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Winter Outdoor Entertaining Tips

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Winter doesn’t have to put an end to entertaining outdoors. With long starry nights and balmy days, the cooler months of the year are ideal for hosting outdoor festivities. Whether you want to entertain friends in your own backyard or relax in one of your favourite alfresco settings, you can create a warm and welcoming entertaining space anywhere, by simply following these tips.

1. Keep guests warm

To prevent your guests from shivering with cold, it’s essential you provide them with heating. Consider the size of your entertaining area; if it’s a small, closed in space such as a patio, you may only need one air heater to keep everybody warm. For larger, open-air spaces, a brazier can radiate sufficient heat, while simultaneously creating a pleasant and inviting ambience. If you’re entertaining in some kind of an outdoor structure, electrical heaters can be attached to overhead beams and roofing, providing guests with the means to stay warm despite being outside. For a source of heat that can also provide you with delicious food, consider investing in a wood fire pizza oven.

2. Get the right furniture

Extending your living space into the outdoors for entertainment purposes during winter calls for durable furniture, especially if you live in an area prone to rain and strong winds during the colder months of the year. Furniture especially designed to withstand the elements can take the stress out of entertaining in winter. For guaranteed durability, furniture suppliers like Super Amart use weather-resistant materials such as timber and stainless steel in the construction of their outdoor furniture range.

3. Create a wind barrier

The wind chill factor is often what makes entertaining outdoors in winter so difficult. By creating some kind of a barrier, you can still enjoy the pleasantly cool temperature of a winter’s day while avoiding cold gusts of wind. Sheets of clear plastic can protect you and your guests from the elements without impairing your view of the outside world. Simply attach them to a solid structure with rope or zip ties, ensuring they are securely tied down so as to prevent them from blowing away mid-party. For a more luxurious approach to a windbreak, you could use opaque blinds or erect a canvas tent to create a delightfully bohemian outdoor setting.

4. Comfort food

Nothing warms the soul on a cold winter’s day quite like a hearty meal. When entertaining, treat your guests to some of your favourite winter recipes for an added touch of cold weather comfort. In addition to the kinds of snacks traditionally associated with alfresco dining, such as hamburgers and salad, try serving guests some spicy chicken soup and a flask of hot chocolate. If you’re keeping warm with a fire, why not use it to roast some marshmallows?

Rather than retreating inside during the cooler months of the year, entertaining outdoors presents the perfect opportunity to make the most of the cold weather.

Do you have any tips on entertaining outdoors in winter? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

This is an S2 Post.

5 Simple Backyard Upgrades

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When people think about backyard upgrades, they often think of expensive ‘backyard blitz’ type projects. For many, the task just seems too big! Upgrading your backyard needn’t be expensive or arduous. It could be as simple as new turf, a splash of colour or a new backyard feature. You needn’t call the bank, an earthmover and a landscape architect to give your backyard an upgrade. It can be easy.

Simple Backyard Upgrades

Check out these five simple tips for upgrading your backyard:

Turf

Check out your lawn. Does it never look quite right? Can’t seem to get rid of those weeds? It might be high time that you consider re-turfing your backyard. So many backyards are a mish-mash of grass varieties (and a generous mix of weeds!) that really drag down the appearance and functionality of a yard. It’s always worth chatting to a turf expert such as Hanceys Turf to see how much of a difference laying new turf could make to your backyard area.

Re-mulch

Mulch does a world of good for your gardens. It keeps in moisture, helps prevent weed growth and protects a newly established garden. Think about gardens you see in magazines or display homes – they are all mulched. A fresh layer of mulch on an existing or established garden can improve your garden instantly.

Fresh Colour

Is your potted colour more pot than colour? Your decorative bushes turned an eyesore? Perhaps it’s high time you invest in some fresh colour for your garden. Think about the existing colours of your yard – what will suit in with your existing scheme? Is there a new colour or theme you want to experiment with? In-season flowers or annuals can really upgrade a tired looking yard.

 

A Backyard Feature

You’ve probably got an interesting feature for inside your house – a nice painting, an eye-catching vase or an exotic piece of art. Why not have an interesting feature for outdoors? It needn’t be expensive or garish – something like a bird-bath, simple water feature or potted centre-piece can really upgrade an otherwise mediocre backyard

Something To Sit On

So you’ve invested in a great lawn, coloured up your garden and have something beautiful to look at. Now what? Something to sit on! When you’ve got a beautiful backyard, you want to be able to sit and enjoy it. Something to watch the kids or grandkids from. Somewhere to lounge on a lazy Sunday afternoon. A place to enjoy the warm sunshine and coffee in the morning. A comfy, functional outdoor chair is worth its weight in gold!

 

Upgrading your backyard can be easy and inexpensive. New turf, a fresh layer of mulch and colour, something to look at and something new to sit on can do wonders for your yard! Have you found these tips helpful?

Have you recently upgraded or improved your backyard? What worked, or didn’t work for you? Have you got any nuggets of gold you can share?

Drop your ideas and thoughts in the comments below.

This is an S2 POST.

Get clean with Euca + Giveaway

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Living natural is becoming an increasingly popular way of life. This is the choice many make for a number of reasons; allergies, to be environmentally friendly or maybe it is so they give their bodies only the best. I started searching for more natural products when B2* was approximately 6 months old due to his eczema manifesting to more than just dry and itchy skin; his cheeks were raw red and painful. To this day I still don’t know what caused his flare ups but it has since subsided and now at age 5 very rarely makes an appearance. I know certain washing powders can cause trigger eczema which is why it is great that there are wonderfully clean products available like Euca. The range covers everything you could need while including no fillers or synthetic perfumes and as the name suggests contains Australian Eucalyptus Oil.

Euca

Euca Soaker

B1 and B2 have white school uniforms. White! Who does that for young kids? Regardless the job of keeping them white is left up to me and I have found that the Euca soaker works a treat. You can use it to soak in the tub/bucket over night to maximise the effectiveness or you can put it straight into your washing machine (front or top loader) and use the soak cycle. The boys shirts always come out clean and white.

Euca Laundry Powder

This is my favourite of the four products shown above. It is great for front and top loader machines; giving 100 washes for front loader and 50 top load washes. It is 100% soluble and is grey and septic safe! Another benefit this Euca powder has is it is perfect for both hot and cold water.

Euca Laundry Liquid

The laundry liquid is basically the same as the powder except that it is liquid. So if you prefer liquid than this is the one for you. Ideal for both top and front loaders with top getting 50 loads and front getting 65 loads per bottle.

Euca Fabric Conditioner

The Euca fabric conditioner makes ironing easy (not that I EVER EVER iron) but it does help to give the clothes less wrinkles. It is extra light and really doe make the clothes soft with a hint of Eucalyptus scent from the Australian eucalyptus oil. It can be used in the bucket or the machine and you will get up to 65 loads from the 2L bottle.

Overall I would recommend this if you are looking at going natural and still want a product that works. In addition to it being a great product it is also Australian made.

Prize contains: 2kg Euca Laundry Powder, 2lt Euca Liquid, 2kg Euca Soaker, 2kg Euca Fabric Conditioner. 2x PRIZE PACKS UP FOR GRABS – Each valued at $49.80 (total prize pool = $99.60)

**As the winners are chosen based on skill and not chance; you will be sharing for 0 extra entries however I’d love you to share the giveaway with friends and family. Sharing is caring and karma loves kind people. **
a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you are wanting to enter more giveaways click over here.

Disclosure: I received one of each of these products for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own.

Clothes storage tips to give you wardrobe space

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The hot season is on its way. You will be wanting out with the winter jackets and in with the summer shirts. Either you have no room for both, or your wardrobe is simply getting too muddled and you want to be able to reach a singlet without accidentally pulling out a sweater. Never fear as there are ways to overcome this dilemma that you might not have considered and you don’t have to go above and beyond to achieve them. The answer could be right under your nose. So without further ado, here are some handy storage ideas for your wardrobe space this summer.

Wardrobe Space with these Storage Ideas

Designated Storage Space
Depending on how much of a shopping junkie you are, the space in your immediate surroundings might not be enough to store all your clothes. If this is the case, you might have to designate another room for storage. For instance, the spare room or perhaps the attic or basement. If neither of these are an option, box all your unwanted clothes and transfer them to a storage facility. Based in Queensland, Fort Knox provides its customers with a wide range of storage units suitable to whatever you need taken care of, whether it’s short term or long term storing systems.

Extra Hooks and Hangers
Use the wall space in your room as an extension of your wardrobe by inserting hooks on which to hang clothes. For example, the space on the back of the door could be used to hang scarves and handbags. Alternatively, buying extra coat hangers can go along way. You don’t even realise how much space you have in your wardrobe until you hang as many coat hangers as possible in the space provided. In short, use the space you have before considering other options, particularly if you have room to spare or you’re on a budget. This option should appeal to students who would much rather spend their savings on a new laptop than on fancy bedroom storage.

Baskets and Containers
Plastic containers are probably the handiest form of storage space. They’re easy to move around and they can fit twice as many clothes as their size would suggest. Containers can live under your bed, in your closet, or up in the attic, and they take up very little space out in the open. Baskets are also a great way to save space. Placing one large basket at the end of your bed will get rid of a lot of unwanted wardrobe clutter in one go. Baskets and containers are ideal for your casual footwear and foldable clothing, which only really excludes winter jackets and maybe headwear. Keeping them within reaching distance (such as under your bed) is a suitable for smaller pieces such as socks and underwear.

The trick to storing clothes is to be versatile and, moreover, creative. While jackets aren’t able to be folded, they can be hung up, and while shoes are difficult to hang, they can be neatly tucked away. Whether you pick all three options or settle on one, you’re minimising clutter and in turn expanding your summer wardrobe space.

This is an S2 Post. 

Happy Birthday and a wing chair

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Today Mr C is celebrating his 28th birthday and while he is going to be extremely tired from finishing night shift he will be ecstatic when he sees the present I got him. Take a seat, well more like a chair – a wing chair to be exact. A chair fit for a king.

Meet the Churchill Wing Chair. Isn’t she pretty? Image credit: 1825 Interiors

 

He has wanted one of these wing chairs for as long as I can remember and each time he thinks about getting one something always comes up, there is always a bill that decides it wants to be paid (seriously how rude!) or a school excursion, new uniforms; it just never seems to end. Every year (besides that one he forgot my birthday) he has always gotten me something beautiful, something so me and it is clear that he knows me so well. Shopping for him on the other hand is so friggin hard!! I know what he likes, I know what he wants but there are always so many variations and I find myself constantly second guessing and decide on something entirely different. What if I get the wrong one? He isn’t a socks and jocks type, he is a pointless contraption kind of guy (well he thinks they are justified).

Churchill wing chair from 1825 interiors

 

A few years ago we spent a night in a hotel after going to a wedding and there were random chairs around the place and we have loved the idea ever since. We have wanted random chairs but lacked either enough space for them or the money. Now that we have built our house it has numerous places for random seating and I wanted him to be wowed by his gift like I am every year. So I saved the money I earned from working and I got him this magnificent wing chair. What do you think?

Wishing Mr C a very Happy Birthday today. xx

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