In full bloom: fashionable fun at Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show

Petal patterns, purple paisleys and swirls of green leaves were in abundance at the annual Floral Fridays event

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At the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on Friday, flowers were in the air, on display and worn by thousands of people for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

“We’re celebrating gardens and flowers here,” says the show’s director, Trent Cornish, who created Floral Fridays. “Wearing florals makes you just feel fun and free. Like you don’t take yourself too seriously.” Attenders were invited to wear florals in exchange for discounts at the flower market and best-dressed prizes. “We want the audience to feel like they can dress up, create moments and take photos in front of the lavender,” he says.

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DIY Faux Easter Carrot Cake Decoration

If you love seasonal decor and enjoy crafting unique decorations, this DIY Faux Easter Carrot Cake Decoration from CraftBits is a must-try! This adorable craft looks just like a real carrot cake but is completely faux—making it a perfect long-lasting centerpiece for your Easter table, spring gatherings, or farmhouse-style decor.

This project is great for those who love whimsical holiday decorations without the mess of real food. Using simple materials, you’ll create a realistic-looking cake topped with faux frosting and charming decorative carrots. Whether you’re displaying it on a tiered tray, adding it to your kitchen decor, or using it as a fun conversation piece, this craft is sure to impress guests!

The best part? No baking required! Just a little creativity and some crafting magic, and you’ll have a sweet Easter-themed decoration that you can reuse year after year.

Ready to make your own faux carrot cake? Check out the full tutorial here! 

12 DIY Easter Topiary Trees

How To Make 15 DIY Easter Bunny Ornaments

How To Make 20 Last-Minute Easter Crafts to Make

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You’re probably not cleaning these 11 very germy spots

These often-overlooked places in your home can be hotbeds of germs, mold, yeast and pathogens. But once you know about them, cleaning them is easy.

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Create Adorable Easter Projects with This Easter Bunny Sublimation Design

If you’re looking for the perfect Easter-themed design for your crafting projects, this Easter Bunny Sublimation Bunny Silhouette from Victoria Creative on Design Bundles is a must-have! Whether you’re making custom t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, or festive home decor, this beautifully designed bunny silhouette is perfect for sublimation, heat transfer vinyl (HTV), and digital crafting.

With its high-quality resolution and versatile style, this design works for both modern and traditional Easter decor. Want to create a cute personalized Easter gift? Add a name or festive message to make your projects even more special!

Whether you’re a small business owner, a DIY crafter, or just love making seasonal decorations, this Easter Bunny design is a fantastic addition to your collection.

Ready to start crafting? Get the design here!

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Ever Wonder What Life on a Homestead is Really Like? RuthAnn Zimmerman Takes You Behind the Fence

The Heart of the Homestead by RuthAnn Zimmerman feels like sitting down with a friend who’s lived the homesteading life for years, sharing their most cherished memories, practical advice, and time-tested recipes. RuthAnn and her husband, Elvin, have built a life centered on family, faith, and self-sufficiency. This book offers a glimpse into that world—a lifestyle that many of us yearn for in our fast-paced, tech-driven society.

What I love about this book is RuthAnn’s down-to-earth approach to homesteading. It’s not about living in isolation or striving for perfection, but about embracing the everyday joys and challenges of a simpler life. Whether it’s tending to the garden, gathering eggs, or preparing a hearty meal from scratch, RuthAnn’s stories and reflections remind us that homesteading isn’t just about self-sufficiency, it’s about building a deeper connection with the land, our families, and ourselves.

The book’s format, which includes practical tips, heartfelt stories, and a variety of family-friendly recipes, is perfect for anyone wanting to embrace a more intentional and fulfilling way of life. From growing and preserving your own food to making time for quality family moments, RuthAnn invites us to slow down and appreciate the little things that often go unnoticed. It’s a book that encourages us to do more with less and be content with the bounty that comes from hard work, patience, and love.

I can’t recommend this enough, especially for those new to homesteading or anyone feeling overwhelmed by modern life. RuthAnn’s voice is so comforting and real—she’s like a seasoned homesteading mentor who reminds you that you don’t need to know it all, you just need to start where you are and take it one step at a time.

And as someone who’s dabbled in homesteading myself, I can tell you that this book will offer practical inspiration for everything from food preservation to fostering a family culture of togetherness. Plus, the recipes are a huge bonus! There’s something about simple, wholesome food that connects us back to the heart of what homesteading is all about.

If you’re looking for a book that feels like a warm hug and will inspire you to cultivate a life of simplicity and purpose, The Heart of the Homestead is definitely one to add to your collection. 

The Motherload of Home Canning Recipes

How To Make A Compost Bin For Homesteading

 

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The best online flower delivery services: seven favourites, freshly picked

Where to go for long-lasting, beautiful blooms, including sustainable, British-grown and same-day delivery options, for Mother’s Day

• The best Mother’s Day gifts: 68 thoughtful ideas for £50 and under

It’s easy to tie yourself in knots trying to find the perfect Mother’s Day gift – but I’m here to tell you that a decent bunch of blooms is still hard to beat. Take it from me – the very tired mum of three young children. All I really want is a long lie down (maybe for a year) – but I’d also happily take a bunch of flowers.

Flowers are a very convenient present, too. Many online flower delivery services offer same- or next-day delivery. And they cater for all tastes – from traditional and formal arrangements to more modern affairs. You can even opt for a subscription so the matriarch in your life gets flowers every month.

Best overall:
Marks & Spencer
_{£40 at M&S}

Best budget:
Scilly Flowers
_{£28.50 at Scilly Flowers}

Best subscription service:
Freddie’s Flowers
_{£41 at Freddie’s Flowers}

Best same-day flowers:
Interflora
_{£75 at Interflora}

Best letterbox flowers:
Bloom & Wild
_{£34 at Bloom & Wild}

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She’s new to the House. An early test? Finding a home.

Emily Randall is learning how to navigate the House of Representatives during a tense time for the federal government. She’s also setting up a new home.

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Your washing machine can clean a lot more than clothes

Here’s how to put this spring cleaning secret weapon to better use.

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Brushing up the past: a graceful French home has art at its heart

The couple behind interior design agency Maison MAVI have turned an old villa into an incredible showroom

When Marine Koprivnjak and Victor Chabaud, founders of interior design agency Maison MAVI, bought their home in the south of France in 2020, they wanted to renovate everything themselves in their spare time. “It was an adventure that lasted longer than expected,” Marine says.

They found the house online. It’s a 1920s villa in the centre of a small town the Luberon with countryside all around and Aix-en-Provence just 20 minutes away by car. It has two floors, covers a total of 130sqm, with a patio in front of the house and a simple room layout. “It’s practically the classic Provençal house with the facade painted in warm earth tones, white-framed windows and sage green shutters. It was irresistible,” says Marine. However, having been abandoned for around 20 years, it was run-down, the roof leaked and the small garden looked like a jungle.

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End the scourge of scatter cushions | Letters

The conspiracy to cover hotel beds and sofas so there is nowhere to sit or lie down ends here, says Marlene Godfrey

Full marks to Adrian Chiles (20 March) for starting the campaign to eliminate bedspreads and scatter cushions. I have been campaigning on this for many years. How much time have I wasted removing them from beds in hotels and rented accommodation and trying to find somewhere to put them?

Once a holiday cottage owner caught me at it and agreed with me, but said the local tourist authority would not give her four stars unless she had lots of cushions.

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

End the scourge of scatter cushions | Letters

The conspiracy to cover hotel beds and sofas so there is nowhere to sit or lie down ends here, says Marlene Godfrey

Full marks to Adrian Chiles (20 March) for starting the campaign to eliminate bedspreads and scatter cushions. I have been campaigning on this for many years. How much time have I wasted removing them from beds in hotels and rented accommodation and trying to find somewhere to put them?

Once a holiday cottage owner caught me at it and agreed with me, but said the local tourist authority would not give her four stars unless she had lots of cushions.

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* This article was originally published here

The best Mother’s Day gifts: 68 thoughtful ideas for £50 and under they’ll love

From a reading light to a gardening knife, a meditation cushion to a birthstone ring, these fun, and often useful, gifts tick every box

• The best flower delivery: seven favourites, freshly picked

Whether you’re 16 or 60, shopping for your own mum or someone else’s, Mother’s Day gifts needn’t be formulaic. In fact, we’d argue that they should be thoughtful, fun or useful (but possibly not too useful), or provide a moment of escape. There’s no worse gift than one bought out of obligation, unconsidered and, therefore, underused.

We hope this carefully curated guide of 68 presents will spark some ideas for the mothers in your life. Whether she’s in the first frazzle of parenthood, sitting on an empty nest, or anything in between, we’ve got Mother’s Day covered.

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How to buy a high-quality couch at (almost) any price point

Before investing in a sofa, you need to investigate the frame, cushions, springs and other construction elements.

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13 surprising ways to use your vacuum around the house

The vacuum is a spring cleaning secret weapon.

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‘My husband’s habits didn’t age well’: is bathroom divorce the key to a happy marriage?

His-and-hers bathrooms are the latest fad for disgruntled couples struggling to tolerate each other’s habits. But they don’t come cheap

Name: Bathroom divorce.

Age: New – although tensions may have been simmering for years …

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‘It brings you in and shelters you’: NHS creates ‘recovery gardens’ for staff and patients

Trusts work with the Royal Horticultural Society to create outdoor refuges for staff and patients

For Hayleigh Austin-Richards, it is a place to have a cry, breathe fresh air and remind herself there is something magical about butterflies. As often as she can, the ward manager of Chapel Allerton’s stroke rehabilitation unit in Leeds visits the hospital’s “Garden for Recovery”, originally created for the Chelsea Flower Show and installed last summer.

Austin-Richards’s job can be hectic and tough, and she sees people going through some of the worst moments of their lives. The garden is a refuge: “It’s quiet. The way it’s designed, it brings you in and shelters you in it. You feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere,” she said.

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I have a wood dining chair with a broken slat. Can I DIY the repair?

These step-by-step instructions can help you repair the chair, but be warned: It will be a challenging job.

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* This article was originally published here

I have a wood dining chair with a broken slat. Can I DIY the repair?

These step-by-step instructions can help you repair the chair, but be warned: It will be a challenging job.

* This article was originally published here

Don’t use newspaper to clean windows, and more cleaning myths debunked

Avoid these viral trends and outdated tips — there are better ways to clean.

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How to heal your home — and your heart — after a breakup

Six ways to take back your space after a breakup.

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You give your houseplant light and water — have you considered Brahms?

The science is far from settled on music’s effect on plants, but that hasn’t stopped streaming services from curating playlists for them.

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* This article was originally published here

You give your houseplant light and water — have you considered Brahms?

The science is far from settled on music’s effect on plants, but that hasn’t stopped streaming services from curating playlists for them.

* This article was originally published here

I’m looking to replace my wired smoke detectors. What are my options?

Upgrading wired smoke detectors with new units can provide homeowners with improved safety and convenience.

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* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

I’m looking to replace my wired smoke detectors. What are my options?

Upgrading wired smoke detectors with new units can provide homeowners with improved safety and convenience.

* This article was originally published here

* This article was originally published here

I’m looking to replace my wired smoke detectors. What are my options?

Upgrading wired smoke detectors with new units can provide homeowners with improved safety and convenience.

* This article was originally published here

How professional cleaners deal with their own mess

Cleaning pros share the secrets of how they keep their homes clean and organized, including daily tasks and bigger chores.

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