Candyfloss & Dreams

Author: Kat Candyfloss

It’s Time For A Home Makeover: Quick And Easy Ways To Revamp A Room

This is a collaborative post.

We can all get a little bored of our home decoration from time to time. So much so, that we want to change things up a little and revamp as much as we can. However, we can’t always afford to change a room completely. Bigger pieces of furniture cost a fair bit, not to mention the expense of paint and accessories. So I thought I would share with you some of the quick and easy ways you can revamp a room. I hope it offers you a little inspiration for your home.

Change the furniture

I know i mentioned that it is expensive to change the furniture in your home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t invest in key pieces. Furniture tends to be an investment, so changing one piece could really change the way a room looks and feels. Think about the piece of furniture that gives the most impact for a room. It might be the bed or wardrobes for a bedroom, it could be the seating in a living room. Also, try and hunt out for bargains online or even consider second-hand options. Often you can pick up amazing bargains if you look hard enough.

Sell unwanted items to help finance your makeover

If you are little stuck for cash and want to makeover a room in your home, then utilize some of the things you don’t want and sell them. You could make more use of websites like eBay. People are often put off by selling some of the bigger items due to delivery, but a little research online could help you find a furniture courier that wouldn’t be too expensive to use. This can often be a great way to revamp any room in your home while saving you a bit of money in the process. After all, there is no point in keeping things you no longer love or need in your home.

Add a new colour to the room decor

Sometimes just adding a different colour to a room can allow it to take on a whole new dynamic. A brighter colour works really well to inject a little life back into a room, and it can be added in many different ways. You could use soft furnieshings or accessories to add some colour to a space. You could even add a feature wall which means just painting one main wall that attracts the attention of the eye. Think about colours that work well with things you already have to keep the costs down.

Create a feature wall

Finally, a feature wall doesn’t have to be something that is painted. It could be a wall you choose to wallpaper. These days you can get all sorts of amazing effects that are wallpaper such as glitter or metallic effects if you are feeling adventurous. However, even a nice print or design could dramatically change the way a room looks. Other options could be adding photographs and creating a photo montage wall.

I hope this has provided you with some inspiration.

July 22, 2017
Energise Yourself to Work at Home Without Relying on Caffeine

One of the biggest issues with working from home is that you typically don’t need to move very often. Unless you do something active like an in-house yoga class or if you work as a fitness instructor, you’re probably quite sedentary and, as a result, you spend a lot of time sitting down at your desk and typing away at your computer. This usually results in a lack of exercise and your body might feel like it’s constantly in a lazy state.

When we used to work for someone else, we’d wake up a little during the commute to work (because nothing is worse than falling asleep on the train or taking the wrong bus!) and by the time we reach our workplace, we’d have friends to speak with and work to do, keeping us on our toes. However, when we roll out of bed and climb into our desk chair to start the day’s work, it’s all too tempting to just fall asleep and get nothing done for the rest of the day.

So in order to energise your body and mind to work at home, here is a collection of useful tips and tricks to follow.

Image Source

Set up a working environment

One of the first things you need to do is set up a working environment. It’s important to keep your work life and home life separate as much as possible so that you don’t mingle them together. You don’t want to get up and start work in the exact same room that you slept in, and you don’t want to go downstairs and get distracted by family members while you work. Work in some place quiet where you won’t be distracted, and make sure it’s not your bedroom. The reason being you don’t want to associate your place of work with your place of sleep—that can only lead to disasters such as falling asleep when you just want to “lay down for a bit”. However, if there are no other choices, then your bedroom might be the only place where you can set up a working environment that’s free from distractions (aside from the comfort of your bed). Make sure your work area has a desk with all the essentials you need. This will create an area of the home that your brain registers as “work time”, thus kicking your body into the right mood and energising you for work.

Give your bedroom a makeover

The bedroom has been mentioned already, but it’s hard not to stress how important it actually is when it comes to giving you the energy you need to improve your work day. Make sure the bed itself is comfortable enough and giving you a good night’s rest. Take a look at Mattress Guides reviews if you want to purchase a new mattress. You spend roughly a third of your life sleeping, which is why it’s incredibly important to ensure you sleep tight in order to wake up feeling more refreshed. In addition, you’ll want to try and remove as many electronics as possible from the bedroom. As mentioned before, this might not be possible if your bedroom is the only viable office space in the house, but if it’s not, then make sure you keep everything (including your phone) out of the bed. Your body needs to associate the bedroom for bedtime, much like how you want to train your body to recognise your work area so that it adjusts accordingly.

Image Source

Work on improving your diet

If you feel like you lack energy when you wake up, then you may need to alter your diet a bit. Focus on eating foods that provide you with a boost of energy such as fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates and dairy. Some of the healthiest breakfasts to eat are porridge with fruit, omelettes and toast with a spread like peanut butter. However, what works will solely depend on your body and how you react to these foods. Some people get by without eating until it’s lunch time, while others swear by their morning bowl of cereal. Whatever you do, make sure you avoid caffeine like the plague because it only provides a temporary boost in energy and focus. The more you drink, the more you’ll need to feel its effects in the future. Drink plenty of water to hydrate yourself, and eat some carbs when possible to provide your body with the energy it needs to get through the day.

Force yourself to move a bit

Try your best to exercise a little bit throughout the day. For instance, you could give yourself a five-minute break to stretch, get a new drink and work your legs every other hour. Alternatively, you could take your work elsewhere, such as to the park or your relative’s home. This is a great opportunity to incorporate some movement into your working routine, but it only works if you can do your work with just a laptop and an internet connection. If you have an exercise machine at home, such as a cycling or elliptical machine, then you might find it beneficial to do five minutes after eating breakfast to wake yourself up a little and get your heart working a little. This can emulate the same effects of commuting to work and if you incorporate it into your morning routine, it can give you a nice boost of caffeine-free energy.

Radiate positivity

While your work might demand a lot of attention, you want to ensure that you’re doing your best to stay positive throughout the day. If all you can think about is trying to finish quickly so you can go and watch television or fall asleep again, then you’re prone to rushing your work, producing worse results and feeling drained. Keep your mood positive by introducing some music to your working routine. Listening to some tunes while you work can boost your energy and reduce your fatigue, especially if it’s something upbeat. Some people even listen to classical music because they claim it can increase your focus.

July 21, 2017
Parks, Playtime and Playing Safe

This is a collaborative post.

We have a few parks in my hometown that we love to go to. Parks are a great way for E to burn off some steam after school and because we don’t have access to a garden at home they are the go to place for some outdoor play which is so important for little ones. I have to admit as I’ve grown up park play area surfaces are one thing I look at a lot to make sure my daughter is playing safety. I want my daughter to have fun whilst she’s playing and safety isn’t really her area of concern, it’s mine. These days you see a lot of parks and playgrounds with wetpoor rubber safety flooring. It’s kind of got that soft, springy feel to it which I like. It’s almost bouncy.

I really like how a lot of playground surface area is brightly coloured and some even feature games to play. Long gone are the hard, concrete surfaces where you could mark a game of hopscotch with chalk. I remember so many different playground surfaces when I was young from hard concrete, woodships and sand. Looking back none of these were particularly safe really! I remember having so many accidents thanks to the harder surfaces and heard quite a few horror stories from what other children found in sand pits at playgrounds. I don’t have these worries today because its less common to see sandpits and woodchips around. The rubber surfaces you see today are also so much better for all weather conditions to help prevent slips, trips and falls. As a nation we are becoming so much more health and safety concious but if it reduces accidents then I’m all for it.

These days there are a variety of playground surfaces such as wet pour, rubber mulch, artificial grass and needlepunch. Each type of surface has qualities to help make the playground or park a safe area to play in and run around. These surfaces can be multilayered too to around higher playground equipment to prevent or lessen damage from critical fall heights. Kids move fast, they like to jump, hop, skip and run around a playground so it’s really good there are a lot of choices these days. Safety is now a really important part of putting a playground together for recreational parks, nursuries, schools and other public places. A lot of these are now impact resistant which really helps when you have super fast children speeding around the park and jumping off every surface they want. E has fallen over in the park quite a few times but she’s not had a serious accident and I think this is largely because of the playground floor surface.

July 14, 2017
Prepare Your Garden For The Awesome Summer Parties You’ve Dreamed Of Hosting

Flickr

Hosting a fantastic summer party isn’t just a one-time event, despite what the movies might suggest. Hosting a fun and entertaining garden party requires preparation, and as someone who is interested in hosting the summer event of the season, you’ll need to make sure you spend hours making sure everything is taken care of.

But where do you begin? Considerations like this are always difficult and require a degree of foresight that you might struggle to keep all-inclusive. If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place by reading this article. Duly applied, the following list of tips can help you throw one of the best summer party bashes that you’ve ever dreamed of.

No matter whether it’s a family, college or work affair, you can be sure that each of those will benefit from these following considerations to a brilliant degree.

Prepare The Furniture

Your guests will need somewhere to sit. Your seating area needs to be safe, sizeable and hygienic. Be sure to provide outdoor cushions that you don’t mind getting dirty in order to raise the overall comfort and aesthetic of the area.

Prepare The Food

You won’t be expected to cater for most summer garden parties, but having a few snacks handy doesn’t hurt. Chips, pastries, and cake can go a long way in keeping your guests satiated. Consider suggesting an order of pizza midway through the party to keep everyone fuelled for the festivities well into the night. This will suit intimate affairs more than affairs where you might be hosting people you don’t know, but either way, some degree of food is healthy to provide to your guests.

Prepare The Alcohol

If you’re of legal age and you have no personal stipulations that prevent you from drinking alcohol, consider providing a bowl of punch, and maybe a keg or two for personal use. If you’re trying to cut down on costs, ask the guests to bring their own. If they do, it’s customary for you to purchase cups in which mixers can be poured. If anyone might have trouble with the presence of alcohol, keep this in mind, and prepare for them accordingly.

Tidy The Garden

If your garden has seen better days and is filled with garbage, you might benefit from hiring dirt cheap rubbish removal. No garden looks good when filled with trash, and so providing a clean, hygienic and most importantly safe venue for your guests to unwind can help you tremendously here. After you’ve done this, you have room to decorate the garden. The best garden parties follow a motif and have common themes and colors. If your party includes fancy dress, then consider theming the garden around that. If not, it’s up to you to figure out how to best appropriate a positively run party.

Book The Entertainment

What are your guests going to do when they get to your garden party? Converse in silence? To make your party entertaining, the least you should do is book or provide some form of musical stimulus.

Help The Morning Clean-Up

Line your party with bins that guests can place their rubbish in, lest you spend the entire next day cleaning up the mess from the night before to a dizzying degree. Guests, under a sense of social pressure, will be more likely to use the hygienic waste bins provided, and this can save you time, effort and energy.

No matter what you’re celebrating, a beautiful garden space can be utilized effectively to throw a great intimate summer party. Plan for good weather, and you’re sure to have an absolute ball.

July 4, 2017
Investing In Your Child’s Future: Where To Begin

When you have a young child, it can be very difficult to see beyond getting them through the day ensuring that they are washed, dressed, and well fed as well as trying to avoid disasters. Looking after your child and fitting in their needs around your lifestyle can often take precedence over any future considerations, however, the future health of your child, often relies upon the decisions you make early on in their life. These decisions will go on to determine who your child becomes, and how much you can support them in this journey.

Consider Investing In The Stock Market

Over an extended period of time, shares provide a better return than a savings account. You could buy zoom shares, for example. Investing in safe stocks that offer you a secure return, will allow you to provide your children with either the stocks themselves or the financial value of the shares. You can even put the assets in your children’s name, with several brokerage firms offering custodial accounts. A custodial account means that the custodian can manage the assets of the child, but no one apart from the child can take out anything until they have come to the age of maturity. It is worth looking around, and seeing which brokerage firm can offer you the best account deal, for example, no minimum investment or commission.

Education

The financial security of your children is often dependent on the quality of education they receive from a young age. Choosing the school that your children go to is a big decision, as this is a place they will spend most of their formative life in. Find a school that mirrors your core values, and that you feel comfortable sending your children to. Looking at league tables, and visiting schools in person will help you decide which school will best cater towards the individual needs of your children and will provide them with the best education possible. Decide whether you want to, or can afford to, send your children to a private or state school. Many people that prefer to send their children to a private school but struggle with financing this decide to invest in a private secondary school for their children and a state primary school and sixth form education. This reduces the overall cost of education while providing their children with private education for the five years of secondary school. To prepare for the costs of education, that also includes school resources, uniforms, school trips and extracurricular activities; you’ll need to start saving for your child’s future as soon as possible.

Higher Education

Once your child goes to university, you will have to factor in all the additional costs that this might entail, particularly if you don’t want your child to rely upon a student loan. It should be noted, however, that student loans are an option for students who need additional support, and should not necessarily be viewed as a financial burden, as these loans are very flexible and do not need to be paid back until the individual is earning enough money to comfortably do so.

In order to prepare for this, which may seem a long away, it is worth considering bonds as well as saving. Masters programs and study abroad programs will increase the employability of your children, and therefore, the costs associated with this will pay off in the long run.

Invest in property

With the property market becoming increasingly difficult for individuals to enter, it is likely that young buyers will have to rent for much of their life before they can save enough to put towards their own home if indeed, they are ever able to buy a property at all. To leave your children with something that will continue to provide an income, it is worth investing in property. This is a form of equity that will continue to grow and provide both yourself and your children with a form of financial security that is a safe investment. There are many ways that you can invest in property, and ensure that you get a foot onto the housing ladder, including buying an affordable home that you can fix-up and go to auctions rather than going through an agency. This can be a particularly lucrative field of investment which can even lead to property developing. If you even stick to one property, however, you’ll still receive a regular income if you rent it out, which you will be able to pass on to your children.

Photo source- Pixabay

Provide Your Children With A Cultural Education

Making sure that your children have a wide and varied education also involves building upon their cultural understanding and awareness of the world. In order for your children to become citizens of the world, and give them every opportunity, it is important to encourage their cultural development, in subjects such as literature and the arts. Do not only provide your child with music lessons but take them to concerts and recitals, in which they can see what a musician in practice looks like. In a similar vein, go to the theater as much as possible, or even to the cinema, as a fun way to expose your children to visual arts in an accessible way. Travel is an excellent way of exposing your children to different cultures and will provide them with an ability to adapt to different environments, particularly if they spend an extended period abroad. While it is not always easy or possible to spend time abroad in exotic locations, there are ways to do this if traveling or living abroad is a priority for you. One option is to see if your company provides sabbaticals, which you can read more about here, and which would allow you to take six months or a year away from work, with your job position secure upon your return. You will, of course, have to consider your children, and this is easier to do when your children are young and do not have commitments such as exams to worry about. Fortunately, children settle into foreign environments far quicker than adults, particularly if they go to school and make new friends. Learning a new language is a skill that your children will be able to take away with them and use throughout their life, increasing their employability and potential to work abroad.

July 3, 2017