Life & Style news

• How to Make Your Vacation Rental Appealing to Winter Guests

  03-12-2018 23:00
  With over 4 million short-term vacation rentals competing for bookings on sites like HomeAway and Airbnb, catching the eye of a great guest can be tough. Keep your vacation rental top of mind this winter by making it look like a cozy space for vacationers to rent. Make a few wintertime tweaks, update your listing and off you go!Warm up your decorYou don’t have to completely redecorate, but making a few adjustments can quickly add a wintry getaway feel to your Airbnb or HomeAway rental. Thi
  
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• Empty boxes top high-tech toys on doctor-recommended list

  03-12-2018 22:26 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Skip the costly electronic games and flashy digital gizmos. Pediatricians say the best toys for tots are old-fashioned hands-on playthings that young children can enjoy with parents — things like ...
  
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• Worn out: can fast fashion be sustainable?

  03-12-2018 18:35
  Sorting through a lifetime’s worth of clothes is a personal reminder that paying more doesn’t guarantee durability, as Dr Mark Sumner told MPsI recently spent a day clearing out my late mother’s wardrobe. It has been two years since she died so it was time to move on. There were four wardrobes and two chests of drawers – 10 black bags full of clothes for charity. And seven large boxes of other pieces that I will wear myself, give to family and friends and sell to raise mo
  
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• Goat yoga – the greatest of all time or a passing fad?

  03-12-2018 17:53
  It’s yoga, but not as you know it, with the animals used to calm participants and provide a few laughs along the wayWe have had anti-gravity yoga, laughter yoga and doga. Now goats are getting in on the action, too. The main difference between yoga and goat yoga: while you are holding your best downward dog, a goat might stand on your back. It is a growing trend that started in Oregon in the US, and has been embraced by celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian.Donna McCheyne, who has been teac
  
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• Yukon Gold potatoes are the gold standard for this gratin

  03-12-2018 17:28 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Potato gratin is a notoriously heavy side dish, laden with cream and gooey cheese. We wanted to shift the focus of this classic side dish to the potatoes.We chose Yukon ......
  
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• Crinkle cookies look pretty but can they taste better?

  03-12-2018 17:27 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Rolled in powdered sugar before baking, chocolate crinkle cookies (often called earthquakes) feature chocolaty fissures that break through the bright white surface during baking. While striking in appearance, these cookies ...
  
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• Old stale bread transforms into croutons that top this soup

  03-12-2018 17:13 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Don't throw out stale bread. Seriously, don't. Baguettes, sliced sandwich bread and even loaves of crusty white bread can be recycled into homemade croutons.Use a chef's knife to cut the ...
  
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• For a classic meatballs in marinara, turn to the multicooker

  03-12-2018 17:06 via winnipegfreepress.com
  It's hard to find anyone who doesn't love a bowl of spaghetti topped with meatballs and marinara, but stovetop versions are often messy (between the spattering oil from frying the ...
  
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• How to transform homey gingerbread into a stately layer cake

  03-12-2018 17:05 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Good gingerbread is dark and moist, with an intriguing hint of bitterness and a peppery finish. Usually it's a rustic square cake or maybe even an attractive Bundt, but it's ...
  
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• Killer sudoku 634

  03-12-2018 16:50
  Click here to access the print version.Normal sudoku rules apply, except the numbers in the cells contained within dotted lines add up to the figures in the corner. No number can be repeated within each shape formed by dotted lines. Continue reading...
  
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• Low prices make for slow alligator season in Louisiana

  03-12-2018 15:16 via winnipegfreepress.com
  NEW ORLEANS - Here's a fashion trend that's good news, if you're an alligator in Louisiana: Prices for skins are down to less than half what they were just five ......
  
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• Pot of gold: how the beauty industry fell for cannabis

  03-12-2018 15:00
  CBD oil is cropping up in an increasing number of high-end creams, oils and even mascaras – but not all derivatives of the plant are created equallyCannabis has enjoyed an image overhaul of which most politicians could only dream. Almost ten years ago, the drug was upgraded to Class B – yet today, bottles of cannabis-derived cannabidiol (CBD oil) can be bought in Holland & Barret for £19.99, with a few drops under the tongue being touted as a balm for insomnia, epilepsy and
  
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• Versace harks back to greatest hits with savvy New York show

  03-12-2018 14:46
  Newly US-owned brand unveils pre-autumn/winter looks with emphasis on accessoriesWhen Versace promised to take New York by storm this weekend, it probably didn’t mean it quite so literally. As rain and wind swept through Manhattan on Sunday evening, the brand staged its first ever show in the city at the Stock Exchange to celebrate its new status as an US-owned fashion house.Three months after Versace announced it had sold the company to Capri Holdings (formerly Michael Kors Holdings) for
  
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• Hong Kong's brilliant beach escapes

  03-12-2018 14:43
  Yoga retreats, unspoiled wilderness, seafood feasts and Insta-ready vistas are all within 60 minutes from the heart of town at Sai Kung and Repulse BayA new arrival to Hong Kong would be forgiven for thinking that the city is all Manhattan-style urban density. But the truth is that while the centre is crammed with activity, flawless beaches and a far more relaxed pace of life are less than an hour away. Here are two stunning beach destinations within spitting distance of central Hong Kong. Conti
  
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• Dutch court rejects man's request to be 20 years younger

  03-12-2018 14:41 via winnipegfreepress.com
  THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Dutch motivational speaker Emile Ratelband may feel like a 49-year-old but according to Dutch law he is still 69.A Dutch court on Monday rejected Ratelband's request ......
  
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• Male ballet dancer hopes to break stereotypes in Jordan

  03-12-2018 13:41
  When Rabee Shrouf put on his first pair of ballet shoes two years ago, he knew he had found his calling. The Jordanian's lifelong dream was to be on stage and as a ballet dancer in Amman, he wanted...
  
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• Thomasina Miers’ recipe for pork meatballs in tomato sauce | The Simple Fix

  03-12-2018 13:00
  A homely Florentine dish of pork and parsley meatballs with chickpeas and chard
  Countries with great cuisines lift cheap eating into an art form. The courgette flower tacos you can find on every Mexico City street corner are just a way to use up excess flowers. The same is true of inzimino, a Florentine dish using greens and sauce to bulk up the dearer ingredient – classically squid, but here pork meatballs. It is a homely, warming dish to add to your repertoire – and it’s easy
  
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• Rachel Roddy’s fettuccine with chicken liver ragù recipe | A Kitchen in Rome

  03-12-2018 13:00
  A chicken liver pasta sauce made with shallots, minced beef, sage and a dash of vermouthSome of my best cooking starts from leftovers. Last week it was the end of the garlicky greens – hardly more than a big mouthful, mixed with eggs for a frittata – and a teacup of stewed apple baked into a dense cake. There was also the leftover boiled potato and anchovy patties, and a revived sausage and broccoli pasta. Yesterday’s heroes were the last bit of savoury mince sitting mournfully
  
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• Crossword roundup: Why do we say 'Sweet Fanny Adams'?

  03-12-2018 11:37
  The topical and the historical, in our pick of the most interesting cryptic cluesAs we wonder whether the prime minister’s party (or indeed her Commons) will announce wilted confidence in her ability to fill some constitutionally vital post (or another), as we wonder what might happen next, and as we wonder whether the Queen’s Christmas message will involve more news about election dates than it usually does, Boatman imagines a timely editorial: Continue reading...
  
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• My wife and I have started swinging, but I struggle to get an erection

  03-12-2018 09:00
  Our sex life has always been amazing, and is now newly exciting. Is there anything I can do about my performance anxiety?My wife and I have been married for 28 years. We have two grownup children and now find ourselves empty nesters. Our sex life is amazing, and to add “salt on our margarita”, as we call it, we have entered into the swinging lifestyle. It is new and exciting, and although we do enjoy these activities, performance anxiety means I have trouble achieving an erection. Wh
  
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• What happens if I convert a help-to-buy Isa to a lifetime Isa?

  03-12-2018 08:00
  We want to buy a home costing more than £250,000 – the limit for help-to-buy outside LondonQ I set up a help-to-buy Isa before lifetime Isas became available. I never got round to switching from the help-to-buy Isa to a lifetime Isa because I didn’t think that we would have to pay more than £250,000 for a house. However, we are looking to buy in a different city where house prices mean that we are likely to go over the £250,000 limit. I know that with a lifetime Isa
  
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• We booked a hire car via Ryanair – but the firm's office was shut

  03-12-2018 08:00
  We added the rental when booking but it was only available the morning after we landedI think your readers should be aware of a problem on the Ryanair website. If you add a hire car to your booking there’s the danger that you’ll arrive at your destination only to find the car hire firm shut. I recently booked a Ryanair flight to Grenoble in France and, as it was convenient, I added car hire. The Ryanair website did all the work – took the same dates from the flight and added it
  
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• Seven ways to keep exercising in the cold, dark winter months

  03-12-2018 08:00
  From the right clothing and socialising to signing up to challenges and tracking your progress, here’s how to enjoy working out as the days continue to shortenWhether it is undertaking the NHS Couch to 5K plan or signing up to a marathon, having a goal can give shape and structure to an exercise routine. Whatever your motivation and fitness level, there are numerous events (many of them free) that you can enter. Continue reading...
  
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• Don’t be alarmed: there are many ways of getting out of bed | Arwa Mahdawi

  03-12-2018 08:00
  I had to overcome my addiction to the snooze button – luckily, there’s an app for thatThe day I decided to ruin my life started just like any other. I performed my sacred morning ritual of pressing the snooze button 14 to 25 times and mumbling “five more minutes” every five minutes. Then I finally got out of bed, two hours later than I was supposed to, ready to seize the day.That was when my long-suffering girlfriend put her foot down. “Arwa”, she said firmly,
  
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• Tough to put your best foot forward

  03-12-2018 07:33 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Just when I thought I knew everything, I learned something new about myself this past week.I’m not talking about a sudden flash of insight, wherein I discovered that my innermost ......
  
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• 10 great pubs, chosen by Santa and other Christmas workers

  03-12-2018 07:30
  From a turkey farmer to a choirmaster, we ask the people who help make Christmas special where they go for a festive pint or twoSarah Mitchell, assistant manager at the Churchill Arms, Britain’s ‘most festive pub’
  Every Christmas the Churchill is decorated with loads of Christmas trees and lights. In 2016 we got a lot of media coverage in the UK and abroad, so suddenly everyone was talking about us as the most festive pub in the country. This year we have 95 trees; inside the w
  
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• Top tot toys? Blocks and boxes backed over high-tech toys

  03-12-2018 06:27 via winnipegfreepress.com
  Skip the costly electronic games and flashy digital gizmos. Pediatricians say the best toys for tots are old-fashioned hands-on playthings that young children can enjoy with parents — things like ......
  
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