The way you decorate a room can bring new life to your home and redefine your style. Curtains for example are a great way to add the refreshing element to your home and having said that, they are inevitable for every home for safety and comfort reasons. Back in the 1960's our good old grandmothers had great tailoring skills and they would decorate their homes with hand made curtains and other upholstery in a jiffy; clearly, that's not the case now. Unfortunately, the prices of these curtains have also soared so high that as customers, we either end up buying half-heartedly, cursing ourselves for the money spent or we just walk away and compromise on a low quality curtain. How does one look for elegant curtains on sale? Before we answer this question, it is imperative to understand how one should choose curtains and not compromise at it! Curtains are a great option as a window covering in your home for a number of reasons, out of which two are the most crucial:

• Controls sound - If you have hardwood floors and tiles around your home then you know how much noise they make. The soft fabric of curtains absorbs some of this noise, creating a quieter home for you and your family.
• Energy savers - Do you want to be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer without battling to keep your utility bills low? Curtains may be the solution. They let in just the right amount of sun and have great insulation qualities.

Coming to the best curtain deals: Follow them online To get elegant curtains for sale, it is best to keep an eye on the most sought after websites that deal with home furnishings. www.touchofclass.com and www.dhgate.com are probably the most popular ones, with the latter claiming to be a wholesale dealer. Subscribe for their newsletters and offers. Follow their social media channels and stay as a loyal customer. Sometimes, these companies are known to handpick their loyal customers and offer special discounts. Newly opened stores Just at the wink of an eye, bunch of boutiques are inaugurated. Most of them extend inaugural offers which are far too attractive. It is also wise to capitalize on such situation because they tend to give a lot of importance to trendy designs with great customer care team. There's a huge possibility that they might put elegant curtains for sale. You never know. Mix and match it Have you always been eyeing those curtains that have the royal look and are out of your budget? Fret not! You can always buy different designs for home with the living room taking up your most preferred curtain and the other rooms slightly deviating in terms of design and looks but still within the concept. This helps you to have the best of both the worlds. Why not? You deserve it.

Swag valances are nothing, but draperies or curtains which cover up only the upper portion of the window. They look flawlessly amazing as they conceal the window rod or other part related to your window and makes it look graceful. There are various types of swag valances available, designed according to your sense of style. These come in a huge range of materials too. Choose any of the following types of valances to dress up your window. Scalloped valance: Scalloped Valance is a great choice to make your ordinary window look extraordinary with minimal efforts. Imagine a room with sober wall paints and a huge window covered with scalloped valances made of sophisticated printing material. You can also pair it with panels for more privacy. Make sure you use the right choice of panel material and print, which coordinates your valance. Ignore this if you want more sunlight in your room. These valances come in various designs and price ranges. Chenille Scalloped Valance: $12.10-$18.33 Layered Scalloped Valance: $14.89 Embroidered Scalloped Valance: $8.00 - $26.67 Scarf valance: As the name suggests, it is indeed an effortless look of a big scarf-like valance that hangs down from each side of the windows like panels. It is elegant to watch a window covered with such valances because nothing about it will make you feel old-fashioned or overdone. It is a plain simple window treatment that you can opt for in order to make your room look different. You can also play with this look when you want a change. Add some coordinating shades of rich colored scarves with this valance and create a new edition of the same kind of valance. Some of the style and price variations in this category include the following: Linen Scarf Window Valance: $6.00 High-Quality Hotel Scarf Valance: $6.00 Stitched and Hemmed Scarf Valance: $12.99 Balloon valance: This is a kind of dramatic style is perfectly designed for traditional houses. Balloon valances are usual valances, only with a tuft or balloon-like shirring at the top. It makes your room look gorgeous with those light fabrics in a balloon-like appearance. You can use the same color for both, the walls and the valances. This will give a dynamic monochrome effect. It is better to forgo panels here because this may disturb the original look sometimes. This has the following types of variations: Fringed Balloon Valance: $16.85 - $27.09 Burlap Natural Balloon Valance: $16.95 Check Balloon Valance: $16.95 Each of the types of valances has many more such modifications and their prices vary from design to design. So, choose the one that best suits your decor and budget and give your home a fresh makeover.

Blanching is a process in which a vegetable or fruit is scalded in boiling hot salt water, after which it is immersed in an ice cold bath to stop the cooking process. Blanching is done to mainly stop the enzymes from causing loss of flavor, texture or color of the said fruit or vegetable. Corn can be frozen in two distinct ways, without blanching and after blanching. How to freeze corn without blanching? There are two ways in which you can preserve corn without compromising the corn cob. Whole corn cob freeze: This process is by far the easiest way to freeze corn which does not require any blanching. Three steps to follow include shucking the corn, stuffing it in a nice freezer bag and just directly plop it in the freezer. While this might be the most time-saving method, simple to follow, there are a few drawbacks of flash freezing corn. It will be difficult to use the kernels which won't separate from the corn cob unless the entire cob is left to thaw at room temperature. Frozen kernels are difficult to extract from the cob which is why this time-saving method might end up costing you more time. Alternatives can be suggested to answer the question how to freeze corn using a technique which does not necessarily include a flash freeze. Unblanched frozen corn kernels: Kernels can be used in a variety of recipes which is why it is a good idea cut off the kernels from the cob, to be then frozen. An easy alternative as opposed to trying to remove frozen kernels from the frozen cob, which is why the process is effective when reversed. This not only retains the flavor but also keeps the texture and color of individual corn kernels intact to be used, whenever needed. How to freeze corn after blanching? The alternative way to freeze and preserve corn would be after it has been blanched. Corn which has not been blanched will taste raw, after being frozen and stored for a while. Cooked corn kernels however will taste fresh even after they have been frozen, which can be then used in salad and salsa recipes. This method will ensure delicious golden yellow kernels with just the right amount of crunch and taste. Both methods are debatable, each depending on the type of recipe. Blanching, cooking, cooling, and freezing might be a more time-consuming process, but the end product will be certainly worth the effort.

If you have a serious medical condition, you would know how important it is to be alert and cautious about what you eat and what you indulge in. But have you ever thought what would happen if you become unconscious and your friends who know about your condition aren't around you? That is a risk you should never agree to. So, the smart thing to do is always wear a medical alert bracelet. Medical alert bracelets are for medical emergencies, where the patient can convey his condition and correct treatment to the bystander who finds him or the paramedic through his wrist bracelet. Imagine the time that gets saved if the paramedics know exactly how to treat you, by just a quick glimpse at your medical alert bracelet. Read more to know what to keep in mind while you make a medical alert bracelet for yourself. The message engraved on the medical alert bracelets need to be short, concise and at the same time informative.Here are some tips for those who want to know what to engrave on their medical alert bracelets: The most important thing to mention is your illness or condition. Make sure to use a big font so that the first responders can read it easily. Add one emergency contact for them to notify. Mention your food or drug allergies so that the doctor keeps them in mind while he or she treats you. It is advisable to mention if you take any medication regularly to avoid a case of drug interaction. Since the traditional medical alert bracelets have limited space, use abbreviations to save space. You can simply write COPD instead of writing Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. You can also include your doctor's name in the bracelet. You can also add a short message like 'Check wallet' to direct the person to your purse or wallet where you carry your medical card with all your medical reports. The best thing to do is to ask your doctor what you should get engraved on your bracelet. You can usually engrave about 40 characters in medical alert bracelets, so think before you engrave. Today, you have so many options when it comes to choosing a bracelet. There are different shapes, sizes, and colors of bracelets to choose from for both men and women. So, pick a bracelet that suits your personal style and remember to wear it every day.

Our unhealthy lifestyle and our tendency to prefer junk food over the healthy ones have resulted in our falling into the traps laid down by the fast food joints which serves us with mouthwatering delicacies but yet fail us on the health grounds. You get a rude wake up call when you see you are out of breath after climbing ten steps or you cannot bend over properly to tie your shoelaces as your paunch hinders this activity. After much self- introspection you decide that you have been reckless about your health and you start exercising. However, unless your eating habits undergo changes, your weighing scale would not budge. In addition to healthy eating, why not try healthy drinking. Go easy on the beer for sometime and try some green drinks for a change. Your beer might give you a high but your green drinks would ensure perfect health for the rest of your life. But what exactly are green drinks and what is so special about these drinks? Well, green drinks or green smoothies are the new health drinks that are almost every health enthusiast's new best friend. Green drinks are your new detox drinks made of fresh green veggies which would flush off all the toxins from your body. The next question you pose would be why should I consume these green smoothies? Get ready to be surprised and read on.

• They help you lose weight. Well, that should be enough to start appreciating this drink. Since these drinks have vegetables for its source, they are high in fiber, low in carbohydrates and do not mess with your blood sugar levels if you are suffering from it.

• They are high in their calcium, potassium and magnesium content. They work wonders for your bones and does not contain high amount of sodium which inflicts irreparable damages.

• These drinks keep cancer at bay since they are rich in carotenoids. Broccoli, kale, spinach, collard greens, etc. are the ones that you would be turning into smoothies if you wish to be on guard and prevent the life-threatening disease.

• The the green veggies in these drinks are rich sources of vitamins A,D,C and the various antioxidants that your body needs in abundance to function and keep you healthy. Your dark leafy vegetable smoothie would also prevent blood clotting since it contains vitamin K

These  reasons must be quite enough to motivate you to make your own smoothie. Making green drinks isn't a herculean task and you can look up recipes for the same on the internet. Include these drinks in your menu now to start your journey towards a healthier tomorrow.

If you are planning to invest in a good headphone for yourself, you have before you a stunning array of headphones for you to choose from. Be it noise canceling headphones, wireless models, over the ear or earbuds you have in mind, the choices are just overwhelming. Given below are some simple guidelines that will help you pick the perfect headphone suitable for you in every sense of the word. Size: One of the primary things you need to decide is whether you want to go in for small or big headphones. Different ones have different uses like for relaxing or for working. Smaller models have excellent portability and are lightweight that makes it convenient to slide into your pockets. But the sound quality is not as good when compared to bigger ones. Larger headphones although bulkier, are excellent in sound quality and are ideal for home use. Design: Choose a model that will sync perfectly with what you are planning to use these headphones for. While over-the-ear models are ideal for use at home, they are too big to be used while traveling. If you plan on buying a headphone for some serious work or music listening, go for corded ones as they are found to be better rated compared to wireless models. Different Types: Choosing an ideal model of headphone is completely personal. It depends on how comfortable you are inserting earphones that get embedded into the ear canal or just plain earbuds that rest on the ear bowl. The various kinds include- On the ear: These models are quite light weight and do not put pressure on your head. They are available in both closed and open versions. However, the ear becomes hot with prolonged use. In the ear: The earbuds position themselves on the ear bowl are most commonly found coming free along with iPods and audio players that can be ported. These models can be inserted into the ear canal isolating outside sounds. Over the ear: They are available in two designs namely closed and open models. It depends on your preference what you would like to opt for. Wireless models: These have become very popular and make use of Bluetooth technology. Wireless models that are digitalized have been found to offer better performance. Noise reduction: These kinds of headphones are for people who want to cut outside noise completely and concentrate on working. There are various models of noise canceling headphones that you can browse before you make your final choice.