Sunday, November 6, 2016

An Unexpected Treat: Luxury Living In The Heart Of Illinois


About 45 miles northwest of Chicago you will find the charming community of Crystal Lake. Named for the lovely lake that lies just southwest of the city's downtown area, Crystal Lake is the largest suburb in the Chicago metropolitan area. Although many of the home's in Crystal Lake are typical of any Chicago suburb, there are some that are exceptional. 


The Lazy Willow
Among these luxury homes for sale in Crystal Lake, Illinois you will find the unexpected beauty of the Lazy Willow. The one-of-a-kind residence was originally built in 1930 as a log cabin and the 14.6 acres of woodland and pastoral hills were used as a hunting ground. In 1998, the home was replaced with the current 5,400 square feet luxury property residence. The enchanting luxury cottage is nestled at the end of a long driveway just past an idyllic wooden bridge. The cozy brick chalet sits atop a cascade of spectacular landscaping and is surrounded by fantastic views, ponds, and waterfalls. 



The French country interior of the home is accentuated with natural timber beams and boasts five bedroom suites, six full baths, and four fireplaces. Additionally, the home's 5,400 square feet of finished living space adjoin more than 1,000 square feet of storage, a spa room, two enclosed porches, a patio, one wrap around deck, two outside decks, waterfalls, and more than 200 acres of conservation area. The 15-acre property includes six acres of lawn for sports, four large water features. a swimming pond, and a private beach. 


Wait There's More 
It may seem strange, but the Lazy Willow is not the only luxury home located in the area. A close competitor for the title of "Most Stunning Home In The Crystal Lake Area," the home located at 9408 North Muirfield Drive is a beautifully designed waterfront estate located amid six quiet acres of private land. The large estate has an open floor plan and boasts more than 12,00 square feet of luxurious living space. 



One of the most captivating features is the home's Swarovski crystal lighting and chandeliers that illuminate the home's stunning interior. The home includes a theatre, an in-ground pool, a patio, a wrought iron gazebo, a private boat dock, and much more. 


These Rare Gems Are Awaiting An Owner
Obviously, these homes are extraordinary examples and architectural excellence within the Crystal Lake area. Nestled within the beautiful city along the lake, these special homes are just awaiting an equally unique buyer.



Monday, April 25, 2016

Make Your Company More Cutting Edge And Competitive With These Business Strategies

If you want your company to be more cutting edge and competitive, the key to success is accessing strategies that will make it happen. With that idea in mind, consider using the following techniques to take your business to a new level of prestige and power:

1. Pay Attention To Your Staff.

Your staff is one of the most important business-building assets you have. In addition to shaping your company culture, employees play an integral role in determining how prospective customers view your brand. As such, it's important to pay attention to your staff and do all that you can to facilitate their personal and professional growth. Some of the strategies you can deploy to realize this objective include:

  • offering online learning courses
  • accommodating work schedule requests 
  • promoting from within 
  • requesting feedback through questionnaires

2. Update Your Equipment.

In addition to paying attention to your staff, make sure that you update your company's equipment on a regular basis. This is a wonderful way to ensure that your daily operations are completed in a highly efficient, expedient way. Regularly updating your equipment also decreases the likelihood of work-related accidents. In the event that your company makes use of commercial freezer parts, you can obtain them from online retailers such as Online-reps.com.

3. Put Your Health First.

One final strategy you should consider deploying to get your company moving forward is to put your health first. Many business owners overlook wellness when they think about strategies that can help their companies become more cutting edge and competitive. Don't commit this oversight. When you lack energy or are chronically ill, your ability to effectively manage your company will decrease drastically. The solution is simple: access and implement health-building techniques that will keep your company moving forward. Some strategies to consider include:

  • drinking a green juice each day 
  • meditating 
  • implementing an exercise program which includes cardiovascular activity, weight-lifting, and stretching 
  • giving back to your local community 
  • keeping a gratitude journal 
  • removing all processed foods from your pantry

Conclusion

If you want your company to be more cutting edge and competitive than ever, you can accelerate the process by using proven growth strategies such as the ones listed above. By paying attention to your staff, updating your equipment, and putting your health first, you will likely find that you are able to see the ongoing business growth that you desire.


Bunny Softy from Socks

Each week, me and my not so little girl try to do crafts together. This is my way of bonding and spending quality time with her and an avenue for her to develop her creativity. Since we went away for the weekend during the Easter holidays, we opted to make something with an Easter theme when we got back. My daughter so loves everything cuddly and soft to the touch and I found this very great idea on Pinterest on making use of old baby socks to make bunnies out of them. So we rummaged through her closet and luckily found a few pairs that were already too small for her.

And this is what we came up with:


I did most of the sewing since it needs fine stitching. My daughter did the filling and drew on the cheeks. 

Ain't she cute? This also makes a nice gift for babies but be sure to use brand new socks. :)

If you want the detailed tutorial on how to make the sock bunny, click here.


Saturday, March 12, 2016

Calculators Aid In Utility Budgeting


The calculator is one of the oldest still-useful tools people possess in their daily lives. It can be used offline in a variety of ways, from adding up bills and paying them to estimating taxes. Online calculators have almost made lives easier by estimating entire budgets and giving a full layout of what finances look like. Utility calculators remain one of the single best calculators for household budgeting. All households use water, electricity, and trash services to function smoothly. Thanks to modern calculators, you don't just get a bottom line number to work with. You have a vast array of analytics to help you budget more effectively from month to month.

Monthly budgeting

Nothing is quite as critical to a smoothly functioning household as budgeting. By knowing what you can or can't live without, you make sure that the money you need for vital services like water and electricity are there even if nothing else is. Most households live month to month or paycheck to paycheck. If money has to last for two weeks, sitting down and planning out how much bills are going to be is essential for peace of mind. Utility calculators are among the most important because no one wants to live without electricity or water. These are the things that aren't negotiable in the budget. Thankfully, online calculators help to make these easier to estimate. While no bottom line is going to be 100% accurate and you should always leave room for more than the bottom line, these can help you give an idea of where your extra money can be spent and where it must be saved.

Convenience

The convenience of online calculators is well known. You plug in numbers and they give you a realistic output for what you're budgeting. Complexities vary. Some calculators will just estimate a utility charge for the month based on your current usage while others will go through 12 months of bills and give you detailed graphs and expectations for the coming year. Statistics are important because they give you expectations for the future based on the reliability of prior usage. 

Thanks to the old technology of calculators combined with the new technology of the Internet and analytics, people can budget ahead like never before. Click here to learn more about this or simply begin testing the waters.




Friday, February 12, 2016

Accentuate Your Fashion Style With Traditional Mehndi Designs


Are you looking for a "new" style that will accentuate your fashion sense with a bold, colorful statement of intent? Perhaps you're interested in learning more about classic fashions that feature the best Mehndi design? If you're new to Mehndi designs, there's a lot to learn, but you'll have so much fun doing it that it will hardly seem like encyclopedic research! In a nutshell, Mehndi designs are currently taking the world by storm, thanks to their sensational combination of ancient religious tradition and timeless beauty. This is one "new" fashion trend that is centuries old, yet ageless.



What Is Mehndi And Where Does It Originate From?



For those of you who are completely new to the Mehndi design phenomenon, a bit of catching up may be in order. Mehndi designs originate from India, and were first developed there a few centuries ago in the wake of the Mughal invasion. Since then, these innovative and timeless designs have spread from India into Pakistan, the Middle East, and the Far East of Asia. Anywhere you see women wearing brightly colored saris, you're sure to see them sporting classic Mehndi themed fashion items as well.

Why Has Mehndi Become So Popular?



There is no one easy answer to the question of just how and why Mehndi designs have suddenly become so popular in the 21st century. Perhaps the fact that the Internet has brought the world closer together in such a relatively short period of time has had a decisive impact on the ability of fashion styles to suddenly impact parts of the world where they were previously unknown. Regardless of the reason, the truth is that Mehndi fashion is now everywhere, and more popular than ever.



Mehndi Designs Are Taking The Internet By Storm



Mehndi designs are currently taking the Internet by storm. There are countless pages on Pinterest, Etsy, Ebay, Tumblr, and other areas on the web that are devoted to showing off or advertising these classic traditional designs. For example, companies like Craftsvilla and others are selling jewelry and clothing designs that are based on the traditional Mehndi style. No matter whether you're searching for a new dress, brooch, pair of earrings, or a bracelet, you are sure to find the Mehndi items that will complete your new ensemble. This is the year of Mehndi designs, so don't be left behind!




Handmade Birthday Party Invitation Cards

My little girl is turning 8 soon and she is so excited about it! So last Wednesday, for our "Basteltag" or Crafts Day we started making her birthday party invitation cards. We decided on the slider card because while watching You Tube videos on how to make them, it was very interesting and challenging on my first since it's my first time making one.


Our materials. :)
Gathering up our materials made of glitter board paper, colored paper, gift wrapper, 3D stickers in various motifs, double sided adhesives, scissors, puncher, ribbon band, self-adhesive velvet border, sandwich plastic bag, and our creative and free imagination, we came up with something that is quite elegant and cute at the same time. 

The invitation details were printed on colored paper using a color printer. The little girl wrote the names of her friends on each card and also her name to make it more personalized.


We made 10 invitation cards for her girl friends.
The inside of the cards have different paper colors. We have light blue, rose and pink. The white ribbon band is used to help pull or slide out the two cards that contain the details of the party. I am really glad we did this together. She was very happy about it and can't wait to hand them out to her friends next week. I also think they are cool and cute. How about you, do you like it? Want to know how to make one for a special occassion? I can show you how or I can make one for you. Just comment away!  


Monday, February 1, 2016

Straightforward Assistance with Your Home's Upkeep


Your home requires a significant amount of repairs and upkeep throughout the years. Even the best kept of homes can suffer from issues with backed-up plumbing and clogged pipes. When you know that you cannot do the work yourself, you may look to outside help from contractors like Naperville plumbers and other house repair specialists. You can find out more about the help available to you by checking out the company's website online.

Experienced for Consumer Confidence

You understandably want to be confident in the contractor you hire to work on your home's plumbing. A plumber who is inexperienced and relatively new to the industry may work well under the supervision of skilled contractors. However, this individual alone may lack the knowledge to quickly fix and prevent the problem from happening again.

Instead of hiring a novice, you may choose to hire a company that has decades of experience in the industry. These years of experience mean that you get fast, reliable, and thorough care of your home's plumbing. The problem that is plaguing your house right now may not occur again because of the professional service you retain online.

Estimates and Savings

Hiring a contractor can be a pricey experience if you fail to shop wisely. You can use the website to get a quote for the problem you are having right now with your plumbing. By getting a quote, you know exactly how much you may need to spend to get the problem fixed. The contractor guarantees the price and does not include surprises that could throw the work off budget.

You also can save money by using the specials tab on the company's website. By clicking on the link, you may find coupons and savings that will allow you to trim your repair bill significantly. This courtesy helps you get the work done you need right now even if you are on the tightest of home improvement and repair budgets.

If you want to know what other people have thought and said about the contracting service, you can read the testimonials on the website. The testimonial link at the top of the page can be used when you want to put your mind at ease about the quality of service.

Taking care of your home calls for you to get the plumbing fixed from time to time. You can get professional service by contacting the plumbing contractor online.



Burger Restaurants in Stuttgart

Looking for a good hamburger place in Stuttgart? Nope, I'm not talking about the greasy fastfood hamburgers from McDonald's or Burger King but hamburgers with 100% real beef meat and served with fresh salads. There are a number of places to go. Here are the three on my list:

Hans im Glück's whole grain bun burger with salad on the side. Just yum!

1. "Hans im Glück": The concept of this burgergrill is that of Hans' from the fairytale of the same title. "As happy as me, there is no one else under the sun!" These words are spoken by Hans after he has traded on his way one by one the valuable against the worthless. For him, happiness is something other than possession, what matters most is the MOMENT. This lightness of being, free from every burden, is the basic idea of the HANS Im GLUECK burger grills. Here guests will be given special moments of happiness. What I like about this burger grill is that you can choose the type of bread and the sauce on your burger. They also have burger menus for vegetarians. There are 4 locations in Stuttgart: in Europaviertel along Lissabonner Strasse, in Caleido along Tübinger Strasse (near Gerber), in Milaneo at Mailänder Platz, and in Marienstrasse.

2. Flo Steak & Burger: This burger and steak restaurant in the heart of Stuttgart opened not so long ago - on the 24th of April to be exact. As the name implies, they have steaks and burgers on the menu. Haven't tried the steaks yet but I heard from friends that they are great! Their burger patty is juicy and not dry. There are also many variants to choose from like salmon fish burger and vegetarian burger, Every now and then they have their burger specials. I also enjoyed their sweet potato fries and their own concoction of passion fruit juice! They are also now open from 11:03 AM on Sundays! Hurray for that! Flo is located in Bolzstrasse 10, on the corner of Lautenschlagerstrasse.

3. Triple B (Beef Burger Brothers): This is a small burger shop in the Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen area. Read so many praises and good reviews about this shop. Everything is made fresh in the house, from the burger patty down to the bun. They use only 100% regional beef meat and claims that the meat is never frozen. I've been passing by this store each time I have some business at the Rathaus but never really got the chance to stop by to eat. One day I will come invade you! :) Triple B is located at Bottwarstrasse 1 (near Zuffenhausen Rathaus). More convenient to come by train on the U15 Zuffenhausen-Rathaus stop as parking can be difficult. The shop is closed on Mondays.

So there's the 3 burger grills/restaurants to watch out for when you are in Stuttgart and are in the mood for some beef goodness. 

Do you know any other Burger stores in the area? If so, I will be glad to learn about it. Just leave a comment. Thanks!


Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Avoid a Disaster By Finding Your Underground Water Leak Now

One of the biggest fears you face as a homeowner or business owner is the threat of damage to your to your property and belongings. Even though you rarely see them, underground water leaks can cause a lot problems, and if not addressed immediately can wreak havoc from water damage and mold to foundation issues that compromise your building’s integrity. 

Sometimes you can tell there may be an underground water leak because of water pressure changes you can hear. While water leaks can sometimes be identified by a variety of unusual noises such as “whooshing”, “hissing”, “clinking” or “splashing” sounds, often underground water leaks don’t have any tell-tale sound. Here are some of the more obvious visual signs that can tip you off to a hidden leak so you can fix it before it causes:

Signs of an Underground Water Leak
  • A yard area that was previously green and lush turning brown and dying may indicate your water pressure may not be strong enough to properly push sprinkler heads up.
  • A noticeable water volume or pressure drop.
  • Leaning structures or shifting floor grades.
  • Potholes or sink holes.
  • Pools of water on the ground surface.
  • Dirty or rusty water.
  • Heaving or cracking paved areas. 
  • A sudden increase in water usage, usage that climbs over several billing cycles or water use that is consistently abnormally high.

If you have any suspicion that you have an underground leak on your property, it is crucial that you immediately contact your utility company and have your water turned off at the meter before contacting a plumber to locate the leak, remediate the cause and determine how best to repair any damage.

Locating an Underground Water Leak

If you suspect that your water issues are due to an underwater leak, it’s a good idea to bring in professionals to determine the cause and severity. By putting the problem off, more damage will occur, and repairs will be more costly. A professional has specialized training to locate water leaks by using sophisticated technologies and equipment such as a Leak-Pro underground water leak detector and infra-red technology to track down the source. Once located, the expert will be able to provide the technical expertise, services and information that you and your repair service or contractor need to expose and fix your leak issue with minimal property damage. 

Finding and catching underground leaks in your floors, foundation, slab or underground service lines quickly will enable you to avoid catastrophic damage to your home or business, your property, and adjacent properties.


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