House & Garden Magazine

House & Garden

 

by Dorothy Parker, Wednesday, August 23, 2006

 

UNLIKE ITS fashion sisterhood at Conde Nast, (the latest Vogue actually weighs in at 4 pounds) the September issue of House & Garden is entirely portable, no door stopper. Still, it's thicker than usual, and boasts a purple and gold cover promoting ''Exotic Luxury and Global Style.''

 

I guess we can thank a variety of upscale furnishings advertisers for the added plump. So I was absolutely gobsmacked to read Editor Dominique Browning's letter about ''smartsizing.'' Hey, you're an editor in chief--practically a publisher! How can you possibly make fun of rich people and their vulgar habits? She does, though, in an amazingly straightforward and honest way.

 

Beyond mere McMansions, what Browning's addressing is the penchant toward the 27,000-square-foot houses in the new ''feudal Connecticut'' in which ''there are dressing rooms, spas... elaborate gymnasiums complete with climbing walls, swimming pools, tennis courts, their own skating rinks... carousels... putting greens... Perhaps every generation of wealth addresses the same question: How much is too much?''

 

As the inhabitant of a two-bedroom apartment in New York City that could probably fit inside Mrs. McMansion's infinity tub (her husband's is separate), I could not agree more.

 

Browning's concept of smartsizing means that ''people need different dwellings at different stages of their lives. It means that thinking trumps showing off.''

 

I'm sure it has not eluded Browning that the need for supersizing and ''showing off'' is exactly why many of her readers pick up the magazine, not to mention what allows her high-end advertisers to stay in business.

 

So are the advertisers apoplectic? Probably not. Because as I thought about it, I realized that the rich are different from you or me: someone like Laurie David (wife of Larry David of "Curb Your Enthusiasm") is introduced with a straight face as a ''contributing editor committed to eco-conscious living.'' (Never mind the house in L.A., and the lavish spread in Martha's Vineyard, and the inevitable private plane trips between them.) Such people think that other people's excesses are excessive, not their own. To be honest, though, the issue promotes a higher level of domestic hypocrisy: why can't we all just get along and be comfy?

 

And on to the show. The mixed message/straddling two worlds/high-low theme remains throughout. On the ''Fabric Obsession'' page, the editors "imagined a decadent study fit for Anna Freud,'' complete with a $5,100 white leather chaise.

 

The ''Vanity'' page, which purports to talk about the reemergence of '80s style, is little more than an ad for Chanel.

 

Less disappointing is the ''Things We Love'' section. I indeed love the 9' x 6' rug that spells out the letters in ''Shag''--although I wouldn't pay $8,995 for it.

 

For holier-than-thou-ers who make fun of other people's hypocrisy, here's the rub with this magazine: It's much more fun to look at ''an old Paris apartment with theatrical proportions and stunning 19th century details'' (it gets 10 pages) than slog through the article about buying energy-saving appliances (a real snooze.)

 

Don't hate me because I hate Jay McInerney. The now middle-aged author of the early '80s phenom, Bright Lights, BigCity, has for some time written the wine column (''Uncorked") for HG. He never ceases to offend, or to make it all about him. Honestly, I went into this column, about Ann Colgin's wines, with an open mind. But I could not get past the fourth line before he started describing Colgin as a ''babe'' and being jealous of her husband. Apparently, she has redefined the concept of Napa cabernet, but do we really need to know that Jay finds himself '' racing through a series of steep switchbacks up Pritchard Hill in Colgin's little Mercedes (my girlfriend, Anne, sitting in my lap.)'' P.S., reader, he married her, (an heiress) but that's another story. Meanwhile, by the end of the column, the now-hitched Jay writes that Colgin complains that her husband will only allow her to travel with carry-on bags. Here's his witty aside: ''Confidential to A.C.: I'd let you check as many pieces as you wished.'' It's enough to make you want to spit out your Syrah.

 

By contrast, a piece by Rick Moody, who has also taken his share of knocks among the literati, practically sings. He's vaguely embarrassed about the luck that allowed him to buy a summer place on Fisher's Island, where he now lives almost year-round, and has started gardening. He describes the precariousness of his new obsession: ''One year the tomatoes are unstoppable and the ladybugs swarm like they've been watching 'The Ten Commandments.' The next year your water bill is outrageous, the tomatoes all crack, but you have never had sugar snaps that tasted so fine. But it's failure that keeps you coming back.''

 

Rounding out the issue is a smart and incisive review of architect Cesar Pelli's new Minneapolis Library, and a piece on collecting exotic things, like snuff bottles.

 

After all, collecting ''turned ivories'' or ''American portrait miniatures'' does not require a home of at least 20,000 square feet--just the purse strings required to run one.

 

Magazine Rack for Wednesday, August 23, 2006: http://publications.mediapost.com/
 
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Research Reveals Money, Secrets And The Great Escape For Homeowners

Banking, Finance & Investment: A Quick Sale research reveals money, secrets and the great escape for homeowners

 

A Quick Sale research reveals money, secrets and the great escape for homeowners

 

A Quick Sale reveals that 1 in 10 homeowners in the UK have been in mortgage arrears in the past year, as further financial hardships loom.

 

[ClickPress, Tue Aug 22 2006] Having just been hit by a surprise interest rate rise by the Bank of England, 800,000 UK homeowners (a) are now faced with added pressure on their already overstretched finances, according to leading property purchasing company, A Quick Sale.

 

The new research (b) carried out by A Quick Sale has found that almost one in ten people in the UK have been in arrears with their mortgage payments in the past and could be facing repossession in the future.

 

The quarter-point rise in base rate, to 4.75 per cent, will cost UK homeowners collectively a massive £226,896,000 million (c), and is likely to increase the number of people in arrears in the coming months.

 

Richard Watters, A Quick Sale Managing Director, said: “Being in mortgage arrears is a more common problem than people think. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, in the first half of this year repossession figures were at their highest since 2001 standing at 8,140. This quarter-point rise will create real problems for those who are already finding it difficult to make their mortgage payments and we will more than likely see repossession orders increase as a result.”

 

To make matters worse, according to the research findings, over half (53%) of those struggling to make their mortgage payments are too embarrassed to admit that they are having problems to family and friends.

 

The A Quick Sale research also identified that:
- Over a third (35%) of Brits are struggling to manage their day-to-day finances
- Nearly half (42%) won’t discuss their finances with family and friends, with 22% actually lying to cover up their situation
- 17% have taken out secured loans in a bid to improve their financial situation
- One in five (20%) would never tell people if they had to sell their house due to their finances

 

Richard continued: “In addition to highlighting how many people across the UK struggle with their finances and mortgage payments, the research shows just how private people want their finances to remain. Many won’t even turn to their nearest and dearest for help and advice in times of crisis.

 

“At A Quick Sale we can provide a real solution to people facing eviction, but don’t want the outside world to know. Our sell-to-rent-back option allows customers to sell their homes and then rent them back for as long as required. Rental rates are set at market prices, allowing clients the peace-of-mind of staying in their home for as long as they want.

 

“Although we aren’t able to offer the full market value of the property, what we are able to do is stop repossession orders from going ahead, even on the day the bailiffs are due to arrive, enabling people to stay in their homes and begin to sort out their financial difficulties.”

 

A Quick Sale make a ‘trade offer’ for a persons home - which is usually 75% - 90% of the open-market value - and in return, offer a rapid, professional and trusted service to release equity with no added costs or fees.

 

There are no hidden charges - no survey fees are charged and the company will pay for solicitor’s fees up to £500.

 

A Quick Sale prides itself on being able to offer an open, honest service to its customers. Directors and franchisees know that the packages they can offer won’t be the right answer for many people and only offer a solution once all other alternatives have been explored, and if it is genuinely the best option for the client.

 

(a) Survey conducted by TNS (July 2006) using a nationally representative sample of 1,154 adults.
(b) 11.6 million people in the UK have a mortgage. 7% of 11.6 million is 812,000.
(c) Based on the average mortgage of £115,000. A quarter percentage point rise in interest rates on a £115,000 standard variable rate mortgage would lead to an increase of £19.56 in monthly payments. £19.56 x 11.6 million mortgage holders = £226,896,000

 

Notes to Editors:
For further media information, please contact Viccy Hodson, Diane Roskell or Katy Conway at Ptarmigan Consultants on 0113 242 1155 or email viccy@ptarmiganpr.co.uk / diane@ptarmiganpr.co.uk / katy@ptarmiganpr.co.uk

 

Company: A Quick Sale
Contact Name: samqam
Contact Email: samqam@googlemail.com
Contact Phone: 01315612251

Another New Site Offers Unique Gifts and Home Decor

 

Unique Gifts, Home Decor Found on New Site, CelebrateYourself.com

A new site offers unique gifts and home décor while furthering its mission to encourage people to love themselves and others. It’s something people the world over struggle with on a daily basis and never master: the notion of truly loving and celebrating oneself. So many people don’t know how to truly accept and love who they are, and life coach Star Gordon knew something needed to be done. So she took action and launched a unique online shop and creative community dedicated to helping people, CelebrateYourself.com.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 22, 2006 – Today’s launch of CelebrateYourself, a revolutionary website, online store and community offering unique gifts and home décor, empowers individuals the world over to do something many of them have difficulty doing. CelebrateYourself is an online store and community dedicated to encouraging individuals to explore their creativity to celebrate who they really are, and celebrate the individuality of others.

CelebrateYourself inspires people to take their own self-exploration journey via its vibrant shop and online community and through the motivational articles published on its website. Visitors to the website is able to easily explore the CelebrateYourself online shop, where they can purchase handcrafted, high quality, unique and beautiful items including limited edition home décor and lifestyle accessories, distinctive scented candles, beautifully handmade leather journals, handmade paper stationery, scrapbook albums, handmade fashion jewelry, ceramics, pottery, wall art and other specialty accessories. Each item within the store is lovingly handcrafted by highly talented, creative artisans who collaborate with the CelebrateYourself team to create distinctive items, most of which are exclusive to the CelebrateYourself.com store, making them unique gifts for friends and family.

Founder, IT Professional, Life and Creative Coach, Star Gordon first developed the concept behind CelebrateYourself in November 2002. The new website combines e-commerce technology with a vibrant, creative community of likeminded individuals who appreciate who they are, and feed their eclectic and demanding tastes for high quality products by offering unique gifts and home décor.

“Our new website combines my social goals with an online store, where one can purchase high quality, beautiful products,” says Ms Gordon. “In designing and creating our quality handmade products, we work with talented artisans to express their own creativity and individual workmanship, and customers who purchase our items validate the creative individuality of that artisan and designer.”

The artisans and designers who work with the CelebrateYourself team hail from all over the world, and most of them live in the world’s poorest and sometimes catastrophic countries. CelebrateYourself bypasses the lure of cheaper mass production in lieu of top quality, hard-to-find products and workmanship, to help these individuals benefit from their creative skill sets to bring economic stability to their life and family, whilst also helping them to improve the quality of life within their communities.

“This website is a place to celebrate the individuality of you, and also the individuality of others, one product at a time,” says Ms Gordon. “It’s a philosophy we want to share with as many people as we can!”

About CelebrateYourself:
CelebrateYourself is a NYC-based retailer and online community where people can celebrate their individuality and that of others. The company sells a variety of items imported from economically challenged countries through their online store. CelebrateYourself online store offers a hand-picked selection of lifestyle accessories, home décor and unique gifts. The company favors natural, exotic and recycled materials such as rattan, wood, aluminum metal, leather and handcrafted paper. Most of the items are created in collaboration with artisans who are enriched both mentally and economically by CelebrateYourself and its customers.

Contact:
Star Gordon, Founder
CelebrateYourself.com
(800-439-0402)
http://www.celebrateyourself.com

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Press Contact: Star T. Gordon
Company Name: PointStar Global LLC
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 800-439-0402 + 704
Website: http://www.celebrateyourself.com/

Mortgage Brokers Get New Marketing Tools

 

vLender.Com Launches New 'Demand Generation' Marketing Tools

vLender.Com has announced it has added another powerful tool to their ever growing arsenal of online web management utilities.

(PRWEB) August 17, 2006 -- vLender.Com has announced it has added another powerful tool to their ever growing arsenal of online web management utilities.

“The website is an important component of marketing and customer service for any mortgage originator and can be even more effective at lead generation by using these new tools.” Stated David Werner, vLender.Com’s President & CEO.

“Information is one of the most effective tools for website lead generation or what is now being called ‘Demand Generation’. The most important thing to focus on is identifying what really matters to your visitors, what problems you solve for them, what benefits can you offer and what resources are available to meet their needs – basically what your prospects are demanding.”

This new feature upgrade adds a new area to the already robust Virtual Lender® website home page called free mortgage information that lists several generalized “On Demand” reports for a mortgage company’s prospective borrowers. These reports are consumer friendly and contain information that will enhance their experience with the mortgage broker or banker and help install trust and confidence.

The company has also added a new area to the Virtual Lender® Business Process Manager (BPM) called “My Leads”. The My Leads area displays lead contact information and the lead Group type and gives loan originators access to lead management and sourcing tools while keeping track of how the lead was created.

For more information about this innovative utility and the many other features of the vLender.Com suite of products, visit http://www.vLender.Com

Contact:
Mortgage Internet Technologies, Inc.
321 N. Mall Dr. Building H
Saint George, Utah 84770
http://www.vLender.Com
888.505.6688

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Press Contact: David Werner
Company Name: MORTGAGE INTERNET TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 435-215-6107
Website: http://www.vlender.com

Private Mortgage Investing Book

New Book by Teri B. Clark: Private Mortgage Investing: How to Earn 12% or More on Your Savings, Investments, IRA Accounts, and Personal Equity

This new book by Teri B. Clark and published by Atlantic Publishing Company provides an alternate to investors who are tired of the lagging and volatile stock market.

Sanford, NC, July 26, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Private Mortgage Investing: How to Earn 12% or More on Your Savings, Investments, IRA Accounts, and Personal Equity: A Complete Resource Guide with 100s of Hints, Tips & Secrets from Experts Who Do It Every Day

In recent years, stock market investing has been proven unstable and not very rewarding. In fact, many people have seen their retirement and personal holding accounts dwindle. This new book by Atlantic Publishing Company provides an alternate to investors. They spent two years putting together this new guide which provides detailed information on how to put money to work in a relatively safe private mortgage investment with a high return of 12 to 15 percent (or more) in most cases.

Private mortgages have grown into a multi-billion-dollar industry. This market allows investors to earn substantially higher yields-while offering the security of real property to back the loan. Private mortgages have become an important fixed income vehicle for many investors with their personal funds, equity, and self-directed IRA accounts.

Private mortgage investing isn't for the get-rich-quick type of person. However, you can comfortably double your money every 4 to 6 years. For example, should you invest in your self-directed IRA and re-invest as notes pay off? $100,000 at 12 percent grows to over $200,000 in six years, to $500,000 in 13 years and to over $1 million in 19 years.

Private mortgage loans are backed by real property. Generally, you would not lend more than 55 percent on the value of the property, thus the investment is again relatively safe. Instead of concentrating on the borrower's credit history, private mortgage lenders concentrate their investment decisions on the real property itself. However, like any business or investment, there are a lot of details to learn, and you do not need to learn them on your own. Learning them on your own can be costly. In this economic environment of very low interest rates, you can still earn high yields with virtually little or no risk to your investment.

Take a moment to visit http://private-mortgage-investing.blogspot.com to learn more.

Contact: Teri B. Clark 919-776-9311
Author: Teri B. Clark & Matthew Stewart Tabacchi
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Company
1405 SW 6th Ave.
Ocala, FL 34474
ISBN 10: 0-910627-62-2
ISBN 13: 978-0910627-62-7
CIP: 2006012582
Pub Date: July 20, 2006
Binding: Soft Cover, Perfect Bound, Acid Free, Alkaline Free Paper
CD-ROM: No
Pages: 400
Retail Price: $29.95
Street Pub Date: July 20, 2006

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Contact Information

Teri B. Clark
919-776-9311
teribclark@gmail.com
private-mortgage-investing.blogspot.com
 

Replacement Values for Trees and Shrubs

Horticultural Assessments Provide Replacement Values for Trees and Shrubs

 

Horticultural Asset Management develops new product to help property owners protect their investments.

 

Raleigh, NC, July 18, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Doug Cowles, executive vice president and COO of Horticultural Asset Management, Inc. (HMI), has announced that the firm has developed a revolutionary system and process for property owners that accurately determines replacement values for their trees and shrubs. Previously these valuable assets were not accurately accounted for as part of a property’s value and subsequently have not been fully protected through homeowner insurance policies.

 

HMI has created a scientific assessment process, the Horticultural Scientific Standard (HS²™), which provides property owners with a detailed breakdown of the replacement valuations for each tree or shrub on a property. The replacement values are included in HMI’s Horticultural Assessment. The assessment also includes full color photographs and detailed care instructions and plant descriptions authored by renowned horticulturist Dr. Michael Dirr. As part of the assessment process, information is gathered by trained assessors who determine the types, sizes and general health of trees and shrubs on a property and then provide this information to HMI to be used in the generation of the comprehensive assessment.

 

“Many property owners may not know the value of their trees and shrubs. It is common for a single tree to cost $25,000, $50,000 or more to replace. That is a substantial amount of assets to have unprotected,” said Cowles. “It is our goal that through the use of our assessments, property owners can fully understand the total value of their property and have the ability to protect against or recover from a loss of any of these valuable assets.”

 

About Horticultural Asset Management, Inc. (HMI):
Horticultural Asset Management, Inc. provides revolutionary products and services that are utilized by green industry professionals as well as experts in the tax, insurance and real estate industries. HMI’s Horticultural Scientific Standard (HS²™) enables HMI Horticultural Assessments to provide accurate replacement costs for landscape assets. The replacement cost valuations provided in the HMI Horticultural Assessments can help property owners recover from the loss of landscape assets and they also provide valuable information to those purchasing properties. Also included in the HMI Horticultural Assessments is the Michael Dirr Plant Guide, written by renowned professor and author Dr. Michael Dirr. For more information or to view a sample HMI Horticultural Assessment please visit the Web site http://www.moneygrowsontrees.com or call 866-937-6468.

 

MMI Associates, Inc.
7406-H Chapel Hill Road
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 233-6600 • (919) 233-0300 (fax)
patty@mmimarketing.com

 

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Contact Information

 

Horticultural Asset Management
Patty Briguglio
9192336600
patty@mmimarketing.com

Real Estate Blog Platforms Offered By Real Estate Community

All-Inclusive Real Estate Community, Sellsius, Offers Blogging Systems’ Real Estate Blog Platforms as Add-On Option to Membership

 

Sellsius, an online real estate community, helps individuals interact and build trusting relationships with fellow members easing concerns when buying and selling real estate products and services.

 

Princeton Junction, NJ, July 19, 2006 --(PR.COM)-- Blogging Systems, LLC., the leading provider of blog services, announced today that its real estate blog platforms will be offered as an add-on option for Sellsius Community Members.

 

Sellsius is an all-inclusive, online real estate community where anyone can post unlimited, enhanced real estate listings including:

 

Businesses for Sale
Classified Ads
Jobs
Products or services
Professional profiles

 

“Sellsius is very excited to offer Blogging Systems’ industry-leading blog services,” said Joseph Ferrara, co-founder of Sellsius. “Our goal is to create an all-encompassing real estate website to serve our members who crave the most up-to-date and pertinent information that will help them to navigate through and succeed in the real estate industry.”

 

Blogging Systems’ blog service software, including its flagship software, Community Publisher, can help Sellsius members:

 

Generate Real Estate Leads
Increase Brand Awareness – Allowing prospects to gravitate toward a trusted brand
Gain a competitive advantage over other real estate professionals

 

“Blogging Systems is pleased to be a part of Sellsius’ vision to provide its members with a website to build relationships allowing for mutual trust between members whether they are exchanging information, products or services,” said Richard Nacht, CEO and co-founder of Blogging Systems. “Blogging Systems is equally excited to build relationships with Sellsius members and teach them about the unique real estate blog platforms we offer and how blogging is impacting the real estate industry.”

 

To learn more about Blogging Systems’ real estate blog platform, Community Publisher, visit: http://www.bloggingsystems.com/Promotions/gen-lp.asp

 

About Sellsius
Sellsius is an all inclusive Real Estate Community where, for $29.95 per year, anyone can post unlimited enhanced listings for any type of Real Estate, Businesses For Sale, or Classified Ad for related jobs, products or services, detailed professional profiles & more. If it's Real Estate Related, You Can Search, List & Compare It.

 

For more information about Sellsius, visit: http://sellsiusrealestate.com/

 

About Blogging Systems
Blogging Systems provides real estate blog platforms that produce a low-cost, high results tool for Community networking (both offline and on the internet), effective communication and collaboration, competitive marketing, sales and customer relations.

 

Blogging Systems provides turn-key Community blog networks which are the ultimate real estate marketing tool. Ours is a “soup to nuts” approach with experienced blog professionals who guide clients through the process step-by-step. Not only do we provide the most robust real estate blog platform on the market today, we back it up with training and technical support. Clients receive a turn-key system and the training and knowledge needed to use it as a complete real estate marketing system.

 

For more information about how to add a blog to your real estate marketing tools, visit: www.BloggingSystems.com or call: 800-985-BLOG (800-985-2564)

 

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Contact Information

 

Blogging Systems, LLC
Anna Kummet
952 400 0350
akummet@misukanisodden.com
www.bloggingsystems.com