Surfboard Rugs - A Hot New Style In Tropical Decor

Is your house full of beachy things? If you're a big lover of surf and sand, you'll love surfboard rugs. They're cute and cool and if you enjoy the beach at all, you've just got to get one or a few for your home. No matter where you live, they'll look great on your floors. We love the sun, we love the sand and now there's a way that you can keep your interests going even when you're at home. These rugs will keep a constant reminder for you that the ocean awaits.

With a variety of sizes and colors to choose from, you'll be able to find the perfect one for your home. If you're wondering where one of these beauties could go in your home, the answer is everywhere! No matter what room you use one in, it's sure to become a conversation piece. Of course, we all want to have an interior decor that matches and many people prefer having very formal rooms in their homes.

Remember when you were a kid and you could design your room any way you wanted? Hopefully your parents were cool enough to let you decide what the theme was for the room you slept and played in. As you get older, you don't always get to pick fun and funny decor for your home, people take themselves too seriously. Remember what it's like to be a kid and take one room of your house and dress it up in beach attire, starting with a surfboard rug!

The bathroom is another obvious given when it comes to where these awesome rugs will look good. Make your powder room a place everyone will want to visit, just for the fun of it! Go with a beach theme and use sea shells and unique items that you would only find at the shore. For an added touch, have coconut scents throughout the room.

Another place they look great is on your patio. Give people a reminder of the summer with a rug so they can wipe their feet off as they come into the house. Create some fun for anyone who comes to visit when you decorate one or more rooms of your house in a casual, ocean way. Guaranteed your friends are going to want to know where you got your rug!

Your boys-whether young or older, will enjoy these colorful but simple pieces of customizable room decorations. If you've got a pool, why not get one for each side of the sliding glass door so people are sure to enter your home with clean, dry feet instead of running water all over the place? There's really no shortage on ideas where these rugs can be used.

If you've got a tiki hut or recreation room that is dressed up just for summer, surfboard rugs are the perfect complement to your current theme. If you're sitting inside because there's snow on the ground or it's pouring down rain-maybe it's just too cold to enjoy the outdoors, decorating your interior in bright, warm colors will help you bridge the time until you can bask in the glory of the sun again.

Decorate your spaces with surfboard rug that will cheer up anyone who literally stumbles across them. You never know when reminding someone of the lazy days of summer may be just what they need to pick them up. Get one or more to accent your tropical decor and start living in your own tropical paradise.

Clambake Recipes and Tips

Have a clambake on the beach, in the backyard or in the kitchen

Courtesy of the Food Network

The traditional clambake is an all-day affair, although most guests arrive in the evening.

They're just in time to enjoy a few drinks before the tarpaulin is peeled off the steaming heap of corn, potatoes and soft-shell, cherrystone or littleneck clams. Some clambakes also include lobsters, chickens, sausages and eggs.

Whatever ingredients you choose, this fun and festive event culminates in a meal that is well worth the wait. And while you're waiting for the main event, have a bowl of creamy clam chowder or some clam cakes to get you in the mood.

10 Steps for a Traditional Clambake

1. Dig a pit on the beach, about two feet deep, two feet wide and three feet long.
2. Line the bottom with large stones.
3. Build a wood fire over the stones and keep it burning for about two hours, feeding it when necessary, to heat the rocks. Let the fire burn down to embers, about another two hours.
4. While the fire is winding down, wrap potatoes, littleneck clams, corn on the cob (in husk), onion quarters, mussels and spicy sausages, by group, in cheesecloth or foil.
5. Cover the coals with a thick layer of seaweed, preferably rockweed which has little pockets of sea water, but other seaweeds will work. This provides both protection from direct heat and the required steam.
6. Layer the packets of potatoes, clams, corn, onion, mussels and sausage, and then live lobsters, if desired.
7. Top with another couple inches of seaweed, and if you're not using rockweed, a couple of quarts of seawater for steaming.
8. Cover the entire pit with a seawater-soaked canvas weighted down with either rocks or sand.
9. Continue your party for another hour or two until all the foods are cooked through.
10. Savor this fabulous feast, served hot with plenty of melted butter and washed down with icy cold beer.

Using Coastal Theme Lamps and Lighting To Accent Your Beach Cottage Decor

As anyone up on the latest trends in home decorating knows by now, “the coast” is making an appearance in many homes. Sand and surf, water and sun are being incorporated into living rooms and bedrooms by the hippest design teams. Do-it-yourselfers can also easily incorporate elements of coastal life into their own redecorating projects.

Lighting is an often overlooked element of any home design. We all know that the right lighting can change the look of a room entirely. It can make a small room look bigger, or a dull room brighter. But we often forget about the role that “theme” lighting can play in re-making a room. Unite the hot trend with the important principles of light, and you will find that it is time to start thinking about coastal theme lighting.

A helpful lighting retailer or home design coordinator can show you numerous lamps and other lighting to complement your coastal decorating motif. While lighthouses are a tried-and-true reminder of the coast in many homes, how many times have you seen a lamp in the form of a fully functioning lighthouse? These are now available from many manufacturers. Another fresh look in coastal lighting is the floor lamp designed to look like the famous streetlights of the boardwalk’s heyday.

If you haven’t considered a coastal theme in several years, it’s time to take another look. The innovations in lighting are something you will want to explore. The appropriate selection of coastal theme lighting will invigorate your memories of the fresh ocean breeze, and make your home the relaxing sanctuary you deserve it to be.

Calling All Beach Lovers! Help Protect Our Mighty Oceans

Oceans form a major part of the hydrosphere, covering nearly 70%of the earth’s surface area. The five major oceans of the world are under a potential threat due to incessant pollution and other harmful human activities and their repercussions. The home of millions of aquatic plant and animal species is being destroyed by humanity for their own selfish ends.

Ocean beds were exploited for oil long ago yielding fabulous opportunities. However, major oil spills have polluted the waters, killing many aquatic animals by cutting off oxygen levels. Huge amounts of toxic solid waste including fertilizers and pesticides disposed into rivers eventually reach the oceans, degrading the water quality. Global warming, dumping of industrial effluents and sewage discharge are other factors causing immense damage to the marine ecosystems.

Environmental conservationists have been predominantly working on terrestrial and air pollution, but degradation of the oceans and marine diversity has received far less attention. What we need is to start massive programs to spread awareness about ocean conservation among people and organizations.

Marine species need to be protected, and fisheries should not be exploited above their yield. Biodiversity in oceans needs to be conserved for sustaining our future. Laws protecting threatened and endangered species should be enforced with strict vigilance. Habitat destruction should be stopped by controlling coastal development activities. Above all, humanity should realize a moral sense of responsibility to protect the environment and develop a strong ethic for ocean conservation.


Various organizations such as Sea Around Us Project, Oceana, The Marine Conservation Biology Institute, The Surfrider Foundation and The Marine Fish Conservation Network are dedicated to promote conservation, preservation and restoration of marine habitats to promote sustainability. To protect our future, we need to take action now.

Show Off Your Surfer Style At Home With Vintage Beach And Surf Tin Wall Signs

Surf style, for the last few decades if not longer, has been one of those sorts of things that the public has just generally regarded as cool. Whether it be in clothes, or in overall appearance (the classic tanned surfer body), or just in attitude (laid back and without a care in the world). But as things become more homogenized, and as every market strains and pushes to co-opt every type of self expression, it's clearly becoming harder and harder to find unique and interesting things anywhere, let alone in the surfer style.

This is especially true with regards to beach home decor, and other elements people might use to express themselves in their own environments. The market is just absolutely flooded. So what to do, where to turn, when you're looking for a way to make a statement about the surf lifestyle? The answer seems to be in vintage surf tin wall signs.

Going vintage, which seems to be a trend before a trend. When most of the home decor market (if the home shows and other sorts of "experts" would be our guide) seems to be going for sparse and modern, going vintage seems to be a way that people are using to differentiate themselves. And surfer tin wall signs have just that vintage feel, and just that laid back sort of surfer attitude that has made surfers, and California, and even the entire west coast, so legendarily cool.

Whether it's pretty girls in vintage pinup poses or sepia toned and nostalgic beautiful views of piers, or old model cars against shimmering blue skies, beach and surfer tin wall signs seem to be the new perfect way to get a surfer attitude across without all kinds of gimmicks and stunts. Because like one of the most popular signs says, "Life is a beach," and there's no reason that sentiment has to go away, or be drowned out.

How Tropical Or Coastal Theme Bedding Can Bring Out The Best Qualities In Your Room

Tropical bedding is a great way to add some color to your bedroom and bring a little nature indoors. If you have a large bedroom, using bold and colorful patterns can help make the space feel more intimate. You can go wild with all over patterns in hot colors.

Get a tropical theme quilt and look for accessories in complementary colors. You can mix and match patterns such as foliage and birds. Get lots of pillows in different shapes. You can even coordinate your tropical theme bedding with other accessories such as lampshades, rugs, and all kinds of knick knacks.

Even if you live in smaller quarters, there is a way to make coastal or beach theme bedding work for you. If your bedroom is small, you may want to avoid large prints that could make it look even smaller. Still, you can use some accent pieces to enjoy tropical bedding wherever you live. You could get a solid colored comforter and just add pillow cases with a tropical theme.


One of the best things about this kind of bedding is the color scheme. You can indulge in warm colors such as browns and yellows and reds that will naturally make your surroundings look more intimate. Or you can choose to decorate in the cool ocean-inspired hues of blue, green and white that will give a very relaxing feel to your room.

Tropical bedding can suit any coastal decor whether you live in a big house or a small apartment. Plan ahead to get the look you want. You will love what beach inspired bedding can do for your bedroom.

Key Lime Strawberry Daquiri

How DELICIOUS does this sound? 


Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz light rum
- 3 medium strawberries
- 1 oz key lime juice
- 1/4 oz triple sec
- 1 tsp simple syrup
- 1 cup ice
Garnish: lime, strawberry

Mix all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with lime wheel and strawberry.