Shopping Archives - Page 2 of 26

HOUSE RENOVATION: THE STAIRS

By Libby|2019-08-11T21:45:19-04:00August 11, 2019|8 McDowell, Shopping|

Our house was built in 1992. One woman lived here until we bought it in 2010. We think she never, ever went upstairs (master bedroom is on ground floor) and thus the carpeting on the staircase and upstairs was barely used.

So yes, this was a good thing for us. I guess.

But was it our taste? Certainly not. The builder had installed same carpet in every house here and some houses even had it in the bathroom. Horrors. At least our bathrooms had vinyl tile!

Here is the original bland carpet extending almost wall to wall on stairs and landing. It also covered the entire upstairs hall and guest room.

We lived with said carpet for 8 years. We had carpet companies, carpenters, and builders all in about five years ago to see our options.

We thought long and hard about how to move forward. Cost was a consideration in that I would have liked to sand and stain the treads. But the wood under the carpet was rough pine and would never have looked smooth or taken a stain well. So, short of removing the bannister and replacing all the treads and the entire floor on the […]

A Shout-Out to Garnet Hill

By Libby|2019-07-29T14:54:32-04:00July 28, 2019|Shopping|

Do you know the retailer,

Garnet Hill?
They do actually have an outlet store in Franconia, New Hampshire, but most of their business is on-line.

I have been a very faithful customer for years and years; I think I started ordering from them in the late 80’s!

I will start this short post by saying HOW much I adore this “store.”

Their sheets are, with maybe one exception, the ONLY brand I buy. Ever. And I don’t buy the Eileen Fisher or Wamsutta or anything else they actually do sell but rather I only buy their own brand. The percale sheets are superb. They fit beautifully, they wash superbly, they last for at least fifteen years (remember, I don’t own a clothes dryer!), and they iron easily.

Yes, you will see a set of their sheets hanging in my laundry room about every ten days.

Recently I have had a yen for linen sheets. I looked and looked and researched and realized I wanted the softest possible fabric, as per many reviews. So, of course, I went to Garnet Hill.

This is what I bought:

These are the Solid Relaxed-Linen Bedding in Tourmaline […]

CLARISONIC FACE BRUSHES

By Libby|2019-04-14T15:30:19-04:00April 14, 2019|Shopping|

Do you know about the Clarisonic products?
Do you use them?

What is it?
The entire line consists of various kinds of facial cleansing brushes. You buy the brush and then add the appropriate brush head…for your skin type or problems. You can buy more than one brush head: they are interchangeable.
There are about six different brushes to choose from: the very simplest with one speed to a brush with two speeds and then a travel model.

I became a total convert about six months ago! I had thought this was just one product I did NOT need!!
Not so fast… They were having a big sale before Christmas so once again I took a look.

My skin aesthetic center had always recommended the line so I called and asked them exactly which model brush and brush head would be best. My skin is not bad, but it is aging! Indeed. Thus the reason I go to a skin aesthetic center from time to time. Ask me about this if you want more information: maybe, someday, I will reveal what I have done from time to time.

I bought the basic model: the MIA PRIMA

It has just one […]

FRIDAY FLOWERS: A NEW TAKE ON GARDEN TOOLS

By Libby|2019-04-04T20:49:49-04:00April 4, 2019|Friday Flowers, Garden, Shopping|

My “new take on garden tools” is this:
How do you garden if you have any (I mean ANY ) physical problems, aches and pains, are post-surgery, aging, have knees that don’t bend with quite the same ease, hips that creak, and any sort of arthritis.
That pretty much covers an entire range of issues, doesn’t it?

Well, maybe you are in one or more of those categories. I am! Having had hand surgery in early December I am almost back to normal, but not quite. And the knees creak a bit. And I am always aware of the elbow surgery of eleven years ago.

What are the options?

Stop gardening
Hire someone to do the gardening
Investigate new tools that just might help

#1 is just not an option for me.
#2 no, not there…yet!
#3 Yes. I have done just that: I have scoured the internet and various companies for all sorts of
helpful garden tools that just might be useful to own and use.

Very first on my own personal list was a low stool of some kind. I’ve seen the various benches that show someone kneeling and working in a garden. Well, I don’t want to have to kneel! And those benches have a footprint of about 23″ long. Do you realize how difficult that would be to put […]

MY MARIE KONDO MOMENT

By Libby|2019-03-24T14:51:19-04:00March 24, 2019|8 McDowell, Shopping|

Are you a fan of Marie Kondo and the KonMari movement?
Do you try to have your tidying up moments “spark joy?”

Buy it here

To be honest, I have not read the book. I’ve looked at it. And lately I have watched sections of several of the episodes on Netflix.
Again, to be honest here, I am amazed at the tidying up “fever” that has swept over us!
I am not a fan. There. It is all so prettified; so canned; so perfect. We are led to believe that by tidying up…I know, there is so much more to it than just that…we will lead better, happier, more focused lives. I totally agree that most of us have just plain TOO MUCH stuff. Shopping is a national pastime; malls have become our mode of recreation; and often it is quantity over quality.

But her version of “tidying up” is much more than that and requires a huge life shift. It’s just not that simple, folks.

So, now that you know how I feel about all this let’s get to the heart of my post. My takeaway from watching the bits that I did yielded one very good experiment. I tried it! I tried the very simple, physical way of rolling […]

WHAT I AM READING

By Libby|2019-02-17T19:57:16-05:00February 17, 2019|Books, Shopping|

So many books, so little time!

I am not a big fan of audio books and have resisted Audible for years. However, yes, I succumbed to the audio version of:

BECOMING

Her voice is lovely. And her story so compelling. I have enjoyed each and every minute. I’m sure many of you have read/are reading this but I urge all of you to make time for it!

A SPARK OF LIGHT

So many people have recommended reading anything by
Jodi Picoult
and I have finally done so!
This was my first and I will most definitely be reading more.
This controversial topic with the actual setting of an abortion clinic, is told from many different perspectives and actually works backward in time. It is absolutely riveting and compelling, no matter your opinion about this topic. I highly recommend.

I read it during my last long flight to London: a perfect sit-down-for-hours book.

DEATH IN PROVENCE

Author Serena Kent is actually the husband/wife team of Deborah Lawrenson and her husband Robert Rees. I have posted previously about Deborah and one of her eight books:
The Sea Garden