Category Fun Friday Finds

Boutique Homes showcases some of the world’s most stunning and architecturally interesting homes that are — get this — all available for rent! Featuring tons of photos of beautiful interiors and exteriors, you can search for your next vacation destination by style (rustic, simple luxury, urban, etc.), by exact location (Paris, Los Angeles, etc.), by type of location (mountains, seaside, country, etc.) or even by continent.

These boutique homes offer all of the luxury of hotel accommodations with added space and privacy, making them a great alternative for family travel. For those of us who don’t enjoy cooking on our vacation, there are even homes available with the option of a personal chef so you can kick back and relax without even leaving the property! If you appreciate a more adventurous vacation you can easily search for homes off the beaten bath. (A warning to potential travelers: like most beautiful things in life, these homes don’t come cheap, so be prepared to take out your checkbook!)

Even if you don’t have a luxury vacation in your near future, it’s still worth browsing this site for the spectacular architecture and beautiful interiors. If you happen to be renovating or building a new place, the detailed photos that accompany each listing will surely help inspire your inner designer and get the creative juices flowing!

So, vacation or not, check out this site for some seriously cool spaces.

GE recently launched a campaign to promote alternative energy resources, and their creative advertising strategy is just that. I know what you’re thinking – when not associated with the Super Bowl, the word “advertising” can conjure up thoughts of boring informational segments, particularly when associated with environmental causes. Trust me, this is anything but boring — you will have fun with it and you just might learn something too!

Virtual Windmill Scene

Virtual Desert Scene

So, here’s how GE’s special “Augmented Reality” works:

1. Print out a simple black and white geometric design (provided on the GE site here — see the orange text under “Getting Started” instructions).
2. Click on one of GE’s two augmented reality scenes (wind turbine or solar energy – the Wind Turbine is my favorite, but they are both fun to try).
3. When the pop-up window appears, hold the piece of paper in front of your computer’s video camera. After a slightly awkward second of staring at yourself on your computer screen you will see a beautiful animated landscape scene unlock and come to life. Magic!
4. When the scene is open, have fun twisting the paper around to get different angles of the landscape. Try blowing into your computer’s microphone and see what happens…

We love GE’s augmented reality because it’s so much fun that it prompts you to want to play around and learn more about an important environmental initiative. Check it out GE’s Augmented Reality now >

Also worth checking out on GE’s ecomagination site is their “Smart Meters” section. You can pull on a lever and see a fun animated graphic display what happens as more homes integrate the smart meter. As you will see, when more homes acquire smart meters, fewer cars are on the roads and CO2 emissions are reduced.

Speaking of CO2 emissions, there is also another informative section that helps visualize what will happen to CO2 as the power grid increases in efficiency. As you will see, even a relatively small increase in efficiency can go a long way – a 2% more efficient power grid can result in 12.9 million additional acres of trees.

Bottom line: this creative site is a really fun way to educate oneself about important environmental advancement efforts, so go ahead, check it out and let the fun begin!

Two years ago I was lying in bed flipping through TV channels when I stumbled across a show profiling Tesla Motors. I’m not a total car fanatic (like my dad and my brother), but the flashy car caught my eye and I heard mention of an electric engine, so I stayed tuned to learn more. Ever since, I have been totally intrigued by everything Tesla.

Tesla motors was founded in 2003 on the principle that people can be environmentally responsible when it comes to cars, without sacrificing performance or style. Based out of Palo Alto, these cars are built with electric engines (no gas needed!) that will help wean us off of gasoline-based transportation.

Tesla Roadster

Tesla is not only committed to producing the best electric cars in the world, they are now making serious strides to drive the luxury car prices down so that they are affordable to the average consumer. The first step in this process is the predicted 2013 release of the “S” series sedan.

Tesla S Model

The S model features room for 7 passengers (traditional five car seating plus two jumpseats in the back), storage in the hood (thanks to the lack of a traditional engine), speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds. Furthermore, the S series can go 300 miles per charge, aka from Boston to New York City with 75 miles to spare.

The price of the S series sedan is a hefty $49,000 (and that’s for the standard, not the fully-loaded version), but that’s not scaring environmental car enthusiasts away. Although the car is still 3 years out and many of the details unknown, people are lining up to get one of these ground-breaking vehicles. Tesla now has a waiting list of over 2,200 people!

Tesla S Model

Tesla S Model

While I’m not ready to shell out over forty grand for one of these cars just yet, I do take my hat off to Tesla for their incredible contributions to solving one of our most daunting environmental issues and hope that they continue to dedicate energy and resources to perfecting the electric car and making it mainstream.

I’ve heard a lot about Design Sponge, but never took the time to dig through their website until my sister forwarded me the link raving about it. Design Sponge is unlike any other design site I’ve seen.  It tracks mini trends (one of which pays tribute to our Ombre rugs), includes city design guides featuring great home decorating stores (plus good area eats), has inspiring before and after room transformation projects, features gourmet recipes, and (best of all for crafty people such as myself), it has a great Do-it-Yourself section.

The DIY section is filled with fun ideas to spruce up your home without spending a lot. For example, my bedroom door is constantly slamming shut since I opened up the windows this spring, so I’ve been meaning to get a doorstop for some time now. I’m glad that I waited, because the sailor’s knot doorstop is absolutely perfect — and the materials to make it cost less than $10.00. I’m not very experienced with knots, but that’s okay because they have video tutorials to help me out!

Sailor Knot Doorstop

Wine Bottle Cozy

Another one of my favorite projects is the wine bottle cozy (pictured above).  The step-by-step directions should be easy enough for even the most artistically challenged.  Impress your next dinner party hostess by presenting wine in this absolutely adorable and inexpensive gift.  I have a feeling a lot of my friends will be receiving these…

Another section that you do not want to miss is the new recipe section. From desserts to soups to sushi, they’ve got it all. I can’t wait to make the Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Hoisin Peanut Sauce …I’m getting hungry just looking at them.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I’m glad that I stumbled on this blog on Friday, so I can now spend the weekend crafting home goods, whipping up new dishes in the kitchen, and redecorating my bedroom so it is worthy of Design Sponge’s before and after section…