Christmas Light Trade-In at Home Depot
By CarrieW | November 4, 2011
Ho Ho Ho! Start your holiday season off with an energy-saving coupon when you recycle old lights at any Home Depot location. Through November 13 only, just bring in your old incandescent holiday light strings – even if they no longer work – and the Home Depot will recycle them for you. Even better, you’ll get a coupon toward the purchase of new LED lights.
Courtesy of freewebs.com
Coupons range from $3 – $5 depending on the new lights you select. You can choose from Home Accents Holiday LED Lights, Martha Stewart Living or GE Holiday LED Lights or EcoSmart or Light Show Holiday LED Lights. Whichever brand you choose, LED lights can last up to 12 holiday seasons and use about a tenth of the electricity that the incandescents do! This means you’ll save even more for years to come.
Find out more and print a coupon on the Home Depot website.
Need a few more reasons to choose LED lights for the holidays? According to Help Save Energy on freewebs.com,
- They use up to 95 percent less energy.
- They last up to 10 times longer.
- They are more durable with no filaments or glass bulbs to break.
- They produce very little heat, reducing the risk of fire.
So get those old lights out of the attic now and head to Home Depot. You don’t even need to untangle them first! That would even make Clark Griswald a happy man!
Topics: Atlanta-Georgia, Energy Savers, Holiday | No Comments »
Fall Back and Other Seasonal Reminders
By CarrieW | November 1, 2011
It might be the best day of the year – this Sunday, November 6, Daylight Saving Time ends. That means it’s also the day when you feel like you get to sleep an hour later. At 2 a.m. – or more likely when you go to bed Saturday night – remember to turn your clock back one hour. Daylight Saving Time started in the United States during WWI when the government created it to help save energy based on sunlight hours, and it became federal policy in 1966.
Each spring and fall the date you change your clock could also be your usual date to change the batteries in your smoke alarm and your air filter or filters. The US Fire Administration recommends testing your smoke alarm each month, but this life-saving device should require no additional maintenance other than changing the batteries.
Change those batteries every time you change your clock!
Once you have new batteries installed, go ahead and put in some new air filters. If your filter gets too clogged, your HVAC system will not work properly. Checking the MERV (minimum efficiency reporting value) rating when choosing a filter will allow you to compare filters across brands. A MERV rating between 7 and 13 can be nearly as effective as HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters according to the EPA. Turn off your system before you change the filter to make it easier. It only takes about a minute; so don’t put it off another second. You can learn more about filters from the EPA.
Now you can breathe better and sleep better!
Topics: Atlanta-Georgia | No Comments »
Fresh, Local … Farmers Markets!
By CarrieW | October 31, 2011
Looking for the best way to get fresh, local produce? Head to one of Atlanta’s many farmers markets! You can find them throughout the metro-area, especially during fall. There are several that are conveniently located for Monte Hewett homeowners too. Here’s a list of some of our favorites, but let us know if you like one that we’ve missed!
Fresh produce is just one of the wonderful things you'll find at a farmers market.
Piedmont Park Green Market - Piedmont Park
The Green Market is open every Saturday morning through December 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the 12th Street entrance gate of Piedmont Park. This beautifully situated market features locally grown produce, farm fresh meats, artisan cheeses, fresh cut flowers, baked goods, chef demos, music and even kids programming.
Morningside Farmers Market - 1393 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta
Open Saturdays from 8 until 11:30 a.m., this popular market has been going strong since 1995 and focuses exclusively on organic products. It also runs year round, so you can enjoy fresh organic produce during any season!
Piedmont Park and Morningside farmers markets are great for St. Charles residents!
Peachtree Road Farmers Market - Cathedral of St. Philip – 2744 Peachtree Road, NW, Atlanta
Founded in 2007, this is the largest producer-only market in metro Atlanta. With more than 70 vendors ranging from farmers to meat and dairy purveyors, and from chefs/prepared food specialists to artists, this market is the place to be on Saturday mornings! It’s open from April 9 to December 17, currently from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Great for Hillside at Chastain residents!
Farmers Atlanta Road Market (also known as FARM) - St. Benedicts Episcopal Church at the intersection of Atlanta Road and East West Connector
Held on Tuesdays from 4 to 8 p.m. (or until the vendors sell out), this is an open-air market featuring locally grown and produced food items. There are many farm vendors, bakers, picklers and more.
Marietta Square Farmers Market - 65 Church Street, Marietta
Held in historic Marietta Square through November on Saturday mornings from 9 to noon and on Sunday afternoons from 12:30 to 3, this market offers fresh, locally grown produce and garden products. Look for more than 60 vendors on Saturdays and 25 on Sundays.
Cobb International Farmers Market - 2350 Spring Rd. SE, Smyrna
This interior market is located just a mile from Cumberland Mall and is open every day (Monday – Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.). With a wide variety of ethnic ingredients and plenty of fruits, vegetables and seafood, locals know it as the place to go for things you can’t find anywhere else. There also a Chinese restaurant located inside.
FARM, Marietta Farmers Market and Cobb International Farmers Market are all great for West Village residents!
Dunwoody Green Market - 1551 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody (in Dunwoody Village near the post office)
In its fifth year, the Green Market is open through December on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. until noon. As a producer-only market, all of the vendors included make or grow what they sell. You’ll find fruits, veggies, honey, free-range eggs, meats and artisan products.
Great for Heatherton and The Vineyards residents!
Sandy Springs Farmers Market - 235 Sandy Springs Circle NW, Sandy Springs
Open Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. until November 19, the Sandy Springs Farmers Market includes fresh produce, plants, flowers and seasonal items like honey, jellies, local dairy products, fresh baked breads and grass-fed beef. Visitors enjoy onsite crepes and artisan pizzas with local ingredients as well as chef demos.
Great for Sandy Springs Village residents!
Brookhaven Farmers Market - 1441 Dresden Drive, Atlanta
Held through December on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind HAVEN and Valenza restaurants, this market provides healthy locally-produced food and products. You can check out the Weekly Market Update to stay current on special vendors coming to the market.
Great for Brookhaven Manor Townhomes residents!
Whether you are looking for local produce and al fresco weekend shopping or that hard-to-find ingredient, Atlanta-area farmers markets will have what you need and probably something you hadn’t even thought of yet too!
Topics: Atlanta-Georgia, Cobb County, Smyrna-Georgia, West Village-Georgia | No Comments »
How to Throw a Hollywood Halloween Party
By CarrieW | October 26, 2011
Are you tired of bobbing for apples and looking for a way to add excitement to your Halloween party this year? How about throwing a Halloween Hollywood Party that brings out the glam and the ghoul at the same time?
Award-winning Atlanta event designer William Fogler of WM Events explains how:
We’re talking Old Hollywood for this gruesome celebrity costume party- like OLD old Hollywood- like DEAD old Hollywood. Invite your closest friends and family to join your frightful fete by dressing up like their favorite dead celebrity, keeping in mind the way in which they actually kicked the bucket; it’ll be more fun if everyone stays in character!
Welcome guests to your home with a blood red carpet regal enough for Hollywood royalty, and creepy enough for an October 31st night. As they strut their zombie stuff, you can offer red paint for walk-of-fame handprints. Blood orange martini’s, severed lady fingers, and chocolate covered insects are perfect treats for an undead guest. They can also enjoy a spooky display of candy pills, candy rope, and sour candy arsenic with accompanying coffin gift bags for a Pick Your Poison Candy Bar.
Creepy treats like these "ladyfingers" will horrify and delight your guests!
Guests will have a blast acting out their celebrity deaths in a game of Creepy Charades. Or have a friend dressed up as a tabloid reporter interviews your visitors for some chilling coverage of the corpse crowd.
With the right makeup, food coloring, and red paint, you’re on the fast track to a murderous monster mash!
Topics: Atlanta Events, Atlanta-Georgia | No Comments »
Clean Those Gutters This Fall!
By CarrieW | October 24, 2011
Cleaning your gutters might be one of those home maintenance jobs you really don’t look forward to. Yet, it’s a very important task. If you don’t clean them out at least every spring and fall, debris will build up and trap water that could damage your roof and your foundation.
To make gutter cleaning easier, wait until a non-rainy day when the debris has dried. You will need to use a ladder and maybe an extension ladder, so be careful and contact a professional gutter cleaning service if you feel at all uncomfortable doing this job yourself.
Begin the job near the downspout and remove all large debris by hand. Then you can clean out the remaining debris with a hose. All of the water should flush out your downspout, and if it doesn’t, you might have a clog or your gutters might have shifted and are no longer at the proper angle. While cleaning your gutters, you may notice that some repairs are necessary too.
Getting the leaves and debris out of your gutters is important every fall.
Before deciding whether to do it yourself or call a pro, you can watch helpful videos about gutter cleaning and repairs on the Lowes website.
If you’re looking for a way around gutter cleaning, Gary Wade with Southern Windows & Siding recommends installing a gutter guard system. Gutter guards fit right on top of your existing gutters as long as they are in good shape, and they prevent leaves and debris from getting into your gutters in the first place. While debris is kept away, water is still able to drain through your downspout. There are many companies that can install gutter guards or offer D-I-Y kits like Gutter Glove, LeafGuard and Gutter Helmet.
So whether this is the year you install a gutter guard system or you would rather stick with seasonal cleanings, don’t forget to give those gutters some attention!
Topics: Atlanta-Georgia | No Comments »
