How To Prepare Your Home For Summer

It only seems like it was yesterday when we were moaning about the scorching summer heat and the fact that no amount of deodorant would mask those unwanted sweat patches. Winter is in full swing (yuck) and the days of walking around in just shorts and a t-shirt are long gone.

Summer is wonderful for so many reasons and I must admit, it’s definitely my favorite season. I’d take battling away the flies during a summer BBQ than battling the ice on my car any day of the week and there are ways to tackle all the “not so great” parts about summer.

Here I’ve put together a little guide on how to sail through summer next year. If you start preparing now while it’s still cold, you’ll be all set by the time the heat hits and therefore it won’t be a problem!

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1. You need to say your sweet goodbyes to winter

It may have been a great season for you, or it may have been a case of counting down the days until it cleared off, but either way you’ll need to change a few things around the house to prepare for summer. Anything that emits heat needs to go! Things that help insulate the home also need to make a quick departure, such as draperies, thick blankets and heavy rugs. Put the candles away for next year and brighten things up with some fresh flowers instead.

2. Make sure your house is air conditioned

Now, you might be blinking at the screen thinking “is she serious? That costs a bomb!” But it doesn’t have to. There are cheap, affordable cooling systems that you can buy and run on a budget. If you’re not sure where to get them then try Harster Heating.

3. It’s party season

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Luckily you’re able to leave the house past 7 pm without going into a meltdown over having to navigate the icy roads. It’s just no fun, is it? That also means that your friends will be more than happy to come over for the evening to enjoy some delicious cocktails and a fancy spread once the kids are in bed. Give your house a good clean so that you’re not embarrassed at your guests finding dust bunnies all over the place.

4. Invite the light in

During the cold months there wasn’t really any need to have curtains or blinds open as by the time everyone is back in the house after being at work or school, the light had long gone anyway! But once summer is back in your life, you’ll sigh a breath of relief at being able to relax with a book without having to turn the lights on. Make sure you clean your windows properly (it’s probably best to do this once it’s warmed up a bit though) by using a mixture of half water, half vinegar and a nice clean cloth.

5. Brighten the decor up a little too

Warm tones and dark decor is exactly what you want in the winter. Having the fire on, flickering in a dark room whilst you enjoy a glass of red or two is essentially what winter is about, but it all changes once the sun is back in our lives. Get your old shabby clothes on and repaint the house. A new lick of paint on the walls will help rejuvenate your home and while you’re using a new pot of paint, redo any garden furniture such as benches, swings and tables.

Sick Of Resolutions That Never Last? These 5 You Can Stick To For Life

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The promise of transforming your life with a New Year’s resolution is always exciting. Especially for the first few weeks or months. After that, it all seems to go downhill. You mean well at the start and want to improve your health, lose weight, or stop smoking. But, it’s always harder to do that you first realize.

It’s time to realize that most resolutions don’t work. The whole idea of making them sucks actually. Usually, the resolutions we make are unattainable. They’re too hard to stick to, and they just don’t fit your personality or your lifestyle. So, instead of setting yourself up for failure, work on things you can change and stick to for life.

Love Your Home

One of the first things you can do, and learn to keep on doing for life, is to love your home. Most of us want to change a thing or two, or completely redo the decor. It’s not that easy to fall in love with where you live, but if you do, you’ll probably live a happier life. We’re happy when we feel a home in a beautiful place. If you want a happy and healthy home, fix it up a little and let yourself become house proud.

Spend Quality Time

Next is one that will probably make you smile. Commit to spending quality time with your significant other, your children, or your parents this New Years. You probably try to do something all together every now and again but think how special it will be to purposely block out some time once a week just for them. Or, you could even plan a trip once a month. Whichever you decide, just make sure you commit to doing it. It could make your life feel worthwhile.

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Invest In Yourself

How often do your treat yourself? Whether that’s to time on your own, doing the things you love, or to an item of clothing or jewelry that you’ve always loved? The chances are that the answer will be never, or very rarely. So, change that for 2017 and into the future. Invest in yourself. Take an hour out to read, run yourself a bath, buy yourself quality Merino Snug Ethical Wool Clothing or a sparkly new ring. You deserve it.

Enrich Your Mind

And while we’re on the topic of you, it’s time to think about your own personal development. You might always focus your attention on others, but it’s not a crime to want to improve your own happiness or better your prospects. Make a promise to yourself that you’ll read more, watch more old movies or write more - whatever it is that you love and enriches your mind.

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Focus On Your Finances

And finally, on a more serious note, let today be the day that you finally get on track with your finances. If you’ve been saying to yourself that you want to adopt better financial habits in the future, do it now. It might take work, and it might take practice, but you can take control of your finances, pay off debts and save more. Step into 2017 with a prosperous future and never go back.

Makeup That Deletes Years: Become Younger in 10 Minutes!

There are numerous ways to look younger by properly applying makeup. Until recently, these makeup tips were a well-kept secret. Nowadays, with the use of internet, you can read them while at home sitting in a chair. The beauty industry offers a million different ways to look younger. Unfortunately, most of these methods come down to plastic surgery. In order to avoid such invasive methods, we offer you an alternative. Check out these makeup tips that will bring back years to your face. Next time you sit in front of your Hollywood mirror, you will be amazed by the change.

Eyeshadows

The main trick with eyeshadows is using neutral colors. Stop using bright blue, green and pink nuances. Makeup that should refresh your face is based on neutral, natural tones. Ivory, beige, peach and soft pink are perfect choices for foundation. You can use smoky gray, purple, gray-blue for edges of your eyes. Silky texture is ideal for your face. Matte eyeshadow can add years and years to your face while pearl color highlights your facial imperfections. This is why you should choose eyeshadow with a fine, silky color and discrete glow. At the same time, make sure not to put mascara on your bottom eyelashes.

Emphasize natural color

Similar to eyeshadow, lipsticks which you use should be in natural tones. They need to make a fresh, natural and youthful impression. Such effect can be accomplished by using pink, beige pink, peach and coral red. You will be thankful when you look at the mirror! At the same time, avoid strong, impactful tones as well as those that are too dark or too light. Any type of exaggeration will only put emphasis on wrinkles making them more noticeable. Stop using long-lasting lipsticks as well as matte. They dry your lips. Lip gloss penetrates the pores making you look older. Best option for middle aged women are hydrating lipsticks. To be honest, you will have to fix your makeup more often but it will be worth your while.

How to use blush properly

Fresh nuances are the best when it comes to blush. So, the optimal colors would be pink, peach and orange. They will make your face look much younger. Women with silky skin complexion can also apply bronzer with small, sparkly grains. Avoid using strong, brown nuances. Buy creamy blush instead of powder or compact one as it is much better when it comes to sticking to dry skin.

Powder for fresh and even skin tone

When a person gets older, skin becomes almost lifeless. It becomes really dehydrated. Because of this, you should avoid think layers of powder and dry concealer. You can also use powder for dry skin which nourishes the cells.

Playing with lights

Illumination is another thing that should be considered when putting makeup. In the end, our skin will be affected by light during the whole day. When putting makeup, make sure to use it in front of a mirror with lights. This will give you a better perspective. Saggy skin around your eyes, nose and lips should be lightened with a highlighter. With it parts of your skin will look fresher and younger.

Proper makeup for your eyebrows

With years, your eyebrows become saggy similar to your skin. They will start falling down and losing their elasticity. In order to fix this, you will have to get them back in their previous place. They shouldn’t be even. Instead, make sure they are curved. The highest point should be parallel with outer edge of the eye. In fact, they need to curve in the same way your eyes are curving which can be done with some smart makeup application.

3 Ways To Become An Independent (Young) Adult

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If you are at the age now where you think that it may be time to grow up a little, take on more responsibilities in your life and become independent like you know you can be, here are the top 3 things that will make you feel like you are 'officially' becoming an adult.

Drive

Now you have reached that certain age; it is time for you to learn how to drive. Not only is it cool, but you also have so much more freedom. If you want to go somewhere, you don't have to ask someone to take you anymore - you can just go! It also opens more opportunities to find a job because you are able to go a little further than maybe you could if you had to take the bus or the train.

Even if you don't have your own car, it doesn't matter, you will have your license ready and waiting for when you do. Probably, the best part of passing your test is that once you’ve passed - that’s it. You don’t need to take it again (unless you do something stupid, land up in court and get ordered to retake it.) So if you learn when you have the time and money, you’ve got it out of the way. (There are also companies that offer a practice permit test for free, which is a great way to get started.)

Go To College

Now not everyone has to go to college, but it would be wise to go. College work will challenge and inspire you. And it's not like School, you are treated completely different, you have a choice. If you don't want to be there, you can just leave.

In college, you can explore subjects in greater depth than you did in high school, choose your own courses and class schedule, decide which extracurricular activities you’ll focus on and how much time you’ll give them. It helps students develop into mature, responsible and independent adults. But you’re not entirely on your own - colleges offer students many kinds of help making this transition, such as tutoring and academic advising as well as counseling and other support.

Move Out

You will want your own privacy now that you're older. As an adult, we all want it. Your parents have probably been hinting that they need some privacy, too. Believe it or not, your parents want some alone time just as badly as you do! After a certain age, it becomes rude to have you friends over at your parents' house all the time. If your friend feels comfortable enough to go into the fridge without permission, it's time to move out.

Another thing is that your parents will always call you irresponsible until you prove them wrong. If you feel that you are not getting the respect that you deserve from your parents, then that's a sign that you should move out.

Four Simple Rules That Can Help You Get Out Of Debt

When it comes to financial advice, there are so many websites out there. It can be overwhelming deciding which bits to follow, and which bits to ignore. What everyone really needs is some simple rules that are easy to understand and easy to carry out, and that will help you reduce your debt amount to zero. Read on to find out more.

Rule one: Pay off one debt at a time

So, this is an easy and simple rule that laws of people get wrong. Like anything in life you may think that you are able to do two things at once, but actually, it's better to focus on one at a time. The same applies to your debts. Why pay off half of the balance in one debt and half of the balance on another when you could complete wipe one out? That is why it's important to pick the one that is costing you the most to sustain, and run that one down to zero first of all.

The only time when this isn't appropriate is when you have lots of debts that you can't afford to make the minimum payments on. Meaning you will end up defaulting on them. In that case, you can do things like consolidate debt, instead. Which means your bills will get paid every month, but you will only have one payment to worry about.

Rule two: Balance in and outs

Rule two is an oldie but a goodie. To wipe out your debt and stay debt free, you have to balance your incomings with your outgoings. If your outgoing are more than your incomings, you will need to make some cutbacks somewhere.

Sometimes it seems like everything in your outgoing list is essential, but often it isn't. You can save money all over the place by doing things like reducing your family shop costs, or mending clothes instead of buying new ones.

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Rule three: Sell it

Rule three is that so many people are sitting on money they don't realize they have. People have all sorts of items in their house and garage that they don't use anymore, that are worth something to someone else. It can be shocking how much some things will sell for even if they are second hand.

If you are struggling with debts, it's always worth doing a quick sweep of the house and the yard. Look for anything that you no longer user that could raise you some capital. Remember even if you make a few hundred dollars, it is worth it. As that can take down your monthly payment on a debt and so make it much more manageable.

Rule four: Learn to say no

The last rule is a tough one. It's more about changing your perspective towards money than anything else. It’s about learning to say no. To yourself, to your other half and to your kids.

It can be so difficult to do at first. But stick to it as it can help you stay out of unnecessary debt, and have a healthier relationship to money and shopping in general.

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