Tammie's Take~

#Pittsburgh Bachelorette Parties

Reviews · December 21, 2017

Are you in the midst of planning a bachelorette party in Pittsburgh? This special event is destined to become one of your most special memories, especially with the proper planning and organization beforehand. We’re here to go over some suggestions to make sure your celebration is as joyous as it can possibly be!

Get creative

One popular trend for bachelorette parties happens to be paint and wine instruction nights such as the ones found at Pinot’s Palette and Painting with a Twist. With these destinations, a talented artist guides you through the steps of painting a masterpiece while you sip on your favorite alcoholic beverage with your group. In the end, you’ll get to take your art home, and it serves as a great reminder of this milestone event.

Step out of the comfort zone

If your group is the type that is willing to open up their minds for the occasion, there are a ton activities for you to consider in this area! Head over to Verve 360 to participate in one of of their aerial yoga classes. It is worthy to note that if you plan on enjoying drinks, save the physical activities for beforehand.

Bar hop in style

There’s no better occasion for a bar hop than a Pittsburgh bachelorette party! There are well established favorites as well as newer destinations to freshen up your itinerary. Some of the most popular include Bar Frenchman, New Amsterdam, and Smallman Galley. Try checking out some information online to see what’s the best scene for you and your group of ladies!

Transportation

Even if you don’t plan on drinking during your bachelorette party, it’s a good idea to reserve transportation to ensure that the night is as efficient as possible! Think about it, it’s a hassle to order multiple Ubers through the night. You’ll definitely be able to check out more destinations during this period of time with a professional chauffeur along for the ride, as they have the best knowledge of the roads and where locals go to have fun. Be sure to think about reserving a PA Party Bus for the night!

Pittsburgh Limousine Bus

232 Taylor Street #2

Pittsburgh, PA 15224

(412) 385-4412

Spring projects to start planning now

Reviews · December 20, 2017

No sooner is the festive season behind us than thoughts turn to spring. Perhaps it is the slightly depressing sight of the home minus its Christmas decorations, or maybe it is the optimistic feeling that winter will soon be behind us, but most of us get that itchy feeling that we need a good project that will add functionality, beauty or value to the home – and hopefully all three.

So dust off your overalls and get your credit card at the ready – it’s time to visit mysafetysign.com and put up some “construction work underway” signs, because Spring is definitely in the air! Here are some ideas to get your creative juices running.

Rewire the electrics

If you own an older property, the chances are, you struggle to find enough power outlets for everyday needs in the modern technological world. These days, everything needs to be either plugged in constantly, or at least recharged with alarming regularity, and many homes are a mess of trailing sockets and extension cables.

These are a far from ideal solution, and can overload your system, presenting a fire risk as well as a trip hazard. A thorough rewire will make your home safer, and provide amazing convenience. These days, you can get socket outlets installed that also have USB fittings, making it easy to charge phones, tablets and the like.

While you are about it, get the consumer unit checked, and if it’s not up to snuff, replace it. This is an area where you really can’t cut corners, and at any rate, it is a good investment that will add to the value of your home if you decide to sell.

Add a conservatory

A conservatory makes a wonderful space to relax and enjoy the spring sunshine, even if the temperature is still low. It’s also a perfect place for entertaining guests all the year round – modern conservatories are far better insulated and more energy efficient than they used to be. Chances are, once it’s built, you will spend more time in there than in the family room!

Resurface the driveway

The freezing winter months take their toll on an asphalt drive, as does everyday wear and tear. Being the first thing that visitors see, a poorly maintained drive really lets the whole appearance of your home down. If yours is looking a little down at heel, spring is the perfect time to do it, as ideally, it needs moisture and warm, but not hot, temperatures, so look to get it booked now.

Incorporate some fresh colors

Over Christmas and new year, it was all about those snug, warm colors – deep reds, oranges and greens, for example. When you venture to the DIY store, get in some spring shades while you are in the paint aisle, ready to welcome in the new season. Pastels such as pale blues and yellows give the feeling of days out by the ocean, and remind us that those longer, warmer days will be back with us soon!

Everything you need to know about the papule in your skin!

Reviews · December 19, 2017

A clear skin has always been a reflection of your internal health. Most times, any kind of skin imperfection means that there is an inlying medical condition that you have to treat or that your skin is being exposed to damages and you need to work on extra protection. Papules and pustules are common forms of acne vulgaris or simply acne. There are basic differences in the look and treatment process for both. When you understand the problem with your skin exactly, treating it becomes easier.

What is a papule?

A papule is a skin inflammation or a bump that contains no fluid inside and pains when you touch it. This bump can be varying in size starting from a few millimeter to even a centimeter. The bigger the elevation is, the more does it pain and the more prominent does it look.

What causes papules?

Most times, if you have an oily skin tone, you easily get papules. The dead skin cells and dirt over your skin mix up with the excess oil/sebum secreted and this goes and clogs up the pores of the skin, especially over your face. With time, this clog gets infected resulting in papules, pustules and other kinds of black and whiteheads.

What should you not do?

Lots of people try and pop/squeeze their pimples, thinking it would disappear. Since papules are not filled with any visible liquid, this process not only is useless but also might result in permanent acne scars. The best way to treat papules is to find the right medication and to start using it.

Home remedies

A warm compress or a warm water pack helps with the pain and the level of inflammation. Make sure the compress is not very hot so that it burns your skin around. Drinking lots of water every day is proven to help clear out skin. Tomato is a great fruit to help reduce the intensity of papules. You can rub a slice of tomato over affected skin and let the juice soak in for 20-30 minutes. You can then wash off.

Medication

While home remedies help reduce the intensity of acne, you may want to check out papule treatment options to actually see quick results. For all types of acne, the faster you treat them, the quicker will they disappear. There are many external creams, ointments, and cleansers for mild to moderate forms of papules. For more severe forms, treatments like laser and chemical peel help.

Whatever treatment you start with, ensure you have a regular regime and do not give up half way through. Consume healthier food options, get regular exercise every day and try to work on your stress levels. Stress has been known to intensify acne. Always use an acne-friendly face wash twice a day.

Papules, with the right treatment, disappear without a trace. Make sure you work on the symptoms early and follow your doctor’s suggestions for quicker results.

Mistakes All Blogger Make

Reviews · December 18, 2017

There are over 440 million blogs on the internet. Two million posts are published every single day, by people all over the world. Blog niches exist in every subject imaginable, and even large businesses are adding blog sections to their websites as they’ve realized how effective they can be. Bloggers can build trusting relationships with their readers, which allows them to create successful businesses, and more people than ever are proudly listing “blogger” as their profession. A serious blogger can work with huge brands, meet celebrities, get to try some of the best products and earn serious cash.

Credit

In spite of this, new bloggers continue to make the same mistakes. Whether they want to blog as a hobby or turn it into a career, these mistakes can hold them back and hinder their progress. Let’s take a look at these errors and ways to avoid them if you are starting your own blog.

Thinking it’s Easy

This has got to be the number one mistake new bloggers make. They see others running successful blogs and getting great opportunities and assume it’s easy. They imagine that they are constantly getting approached by brands and that they get sent free things. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

These bloggers work for hours every day, writing, taking photographs, editing and publishing their work. They then spend even longer promoting the posts, growing their social media followings and giving the appearance of being online all of the time. To work with brands, they have to put themselves out there and pitch. To do this they need to find the right contacts and initiate relationships, and even then, they may find that most of their pitches are rejected or ignored. When a company send them a product to review, they have to put hours and hours of work into completing this review and claim the worth of the product as earnings on their tax return. Far from getting something for nothing.

The mistake of thinking that it’s easy sees up to 95% percent of bloggers give up within the first year, as soon as they realize that it’s not as simple as they thought.

Thinking People Will Read It

The second mistake, even for those that get past the idea that it’s easy, and are willing to put in the effort, is assuming that people will read what they write. They won’t. Without promotion, you may find that absolutely no one reads your content. Even with constant social media promotion, as well as finding other places, such as forums, to show off your work, you may find that the viewers trickle in and that most of them spend around 15 seconds on your site, without actually reading anything.

It takes time. Don’t stress over your stats. Write well, take your time, enjoy it and eventually, those numbers will start to increase.

Not Having The Right Help

When you first start your blog, you have to choose your platform. This determines how your blog will work, what you’ll need to do, and how much control you’ll have. You can migrate to another service later, but this can be tough, and you may lose some work and more readers. So, it’s a good idea to get it right in the first place. You could blog on Blogger or WordPress, build a website on Wix or start an ecommerce store with Shopify. Click here for more information about website builders, and try to think about what you hope to achieve with your blog and where you want to take it in the future before making your decision.

Not Creating a Brand

Many new bloggers spend the first year constantly changing their Logo, color scheme and theme if they choose one at all. This is one of the main reasons they struggle to grow; people just don’t know who they are. To be taken seriously and get remembered, you need to create an instantly recognizable brand, and it’s worth doing this at the very beginning. Spend some time thinking about how you want your site to look, make sure it fits your niche, style and writing voice and that it clearly defines you. If you struggle with the creative side of things, hire a freelancer to help you.

Writing Like Everyone Else

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It can be very hard to find your voice as a writer. Especially if it’s something that you’ve never done before. Bloggers often start out reading other blogs and trying to write like them. But, it’s important to realize that with millions of blogs, most things that you write, are already out there. What makes your blog different, and your content stand out, is you.

In Control of Your Home: How to Get Your DIY Career Under Way

Reviews · December 16, 2017

Everyone loves the idea of being handy at home DIY. If the sink is leaking, they want to be the one that fixes it. When it comes to redecorating the living room, they want it to be their handiwork that turns the room from drab to fab. Alas, there’s a reason why there are so many profession handypersons out there: most people are not able to do these tasks! If you’re one of these people, then don’t worry: just because you can’t do these tasks right now, that doesn’t mean they’ll be beyond your reach forever! Below, we take a look at how you can ease yourself into taking control of your DIY projects and, as a result, your home.

Source: Pexels.com

Shadow Helping Others

Later on down the line, you’ll come to understand that there isn’t all that much to DIY: anyone can do it! But to begin, you’ll have to spend some time in the DIY world, without any pressure on yourself. If you have friends and family who are completing their own projects, ask if you can shadow watch them, and have them talk you through the process of what they’re doing and why. There’s a wealth of information out there, and much of it lives in the heads of people we already know.

Learning to use the Tools

Of course, you can’t be an innocent bystander for your entire life. Eventually, you’ll need to get in the trenches and start helping out! If your friend that’s working on a project that involves tools, ask if they can show you how they work and when to use them. It can be intimidating to pick up a power tool for the first time, but it’ll be more straightforward if you’re picking up when you have an experienced handyperson next to you. Once you’re used to them, you’ll be able to start thinking about the own projects you can start.

Getting the Right Equipment

A worker is only as good as his or her tools, or so they say, and as a result, it’s important that you buy the ones that are right for you when you begin building your tool collection. If you don’t know where to start, take a look at Tool Nerds. There, you’ll find an overview of the tools that you’ll need to have, as well as advice on which ones will be the best for you to purchase. It’s crucial that you get the specific tool for a job because otherwise, you might find that it’s botched – and through no fault of your own.

Picking a Project

Now that you’ve got a grounding of the essential skills you’ll need and a set of tools at your disposal, it’s time to start thinking about getting your DIY career truly underway by tackling your first project. What this will be is up to you – and the needs of your house – but there is a word of warning: it’s essential that you start small. If you try to take on a project that’s too big, you’ll only end up in a confusing mess. Indeed, you may put yourself taking on any more projects before you’ve even completed your first one!

Online Resources and Other Help

Just because it’s called ‘Do it Yourself,’ that doesn’t mean you have to think of yourself as the complete handy person. There are many resources out there that can help you every step of the way during your project. Indeed, here’s a well-kept secret: a lot of the people who claim to brilliant at DIY projects actually get a lot of help from YouTube channels! This will be especially useful for you, a person in the early stages of DIY, as you’ll be able to walk along with someone else and will know pretty quickly if you’ve made a mistake.

Priority on Safety

You might be excited to get your hands on tools and start work, but remember that DIY projects, no matter how small, have the potential to be dangerous. And of course, this danger is only amplified when there are heights or powerful tools involved. As such, it’s important that you’re taking all the necessary safety precautions. Before using a tool, read up on the best practices. When you’re working in a room, make sure all obstacles and other hazards have been well cleared away. The rest is common sense: always keep an eye on safety!

More Ambitious Projects

It’s always important to think clearly about any major changes to your homes. It’s even more essential when you’re in charge of the task yourself! Some projects will have the potential to add value to your home, but some will actually make it harder to sell in the long run. As such, it’s worthwhile to look up the long-term effects of your project before you begin anything too ambitious.

Source: Pexels.com

Meticulous Planning

No matter if it’s the most DIY task or a more complicated project, arguably the most important step of the whole process will happen before you’ve even got to work. Everything is in the planning stages. Simply put, if you walk into a project with just a vague understanding of the result, you won’t end up with something you’re happy with. Make sure all your measurements are the like are watertight: it’ll be difficult to correct when you’re too deep!

How to Fix Errors

And talking of making mistakes: you are going to make them. Don’t worry, everyone makes mistakes in DIY, especially when they’re just starting out. If this happens, take a step back and assess the situation. Is it something that you can fix yourself, or will you need to get the professionals to help?

Smile on the Face

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that DIY isn’t supposed to be stressful, even though it can often like it. Try to have a relaxed attitude to the whole thing: it’s not that serious! Have fun, and you’ll be putting yourself under a lot less pressure to get everything right the first time.