CasaSugar

Win a $1,000 Gift Card From Ikea!

CasaSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:47:43 -0700

We had a great time at Park(ing) Day on Friday, and kept comfortable, thanks to the fact that Ikea provided all the furniture and accessories for my Park(ing) Day Park! I found some adorable indoor and outdoor furniture and cute accessories for my temporary park.

Not only did Ikea sponsor CasaSugar's Park(ing) Day park, it's also giving away a $1,000 Ikea gift certificate for one lucky CasaSugar reader to use in-store or online! You can use the $1,000 to create your own gorgeous outdoor or indoor space, just like I did at Park(ing) Day. To enter, you must log in and take the quiz below. Your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just by completing the quiz once you are logged in. You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member and log in before you take the quiz. If you're not already a member, just register here for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored. Contest ends Wednesday, Oct. 1, at noon PDT and is only open to US readers. Click here for Official Rules.
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Park(ing) Day: 10 Hints For Your Own Park

CasaSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:00:12 -0700

Last week, I told you all about my plans for Park(ing) Day. Now an international event, Park(ing) Day turns parking spots in urban areas into temporary parks, as a way to highlight the need for green spaces in cities, as well as to show how much physical room cars take up.

My Sugar friends and I had a great time at Park(ing) Day! Since several of you told me that your interest was piqued, and that you might want to participate in this event next year, I thought I'd give you some tips on how to make your Park(ing) Day as easy and stress-free as possible.

To see my tips, as well as a huge gallery of photos, read more.

Educate yourself on the history of Park(ing) Day before you're at your park. Here's a good place to start.
For step-by-step directions, download a PDF manual.
Be friendly! People may know what your park is about, or they might have no idea why you're putting down sod in a parking spot. Tell them about the reasons behind Park(ing) Day, and invite them to join you.
Make friends with traffic cops and meter maids. The friendlier you are, the harder it will be for them to be stern. And in fact, the traffic cop across the street from my park was incredibly nice and loved the park!
Sod is heavy. And dirty. Plan accordingly. You should wear something that can get grubby, and also bring gloves. Make sure to lay down a tarp in your parking spot before you start rolling out your sod.
Activities are fun, but you might spend nearly the whole day talking. I brought Scrabble and bocce ball to my park, but most of the time I was explaining Park(ing) Day to people or shooting the breeze.
Bring friends! Not only will this divvy up your workload, but it will leave someone at your park while you run to the bathroom or grab lunch.
People love treats. I brought a ton of candy with to the site, but the big hit of the day was a bowl of tomatoes that had been picked fresh from my garden. Another park was making fresh smoothies!
Have a plan for your sod. I posted the sod for free on Craigslist, and almost all of it was taken away by the man that responded to my post.
Make sure to have change for the meter, and most importantly, remember to have fun!

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The Sweet Spot: Park(ing) Day With CasaSugar

CasaSugar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:30:57 -0700

As you may know, on Friday I participated in Park(ing) Day and created my very own park (complete with sod!) on the streets of San Francisco. You can check out a video of the day here. Ikea was nice enough to sponsor the park, lending me some pretty fab furniture to deck out my Sweet Spot. And, if you want to recreate the look, you can enter to win a $1,000 gift card to Ikea, so you can create your very own indoor or outdoor oasis! To see photos of the very special day (not just another day at the office), check out this slideshow!

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Check Out Casa's Park(ing) Day Park!

CasaSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:00:44 -0700

Did you make it to a Park(ing) Day Park on Friday? Several CasaSugar readers stopped by my park on Howard Street in San Francisco, and I spent the entire day chatting with friends and friendly strangers. While I didn't get time to check out a lot of the other parks, I did hear some rumors about some cool spots, including a beach park with a swimming pool and a park that was giving salsa lessons at noon.

Since I knew that most of you were scattered all over the country and world, I had a Sugar pal put together a video with some footage from the day. It was definitely a lot of fun, and I encourage all of you to think about building your own parks next year!

Cool Idea: Park(ing) Day Is Dog-Friendly

CasaSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:00:44 -0700

To get you excited for this Friday's Park(ing) Day park, I thought I'd bring you some cute photos from Park(ing) Day in St. Louis. Of course, I think what really takes this park over the top is the adorable cattle dog. Good thing the CasaSugar Sweet Spot Park will look even sweeter thanks to the presence of the Oz-Dog. Are you going to visit any Park(ing) Day parks in your town? To see if your town is throwing a Park(ing) Day event, check here.

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Midday Muse: Are You Going to Park?

CasaSugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:00:21 -0700

As you know, I'm heading out on Friday to set up my own San Francisco park for Park(ing) Day. But Park(ing) Day isn't just happening in San Francisco, it's happening all over the world! Keep an eye out for parks that seem to pop up overnight, because one might be showing up in your town on Sept. 19. To see what Park(ing) Day looked like last year in New York City, watch the video below!

This Just In: Ikea Teams Up With CasaSugar For Park(ing) Day

CasaSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:00:17 -0700

If you've been reading CasaSugar for any time at all, you know that I love Ikea. With its reasonable prices, versatile pieces, and great seasonal finds, I always find an excuse to wander the massive aisles at least a few times a month.

So, I'm excited to tell you that Ikea is sponsoring CasaSugar's Park(ing) Day site, and providing all of our furniture for the day. I'm so excited about the pieces that I got to choose for CasaSugar's Park(ing) Day site!

To get a sneak peek of some of the Ikea furniture and accessories that will be featured at CasaSugar's Sweet Spot Park, read more.

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How-To: Build Your Park(ing) Day Park

CasaSugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:00:38 -0700

On Friday, I'm going to be in downtown San Francisco transforming an ordinary parking spot into a lush, green temporary park. Since Park(ing) Day is happening in cities all over the world, you might want to think about creating a temporary park in your town. To find out how, watch the slideshow! Source

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Midday Muse: Park(ing) Day

CasaSugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:00:46 -0700

I've told you about Park(ing) Day before, but I have an update for you! This year CasaSugar's going to be participating in Park(ing) Day, too. The Sugar girls and I will be creating our own little slice of green in two parking spots in downtown San Francisco. I'll have many more details in the next two weeks, but if you're in San Francisco on Sept. 19, make sure to stop by and say hi to us!

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Garden Therapy: A Park For a Day

CasaSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:30:24 -0700

Last year I wrote about the Park(ing) day in San Francisco, and I'd be remiss to not mention it again during Good to Grow month. Park(ing) Day is an event where businesses, government offices, and volunteers in several corners of the world take the time to construct parks in parking spaces. I found a cool video that shows the positive effects of this one-day event, and it's got me excited for this year's Park(ing) Day in September. I just might have to start my own park(ing) for the day next September . . . .