Freshly Social

It is true that a dog is a man’s best friend, but sometimes our cute companions can be a bit too human. They prefer our cuisine to regular dog food and would much rather sleep on our king-size bed than be banished to the outside kennel. Getting your pet their very own dog bed will make your hound happy and will, hopefully, let you to sleep in peace.

There is nothing quite as comforting as reaching down to the bottom of your bed and knowing that your dog is there to protect you. The problem comes when they scratch, lick and (in my case) snore loudly, causing you a disturbed and uncomfortable night’s rest. Investing in a bed for your dog seems simple enough, right? These days, a dog bed isn’t just a simple fluffy pillow on the floor. Manufactures have come up with a designer dog bed that looks exactly like a miniature version of a human bed. These luxury dog beds come equipped with short legs, so your pooch can pounce easily, as well as a decorated headboard and bed linen.

It seems that today, almost anything can be passed off as art if someone claims that it is, in fact, just that. In a world of no limitations and the right to self expression, art can be exactly what you want it to be. Toilet art is no exception, and believe it or not, there are toilet artists who dedicate themselves to decorating their lavish loos whether it be on their own toilets for artistic expression or by businesses like portable toilet hire companies who have tried kitting their cubicles out in various colourful designs to catch the public’s attention.

Good news for Putney home owners is that house prices have risen significantly in the area recently. A report released jointly by the Land Registry and PutneySW15.com shows a 12.2% improvement in Putney house prices in the last quarter. However, at the same time, flat prices have fallen by a surprising 8.8%.

James French of Douglas and Gordon, London, attributes the rallying Putney house prices to improved buyer confidence and the supply of houses falling below the rekindled demand. The estate agent, Putney, also said that business has been good from a house sales point of view.

“Despite all the doom and gloom predictions that the property market was going slowly in 2009 and that significant price drops would be affected, we at Douglas and Gordon in Putney are finding quite the opposite in the summer market. We have experienced a busy market this year with plenty of new buyers registering and number of sellers decreasing steadily. In April 2008, the number of registered buyers was 680 over the 16 offices in London – this April, the number was 1000,” French said.

When it comes to the internet shopping phenomenon, resistance is futile. It is just too easy and too satisfying to browse a catalogue online and add items to your virtual trolley and when it comes to sourcing a rare item, the internet will find it for you without wasting your petrol or your time. And despite the recession, people are still spending their bucks online, so much so that on Christmas day 2008, people in the UK were still using the internet for shopping into the wee hours. However, certain products have been flourishing online in 2008/9 while others have taken a blow to their profits.

Techies unite

Camping is a wonderful way to get away from it all and revel in clean mountain air and the total absence of traffic noise and light pollution. However, often this rustic peace and quiet comes at a price and that price is the lack of sanitation and comfort. Using portable toilets and showers for wild camping adventures is one way that campers can avoid ‘going’ in a thorn bush and possibly running into a late night visitor of the poisonous variety.

Luckily, there is a large range of camping toilets available which you can fold up and take on your trip along with your sleeping bags and cooler box, so that you don’t have to brave the elements every time nature calls. The cheap version of these camping toilets is a cardboard box with a hole in the middle called, a ‘little Jack’s box’.

After the kitchen, the bedroom is the most important room in the house. Gone are the days when it was used primarily as a sleeping place; these days, bedrooms represent sanctuary from the bustle of the world. They’re used for reading, relaxing, watching TV and, of course, sleep, so it makes sense to follow expert bedroom decorating tips to ensure that your room is as comfortable, and comforting, as possible.

Contemporary Bedroom

Traffic jams, endless highways and long, lonely roads. For most, commuting to and from work is a chore that we wish we could skip altogether. In order to ease the boredom, we turn up our favourite song and try to sing the travelling blues away. We all have our own personal music taste, with some preferring to stick to one genre and others with more eclectic collections. Music reveals our soul, but could it also reveal certain personality traits?

According to various news sites, research conducted has found that there are indeed strong links between the music we listen to and our personality. Professor Adrian North of Heriot-Watt University conducted a study with 36,000 participants and found that our taste in music strongly relates to our character. There have always been misconceived stereotypes when it comes to musical preferences, and this study shows that these typecasts may be misleading. Many assume that individuals listen to a certain type of music because of the clothes that they wear and the way in which they socialse, but this could also be a musical myth.  Whether your favourite music artist is a Bubblegum Pop princess or a Country singing superstar, all music genres are said to expose certain personal, emotional and physiological characteristics.

You have finally left the confines of your school classroom and are now ready to move out of home and enter the world of student residence. You are looking forward to the parties, late nights and new friends and hope to fit some classes into that equation. But before you pack your bags and wave goodbye to your emotional parents, there are a few things you should know in order to really enjoy your first year.

A university residence is normally generic in colour, size and layout. If you want to make the space you live in your own, then decorating your room (within the university constraints) will alleviate any homesickness and help you to feel more adjusted in your unfamiliar surroundings. Personalising your area will make you feel positive about your new stage in life. Normally, first year students have to share rooms. Shared residence means that you have to be considerate to your roommate in all situations, as they should be to you. Everyone has different study methods as well as sleeping patterns, especially in your student years. Purchase a desk lamp for late night study sessions and earphones for your CD player so that your music does not disturb others.

100% Egyptian Cotton Sheets

Times are tough but luxury has never been more important than right now. Or, perhaps it’s not luxury but unmatched value for money that people are after? It seems that even as belts are tightened, luxury items are selling better than ever. And what better place to revel in luxury than the bedroom with a French bed and 100% cotton bed sheets.

When it comes to pure bedroom indulgence the quest for quality sheets is one of the most popular, especially in Europe and the US, with Egyptian cotton sheets coming up trumps for all bed sizes. Egyptian cotton is actually a bit of a misnomer as it doesn’t refer specifically to cotton grown in Egypt, instead it refers to the type of cotton that originated along the Nile but can now be grown virtually anywhere in the world. The distinguishing feature of Egyptian cotton, and the reason for its luxurious reputation, is the length of its cotton fibres, which are the longest of all types of cotton and are referred to as long staple fibres. Longer fibres can be woven into softer linen than medium or short staple fibres and are generally stronger and more durable.

With winter fast approaching, it’s about time to protect your precious tootsies from the harsh cold weather ahead by snuggling them in more substantial footwear. This season, women have a plethora of winter boots options to choose from, with selections ranging from knee-high boots and ankle boots to more conventional booties. Depending on your preference, you might want to try one or more of the following winter boots ranges to warm your delicate digits:

Winter Boots

If you are leaning to pure warmth and comfort, you can’t go wrong with your traditional fur winter boots. Wrap your feet in comfy flat-soled winter boots, and allow their fluffy collars to add flair and style to your winter outfits. This season’s flat-soled furry winter boots pair especially well with skirts, and are a lifesaver if you need to do lots of walking.

Edgy Winter Boots