Antique Rugs - What You Need To Know

By Harve Jasper

Rugs can be ordinary, everyday home items that we tread on without a second thought. On the other hand, there are also rugs that are very valuable - antique rugs. The first examples that spring to mind when the phrase antique rug is mentioned are Oriental and Persian rugs. These rugs are certainly beautifully crafted, and they are often antiques, but they are not the only such rugs around.

Because antique rugs come from all around the world it's important to know what is out there an available.

First is the Persian Rug. This is the most common rugs used all around the world. Persia, now known as Iran, has quite a history in rugs, dating back 500 years B.C. at least. Because Persian Rugs is an important part of the Persia culture they take great pride in weaving them. It's even considered an art in creating a Persian Rug. You can recognize a Persian Rug but it vibrant colors and the sturdy fibers that help to create each masterpiece.

Oriental antique rugs are another rug that is popular for collectors. These rugs come from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, China, India, Nepal, and other places. The designs found on the rugs are unique and creative. They feature very soft fibers that last for years. The colors on an oriental rug allows them match with any dcor.

Antique Chinese rugs are another popular sought after rug to add to collections. These rugs are made of wool or silk pile that features a cotton backing. They are knotted densely and have a rough texture. If you want to find a unique Chinese rug you need to look for Ningxia region rugs or Baotau rugs. Both of these are very rare and extremely pricey.

If you are an antique rug collector you may be in search of the Anatolian Rugs. These are unique and extremely popular rugs that are well known among collectors. The colors on these rugs are bright which make it noticeable. You will have to pay a lot for an Anatolian Rug because of its value and popularity. These rugs come from what is known now as Turkey. Kars rugs are from the eastern section of Anatolia and they are completely different from other antique rugs from Anatolian. This is just one example of what is most popular. Kara rugs are very unique in the fact that they offer exceptional designs on their rugs. You can find dragons, polygons, geometrical shapes, and more. On Ladik rugs you can find beautiful tulips as well as bright happy colors.

Turkmen rugs that come from West Turkestan are hand knotted and flat weaved. One of the most popular rugs are the Turkmen prayer rugs.

Buying an antique rug is a great investment. Beware of imitation rugs that are sold by dealers and private sellers. Always obtain a certificate of authenticity when you purchase from a dealer.

If you are buying an antique rug for your home keep in mind that the fibers on an antique rug may not be strong enough to endure everyday wear. Keep antique rugs in a room that is not used with high traffic to preserve its beauty.

About the Author:

Discover where decorating with rugs experts do their shopping for rugs, and discover their favorite oriental style rugs.

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad and Barbecued Chicken

By Mike Jackson

Have you ever been to Hawaii and had their awesome Hawaiian Macaroni Salad? If not, don't worry, you can easily make it at home. Here is an easy recipe for Hawaiian Macaroni Salad:

Here are the ingredients you will need: 3 Cups Macaroni Pasta, 1/4 Cup (grated) Carrots, 1 Cup Mayonnaise, Black Pepper (to taste), Salt (to taste), 1/4 Cup Milk. Short list of ingredients, right?

Here are the directions you will follow for your delicious Hawaiian Mac Salad:

1. Cook your macaroni until tender (usually, 8-9 minutes), drain and rinse with cold water.

2. Add the grated carrots, mayonnaise, and milk until well coated. Salt & Pepper to taste. Use more mayonnaise if desired.

3. Chill in refrigerator, when ready to serve you may want to add more mayonnaise.

4. Tip: If you desire, you can add ham, peas, or boiled eggs.

Why stop with Hawaiian Macaroni Salad? Make some delicious Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken for an awesome picnic. Here is a simple recipe for Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken:

Ingredients: 1 12 ounce jar of Apricot Jam, 1 (8 oz.) bottle Kraft Russian Salad Dressing with Honey Russian Dressing, 1 envelop Onion Soup (Dry - Packaged), Whole Chicken.

Cooking Directions: Put the chicken pieces in a pyrex flat pan. Combine preserves, salad dressing and soup mix. Pour over chicken and bake at 300'F for 2 1/2 hours. Baste often during baking.

Great Picnic Tips:

1. Keep extra condiments from fast-food restaurants and drive-throughs in a drawer in your kitchen, just for use on picnics! It'll save a lot of room in your cooler or insulated food compartment and will be easiest once you are at the picnic site.

2. Help your thermos keep food cold or hot longer: For hot food, place the thermos in boiling water just long enough to heat it up well, then fill it (carefully - be sure to let it cool down enough to the touch so it won't burn your skin). For cold contents you could place it in the freezer, or in some ice before packing.

3. Recycle your plastic bags from the grocery store for use as garbage bags on picnics.

About the Author:

Delicious and awesome hawaiian macaroni salad recipe and great barbecued chicken recipe. Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.

Good Life Diet Can Solve Your Health Problems

By Sean Flynn

The good life diet isn?t something out of this world. It is just a set of simple calculated steps that can ensure that you live a fine life in great health and with excellent mental faculties. A good life diet is a diet that will be simple, effective and enable you to live life in a way that you find it enjoyable and stimulating.

A good life diet is not a crash diet. If you look for magical results or results without any effort at all, you need to look elsewhere. If you set yourself too high or too low a target, the good life diet will not work. Exercise goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. Ignoring either will compromise your fitness and you will see yourself piling on those extra pounds.

A good life diet should include proper planning. More often than not, we do not plan our meals and end up gorging where we should have eaten in moderation. The key to a good life diet is a great food plan. The plan should revolve around three square meals a day, interspersed with light and healthy snacks in order to keep the hunger pangs at bay.

The good life diet starts with a healthy breakfast. Cereals such as corn flakes are great for you. You can start your day with a cereal of your choice, not something with too much sugar though. Add to it an egg for protein, preferably not a fried one. Fresh fruits can offer your body more nutrients than almost anything else. Wash all of it down with some fresh juice or green or herbal tea, which is rich in antioxidants.

For the good life lunch, go natural as far as possible. Salads are extremely good for you and fill you up very well without harming your health. Take liberal amounts of salad along with brown bread and grilled chicken and the like. You can experiment with different salad dressings in order to bring variety into your meal and enjoy the good life diet to its fullest. Fresh fruits during or after lunch don?t hurt at all

For dinner as a good life diet, you can be liberal with yourself and choose a meal which is rich in proteins. Red meat, though not recommended, can be had once in a while. For seafood lovers, grilled fish can be a great option. Be sure to include lots of vegetables and a salad, even during dinner, is an absolute must. You should also make soups a part of your dinner along with brown bread. Soups can be a healthy and filling addition to the good life diet.

Snacking is where most of us consume the maximum amount of calories. Hence you should pay special attention to what you snack on. Try out healthy cereal bars instead of chocolate. Avoid fried and sweet food such as burger, doughnuts and the like. Snacking healthy goes a long way in keeping you on track with your good life diet.

Apart from a good life diet, exercise is also a necessary ingredient of healthy living. A proper fitness schedule goes a long way in maintaining the body balance.

The good life diet can be a revolution in your life. Remember, you do not need to starve or exercise like mad in order to get the best of the wealth that is health. A proper diet and a few minutes of daily workout is the what you need for a good life and you can go a long way in making your life beautiful and enjoyable.

About the Author:

About us: We can help you find a good life! Check out some of our other advice on life!

Candles: Wicked Delights

By Gizelle Bennit

It's interesting to note candles' play in history. Before Christmas trees were adorned by colorful ornaments, candles were already in the picture. The first Christmas tree only had candles as its decorations. For centuries, before the invention of electricity, candles were the source of light of every home. They were a necessity and have only become decorative materials when electricity was introduced. Candles may have a serious purpose of giving off light but they have fun variety in size, shape, pattern, design and even material as not all candles are made of wax. They are also an array of colors and candle containers such as bowls, decorative cans and jars.

Candles make nice accents but it requires more careful thought than you think. Some candles are fit for a certain space or backdrop, and specific candles suit only some particular decorative pieces. A popular classic look for candle pieces are the tall, wrought iron candelabras with short candles, usually in bright hues of green and red, or a simple shade of off-white. The candles' color will also depend on the color of the background. If you can't make up your mind with the best shade to use, white candles go with any furnishing and theme.

Decorating is not only for the eyes but for the sense of smell as well. Make use of scented candles and fill your place with aromas so rich and pleasing to the senses. Transform your home into a flower shop, the countryside or a fruit stand in an instant.

The size of the candles should complement the space. The bigger the space, the bigger the candles and vice-versa. This balances out the appearance of the room. One great idea in using smaller candles is to pair them with a nice holder or container. For instance, a simple fish bowl can be a centerpiece when spruced up with some water, decorative rocks and floating votives. Many spas utilize this kind of design for a serene and relaxing atmosphere.

There is no need to worry about finding your dream candle. Every department store, specialty shops, boutiques and online stores carry a candle line in their selection. Two brands you will always see are Yankee Candle and Glade, the most popular candle makers. Although Glade is a bit more expensive, both do give you your money's worth. So whether you scrimp or splurge, you'll definitely get the good stuff.

With the wide assortment to choose from, making your home and office look relaxing, romantic, warm, sophisticated, calm, or whatever image you envision can be done. Choosing the right color, design, container and scent will give your space your desired effects. Candles can also be paired with other decorative items like area rugs. There's no need to go to an expensive restaurant when you can have candlelight dinner with the luscious scent of the candles and the cozy feel of your area rug in the comforts of your home.

Once lit, candles are more than just pretty piece of art in your house they become beacons of light when the power goes out, or, as written above, when you want an evening of romance with your loved one, or when you want to celebrate a birthday. A caveat regarding candles; when lighting candles be careful. Try not to set fire to the family heirloom rug that you inherited from your Grandma Georgina.

About the Author:

Make the most of your Candles by ensuring the rest of your room is well decorated - start by brightening your floor with these shag area rugs.

Get Mississippi Cruise Critics To Help You Choose The Right Vacation

By Anthony Herbert

If you would like to go on a Mississippi cruise you will find that there are all kinds of opinions and recommendations on the subject, several of which come from professional cruise critics. These people are experts in comparing various cruises to each other and usually also have a regional focus, so they are your best source of expert opinion.

Professional critics explain all aspects of every Mississippi cruise. They talk about embarking onto the boat and of all the steps you have to go through to get that done. This information will not only give you an idea of how good a specific ship does at accomplishing the boarding. It will also tell you what to look forward to when it is your time to board a cruise ship.

Accommodation is one of the things that a Mississippi cruise critic would usually concentrate on a lot in its review of a multi-day cruise. Here you can find out about the spaciousness of the cabins, the quality of the bedding and the fittings of the bathrooms.

When looking for the opinion of a Mississippi cruise critic, it is usually useful to also read reviews that do not interest you directly, as this will allow you to compare and contrast different kinds of trips, and to find out what is considered normal no a river cruise.

One of the things that you will be able to glean from the review of a Mississippi cruise critic is the kind of tipping that is to be expected on a specific cruise. This is very much dependent on the level of luxury but there are other factors too, and reading a good review will allow you to avoid over-tipping.

A Mississippi cruise critic's comment may just make the difference between you choosing one of two comparable offers. One thing that you may want to watch out in the reviews are payment and cancellation terms, as these will be usually described and can vary a lot from trip to trip.

One thing you can be sure of is that the Mississippi cruise critics will give their assessments about their gastronomic experiences on the ship whether the fare is excellent or revolting. They will give examples of the kinds of foods they ate and how well it was arranged. They will also describe the furnishings and ambience of the dining rooms.

Mississippi cruise critics usually take some shoreline trips so they can write about them if for no other reason. They will let you know if the cruise ship has prearranged their excursions soundly.

You can appreciate from their reviews whether the shore excursions were fun for the critics. However, the critics will explain their reactions to the excursions in such a manner that you will be able to see if your estimation might differ.

Being highly experienced on the subject, a Mississippi cruise critic will also be able to give you pointers on the ship itself. Is it comfortable and well-appointed, or a re you about to board a leaky and humid vessel? This point is going to make a huge difference on the enjoyment of your Mississippi cruise.

About the Author:

More interesting stuff on Mississippi Cruise Critics and similar subjects is available at MississippiCruiseGuide.com. You will also be in the right place for all Mississippi Cruise Options queries and related matters. Click on a link now !

Tourists Traps At The Caribbean Holidays

By Edward Watkinson

The Caribbean is an area comprising the Caribbean Sea, its accompanying islands and the surrounding coastal areas. Located in the east of Central America, this region encompasses more than seven thousand islands, islets, cays, and reefs.

Some of the islands there, with a flat landscape and non-volcanic in origin, include Antigua, Barbados, Bonaire, and Saint Croix. The other islands, possessing a terrain of gigantic mountain ranges, include Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, and Cuba.

Caribbean islands are ideal places for spending holidays because of the beautiful beaches, amazing food, rich architectural landmarks, famous museums, and the hospitable attitude of the locals. The numerous stunning beaches in the Caribbean provide excellent opportunities for adventure loving people, such as scuba diving, yachting, jet skiing, etc.

Though, people willing to trip to the Caribbean islands for their holidays ought to be familiar with the tourist traps there. People who are planning to travel by ships should know that on majority of the ships, an extra gratuity of 15% is previously added when drink is being ordered. Majority of the persons visiting there for the foremost time are not aware of this piece of information, and sometimes pay tip to the bartender too.

Most of the ships are also known to charge for a bottle of soda, so it is advised that a soda card be bought on the day of embarking for the remaining days on cruise to avoid extra costs. Holidays on the Caribbean islands can be quite expensive so, it is better to save on the little expenditures that one can easily avoid. Money can be saved for the better part of the trip like hiring transport to travel between the different islands, and indulging in fine scrumptious cuisine.

Another big tourist trap is in the ports of the Caribbean island Jamaica. As soon as one gets off the ship, the locals there, carrying armloads of duty free products, surround you and push you to buy their products. These persistent sellers give Jamaica a bad reputation, as most of the products they sell are smoked, which is sad because it gives this gorgeous island a bad reputation. It is best to just decline their offers politely yet, in a firm manner and walk on.

Some other traveller traps in the islands of Caribbean are the hurricanes; the main hurricane striking islands are Saint Lucia and Martinique. Even if rarely happening, these hurricanes, such as The Dean, are very violent, and spoil possessions and exhibit a safety hazard to the pedestrians. It is advisable to check from a weather conditions predict plan prior to planning a holiday at the islands of Caribbean.

The islands of Caribbean also possess a danger of crime, like any other place on the earth. It is recommended that visitors exhibit a courteous behaviour towards locals if they require any sort of assistance, or just do what they have to do on their holiday, and stroll away.

About the Author:

Edward Watkinson is a travel guide. Discover more about the Caribbean islands and book Caribbean holidays online at his recommended website http://www.caribbeanconnection.com.

Halloween Scrapbook Paper

By Russ D. Edwards

There are plenty of things to take under consideration when you are hunting for Halloween scrapbook paper to make your ultimate Halloween scrapbook pages. Not only do you have to find the best place to purchase your Halloween scrapbook paper, you also must consider what the paper is made of and lots of other things. It isn't like you can just put your valuable footage on any old chunk of scrap paper. You would like Halloween scrapbook paper that will keep your footage safe and let your pages last for a few years to come.

First, of course, you may desire Halloween scrapbook paper in numerous colors that waken memories of the vacation. That suggests having black, orange, white, and even green. You may find Halloween scrapbook paper that has a background pattern with Halloween pictures and borders that may enhance your pictures and make the page look especially nice and festive.

Make sure that your Halloween scrapbook paper is acid-free. Regular paper has a certain amount of acid in it which will cause yellowing of photos and breakdown of them over a period of time. Acid-free paper will help deter that breakdown and keep your pages as well as your photographs just as nice as the day on which you created them.

You can find Halloween scrapbook paper in numerous places. Look in scrapbook stores, shops, discount stores, and office supply stores. You may also buy Halloween scrapbook paper online. There are online stores that sell it at a price that is frequently cheaper than what you can purchase it in a bricks and mortar store. E-bay is another great resource for Halloween scrapbook paper. For those of you living under a rock, e-bay is an online auction service where you place a bid for certain tons of paper and, if you win the auction, the seller will ship it to you. You could be nicely surprised at the selection you will find on e-bay and other auction sites like Yahoo Auctions.

What we found most surprising is that there are internets sites that you can go to that will permit you to download Halloween scrapbook paper that you can print out on your own home printer. A few things about this however must be indicated. First, you will need special acid-free paper for the explanations given above. Second, printing out on your color printer will probably take a lot of ink so you'll need to stock up on ink refill kits. Ultimately, after you printed your Halloween scrapbook paper, confirm it is completely dry before you start working with it or you'll get smudges.

About the Author:

Above is all I want to share with you about Halloween Costumes for Toddlers. But for more information, I would strongly recommend you to go to Halloween Costumes for Toddlers. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.

Overlooked Advantages of Shag Haircuts

By Suzan K Bishop

What's with the shag haircuts that we hear so much about these days? At times everyone seems to have some variation of the basic shag cut and loving every minute of it. Should you?

Should you take the time to delve into how a shag is defined you'd learn it's a choppy, uneven, all over the place look. One that's edgy, untamed, yet carefree and basically easy care.

So it seems a shag is by design a messy, layered haircut. Usually the layers are most pronounced around the face to help frame it and set it off. Bangs are optional but often present.

As you'd imagine choppy shag hair styles come in short, medium and long lengths. Each can be styled in a variety of ways providing a unique look which is in part what makes this style so appealing.

Now these days just what are the most popular options you have to choose from? Let's take a look.

To start with there's the easy care short shag. You'll find this spunky style offers hair that displays plenty of movement, body and texture.

Any list of shag cuts can't overlook the pixie shag. You may recall the "posh" style making the rounds in Hollywood a while back? A pixie shag can be totally personalized with bangs or by varying the length of the layers themselves.

Then you won't find a more versatile hairstyle than a medium shag. With this one you get the ability to vary the number and length of the layers and still have it look good. Opting for fewer layers gives you a style with a more defined look with the appearance of more volume. A medium shag makes it easy to create flattering hairstyles with choppy locks framing your face that includes side swept bangs and flicked ends.

A long shag sports fewer layers generally than it shorter cousins. Expect them to hit the bottom of your ears. Fewer layers are called for here because an excess gives an uneven look to this cut. It's a good choice for those with thick hair.

As you'd expect there are always new styles and the latest thing might be the shattered shag. It comes with long layers strands nearer the front for the illusion of length, uneven bangs and then shorts strands on the sides for control and easy care.

Good as all this sounds there are some caveats. Like if you are partial to twists, buns, braids and ponytails then a shag cut would likely not be for you. As obviously there isn't enough hair to do things like that.

I also need to mention that the growing out phase can be a bit of a pain. To help you through that you'll want plenty of hair accessories like clips, barrettes, bobby pins, and hair zings to keep your hair looking it's best.

Also any thought of a shag is out for those with frizzy or curly hair. Just too unmanageable.

Despite the minor drawbacks it's still easy to see why, given the carefree nature of a shag and it's versatility, so many love this look.

About the Author:

It is correct to say writer Suzan K Bishop is a bit of a hair hussie. She loves to write about things like short female haircuts, how to deal with dry, frizzy or damaged hair, and she shares all sorts of hair color ideas. For more visit FullerHeadofHair.com.