Archive | HOME AND GARDEN

NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: My grandmother lived in a retirement care facility for the last several years of her life. The decision was made when my grandfather became very ill and remained in a nursing home until he passed. This particular retirement community offered many opportunities for her to socialize, discover new interests, exercise and even get her hair done at the on-site salon. More importantly, she was still able to live in her own little space, a community of people around her – and was able to get assistance whenever she needed it simply by pressing a button.

This article on modern solutions to retirement care wasn’t written by me, but I thought the information could be helpful to those of you in this transition in life or helping someone who is. Thank you for supporting the community that help to run Sweet Greens.

Elderly people today are very different from those of previous generations. During retirement many people continue to be active for years – continuing to work part-time, volunteer for causes important to them, spending time with friends and family, discovering new interests and hobbies and perhaps helping with the care of their grandchildren. However, when they are no longer able to keep up their own home, take care of their daily needs or need assistance getting around, their living situation will need modification.

Traditional care for older people

There has recently been a lot of concern about standards in retirement care homes throughout the world. While there are good retirement care homes, cost pressures may impact on important areas such as staff training, so standards are not always as high as they should be. It is very important to carefully research the retirement care home before placing your family member in one.

Even if an individual needs care, moving into a retirement care home is not the only available option. Some older people find moving in with family members works for them and their families, but this depends very much on the individuals.

Sometimes moving close to family members is enough to make it possible to stay independent for longer. If you do not want to rely on your family, or do not have close relatives, packages of retirement care can be arranged in your own home from professional caregivers, but the disadvantage of this is that visiting caregivers are not always allocated enough time to meet all of the necessary needs, meaning that you may have to work with many different caregivers in a week.

Modern trends in care for older people

Retirement villages have been popular all around the world for quite some time. Perhaps one of the best solutions available is to buy or rent in a retirement village where you can maintain your privacy and independence but have the security of knowing that the help you need with your day-to-day life is there, as well as opportunities to enhance your social life, engage in fun activities and explore new interests and hobbies.

The benefits of living in a retirement community include the fact that residents can enhance their social life while maintaining their independence. If residents need assistance in any aspect of daily living it can be arranged by the staff. It gives peace of mind knowing that care is available if and when needed.

Retirement villages often have their own centers with cafes, restaurants, hair salons, libraries, fitness facilities and launderettes available for residents to use if they choose. With social activities and programs available to suit people with all levels of ability, making socializing and discovering new activities and hobbies with your neighbors and building friendships very easy.

The individual homes in retirement villages can be one, two or three-bedroom houses, condos, or apartments. They are equipped with emergency alarms and the level of care will be tailored to the needs of the individual.  It is good to know that if your care needs increase, the amount of help you get can be increased as well.

An increasing number of retired people as young as 55 are choosing to make their homes in retirement villages where they find all the facilities they need and are likely to need throughout their retirement.

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One of the things that I miss most about our home in Colorado – the garden. I have amazing memories of building a raised garden bed and planting vegetables with the boys! Gardening was an activity that all of us loved. It was a great way to bond with each other. And we always had a bounty of goodies ready at harvest time. Oh, how I miss that!

I remember after planting the seeds (on this particular day) we came out the next morning to find our garden markers had washed away during a rainstorm. We had to wait until things started to sprout to remember what we had planted in the different sections. Ha!

I saw these adorable garden markers by Plant Picket and thought they were brilliant. I love that they mark each vegetable with a visual. Wouldn’t these be perfect for children who can’t read yet! There would be no worry that these sturdy markers would wash away in the rain either. Hooray for gardening!

+ Plant Picket 

p.s. These days our gardening consists of this, this, this, and this.

At the beginning of the summer, we decided to move from a huge three-level townhouse into a super small 2 bedroom townhouse. Our decision was based on wanting to decrease our impact on the environment by downsizing into a much smaller space that would require less energy and resources to maintain and would be closer to everything we needed, making it easy to get around by bicycle or on foot.

When deciding to downsize, the mister and I agreed that we would only choose a home that had an outdoor space. We knew that if we were going to lose a lot of square footage inside that we would need an outdoor space where we could sneak away for a little peace and quiet to read a good book, eat dinner outside every evening and entertain friends and family on the weekends. Luckily, we found a home with an amazing front patio – large enough for a dining, grilling and lounging.

Here is what we started with:

Doesn’t look very inviting, does it? To start, we thoroughly cleaned the area, and went through our garage to find items that we already owned to use in the space. We had an outdoor sofa that we thought would be too large to place in the space. However, once we situated next to the front door, we were pleased to find that it fit almost perfectly. We noted that it would need new cushions and pillows. We repurposed the coffee table that came with the outdoor sofa and made it into a side table/bar to go next to the dining area. It has been perfect for holding cocktail mixers, snacks and extra food so the table doesn’t get cluttered up during dinner.

The second step was to find a dining table and chair set that was large enough to accommodate 6-7 people on the weekends when we have friends and family over. However, it needed to be small enough to fit into the space with comfortable seating since we would be using it every day for our family dinners. My first thought was to keep an eye on Craigslist – and it paid off. I found a large, round, wrought-iron table (the table is large enough to sit 7 comfortably) it came with a set of 4 beautifully designed chairs. I negotiated with the owner for a couple of weeks until we agreed on a great price – $200. When we have friends over, it add folding chairs to give us more seating.

The next step was to cozy up the space, add a little personality and make it inviting and fun. I was super excited and lucky to have Sabrina Sota, HGTV star and Target Home Style Expert help me with the process. I sent Sabrina some photos and questions regarding the patio, she offered some great suggestions and product ideas to glam the space up. Here is the Q+A from our design consultation.

Sweet Greens: The patio chairs are very heavy duty, large and will last a lifetime, however they are a tad uncomfortable – what would you suggest to add comfort?

Sabrina:
•    Adding cushions or outdoor pillows will make chairs more comfortable and inviting!
•    Also, consider incorporating a throw for those chilly fall evenings!

Sweet Greens: The patio currently lacks personality, what elements would you recommend we add to glam the space up?

Sabrina:
•    A key element in any space, whether it be indoors or outdoors, is the use of color. Color plays an important role as it sets the overall mood of any given space. I always like to pick three colors in a 60:30:10 ratio relationship to each other for perfect coverage!
•    Another key element is the use of textures and materials. These can be incorporated through accessories or larger furniture pieces such as seating or tables.

Sweet Greens: There is a large blank wall on the patio I would love to utilize. What would you suggest?

Sabrina:
•  Think of the wall as a blank canvas. The wall is the perfect opportunity to tie in all the elements and colors of the space together! 
•    Proper lighting is also important. If you have no vertical space for an outdoor lamp or standing lantern, use the wall for solar hanging lights or subtle sparkle!

Sweet Greens: If you could do a complete makeover of my patio, what would you envision?

Sabrina:
•    As the existing walls offer a neutral palette, I would definitely try to bring out the space with color! The space should be inviting with a nice mix of conversational pieces and dining sets. I love the idea of bringing the indoors outside. Incorporate welcoming items such as a rug and fire bowl set. Play with textures and patterns for a truly fun and friendly space!

The mister and I hit Target inspired by Sabrina’s recommendations, along with a list of items that we knew we would need. Here are some of the pieces we decided to purchase:

1: Threshold Solar Lanterns Small $19.99//Large $24.99//Oval $19.99
2: Threshold Outdoor Cushions Leaf Pattern $14.99
3: Threshold 2-Piece Outdoor Throw Pillow Set Dahlia $29.98//Grill Similar $299
4: Peacock//Similar Garden Place Mosaic Peacock $39.99
5: Threshold Farmer’s Market Dinnerware Pieces Plates Set of 4 $10.79//Bowls Set of 3 $10.79//Serving Bowl $11.69

NOTE: When purchasing new, I suggest that you only buy items that are quality made (so they will last forever or a really long time) and eco-friendly was possible and available.

The solar lanterns combined with the spaces’ overhead lighting put off just enough light for those early evening dinners. The design and color of the lanterns bring personality to the space and the ceramic is heavy-duty so we know these will last forever.

We choose the leafy cushions because they are very durable and add the texture and comfort we were looking for.

We ended up giving the outdoor sofa cushions a good cleaning and decided to keep them and jazz the sofa up with the fun, bright Dahlia pillows.

I surprised the mister with the grill for Father’s Day – every guy needs a grill for those summer weekends. We love having the grill in the space, it allows the mister to converse with guests while he is cooking.

The peacock was Eben’s addition to the space, I always like him to pick out a piece or two when we are creating a space. It makes him feel involved in the process, let’s him use his creative chops and lets him know that the space is for him too. The peacock adds a little fun, color and whimsy to the entry way to the patio. The children who visit our home love it!

Finally, we choose a reusable set of Threshold dishes for use on the patio. We had been using our nice dishes for dinners outside and several were broken from taking them in and out of the house. We decided a good set of reusable dishes for the patio would be much more eco-friendly than using disposables. Do not place these types of dishes in the microwave or dishwasher!

I love the way the project came together – we have been enjoying our new space all summer.

Here is a peek of how the makeover turned out:

Thank you for taking the time to check out our patio makeover. I huge thank you to Target + Sabrina Soto for helping to make this happen. We hope it inspired you to revamp your patio for the summer. You can get 20% off patio sale items at Target here.

Full Disclosure: I am a member of the Target Inner Circle, all opinions expressed are my own. I was provided a gift card to purchase some of the items used in this makeover. 

Hello, Friends! How was your week? Mine has been less than stellar. I started the week off right, first thing Monday morning I worked out. After my workout, a weird, dull pain that I had been experiencing in my upper, left abdomen turned into a throbbing pain. My stomach (and back) has been bothering me, I had chalked it up to falling on my back a couple of weeks ago. My back had been feeling better and I thought I was ready to workout again.

I immediately went to my doctor and she said that I may have ruptured my spleen and ordered a CT scan. Thankfully, the CT scan showed a healthy spleen and all of my other lower organs were fine. The results did show a moderate amount of free fluid and a ruptured ovarian cyst. However, the pain is much higher in my abdomen and has now moved into my back – so I am going to see a specialist next week. Just to be safe.

This weekend, I plan to lay low, maybe spend the weekend lounging at the beach. It doesn’t get much more relaxing than that. Tonight, I think we will stay home and watch a movie. While I try to pick a one that will entertain me, the mister and a 12 year old, here are a few green links to take you into the weekend.

– If you like bats (I do!), you will love this!
– Great, eco-friendly family companies in the USA. Yay!
– These zucchini pancakes are calling my name. Perfect for brunch this weekend.
– 6 Amazing, repurposed swimming pools – the dumpster pools are always my favorite.
– I am making a green, vegan milkshake this weekend. Indeed!
– Here are some summer superfoods to add to the menu.
– Be still my heart – tomato bruschetta! This would be amazing with fresh, organic tomatoes!

I hope you have a sunny weekend, see you back here on Monday!

xo,
Sweet Greens

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Many of us have properties that can be greatly improved by expanding or renovating, making it a great idea. However it’s important to remember that your family members are not the only inhabitants of your surroundings. Bats, birds, beneficial bugs, badgers, reptiles, bees, squirrels, mice, chipmunks, plants and many others live in our surroundings and they need to be considered ahead of any major project. It’s important to consider conservation of the environment when doing any home renovation – there are ways to compromise making both you and the environment happy. Read on to learn more about home renovation versus ecological conservation.

#1: Bats: What you Need to Know
Certain projects are more likely to upset the habitation of certain species than others. One of the main areas of concern is the conservation of bats. Bats are incredibly important to the ecosystem of our planet. Like bee’s, bats help pollinate our plants and they are also an amazing insecticide. Bats also help tell us learn about the environment and any changes that may be affecting it. Bats tend to reside in dark nooks and crannies such as those found in attics which mean loft conversions may be harmful to their habitat. Certain times of the year make bats more vulnerable to building work including while they are hibernating in the winter months or when babies are born during the summer months. An attic renovation for example may involve completely eradicating their roosts and an extension may involve destroying roosts on what are currently external walls.

So what can you do?
Bats are protected by law and it’s important that they are considered during any home renovation. The wisest thing to do is have a bat survey carried out prior to any works or the purchase of any materials. If bats do live in the area you want to develop a plan that can be altered after you hear the given advice. It doesn’t necessarily mean the work will not take place, but it might mean liaising with the correct authorities on your next course of action.

Other species affected by building works may require ecological surveys that will reveal more than just whether bats are present and will be looking for evidence of birds, badgers and even reptiles depending on the survey you book. Remember at all times that while the work on your home is important to you, we all share the planet. By consulting with the correct parties you will be doing your part to conserve the planet and all of the critters that inhabit it.
 
#2: Trees: What you Need to Know
When building a house extension homeowners need to avoid cutting down trees. Trees don’t just exist to look pretty; they are an important part of our ecosystem – they clean our air, provide shelter for animals, cool our homes in the summer. Some trees are protected by tree protection orders and they will need to be avoided by any measure. Even those that are not should be preserved wherever possible. Ecological surveys will include assessing the trees in the area you should you wish to expand.

When most people start thinking about making home renovations or considering an extension they worry about time, budget and project management. But one of the most important things to consider is the plants and animals we share our living space with. Our planet is home to a large number of protected species and it important to assess their habitation while we consider how we want to change our own too.

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