Blog Posts by Valerie Rains, Shine staff

Remember that episode of Sex and the City when Carrie attends a party in a fancy all-white apartment, and only clear liquids are served? Rest assured, no matter how clumsy (or easily inebriated) your guests are, you never have to resort to that extreme simply to keep your house clean. Just watch this video from Howcast about removing red wine stains from fabrics, and then go head and invite friends over without fear.

Photo Credit: Lightnupneon.comAs an artistic medium, neon has been largely (in my opinion) underused, although not neglected entirely. (See: Bruce Nauman.) I had already been planning to write a "Custom Work" post about neon pieces designed by the talented and creative folks over at Lite Brite neon, and then the other day, I noticed that one of my neighbors has blue neon house numbers above his/her door, and it seems like such a genius idea. (And cute!) Because I was trying not to appear stalker-ish or cat-burglar-ish while taking photos of it, my photos turned out pretty bad, but you can check out this picture, at left, from Light'n Up Neon to get the idea. They (and several other companies I found by doing an online search for "neon house numbers") offer a range of colors, sizes, and fonts; Light'n Up charges about $600 for production and installation of one set. Not cheap, but maybe worth it to get your food deliveries while they're still hot?

Comment Away: What do you think? Would you consider putting up neon

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesThose of us without gardens or window boxes rely heavily on cut flowers (and public parks) for our flower fixes, but wilted bloom after shedding leaf has left us wary of picking up a cheap bouquet from the corner store. Thank goodness for New York magazine's "Everything Guide to Flowers" in the June 2 issue: It gives best-case-scenario survival times for 11 types of flowers, along with specific tips for extending their shelf lives. (See Katie Charles' full article for those.) Here, a quick rundown of your best-bet blossoms:





Short-lived: Irises
Slightly longer: Gerbera daisies and tropical flowers like heliconia
A solid investment: Peonies, roses, lilies and flowering branches
Even better: Mums, carnations and gladiolas
The winner: Sexy, novel- and movie-inspiring orchids

Another flower-longevity tip I picked up from New York's excellent package comes from Kaija Helmetag's story about a deli-flower design face-off between even designer David Stark and artist Paula Hayes. Stark says,

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesIf your idea of conserving energy during the summer months is lying very, very still on a hammock for long periods of time, I hear you. But as the prices of pretty much everything in our lives keep going up (and our salaries don't), it pays to think about conserving energy in the home, too. Here are 7 easy ways to use, and thus pay for, less energy, courtesy of Brian Keane, President of Smartpower.org, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the use of clean energy.




1. Air-dry beach towels. Using a towel for 2 minutes to pat swimming pool water off your 8-year-old's body does not necessarily make it dirty. Think about whether a beach towel needs to be washed before you automatically dump it in the laundry, and if you do wash it, air dry the towel whenever possible. Beach towels are much thicker than regular towels and require a lot more energy to dry. Why not toss them over the porch railing to air out in the sun instead?

2. Take shorter showers. Studies show that the average teenager

Okay, so maybe the idea of needing a pencil sharpener on your desk is sort of antiquated, but I think it's nice to have something so basic (and even tactile) in a high-tech workspace. Plus, having a nice full cup of sharpened pencils in view might inspire you to practice your handwriting: You do still have to sign credit card receipts and thank you notes, after all.

Photo Credit: Rare DeviceThe "Pencilvilla" handheld that Anh-Minh posted last week reminds me of the incense holder from our Mother's Day gift roundup. It's such a charming, simple shape. $13 at Rare Device



















Photo Credit: Decor Craft/Giant RobotColorful robots hold the shavings in their heads. Enough said. $6 on Giant Robot





















Photo Credit: MoMA storeA slot for every size pencil makes me want to buy really tiny pencils. $6 from MoMAstore.org



















Photo Credit: quill.comThis dirt-cheap one reminds me simultaneously of pill bottles and Astro-pops. Good design is in the eye of the beholder? 99 cents from quill.com



















Photo Credit: Owlstuff.comYes, I'm indulging my owl fetish again. This one doubles as a paperweight. $4.25 on owlstuff.com















Comment Away: What office

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesHotel-white linens are incredibly appealing in, well, hotel rooms, where sheets are washed and pressed daily and the beds are made just so; in a less maid-equipped situation, however, they can be a little uninspiring. If you've ever brought home brand-new white sheets, put them on the bed, and then thought, "Oh....Huh..." then you know what I'm talking about. The whole room has to work with them in order to not look college dorm-y or bachelor pad-esque. Still, they're perfectly good sheets (or pillow cases, or curtains, or napkins, or whatever), and there's no reason you shouldn't still use them. The one-hour-or-less solution: Dye them another color. It's not that hard, and with the expert-certified tips I'm about to give you, your chances for success are vastly improved.

I can't tell you how many times I've gone to my sister's house-a fashion bigwig who is nevertheless very hands-on with the design process-on a weekend afternoon to find her rubber-gloved and elbows-deep in a pot of

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesAn episode of Nanny 911 aired last night in which the beleaguered mom of three (or was it four?) was unconsciously spending all her time cleaning in order to avoid her children, who were very clearly overwhelming her (hence: Nanny). Which led me to wonder if my house is a mess simply because I don't have any toddlers to distract myself from? I kid, I kid. Actually, it just reminded me that there's this pretty great contest going on for two more days on Maids.com; the grand prize is a year of free housecleaning. I have personally never used The Maids (remember that part about my house being a mess?), but they claim to be one of the "healthiest" cleaning services around, using "environmentally-preferred" cleaning products and sucking out allergens with HEPA-filter-equipped vacuums. If there's not a Maids in your area, it's still worth entering, because they're also giving away vacation packages and magazine subscriptions. (Presumably if you win magazine subscriptions instead of a

Photo Credit: Urban OutfittersThere are many reasons why a person should not eat lunch at the computer (or, god forbid, breakfast, lunch and dinner-although as a work-from-homer I am all too often guilty of just that). Still, it happens. Even if you're just eating Baked Lays while you read blogs-so it's not like you don't have any work/life balance or you're addicted to your job or you can't say no to the demands of others or anything, and you're really just having fun, it's still gross. You get crumbs in between the keys, and then you do your best to retrieve them using the sticky corners of post-it notes or you do a halfhearted upside-down shake of the keyboard and then move on. I have no idea if this mini USB-powered vacuum cleaner from Urban Outfitters actually works, but for $15, I might just have to try it. Has anyone out there given this little sucker (oh yes) a test run?
Thanks to Poppytalk for calling this item to my attention. It is worth a giggle if nothing else.










More cleaning tips and tricks on Shine: