Hotwire Reveals Top 10 Destinations To Commemorate Memorial Day

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Hotwire.com®, a leading discount travel site, today announced the top 10 destinations to honor our military heroes over Memorial Day weekend. Many tend to utilize this holiday to add another getaway to their travel schedule, but travelers should also consider using this time to observe the true meaning of Memorial Day. These locales not only have the appeal of the big city or warm beaches sure to appease anyone, but they also are home to some of our military’s most prominent historical sites.

Memorial Day is considered by many to be the unofficial kick-off to summer as the weather is just right for a perfect 3-day weekend. However, the true meaning of the holiday is often lost in our eagerness to plan a getaway. The holiday was originally created after the Civil War to honor the fallen Union soldiers and over the last century, the meaning has evolved to commemorate all American soldiers who served our country. So, although we should definitely enjoy the warm weather and our extra time off, we must also remember why we have it in the first place.

“The Memorial Day holiday is certainly a great time for us to enjoy a long weekend getaway with friends and family, but more often than not we also forget it’s the time we all should be honoring our American heroes,” said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group. “That is why we encourage everyone to celebrate this year in cities that not only offer a great leisure experience, but are also home to some of our countries most spectacular memorials.”

Hotwire researched the top 10 destinations to observe Memorial Day weekend and the average nightly hotel rates are as followed:

Destinations Memorial/Site Avg. Hotwire Hotel Price/Night
1. Washington DC WWII Memorial $95
2. Honolulu, HI USS Arizona Memorial – Pearl Harbor $128
3. San Diego, CA USS Midway Museum $89
4. New York, NY 9/11 Memorial $175
5. Gettysburg, PA Battle Field at Gettysburg $88
6. Arlington, VA Arlington National Cemetery $95
7. Boston, MA Granary Burying Ground $143
8. Seattle, WA Washington Memorial Park $93
9. Phoenix, AZ Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum $67
10. Long Beach, CA Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier $91

Hotwire average nightly hotel rates are based on Hot Rate® bookings made 3/1/2012-5/6/2012 for stays between 5/25/2012-5/29/2012.

Where will you be traveling for Memorial Day Weekend?

What kind of gifts do people buy on Mother’s Day?

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From You Flowers, a top online flower company, is celebrating every Mom this Mother’s Day, as they release their infographic about Mother’s Day. The infographic covers fascinating and surprising information about the history behind the holiday as well as facts around the most popular Mother’s Day gifts. What percentage of people will get Mom flowers? Check out the infographic to find out!

The infographic shows that there are two billion moms in the world and 82.5 million moms in the U.S. Additionally, 4.3 babies are born every second. In America, the average age of new moms is 25, which has risen five years since 1970.

The first attempts to establish a “Mother’s Day” in the U.S. were mostly marked by women’s peace groups. In 1868, Ann Jarvish formed a committee to create a “Mother’s Friendship Day,” whose purpose was to “reunite families that had been divided during the Civil War.” Her daughter saw that it became a national holiday. On May 9, 1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first National Mother’s Day.

The average amount of money individuals spent on Mother’s Day has been over one hundred in the last five years. In 2007 and 2008, the amount spent was around $140. During the recession the total money spent dipped to $120 and rose back up to $140in 2011.

What kind of gifts do people buy on Mother’s Day? See what the most popular gifts are by percentage of people who gift them to their mothers.

  • 13.3% – Jewelry
  • 31.8% – Clothing
  • 54.7% – Dining Out
  • 64.9% – Flowers

Popular flowers to give are mixed bouquets, carnations, daffodils, roses, and tulips.

What will you be gifting mom this Mother’s Day?

Green Tips for Everyday

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It’s Earth Day weekend.

There are many things we can do in and around our homes that can play a small part in preserving the natural landscape.

Here are some small, easy, green choices we can make in our homes not just on Earth Day but every day. At Valerie A. these are tips we share and implement with Clients. Choose three that you’re not already doing, and make a point to do them this year. Perhaps they’ll become a habit.

Saving Water

  • If your washing machine has a setting for the amount of clothing you’re washing, choose a low setting—you’ll use less water and your clothes will get just as clean.
  • Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
  • Older showerheads can use 3 gallons per minute or more. New, efficient models use 2 gallons per minute or less.
  • A full bathtub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a 5-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons.
  • A family of four using low-flow showerheads instead of full-flow models can save about 20,000 gallons of water per year.
  • If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. Newer, high-efficiency toilets use less than 1.3 gallons per flush.
  • The average dishwasher in U.S. homes today uses 8.7 gallons of water per load. Washing by hand for 10 minutes with water running can use 20 gallons.
  • A leaky faucet that fills a coffee cup in 10 minutes will waste an estimated 3,000 gallons of water per year.
  • The average washing machine uses about 41 gallons of water per load, whereas newer, high-efficiency models use less than 28 gallons of water per load.

Cooking

  • Use a microwave instead of the stove to save energy. Microwave ovens use around 50% less energy than conventional ovens do.
  • Generating enough electricity to cook for an hour in a standard electric oven creates 2.7 pounds of CO2. A toaster oven creates 1.3 pounds over 50 minutes; a microwave creates 0.5 pounds over 15 minutes.

Laundry

  • If your washing machine has a setting for the amount of clothing you’re washing, choose a low setting—you’ll use less water and your clothes will get just as clean.
  • 80% of dry cleaners in the U.S. use perchloroethylene, a solvent that has been linked to cancer, nervous system damage and hormonal disruption. Seek out a non-toxic professional dry cleaning alternative or “green cleaner” in your area.
  • The average washing machine uses about 41 gallons of water per load, whereas newer, high-efficiency models use less than 28 gallons of water per load.

Washing Dishes

  • Today’s dishwashers are about 95% more energy-efficient than those bought in 1972—your old dishwasher may be costing you more in energy bills than it would take to buy a new one.
  • The average dishwasher in U.S. homes today uses 8.7 gallons of water per load. Washing by hand for 10 minutes with water running can use 20 gallons.

Lighting

  • Where electricity is produced from coal, using a fluorescent lightbulb instead of an equivalent incandescent bulb prevents 1,300 pounds of CO2 and 20 pounds of sulfer dioxide from being emitted in to the atmosphere.
  • Compact fluorescent lightbuilbs (CFLs) are an energy-saving alternative to incandescent bulbs—they produce the same amount of light, use 1/3 of the electricity and last up to 10 times as long.
  • Artificial lighting accounts for 44% of electricity use in office buildings. Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you’re leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.
  • Only 10% of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces light; the rest is given off as heat. Compact fluorescent lighbulbs (CFLs) are up to 4 times as efficient as regular bulbs.

Heating and Cooling

  • Dial it down. Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.
  • Improperly sealed or caulked windows can account for up to 25% of total heat loss from a house.

Home Improvement

  • If using solid wood for a project, select products with the Forest Stewardship Council label, certifying the wood was responsibly grown and harvested. Or find salvaged wood products at local used-building materials retailers.
  • Choose low-toxic paints that are low in volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which can irritate the lungs and cause allergic reactions. Zero-VOC paints also are available.

Reduce and Recycle

  • The U.S. uses 100 billion plastic bags annually, consuming about 12 million barrels of oil. Less than 1% of plastic bags are ever recycled. Reusable bags can help reduce the number of plastic bags you use.
  • According to U.S. EPA, about 40% of heavy metals including lead, mercury and cadmium in landfills comes from electronic equipment and discards.
  • 26 recycled PET plastic bottles equals a polyester suit. 5 recycled PET bottles make enough fiberfill to stuff a ski jacket.
  • The average U.S. citizen uses 50 pounds of tissue paper per year. Try to buy the highest content of “post-consumer waste” since “pre-consumer waste” doesn’t stem the flow of paper entering landfills.
  • Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
  • Switch to e-billing. In the U.S., paper products make up the largest percentage of municipal solid waste, and hard copy bills alone generate almost 2 million tons of CO2.
  • Reuse containers and reduce waste. The average child’s school lunch generates 67 pounds of waste over a year.
  • If using solid wood for a project, select products with the Forest Stewardship Council label, certifying the wood was responsibly grown and harvested. Or find salvaged wood products at local used-building materials retailers.
  • Batteries can cause serious harm to human health and the environment when disposed of with municipal solid waste. Many companies and retailers will take your old batteries and properly dispose of them or have them recycled.
  • The average U.S. office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper per year. Print on both sides and in draft mode whenever feasible.
  • Polystyrene (“Styrofoam”) is difficult to recycle, both because recycling facilities aren’t commonplace and you can’t make it into new high-quality polystyrene.

Have any tips? Share it with us!

Keep Organized, Stay Productive: How to Prioritize Your Time Better

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Time is a precious commodity (a luxury if we must say) that people will pay a pretty penny to have more of, but the only way to be able to have more time in your day to do the things you like is to be more efficient. The Wall Street Journal recommends starting a time log to better keep track of your day:

Keep a time log. If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you may have tried keeping a food journal. Sure, you’re eating grilled chicken for dinner, but the eight M&M’s you grab from the receptionist’s candy jar add up, too

Like tracking meals, tracking time keeps us from spending it mindlessly or lying to ourselves about what we do with it. Write down what you’re doing as often as you remember for at least a week.

Add up the totals. Checking Facebook five times a day at six minutes a pop adds up to two and a half hours in a workweek — curiously, the exact amount of time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends we exercise.

How to Prioritize Time Better
The first step to being more time efficient is to assess how you’re currently spending your time. Track your time by making a note of when you stop or start an activity in a notepad or spreadsheet.

There are even apps that will help you keep track of time. When you’re analyzing the data, try to gauge if you’re really using up all your nine to five hours doing actual work. If you’ve been spending time on unnecessary work, maybe it’s time to start delegating the task to someone else or finding some other alternative solution. And if you figure out your most productive time of the day, you should probably schedule the more challenging tasks for that time period.

How do you prioritize your day? Join the conversation on Facebook.

Belgian Architects Danny De Munter and Wim Gyselinck Design Palace in Saudi Arabia

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Danny De Munter, a Belgian architect specialized in high-end interior design and restoration, and Wim Gyselinck, have been designated to build the new city palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is not their first architectural project in the Middle East. In the past Danny De Munter has delivered with great success a palace “pied dans l’eau” in Khobar together with Brussels architect Patrick van der Stricht. The duo has now been approached to open a local engineering office.

The Flemish approach, far away from the curls and ‘opera style’ often associated with Middle Eastern architecture, can be best described as a combination of ‘eco-neoromance’ and ‘eco-neomodernism’. This approach has proven to be fruitful, hence the new applications coming in from Beirut and Khatar.

Danny De Munter explains his success: “The underdog profile of our Belgian team cannot be underestimated: we work in a small team which results in a lower cost than our competitors; we work faster than them and think in a more pragmatic way. There are very few global players in this market that can work as versatile as we do and are specialized in as many fields as we are. ”

In the past, they have renovated the Coca-Cola building in New York, worked with Bombardier, designed with crystal manufacturer Baccarat and renovated and restored a Hausmanien complex in Paris. Also they have several references in Angola, South Africa, Switzerland and Spain.