This is a huge deal for women, mamas, children — all families actually. b5media’s Home & Dining Channel really wanted to honor this event in some way, so today most of the blogs in the channel are posting very special posts on the subject of breast cancer awareness.

One of the primary goals of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Association is to raise awareness about the importance of early detection in the fight against this disease. Early detection involves a lot but one key component is making sure you remember to do a once monthly breast self-exam.

But how can you remember? We’re all pretty busy. Never fear; Offbeat Homes is here to help. Did you ever think that your surroundings count? Here are 10 good architecturally and design-minded reminders. Live with these sort of buildings and home items and soon you’ll be thinking about breasts 24/7.

1. Some breasts are a tad pointy like this roof reminder…

2. Curvy reminder

3. Door reminder

Keep going… more breast reminders after the jump!

4. Sculpture art reminder in your front lawn

5. Ceiling reminder

6. Fountains can be excellent reminders (maybe the backyard for this one). This is actually pretty cool; it’s from Mama Kannon, a Buddhist temple devoted entirely to the worship of women’s breasts. Nice.

7. Mirror reminder

8. Window reminders

9. Shopping center reminder

10. In all seriousness it is very important to remember to do a self breast exam each month. It could save your life. You can learn how to do an exam at BreastCancer.org or even watch a step-by-step video at Imaginis.com. The best thing to have in your home is a self breast exam reminder shower card. You can get one free at the Susan G. Komen website.

If breast cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate exceeds 95%.

While mammograms are among the best early detection method (The National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommend that in addition to a mammogram every one to two years for women in their forties and older) a complete early detection plan also includes regular clinical breast examinations by your care provider and monthly breast self-exams.

Do whatever you can to remember each month.

As for what the rest of the Home & Dining Channel is blogging about to honor National Breast Cancer Awareness Month…

• Declutter It: 10 Ideas for Your Pink Party
• The Food Bowl: Pink Pets for Breast Cancer Awareness
• Baking Delights: Baking for Breast Cancer Awareness
• Keeping the Castle: The Pink Room
• Chocolate Bytes: Pink Chocolate for Breast Cancer Awareness
• Simply Thrifty: In Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 10 Pink Money Saving Gadgets

Go read all of these great posts in honor of breast cancer awareness.

Post from: Blisstree

Ten Breast Self-Exam Reminders

As in blogs I write; not read because that would be a whole other discussion. I think about this a lot because most professional bloggers I know do have more than one blog. I think that there are some pros and cons to playing favorites.

Is it even fair to play favorites? How do you judge one blog over another when content varies so drastically? And what about job stability. How will your other employers like it when you blurt out, “Guess what? My other blog rocks so much more hard core than the one I write for you.”

Yup it surely is a conundrum.

So the title was a misleading fib. Or is it? Let’s just say that IF Offbeat Homes is my favorite I might be able to come up with some reasons why.

1. Because I adore wacky homes, the building process (mostly), and great architect minds impress me so what better way to spend my time than stalking stuff like this:

2. Because cool folks who build amazing homes like the one below are nice enough to tell me about it.

3. Because lord knows what a life without Lego cat churches might look like — in fact, I dread the thought.

4. Because seriously, what could be better than a house built up in a Redwood tree?

5. Because this is my only blog that gets a good bulk of hits from keywords like Dracula’s Castle. Fun! And spooky.

6. Because my peeps from the other Home & Dining channel blogs are the best. They force me to do stuff like this; we discuss meaningful issues like The Great Space Coaster when no one else is around and they let be be mean if I feel like it. What more could you ask of from a blog channel? Honestly I just don’t know.

7. Because green homes are the best and I see lots and lots.

8. Because I get to talk to fun sparkling people.

9. Because life should never ever be dull:

10. Because Offbeat readers rock! They leave the best comments and are the most fun ever.

That might be stuff I’d say IF Offbeat Homes was my favorite blog. But that’s all just hypothetical.

Post from: Blisstree

Offbeat Homes Is My Favorite Blog: 10 Reasons Why

Oh yeah.

That’s right, one of my girls in the Home & Dining channel is holding a fly chocolate contest. All you have to do to enter is find a wacky chocolate something and tell Heather about it at her delicious blog Chocolate Bytes.

It’s an easy way to win a fun prize. Now if a certain offbeat girl were to enter what would she use. We’ve established before that chocolate livable structures are rare… hmmm, I think I like this fellow. This candy guy is far less gross than the other entries so far. Go check it out — it’s almost more offbeat than (gasp) here.

Chocolate Musician

The chocolate contest details!

Post from: Blisstree

Are You Offbeat Enough To Win Chocolate?!

Deborah over at Simply Thrifty covers how to save money. But so do lots of blog. What makes Deb’s blog the best is how she’s always incorporating green-friendly tactics; which of course Offbeat is a fan of (and me). She’s got a great post right now about the new Nalgene water bottle — you have to see its fresh design.

Other memorable post as of late include ways to recycle soap bits (which we all have) and 66 ways uses for vinegar. Quick tip about me; I hate vinegar it’s insanely fascinating to me that someone could find 66 uses for it. You’ll be fascinated too.

You also may be fascinated in this neat home. Which incorporates all the best parts of Simply Thrifty; thrift, eco-sensibility, and reuse.

This is the 100% recyclable cardboard house by Stutchbury and Pape. From Houses of the Future:

“All the material in the house is recycled, and recyclable, making it an excellent environmentally sustainable option for housing. The cardboard House is made of recycled cardboard supplied by Visy Industries. This is completed with a waterproof roof made from HDPE plastic, which also forms the material of the flexible under-floor water tanks and the novel kitchen and bathroom ‘pods’.

• Recycling the house saves 12 cubic meters of landfill, 39 trees and 30 000 liters of water.
• Extremely low cost, transportable, and flexible, this is a genuine
• housing option that could be used in a variety of temporary applications
• Autonomous servicing: uses only 12-volt batteries or small photovoltaic cells for power generation
• Composting system produces nutrient-rich water for gardening”

You can’t tell very well but there’s a good sized loft area up above which looks easy to expanded from the design plans; thus providing more living space.

Currently the architects see this home as an alternative to vacation homes or temporary housing that drain natural resources. It has a composting toilet and the whole home is collapsible and transportable. It can be built by two people in six hours. The architects are working on making this a larger and more viable option for regular home dwellers. In the not too far off future it may be a reality.

Next up are two different blogs I like; Rebecca’s blog, Mother Earth’s Garden. With summer in full swing you really should visit. She’s got beautiful summer gardens, baby corn, and other seasonal treats.

The other blog is Unplugged Living. Noel at Unplugged has cool posts all the time, but I narrowed it down to some nice recent finds like green musicians (green + music = super-fly!), an electric Porsche, and an interesting post on wind turbines. I love turbines, they always remind me of road trips for some reason.

I found a beautiful house on Treehugger a long while back that I’ve been obsessing over. I grouped these two blogs together because I keep going back and fourth over which blog it suits better… Unplugged or Garden?? Then, I realized, sharing among the nature-minded blogs is a-ok.

Honestly though, I want this house.

Starting with the sign:

When I get another house it’s pretty much decided. I’m putting this sign up and getting some chickens and plants.

It gets better:

Isn’t this beautiful! I know I say all the time, “I love this house, I love that house.” This time it’s a serious crush. The homestead, Rainbow Valley Farm is in New Zealand, like reader Talia’s home earlier this week.

Treehugger had an inclusive interview with the owner Joe Polaischer and got some amazing info on the home and on Joe and his wife Trish’s lifestyle:

“Both Joe and Trish have followed a no debt lifestyle which means that they have supported themselves and developed Rainbow Valley Farm in a completely self-sufficient way without any loans… He built his house using local Macrocarpa wood for windows and doors, the walls are adobe mud brick and the roof is constructed from 800 year old Kauri wood which was reclaimed from a demolished warehouse. The house is designed to be energy efficient using passive solar energy. It is earth sheltered with a green roof, which goes into the side of the hill it is built against… Herbs, grasses, succulents and flowers grow on the roof. Honey, strawberries and eggs are just three edibles that go from the roof to their table.”

I’m telling you, if you are at all interested in living less harshly upon the earth go read this interview. Treehugger has it in two parts and it was amazing.

Here’s an incredible wall from the home.

Treehugger has more pictures and the interview. Plus you can always visit Rainbow Valley Farms directly via their website.

Who thinks I should get a rainbow sign like this? Who else wants a sign (or house like this)?

Also, unruly home obsession aside, I hope everyone has a nice beginning of the week! Especially now that I’m feeling all rainbowish and jolly.

Post from: Blisstree

Home & Dining Channel: Offbeat Style, 3rd Edition