CasaSugar

Cool Idea: Solar LED House Numbers

CasaSugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:15:25 -0700

Considering how plugged in and geeked out our homes are these days, sometimes it baffles me that the simplest, often most crucial things aren't well-lit. Personally, I'm a big fan of motion-sensor lighting, so when you're walking toward your front (or back) door you won't trip and wind up falling flat on your back. But motion-sensor lighting doesn't help passersby who are trying to locate your crib. That's why I'm smitten with the Matter Inc. Solar LED House Numbers ($19.99). The solid aluminum fixture absorbs the sun's energy during the day to power two high output white LEDs for eight to 10 hours during the night, keeping your house numbers well-lit without draining the grid or your wallet. The laser-cut numbers are completely weather-resistant, too, which is a plus. Although I personally don't mind the modern, sans-serif shape of the numbers, I wish they were offered in a traditional serif to appeal to more homeowners. What do you think?

How-To: Display Your House Numbers

CasaSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:00:18 -0700

There's nothing more frustrating than a late delivery (especially if it's 2 a.m. and you've got the munchies). It's easy to blame UPS or your pizza delivery person, or whoever you're waiting for, but believe it or not, you could be at fault for your own delivery woes. When I say that I mean if your house numbers are poorly placed, you could be sending your guests, delivery people, and service men on a wild goose chase. Here are a few simple things to consider that will maximize the visibility of your house numbers from the street:

Put your numbers horizontally on the side of your mailbox facing traffic, not the door or the nontraffic side.
Put your numbers in a well-lit area above eye level close to your front door. Centered above the front door is best.
Make sure that no trees or bushes are blocking the view of the numbers from the street.
If your front door recedes, just place the number on the house itself, not the door.
You should also paint your numbers on the street curb about two feet from the driveway towards your house, with the number facing the street.

To hear more tips like these, read more.

Be sure not to park your car in front of the curb numbers, and brush away any leaves or debris.
Pick a color that contrasts with the number's background. If your house is white, choose black numbers. If your mailbox is green, choose red numbers, etc. If your house is brick, white numbers will show up well.
A lighted house number is ideal.
If you have motion detector porch lights, the numbers will not be visible from the street. Put a porch light on a timer to go on at night instead.
Brass or bronze numbers are practically invisible, unless the sunlight happens to hit it at a precise angle.
On the house or curb, the numbers should be at least four inches tall, and on the mailbox, at least three inches tall.
Choose a bold, sans-serif font. Serifs, cursives, etc. can make sixes look like eights, ones like sevens, etc.
Don't display the number vertically or diagonally. People read from left to right.

Source

Etsy Finds: Knock, Knock!

CasaSugar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:00:44 -0800

Looking for a way to distinguish your home from that of your neighbors? How about customizing your front door? Etsy has some cool vintage and handmade items that will add drama to your doorstep. Check out my favorite handmade house numbers, door knockers, and more.

View Slideshow ›

90210 "Rats and Heroes": Most Scandalous Moments

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:30:53 -0800

Blackmail, stripteases, girl-girl kissing - oh the drama. The kids of West Beverly return from winter break on 90210 this week, and we're once again dealt a heavy dose of high school salaciousness. Silver and Naomi come back from a tanning spree in St. Barts bent on making things right with their guys, Annie is still dating Jasper (not by choice), and Navid is cooking up revenge in the form of cocaine. Even the adults get caught up in theatrics.

It's just the sort of soapy fun that I like from a show of this sort, so needless to say, I felt pretty satisfied. Let's break down the particularly jaw-dropping snippets when you read more.

Jasper blackmails Annie into being his girlfriend. Not that we didn't all see this coming. Hello, the guy delivers flowers by breaking into her house - I feel like he's ready to go all Mark Wahlberg in Fear on her. Despite their previous argument over his drug selling, Jasper's still acting all eerily peachy keen, so Annie tells him she wants to break up. He, in turn, pulls out the standard guy rebuttal: you know, "if you break up with me, I'll tell everyone you ran over my uncle." Stuck in a tough spot, Annie agrees, despite the please-don't-kiss-me-anymore faces she makes. Dude, she's just not into you.
Navid tries to plant drugs on Jasper. He coerces Dixon into stealing the combination to Jasper's locker from his dad's office so they can sneak cocaine into Jasper's belongings. Dixon at first refuses, but seeing Annie still stuck with her bad boyfriend, he agrees to take part. The guys appear to pull off their plan as the drug dogs make their way through the hallways, but (plot twist!) there aren't any drugs in Jasper's locker - they've "mysteriously" made their way into Navid's, and he gets carted away.

Adrianna kisses Gia. Yes, the moment we've seen promo'd up the wazoo finally happens. Adrianna confides in Gia about her addiction issues, and Gia hands over her phone number as a means to help . . . or could it be for romantic reasons, too? Later at a friend's sister's 21st birthday, Gia bumps into her ex-girlfriend with someone new, and Adrianna helps out by pretending to be her date, planting a kiss on her. Adrianna doesn't seem to be that blown away, but Gia certainly looks stunned.
Selfish Dixon squashes a Silver-Teddy romance. When he returns from break, he's all hyped up on telling Silver his feelings, but she puts a cork in that by admitting their kiss was a mistake. Dixon plays along but tells Teddy that he's thinking of getting back with Silver. That spawns Teddy to take back his womanizing persona. So thanks to Dixon, no one's happy - except for Dixon, naturally.
Is Debbie's eye wandering? She finally confronts Kelly about her crush on Harry (while Harry's sweating bullets), and the two walk away friends with Debbie offering to set Kelly up with her hot yoga instructor. Here's the problem: the beefcake seems to be way more into Mrs. Wilson. We've heard that Rob Estes is leaving the show, and I can't help but wonder if a painful affair is how the writers plan on giving him the ax.
Naomi does the old naked trench coat move. After a particularly painful first date with Liam, Naomi resorts to a new tactic to keep the spark going between them. It works of course, and the two get it on in his boat, but I think it's pretty obvious that their deeper problems - like actually being able to talk to each other - are still there. Ivy is ready to swoop in at a moment's notice, though. Did you see the pure glee on her face when Liam confides in her about the couple's problems?

Tell me, what moment shocked you the most? Was it the drug switch? Debbie's new admirer? And please, can't we just get rid of Jasper? I'm dying to see the guy get what's coming to him. Share your thoughts about the episode in the comments, or check in with the 90210 Superfans group in the Buzz Community.

Photos courtesy of The CW

House Rundown, "Private Lives"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:35:47 -0800

After a month-long hiatus for House (and a Cuddy-centric episode), the Princeton-Plainsboro team returns this week to shed light on another mysterious case. I waited in anticipation to see what they'd cook up after time off, but dare I say, I'm somewhat let down. Not that the night didn't have storyline gems, but the patient plot of an over-sharing blogger (Laura Prepon) feels like the show is trying too hard to tap into the 21st century. See how millennial we are? OK, to cut the writers some slack, I do love the battle between Wilson and House, and there is one particularly interesting reveal. It almost seems like we're getting hints about where the characters are headed in coming episodes. Ready to go over some of the night's important questions? Let's get down to it when you read more.

I'd hate to be the speed dater stuck with House. When he, Wilson, and Chase head to a mixer, House bets Chase that he'll get the most phone numbers due to his pretty face. Chase agrees - optimistic about the women's lack of shallowness - and pretends to be a slovenly video game player who makes fat comments, while sympathetic Wilson gets stuck with sob stories about cats with cancer. As for House . . . well, he's himself. It isn't a vital scene per se, but hey, it entertained me. Who do you think will actually be the first to start dating next - House, Wilson, or Chase?
Speaking of Chase's love life, once again I think I sensed a connection between him and Thirteen, like the writers seemed to allude to several weeks ago. When Chase is disappointed by the outcome of his speed dating trial (several women want his number despite his behavior), he turns to Thirteen to validate that he's more than his looks, and the two doctors seem to bond. Would you like to see Chase and Thirteen get together?
Let the hijinks continue! House discovers that Wilson is in a porn tape and lets everyone in the hospital know - with posters. To Wilson's credit, it's a video he did for his college film student roommate, and he's not actually in the XXX portion. I do love seeing House and Wilson one-up each other and was dying to watch Wilson get him back. What about you - are you getting tired of the House and Wilson prank wars, or do you still love them as much as ever?
Wilson does return the favor: with a book. With Chase's clever deduction (seriously, it seemed too easy for him to realize House's fake book swap), Wilson finds out that House is reading a collection of sermons. Sermons?! Wilson obviously has a good laugh over this one, and after passing around copies to everyone to taunt House, the truth comes out - the book is written by House's biological father. 1) Yes, House's dad is a minister, and 2) Can we please, please see a reunion between father and son?
As for the patient, I enjoyed seeing Laura Prepon make an appearance, but her storyline? Kind of snoozy. First, we think she's been exposed to rat poison, then it's a bad heart valve, then it's lymphoma, then the vaccine is killing her. Sometimes I wish House could just figure things out on the first try. Did you enjoy her case? Her situation does raise questions about technology and social connection, however. I mean, do you think she's right to poll her blog readers on medical questions?

So tell me, are you glad House is back, or were you like me and hoping for a juicier patient case? Do you want to see an episode with House's father as much as I do? Share your thoughts in the comments, or head over to the House! group to talk more.

Photo courtesy of Fox

2010 Oscars Trend: Dramatic Trains

FabSugarUK — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:30:38 -0800

There must have been a lot of busy assistants at last night's Academy Awards as they frantically tried to straighten out trains on dresses for that perfect picture moment! There was a return to classic Hollywood glamour on the red carpet as many stars opted for dramatic frocks. The gowns were produced by a range of design houses including Chanel, Givenchy and Donna Karan. Click through to check out some of the show stopping numbers.

View Slideshow ›

TV Presenter Kristian Digby Found Dead at Home

PopSugarUK — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:01:55 -0800

BBC TV presenter and film director Kristian Digby has been found dead at his East London flat. Ambulance services were called to his home on Monday morning and he was pronounced dead at the scene, with police sources saying his death is "unexplained".

Fans have joined a Facebook group to pay their condolences, and tributes are being paid by his colleagues. A BBC spokesman said: "Kristian was a much-loved and talented presenter for BBC Daytime. He brought a real sense of energy and warmth to all the shows he presented for us and will be sorely missed."

The 32-year-old had worked on a number of property shows, including To Buy or Not To Buy, Double Agents, Living In The Sun, House Swap and Buy It, Sell It, Bank It.

A postmortem is due to take place today. Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

Let's Get Lost: "Lighthouse" Recap

BuzzSugar — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:30:00 -0800

Where to even begin? Lost was so chock-full of surprises and little clues, I think the biggest question might be how they managed to squeeze it all into an hour-long show. This week, we switch focus from Locke and Sawyer, as we go back to the temple where Hurley and Jack are still camped out. Oh yeah, and Hurley is still seeing Jacob.

Jacob actually gets a nice dose of screen time this episode, along with another familiar face: jungle Claire. Finally, we discover what she's been doing for the past three years - and just who she's been talking to. But one of the biggest shockers of the night actually happens on the mainland. I don't want to give too much away, so let's dive right in (needless to say, there are spoilers!). Just read more.

Jack had his appendix removed when he was a kid?! At least, that's what his mother says back on the mainland, but he appears to have no recollection of it. If you recall, his appendix previously required emergency surgery on the island, so does that mean that Jack's history had to change in order to exist with the events that took place on the island?
Huge spoiler: Jack has a son! In this new reality of his, he's father to a boy named David who is quite the piano whiz. Jack has trouble connecting with him (paralleling his relationship with his own father), but shows up to David's tryouts for a conservatory. So is Sarah David's mother? Would seem like the obvious answer, though we never get a glimpse of her. If you want to dig even deeper, the sheet music that David has on his desk is "Fantaisie Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor" by Chopin - which Daniel also plays as a boy and in 2007 in the episode "The Variable."
Did you notice that David is reading The Annotated Alice? The Lost writers love to incorporate Alice in Wonderland references in the show via episode titles (e.g. "White Rabbit" and "Through the Looking Glass"), but Jack also reads Alice in Wonderland to Aaron as a baby. This time, Jack mentions two characters from Through the Looking Glass, Kitty and Snowdrop. In the story, Kitty is Alice's black cat, Snowdrop is white - and they're supposedly versions of the Red and White Queens. Yet another good versus evil parallel for us to dissect.
Back on island time, Jacob instructs Hurley to bring a new person to the island by going into a secret temple tunnel - but only if he takes Jack with him (side note: I'm dying to know what the hieroglyph on the door means!). Jacob tells Hurley to convince Jack by saying "You have what it takes," and Jack is stupefied by this magic phrase, since his father always told him that he didn't "have what it takes." Dun, dun, dun!
If an animal skeleton in a crib isn't proof enough, Claire is not exactly Claire anymore. She saves Jin from her metal claw trap, but takes one of the Others as a hostage, later killing him because she thinks the Others have Aaron - even though Jin tells her Kate's been taking care of him. Jin later backpedals, saying the Others do have Aaron, after all. Good thing, too, because Claire was ready to kill Kate.
When Claire is explaining to Jin what she's been doing the past three years, she mentions spending time with her father and a "friend." Who is the mystery man? Smokey Locke. You know what that means: bad things are about to go down at that temple.
Dogen, the mysterious "Samurai" guy as Hurley calls him, is on the mainland in parallel world, too! He pops up at the piano tryouts for Jack's son as the parent of another child.
The lighthouse! As Jack says, "How have we never seen it before?" Per Jacob, Hurley leads Jack to the tower where there's a set of mirrors. Hurley is supposed to turn them to a certain degree, but as we get a close-up we see that each degree has a corresponding name. Ah, so the numbers are degrees! Jack notices too, turning the lamp toward his, where he gets a glimpse of his childhood house in the mirror. Enraged, he smashes the glass. I was yelling at my TV over Jack's stupidity, but Jacob assures Hurley that it's part of his plan. Sure, but who the heck is Wallace - the name at 108 degrees that the lamp was supposed to be pointed to?!

Whew, I'm exhausted from trying to wrap my head around all of that, but I'd love to hear your theories. Did you catch anything that I missed? Please share in the comments below, or head over to Lost Fans to chat some more!

Baking Gets Messy Before Glee's Diva Off!

PopSugarUK — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:00:00 -0800

The cast of Glee have all been invited to the White House to perform at the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 5 - Michelle Obama and her daughters are apparently huge fans of the show. As if that's not enough to show that the show is a huge success, the soundtrack is at number one in the UK album chart at the moment, and next week's episode - airing at 9pm on Monday on E4 - is a fantastic one too! In the first preview clip I have for you, Puck and Quinn get a little messy in the Home Economics room as they talk about Quinn's pregnancy, and in the second clip we get a glimpse at two of the cast performing an amazing song from the musical Wicked. Let me know what you think!

To check out Lea Michele and Chris Colfer as Rachel and Kurt singing "Defying Gravity" in the diva off, just read more.

Could Twitter and Foursquare Bump the Price of Home Insurance?

GeekSugar — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:47:44 -0800

I suppose this makes sense: a UK-based price comparison website predicted that homeowners insurance rates could rise up to ten percent thanks to the popularity and use of location-based services like Twitter and Facebook. I've already suspected that Foursquare could equal overshare thanks to the "check-ins" that let everyone know where you are (or where you're not: home), and insurance companies could be bracing for an increase in break-ins because of it.

Aptly-named website PleaseRobMe is trying to make people aware of how easy it is to determine whether your place is empty by locating and compiling tweets and status updates of people who obviously aren't home, using it as a "slap across the face" to make you more aware of what you tweet. I'm pretty darn careful when it comes to broadcasting where I am, but that's not to say I don't like to brag a bit when I'm at a really great restaurant, or seeing a show I'm excited about. At least the knowledge that my renters insurance rates could spike will make me even more cautious about what I'm declaring to the world! Want some tips on how to keep your location private? Then just read more.

Only use location-based services when you need them. Sites like Loopt, Where, and Foursquare may be fun, but letting everyone know your routines could spell bad news for your home security.
Don't post your address anywhere. This should be a given!
Don't tweet about vacations, unless you have a house sitter. Declaring that you'll be in Mexico during Spring Break is only asking for trouble.
Think before you tweet! Something as simple as tweeting about your meal while out to dinner could tip someone off that you're away from home.
Don't friend anyone you don't know on a location-based app or service. Yes, Twitter may be all about the numbers, but do you really want some dude knowing where you are right now cause you friended him on Loopt just to add one to your list? I don't think so.