Advice You Can Trust

which.co.uk asks the same question we all need to know the answer to at some stage. Which hoover/ fridge/ dishwasher is for me?

Sign up for a pound (sterling) and they supply you with a 1 month membership including;

• access to 1000s of independent reviews and recommendations online.
• Which? Magazine delivered straight to your door.
• Plus consumer legal and personal finance support by phone, and member recommended local services 

Other headings include Technology, Garden, Cars, Money, Baby & Child, and as far as I'm aware they use the sign up fee to fund ongoing research so at least it's the most extensive and up-to-date info you're getting

One Small Step for Woman...

So after years of imagining, yearning, scrimping and saving, the time has come to announce that I am now a Home Owner! (*Smug Grin*).

But in my true style, I couldn't have picked any old house. No. It had to have... problems.

A quick glance out the back tells me more than any engineer could. Apparently its sinking and cracking down the middle! And the brickwork out front is no less than completely naff. But in every tragedy lies an opportunity, and I see mine in this. Total restoration bliss, the chance to make this every inch the home I've always dreamed of.

Watch this space :)

Lemonade Bottles and Cancer Theories...

This week I can across some empty Lorina (www.lorina.com) pink lemonade bottles that I had kept for decanting other liquids into. You know, the litre bottles with the pressure popper lid...

And for some reason I was reminded of the theories about plastic bottles being associated with cancer. The nurse in me just has to clear things up for you all. So I thought I'd have a little rant...

Plastic bottles do contain a chemical called BPA. When plastics are heated (when you've left your bottle of water in the car on a sunny day, or heat dinner in a plastic container) the BPA is transferred from the plastic into the food! The only lab studies that this impacted on were samples of breast cancer tissues. When BPA is mixed with these breast cancer tissue cells, they no longer responded to chemotherapy. So really, it wont give you cancer, but if you are battling cancer already, it may hinder your recovery by making treatment ineffective.

This information was gathered from "Anticancer: A New Way Of Life" written by Dr. David Server-Schreiber. A very easy to read book, written for the general public. 

http://www.anticancerbook.com/

This is the inside of my mind on a daily basis... interior design and human biology!

Makeover 1950's Terrace

I'm currently updating my grandmothers 1950's end-of-terrace house in the Midlands. It's a gorgeous retro little thing with the original features from the decade it was built (both a good thing and a bad thing at times!) and because of this it's becoming a challenge to update it while being sympathetic to the style of its' era.

Id love it to end up something like this....

http://www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk/spitalfields-5

Georgina Riverside Location image from blog at http://www.katyelliot.com/

via http://moregeous.wordpress.com/2010/10/06/design-rose-cottage-cutest-georgian-cottage-bathroom-ever/

But right now I'm doing all the work with my own two hands so I guess it'll end up looking a little less glamorous.

GARDEN ROOMS

Greenacre Escape single door log cabin

Make your escape from your house with a garden office, gym, cinema room or my favorite idea, guest bedrooms! It suits when you dont have space in your house for guest bedrooms and also like the idea of not having to share bathrooms with visitors as your garden guest room can house everything they'd need.

Stick it close enough to the house that they don't feel kicked out, but far enough away that you maintain your privacy in your own home that is often lost when hosting overnight visitors.

The Greenacre Escape (just under €2,000 depending on size) pictured above may not be much to look at now, but surf through the Walton Garden Products website for other log cabin plans and find one to suit your needs. When decorating, use your imagination. Paint it dark green, the door yellow, the windows white and stick a trellis with climbing roses up the side and this room will look so cute and relaxing you'll be tempted to move into it yourself.

See Crane Sheds and Summerhouses gallery here for more ideas. What I like about these is that you can opt for a slate effect roof, making it look less like a shed and more like a haven.

COTTAGE SPOTTING

I love to spend hours on end trawling through property sites, so much so my boyfriend informed me the other day that I'm "a whore for them"!

I've decided to open a new category for one of my favorite types of houses: cottages! As I've said before, they are unique and allow most style of interiors to work well within them, inspiring originality and creativity, which is of course the very essence of rock and roll.

Check out Rose Cottage, Athlone on Daft.ie...

A turn of the century thatched cottage with sash shaped windows and split opening front door.

PERIOD STYLE IN THE BEDROOM

This sumptuous Provencal bed from Maison is sure to impress. Soft upholstery with carved wood make this an exceptional piece of period style rock n roll!



Available in a few different fabrics of upholstery and a few more different colours of paint, this king size bed will set you back a breaktaking £1,995 sterling.

See here for the full Provencal Collection listing.

HEART AND A DOLLAR - Propaganda Posters

Red Cross Christmas roll call poster from December of WW1. Images like this remind me why I became a nurse.

I bought this image in the largest size possible and had it framed for my dad because I though it would look class hanging above his desk in his surgery. And I was right!



Buy Heart and a Dollar Christmas roll call here



Available from Rainfall.com. (Or just Google 'heart and a dollar red cross poster' for other sources, there's loads to choose from!)

See WW1 Propaganda.com for information on Nurses in World War I/ WW propaganda posters like this and the one below... (Items not for sale on this site)

Buy Third Red Cross roll call here on rainfall.com

KISSING on VJ Day

One of the most iconic images ever. The photo of the sailer kissing the nurse on Times Square on VJ Day would look stunningly romantic on any wall in a skinny black frame

Kissing On VJ Day

This poster comes from allposters.ie, my favorite poster website. They have a framing service but it would be much cheaper to buy your own seperately.

PUNK & TATTOOED Homeware from 'Too Fast'

Too Fast Clothing, manufacturers of punk, rockabilly and tattoo culture clothing sell more than just t-shirts...

Blood Bath shower curtain

See all bathroom accessories from Too Fast HERE

Sid and Nancy mousepad



Sugar Skull Switchplate