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Tag: Lifestyle

What Any Parent Needs To Consider When They Have A Family

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Becoming a parent is one of the most exciting, exhausting but amazing journeys you will embark on in your life. From the moment you get that positive pregnancy test it no longer is just about yourself, you have someone to be responsible for, and that can be an overwhelming feeling. But as time moves on you sink into your new role, and life carries on developing new routines as each day passes. However, there are certain things we can put to one side that is important once you have a family to think of. I thought I would share with you what some of them are.

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Consider taking out life insurance

Life insurance is important when it comes to your family. None of us truly knows what the future holds, but right now, we could be invested in mortgages and debts. Not to mention being reliant on your wages. This is why life insurance should be a vital part of your outgoings. It can then take care of anything that is outstanding, and even help towards living expenses for the future. Thankfully, a little research online should be able to determine the best policy for you.

Make decisions on health care

The health care of yourself and your family is a high priority, so you should have procedures in place for when you need daily or urgent medical care. Thankfully, in some areas, you can gain access to an urgent care clinic to deal with any of those emergencies that can arise when you least expect them to. It’s important for you to remain vigilant with your families healthcare, so encourage a healthy diet, regular exercise, and keep on top of common illnesses and issues that arise.

Think about the future with a will

Every one of us have some form of assets. It might just be the jewelry we have on, the clothes we are wearing, or even houses and cars, etc. However, on the same lines of not knowing what the future holds, it’s a good idea to have a will in place. This ensures that there is no confusion on different matters and finances.

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Make sure you value your time

Time is by far one of the best and most important things you can give your children. While I appreciate that many of us have busy jobs and lifestyles, it is still important to invest in time rather than material things with your kids. Take your annual leave when you can, leave the office when you should do. No one ever regrets not spending more time in the office, do they?

Saving as often as you can

Finally, it is always worth considering saving for your children’s future at your earliest convenience, even if it is a small amount each month. At some point, your child will grow up and need help with higher education, maybe getting a car, or even help on the property ladder. Having saved up, you could be in a position to help them.

I hope this helps you get ahead when it comes to your families needs.

10 Home Improvements Worth Saving Money For

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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We all know that homes can be expensive. Not only do they cost a lot to buy, but they will always find a way to suck up your money on maintenance and spruces. And it’s unlikely to change. So, it’s always good to get in the frame of mind of having money available to invest in your home. It’s not easy, but it can definitely be worth it. You should also have some kind of backup financial plan in place too, should you ever need it. But, enough about the formalities, it’s time to think about that soon-to-be stunning home of yours.

When you want your house to look its best, you can often set your set a bit of a home maintenance to-do list. And most of the time, that list grows longer by the day. Although you could get around to fixing up and improving almost every part of your house, it’s important to realize that it will take time. And money! So, instead of on focusing on a huge list of all the things that you want to upgrade, you’re going to want to hone in on the most important. By pulling together a smaller list, you’ll be able to make a big difference with smaller efforts. So, let these home improvements give you food for thought for your savings list.

Your Dream Kitchen

When you ask anyone what their favorite room in the house is, they often all say the kitchen. There’s just something about it that we all love. Whether it’s because it is the heart of the home, or somewhere that we spend a lot of time, everyone wants a kitchen that they love. So, when you feel like passionate about a room, and you spend a lot of time in it, definitely add it to the top of your list. Although it’s tempting to remortgage or get a large loan for renovations, it may feel more rewarding to wait it out and save instead.

A Stunning Outside Space

Your home improvements definitely don’t need to be limited to the inside of your home. Because sometimes, it’s the changes that you make outside that can make all of the difference. If you like to spend a lot of time in the garden, you may dream of having a space that you can really enjoy. So, it might be time to take a look at some landscaping ideas and figure out how much you need to save.

A Comfier Bed

What could be better than a good night’s sleep? If you find that the bed you have just isn’t cutting it, you should definitely think about putting some money away and making an upgrade. Having a comfortable bed and mattress is essential if you want to sleep well. So it’s definitely worth the investment. Never underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep!

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Smarter Systems

Next up, you may also want to think about some of the essential systems that you have in your home. It may be the case that when you’re renting, you don’t have to fork out for new things when they break, but when you own your own home, you get to upgrade to the best by choice. Sometimes, a new water or heating system or smarter electrics can really make a difference to your standard of living.

Updating The Decor

Then there’s the simple yet oh so effective idea of updating your decor. When it comes to your home, you may feel that some of the rooms are outdated. But, if you’re able to add a lick of paint and replace the flooring, you may find that you’re much happier with the home that you have created.

Adding In More Bathrooms

Or, you may want to put some money away for more bathrooms. If you only have a master, or one and a half baths, you may want to think about the ways that you can change that. Because sometimes, only one loo won’t do. It can not only improve your standard of living to have more bathrooms at home but also the value of your house too. So an en suite here and a new suite there could make all the difference.

Creating A Show-Stopping Space

Sometimes, the way that you can be the most excited about saving for an addition to your home is to go with something different and creative. If you love to read, adding a library room in your house could be the perfect idea for you. Or, maybe it would be a theater or a gym? Regardless of what the room will be, adding in something that boosts your lifestyle is always a great idea. You work hard, so why not?

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Home Emergencies

On to more practical ideas, you may also want to consider having security when it comes to home emergencies. Although it’s a nice idea to have savings for spruces, sometimes you will need that money for emergency situations. When your boiler breaks or your electrics need re-writing, solutions like Personal Money Store are one option, but having savings behind you always helps. Because we all know the unexpected can happen, so it’s best to be prepared.

Expansion Plans

Another key practicality to consider if the size of your home or the space that you have it – especially in comparisons to the size of your family. If you’re looking to expand your family anytime soon, you may want to extend your home too. When you love your home, you don’t always want to move, so you should think about having a pot of money for when the time comes.

Conversion Plans

Finally, an alternative to that would be to think about a conversion. If you have no room to extend your property outwards, you may want to think about doing it inwards. If you have an unconverted basement or attic space, it could be a great idea to convert either or both into a new living space. But to do that, you will need to save up a little money or find a financial source suitable to your needs.

 

 

 

 

Confused Between Renting & Buying? Here’s the Right Option

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Rent or buy? – The question has troubled most of us at some point of our lives. It’s a tough question to answer since both renting and buying have their own advantages and disadvantages. Moreover, the choice between renting and buying depends on various variables such as your income and expenses, family profile, income stability and growth, financial outlook, future needs and plans, etc. Which city you are in also impacts the choice for renting or buying. Here team of NewsPatrolling.com did a survey and on the basis of collected facts sharing some key things to consider prior to making the decision for renting or buying.

Down payment vs. security deposit: When buying a home, you need to pay 10 to 20 percent of the property cost as down payment, while the remaining amount will be covered by your home loan. For example, if the property cost of a 2BHK apartment is 50 lakh, you will have to arrange around 10 lakh for down payment. You need to have adequate funds to arrange this large amount. Also, it would not be wise to empty out your entire bank balance for the down payment. You need to have at least 5 to 10 lakh left in your bank account after paying the down payment. On the other hand, if you choose to rent, you will have to pay anywhere between 1 to 2 lakh as security deposit for a 2BHK flat. However, the deposit amount will essentially be unproductive since you will not be getting any interest on it.

 

Income stability & growth: How secure do you think your job or profession is? If your income is stable and growth opportunities exist, you could consider buying over renting. If not, then it would be better to go for renting. When you buy a home and take a home loan, you have to pay Home Loan EMI every month. This is not a problem when your income is stable, but if anything goes wrong, things can get difficult. On the other hand, renting would not create such problems since you can always shift to a cheaper accommodation if you are facing financial issues.

 

Family profile: How many members are currently there in the family? Are you planning to start a family? More members would mean more expenses and it could affect your monthly budget. Choose to buy a home when you are sure that you will not be overburdened by new additions in the family. You need to be able to maintain your quality of life rather than just surviving through the Home Loan EMIs. A home loan is usually for 15 to 20 years, so it would not be a good idea to keep struggling for such long. Considering all other things equal, renting turns out to be cheaper in the short to medium term.

 

Future possibilities: Does your job or business require you to be on the move constantly? If so, then you could choose renting over buying. If not, then you can choose buying over renting, since it will be profitable in the long run. The rent you pay is basically an expense, but when you buy a home, it is an investment since the value of the property is consistently increasing. This would be applicable when you have finalized to settle down in a particular city.

 

New EPFO rules favor buying: EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organization) subscribers can now withdraw up to 90% of their savings in EPF accounts to fund the purchase or construction of their house/flat or for buying land. Also, monthly PF (Provident Fund) contributions can be used for repayment of home loans. These new EPFO rules have tilted the balance in favor of buying a home. If you are an EPFO subscriber and if you have a substantial amount in your EPF account, you could consider buying over renting.

 

Continual reduction in home loan interest rates is also encouraging people to buy rather than rent. Home Loan interest rates used to hover around 10 to 11 percent in 2012-2013, but now they have come down substantially to around 8.5% in 2017. However, the choice between renting and buying will still depend on various variables described above and your specific needs. You need to keep these factors in mind prior to finalizing your decision for renting or buying.

Happy Days, And How To Find Them Again

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

You are probably aware of the epidemic that is sweeping the world, that of depression and anxiety. You may know someone that struggles with one or both of these problems, or you may have to deal with them on a day today basis yourself? If so then you might what to check out the guide below that can suggest where you may be going wrong and what to do about it?

Are you trying to hard?

Firstly, a lot of anxiety and related depression relates from trying too hard. “But wait,” you say, “Good things come to those who work hard and go above and beyond the call of duty, right?” Well, is that really the case, even in your own experience?

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I’m not recommending being permanent lazy, but it’s good to be balanced in life, and if you are always trying so hard to control outer conditions then not only will this feed into your sense of anxiety, but also make you tired all the time.

Sometimes this great need to work so hard at being approved of by others suggest that there is an issue with ourselves that we need to turn inwards to address. So back off a little and see if that improve things for you.

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Are your expectations off?

Another thing that might be contributing to your anxiety or depression is your expectations. The way we want things to be isn’t often the way that they truly are. This can apply to our relationships, our work, our finances, pretty much everything really.

The problem is the higher your expectations are, the larger space you leave for disappointment when the reality of the world inevitability doesn’t match up to what you were expecting. Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expect good things for yourself or to be treated with respect and kindness. Instead, it points to the value of being more flexible with your expectations and achieving the clarity to live with things are they are, not as they might be.

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Is there an underlying condition?

Anxiety and depression are medical conditions, and if you have been expanding them for longer than two weeks, you will need to go and see your medical professional for some advice on treatment.

Also, it can really help to make an appointment with a qualified psychologist to get your condition investigated further. This is because there is more than one type of anxiety disorder and more than one type of depression, and the treatments are not all the same for each. So it can really pay off in terms of your recovery to know what you’re dealing with.

Are you kind to yourself?

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Lastly, a contributing factor to anxiety and depressive disorders can be how we treat ourselves. Stop and listen to the thoughts parading around you mind for a second. Would you speak to anyone else that way? Probably not, and if you did they would likely leave. So why do we do it to ourselves?  

Well, it’s mostly because we aren’t taught how to differentiate between thoughts and the meaning of those thoughts. This is something that both meditation and CBT can help you do. Which makes them something worth exploring in your quest for recovery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Busy? You Can Still Help with Your Children’s Learning

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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There are a lot of negative articles about hectic lifestyles, especially when it comes to parents who are deeply invested in business ventures. They’re often criticised for not having infinite amounts of time for family matters.

The response to things like this is usually “just make time”, as though it’s that easy! But let’s be realistic: excelling in your career can be beneficial for your child’s in the long-run, especially when you consider finances. But if your child is having school difficulties, this complicates things. Here are some things you can do the will help you overcome a hectic schedule to help your children get the educational assistance they need.

Tutoring 

A lot of kids may balk at the idea of having a teacher outside of school. But so many kids improve tremendously on an academic level when given this type of attention. Some may see it as a lazy alternative to helping them yourself. But you have to get that mindset out of your head. If you’re busy and exhausted, you may not be up to the task. Your child deserves high-quality assistance, and this may be best delivered by a qualified tutor! Look into the ways to pick the best tutor for your child if you think this will help you both.

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Smartphones to the rescue

More and more parents are seeing just how useful smartphones can be when it comes to education. While many see smartphones as just another tool that distracts their kids from their schoolwork, it’s absolutely possible to encourage good study behaviors through the use of Internet research and educational apps. It may be worth looking into cheap used phones that your kids can use instead of investing in expensive, ultra high tech phones. There are apps out there that can help with vocabulary expansion, improved reading comprehension, mathematical skills development, and even language acquisition!

Weekend schedules

The weekend is when you’re most likely to have some time. Whatever you’re doing, schedule yourself at least half hour to an hour discussing school with your kid and helping them with their homework. Scheduling it is the best way to get it done; as many busy parents know, as schedule is vital for productivity in day-to-day working life. Let your child know that this is something you want to do every weekend; they’ll get used to it and will be in the right mindset when the time comes.

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More reading

If there’s any subject your child shows any interest in, then get them some books on the subject. It doesn’t have to be a strictly academic subject. Robots, dinosaurs, film, fashion – anything! The simple act of reading boosts your brain power across multiple disciplines. It boosts concentration and memory in both the short-term and the long-term. It’s something they should be doing in their spare time. It’s a fantastic way of giving your child some extra academic assistance that doesn’t eat up much of your time at all. When they fall in love with reading at this age, they’re more likely to read enthusiastically throughout their lives, which will also help them a lot when it comes to college!

 

 

 

Cookout Tips to Impress Your Guests

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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It’s summer, and for a lot of us, summer and barbeque cookouts go hand in hand. If you’re planning lots of outdoor dining experiences this season, why not aim to make your cookouts the best yet?

There are lots of simple cookout tips that can elevate your barbeque from ok to AH-MAZING and make the whole process of barbecuing even easier. If you use even just a few of them, you’ll soon get a reputation as the best barbeque in the neighborhood.

Put the Doritos to Good Use

There’s nothing worse than planning to cook burgers on the Barbie, only to find out that you’ve run out of kindling and you’re all going to go hungry after all. But, if you have some Doritos in the kitchen or any chips for that matter, you will be able to go ahead and flame-grill those burgers because, chips, and especially Doritos, make for excellent barbeque kindling, due to their dryness and their high-fat content.

Coat Your Hands

If you love making burgers, and you know that your homemade patties are the best, but you hate having bits of meat stuck to your hands, simply coat them with either a small amount of cold water, or even better a thin layer of vegetable oil, and you’ll bed able to make enough patties to feeds the whole neighbourhood before your hands become a sticky mess in need of a good wash.

Keep Your Meat Moist

If you want your guests to be amazed when they bite into you burgers because of your patties are so succulent and juicy that they basically melt in the mouth, then you really do need to work at keeping the meat moist. This isn’t always easy when you’re outdoors in the heat. Fortunately, the fix is a simple one – just mix a couple of tablespoons of mayo to each pound of ground meat you use will ensure a moist burger and enhance the flavor.

If you’re cooking your meat medium rare and you want it to be perfectly pink in the middle, you could also add an ice chip in butter to the center of the burger, and that will stop it from getting too hot.

Two Temperatures

One of the best tips I was ever given was to heat the barbeque to two different temperatures, one at each side you can do this by only heating up half of the grill. That way, you can move cooked foods to the cool side to finish off without the risk of them burning.

Make Use of Muffin Trays

Barbeques are nothing without condiments, but what do you do when you don’t have enough condiment dishes to meet your needs? Do you just serve your ketchup and mustards in the bottle? No, you don’t. You serve them up in muffin trays, that’s what you do!

Use two Skewers

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If you’re cooking kebabs (and if you aren’t, why not?) Instead of attaching your meats, seafoods and vegetables onto one kebab skewer, use two instead. It stops individual chunks from moving around and getting burnt or unevenly cooked as a result. Just remember to soak your skewers before use if they’re wooden, to avoid setting your lovely food on fire.

Flavor Your Meat with Wood

No, I’m not telling you to add wood chips to your ground beef! But, using wood will add bags of flavor to your burgers and make them stand out from the competition. What you need to do is use planks of wood on the grill instead of metal. They will keep the food safely away from the flames and add a woody, smoky flavor to the food. Different woods have different flavors, so you might want to experiment a bit before you throw a cookout for the whole block, but most people find cherry wood to be very pleasant. If you’re interested, you can buy wooden planks for barbecuing at http://www.outdoorgourmet.com/plank-grilling-cooking/wholesale-grilling-planks.These planks are reusable, so they’ll help you to perfectly flavor your barbeque food for the whole summer and perhaps for many summers beyond

Season with a Salt Block

I’m going to say three words that will change your life – well the barbecuing aspect of it anyway – forever: Himalayan salt block. If you don’t know what Himalayan salt is it’s that pink salt that you often see in whole food stores. Bought in a block, it is hands down one of the best things to cook barbeque food over. Skip, the usual seasoning and just lay your meat down on a salt block over an outdoor stove (gas or electric) and you will be rewarded with the tenders, juiciest most flavorful meat you’ve ever eaten in your life guaranteed.

Lots of Lemons

If you’re having a barbeque, then you most certainly should not forget to pick up some fresh starts at www.Citarella.com/shop/lobsters-shrimp, and when you have that wonderfully fresh seafood delivered to your door, you simply must cook it over lemons. Just slice up a few of the citrus fruits and put them on top of your fish, lobster and shrimps it cooks for an end product that manages to be sweet, smoky and slightly sour all at once. Your guests will be shunning the burgers for the shrimp if you do.

Alternatively, you can make a simple marinade by combining olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic and marinating your seafood in that for a few minutes before cooking.

Spray Some Apple Juice

Apple juice isn’t just for drinking. In fact, it is perfect for barbecuing. If you spray your grill with apple juice every so often, and you do the same to your meat too, it will be browner, more tender and all round more appetizing. It sounds a bit odd, but trust me it works really well.

Brick Your Chick

We all love to eat chicken especially when it has been chargrilled to perfection, but actually cooking chicken on the barbeque can be quite difficult because of its irregular shape. Chicken is rarely the same uniform thickness, and this means that when one part is cooked, the rest might not be or it could be. A very simple hack to solve this problem involves nothing more than a brick and a sheet of aluminum foil. Wrap the brick in foil and use it to press down the chicken until it is one completely even. Then, leave the brick on top of the chicken as you cook it. The meat will be more crispy and tender than any of yore previous efforts.

Make Pizza

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Most people don’t expect to be served up freshly cooked pizza at the cookout. Sure, they might expect to see some pre-cut slices of cold pizza, but fresh, molten hot pizza – that’s something you don’t often see at a barbeque. So, why not exceed your guests’ expectations by serving them up a freshly grilled pizza? It’s really easy to do. Just check out http://ourbestbites.com/2009/06/tutorial-bbq-grilled-pizza/ for instructions. You can thank me for the tip later!

Make Veggie Parcels

Of course, not all of your guests are going to be meat eaters, and even if they are, it’s always good to serve up some veggies to healthy things up a bit, but what to cook? Vegetable parcels, that’s what. They’re so easy that they’ll take up very little of your time and because they’re cooked in foil, there’s no risk of them being contaminated by meat and fish juices.

To create delicious veggie parcels, just chop up and combine mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, corn on the cob, garlic, and sweet potato. Suasion with herbs and salt and toss on the barbeque for between five and ten minutes.

Serve Up Smoked Salt

While you’re grilling up burgers, fish kebabs and sausages on the barbeque, why not use that time to create your own smoked salt too? It tastes amazing, and you can use it to add that smoky barbequed flavor to dishes that have never been anywhere near the grill. All you have to do is light the grill, fill a pan with your favorite salt, and any other herbs you fancy and place the pan directly on the grill. It’s a good idea to use a nice smoky wood like cherry or apple to give the salt the most flavor, but you can use anything you like to get the desired flavor and ensure that you always have a smoky condiment on hand when you have a hankering for barbeque and no time to grill.

Soak Don’t Scrub

The worst thing about hosting a cookout is the clean up that comes afterwards. Luckily, I have the answer to that problem – don’t do it. If you use paper plates and disposable cups, knives, and forks, and you soak your grill in a solution of ammonia once it’s cooled, you’ll hardly have to clean anything up at all, and you can well and truly enjoy your summer evenings!

Are you a grilling or queen? What are your top tips for hosting the best cookout and producing the best barbeque food in the the neighborhood?

 

Things You Didn’t Know Could Be Hacked

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

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You might think that you’ve done well by installing anti-virus software on your computer network and securing your smartphone you’re safe. You may think that telling your employees not to open unsolicited emails and hiring a strong IT Support team is enough to keep you safe from hackers and ransomware, but it isn’t. You see, although all of the measures above are right and sensible, they don’t take into account the myriad of things that can be hacked, many of which you wouldn’t expect.

 

Just look at these things you probably didn’t know could be hacked and you’ll see how much more you need to do to stay safe when you’re connected:

Low Orbiting Satellites

Most of us rely on satellites to run our lives for us. Whether they’re allowing us to communicate across the globe, beaming entertainment into our homes or giving us accurate weather reports to plan our business with or aiding in national security, satellites are important, so it’s scary to think that Low Orbit Earth Satellites can actually be hacked by wrongdoers! Sadly, unless you’re a satellite owner, there probably isn’t much you can do about it, but being aware of the problem might make it easier for your and your team to beef up security back here on Earth.

Printer Networks

If you run a printer network as part of your business, you might want to have your IT team take a look at your network security because although a printer isn’t something we think of as having the potential for harm, it is actually very easy to hack into printers and cause all kinds of mischief.

Air Traffic Control

Flight safety is never too far from the minds of those of us who fly or have family who fly regularly, so it’s rather a scary thought that the number of air traffic control system hackers is growing significantly. After all, it only takes one fake instruction or missed command for disaster to strike!

Child Trackers

More parents are using Child Tracking Devices to help them keep track of their children and ensure that they’re safe. Sadly, these trackers are very easy to hack into and in the wrong hands could allow the wrong people to find and follow our kids!

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Power Grids

Power. We all need it, whether to run our businesses successfully; cook and keep ourselves warm; keep ourselves entertained or charge our smartphones, so we’re never out of the loop. So, it’s pretty important. It’s also pretty easy for skilled hackers to infiltrate the planet’s power grids and cause chaos. In fact, they did just that in the Ukraine in 2015 causing the kind of scenes you’d expect to see in a Hollywood disaster movie.

As you can see, there is much more to hacking than mischievous people trying to steal your bank details or infect your network with ransomware. There are many more nefarious things going on out there, many of which you would never expect, and it’s important that we don’t forget this and remain vigilant, without getting too worried, if we’re to help in the fight against cybersecurity crimes.

 

 

 

 

A Picture Says 1000 Words – How To Capture These Memorable Moments

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

We may live in a digital age, but most of us still fill our homes with photos of family and friends. They serve as reminders of past events, happy moments, and memorable occasions. You might not spend hours staring at them, but you wouldn’t want to have a home without all those faces around you.

You might use a digital photo frame that scrolls through holiday snaps, historical shots of senior family members, and old baby photos. Or you might have the entire wall of your stairwell filled with framed pictures of everyone you love. A giant canvas art in the living room and printed pictures held up by magnets on the fridge are all common uses of photographs. So which moments do you treasure most?

The Family Portrait

This is often staged and produced at a professional studio. The photographer will position each of you, so you all fit in the frame. He might request that you all wear the same color, or choose something with different textures. This can add to the visual impact of the shots. Portrait photography like this is often digitally altered, edited, or graded to appear more art-like than your standard taken-at-home shot. This makes it perfect for a large print in a frame or a large format canvas art.

Photo at Pexels

The Wedding

This is a pivotal moment in your lives. And it’s also the day when you’ve never looked more beautiful. When you’re discussing the photography, make sure all the shots you want will be covered. You can also choose how they’re presented, although an album is most common. Why not invest in a large portrait print for the wall? Photos last just as long as the memory, so why shouldn’t you adore that day?

Picture at Pexels

The Big Birthday Bash

This might be the event of the year. Chances are a lot of planning went into this one to make it perfect for the birthday boy or girl. These are the photos you see most often on social media. Themes that involve dressing up certainly make the best shots, and everyone wants a pic of themselves in their fancy dress costume. You could hire an event photographer, or ask that everyone uploads their pics to a common FaceBook page. That way, you pick the ones you want to treasure and arrange for prints.

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Graduation

This is another fantastic photo opportunity that is often covered by the professionals. That doesn’t stop you taking a few pictures yourself in a more casual stance. It can help to show the enjoyment of achieving that all-important certificate. Bring all the family in for a group shot.

What should you look for in a great picture? A natural smile and interaction between the people in the photo always makes for a good pic. Think about what else is in the frame. Remove clutter, and try to avoid straight-on portraits. A little turn to the side helps add depth to the image. Most importantly, let what we see in the frame tell the story of the occasion.

 

Adding Extra Sparkle To Your Dinner Party

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Entertaining at home used to be considered a casual alternative to a night on the town. If you wanted a low-key, easy way to catch up with friends and relax, you would get them over to your place and either order takeout or cook a cheap and quick meal. Restaurants and bars were reserved for special occasions only – but these days things are quite different. Home entertaining has not only become more common in everyday society, but it has also become much fancier. People go all-out to impress with both their hosting and their cooking skills. After all, many of us have a natural need to nurture, and providing entertainment and quality food to those you care about can be a rewarding experience. There’s also no denying that it can be a bit of an ego-boost when people enjoy something you have done for them! So, if you’ve persuaded your loved ones to come round to your place instead of going out, you’re going to want to pull something off that truly makes it worth it for them. Here are a few ideas to help you add that extra bit of sparkle to your dinner party.

Appetizers

Nothing screams ‘posh event’ quite like a selection of canapes and appetizers – so why not try making some of your own? Typical practice for home entertaining is to throw some potato chips in a bowl and be done with it, but hand-making some pre-dinner treats shows that you’ve gone the extra mile. They can be quite fiddly to make if you’ve never done them before, so don’t try anything too ambitious just yet. There are plenty of flavorful yet simple combinations that won’t take a lot of time to make, but will still whet your guest’s appetite.

Quality alcohol

‘Bring a bottle’ is the usual protocol when it comes to having a meal with friends at home. However, if you want to treat your guests, ask them to leave the bottles at home – and YOU will provide the alcohol. This way, you can meticulously match the wines (or beers) to the food you are going to serve. Plus, you may want to invest in something a little harder for later in the evening, such as kikori whiskey. The spirits market has seen a huge resurgence in Japanese whiskey recently, so if you want to impress your guests, being knowledgeable about the most fashionable spirit around will certainly make your party one to remember.

A show-stopper dessert

Even if you don’t have much of a sweet tooth yourself, simply bringing out a beautiful dessert can be enough to take your dinner party to the next level. Thanks to shows like Cake Boss, and across the pond, The Great British Bake Off, desserts have become more and more outlandish in recent years. Think of your dessert as a centerpiece as well as a sugary way to finish off the meal – there are some amazing designs you can use as inspiration if you’re not sure where to start.

Rocks To Rock At Rock Bottom Prices

Posted on by Aditi Malhotra

Most girls love to adorn their bodies with beautiful stones and precious metals. Jewelry has been part and parcel of many cultures, throughout time. Today, among modern societies and developing places alike, you’ll find this sort of bodily decoration to be extremely popular. In the recent past, these items would be too expensive for most people to own. But, in recent times, they’ve become much cheaper. This means that for those willing to are willing compromise on diamonds or other expensive stones, real bargains can be found. To help you with this, this post will be going through some of the best gems and rocks for visual and wallet appeal.

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A lot of people like expensive stones because they have very interesting visual features. For example, light dances within a diamond differently to any other stone. And, this gives it a very unique look. But, a stone’s price doesn’t dictate how special it is. In the case of the Tiger’s Eye, you’ll be surprised to see how beautiful a cheap stone can be. Usually, this rock is a mixture of light and dark shades of grey, in formations which almost look like strands. It looks best with a highly polished finish. And, it can be applied to almost any sort of jewelry to look nice. It’s rare to find such a fascinating stone of these colors.

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For some, the Tiger’s Eye may not seem girly enough. And, although it is elegant, it makes sense that it might not be everyone’s thing. A rose quartz is a very different stone to a Tiger’s Eye. This sort of stone is, as its name suggests, pink. These stones grow in crystalline structures, with great detail and precise lines. But, they can also be polished to shine and look smooth. Like a Tiger’s Eye, this sort of stone is great within any sort of jewelry. A local jeweler should be able to help you to find this sort of stone. And, they may even be able to suggest some for you.

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This next rock isn’t actually a rock. Instead, it’s part of a natural process used by oysters and a few other types of mollusk. When a foreign object, like a grain of sand, enters the oyster’s, it has to protect itself against infection or damage. To do this, it creates a smooth shell around the object. And, this is the pearl you wear. These jewels of the ocean have been commonplace in most societies with ties to the sea. And, they can be found in the highest of society out there. The best sort of options for a stone like this are things like handmade pearl earrings or necklaces. A lot of the examples you find from automated factories are made using substandard pearls to lower their price.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to start saving some money on the rocks you wear. A lot of people like to use this sort of accessory to add some color to their outfit. It gives you the chance to make something more interesting. Or, you can use it as an accent to the clothing you already have.

 

 

 

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