With spring coming early this year many people are already starting to get their gardens ready for the spring season.  Although most people start by thinking about the lawn, you also need to think about getting your patio ready for the spring so that you can actually enjoy it.  The good news is that this is not actually that hard to do if you just keep a few pointers in mind while prepare your patio for brighter days and entertaining.

First of all, you will want to inspect any patio furniture that has been left out in during the winter season to make sure that there is no damage. If you have wood patio furniture that you covered during the winter season this will be a primary concern, however, if you had high winds that moved around your furniture this may also be a concern.

The second thing you will need to do is clean off any debris that may have gathered during the winter season. This includes getting out a broom and sweeping off the patio as well as taking the time to clean up any sticks that may be stuck in the tiles, planks, or along the sides of the railing.

If your patio itself is made out of wood or has a railing that is made out of a metal you will also want to make sure that it has not been damaged during the winter season. Metal in particular can start to bend or deteriorate if large amounts of snow have sat on it, and you want to make sure that your railing is not going to break before you invite guests over.

If you are a fan of dubstep and love to check out the tunes and videos on YouTube, you may have already noticed the recent influx of videos of people dancing to the iconic ‘I Can’t Stop’ by dubstep legend DJ Pavilion. These are the savvy folk who have uploaded themselves doing their moves to be in with a chance of winning some great prizes in the Kia Dubstep Competition organised by Kia Cars to tie in with this summers’ Euro 2012 contest.

These dancers, not all great but all enthusiastic and clearly having fun, know that by entering the contest they have put themselves in with a chance of flying down to Warsaw all expenses paid to see the opening match of the prestigious Euro 2012 contest. As if that wasn’t enough, the video deemed to be the best of the lot will be handed the keys of a brand new Kia Picanto.

If the dancing of Brandon Greathead and his use of a single light against a background of darkness doesn’t get you going nothing will. You can vote for your favourite here, or follow the link at the bottom of each video which will take you to the Kia Dubstep Facebook page where you can upload your video. The rules are simple; only those 18 and over can claim the prizes and however many there are in your video, only 2 can fly off to Warsaw.

This competition closes on the 13th May so you haven’t got long to perfect those moves. Don’t take it too seriously though, while you must make a good attempt at your dancing and not make a joke of it, the emphasis is on having fun, as dancing should be. If you are a football fan who wants to see their European favourites dancing around the pitches of Poland and the Ukraine, make your entry count and get it in pronto. Enter the competition now!
Sponsored Post

Viral video by ebuzzing

If you want a breakfast that is going to prepare you to take on a full day of activities in East London then one of your first stops should be at St. John Bread & Wine in the Spitalfields.  Here, you will find a bacon butty that is worth its full price tag as it is composed of artisan bread and stuffed bacon.   

While it is may not be the healthiest meal, it certainly is the most pleasurable breakfast entrée that you can order in the city. Of course, for those that want other breakfast options the restaurant also serves pikelets porridge, kippers, and prunes until 11am.

Those looking for the local flavour of East London will want to try out the Hackney City Farm café that serves produce that hails from Essex and Kent and, sometimes, their own vegetable farms. Of particular note is their salmon and scrambled egg dish that is finished nicely with a crème fraiche and some chives. Plus, the ice cream counter is open during breakfast hours so you can even finish off with a non-traditional desert sundae if you wish.

Finally, although the Beigel bake on Brick Lane may look like a dumpy breakfast stop, there is a reason that people are willing to pay £3.50 per bagel, and wait in a queue at all times of the day, because the bagels are simply that good. The warm salt beef bagel in particular will have your mouth watering just watching it being put together over the counter.

Spring is well and truly in the air, and its that time of year when we start to think about getting our gardens in good order for the summer, and investigating the damage that the winter months has inflicted on our lawns. The damp winter has rendered many lawns pretty messed up with bald, muddy patches, particularly those where there are children and dogs in the home.

Getting your lawn back into pristine condition and looking great can seem like an arduous task, but it needn’t be if you know what to do and when. To start with, clear your lawn of any loose debris and see what condition the grass is in. The sudden period of warm weather may have also encouraged a growth spurt of weeds, and they need addressing before anything else.

Give your grass its first cut of the season by cutting it a notch higher than you normally would, this will remove the brown tips that have been left behind by winter, but won’t cut it so short that it will chew the delicate grass. Now to the problem areas; grass seed, weed treatments and lawn fertiliser will all probably be needed at this time, as no lawn will look the same as it did before the autumn and winter kicked in.

If you have small areas of lawn, applying these treatments will cause few problems, if you have a large area of lawn, however, you may find it messy and time assuming, and there is always the problem of the treatments hitting the areas they weren’t intended for as you try to juggle the hefty bags around. Luckily, there are many tools that can assist you in these tasks, one of them being the Scotts Snap spreader system.

This is a new lawncare system which consists of a spreading machine that you push along your lawn while the treatments are automatically dispensed at a fluid rate. This is an innovative product as the packs of treatment snap into them machine, can be dispensed as you wish, and when you remove them they snap shut, keeping the contents fresh and ready to use next time.

While most people are anxiously awaiting the spring fashion trends for outerwear, with spring also comes the chance to update your underwear as well. Interestingly enough, experts in shopping therapy claim that buying lingerie leads to higher self-image and satisfaction in one’s personal life. The following is a brief overview of the top lingerie fashion trends for spring 2012.

This spring, bright colours will be popular just as they have been at the London Fashion Week with coral, fuchsia, and turquoise shining above the others.  Adding in some black lace over the colors is a great way to add a bit of piquancy to a lingerie design.

Also popular this year is black lace combined with body silk to create a nude look that is both innocent and seductive at the same time. In a way, the final result is reminiscent of a tattoo on the skin but in a much more sexually delicate fashion. If you do not want to go all beige because let’s face it, nude colors can be hard to keep clean, black polka dot on a beige background is a great compromise.

Finally, vintage boyshorts and flower prints will remain popular this spring with many different mix and match offers coming from many different vendors. The idea behind this fashion style is to combine two different materials that complement each other and share the same basic tones for a look that will astound and thrill those that put it on. After all, if you feel great under your clothes most likely you will feel better about your clothes as well.

According to the Bard, William Shakespeare, music is the food of love. It is clear by this statement that chocolate wasn’t around then, as that is surely the case these days. There is something infinitely romantic about Valentines chocolates, and the many commercials over the years have demonstrated this point. A beautifully presented box of chocolates speaks volumes, and no words are needed.

Along these lines, it is no surprise that chocolates outsell everything else when it comes to gifts for Valentines Day. Even if you are one who buys their loved one chocolate on a regular basis for no specific reason, a box of special treats on Valentines Day will be more appreciated than almost anything else. Nothing will satisfy her sweet tooth better, and earn you some gold stars into the bargain for going to so much effort.

Finding that perfect box may seem tricky, but in reality it is just a case of what to look for and where. To start, everyone has their own particular favourite; milk, plain etc so that narrows down the field to start with. Look for a special brand that they would never buy themselves as they are too expensive, this is the kind of gift that is most appreciated on Valentines Day, not a bar of their favourite brand that they buy themselves all the time.

Online is a good place to find specialist chocolatiers who produce products exclusively for Valentines Day. Even if you haven’t heard of the brand, as you will never see chocolates of this quality in a supermarket, the packaging and taste will blow them away. For once hang the expense, it is only one day after all and they will know doubt show their gratitude for weeks to come, so it’s a win-win situation all round.

Individual Belgian chocolates are also a choice that cannot go amiss, as you choose these individually, meaning that the recipient only gets what they like and aren’t stuck with a flavour or texture they won’t eat, and which they will see as a blatant waste of chocolate, never a good thing!

Not sure what to do with your old phone?

Recycling mobile phones is nothing new, and is big business. Whether on the TV or in newspapers and magazines, we have all seen the adverts that tell us to go online, find our model and what its worth. If we are happy with it, they will send us a pre-paid envelope, drop the phone in the post, and then sit back and wait for the cheque to arrive.

While this all seems very straightforward, the fact is that we don’t actually know what happens to these mobile phones, we only have the company’s word for it that they are being correctly recycled. Leading UK network provider O2 now have their own O2 Recycle scheme which is fast catching up with longer established companies.

It is not only mobile phones O2 recycle either, they will pay you for your digital camera, MP3 players and iPods, satnav systems, tablets and handheld games consoles. Being one of the leading names in the UK, you can rest assured that by recycling your used device with O2 that it is being responsibly recycled in the best way possible, and that they aren’t keeping a single penny of what they make from our devices.

All the money they make goes into their Think Big initiative which aims to help turn around the lives of thousands of young people in the UK. This initiative covers many aspects and contributes to numerous good causes. More information can be found about the good work that the Think Big initiative is doing for young people in our country can be found on the O2 website.

As far as the recycling is concerned, the process is similar to that of other companies because, quite frankly, this is the easiest and most user friendly way to do it. The difference is that if you don’t know the make or model of your device, they will help you to find it so that you will receive a genuine offer that is not based on guess work. It also offers a price match if you should be offered more on another site, a win win situation!

There are two quotes you can get for your devices; working or not. Nothing is deducted for such things as scratches and signs of wear and tear, and they will even take your phone if it suffering the likes of severe water damage which have rendered it unusable. By recycling your old device through O2., you are not only making yourself some cash, you are helping both the environment and the young people of the UK.

When party planning, one of the things that you need to think about is what type of red wine to serve at your dinner party or other social event. This can be a hard task if you do not yet know what you want because while it is easy to get an affordable price on a good wine, it is important to choose a wine that will compliment what you are going to serve.  Therefore, you need to think about variants and how to match them up with what you are going to serve.

The first thing you need to think about is if you want something light and fruity that will be a bit of a treat or if you want something a bit drier and heavier for the men that you may be entertaining. For the more intense taste you can usually go the safe route with a Syrah, Zinfandel, or Shiraz.  On the other hand if you are after the fruity taste then consider going with Chianti.

As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to choose wines that are at least three years old because red wine is always better with age. Therefore, while you may not be able to afford a very old bottle of wine, going back a few years will always be worth it. Finally, for a variety of tastes, aromas, and flavours you may want to experiment with your wines from different countries serving a mix of American, Australian, and French wines.

As the Christmas season starts to get closer it’s hard to ignore the calls of ‘chestnuts roasting in an open fire,’ and for those who listen to Christmas music the craving for a good chestnut stuffing may be even stronger. While you may not have an open fire, you most likely have an oven which is all you need in order to get some great chestnut stuffing that will please you and your guests.

To start, preheat your oven to 400F and cut an ‘X’ into each chestnut taking care to place the X upwards on the baking sheet. Then pop them in the oven for thirty minutes so that the skins peel off and you have a set of roasted chestnuts without a shell.  If there are any skins left peel them off and discard of them.

Next, chop up the chestnuts coarsely and then place them aside for a moment while you melt some butter on medium heat. Once the butter is melted add in some celery and onion and steam the vegetables down for about ten minutes.

After ten minutes has passed empty the butter and vegetables into a large bowl and combine with cubed bread, stock, and parsley. You want the mix to be briefly moistened so usually about two cups will work but you will have to use your own judgment. Finally, add in some chestnuts and add a bit of pepper and salt to taste. Now you can either use the stuffing in the poultry or toss it in a baking dish and drizzle with a bit more stock and then cook for thirty minutes.

One of the best ways to make sure that your trip to London is unique and special, even if you travel to the city on a frequent basis, is to choose to stay at one of the many boutique hotels that are scattered throughout the city. Boutique hotels are generally considered to be luxurious, stylish, and quirky which is the perfect combination that you expect to find across London.

The Number 24 hotel in Victoria is a five star accommodation that is near Buckingham Palace and offers the feel of a club making it great for those who want exciting luxury. With around the clock service and even a pet concierge everyone is sure to have a great time during their stay.

Another five star boutique hotel worth checking out in London is the Egerton House which will appeal to those who love luxury and the option of bringing along their pets and children. Complete with in-room spa treatments and situated near some of the best shopping boutiques in Kensington the hotel offers everything you need to make sure that the stay is restful and relaxing from start to finish. Plus, with Hyde Park only a few steps away even your pets will thank you.