Be Jane.

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So just as June is right around the corner I would have to say that its finally time for me to my spring cleaning and this weekend is looking like it is the going to be it. I am dying to redo my closets and I have the perfect closet system that would make getting dressed my dream but the house we live in was built in 1922 and built of lathe and plaster. (I used it in my last house and it made me the neatest person I've ever been in my life!) I would need studs to hang this system off the wall so for now I will just have to live with the 1920s rack currently there.

 

Wish me luck.

 

Heidi

Alright, now I rarely get up on my pedestal and spout anything but I kind of feel like I need to. In the last few weeks I've done a great deal of traveling between going to Memphis, Nashville, Detroit, Houston, and New York City and I was able to see first hand how many airlines are trying to do their part with the whole "GREEN" thing. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the airlines I flew are now starting to recycle all of the bottles, cans and newspapers that come off of the airline. Seeing as I travel a great deal and already feel guilty for the polutants I am adding throught it, it makes me feel better knowing that at least they are conscious of our world.

 

That was until I took my last flight, a trip from NYC to my home in LA. On this flight not only did Jet Blue not recycle any  bottles, cans or newspapers, they also have individual size servings of Jet Blue water that they pass out to the entire plane at the end and through out the flight to anyone who asks for water. Now I need to preface this with I happen to love flying their airline but I have written them about this and I have to say it is making me think twice about whether or not they really do care about their customers, as they say they do, and if I should continue to book any flights on them.

 

Am I the only person who's noticed this and written in to them? Does this bother anyone besides me?

 

Heidi

Alright so Eden and I had a really great time in Houston working with the ladies from the National Charity League Wednesday through Friday last week. Then I went on to Detroit for my Aunt's suprise 70th birthday party! I'm still in Detroit and I have to say it's nice to come back "home" after soo long of being gone. (For those of you who don't know, I lived in Detroit until I was 16.)

 

I'm supposed to leave for NY on Wednesday to go and do the Mike and Juliet Fox Nationa Morning Show on Friday. I'll let you know once we have a time set in stone.

 

Heidi

So tonight I'm getting ready to leave for Houston tomorrow moring. Eden and I are going to the National Charity League event they are having there in which Eden and I are going to speak. So far it looks like the weather is going to co-operate and be around 80! I'm actually looking forward to sitting by the pool a bit when we're not working.

 

Otherwise I really don't have any ideas about Houston, never been there before. Does anyone have any good suggestions on what to do or where to eat?

 

Heidi

I just learned that Dunn Edwards has come out with a low odor/VOC paint and I started wondering what other lines of paint also have one. Now I guess I must have been living under a rock because I had NO IDEA how many companies out there are adding lines of paint that are healthier for your home!! 

 

(In case you are asking yourself what does VOC mean, most paints and primers contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are common organic substances that readily evaporate (usually at room temperature). VOCs hold the paint in a liquid form, and, once applied, aid the paint in rapidly drying from a liquid to a solid by an evaporation process known as off-gassing. Off-gassing adversely affects indoor air quality, and may continue for months or even years even though the paint or primer has dried. A primary goal in the creation of healthy buildings is to generally reduce the overall amount of VOCs. )

 

Here are some other lines that I found that also have one:

 

Sherwin Williams

BioShield Paints

Anna Sova

SafeCoat

Auro Paints

Benjamin Moore

Devoe Paint

Dutch Boy

Earth-Tech

ICI Paints

Kelly-Moore

MAB Paints

Miller Paint

 

And by the way, when I started doing research on this, I also found many adhesives, sealers and eurethanes that all fall into more of a "Green" category!

 

 

Okay, so yesterday's post got me inspired to look at my pictures from our trip and I also came across some pics of inlaid stone floors that I couldn't resist showing you. (And yes, I know I looked like and was a complete goober taking pics of the floor everywhere I went.)

 

Make sure you click on the mosaic floor pic to see all of the absolutely amazing detail put into it.

Okay so I don't mean to bore you all with pictures from my trip to Northern Europe this summer but I couldn't resist taking pictures of all of the amazing inlaid wood floors. These were actually from a museum in St. Petersburg called the Hermitage.

 

I don't know the type of affect they have on you but to me they made me want to go back and learn how to do this from scratch.

 

(Make sure you take a look at the one that is the same design on the floor as on the ceiling! They are the 3rd ones down. Click on any of them for much more detail.)

So here's the deal. My brother and sister-in-law are giving birth in less than a month and have been looking into childproofing things while they still have time. They called me last night to ask if I had heard of the magnetic childproofing locks for drawers and cabinets.

 

I went online to see if I could find it and what it appears to me is that the locks only open when you place the magnet that comes with the lock over where the lock sits. I guess it magnetically unlocks it.  (I am attaching a pic of something similar, I don't know if it is the same one they are looking at.)

 

The problem is that they asked me if it was any good or even worth looking at. They wanted more specifically to know if:

 

1) they kept the kids out

2) if they were actually adultproof and difficult to open

 

I would love to get back to them with a response but I don't have one. Anybody have any experience with these or childproofing?

I did the stupidest thing on Sunday. I was cleaning up around the house and tried to close a cabinet that has a latch that looks like it's from 1952. It has never closed once in the last 4 years we've lived there and for some reason I wanted that door closed. So I messed with it a bit and got it to close, the only problem was I hadn't remembered that opening it was going to be an issue as the knob wasn't connecting to the mechanism.

 

I got it to shut, was excited to have the door closed and then realized "DOH!" I couldn't open the door. So I took off the lock with a screwdriver figuring that I would open the door and put the latch/lock back on regardless so that you wouldn't see the other paint color that was underneath. Instead my husband messed around with it for 10 minutes and actually fixed the darn thing!! I have to say I am very impressed considering I am the one who does most of the home improvement around our home.

 

Heidi