Choosing the Perfect Sparkling Wine

Whether commemorating a special event such as a wedding or anniversary, celebrating a special birthday or congratulating on a new job, a bottle of champagne is a traditional gift.  But not everyone likes champagne so what other sparkling wines are available?

Understanding the sparkle

Sparkling wine is a wine that has bubbles and is carbonated.  It tends to be named by the region where it is produced – hence Champagne comes only from the Champagne region of France.  Being possessive of their name and brand, the French won’t allow any other sparkling wine to be called champagne, so hence a variety of names have come along as the appeal of sparkling wines spread.

Sparkling wine also comes in four levels of sweetness and the bottle will tell you what level it is.  At the top of the scale is the Extra-Brut – this is the dried kind of wine and is where the yeast in the process has completely consumed the sugar so there no hint of sweetness to the resulting drink.  Next up is Brut, the most commonly encountered and popular level.  This wine is dry with just a hint of sweetness as the yeast was stopped just before it ate all of the sugar.  Champagne is nearly always Brut.  Extra Dry is somewhere between Brut and Extra-Brut and Prosecco is the most well known variety.  Finally, Demi-sec is a sweet sparkling wine, usually drank with dessert as it has a noticeable amount of sugar in it.

Types of sparkling wine

Champagne isn’t the only sparkling wine from France as there is another type called Crement – basically this is champagne that is made in other parts of the country, normally Burgundy, Jura, Alsace and Loire to name a few.  It has near the quality of champagne but a less heavy price tag.

Prosecco has quickly become the popular alternative to champagne and comes from Italy, using the Glera grape.  It has a less complex flavour than champagne often said to have the flavours of white flowers, apple and pear in it.  It has become the favourite sparkling wine for parties and for gifts, with personalised labels being a great way to make a bottle a commemorative present as well as a tasty one.

Lambrusco is the other well known sparkling Italian wine and has become rather trendy in places like New York.  It is an off-dry sparkling red wine from Emilia Romagna that works well with Italian foods such as prosciutto and parmigiana reggiano.

Franciacorta is another sparkling wine from Italy, specifically from the Lombardy region.  It is very tasty though does tend to be expensive and is made with chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot blanc grapes.  The resulting wine tends to lack the zesty acid of champagne.

Cava is the Spanish sparkling wine, though at one time had a reputation of being less than the best.  Modern versions however, have changed this and are a good quality product that is widely available.  They also use the same methods as in champagne and some are aged even longer.  The main grapes used are Xarella, Parellada and Macabeo.

Sekt is any of Germany’s sparkling wines and some of these have come on a lot in recent years to be a good quality product, with Riesling Sekt being noted as one such variety.  It has the green apple and nectarine flavours of a Riesling with a sparkle as well.

Top Back to School Tips

It’s that time of the summer again, where parents look at the calendar and realise there are only a couple of weeks of the school holidays left.  Now is the time to start thinking about all those back to school matters and what you need to organise for their return to class.  It is also the time to start contemplating the first days of school for the new starters.

New starters

Some kids leap into their first day of school as if they had been going for years but for others, it is a scary time.  One tip to help them get ready for their first day of school is to get a personalised storybook that tells the tale of the first day and gets them ready for what to expect.  Now is a good time to get the book and read it in the days before that big first day to help them feel happier and more relaxed about it.  It also starts to arrange a bedtime routine that can continue once they are in school and means a set bedtime isn’t another new thing to adapt to.

Getting prepared

The weeks leading up to the new term are the best time to take stock of what you have and start a list of what you need.  The oldest kid in the household is bound to have outgrown their school uniform though their off-casts could be great for the younger kids or for the kids of family and friends.  Pre-loved is a great way to help out other parents or to find those items you are missing and lots of Mums websites such as Netmums will have notice boards to make swaps.  Some schools also sell second hand, good quality uniforms at a sensible price.

As well as their daily uniform, don’t forget the PE kit, even if the kids aren’t too enthusiastic about it.  From the swimming kit to the general sports gear and anything they need for special sports they are involved with all needs checking for condition and most importantly to ensure it still fits!

New terms are an ideal time to stock up on some new stationary and a quiet bribe for the kids.  A new bag or rucksack, a new pencil case and associated stationary is a great way to get them a little more excited about returning to school.  A new lunchbox may be needed too, as last year’s is likely too ‘young’ for them now or doesn’t have the current trendy group or character on them.

Planning ahead

As the winter ranges are hitting the shops in the next few weeks, it can also be a good time to do an inventory of their winter gear to see how they stand.  While the last few winters haven’t been too severe in the snow front, a good winters coat and boots are better to have and not need than the other way around.  Plus many kids love a new woolly scarf and hat for when the frosts come and a raincoat will doubtless be needed at some point, especially if the summer is anything to go by!

How to Use Cushions to Decorate a Room

Most of us have cushions in our living rooms and sometimes in the bedrooms and they can be a real decorative feature or a real pain.  Getting the most from cushions seems to be a bit of a challenge but there are some goodtips to help you conquer the cushion and successfully use them to decorate a room and here are a few.

Colour and pattern

The first tip is that if your sofa or chair comes with matching cushions, toss them into the nearest charity shop.  Cushions should add colour, pattern and texture to a room but if they are the same colour or pattern as the sofa, all they are doing is taking up room.  They will merely spoil the line of the sofa and blend in pointlessly.

The next tip to picking cushions is about your colour palette and is probably the most important point.  The choice of colour for your cushions is far more important than the material they are made from, their size or shape.  You need to look at the existing elements in the room – the walls, the artwork, the patterns on the curtains and the furniture – all of which come with colour and pattern.  The tip to choosing the colour of the cushions is to go for something that ties all those elements together.  Firstly, the colour you pick should already be in the room – it could be the colour of the curtains, in one of the paintings or an ornament, even in the pattern of the sofa.  Secondly, it must coordinate with the other colours in the room.  If you are unsure about the colours, there are some great online colour swatch websites to use that will help out.

How many cushions?

How many cushions to add to a room depends on the overall style of the room.  if your is a traditional style room with deep colours, then go for an even number of cushions, say two per sofa or four.  For a modern room or one aiming for an eclectic look, then go for an odd number, say three per sofa or five.  Of course, this isn’t set in stone but an idea based on other’s experiences.

Another way to look at the number of cushions is by the number of seats on the sofa.  For example, a three-seater sofa can adequately accommodate five cushions and a two seater can work with up to four cushions but on a single seater, one cushion is probably the best.

Picking the cushion

So now, you have the colour or colours that will work in the room and the number of cushions you want.  So off to the shops you can go or hit the internet.  You can see what patterns you can add to the mix and even consider a special personalisedcushion for the single seat chair in the room.  This might commemorate a special event in your history or just be something a little fun.  Even piled among the coloured cushions, this special one can form a harmonious partnership.

Top Wall Decorating Ideas

At one time, decorating the walls of your house came down to two simple choices – paint it or put some wallpaper up.  Once you had chosen one of these, then it would be a case of hanging a picture or a mirror and that was the room finished.  While there’s nothing wrong with this, there are now plenty of modern additions to the list to vary your walls.  Here are some top wall decorating ideas.

Texture

Using textured wallpaper was once the best way to give the walls of your room the appearance of texture.  But if you have nice newly plastered walls, then this seems a bit of a waste.  However, there are surprisingly simple ways to bring a look of texture with painted walls.  One such idea is to take a new broom – think witch’s broomstick style – and spread the bristles out.  After the paint has been applied to the wall and is still wet, drag the broom down through the paint gently to create a wood grained effect.

You can add the illusion of texture by using a patterned roller too.  These come in a range of patterns and are often found in craft shops as well as DIY specialists.  These apply the paint in a pattern creating the effect of a wallpaper without the mess and trouble of actually wallpapering.

Wall decoration

Adding your own decorations straight to the wall is another big trend that has so many variations there is one suitable for every room.  In the kids’ bedroom, you can let them loose to make their own patterns or embellishments to a plain wall or you can do it for them if you have a bit of artistic streak.

Another alternative for all parts of the house is the use of wall art.  These are special wall vinyls that can be applied to a painted wall and bring a personalised effect to the room.  For example, if you have a little princess, then a wall art ‘For Our Princess’ and her name is a great way to make her dream room.  The same type of wall art can be used in the master bedroom, commemorating a wedding anniversary or other special date and even in the kitchen.

Embellishing walls

Anyone familiar with making their own cards will know about embellishments but you can now get them in room-sized versions.  One such example are butterflies made from paper that vary in size and colour.  Arrange the flock into a heart or other shape on the wall for a 3D effect that is truly unique.  You can even make your own with card, a few templates and a nice sharp pair of scissors, so a great job to keep the kids occupied on a rainy day.

Even something as simple as adding a polka dot pattern can be done by cutting a template full of circles.  Hold this against the wall and paint the holes with a contrasting shade to the wall for a bright and cheerful pattern that is great for bathrooms and kitchens.