Kitchen Improvements: What Can We Do Ourselves?

Do you have look around your house and just get the urge to head for B&Q for a tub of paint, or fancy a change of tiles in the bathroom? There’s nothing worse than living in a home that’s looking a little bit drab and stagnant and breathing life into a room can really raise the spirits too. They don’t even need to be massive changes that cost a fortune either – adding a couple of shelves to a wall in your living room so that kid’s DVDs don’t clutter up the carpet or giving the hallway a fresh lick of paint are easy jobs that most people would be happy to get stuck into and will make your home seem fresh and revitalised. 

When it comes to the kitchen, there are plenty of improvements that we can do ourselves. As the heart of many homes, a kitchen should ooze light and airy vibes and after a while, the build-up of grease and grime will take away from this ideal. While major kitchen improvements such as replacing a boiler can cost a fortune, smaller jobs can be tackled with ease. Of course, make sure that your boiler is well looked after because the bill you could face if it died can be crippling. . With boiler care from British Gas, you can pay a monthly premium to benefit from the added peace of mind that boiler insurance provides, while many of the policies that British Gas offer also include an annual service our boiler will continue to work to its full capacity and your kitchen upgrades can be easy and affordable for longer. 

Other updates to the kitchen that could make it look like a completely different room, without forking out thousands for new units, include:

• Adding a lick of paint to the cupboard doors so that they look like new, but they aren’t. Crafty.
• You don’t even have to go this far – giving them a good clean and replacing the handles can do the world of good!
• Replacing tiles around the splash back or adding tile transfers sporadically for a splash of colour.
• Repainting the walls to brighten the room and adding a blind to the winter which compliments the new look.

Make your kitchen a delight to spend time in with budget-friendly renovations that will completely change the feeling of the room. 

Disclaimer. This post is bought to you with British Gas! 

The Vitus VEE1 and Chain Reaction Cycles customer Care.

A few of you know My bike is my car, my fast track from A to B. It's my wings.

When my GT's repairs became more of a money pit i was comtemplating replacing betsy, my GT has many amazing memories, including two balls of steel events, taking supplies to my partner while in hosptal, and taking my beautiful daughters on there special seat to school, the chiltern hills, or even better, falling asleep feeling safe to be with daddy.

Eventually i knew I had to plan to buy a new one, which stood out in many ways, but also for one word, VEE.

Meet the Vitus VEE1 

£235 from Chain Reaction Cycles,

Initial thoughts were wow. Less to go wrong, and works harder for less effort, 30mph on flat with no effort. She (the bike) handles differently to the GT but that's to be expected. Even if it provides the odd bout of shits and giggles thanks to the transition of fully working brakes and a single speed. Even overtaking lorries at high speed proves to be, at times an easy experience. Even if it leaves me wheezing more than my little netbook. In the next few weeks I will throw it off Bison Hill, Whipsnade to see how good the Kenda rubber holds the roads on twisties.(did i mention shits and giggles?)

Everything was going well until day 7 on where I heard a creaking noise from what i thought to be the pedals on day 7. No worries, i thought. Reviews stated the pedals were a tad rubbish, so i'll try a spare set......... Still creaking.... Funge. My bottom bracket is shot i panic, a tad miffed my litte trailblaizer is already maimed but at least I get to finally sample Chain Reaction Cycles customer service.

So, I called Chain Reaction Cycles for help.

The staff are more than willing to help, offering to pick it up and check it over for me, Parcelforce is arranged. Sorted, we both think...... Nothing. So, I call them back on wednesday to hear there was an error there end, so they will call me back. Sadly they did'nt call back. They did seem busy, and cockups can happen. On thursday they tell me it's arranged for friday pickup. Fine, it's going to be fixed, huzzah.

Friday came and the parcelforce guy refused it, the parcel was in a bad state, the box had been outdoors for a week before the fault emerged, which was disclosed to CRC. Keeping a huge box is not easy in a small flat.
the gent from parcelforce told me he would come back if he was allowed to take it, while i fix the issue for him, which I started in front of him. He didn't bother calling back, leaving a refusal on the note.

B this point i can't call the company to ask for advice as there line is closed. No worries. Call on monday feeling a bit wound up. They try again, nobody turns up at all. This point I was miffed, they (CRC staff) were miffed as they had paid for pickup's Despite Parcelforce giving them dispatch numbers and chasing it up the CRC team Decide it will be easier to get it sorted locally and refund us for the inconveinence. So, after all that my vee1 is now repaired, the local shop, Cycle Life Dunstable had it sorted for a lot less than other companies, and found the diagnosis as simple as components requiring tightening. Meaning it was fixed by school's out. And ready to transport Vee on the Vee 1 again with a lot more style than the Clunky GT.

True to CRC's word they have refunded the cost of the repair. (If i knew it would cost as little originally i would have got it fixed without calling them) and despite the one forgot callback, everything was handled perfectly well leaving us feeling more than happy to spend money with them in the future.

Thank you to all the CRC team, and to CycleLife Dunstable. You both rock with great customer service, and exceptional for servicing and warranty work. And for bikes choose either of them. They both rock.

Paul :)

30 Day Song Challenge - Day 5

Day five is a song that reminds me of someone.

This one is a special one for me, as it reminds me of the day's when mum was in Mount Vernon's cancer unit . Every time,without failure this song would always come on, just as we drove to the motorway. It was like a sign that despite all that was happening around us, all the traffic, and wanting to see mum, that everything was ok and Mum was being taken good care of. :)

Day Five - Beautiful South - Everybody's Talkin'

day 01 - your favourite song: Mansun - Legacy
day 02 - your least favourite song: Beatles - Strawberry Fields Forever

day 03 - a song that makes you happy: Green Day - Good riddance (time of your life)
day 04 - a song that makes you sad: Amazing grace.

day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone: Beautiful South - Everybody's Talkin'
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year