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Today we have a giveaway from The Vintage Pearl ~ creators of simple, unique, sentimental, custom handstamped necklaces, bracelets & other keepsakes.

Have a special date or occasion that you would like to create a one-of-a-kind gift for?  The Vintage Pearl would love to help.  They handcraft each item in their studio.

The Vintage Pearl will be giving away FOUR $50 Gift Certificates.  To enter, simply leave a comment below.  For a second entry, you can LIKE The Vintage Pearl Facebook page and come back here and leave another comment telling us you liked them.

Good luck! Contest closes Monday, November 14 at midnight {EST}.

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John Evelyn’s garden superimposed on plans of the Convoys Wharf site in the seventeenth century, the nineteenth century and, one hopes not, the twentyfirst century

Steen Eiler Rasmussen concluded the second edition of his brilliant book London: the Unique City with these prophetic words: Thus the foolish mistakes of other countries are imported everywhere, and at the end of a few years all cities will be equally ugly and equally devoid of individuality. This is the bitter END. So what would he think of the Hutchison Whampoa Master Plan for Convoys Wharf? He would detest it, utterly. The architects are Aedas, who claim that We provide international expertise with innate knowledge and understanding of local cultures. Read more…

Recently I spotted these amazing dark bookcases that interior designer Keith Irvine used in a home. The New York Times summarized Irvines design style nicely by saying ..easy way with traditional English style, which he always seasoned with a bit of French. Eclectic and spontaneous. I

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Serving a flavourful, bright orange fall soup in a pumpkin is the perfect way to embrace autumn’s bountiful harvest

Ingredients

• 1 pumpkin, to use as a serving bowl

• 1 medium-sized sweet potato
• 
Olive oil
• 
1/4 tsp of dried oregano

• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 
1/4 cup of minced onions

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 
2 sprigs of thyme, leaves taken off the stem and finely minced
• 
1 1/2 to 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• 
1-1/2 cups of pumpkin puree
• 
1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 
1 spoonful of ricotta per person




Preheat your oven to 375°F. Remove the top of the pumpkin you will be using as a serving bowl, and remove all seeds and flesh using the back of a spoon.

Place the pumpkin upside-down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or

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Festive season is on its full bloom! Almost every retailer is offering huge discounts to its customers. One of them is a leading departmental store Kohl’s. This popular store is a hot destination to shop everything from apparels, shoes and accessories to home essentials. Every weekend, Kohl’s come up with hot discount offers to let customers save big on their weekend shopping. For this weekend, Kohl’s is offering 20% discount on all orders under its Friends & Family Sale.

Under Kohl’s Friends & Family, you can save big on men’s, women’s and kids’ clothing & accessories. And you can also save on furniture items including chairs, tables, storage, cabinets, stools and more for your home, office, bedroom and kitchen. Make use of K

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