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Top 5 Decor Trends for Spring 2008

The warmer weather will be here soon. Everyone is starting to rummage through their home for ‘spring cleaning’ and getting organized for 2008. So while you’re focusing on the home front, why not consider an update to your home decor? According to MSN Shopping there are 5 trends that are really stylish for this spring.

 

Black & White

 

The pairing of these two serve as a perfect backdrop to a full spectrum of hues & shades of color. A current popular combination with black and white is accenting them with aqua and coral. Using them can add a cool, elegant and cosmopolitan appeal to your home. But if you’re looking for a classic look, explore variations of white such as warm ivories and icy arctic white. Using different textures (rugs, wall paper, furniture, etc.) around your space will complement each other nicely.  I have loved the black and white combination since college and in my apartment I have this trend in my kitchen with the ever popular color aqua as an accent color on place mats and dishes.

 

Primary Colors

 

When you think of spring the typical color palette that comes to mind is pastels. However, this year that isn’t the case. Look for more tropical punch color combinations with vivid shades of cobalt blue, ruby red, deep forest green and splashes of juicy citrus colors. You could use this decor element for accent pieces such as pillows, vases and artwork.

 

Nature Inspired

 

The use of natural colors, textures and materials is gradually becoming a more popular trend in home decor. Peaceful colors like pale blues and minty greens work especially well in bedrooms and bathrooms.  And I’ve seen numerous color schemes mimicking the ‘change of color’ season with burgundies, oranges and olive greens. Along with color, incorporating materials of nature such as bamboo and sticks work well in your design. A relatively inexpensive way to add interest and color to your room would be to frame botanical/forest prints.

 

Country Get-A-Way

 

A recent post of our ‘Romantic Get-A-Way on a Budget’ was about creating a one time get-a-way vacation for your loved one. Why not incorporate that into the design of your home instead of just for a holiday? If you particularly enjoy the simple life of country living, then have a room in your home focused around that. Use weathered, whitewashed wall treatments and handcrafted furniture. For inspiring ideas think of a faraway place and let your imagination run wild!

 

Beach House

 

Do you know a better way to have an airy, relaxed and comfortable feel to your home than by decorating it like a beach house? A casual and simple look would be a perfect retreat. Patterns in pastels and stripes work best and your color scheme should be limited to soft, natural shades like sky blue, aqua and peach.  I personally have my bedroom and bathroom decorated in what I like to call ‘beach chic’. I have pale blue, cream, khaki and brown incorporated with bold stripes and touches of the ocean everywhere. To accomplish this look make sure you pay attention to detail by using seashells, driftwood or nautical instruments.

 

For the first time, it appears that I may be up with the trends. My apartment seems to be in good shape for decorating in 2008. What about yours?

 

Source: MSN Shopping; www.msn.com

Happy Birthday George Washington

How much to you know about the United States’ first President? Did you know that there is actually no proof that he chopped down his father’s cherry tree with a little hatchet? And that contrary to popular belief, while he had several set of teeth made none of the sets were made from wood? There were actually comprised of hippopotamus and elephant ivory. To learn more about this honorable man read on!

 

George Washington, born in 1732 in present day Colonial Beach, Virginia,  was the first President of the United States from 1789-1797. George Washington and Martha Custis married on January 6^th,1750 just three weeks after they first met, at her home known as The White House. In 1775 Washington was chosen to be the commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces. As a result of his strategy, revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies — Saratoga & Yorktown - a big victory in the Revolutionary war. In the late 1780s, Washington presided over the Philadelphia Convention that drafted the United States Constitution. Washington became President of the United States in 1789 and established many of the customs and practices of the new government’s executive department. He supported plans to build a strong central government by funding the national debt, implementing an effective tax system, and creating a national bank.

 

Washington is a powerful symbol to the United States and he has consistently been ranked by scholars as one of the greatest U.S. Presidents. Henry Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade and father of the Civil War general Robert E. Lee, said of Washington in his funeral oration that of all Americans, he (Washington) was "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Lee's words set the standard by which Washington's distinguished reputation was imprinted upon the American memory.

 

Today we remember a great man. Happy Birthday President Washington!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: wikipedia.org

History of President’s Day

Many of you know today is President’s Day from the various amounts of sales adds or if you are one of the lucky few to have the day off from work. But do you know what the actual history of President’s Day is? Where is stems from and why it’s so important?  Allow us to educate you a bit….

 

This holiday was first celebrated in commemoration of George Washington’s birthday in 1796, which was the last full year of his presidency. By the early 19^th century, Washington’s Birthday had become a bona fide national holiday including many celebrated traditions such as speeches, receptions, etc. Then along came Abraham Lincoln who was another revered President also born on February 12^th. Following the year after his assassination, Lincoln’s Birthday became a formal observance. Lincoln’s Birthday, however, didn’t actually make it to become a national holiday, although many states made it so.

 

In 1968, legislation was enacted that affected several federal holidays, one being Washington’s Birthday. It was decided that the observation of his birthday would be on the third Monday in February whether it fell on the 22^nd or not (which is actually his birth date). This act was designed to simplify the yearly calendar of holidays and give federal employees some standard three-day weekends in the process.

 

Even though on record the third Monday in February is known as Washington’s Birthday, it has become popularly known as ‘President’s Day.’ To honor Washington and Lincoln as well as the other men who have served as president.

 

It is very important to realize how this holiday came to be and to honor the beloved men who have run our country. Given that this year is an election year, you can choose who will be celebrated on the next Presidents day. So be informed and vote in the 2008 election!!

 

 

 

 

 

Source: patriotism.org

 

How to Pamper Yourself

Life is full of stress and headaches, especially from the world-wind excitement of buying Valentine’s Day gifts. So in honor of you, we want to post some tips to help you relax and focus on yourself for a change!!

Something that always helps me to relax is taking a bath. I love just sitting in a hot water with my eyes closed. It’s very relaxing. I feel like my mind can just take a break from all the things I worry about & for a moment, I soak up the steam and calm all my nerves.

Whatever way you take a bath will work. If you prefer some salts or turning off the lights and only using candles. Maybe you like hearing some soft music in the background? Whatever you prefer is what you should do. And no matter what other tasks you ‘could be’ doing or whoever may be knocking at your door, take as much time as you need! This is ‘me’ time!!

After your bath don’t rush to get dressed. While in your bath robe or towel sit and put some lotion on your legs and arms. Apply a good layer and just enjoy the feeling of being rejuvenated. This would also be a perfect time to do a mud mask for your face if you’d like! This is still apart of your ‘me’ time so don’t try and multi-task. You’re worth the extra time you’re putting into yourself. Otherwise, you’ll rush into doing something else and never really give yourself the amount of time it needs to unwind.

So once you’ve applied the lotion or any other type of beauty product, you can get dressed. My recommendation is to dress in comfortable clothes. If you don’t have a pair of silky pajamas, I urge you buy a pair. They feel beautiful on your skin. Other fabrics that would feel wonderful would be cotton, micro-fiber, a chenille blanket, etc.

And finally, the end to a wonderful pampering session is to actually do an activity you want to do. Maybe you want to have a cup of tea, hot chocolate, or coffee, sit and read a book. Or maybe you want to catch up on your favorite soap or do your nails. Whatever activity you enjoy (doesn’t necessarily have to be alone-although that’s usually when you take care of your needs versus someone else’s) do it! After unwinding, taking some time to do something you want to do will really make the ‘me’ time really worth it!!

It’s been a really long time since I’ve taken the time to do this, so I think I’m due for one!! I wish all of you the best pampering session as well!

 

America’s Best Cities for Couples

It’s no secret that rents are skyrocketing all over the United States. People are constantly looking at ways to save money as the cost of living increases. One thought I find extremely interesting is that couples are now ‘shacking’ up to save some money!!

 

According to the Census Bureau’s latest research, there were an estimated 6.02 million unmarried-partner households in the U.S. in 2006! Forbes.com researched these cities by collecting data for 40 of the largest metropolitan statistical areas for five different categories: marriages per 1,000 people, divorces per 1,000 people, starter-home affordability, income disparity and availability of couples or family counseling.

 

The round-up of the best cities for couples were:

 

1. Dallas

 

2. Houston

 

3. Minneapolis

 

4. Denver

 

5. Austin, Texas

 

 

This is interesting news on Valentine’s Day!! We’ve posted numerous blogs about the benefits of having a roommate, so why not make that roommate your sweetheart!

 

 

For more information about how these cities were selected, visit Forbes.com or Realestate.msn.

Happy Valentine’s Day from ForRent.com

ForRent.com is dedicated to helping the consumer long after the apartment hunting process is over. We strive to be a resource for apartment renters, when searching for tips and advice during the apartment search as well as in their daily life. This February we have posted many topics such as tips for your Super Bowl & Valentine's Day Party, cheap decoration tips, 10 reasons you will Love using ForRent.com, Apartment Amenities you love, Valentine’s Day Classic Movies, fun Valentine’s Day craft ideas, President’s birthdays, recipes and more!  We hope that by providing our research and comments, the consumer will visit us again and again to obtain more helpful information and begin to recognize us as the ultimate apartment listing service.

 

Thank you for being our friend, visiting our blog, myspace profile, our videos on YouTube^TM and searching for apartments on our website. We hope you and your loved ones have a fabulous Valentine’s Day!!

 

Sincerely,

 

ForRent.com

Revenge Valentine’s Gifts

Okay, so we’ve posted a lot of ‘lovey, dovey’ blogs pertaining to Valentine’s Day. And truth be told I wasn’t even going to blog about this, but I go to check my email this morning and saw this article! It must be shared with everyone! It’s about revenge Valentine’s gifts. So let’s say you and your sweetheart just recently broke up, right before Valentine’s Day, and you want to send him/her a little reminder that you’re still mad about it! Well on Asylum.com, you can. This website offers you many little trinkets to send depending on the level of revenge you’d like to get!

Scrolling through their gallery I saw so many things that almost make me wish I had an ex to send them to! Like the severed middle finger. Instead of actually flipping off your ex, you can now send him/her one in the mail! An authentic voodoo kit to put a curse on your enemy or a mailed stinky dead fish (guaranteed to be extremely offensive) is also available! There are also ‘bitter hearts’ which are like conversation hearts traditional of Valentine’s Day, but with the words ‘dumped, despair and dysfunctional’ written on them instead. And lastly, a mixed CD of the most annoying sounds!

Even if you don’t have an ex you’d like to send a revengeful gift to, just seeing all the possibilities you could send has to make you laugh a little!! And put a little smile on your face this Valentine’s Day!!

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: FORRENT.COM DOES NOT ADVOCATE THE ACT OF BEING REVENGEFUL IN ANY WAY. WE CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN UPON SOMEONE AS THIS BLOG IS SIMPLY POSTED FOR INFORMATIVE PURPOSES

Healthy Eating this Valentine’s Day

Holidays are always the hardest time to stay on your eating plan. Sweet little temptations are constantly popping up. Seems like we’re still recovering from all the sugary snacks at Christmas and now we have to battle the constant chocolate ads everywhere for Valentine’s Day! So to try and help all you health consciences individuals, here are some tips to help you stay on your eating plan.

Obviously your best option to maintaining your healthy eating plan this Valentine’s Day is to cook dinner at home. Cooking at home will allow you to control the portions and ingredients being put into your meal. However, most people prefer to take their loved ones out during this holiday to show them how much they care. If you & your sweetie aren’t particular about how you celebrate, then opt for cooking at home. Not only is it healthier, but it’s almost always cheaper!!

Next tip is moderation. I’m not even going to say, ‘don’t eat sweets’ because that’s not realistic. Part of sticking to an eating plan is making realistic goals for yourself and you and I both know that not eating ANY kind of sweet on, or near, Valentine’s Day isn’t feasible! Especially since all these little goodies are around the office, your friend’s place, school, etc. So the big key here is to keep it in moderation. Try not to eat too much chocolate or candy, or cut a smaller piece of cake/pie/brownie/etc. Also try and pair your treat with some fruit. Eating a smaller piece of your indulgence with a piece of fruit will fill you up faster, while also preserving your eating plan. This moderation tip also applies to any alcoholic beverage you have at dinner. Although you are sharing a romantic evening with your special someone, try to limit yourself by only drinking one glass. Also make smart choices when it comes to your particular beverage; drinking a glass of wine has a lot less calories than a margarita!

The last and one of the most important tips is to exercise! If you are already setting your mind on the fact that you are going to treat yourself this Valentine’s Day, then make sure you exercise to counteract the effects. I know for myself, I am exercising just a little bit longer the day before, the day of and the day after, while also sticking to my normal eating routine. Hopefully my increased gym time will neutralize the increased sugar intake.

Do you have any useful tips to maintaining a healthy eating plan this Valentine’s Day?? Please share them!

Online Dating for seniors

On Sunday we posted Single this Valentine’s Day? Here’s how to find a date, 
a blog about online dating and how to put your profile out on one of the 
sites.  It seems that not only are generations x and y looking into online 
dating to find their special someone, but seniors are as well! In fact, 
seniors are the fastest growing segment of Internet users, and more and 
more of them are using the Internet to look for love. In fact, according to 
cbsnews.com, 16 percent of all those active on the top five Internet dating 
sites are 55 or older. A majority of the dating sites like eHarmony, Match.com 
and Date.com may cater to a slightly younger crowd, so there are senior 
specific dating sites popping up like SilverSingles.com and SeniorsCircle.com.

Whether you're 28 or 57, everyone needs love in their life and online dating 
seems to be fulfilling a need for many. So why not try your hand at online 
dating? You never know who you may find!

Visit Find a Date on ForRent.com's website and set up your profile today! 
You may even set upa date before this Valentine's Day!


Source: cbsnews.com

Happy Birthday Lincoln!!

 

Mr. Abraham Lincoln, born on February 12^th, 1809 in Hardin County, Kentucky, was the sixteenth President of the United States. During his terms, he helped preserve the United States by leading the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the Civil War. He also introduced measures that resulted in the abolitions of slavery. His assassination in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth was the first presidential assassination in U.S. history. Booth thought he was helping the south, but instead made Lincoln a martyr for national unity.

 

Lincoln is viewed by many scholars as one of the top three U.S. Presidents. His everlasting influence on the United States will forever be remembered.

 

Remember him and all that he has done for this great nation today. Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

 

Source: Wikipedia.com