For those of you who hate paying $2 every time you dial directory assistance from your cell phone, I heard about a cool tool today. If you send a text to Google (466453) and type a name, and a city and state if necessary, you get free directory assistance via a return text. The response is immediate and free unless you have to pay for the text through your plan.
Try it: Debbie Small, Martinsburg or sample Google SMS online
7 comments • Debbie Small, REALTOR® • August 20 2008 09:01PMWoodridge Subdivision
This is not your typical split-foyer! Built by A&A Homes in 2005, loaded with upgrades and well maintained throughout featuring gas fireplace w/ceramic tile hearth, double-door refrigerator, glass top range, built-in microwave, Hunter ceiling fans, designer Kohler kitchen sink and breakfast bar.
The home is T-1 hard wired throughout for internet, sound system and HD theater hookups in all rooms with surround system in the living room. The recently stained deck is located off the dining area overlooking the backyard buffered by mature hardwood trees.
3 comments • Debbie Small, REALTOR® • August 18 2008 09:46PM
Stovetop Salsa Mac ‘n Cheese
8 oz. Campanelle pasta
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
2 Tablespoon flour
1 Cup milk
4 oz. cubed extra sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. salsa (about ½ jar)
Prepare pasta, drain and set aside. Heat butter and whisk in flour to a rue. Add milk and stir until creamy. Turn heat to low and add salsa and cheese covering pan until melted, then stir pasta in reheating to ready.
Bon Appetite
* This is something that I recently made up that's become a hit! I prefer Campanelle pasta because it holds the sauce so well. Be creative. If you like it hot, add some chiles or toss in leftover veggies like that ear of leftover corn.
4 comments • Debbie Small, REALTOR® • August 17 2008 06:26PM
Dane Caldwell - 2 Hounds Design + Home Staging recently wrote this post and I felt it was important enough to pass on to my readers. I'm looking forward to her next installment and will pass it on.
Everyone is aware when they walk in to a room with the perfect lighting scheme. A room with a well planned out lighting scheme just feels right; it feels welcoming, relaxing and yes even sophisticated.
How do you feel in your home? Do you walk in to your rooms and feel as though you've just entered an operating theatre or a movie theatre during the previews? Are your pets and small children afraid of what could be lurking in the dark corners of your rooms?
Getting the right balance of lighting is an art...but it is an art with it's foundation firmly rooted in science.
Lighting Formula = Layers of Light = Artful Lighting
The different types of lighting, and I'm not talking about floor and table lamps, chandeliers etc, have specific purposes and can be artfully layered to create the perfectly lit room for all your lighting requirements.
The Science of Lighting
Layers of Light
The 5 Basic Types of Lighting:
- ambient - this is your general purpose lighting
- indirect lighting- which comes from 1 or more fixtures also known as luminaries. Light from these sources bounce the light off the ceiling and walls. Indirect can be used as the ambient lighting for a room. Uplighting which can come from scones for example is a form of ambient where the light uses the ceiling to bounce the light back down on to the room...et voila! You now have indirect lighting.
- task - provides a focused light designed for specific tasks you preform such as fixing meals or reading a book. The task lighting would be a layer of light in the room over and above the ambient lighting source.
- wall washing - provides even lighting around the perimeter of a room and can come from the floor up the wall or from the ceiling down. Placement is important so avoid lighting over or under a window, mirrors or framed photography or you will create reflections which can be harsh and distracting. If you have an accent wall in your room with a darker paint colour you will no doubt have to add additional lighting to wash the walls due to the darker colour absorbing more of the light.
- accent- is placed specifically to highlight an object. Make sure you avoid the light from straying beyond the object and avoid over use of accent lighting or you will overwhelm the room and occupants with visual stimulus and potentially move the lighting in to the realm of operating theatre.
What architects, interior designers, decorators and lighting specialists know in order to calculate the perfect amount of lighting for a room:
The Lighting Formulas
- general formula
Room Length X Room Width X 1.5 = Required Wattage to Light a Room
An example:
10 x 15 foot bedroom x 1.5 will require 225 watts.
Therefore if you only have 1 overhead light with 2 60 watt bulbs the lighting in the room will be deficient by 105 watts.
2. task lighting formula
task area length X task area width X 2.5 = Required Wattage for Task Lighting
The concentrated lighting provided by the formula results in the amount of wattage for getting the job done.
The Art of Lighting - Professional Required
With required wattage in hand the left half of the brain takes over and the art of lighting reveals the intricacy's of layered lighting. The artist understands the interplay of light and colour and can visualize the layers of lighting required in a room to achieve the perfect balance.
In a follow up blog we will discuss the art of lighting and layering in detail.
Please feel free to re-blog this post to spread enLIGHTenment!
1 comment • Debbie Small, REALTOR® • August 15 2008 07:00PM
Welcome to DeFluri's Fine Chocolates, the sweetest place in town where truffles just melt in your mouth. Brenda and Charlie Casabona are veteran chocolatiers and wizards of the finest confections you've never even dreamed of. There is a basket filled with over the top chocolate "Twinkies" that are a big hit and yet they offer the old favorite standby English lemon drops.
If you crave it, they have it!
The Casabona's chocolate factory is located in the heart of Martinsburg's historic district in the 50's era building that once housed the McCroy's Five & Dime Store. They have lovingly restored the premises preserving the quant conveyed features within including the soda-fountain lunch counter, tin ceiling tiles, and are currently expanding the store front facade. Every piece of chocolate is produced onsite using pure natural ingredients in their 12,000 square-foot factory preserving freshness for your taste buds.
DeFluri's Fine Chocolates began their business in Vienna Virginia and moved their factory and showroom to Martinsburg in 1998 and has since become an icon in the downtown area. Stop by their establishment and treat yourself to the finest confections imaginable.
0 comments • Debbie Small, REALTOR® • August 14 2008 03:32AMContent © 2009 'Frequent Contributors'. Design © 2009 ActiveRain Corp.
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