearance in no time!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq2v0evUiidB1KJpjMSD-XTAFEvY8nDnt2RgRnZrrlPrNHy0UeMi_gzsc0g3G8mZnVsIUkphhkMWJi69aRm7JZI-nTkItehSWfOimYR8kb7eKxIBFAhOPIk9dfV-OK4PJ23DLSxHdnmh1IZL1H_G9FVoCeUGHMwc0JoHFPQu1TNcz0MYb9KqW0nhhTg/s6000/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3764013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigq2v0evUiidB1KJpjMSD-XTAFEvY8nDnt2RgRnZrrlPrNHy0UeMi_gzsc0g3G8mZnVsIUkphhkMWJi69aRm7JZI-nTkItehSWfOimYR8kb7eKxIBFAhOPIk9dfV-OK4PJ23DLSxHdnmh1IZL1H_G9FVoCeUGHMwc0JoHFPQu1TNcz0MYb9KqW0nhhTg/w640-h426/pexels-andrea-piacquadio-3764013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><h2 id="h.8p4fg9695vu5" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">1) Wear sunscreen every day</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">The sun’s rays can cause premature wrinkles, age spots, and other signs of aging. <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/sunscreen-explained" style="text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">Protect your skin with a broad-spectrum sunscreen</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> that has an SPF of at least 30. Apply it generously and reapply every two hours if you are out in the sun for more than several minutes. In addition, when you are out in the sun, wear wide-brimmed hats and protective clothing to further shield your skin from UV rays.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.v9szvqydt4cl" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">2) Cleanse twice daily with a gentle cleanser</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">Cleansing twice a day removes dirt, oil, and makeup that can clog pores and make your skin look dull. <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Cleanse+twice+daily+with+a+gentle+cleanser&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safari_group=9" style="text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">Avoid cleansers that contain harsh detergents</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> or alcohol as these will strip away natural oils from your skin. Instead, opt for a gentle cream or gel-based cleanser that is pH balanced. Also, avoid hot water when cleansing as this will dry out your skin. Use lukewarm or cold water instead, and follow up with a moisturizer afterwards.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.vk7jzh130np" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">3) Exfoliate regularly</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">Exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells from the surface of your skin, revealing the fresh new layers beneath. If you’re wondering <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://plasmapenuk.com/2020/04/how-to-reduce-wrinkles-on-the-face-with-plasma-pen/" target="_blank">how to reduce wrinkles</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">, then one of the keys is to exfoliate gently — avoid facial scrubs that contain harsh beads or granules as they can be too abrasive on delicate skin. Instead, opt for an enzyme-based exfoliator that uses fruit enzymes to slough away dull cells without irritation</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.zcjiosn1g8kz" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">4) Use antioxidants daily</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Antioxidants help protect the skin from environmental damage caused by free radicals like pollution and UV radiation. Products that contain antioxidants like vitamins A, C, and E are great for nourishing the skin and helping to keep it looking younger for longer. Look for these ingredients in your moisturizers, serums, and other skincare products.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.ljbtdovd9bbn" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">5) Incorporate retinols into your routine</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Retinols (vitamin A derivatives) have been proven to be effective at reducing wrinkles, evening out skin tone, and stimulating collagen production. However, they can be drying so start with a low strength product and gradually build up tolerance over time. Also remember to apply sunscreen when using retinol as this ingredient makes you more sensitive to the sun’s rays.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">You could also use retinoids, which are slightly less drying but just as effective. Face masks, on the other hand, help to deeply cleanse and nourish the skin. Look for masks that contain blood ingredients like hyaluronic acid, kaolin clay, aloe vera, and other natural extracts. These will do wonders for your complexion!</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">In conclusion, there are several simple steps you can take to help <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2019/09/spring-proof-your-skin.html%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;source%3Deditors%26amp;ust%3D1672313432858070%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw0nxV-hIIblKolNH7xUlNOa&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1672313432868193&usg=AOvVaw3rzlumrDmZSj_jzAcgkzNV" style="text-decoration: inherit;">keep your skin looking young</a></span> <span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">and fresh. Wear sunscreen daily, cleanse twice a day with a gentle cleanser, exfoliate regularly, use antioxidants on a regular basis, and incorporate retinols into your routine. Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to younger looking skin!</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Liz x</div>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-67294434151474991652022-11-19T11:11:00.005+00:002022-11-19T11:18:25.155+00:00How To Find The Best Present For Your Man: Brilliant Ideas To Utilise Today<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s the occasion? Birthdays, valentines or just the perfect time for a little treat - there are so many different times when you need to find the best gift for your man. </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a4ea2fe9-7fff-5805-1d9c-579ada9eae28"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s not always easy to source the most suitable present that you know they’re going to appreciate. Men can be difficult to buy for, as they are rarely open with constructive suggestions, and the pressure is on to try and find something that they’re really going to like. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fortunately, this guide contains a number of different ideas that you can make the most of that might just be the ideal gift recommendations that you’ve been waiting for. It truly couldn’t be easier to source them today, so what are you waiting for? If you want to show your other half a little love by buying them the perfect present ever, then simply read on to uncover some of the best concepts that you can make the most of to put a smile on their face no matter what the occasion may be!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsLQ1WBxgsjdyMjPB4-H8u2OI_W-XDln5X4NJbCvokbn5TuGEoRb-9mznVCMegl4VZ6JLToxne9oCG_TpvZ5cIpK7w5IylD3wqaXuasiRvllrd7ZODFLyyZZobY-LPWXQlkBwP3OB_I9spnXd5mVE2crAVyu-FwKM7iuinn7lUKOlQVJAhFOqRaU9jA/s4760/pexels-yan-krukov-6209310.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4760" data-original-width="3173" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsLQ1WBxgsjdyMjPB4-H8u2OI_W-XDln5X4NJbCvokbn5TuGEoRb-9mznVCMegl4VZ6JLToxne9oCG_TpvZ5cIpK7w5IylD3wqaXuasiRvllrd7ZODFLyyZZobY-LPWXQlkBwP3OB_I9spnXd5mVE2crAVyu-FwKM7iuinn7lUKOlQVJAhFOqRaU9jA/w426-h640/pexels-yan-krukov-6209310.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Revamp Their Wardrobe: Clothing & Accessories </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Buying your man a new outfit can be one of the best choices to explore when looking for the perfect gift, as there’s so much scope for clothes and accessories that you can decide between. Searching for seasonal clothing like a winter jacket during snowy weather can be a great choice, as you can ensure that your gift is relevant and will be utilized immediately rather than being thrown into the back of your closet, never to be seen again. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">If you want to buy some accessories rather than clothing, then you can search for scarves, watches, bags and of course, shoes! You can get </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://able-labels.co.uk/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">labels and stickers</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> to personalize things like bags and clothes, or have unique embroidery to make your gift as individual as can be. Buying shoes for your partner can either be a real hit or a complete miss, especially when it comes to specific brands and styles, so be certain of your choice before committing to buy. Trainers tend to be a great option as it’s something that men tend to wear often, so take the time to find out their favorite brand and style before hitting the local mall to try and buy some a great pair of kicks. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Try Something A Little Different: Experience Days </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">In recent years there has been an increasing number of </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.countryliving.com/uk/travel-ideas/staycation-uk/g29219263/experience-days-couples/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4a6ee0; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;" target="_blank"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">experience days</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> popping up left, right and center that can offer you the chance to make some exhilarating memories. This is something that you should certainly be taking advantage of, as such trips can be the perfect present for any men who are particularly hard to buy for or tend to steer away from material goods. </span></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0e101a; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span data-preserver-spaces="true" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Perhaps you might decide to book a day at a driving track, head to an area of natural beauty for a hike, or even visit a top local restaurant for a chef's table dinner - it has to be said that the options are truly endless, so you will no doubt be able to organize the most memorable day that you can enjoy together. </span></span></p></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-7055831849499930122022-11-01T20:03:00.006+00:002022-11-01T20:03:46.461+00:00Renovating Your Home After A Major Storm<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have just gone through a major storm, your home will likely need some repairs. A lot of damage can be done in a short amount of time, so it's important to know what to do when the storm has passed. This blog post will discuss some tips for renovating your home after a major storm covering everything from roof damage to fixing water damage. So, if you are facing a daunting renovation project after a major storm, don't worry - we are here to help!</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwyqHpkb35o64Sj3xnzh7zC3BJRDLhEKHYAJXlTGvfJu8KZ-j2NvVl0_MJ2OKFqlJCa2kFFC-5mo-DiC7sGHAt91n8HUHUaNUXtVoJCB9BEciTk85BsbMzsSO1Yb3RGpC5l99KedNpP0YQjCVMmcCMRQN01X0jRmCqJjkm6goX_TErfcFALkpRIxE4w/s6000/pexels-blue-bird-7218525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwyqHpkb35o64Sj3xnzh7zC3BJRDLhEKHYAJXlTGvfJu8KZ-j2NvVl0_MJ2OKFqlJCa2kFFC-5mo-DiC7sGHAt91n8HUHUaNUXtVoJCB9BEciTk85BsbMzsSO1Yb3RGpC5l99KedNpP0YQjCVMmcCMRQN01X0jRmCqJjkm6goX_TErfcFALkpRIxE4w/w640-h426/pexels-blue-bird-7218525.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span></span><p style="text-align: center;"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">1) Start with the roof:</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-823b4edc-7fff-5306-d7ba-5b85da4b87fe"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Damage to your home's roof is one of the most common types of storm damage. If you have missing or damaged shingles, they must be replaced as soon as possible. Not only will this help to prevent leaks, but it will also help to improve the look of your home. In addition, replacing the </span><a href="https://www.varicoltd.com/polycarbonate.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">polycarb sheet</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of the carport can be included in the repair of the roof.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2) Check for water damage:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another common type of storm damage is water damage. This can be caused by anything from heavy rains to leaking pipes. If you suspect that your home has any water damage, it's important to have it </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2022/04/how-to-renovate-your-home-on-budget.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">checked out by a professional</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as soon as possible. Water damage can lead to mold and mildew growth, so it's important to nip it in the bud before it becomes a bigger problem.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3) Inspect your windows and doors:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">High winds can cause damage to your home's windows and doors. If you notice any cracks or breaks, it's important to have them repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Not only will this help to keep your home warmer in the winter, but it will also help to keep out pests and insects. In addition, checking the garage door is essential to ensure that it is still intact and will not blow away in the next storm.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4) Evaluate your landscaping:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Your home's landscaping can also be damaged in a major storm. If you have any broken branches or downed trees, it's important to have them removed as soon as possible. Not only will this help to improve the look of your yard, but it will also help to </span><a href="https://www.cflrenovations.com/blog/2020/three-tips-to-remodel-your-home-after-storm-damage.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">prevent further damage</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to your home. Likewise, if you have flood damage, removing any standing water as soon as possible is important to prevent mold and mildew growth.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-cd876569-7fff-77c8-f98c-d7bdeab0ab3f"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5) Check for foundation damage:</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If your home has suffered any flooding, it's important to check for foundation damage. This is especially true if the water has been allowed to sit for an extended period of time. Foundation </span><a href="https://www.houzz.com/magazine/remodeling-after-water-damage-tips-from-a-homeowner-who-did-it-stsetivw-vs~16259500" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">damage can be very costly to repair</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, so it's best to catch it early on. Also, notice any cracks in your walls or ceilings; it's important to have them repaired as soon as possible to prevent further damage.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In conclusion, these are just a few tips for renovating your home after a major storm. If you have any other questions or concerns, be sure to consult with a professional contractor. They will be able to help you with anything from roof repairs to water damage restoration.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-17250417908850365822022-10-29T13:56:00.012+01:002022-10-29T13:57:44.433+01:006 Ways to Keep Your House Tidy Without Constant Upkeep<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping your house neat is a challenging task. After all, being constantly busy with work or other extracurricular activities leaves little time for tidying up. Fortunately, keeping your home tidy doesn’t require constant maintenance, and keeping your place clean should be an occasional activity rather than a continual hassle. Here are some helpful tips to keep your house free of clutter and dirt without constantly maintaining it.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-87ff7f64-7fff-a357-1e4e-51c248be740c"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG1limG8jBORkQvaPYzPyIWTAywDuiHyDTdU_f49FP1Iy2aSXwIGyzcz0mu8Ijl7ct01BBN40PXc1K2xERokeMBT1diXh-nSM1coJQgL0UJHr5KBYNhWBAL0V1j4l00HxEdf2uYXiLinCbmWzdwQbsr4fCLm2qIXSjqbnAqVnTBbHTDPN1AQ-CVmUzQ/s6692/pexels-karolina-grabowska-4239031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4461" data-original-width="6692" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG1limG8jBORkQvaPYzPyIWTAywDuiHyDTdU_f49FP1Iy2aSXwIGyzcz0mu8Ijl7ct01BBN40PXc1K2xERokeMBT1diXh-nSM1coJQgL0UJHr5KBYNhWBAL0V1j4l00HxEdf2uYXiLinCbmWzdwQbsr4fCLm2qIXSjqbnAqVnTBbHTDPN1AQ-CVmUzQ/w640-h426/pexels-karolina-grabowska-4239031.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></h2><span><a name='more'></a></span><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Remove your shoes when you come in</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you enter your home, take off your shoes and clean out your pockets. This simple step will help keep your home clean and tidy. Keeping your shoes by the front door or on the shoe rack will also make it easier to clean them when they get dirty. You’ll also find your shoes last longer if you take care of them. To keep them in good shape, clean them regularly and don’t wear them if they’re dirty, so they don’t get even dirtier.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clean your house well periodically</span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you devote a specific time every so often to clean your house, you’ll find that it stays tidy. It will also make tasks like </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2022/01/how-to-make-decluttering-your-home-less.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">decluttering less daunting</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as you can focus on the task at hand without lamenting how messy your house looks. It would be best if you tried to clean your home thoroughly after scheduling a time to clean it. While it may seem like extra work, it will also eliminate the need for you to clean up constantly, and you won’t have to rush around cleaning up all the time. Once a week, clean your entire house. You can use a mop and bucket, vacuum the floors, scrub the bathrooms and tidy the kitchen. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Store frequently used items where they belong</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have kids, you’ll know they like to play with random items, often without putting them away tidily. If you don’t have a designated space for these toys, you’ll find that they’ll end up in the corners of your room or your drawers, and this will only end up making your room look cluttered and messy. To keep your home tidy, designate a space for toys and other random items; one of the best </span><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/kids/best-toy-storage-solutions-b2099734.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">toy storage solutions</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is to purchase boxes or baskets to store them. This way, your kids can easily access these to put their toys away, and your home will look less messy as the toys are hidden from view.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Store your extra stuff in a storage unit</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re trying to keep your house tidy, you’ll need to prioritise what items you want to keep, as, over time, all of the things you gather will add up. To keep your house tidy and clutter-free, you should consider selling your extra things. If your items have sentimental value, you should also consider renting a storage unit. </span><a href="https://www.containerselfstore.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Container Selfstore</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is one site that provides storage units to suit your needs. Renting a storage unit is one of the more cost-effective ways to store your extra items. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t let pets into the house</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping your dog or cat in your home will result in extra cleaning and maintenance if you have a smelly pet. Your pet may carry germs from outside and can also track in dirt and mud during wetter weather. If you keep them outside, you won’t have to worry about the smell and dirt.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stay on top of maintenance and repairs</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You should schedule </span><a href="https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-managing-2/home-maintenance-checklist/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">regular maintenance</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and repairs to keep your house in good shape. For example, ensure that your plumbing system works correctly and that your toilet isn’t leaking. Also, make sure that your roof doesn’t have any holes in it. Maintaining things like this will keep your house in good condition for longer. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz xx</span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-9063754414422500522022-10-26T19:25:00.008+01:002022-10-26T19:28:02.440+01:00Christmas Fashion Essentials You Can't Live Without<div class="separator"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-f928e68c-7fff-b3bc-4959-f7f61773eb8e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s that time of year again! </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas is approaching at a rapid speed, making you wonder whaon earth Santa has fed the reindeer this year. It is less than two months away and all the shops are starting to stock their Christmas items. If you haven’t already bought some mince pies, you’re missing out. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s so much to enjoy about Christmas, but one thing I like the most is Christmas fashion. It’s a time to feel festive and have a bit of fun, so here are my Christmas fashion essentials you can’t live without - be warned, some are practical and some are just plain adorable! </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="416" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/fZ5v6Ka3RvcZ0B4OnjRbpmvC2ZafHCcxEnKZSgU_gMeONmHrz-sl_xGDTUWs9gvRFDynzpD3RuI0BgjQAYyMCG3met4SGWx4YibHftlcZd4-8v1AKrxh9ISKqS-uwVSX5JYBcyc-SHfiRiGu7A6aWFfmf7s4Cr6HmX0yEVyMYunZWyKVp1AizxkxnQ" style="font-size: 11pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px;" width="624" /></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/christmas-themed-wallpaper-714696/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="-webkit-text-decoration-skip: none; background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Image (CC0 License)</span></a></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-d0e2132c-7fff-f6c6-50b3-5e4f6cb44453"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span></h2><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Christmas Jumper</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let’s be honest, you need a Christmas jumper. Whether you buy a new one every year or wear the same one to every office party, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’ve got something big and cosy to wear throughout the festive season. Brands have got really creative with jumpers these days and they’re not as ugly as they once were. If you need some inspiration - or want to get a jumper before they sell out within a month - here are some of the </span><a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/news/20220921151861/christmas-jumpers-primark-marks-and-spencer/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">best Christmas jumpers out this year</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas PJs</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a big pyjama fan because I think they make you feel cosy and they’re actually low-key really fashionable. During the festive period, it’s time to whip out the Christmas PJs. You can find some adorable </span><a href="https://sleepoverclub.co.uk/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">personalised pyjamas</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that you and a partner can wear - or you can get some for the entire family. They’re the perfect thing to wear on Christmas Eve when everyone is together and excited for the big day. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRvMLCR7416ArhmFeEfNkaDzz5W2KC6bzb2jIU5DCx1_-2ffz8LfCzLAx8EoJ1UgTAzfsOStTmEeOyXPUbbtgH5KyEK4AOLxcMTTR-o_Us5N3c7ut59Nq6MZ1um45TssjdZ0ti7jKhsL0k3L5Ehr2pnMOZm3ZfdXgKq9hoRJMRIgmXt3J7VRcXj6oXA/s6774/pexels-inga-seliverstova-3394229.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4492" data-original-width="6774" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRvMLCR7416ArhmFeEfNkaDzz5W2KC6bzb2jIU5DCx1_-2ffz8LfCzLAx8EoJ1UgTAzfsOStTmEeOyXPUbbtgH5KyEK4AOLxcMTTR-o_Us5N3c7ut59Nq6MZ1um45TssjdZ0ti7jKhsL0k3L5Ehr2pnMOZm3ZfdXgKq9hoRJMRIgmXt3J7VRcXj6oXA/w640-h424/pexels-inga-seliverstova-3394229.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Party Dress</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Yes, every woman needs to get themselves a nice party dress for the holidays. As well as being the season of festivities, it’s also the season of celebrations. Even a hermit will have lots of parties and events to attend over Christmas, such as office parties, end-of-year celebrations, awards ceremonies, and family gatherings. So, it helps to have </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2021/02/6-Underrated-Style-Tips-For-Looking-Your-Best.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">something nice to wear</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that aligns with the season. A lovely party dress in red or green would be perfect for this time of year. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Slippers</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the weather gets colder, you want to avoid putting your heating on, so you need to get yourself a pair of thick, fluffy slippers this Christmas. Wear them throughout the festive period to stay warm and comfortable at home. Truthfully, they can follow any design you want, but it is more enjoyable when they’re festive. A boatload of options present themselves and one of my favourites is the slippers with Rudolph's face on the front. They have a big red nose and some soft antlers - it’s very cute and funny. Or, slippers with a big bushy Santa beard on the front, they’re hilarious too. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are so many ways you can get into the festive spirit this year and following the latest fashion trends is one of them. Get yourself these four items and you will have a much more enjoyable Christmas. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz xx</span></p></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-84619272138202393622022-08-26T08:43:00.003+01:002022-08-26T08:43:22.673+01:00How Should You Go About Gifting A Distant Family Relative?<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s an awkward decision to make when trying to gift something to someone we barely know. For instance, perhaps your boss has been pretty great to you for your first two months on the job, and as it’s their birthday coming up, you wish to give them a card and </span><a href="https://nymag.com/strategist/article/best-boss-gifts-on-amazon.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">something simple</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. A box of chocolates might be seen as too romantic, an engraved pen might seem way too familiar, and a gift card too informal and not well-thought-through.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HaS5JzmG4b_9BZdWXGwKLsllp7qcmNTJWeJ3oDgBxRvAyYcqCnUP9Ewp0Myw58HSSZx0U6QW1HnCtklUbZ_797LLyfQrhwe4wnjvQGeUlkY367cG-ZFLinQxECwqsjHZxa2SQk_iAwaK-5Z-IsiZG-mcQObNhEMoGx_uSB7PSrm7E2wFDc8NoTnlzQ/s2272/pexels-pixabay-264791.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1704" data-original-width="2272" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8HaS5JzmG4b_9BZdWXGwKLsllp7qcmNTJWeJ3oDgBxRvAyYcqCnUP9Ewp0Myw58HSSZx0U6QW1HnCtklUbZ_797LLyfQrhwe4wnjvQGeUlkY367cG-ZFLinQxECwqsjHZxa2SQk_iAwaK-5Z-IsiZG-mcQObNhEMoGx_uSB7PSrm7E2wFDc8NoTnlzQ/w640-h480/pexels-pixabay-264791.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-efe46a0d-7fff-e30f-6b74-482eb814e35e"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Things can feel even more awkward when the perceived scope of familiarity is not really that defined at all. A distant relative fits this weird box. You may not have spoken to that side of the family for over twenty years. Where do you even start to reconnect? But at the same time, if they’re family, and especially blood family, then they’re family. So a box of chocolates may not be seen as too familiar in this case, but is it still a bit presumptive? It’s hard to tell.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In this post, we hope to offer a few recommendations, that even if you choose not to go with, should provide some kind of ballpark you can begin to play in instead of throwing your hands up in the air and giving up entirely.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Lovely, Framed Family Photo</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.photo-frames.co.uk/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo frame gifts</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are a great gesture to give to someone, because it shows that you’ve ptu some thought into a lovely picture that can be cherished from then on. With a formal or decorated frame, this can serve as a nice ornament or decoration in their home. </span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It might be, for instance, that you frame an old analogue photograph, restored through a professional service, of your last meeting twenty years ago, or perhaps the last time your grouped families were photographed together. That’s sure to put a smile on their face and suggests a bond that could grow in the future.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Convenience Gift</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sometimes, the best gifts we get are those which </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2020/10/WaysToManageYourLifeOnTheGo.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">make our lives a little easier</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You likely know the type. Perhaps a parent has volunteered some money for you to get your car repaired in the past. This is the principle that works here. For instance, perhaps if your distant family is coming to visit you for your wedding, or another relative’s wedding, or to simply reconnect, then it might be a nice gesture to pay for their hotel for a couple of days, given the effort they’ve made coming to you. That kind of gift is a nice gesture, and utterly convenient for them.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Gift Hamper</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A lovely gift hamper is a perfect representation of the love a family might share. It may be too familiar to gift one of these to someone we rarely know, but family wise, it can send the right message. These gift hampers can differ, from large chocolate and flower collections, to hampers that provide lovely shower lotions and fragrant bath bombs. Or, you may opt for an antipasti or cheese/cracker hamper, something that can be indulged in through and through.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With this advice, we’re certain you’ll gift your family in the best possible light.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-65184283009956013422022-08-20T10:46:00.013+01:002022-08-20T10:47:35.916+01:00Self Care Strategies You Won’t Want To Ignore<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Self-care is a luxury that is essential to everyone's well-being and should not be neglected in any circumstance. In addition to taking care of their physical bodies and bodies in general, everyone ought to prioritise looking after their mental and emotional well-being as well as their physical bodies. Despite the widespread belief to the contrary, practising self-care does not equate to being self-centred.</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6414758d-7fff-ddcf-09ab-44fce60e27cd"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSnXfF6Rngszjlth06HyYkeTxdS4T0LIFZ2suf_qjOB4ipLoIUnURDVQI-oCa0_P_cccAtYL3uO-VQ5SP3VWIJpRV-2NMdqF8_RMbXAlIbepTLivgI6l4jixUuUoC-laf8tvqJ9drDfJ5AHxFlJNXgyN1UKfZZikXL5sGOeTvEb7wv2zzETgsTf6rxw/s5760/maddi-bazzocco-TOZqUHD8L38-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3840" data-original-width="5760" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrSnXfF6Rngszjlth06HyYkeTxdS4T0LIFZ2suf_qjOB4ipLoIUnURDVQI-oCa0_P_cccAtYL3uO-VQ5SP3VWIJpRV-2NMdqF8_RMbXAlIbepTLivgI6l4jixUuUoC-laf8tvqJ9drDfJ5AHxFlJNXgyN1UKfZZikXL5sGOeTvEb7wv2zzETgsTf6rxw/w640-h426/maddi-bazzocco-TOZqUHD8L38-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To practice "self care" means to provide the world with the version of yourself that is at your absolute best, not the version that has been neglected.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You are subject to the same principle, as demonstrated by the fact that you cannot pour from an empty jug. If you are so focused on giving everything you have to other people, what will be left for you? In a world in which we are learning to anticipate the unforeseen, going the extra mile to take care of oneself could decide whether or not you succeed. The idea that self-care is more of a requirement than a luxury is gradually gaining popularity, and it is essential to acknowledge the significance of this shift in perspective.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see tried and true methods, such as taking a relaxing bath in peace and wrapping yourself up in a fluffy towel or </span><a href="https://allurebathfashions.co.uk/products/ladies-shower-wrap" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shower wrap</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, reading a book, turning off your phone and engaging in an activity that brings you joy, etc., being pushed as quick and simple ways to treat oneself to some "me time." However, what should you do if you want to take this a step further and emphasise the opulent part of engaging in self-care practices?</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Cosmetic treatments</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">It is the surest way to create the idea that you have an exorbitant budget if you participate in any of the numerous </span><a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/beauty/spas-salons/a33502675/popular-cosmetic-procedures-juvederm/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">high-end cosmetic procedures</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">, such as a face peel or cryotherapy. These treatments are available all over the world. It is possible to feel fantastic while also allowing yourself to relax when you let someone else give you a cosmetic treatment while you lie back and let them do all the work for you.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Massage</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">There is a broad variety of massage techniques available for individuals who want to achieve the highest level of relaxation that is humanly feasible. To get the same result, why not select a type of massage you have not yet experimented with and take pleasure in the aftereffects it bestows upon you? When it comes to taking care of oneself, getting a massage of any kind, whether it be a head massage, a full body massage, or a mix of other treatments, is undeniably one of the most luxurious options to access. There is no way to sugarcoat that this is one of the more opulent choices available. You can help yourself feel more like yourself again by selecting from various options such as hot stone massage, Swedish massage, and many more. This will allow you to choose the option that will be most beneficial to you.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Vacation</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Is there anything that could be more revitalising than taking a quick trip somewhere else to get some rest and relaxation? If getting some much-needed rest and rejuvenation is high on your to-do list, then planning a short trip for a long weekend or perhaps a week would be a fantastic form of self-care, do not you think? There are times when we need to take a break from life and reality in order to stop, recharge, and let go of all of the troubles that life brings. It is occasionally required to take a break of this nature.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Even staying at a hotel for just one night might do wonders for reigniting the fire that was once present within you.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Acquire some new knowledge.</span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">If you want to </span><a href="https://www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/getting-a-job/make-a-career-change" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">retrain for a new career</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> or just learn something new, you should find a new hobby, learn a new skill, or even go back to school. If you want to retrain for a new career, you should just learn something new. You should satisfy your innate curiosity by engaging in one of these activities. If you are prepared to put in the work to better yourself and have the passion for doing so, the only thing that can stop you from succeeding is the sky. Why is expanding one's knowledge believed to be beneficial to one's own self-care? To put it another way, you are placing the fulfilment of your own requirements and aims ahead of those of other people. Taking the time to do something for oneself for whatever reason is an example of self-care, as is anything else that is beneficial to the well-being of the soul, and anything beneficial to the soul can be considered self-care. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Liz x</span></p></span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-13866875940961900932022-07-20T16:07:00.008+01:002022-07-20T16:09:06.348+01:00How To Make The Outside Of Your Home Look As Good As The Inside<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There’s a saying among realtors, is that you should buy the worst house on the best street. That doesn’t mean that you have to buy a bad house, it means that the area you choose to live in is more important, so when it comes to spending your budget, don’t be afraid of having to do a little work on a property in order to be able to live in the perfect place. </span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-206b8656-7fff-48e6-de32-5b4dd39e333a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you want your property to look more impressive on the outside, there are many things you can do to achieve this. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNugM1wnzudW3nOTodwRD5kxcS_OxGZL-1WjrpZq13StYV9IDOzyc5kTJbN8_fRR47X0O0XAB_J5sIye6clhLSy8gQap1jYnPDqXf37VDjT1PHTpGQ7zWJ9MecYXl4q_IFXR7VIzazlkmpuK_7VrUsAuvvtQ4jVzHjO6yABD9hnkhdq5XA6imB7VAQQ/s5472/ksenia-balandina-RCF5KSWb7Ms-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaNugM1wnzudW3nOTodwRD5kxcS_OxGZL-1WjrpZq13StYV9IDOzyc5kTJbN8_fRR47X0O0XAB_J5sIye6clhLSy8gQap1jYnPDqXf37VDjT1PHTpGQ7zWJ9MecYXl4q_IFXR7VIzazlkmpuK_7VrUsAuvvtQ4jVzHjO6yABD9hnkhdq5XA6imB7VAQQ/w640-h426/ksenia-balandina-RCF5KSWb7Ms-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span><p></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Add an extension</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A well-designed extension or garage can give you that vital extra space and increase the value of your home. Rather than a traditional build, look at </span><a href="https://www.tradeoakbuildingkits.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">oak framed building kits</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for that extra touch of luxury. </span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Update the roof and windows</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">An old, patchy roof and old windows are sure-fire ways to bring the look of your house down. Get the roof, guttering, and window frames replaced in order to get it looking better. This is one of the more expensive changes to make to your home but they will perform more than a cosmetic change. They will also reduce your energy bills and reduce the risk of leaks and further damage. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you have wooden window frames, then you could have these restored and prepaint without having to replace them. </span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Upgrade your front door</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One of the first things people will notice about the front of your house is the door. So if yours is in need of a refresh, then youll need to do something about it. There are </span><a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/bayerbuilt/exterior-doors/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">many styles and colours</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of door available. Or you can refresh your existing door by giving it a coat of paint and replacing the hardware such as the hinges, key hole and door handle. If you do it well, it could look like a brand new door for a fraction of the price. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16pt;">Give everything a spring clean</span></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Invest in a </span><a href="https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/my-first-time-pressure-washing-a-driveway/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">pressure washer</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or hire someone to come and give everything a good clean for you. This includes the facade of the house, driveway and paths. You’d be amazed at how much dirt accumulates over the years. </span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Add some greenery</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Flowers and shrubs can make a home look welcoming and elegant. If you don’t have the time to garden often, choose low maintenance shrubs and planters that need very little done to them. Thank about adding planters to either side of your path or door too. </span></span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Final thoughts </span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are lots of reasons to focus on the outside of your home. It can make you feel as though the outside reflects the inside, so if you spend a lot of time and effort on the interior, it’s nice to see that attention to detail reflected for others to see. Additionally, it can also make your house more appealing if you should ever sell it, resulting in a quicker sale and even a higher price. Regardless of </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2022/04/how-to-renovate-your-home-on-budget.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">your budget</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, there are changes that you can make to improve it. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Liz x</div><br /></span><br />Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-55742767101734238612022-04-22T04:44:00.005+01:002022-08-20T10:49:07.305+01:00How to renovate your home on a budget<p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; orphans: 2; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-align: left;">If you're like most people, you probably don't have an unlimited budget to renovate your home. But that doesn't mean you can't get the job done! This blog post will give you tips on how to renovate your home on a budget without sacrificing quality or style. So whether you want to update your kitchen, bathroom, or entire home, read on for some helpful advice!</span></div><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmw1CmDmjqHWSz7rk1gXjzKsssxg87at-4u3JUwO4hIG7bE6RGyUYVGVlBg1Vu02rYbCM99CwosPr205WVKVmbNAriFpegndnhQdK4KqXKFKPBpZtO86bDoFvC-l2xMIKj05AWbwa_DBsVSk1dJ1H21JQGIJ78jOeH3wuWr1O4z_hWhQ-iGzj2zCvn6A/s2250/1C23955C-5BB3-4234-8961-216E6F76D6C0.webp" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2250" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmw1CmDmjqHWSz7rk1gXjzKsssxg87at-4u3JUwO4hIG7bE6RGyUYVGVlBg1Vu02rYbCM99CwosPr205WVKVmbNAriFpegndnhQdK4KqXKFKPBpZtO86bDoFvC-l2xMIKj05AWbwa_DBsVSk1dJ1H21JQGIJ78jOeH3wuWr1O4z_hWhQ-iGzj2zCvn6A/w640-h426/1C23955C-5BB3-4234-8961-216E6F76D6C0.webp" width="640" /></a></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p><br /></p><p><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; orphans: 2; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">1) Make a plan</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">First things first, make a plan. This will help you determine what needs to be done and how much it will cost. If you're working with a limited budget, you'll need to be especially mindful of where you spend your money. Some things to consider <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.cjhole.co.uk/news/home-renovation-101-your-step-by-step-guide%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;source%3Deditors%26amp;ust%3D1650602116670249%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw01qHK6eThahfVlEOf5HSfv&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1650602116679287&usg=AOvVaw1ukIj5rNF3SGA9ICKUEdHB" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;">when making your plan</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">:</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><ul class="lst-kix_rhm5kzged6iz-0 start" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36pt; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">The scope of the project: What exactly do you want to achieve?</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36pt; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Your timeline: How long do you have to complete the project?</span></li><li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px 0px 0px 36pt; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Your budget: How much can you realistically afford to spend?</span></li></ul><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Once you have a clear idea of what needs to be done and how much it will cost, you can start shopping around for the best deals on materials and labour. Don't be afraid to ask family and friends for recommendations!</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.e8df2xl5jiqg" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">2) Shop around for deals</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">Another crucial step to renovating your home on a budget is to start shopping around for deals. Some materials are less expensive than others, for example <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.accoya.com/pressure-treated-wood-vs-modified-wood/" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;" target="_blank">Pressure treated wood vs. modified wood</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. You can find some fantastic deals on materials if you take the time to look around. For example, you might be able to find cheaper flooring at a nearby warehouse or get a discount on appliances by visiting a store's clearance section.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">In addition to looking for deals on individual items, it's also important to compare prices from different contractors. Getting multiple estimates will help you ensure that you're getting the best possible price for the work that needs to be done. When you're trying to save money, it's also essential to be willing to negotiate. If a contractor gives you an estimate that's higher than your budget, see if they're willing to lower the price or make any other accommodations.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.9504ebyu2hxa" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">3) Get creative</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;">When you're working with a limited budget, it's essential to get creative. There are a number of ways to save money without sacrificing quality or style. For example, instead of buying new cabinets, you could <span style="color: #1155cc; text-decoration-skip: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q%3Dhttps://www.idealhome.co.uk/diy-and-decorating/how-to-paint-kitchen-cabinets-232194%26amp;sa%3DD%26amp;source%3Deditors%26amp;ust%3D1650602116671942%26amp;usg%3DAOvVaw07s0EM7uC4cASbFpVsEpI2&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1650602116680448&usg=AOvVaw3xB4l4Ouk4Sw_Nuvnbzwhx" style="color: inherit; text-decoration: inherit;">paint the ones you already have</a></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">. Or, if you're replacing your flooring, you might be able to find cheaper options by shopping at second-hand stores or online.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another way to save money is to reuse or repurpose items from other areas of your home. If you're updating your kitchen, for instance, you might be able to use cabinet doors from another room in your house. By thinking outside the box and getting creative, you can save a lot of money on your renovation costs.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.190lom3l2fnt" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">4) Know when to splurge</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Even if you're working with a limited budget, there are some cases where it's worth spending a little extra money. For example, if you're planning to sell your home in the near future, it's generally a good idea to splurge on things like new countertops or flooring. These upgrades can help you increase the value of your home and make it more appealing to potential buyers.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another time when it might be worth spending more money is if you're planning to stay in your home for many years to come. In this case, you might want to invest in high-quality materials that will last longer and require less maintenance. Again, by being mindful of when to splurge, you can ensure that your home renovation is both budget-friendly and long-lasting.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><h2 id="h.i17edhnvlaf7" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; break-after: avoid; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 18pt 0px 6pt; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline;">5) Consider a home equity loan</span></h2><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">If you're planning a major home renovation, you might want to consider taking out a home equity loan. This type of loan allows you to borrow against the equity in your home and can give you the funds you need to cover the cost of materials and labour. One advantage of using a home equity loan is that it usually comes with a lower interest rate than other types of loans.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Another option is to take out a personal loan from a bank or credit union. Personal loans can also be used for home renovations, but they typically have higher interest rates than home equity loans. If you decide to take out a loan, make sure you shop around and compare offers from different lenders before choosing one.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; height: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">There are a few key things to keep in mind if you want to renovate your home on a budget. First, it's important to start shopping around for deals on materials and labour. Second, getting creative with your design can help you save money. And finally, knowing when to splurge can ensure that your renovation is both stylish and cost-effective. By following these tips, you can successfully renovate your home without breaking the bank.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Have you got any tips for renovating your home?</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: white; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 1.15; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Liz x </span></p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; text-size-adjust: auto;" />Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-53803897010793910292022-04-01T21:55:00.005+01:002022-04-01T21:55:46.298+01:00How to enjoy a more comfortable abode<p style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If there is one thing that we all deserve to do, it is relax when we get home. We all lead very busy and stressful lives today, and it is important for your home to be a peaceful sanctuary where you can relax and unwind after a difficult day at work. If this is not the case, then it is time to make some changes. What can you do to make your living environment much more enjoyable? Let’s take a look:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-388b078d-7fff-e3d7-a517-4ec6768de7fd"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06SXCMNQY2sTbM2lwse9CObWZSrIM3rcGJYG-mb__dWO3JbzOTuSQXzv_wyjN04_YqBwVntuWipEXlRsXVg4Y-oxCWlPaUzeQbE6LTKMkslhx3b4eboZ-ohYVsuLjPrVnhKzahMAG4V6-_OQjVFr3zmDBcU3xJ_OZTjk0o8CHKm7IWZxQfT0qJiMopQ/s6000/pexels-mikhail-nilov-6707628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4000" data-original-width="6000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06SXCMNQY2sTbM2lwse9CObWZSrIM3rcGJYG-mb__dWO3JbzOTuSQXzv_wyjN04_YqBwVntuWipEXlRsXVg4Y-oxCWlPaUzeQbE6LTKMkslhx3b4eboZ-ohYVsuLjPrVnhKzahMAG4V6-_OQjVFr3zmDBcU3xJ_OZTjk0o8CHKm7IWZxQfT0qJiMopQ/w640-h426/pexels-mikhail-nilov-6707628.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Play around with different textures </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- When it comes to creating a place of comfort, texture is important. There are many different ways that you can </span><a href="https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a25654977/texture-design-style-tips/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">add texture to your home</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, from rugs to cushions and bed throws. When we create a space, we tend to become obsessed with colours and patterns but it is important to remember that different textures can add just as much to an area, if not more.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Install power screens </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Another option to consider is the installation of power screens. </span><a href="https://phantom-fly-screens.co.uk/power-screens/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Integrated screens</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> offer a whole host of benefits, helping to create a much more comfortable living environment. Automated power screens can effectively manage the climate in your home by regulating ventilation, heat build and glare. They can be fitted to your existing openings or you can have them fully recessed and integrated into your home, which is when they work best. Not only do integrated screens help to create the most perfect environment but they look amazing as well. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Focus on creating a spa-like bathroom </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- In addition to the points that we have mentioned so </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">far, one part of your home that could really do with some rejuvenation and a boost is the bathroom. A lot of people forget about the bathroom. However, if you create a spa-like setting, it could end up becoming the most relaxing and valuable room in your home. You do not need to spend a fortune either. Yes, a new tub or a power shower would be welcome. However, little changes can make a massive difference as well. Something as simple as adding a tray to your bath so you have somewhere to place a book and a glass of wine can make a huge difference. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring the outside in </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- Last but not least, another great way that you can enjoy a comfortable and relaxing </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2022/03/dont-let-these-issues-turn-your-home-haven-into-hell.html" style="font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">home environment</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is by bringing the outdoors in. Plants add so much to a space. The greenery can really bring an area to life. Not only do plants look amazing but they bring a number of different benefits as well. This is because they can purify the air, ensuring that your home is much more relaxing and comfortable. </span></p></li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As you can see, there are a number of different ways that you can make sure your home is more comfortable to be in. We hope that the tips that we have provided you with above will help you to create a much more relaxing and comforting abode.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></div></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-13379484937441996632022-03-21T10:13:00.005+00:002022-03-21T10:14:56.316+00:00Don't Let These Issues Turn Your Home Haven Into Hell<span id="docs-internal-guid-55f5c6ee-7fff-0255-8e41-d3cbbc44d6a6"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a homeowner, your property should be a haven. But </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2013/dec/10/housing-problems-happiness-space-noise-research" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">some nightmares</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can destroy this possibility. Let’s look at a few in turn and figure out the right way to handle them. </span></p></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-664707ac-7fff-2558-c2e8-691b52c79813"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2X8rnjadlQZ3gosVr8STX1b83lKUfLqwy7LpCKbvqTd6iS49fiaQyb7h30jUrXSwIXTfmwvLJlVwIbhTt5Vw49osX1A9NXCEwRa6pySh6lpwqpvholFemFX_gnTrSrynQLnpV88eLDUYHO3_3FYMY7aAKpMmrCI3RAP0bpbZIjBxUG8iz_Nqzbbe2JA=s5168" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3448" data-original-width="5168" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi2X8rnjadlQZ3gosVr8STX1b83lKUfLqwy7LpCKbvqTd6iS49fiaQyb7h30jUrXSwIXTfmwvLJlVwIbhTt5Vw49osX1A9NXCEwRa6pySh6lpwqpvholFemFX_gnTrSrynQLnpV88eLDUYHO3_3FYMY7aAKpMmrCI3RAP0bpbZIjBxUG8iz_Nqzbbe2JA=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Issues with insulation</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Insulation is somewhere at the bottom of the list compared to the other nightmares that we are going to discuss on this list. However, it can be a problem through the winter months or in the summer if you get a lot of sun where you live. One of the problems that you can face with your home is a window that is blown or cracks in the walls. Cracks can be filled with some simple DIY work. Window replacements are a tad more tricky and expensive. But you should be able to find a contractor who is able to complete the work for you. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">
</span></p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Damp </span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The last thing you want when it comes to your perfect home is for there to be issues with damp. This may have been hidden or covered up when you viewed the property but has become since you moved in. If left to its own devices damp can spread and gradually get worse. There are a few solutions that can help combat it and keep it away for good. You can paint the wall with damp-proof paint. You could also provide a protective layer such as </span><a href="https://www.completeconstructionproducts.co.uk/waterproofing-damp-proofing/self-adhesive-tanking-membrane/" style="font-family: helvetica; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Visqueen self adhesive membrane</span></a><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> before decorating to make sure any problems with damp are solved. </span></div></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-size: xx-large;">Infestation </b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">One of the biggest fears of any homeowner is the nightmare of dealing with a full blown insect infestation. People often assume that this will only happen if your house is dirty. While that can be the case, it’s not always the cause. For instance, you might just bring in the wrong piece of furniture into your property that already has bugs living inside it. The problem is that by the time you spot the bugs themselves, they will have already grown in numbers. So, you need to make sure that you instead look for the waste they leave behind like fecal matter and skins. Once you notice this, you should call in the pest control service immediately. </span></div></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Structural concerns</span></b></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finally, you might have noticed problems with the structure of </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2020/04/5-ways-add-value-to-property-before-selling.html" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the property</span></a><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. There are various signs that you should watch out for which suggest that the structure of a property isn’t quite right. For instance, the doors might stick more than usual. You could also notice cracks starting to develop along the walls. Believe it or not, this is quite a common situation in new builds that have not been constructed to the right standards. To deal with the issue, you may want to consult a surveyor to check the extent of the damage. It’s possible that you have a case to sue the building team who completed the initial construction. At the very least, they should fix the problem free of charge. </span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can take to ensure that you are tackling some of the main home issues head on. That way, they won’t destroy the zen that might exist around your property. </span> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Liz x</span></p></span>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-26209575230904894312022-01-27T15:17:00.010+00:002022-01-27T15:18:51.303+00:00How to make decluttering your home less daunting<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are lots of good reasons to declutter your home: clutter takes up valuable space, it makes it harder to keep your home clean and it makes your home less presentable to guests. </span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-33b0c846-7fff-91c2-701f-1ea3f12c3e63"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">While most of us understand the importance of decluttering, finding the motivation to do this task can be hard. Sorting through all of our possessions can be very time-consuming. It can also be an emotionally challenging task as certain items may be of sentimental value. As a result, decluttering is a task that many of us keep delaying.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Of course, the more you put it off, the more clutter you’re likely to accumulate, which can make the task even more daunting the longer you leave it. It’s best to bite the bullet and get it done before it evolves into a serious issue. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can make decluttering less of a chore in order to make it easier. Below are just a few ways to make decluttering less daunting. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHb69XgoqAs8hTTp1re3X6yi0L-YFuijVN1anTRI87p8uAOpXlG-2sg3oL1YGYuv5wLGBl93Ewbwq9xvqIDHR8tQmxzLuR3F1AiMkRyncCyAzZR0vynvTcdELUhbw3DEn8JXvCNZIYw4VWxnMEmNBQsAR9a_eLW2lMUd3jYfaYct17SUoTadElvIQjpQ=s7680" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5120" data-original-width="7680" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjHb69XgoqAs8hTTp1re3X6yi0L-YFuijVN1anTRI87p8uAOpXlG-2sg3oL1YGYuv5wLGBl93Ewbwq9xvqIDHR8tQmxzLuR3F1AiMkRyncCyAzZR0vynvTcdELUhbw3DEn8JXvCNZIYw4VWxnMEmNBQsAR9a_eLW2lMUd3jYfaYct17SUoTadElvIQjpQ=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></div></span><p></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Schedule a date</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many of us keep telling ourselves that we’ll get round to decluttering next week or next month, but it never happens. It’s best to schedule a date, so that you’re more likely to actually do it. Make sure that you have no other plans on this date. Ideally, it should be a day when you’re not working so that you can dedicate the whole day to decluttering. This does mean sacrificing a day of leisure, however it allows you to get the task out of the way. </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2019/12/5-ways-to-de-stress-after-festive-season.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">January and February</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are typically some of the best months to declutter as you can get rid of all the clutter accumulated over Christmas. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Alternatively, start decluttering daily</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If you’re not able to dedicate an entire day to decluttering, another option could be to get into a habit of decluttering. This could involve challenging yourself to throw away a few items every day, or you could vow to dedicate 10 to 20 minutes per day to decluttering. Providing that you don’t keep buying new stuff, you’ll eventually chip away at your clutter until all your unwanted possessions are gone. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Take one room at a time</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another way to motivate yourself into decluttering is to tackle your home one room at a time. You could plan to take on a separate room every week, dedicating a few hours on one of your regular days off. Start by tackling the biggest clutter hotspots such as your loft or bedroom and slowly work your way to the least cluttered room such as the bathroom and hallway. This is the best option if you’ve got a larger home and lots of clutter, which you’ll physically be unable to take on in one day. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Hire a skip</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many people put off decluttering because they don’t know where to dispose of all their unwanted items. Having to take bags of stuff to a recycling centre can be a hassle. A more convenient option is to hire a skip - you can dump all of your unwanted stuff here and it can be taken away to a recycling plant for you. There are many companies that offer skip hire services such as </span><a href="https://www.sheridanskips.co.uk/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sheridan Skips</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Aim to try and fill the skip to get your money’s worth. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Sell/donate in bulk</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What if you’ve got lots of stuff you want to sell or donate? Selling and donating lots of items individually can be a chore. Many of us put off decluttering so that we don’t have to deal with this task. Others will put items like clothes and toys into bags, but never actually get around to doing anything with these bags. The best solution in this case is to find ways of selling or donating items in bulk. For example, if you have a lot of baby clothes to sell, instead of trying to sell each item individually, consider advertising a bag of baby clothes for sale. Alternatively, find stores or charities that accept large quantities of items at once. This post at </span><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/easy-ways-sell-donate-recycle-your-stuff/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wired</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> lists a few places to sell and donate your stuff. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Digitise what you can</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo albums and large printed photos can take up a lot of room. However, many of us find it hard to get rid of them due to their sentimental value. Consider whether you can save digital copies of these photos - this can allow you to keep onto these photos, without having to keep physical copies. Things like books, CDs and old </span><a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/21/18660239/vhs-tapes-digital-copies-how-to-make" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">home videos</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> can also be digitised. This could allow you to free up clutter, while still keeping onto your treasured belongings in digital form. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Get a friend to help</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many hands make light work, or so the saying goes. If you’ve got lots of clutter to sort through, consider asking a friend or family member to help you. You could reward them afterwards by preparing them a meal. Having someone else to help you declutter won’t just allow you to get through more stuff more quickly - it could also motivate you to get rid of things you may otherwise keep. Friends and family members won’t have the same sentimental attachment to your items, and therefore may be able to help you to be more brutal when deciding what to keep and what to throw away. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Get your pets and kids out of the house</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Some of us put off decluttering because we’ve got young kids or needy pets. We may worry that they’ll get under our feet or that we won’t be able to keep an eye on them. If this is a concern, arrange to get your pets and kids out of the house while you declutter. With kids, you may be able to wait until they are at nursery or school. Alternatively, you may have to ask a family member or friend to look after them for a few hours. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Play some music</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Many of us are more motivated to carry out physical tasks when listening to music. Consider lining up some of your favourite upbeat tunes to play while you declutter. You could find that the time passes by much more quickly. </span></span></p><h2 style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Take before and after photos</span></span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another great way to motivate yourself to declutter is to take before and after photos of each space in your home. This allows you to truly visualise the progress you’re making. You can also look back at these photos of your clutter to discourage yourself from getting back into the same situation.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Liz xx</span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-43977248438873134262021-10-26T12:25:00.000+01:002021-10-26T12:25:32.249+01:00How To Stay Warm And Cosy At Home During The Winter<p style="text-align: center;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-ed15e9a8-7fff-c865-30ca-d48f3ee59bb8"></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Staying warm in the winter is essential for your happiness and physical health. There is nothing worse than being cold at home. After a long cold day outside, the last thing you want is to arrive home and stay cold. Therefore, here are some tips for staying warm and cosy at home this winter.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3CPsIETnNLRcS_ROI_R0eQlbyMNdslV4STmBbBBapFqU1KxVuJEgez2mlNs4RuRGUb2eWUQ_fAxJrXyWwcPf4oKxiHuQ5c7EORuBW6s_6Vn2YuHlNzhRjJamZ-XOpLux40fmCu0FQ8RO/s2048/thought-catalog-SqAcgMAWIaM-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3CPsIETnNLRcS_ROI_R0eQlbyMNdslV4STmBbBBapFqU1KxVuJEgez2mlNs4RuRGUb2eWUQ_fAxJrXyWwcPf4oKxiHuQ5c7EORuBW6s_6Vn2YuHlNzhRjJamZ-XOpLux40fmCu0FQ8RO/w640-h426/thought-catalog-SqAcgMAWIaM-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-b7bf051d-7fff-afc1-3488-5cee26de5199"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Cosy treats</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There is nothing more cosier than cosy treats at home during the cold months. It is a time to treat yourself and your loved ones. Thus, giving your family cosy treats will give a reason to stay in and stay warm. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For instance, you can get some </span><a href="https://twochimpscoffee.com/christmas-coffee/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Christmas coffee here</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which will help you stay cosy and energised during the festive season. Or, you could treat your family to movie nights will plenty of yummy snacks and a stock of hot chocolate. Small treats will make all the difference to your warmth and comfort at home during the winter.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Soft furnishings</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">When you are relaxing at home, you might not always want the heating turned up to full. Therefore, adding soft furnishings will improve your comfort and warmth. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For instance, adding extra blankets and cushions to your living space will make it feel cosier and more inviting when it’s cold. Whether or not you have the fire or heating on, you can cosy up and feel warm at home for hours.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Fix a damaged roof</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ensuring that your roof is in its best condition will help you stay warm and avoid leaks during the winter. Should your roof be damaged, it is worth investing in a repair as it is an </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2021/09/5-exterior-upgrades-you-can-do-this-winter.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">exterior upgrade that is worth it for the winter</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> months. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">If it rains heavily or snows outside, then you could be vulnerable to leaks if you leave your roof unattended too. Thus, a roof in good condition will keep you safe and warm during the colder months.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Put your heating on a timer</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Most of us will use central heating a lot during the winter. We don’t want to be sitting in cold temperatures at home. Thus, central heating is the only way (other than a log fire) to warm up your home. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Should you want to arrive home from a long day to a warm house, then you can do so by putting your heating on a timer. This will ensure that you don’t have to leave the heating on yet can still enjoy a warm home after work.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Keep doors closed</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Closing your doors behind you will ensure that heat cannot escape. Should your living room be a large space, it will likely take longer to warm up than smaller rooms. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping your doors closed will maximise the potential of the heating and ensure that you make the most out of your heating. Doing so will maintain the warmth in your home and </span><a href="https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cutting-your-energy-bills/article/how-to-save-on-your-energy-bill/10-ways-to-save-on-energy-bills-aX2RS8b8llMR#:~:text=10.%20Keep%20your%20energy%20bill%20under%20control.%20Paying,will%20keep%20your%20bill%20as%20accurate%20as%20possible." style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">keep the costs of your energy bills down</span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> as you won’t need the heating on full, instead you can maintain the temperature with closed doors and snug rooms.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How do you keep your home warm and cosy?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liz x</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*This is a collaborative post</span></span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-80472636244961813002021-10-20T09:10:00.002+01:002021-10-20T09:10:37.924+01:00How to make more money for your future<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> The future may be a long way away when it comes to the thought of retiring and ceasing work. However, we’re all probably aware of how quickly time goes by and it’s beneficial to start thinking about your future sooner, rather than later. With that being said here are some tips for making more money for your future.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipo-BISw_SuCpZ36u57858fZqBgJ5zfv5VXGExFop10MSyJa3wnMDWEmf9lma5B3WZrpVk0-RFsHLVJT7SRzXPNqWcruz4Sf9C7EvAS9uK5uXXtHNcssZfsERFlxIKV2i_nzhNxXpd7EzF/s2048/michael-longmire-lhltMGdohc8-unsplash.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1475" data-original-width="2048" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipo-BISw_SuCpZ36u57858fZqBgJ5zfv5VXGExFop10MSyJa3wnMDWEmf9lma5B3WZrpVk0-RFsHLVJT7SRzXPNqWcruz4Sf9C7EvAS9uK5uXXtHNcssZfsERFlxIKV2i_nzhNxXpd7EzF/w640-h460/michael-longmire-lhltMGdohc8-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Try out stocks & trading</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Firstly, stocks and trading will always be an interesting way to invest your money but it does take a lot of research and strategy. It’s important to think about what knowledge you’re lacking when it comes to the stock market and how trades work, like </span><a href="https://www.fpmarkets.com/pt/forex-trading/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Forex Trading</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Stocks are a volatile market, so you’ll want to start off with small amounts first before you go spending bigger amounts of savings. A lot of people won’t go into stocks because it’s too high risk but it’s something that’s been in existence for a long time and as such, many have profited off the back of it. So with enough time and effort dedicated to it, you too could make money on stocks and trading.</span></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Start an online blog</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/blog/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An online blog</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is a good idea if you’re talented at writing and want a crack at making a bit of money off the back of it. Starting an online blog is something that won’t produce an income straight away but with a bit more consistency, you’ll be sure to make a lot of money if you’re dedicated to the blog.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">There’s a lot of interest in the online blogging and influencer world, so if you build up a blog that’s popular, you could be paid for advertising and brand collaborations. It’s a new industry and one that shows no sign of slowing down in the next few years or so.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">So if you’re a fan of blogging or you’ve always wanted to get into writing, an online blog is a good direction to head into.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 16pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Have a proper savings budget</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Having savings is always beneficial, so when it comes to creating a budget, it’s important to it set up properly. You can use a spreadsheet or any online tool or software like Quickbooks for example, that can be helpful in assembling a budget that works for your household. There is a great benefit that comes from looking at the expenditures and seeing what you’re actually </span><a href="https://bettermoneyhabits.bankofamerica.com/en/saving-budgeting/ways-to-save-money" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">spending per month</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It’s probably a lot more surprising than you’d think.</span></span></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-weight: 700; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;">Create a private pension</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A </span><a href="https://www.pensionbee.com/pensions-explained/pension-types/what-is-a-personal-pension" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">private pension</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is definitely worthwhile to have when it comes to your future. Yes, you do get a state pension but that might not be enough combined with what you’ve earnt over the years with your workplace.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A private pension can also be taken out earlier and there’s likely more flexibility. It’s an extra pot that you can have and you’re able to dip into it when you need it.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Making more money for your future is something your future self will definitely appreciate having when it come around.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you have any money making tips?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Liz x</span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-82323464754311532062021-10-19T10:00:00.004+01:002021-12-21T12:34:18.493+00:00Wedding guest ready with Chi Chi Clothing<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> I recently attended a wedding for one of my closest friends at the beautiful Stowe House. A national trust property </span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and grade I listed country house surrounded in history. As soon as we arrived I couldn't believe my eyes. </span></span><span style="font-family: helvetica; text-align: left;">The wedding itself was based in the most stunning chapel and the</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> wedding reception was held in the marble hall </span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">comprised of over seventy four-foot squares of Massa Carrara marble and tall columns. One of the most breathtaking weddings I had ever been too.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q8varxJX4cMBxPVkM7vA5uCDNXvdFggy02fDc8-4aE049iNVZj05ppg7zN8Z-ER3STOo5ruifIr0lo2FLaKqM2sZKPvtRsCkjUO5t-i3GOTN581MvrT31oY9OIXvDW3cLsbSYr7gyYTC/s2048/0chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q8varxJX4cMBxPVkM7vA5uCDNXvdFggy02fDc8-4aE049iNVZj05ppg7zN8Z-ER3STOo5ruifIr0lo2FLaKqM2sZKPvtRsCkjUO5t-i3GOTN581MvrT31oY9OIXvDW3cLsbSYr7gyYTC/w480-h640/0chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">For the occasion, I was lucky enough to be sent a beautiful <a href="https://www.chichiclothing.com/products/flutter-sleeve-floral-print-midi-day-dress-in-multicolour" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Flutter Sleeve Floral Print Midi Day Dress</a> from Chi Chi Clothing that I knew was perfect for this grand occasion. Plus, I even managed to find the perfect photo worthy backdrop in the landscape gardens of Stowe school. </span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The dress had a colour palette of blue, turquoise, coral and yellow and the flutter sleeves gave it a feminine look. The side split added a glam element and the midi length was perfect for my petite frame.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSc8JkTgCrfTMRy5twVmAcMUNCWZBXP5J3UxsORPD96gbUjQJw-pXzUjCMO8Mx1Hakp4-GtqoZwbzq8SYOlXyoo_mS2dqUVlkqm_3-oRGTU4E9cNk8spZhHsWKGy3w8mEZAgLZtpDTNQ4/s2048/1chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVSc8JkTgCrfTMRy5twVmAcMUNCWZBXP5J3UxsORPD96gbUjQJw-pXzUjCMO8Mx1Hakp4-GtqoZwbzq8SYOlXyoo_mS2dqUVlkqm_3-oRGTU4E9cNk8spZhHsWKGy3w8mEZAgLZtpDTNQ4/w480-h640/1chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1T9Crt7KIs7H0t0HssY2iGNXef3NRfLMPwJlFdUbGQmalwpwuRGG8UVoYeFId-YQPJnm1_28Jx6Di_aS2o2ZMnNsMO2HViJjj3CpAbT2CDTUAlqfH1nNTjSpnsJFLp-5SaeJmQuazHwLz/s2048/2chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1T9Crt7KIs7H0t0HssY2iGNXef3NRfLMPwJlFdUbGQmalwpwuRGG8UVoYeFId-YQPJnm1_28Jx6Di_aS2o2ZMnNsMO2HViJjj3CpAbT2CDTUAlqfH1nNTjSpnsJFLp-5SaeJmQuazHwLz/w480-h640/2chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLqMeDP8yyIrYYxGG96IbI7CO2W0mfZxh3-bkyT3zuWh64YLJvon2eJ9YwLKK7CSXcTv5Me42dIxuKUO_ATkLVPy8PYtwrp0JX8YlOU7SuKldSV_e-wsJkDE6BedLraAFdE03dD266N2A/s2048/3chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLqMeDP8yyIrYYxGG96IbI7CO2W0mfZxh3-bkyT3zuWh64YLJvon2eJ9YwLKK7CSXcTv5Me42dIxuKUO_ATkLVPy8PYtwrp0JX8YlOU7SuKldSV_e-wsJkDE6BedLraAFdE03dD266N2A/w480-h640/3chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc93V0JRFgMNsBxiZtb43xqDksQ7Uf11_qAGQFc1oruSWYOm14FUv7vYJKpUKs7a4oskQglGuwi3UP0f4huo8Gcq5oOyXCL2ubaZwXDBkMRFkmlZFSFC_ga_41GkW22S07u4UnW84VIrV1/s2048/4chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc93V0JRFgMNsBxiZtb43xqDksQ7Uf11_qAGQFc1oruSWYOm14FUv7vYJKpUKs7a4oskQglGuwi3UP0f4huo8Gcq5oOyXCL2ubaZwXDBkMRFkmlZFSFC_ga_41GkW22S07u4UnW84VIrV1/w480-h640/4chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrrJYBksFJtAspMO0nze8Ir2FO385Y79PHptBBbinWi5AQlNkch90fpdQWcKgk55SQgyiShhyWBjC1OCzBvvRqajAY_A4X4exRUhCKtdSN70hoVW9OvwyKgpZor-mMkLO2M-wX-ne7pUb/s2048/5chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrrJYBksFJtAspMO0nze8Ir2FO385Y79PHptBBbinWi5AQlNkch90fpdQWcKgk55SQgyiShhyWBjC1OCzBvvRqajAY_A4X4exRUhCKtdSN70hoVW9OvwyKgpZor-mMkLO2M-wX-ne7pUb/w480-h640/5chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3y0UZwUZJyqvt8-e1ZV9qOC9lk2yc3K6Ft-w2h8zbpGfEabGvRWJIDD-ljEBqjd369uiiiLLNb3O0xnNfGCinTYSLS9Fiqwow9Pxhs8rCa7j8Fq8L-6OhNkYA2HOWFhw0MKp4PM6fsHkr/s2048/6chichi-dress.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3y0UZwUZJyqvt8-e1ZV9qOC9lk2yc3K6Ft-w2h8zbpGfEabGvRWJIDD-ljEBqjd369uiiiLLNb3O0xnNfGCinTYSLS9Fiqwow9Pxhs8rCa7j8Fq8L-6OhNkYA2HOWFhw0MKp4PM6fsHkr/w480-h640/6chichi-dress.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Do you own any dresses from Chi Chi?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Liz x</span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3189273709473399643.post-70309588378044747952021-10-18T20:05:00.004+01:002021-10-18T20:05:58.413+01:00Important things to consider before investing in fine jewellery<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buying fine jewellery, whether it's for yourself or someone else, is something of an investment. You're going to be spending a fair amount of money, no matter whether you're buying something new or you're looking at vintage jewellery. So it's important to get it right if you want to make sure that you use your money wisely and make a decision that you're happy with. There are a few things that you'll want to contemplate before you decide exactly what it is that you want to buy. When you're looking at options for a new </span><a href="http://www.jewelrywise.com/engagement-wedding/article/what-ring-will-look-best-on-my-finger" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ring</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, necklace, earrings, or anything else, think about the following things.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyTUTloH3peKp1JRvrwP3qD6iQJeMxHxjOmfPF-5UWViniHQBlkwyKlypBFOKqlAVWBgrc8gB4z46IpkYp09MZX4x2py6wjON9e4Kvt7-JvhyphenhyphenIHkbcPQOHrLxyz4v8Zp4XusSLbSf45Xg/s2048/tyler-nix-fo83GD_AARE-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVyTUTloH3peKp1JRvrwP3qD6iQJeMxHxjOmfPF-5UWViniHQBlkwyKlypBFOKqlAVWBgrc8gB4z46IpkYp09MZX4x2py6wjON9e4Kvt7-JvhyphenhyphenIHkbcPQOHrLxyz4v8Zp4XusSLbSf45Xg/w640-h426/tyler-nix-fo83GD_AARE-unsplash.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: helvetica; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Set a budget</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can discover a huge range of prices when you're looking at fine jewellery. Prices can depend on the type of jewellery you're buying, the metal, any gemstones and their size and quality, and the designer or brand. Before you get too far in your search, you should make sure you define a </span><a href="https://www.theweddingsecret.co.uk/magazine/bridal-jewellery-how-much-should-you-spend/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">budget</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. It's a good idea to get a rough idea of what sort of prices you could be looking at first. You need to have a realistic idea of what you will need to spend to get what you want.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Explore different styles</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You might have a rough idea of what you want, whether it's a tennis bracelet or an emerald ring. But it's also important to look beyond the basics to consider what sort of styles are available and what you want. There are different sizes and shapes of gemstones, different patterns that they can be arranged in, and the overall </span><a href="https://www.callmeliz.co.uk/2021/02/6-Underrated-Style-Tips-For-Looking-Your-Best.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">style</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of a piece of jewellery to consider. Take some time to explore some different styles and think about what you want. This might include trying on some different styles or even just seeing what they look like on models.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Know how to assess quality</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's important to be able to assess the quality of a piece of fine jewellery. If you're spending a lot of money on it, you need to know that it's worth the cost. How you assess the quality will generally depend on what you're buying. If you're getting something with a diamond, it helps to have some understanding of the four Cs that are used to assess them. Even if you're buying from an </span><a href="https://www.mydiamond.ie/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">online jewellery shop</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, you can still assess quality. Take a look at images, look at reviews, and research the company. If they have a physical store, you can also visit them.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-large;">Protecting your purchase</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you spend money on something precious, you need to protect it. The first thing that you should do is check the warranty on any fine jewellery that you buy, as well as the returns policy. What if there are any faults with the jewellery or you change your mind? What if the sizing of a ring you buy isn't quite right? Another good idea is to get your jewellery insured. Sometimes you can add it to your home contents </span><a href="https://www.moneysupermarket.com/home-insurance/jewellery-insurance/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">insurance</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, or you can take out a separate policy.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Before you buy fine jewellery, do your research to check that it's the right decision for you.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Liz x</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">*This is a collaborative post</span></p>Elizabeth Allcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00434181428027961309noreply@blogger.com0