Tricia's Musings

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Give Your Bathroom A Glam Look With A Straight Bath

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If you are planning on giving your bathroom a new look, then a straight bath should definitely be high up in your considerations.

Here I discuss how to give your bathroom a great glam look by utilising a straight bath as its focal point; sure to catch the eye of any house guests who get curious about your new bathroom suite.

Types Of Straight Bath

Before we look at the intricacies of the bath tub itself, it is important to clarify what exactly a straight bath really is.

Typically this type of bath comes in two forms, the single end bath, which is the typical variety people tend to think of when thinking of a bath in general, and the double ended bath.

All that that actually means, is that the person using the bath is able to rest their head at either side of the bath they wish – so it really is up to the individual as to which of the designs they prefer.

The bath also comes in space saving options as well, perfect for people who have a small bathroom which they are planning to renovate, such as a guestroom or small ensuite bathroom.

Why Go For Straight Baths?

There are a number of reasons as to why people tend to opt for this form of bath when it comes to a new bathroom suite, not least the fact that the straight bath is a great way of saving space as it can easily slot into any bathroom.

Always In Style

The other great thing about this style of bath is it will never go out of fashion, other baths such as roll top bath and free standing baths might offer something a little different design wise, but when it comes to style and practicality as well, then straight baths are hard to beat.

More Space Means More Chance To Be Creative

With a straight bath then, you give yourself an opportunity to utilise what space you do have in a more practical way.

You can go for further practical uses and have a wall mounted shower unit without compromising on space, or maybe look at fitting more bathroom furniture such as cabinets and other fittings in instead.

Straight bathtubs are a great option for a wide variety of people, regardless of bathroom size, so if you are looking out for bathroom suite designs and ideas, it is well worth considering the wide range of this type of tub that are available for you to choose from.

Louisa Jenkins is an interior design expect who specialises in bathrooms. She offers advice to people looking to use items such as a straight bath to bring out the best in their bathroom suite.





5 Things That Make You Tired

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Very bad morningIt definitely seems harder to roll out of bed every morning when the temperature drops and sunrise comes later. Whether it’s chronic fatigue or a case of the seasonal blues, many people experience fatigue when the weather cools. However, if you are suffering from extreme fatigue, it could be one of these energy suckers getting you down:

Dehydration

Turns out that even the slightest bit of dehydration can make you feel sluggish and lack concentration. Dehydration means that your body does not have as much water and fluids as it should. It can be mild, moderate, or severe based on how much of the body’s fluid is lost or not replenished. Next time your feeling groggy, try downing a glass or two of water.

Cell Phones

Feeling restless at night? You probably looked your cell phone before sleep. Research shows that checking your phone before bed amps up brain activity, which makes it harder to fall asleep. According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation in 2011, 20 percent of folks between the ages of 19 and 29 are awakened by a call, text or e-mail at least a few nights a week. If you want to get a better night’s sleep, consider powering down before bedtime.

Medication

Are currently on any medications? Some drugs have energy-sapping side effects. Antidepressants and certain beta-blockers used to prevent migraines or treat high blood pressure rank high upon that list. If you’re on one of these medications and start to feel lethargic, consult your doctor for an alternative. Or, consider taking your dose right before you head to bed.

Overtraining

While working out is great for your physical and mental health, especially when it comes to releasing endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. However, overtraining can actually increase cortisol production. Cortisol is the body’s natural stress response hormone. It is typically released during a crisis situation when your adrenals sometimes can’t keep up. But if it’s released too frequently, it can cause you to feel weak or tired.

Low Iron

Iron is a mineral in your body that shuttles oxygen around and removes waste from your cells. If you’re not getting enough iron a day your body will struggle to function properly. People with low iron levels can suffer from anemia. Therefore, to boost iron in your diet consider eating more red meat, egg yolks, dried fruit, beans and scallops. If you’re still feeling sluggish, take a supplement or consult a doctor.

If you’re feeling tired all the time, don’t just shrug it off. Give yourself a couple weeks to make some serious lifestyle changes. Get more sleep, cut back on social gatherings, take some vitamins and eat more wholesome foods. But, if you’re still feeling fatigued after these changes, you should seek professional help.

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Julie Smith is a freelance writer and nutritionist. She believes a healthy diet and active lifestyle is the keep to a better, happier you. When life gets stressful, Julie takes anxiety remedies that are natural from NativeRemedies.com.

The Secret Of Great Improvisational Cooking

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never accept an invitation from a stranger unless he gives you candy -Linda Festa

Sometimes you can get bored following the same old recipes, sticking to the same old instructions, obeying every word of the cookery book as if it was law. Sometimes wouldn’t it be nice to break free, go wild, and create some mad new invention?

The risk, of course, is that your mad new invention will taste like wet pants. And it will be so awful that it somehow becomes famous, and they’ll name it after you, and your name will forever be associated with the taste of wet pants. This is the risk that all pioneers must take.

Fortunately, if you master a few simple concepts and skills, you stand a much better chance of creating something that not only doesn’t taste of wet pants, but doesn’t taste like dry pants either, or, for that matter, any kind of undergarment. In fact, it’ll taste good!

Find A Good Base

Once you know how to make a few simple dishes, you can experiment with them. Pizzas are good for this- if you can make a decent pizza base, or a pie crust you can pile pretty much anything you like into the filling or topping and it will probably hold together. The same is true of pancakes- a stack of pancakes with a savoury topping makes for a great, quick meal that leaves plenty of room for trying new flavours.

You can go a step further if you know a basic chicken curry or chili recipe. Once you know how to whip up a decent curry sauce you can start experimenting with different spices, vegetables and meats to create a host of different dishes.

Learn Which Combinations Work

Once you’ve got a good base to work from you need to find a way to figure out which flavours work together. This leaves you plenty of room to experiment with small quantities, but there are a few staples that always seem to work. Lemon and tarragon always work well with chicken. Apple and pork always go together. Lime and shrimp is another time honoured classic.

If you know which flavours work, try experimenting with similar flavours. For instance, if apple and pork go together, will apricot and pork go together? (Yes and it’s delicious.) Have a read through the recipe books to see what surprising flavour combinations can be transplanted elsewhere. For instance, dark chocolate is a popular ingredient in chilli con Carne. However, it can also work well in a beef casserole.

Substitutions

Finally, the easiest way to create a new dish is to simply switch out some of the ingredients to create new flavours. A good way to do this is switching the meats around- switch pork sausages out for beef sausages. Turn your chick recipes into turkey recipes.

If a dish requires plenty of potato, see if it would work with sweet potato instead, or even butternut squash. The more you experiment, the better an idea you’ll get for what works. The more you know what works, the more outlandish you can afford to get with your experimenting. Before you know it, you’ll be Hestol Blumenthalling it up with bacon and egg ice cream.

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Sam Wright is a freelance writer who stopped cooking to recipe books long ago.

5 Little Known Secrets To Finding Cheap (But Durable) Furniture

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Furniture may not be necessary for you to live, but one of the things that makes life more livable is the presence of comfortable and comforting furniture. Not only does furniture provide us a place to sit, sleep, eat and socialize but it helps decorate our homes, show the world our affluence and give us something that will last through a long period of our lives.

Furniture may not be needed for survival but almost everyone has to admit that it is a very good thing to have.

The problem most of us face when it comes to buying furniture is that it can very expensive. While the cost of furniture is mitigated by the fact that it will last us a long time and it’s not an expense we have to deal with very often, this doesn’t change the fact that it can be expensive.

A good dining table can cost over five hundred dollars and once you buy chairs for it you can easily spend over a thousand dollars. Beds, couches, and even end tables can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars and that is a steep price for almost everyone. The good news is that while furniture is going to cost money there are things you can do to find cheap but well made furniture.

Look Online

The internet is a great place to find good deals on just about everything including furniture. While you can definitely find good deals on furniture on the internet you need to be willing to overcome the fact that you can’t test it out. Also another thing to consider about shopping online for furniture is that shipping can get expensive.

Look in the Classifieds

The classifieds are a great place to find well made furniture for a really good price. The problem here is that of course most of it is probably used, but don’t let this stop you. Good quality furniture can be quite rugged and even if it has been used it can still look and feel good.

Keep an Eye Out for Estate Sales and Similar Events

An estate sale is when the entirety of an estate is put up for sale. While there are professionals that will show up looking to get the best price they can on furniture, you can walk away with some very nice stuff for a really good price if you play your cards right. Along with estate sales, storage units can also be a good place to find furniture.

Buy Handmade Furniture

A lot of people have the idea that handmade furniture is the most expensive, but there is a little known secret people can take advantage of. When someone orders handmade furniture but never pays for it, the business that made it is often willing to let it go for a fraction of the price.

Because a lot of handmade furniture is custom made, they know that they can’t ask full price for it. Keep your eyes out for this and you will find some really good furniture for a fraction of what it would normally cost.

Look for Going Out of Business Sales

Getting into the furniture business is expensive and a lot of times furniture stores wind up not being able to make it. When they are closing their doors they need to get rid of as much of their inventory as possible and this means they slash prices.

Find the right going out of business sale and you can potentially furnish your entire home for only a few hundred bucks.

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  •  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/830471

Warren Stevens enjoys writing and sharing his articles on a broad range of topics, from furniture, to luggage, even to tech news.

How Emergency Respite Care Can Help A Loved One

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Life will always throw something unexpected in our path and when you’ve got a duty to take care of an elderly or handicapped friend or relative, it can occasionally present really difficult situation for you to deal with.

Thankfully, emergency respite care is available when something unforeseen does come up and this blog explains what it is and when it is available.

What Is Emergency Respite Care?

If you have not already heard of it, you may now be wondering what emergency respite care is; well, as the name would suggest, it is care that can be offered in the event of an emergency.

Many local councils in the UK offer such a service for free. This is typically only for a couple of days, or, in exceptional cases, three days. Of course if you are unable to carry out duties for a longer spell than that, you will be best to seek out firms that offer a service for a longer period of time.

When Can I Seek Emergency Respite Care?

There are a number of situations that can lead to you needing to rely on this form of care.

Something as simple as being stuck in traffic or delayed from your duty can warrant a use of this form of service, after all time can be crucial when it comes to care, so if you are unable to provide care for your family member for a number of hours, it can lead to many difficulties.

Other situations in which you would call upon this form of care are in the event of a family emergency or if you find yourself ill or having to go into hospital and are unable to provide care.

What Does Emergency Respite Care Involve?

If you need to call on any form of emergency respite care, there are a number of services that either the council or the firm you contacted in regards to the service.

While a firm might provide someone to provide live in care, the council may instead have someone that drops in. either way, they will both provide a similar service which will cover everything from washing and dressing the person they are taking care of, to ensuring that they get food and water and assistance to the toilet if needed.

Sometimes they will even provide assistance to get to daily appointments. As an example, they may provide a lift or escort the person they are caring for to a doctor’s or dentist appointment.

Respite care is ultimately about giving the carer a break away from their duty, but in the case of an emergency, it is good to know that these services exist for you to call upon.

Louisa Jenkins is a care specialist who offers people and carers advice on topics including emergency respite care, home care and other forms of care.

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