Maureen says:

Ok, about me. Where do I start? I’m a physical therapist by trade but a wannabe interior designer by heart. In a space, I see color, textures, focal points & the symmetry (or asymmetry for that matter) of things. I love both the charm of vintage & the clean lines of modern décor. I’m an eternal multi-tasker & insanely believe that every minute should be productive. Not to say that I don’t enjoy life. I love traveling! My dream career? Travel the world a la Samantha Brown chronicling the design & décor of each destination. (Hey how come Andrew Zimmerman can feature brain curry in Delhi? Then I can narrate how camel bone mirrors in Morocco are made).

I maintain another blog at http://www.inglenookdecor.blogspot.com/ & also recently opened an e-shop for urban cottage home décor at http://www.theinglenookdecor.com/.

There’s a lot to know & learn about design & décor but I’d love to share my thoughts & ideas with you. I enjoy writing about this topic & hope that you enjoy reading them. Contact me anytime at info (at) theinglenookdecor(dot) com.

Maureen is an awesome asset to the Smarter Home and Garden Blog and will provide great insight into the vast realm of design and decor!

It’s well known on the streets that since Martha Stewart was released from prison in 2004, that she earned instant street cred and thereafter went by the name of Homemaking Gangsta, Da’ OG Home-makah, and Martha “Ghostface” Stewart!

She started hanging with a tougher crowd, developing a rough and tumble posse’ that consisted of Suge Knight, DMX, Ice Cube, Mister Magic Don Juan, and R. Kelly!

In a stroke of irony, she had her homeboy R. Kelly over at her crib one hot afternoon and asked for his assistance setting up a closet organizer. He was happy to oblige, unfortunately while maneuvering the large rod into place he accidentally slammed the self locking door shut.

Local sources state they were found several hours later, severely dehydrated and cradled in one another’s arms.

Moral of the story, be wary of the long winded, urban operettas you inflict on the populace, you might find yourself in one someday!

To read the full article Martha Stewart Trapped in the Closet with R. Kelly, click here.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th day of November.

Many retailers open very early (typically 5 A.M.) and offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term “Black Friday” has been traced back only to the 1970s. “Black Friday” was originally so named because of the heavy traffic on that day, although most contemporary uses of the term refer instead to it as the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit).

In some cities it’s not uncommon to see shoppers lined up hours before stores with big sales open. Once inside the stores shoppers often rush and grab, as many stores have only a few of the big draw items. Electronics and popular toys are often the most sought after items and may be sharply discounted.

The local media often will cover the event, mentioning how early the shoppers began lining up at various stores and providing video of the shoppers standing in line and later leaving with their purchased items. Traditionally Black Friday sales were intended for those shopping for Christmas gifts. For some particularly popular items, some shop these sales in order to get deep discounts on items they can then resell, typically online. (SOURCE)

Posted above is a snapshot of some of the brand name stores that offer Black Friday Sales! Click on the image and it will take you to the Black Friday, Info. site where an official list of all the merchants are posted.

Click here, for more information, coupons and deals for Black Friday.

Happy Hunting & Good Luck!!

The price of a piece of land in Second Life is around 55,000 Lindens, which is the equivalent of $200. Then there are maintenance fees between $25-40 a month. However, once that’s all taken care of, houses come cheap at around $5 (decorating will run you about $20). And residents are definitely taking advantage of the low costs, decking out their properties with mission-style furniture, elaborate gardens, hot tubs, dance floors, and bars. The skies the limit for Second Lifers.

Read the whole article, “A House That’s Just Unreal” by Seth Kugel here.

On his website, Bravo explains that the process of choosing the right tortilla and preparing it for acrylic paint is just as important as the actual art.  He also explains a bit about the drying and framing processes as well.

Bravo has gained international fame for his art, and for one of his latest series he’s made a cultural leap, depicting images prevalent in Asian culture, including Chinese opera masks, images of panda bears, Anime and dragons. These pieces will be exhibited in Hong Kong this month, where the artist has been invited to show his work.

Read more about Joe Bravo and see his work at his official website. 

Source.

I don’t know what to say.

Read the full article here.

The stalkers that Kurutz interviewed for the piece seemed pretty harmless, some of them being dreamers who could never afford the house they adore while others were those who had been outbid when trying to buy the home. But even in the case of those scorned in the bidding process, the houses themselves, not the owners, were definitely the focus of their attention.  The symptoms of the stalking habit include frequent drive-bys, distaste for the decor choices of the home’s owners and lots of internet research.

Kurutz reports that tools like Nexis Lexis and sites like Realist.com, which make a home’s floor plan, tax history, and current property value available at the touch of a button are part of the fuel of this obsession.  I guess these stalkers are able to form a sense of intimacy for the home they crave by  knowing all the details about it.  And Google Earth, with it’s satellite images allowing peeping tom’s to get a glimpse not available curbside, has taken the place of binoculars as this century’s stalker must-have. 

Like most other obsessions, house stalking seems to be rooted in the “impossible dream” fantasy, a.k.a. what anthropologists call “positive contamination.”  Just like people who think they’re lives would be better if they were skinnier, richer, prettier, etc., many of these stalkers believe their own existence would be ideal if only they owned the ideal home. 

Read the whole article by clicking here.  

The best part about this project, though–at least in my opinion–is that all this luxury comes along with green technologies, including:

• solar panels
• rainwater collections
• green roofs
• indoor air exchange
• energy star appliances

In addition to these progressive technologies, the building process, itself, will include the use of renewable building materials and forward-thinking construction methods.

Even Greenbridge’s location is part of the environmentally-savvy plan. Since it’s located in the center of everything in Chapel Hill, residence are encouraged to make used of their legs rather than their cars to get around town. And if residence do choose to drive, they’ll have the option of hopping in one of the Zip Cars on hand at Greenbridge.

The 1,000 to 2,500 sq. foot units will run from the low $300,000 to over $1 million and will be available Summer 2009.

Let’s hope this starts a trend.

Source.

What’s not to love about the Loft Cube? Designed by German company Werner Aisslinger, this fully-functional and mobile living space was created for those living the “nomadic lifestyle,” which closely resembles La Vida Loca. For about $65,000, this 420 sq ft dwelling (that’s an amazing buy by Southern California standards), can be airlifted via helicopter to the rooftop of your choice. Well that’s the deal in Europe, anyway, but I’m sure there’d be some taxes to deal with if you ordered one in the US.

Hey, it may seem crazy now, but as space gets more and more sparse in big American cities, the Loft Cube may become a viable option. It’s got a 360 degree view, for crying out loud.

Source.

See more here.

But this one’s on sale! That’s right, it’s only $64.99, marked down from $72.95. Not bad considering it’s made of wood.  Ooh, fancy.