#and for a good reason. Glass doors offer a wide array of advantages that not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of a space but also contribu

[saheed-uae-blog]

The Benefits of Glass Doors

In the modern world of interior and architectural design, glass doors have emerged as a symbol of elegance, functionality, and innovation. These transparent marvels have witnessed a surge in popularity, and for a good reason. Glass doors offer a wide array of advantages that not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of a space but also contribute to practicality, energy efficiency, and overall well-being. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the myriad benefits of glass doors and why they have become a cornerstone of contemporary design.

Types Of Glass Doors

Aluminium Glass Doors: Aluminium glass doors combine the durability of aluminium frames with the elegance of glass panels. They are commonly used for both interior and exterior applications, providing a sleek and modern look while ensuring weather resistance.

Frameless Glass Door: Frameless glass doors offer a minimalist and contemporary design. They lack visible frames or hardware, providing an unobstructed view. These doors are perfect for creating a seamless and open ambiance in homes or offices.

Glass Doors Sliding: Sliding glass doors are known for their space-saving design. They slide horizontally rather than swinging open, making them ideal for areas with limited space. They offer the same benefits of natural light and transparency as traditional glass doors.

Glass Door Wardrobe: Glass door wardrobes feature glass panels as the front doors of the wardrobe. This design not only adds a touch of sophistication to the bedroom but also allows for easy visibility of clothing and accessories without the need to open the doors.

Stackable Glass Doors: Stackable glass doors consist of multiple panels that can be neatly stacked or folded away when fully opened. They are often used to create wide openings between indoor and outdoor spaces, providing a sense of continuity and flexibility in design.

Interior Glass Doors: Interior glass doors are designed to separate different living spaces while maintaining an open and airy feel. They come in various styles, including frosted, etched, and clear glass options, offering versatility in design and privacy levels within a home.

Benefits of Glass Doors

Transparency and Openness

The most evident benefit of glass doors is their ability to create an atmosphere of transparency and openness. These doors allow an unobstructed view of both interior and exterior spaces, blurring the lines between indoors and outdoors. This feature makes rooms appear larger, more inviting, and provides a sense of connection with the surrounding environment.

Natural Light Infusion

One of the primary advantages of glass doors is their capacity to usher in an abundance of natural light. The entrance of daylight into a space not only reduces the need for artificial lighting but also provides numerous health benefits. Natural light promotes productivity, enhances mood, and even contributes to energy savings.

Aesthetic Versatility

Glass doors come in a variety of designs, from classic to contemporary, and they can be customized to suit any architectural style. Whether you prefer a sleek and minimalistic frameless design or a more traditional framed look, glass doors offer the flexibility to match the aesthetic of any interior or exterior space.

Energy Efficiency

Modern glass doors are designed to be energy-efficient. They are equipped with advanced insulation technology, including low-emissivity (Low-E) glass, which reduces heat transfer and helps maintain a comfortable indoor temperature. This not only reduces energy consumption but also lowers utility costs.

Noise Reduction

Glass doors equipped with double or triple glazing can significantly reduce noise transmission from the outside. This feature is particularly advantageous in urban environments or areas with high traffic, contributing to a more peaceful and quiet indoor ambiance.

Easy Maintenance

Maintaining glass doors is a breeze. They are easy to clean and resistant to stains and odors. A simple wipe with a glass cleaner is often sufficient to keep them looking pristine, making them an excellent choice for spaces that require minimal upkeep.

Conclusion

The benefits of glass doors in UAE are abundant and diverse, making them a top choice for homes and businesses. From illuminating natural light to enhancing property value and providing security, glass doors offer a range of advantages that transcend aesthetics.Additionally, finding the right Glass Doors manufacturers is important in ensuring you get top-quality products. TradersFind, a reputable platform, connects you with trusted glass doors suppliers, further enhancing the advantages of glass doors in terms of reliability, choice, and affordability. So, when considering the benefits of doors, don't forget the added advantage of accessing the best sources through TradersFind.

[snelbz]

Reckoning and Retribution {1}

An A Court of Thorns and Roses, House of Earth and Blood, & Throne of Glass Crossover, Western AU fanfiction.

Based on a prompt sent in for the 4k follower contest {winner}, from Anonymous: “Ok hear me out: WILD WEST AU CROSSOVER”

@snelbz​ / @tacmc​

The sun was bearing down on the back of his neck as he rode through the vast expanse of open land around him. There was nothing around for miles, save for the little town up ahead.

Rose Creek, it was called, if he remembered correctly.

Rowan Whitethorn knew how places like this operated, it was his life to blow in and out of them, never staying for long. It was always easy to leave, when no one wanted you there. Small, tight-knit communities, where an offense to someone’s family could end in a fist fight or a spray of bullets.

As always, he had a goal in mind as he rode into town, his pale grey horse throwing her head slightly. He’d visit the sheriff, see what he knew about the warrant in his coat pocket, and begin his search.

As he entered the little town, he was instantly labeled the outsider. He could tell as every set of eyes he passed watched him stroll by, suspiciously. He didn’t say a word, although he acknowledged some he passed, either meeting their hard gazes or nodding his head and tipping his hat in a respectful hello to the few women he rode by. It was early in the day yet, and he assumed most were working or tending to chores. 

Although the town was small, there was a vast array of shops and the like, lining each side of the main, dusty street. After debating on whether he wanted to search for the sheriff or stop in somewhere and ask, Rowan dismounted his horse, tied him up to a post, and walked inside of the local saloon.

It was nearly empty, given the early hour, no doubt. A bartender stood behind the long counter, wiping it down, and a young girl was sweeping the hard floor, sending dust up all around her.

Rowan’s boots thumped on the wood as he made his way to the bar and leaned against it. As a measure of good faith, he removed his hat, placing it on the bar next to him, allowing the man behind the bar to see his face. He turned,  cleaning a glass, and if Rowan was surprised to see the crude tattoo of barbed wire around his forehead, he didn’t show it. “Whiskey, please.”

He slid two silver coins across the wooden bar top and the man nodded. He placed the glass he’d been wiping down and reached beneath the bar, producing a bottle of amber liquid. He set it down, and Rowan poured some into the glass.

“Haven’t seen you around here before,” the bartender said, casually.

Tossing the drink back, Rowan blew out a harsh breath. “Name’s Whitethorn. I’m here looking to serve a warrant, was planning on going to the sheriff’s office, but could use some help being pointed in that direction.”

The man glanced over to the girl in the corner. “Evangeline, why don’t you go ask Emrys to make you those pastries you like?”

Her eyes went wide. “But it’s not even lunch time yet.”

He put a finger to his lips. “I won’t tell Lysandra if you don’t.”

The girl, Evangeline, Rowan gathered, hurried into the saloon’s kitchen where the sound of cooking could already be heard.

The man held out his hand. “Hunt Athalar. I own this bar.”

He grasped his hand, firmly. “Rowan.”

“Nice to meet you, Rowan,” Hunt said, and laid his palms flat on the bar, leaning down. “Hate to break it to you, but there is no sheriff. Haven’t had one in about six weeks.”

“What happened?” That was unlikely, dangerous even, in a town this far out.

Hunt shrugged, although a haunted look remained in his eyes. “Turned up dead, bullet in the head, on the outskirts of town. One of the ranchers found him about a day after, while they were out riding. No one knows who did it.”

“And you all have just been going on without a sheriff?” Rowan asked, trying to wrap his head around it, having never heard of such a thing before. He’d never heard of a town going without a sheriff for as long as six weeks. You’d think the position was cursed, and no one wanted to touch it.

“Deputy’s been watching over things since,” Hunt said, tossing a rag over his shoulder. “I’m afraid I don’t know much else, though. If you want any more details, you might want to go see the mayor. I bet he just got into his office, at this hour.”

Nodding, Rowan poured another shot into the glass and tossed it back. He nodded his head, gesturing to the stairs. “You have lodgings up there? I’ll be needing a place to stay while I’m in town. I can pay.” The silver pieces he’d laid down for the drink was proof of that enough.

Hunt shook his head, his eyes trailing over to the stairwell. “I’m afraid not. The, uh, girls entertain from upstairs, after dinner.”

A silver eyebrow rose. “You run a brothel?”

“Gods, no, I just...share a building with one.” He didn’t sound very enthused about that. “Talk to the mayor, let him know why you’re in town. He might have a couple suggestions for you.”

With a nod, Rowan stood, placing his hat back on his head and said, “Thank you for the information, Mr. Athalar. You’ve been very helpful.”

“It’s Hunt, please,” he replied. “I lost my right to common courtesy a long time ago.”

Rowan shook his head and said, “No one ever loses the right to human decency, as far as I’m concerned.”

Hunt nodded and Rowan tipped his hat before making his way back out into the morning sun. The city hall wasn’t far from the saloon, which sat smack dab in the middle of town. The founders of Rose Creek clearly had their priorities in place when they put this town together.

Leaving his horse tied up at the saloon with Hunt’s permission, Rowan walked down the dusty street to city hall. When he opened the door, he was met with an empty desk, a couch, and a set of stairs leading up to the second story. He didn’t want to surprise the man, didn’t feel like taking an accidental bullet to the heart, so he let his boots fall extra heavy on the creaking, wooden stairs. He could hear voices, both of them male, one of them far more frantic than the other.

“I’ll take anything more you can give me, Rhys, otherwise I’ll have to start burning them.”

“Calm down, it hasn’t come to that yet, and it won’t. I’ll see what I can work out.”

“Well, work it out fast, otherwise we’ll be out of graves. I’m not leaving a body out to rot in the sun and attract a coyote, not this close to town.”

Two sets of eyes were shooting in Rowan’s direction before he even knocked on the open door. The mayor, dressed in too fine of clothes for such a small town, sat behind a large oak desk. The other man was dressed in simple, dusty clothes, sweat glistening on his forehead.

“Pardon the interruption,” Rowan said, when it was clear they would say nothing. “I’m here looking for someone, hoping I can stay in town for a few days. I was wanting to talk to the sheriff, but I hear you don’t have one.”

The mayor blinked, then pushed himself up from his chair. “And your name?”

His voice was low, calming.

“Whitethorn,” Rowan said, simply. “Rowan Whitethorn.”

“A pleasure, Mr. Whitethorn.” The mayor smiled, and Rowan couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not. “I’m Mayor Lunasa. This is Azriel.”

Azriel tipped his hat in welcome. Rowan returned the gesture.

The mayor turned toward the other gentleman. “Az, use the land bordering the Vanserra ranch if you run out of plots in town. I’ll have a talk with Beron. But try to stay as close to the town as possible.”

He nodded and slipped out, passing Rowan and heading down the stairs.

Once the door opened and closed, the mayor walked around his desk and leaned against the front of it. “Can I offer you a drink, Mr. Whitethorn?”

“No, thank you,” Rowan replied, taking that as an invitation to enter the office. “I visited Mr. Athalar when I came into town. He was the one who suggested I come see you, Mayor Lunasa, sir.”

He gestured to a small sitting area off to the side of his office. “Please, call me Rhysand. What brings you Rose Creek, Rowan?”

Removing his hat, Rowan followed Rhysand, taking a seat on the plush, upholstered couch, and said, “I’m a duly sworn warrant officer in Prythian, Terrasen, Lunathion, Adarlan, and seven other states and Indian territories. I’ve come with a warrant for a man who was said to have been in this area last.”

“And who might that be?” Rhysand asked, crossing an ankle over a leg.

“A man named Grave,” Rowan replied, retrieving the warrant from his breast pocket, handing it to Rhysand. “Known to be a brutal man. Killed a homesteader a few months back, took advantage of his wife before he gave her the same fate.”

Rhys was looking at the charcoal drawing of the man. “Well, Mr. Whitethorn-.”

“Rowan, please,” he interrupted.

Rhys nodded. “Rowan, I’ll be honest with you. I’ve seen this man, but I’m not sure he’s in the condition you’re hoping for.”

“Why’s that, sir?”

He handed the warrant back to Rowan. “Because he’s currently in a wooden box, awaiting his final home six feet deep.”

Rowan nodded. “That’s alright with me.”

Dark eyebrows rose. “But that means no reward for you.”

Another nod. “I don’t do it for the money, Mayor. I do it for justice.”

A strange look filled Rhysand’s eyes, a shade of blue Rowan wasn’t used to, nearly purple in hue. ��Is that so?” He stood and made his way over to his desk. “Mr. Whitethorn, I have a proposition for you. It seems my town is in need of a sheriff. It seems like the Cauldron brought you to Rose Creek for a reason. You seem like a just man, with a good head on your shoulders.” He turned and walked back to where Rowan sat, tossing something on the table between them. “I’m out of options, Mr. Whitethorn. It’s a salaried position, and this is a fairly quiet town, but this is the West, sir.”

Rowan slowly looked down at the table, where a six-pointed badge sat. 

“You want me to be the sheriff?” Rowan asked, carefully, lifting his chin as he did so. “And stay here?”

“For the time being, yes,” Rhysand said, cocking his head to the side.

Rowan wondered how he had become the mayor. He had to be young, around his own age, anyway. Young for a mayor. He thought to hang onto the question for now. 

“I have to get back-.”

“We’re in need of a sheriff, Mr. Whitethorn,” Rhysand said, his voice remaining low, his eyes bright. 

“Rowan,” Rowan corrected, again. “Please.”

Rhysand nodded, once. “Rowan. On top of your salary, I will give you free room and board.” 

Rowan lifted a brow. “It seems you're desperate, Mayor.” 

“Would it change anything if I were desperate?” Rhysand asked, humored. “You see, my people need protection, Mr. Whitethorn.”

“Rowan.”

“Of course,” Rhysand went on, waving a hand. “My people need protection, Rowan, and I feel like someone like you can provide that. The moment you want to move on, you may, but until then, you will be paid, and you will have a place to stay.” 

For a moment, Rowan said nothing. He thought about it in the silence, then snatched the badge off the table.

Rhysand’s grin grew. “Very well. Your office is across the street, Sheriff.”

“And where will I be staying?” He asked, running his finger across the embossed lettering on the star.

“If you’d like, the former sheriff has a home right outside of town. He had no family, so it’s sat unoccupied since his death,” Rhysand replied.

Rowan nodded. “And my deputy? I’ve heard he’s been handling things in the sheriff’s stead?”

“Ress,” Rhysand said, standing and making his way back to his desk. Rowan could tell their conversation was coming to an end. “A good young man, he was close with the former sheriff. He was a mentor of sorts to him.”

Standing himself, Rowan put on his hat and headed for the door. “I promise to do my best, Mayor, but I’m an outsider to these people. They might not respect what I have to say.”

Sitting back down, Rhys said, “Your best is all I can ask for, but seeing that on your hip,” his eyes fell on Rowan’s Deringer at his side, “makes me feel a hell of a lot better than I have in weeks.”

Rowan nodded, tipped his hat, and was walking down the stairs.

True to Rhysand’s word, the sheriff’s office was just across the street. 

He crossed the way, and ascended the creaky, wooden stairs. The door was already open, but no one was inside. At least, not where Rowan could see. 

“Anyone here?” he called, his voice low. With every step he took, the floorboards creaked, and as he peeked into the back hallway, he saw a shadow from the back just as a voice replied, “Back!” 

Rowan trekked down the hall, looking at the wanted posters as he passed.

In the back, just in front of the barred cells, was a young man, perhaps in his late teens, mopping the floor. As Rowan entered, he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Can I help you?” he asked, his voice not unkind, but tired. 

“I’m Rowan Whitethorn,” he said, having a feeling he would have to introduce himself another hundred times before people began to get the hang of it. “The new sheriff.” 

A breath left the kid, as if the news he had just received was some of the greatest he’d heard in some time. “I’m Ress. Current deputy.”

Rowan tipped his hat. 

Ress dropped the mop in the old tin bucket with a sigh. “I wasn’t aware we we’re getting a new sheriff, but I’m pleased, it’s long overdue.” 

“I’ve heard,” Rowan said, simply. “I heard you were close to the old sheriff. I’m sorry for your loss.” 

Ress nodded in thanks. “It’s nice to meet you.” He looked down at the star on his chest, his own title emblazoned on the front. With a heavy sigh, he took it off and held it out to him. “Good luck.”

Rowan blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“Good luck,” he repeated. “I can’t stay here. I just… I've got to leave this town, sir.”

Rowan hesitantly took the badge from his outstretched hand. Without another word, Ress stepped around Rowan, walked out of the office and mounted his horse tied up around the side. By the time, he made it out onto the small front porch, Ress was halfway down the street, heading out of town.

He blinked, staring after him and then looking down at the five-pointed star in his hand. Things just got much more complicated than he was expecting.

He sighed and turned around, walking back into the office and sitting down at his new desk.

It was plain, bland. There was no indication that anyone had been there before him. At least it was clean, no webs, no nothing. He ran his fingers across the smooth top before opening the drawers, one by one. He found a few sheets of paper and a couple empty bottles before coming across a half-empty bottle of whiskey.

With a sigh, he popped off the lid and sniffed it with a grin.

The shit was strong.

He put it to his lips, downing a good bit before leaning back in his chair and looking around his new office.

His new post.

Sheriff of a little town out west.

Ress hauling ass out of town was what unsettled Rowan the most. He understood grief after losing someone, but it seemed like there was more the young deputy wanted to get away from.

With a shake of his head, Rowan was left alone wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into.

—————

Aelin followed Aedion up the stairs of the saloon, jovial music flowing out. The sun was setting below the mountains in the distance. She could hear what sounded like a fight inside, but that was to be expected. Her cousin held the swinging door open for her and they found that their little saloon was packed full, a rowdy night ahead of their little town.

She scanned the bar, finding the eyes of her closest friend. Lysandra was, of course, perched in the lap of a well-dressed man. He already seemed three sheets to the wind, and Aelin could see that regardless the fact that they were still in the company of his friends, in the eyes of everyone in the saloon, his hand was already moving under her skirts.

She knew Aedion had seen, as well, and she gripped his arm and pulled him to the bar before he could say or do something stupid. He obeyed, though his jaw was set, and he flagged Hunt down, asking for two whiskeys. 

He set them down and Aelin asked, “Where’s Ress? He’s typically halfway through a bottle of Busthead by now.”

“Left,” Hunt said, looking around at the busy saloon. “Rhys hired a new sheriff, and Ress took the opportunity to run.” 

Aedion’s brows furrowed, downing his whiskey. After one last look at Lysandra, he asked, “Ran? Where?” 

Hunt shrugged. “No idea, he didn’t bother to say goodbye.” 

“Who is this new sheriff?” Aelin asked, hesitantly, looking around, as if she would instantly spot him and all of her questions would be answered. 

“Rowan Whitethorn.” Hunt meandered a little further down the bar, topping off an elderly woman with an absurd feathered headband. “Just got into town. Met with Rhys, Rhys made him sheriff.” 

Aedion looked at Aelin and didn’t like the look that had taken over her face. Her eyes were narrowed, her lips in a straight line. 

“Don’t-.”

“I’m going to see Rhys,” Aelin said, already hopping off her stool. Before Aedion could protest, Aelin was already out the door, walking down to Rhysand’s office. His light was still on, Aelin could still see the gas lamp burning near his open window. 

She didn’t bother to knock on the front door, rather she let herself in and was up the stairs before it had time to swing closed behind her.

Rhys’ head snapped up when she appeared in his doorway, forgetting whatever document he was looking at. “Miss Galathynius, hello.”

“I heard there’s a new sheriff.” She was breathless from the hurried walk over. “And I heard we need a new deputy.”

With a sigh, Rhysand sat down the pen in his hand. “I was afraid Ress might leave town with the position filled. I’ll have to see who I can come up with in the meantime. Cassian would-.”

“Let me,” she interrupted. “And not in the meantime. Let me be the sheriff’s deputy.”

Folding his hands on his desk, Rhys looked at her. “Aelin, are you sure that’s something you want?”

“You know I can handle myself, sir.” There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in her eyes.

“That you can,” he said, rubbing his jaw in thought. “I’ll sign it into effect tomorrow. I believe I still saw a lamp on, across the street, in the apartment above the office. I believe you’ll find Sheriff Whitethorn there, if you’d like to make an introduction, Deputy Galathynius.”

Aelin liked the sound of that. “Thank you, Mayor Lunasa.”

“Please, call me-.”

“Rhys, yeah, yeah,” Aelin said, rolling her eyes, fondly, as she picked up her skirts.

Rhysand only chuckled as Aelin inclined her head, then left. She would be the first to admit that she didn’t act like most ladies did. Sure, she was cordial, respectful, and modest, but Aelin Galathynius wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, especially to a man. 

It was a well-known fact. 

Aelin walked across the street, keeping her eye on the lamp that burned in the apartment above the sheriff's office. She didn’t bother announcing her entrance as she swept through the front door. At first, she went toward the stairs in the back, but then she noticed the sloshing noise and took a turn, where a tall, broad-shouldered man was on his hands and knees, scrubbing at the floor with an old rag. 

He must’ve been in the zone, because he hadn’t heard her answer.

“What are you doing?”

He froze, slowly looking over his shoulder at Aelin. His hat was off, his sleeves rolled up, his silver hair a sweaty mess. 

“Cleaning up blood that I did not spill,” he replied, voice gruff. “Can I help you?” 

Aelin lifted her chin. “I’m your new deputy.”

He blinked. “Excuse me, miss?”

“You are Sheriff Whitethorn, correct?” He nodded. “Then I’m your deputy. Mayor Lunasa has already made it official. All I lack is my badge, sir.”

Dropping the blood-soaked, dirty rag into the bucket, Rowan stood up to his full height, and Aelin had to tilt her head up to look into his face. “Miss, I don’t know what Rhysand told you but-.”

“My name is Aelin Galathynius, Sheriff Whitethorn, and I’d prefer you use it over miss, ma’am, or any of the other bullshit men call me.”

He blinked, completely taken off guard. “Pardon?”

“I can tell what you’re thinking, sir.”

Rowan couldn’t help but chuckle, although the light didn’t reach his eyes. “And what is that, Aelin Galathynius?”

The way he said her name only pissed her off more. 

“That I have no business being a deputy because I’m a woman,” Aelin snapped. “Which, I protest, considering there is no logical reasoning for it. Yes, I am a woman, and yes, I am perfectly capable of being an outstanding deputy.” 

“With all due respect,” Rowan began, without missing a beat, “there is no way you can do this job well wearing...that.” His eyes travelled over her dress, her heeled boots, and her exquisite hat. “Besides, your hair is pristine, and whatever that is on your face. You wouldn’t want to mess it up, doing whatever must be done any given day in this line of work.” 

Aelin took pride in her appearance, but she also took pride in her skill. 

“I have the best shot in this town,” Aelin said, hands on her hips. “And, with all due respect, the mayor has already granted my wish, and you have no say in the matter.” 

“We’ll see about that,” Rowan said, seething. 

Aelin lifted up her skirt, and Rowan averted his eyes, although her undergarments remained perfectly hidden as she took her gun out of the holster on her thigh. 

Rowan stilled. “What are you doing?”

“Proving a point,” she said, chin raised. “Give me a target.”

“I’m not going to-.”

She pointed the gun into the front room, pulled the trigger and Rowan heard glass shattering.

“Are you insane?” He cried, running to the front of the office. “You can’t shoot out the damn windows! You could-.”

She followed him after holstering her gun at her thigh and fluffing out her skirts. He was staring, wide eyed at his desk, covered in whiskey. The bottle was intact, but the shot glass that had been filled with amber liquid next to it…

It no longer existed.

He heard her heeled boots coming up behind him and as she stepped around him, she grabbed the five-pointed badge lying on the corner of his desk.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Sheriff, and don’t worry,” she said, looming over her shoulder. “I’ll make sure I don’t look so pristine.”

_________

Nesta was running late, but she was so tired that she really didn’t care. 

She would be punished for something, anyway, it may as well have been for another twenty minutes of freedom. After slipping on her boots and pushing open the door, Nesta came to a halt.

Elain was bent over her flower bed, clipping lilies. 

“I thought you would be in town already,” Nesta said, shutting the front door behind her. 

Elain stood up, a handful of lilies in her arms. “Azriel buried another man today. I was going to go decorate the tombless patch of dirt.” 

Nesta looked out at the horizon. “It’s getting dark, El. You shouldn’t be going to the graveyard alone at dark.” Or, anywhere at dark, alone. 

“I’m not, Azriel will be here shortly to go with me,” she assured her older sister. 

Nesta nodded, descending the stairs. “Be careful. I’ll be home late, don’t wait up.”

“I won’t,” Elain said, although she always did. 

Giving her sister one more glance, she wrapped her shawl tighter around herself and hurried into town, hoping she could make it before Maeve realized she was late. She knew there was no chance, was sure she was already watching the door from her booth. It made her pick up her pace, just a little more.

A horse whinnied from up ahead and she glanced up to see Cassian Nazari dismounting from his horse, outside of the saloon. He was walking up the stairs, and Nesta breathed a sigh of relief, as she thought she wouldn’t have to deal with his longing glances tonight. But then he stopped.

As if he could feel her gaze, he turned to look at her, and Nesta’s steps slowed until she was standing in the middle of the dusty road. She stood there, waiting for him to enter the saloon. He stood, waiting for her to come closer, but he didn’t. She wouldn’t until he was inside, so she wouldn’t have to listen to his pleas.

Nesta wasn’t stuck in Maeve’s servitude like many of her girls. Nesta was there to keep Elain from her clutches, knowing she’d do something  ensnare her.

It made every day hell on earth, but Nesta would continue to do it, would continue to enslave herself, if it meant keeping Elain safe. Elain didn’t have the heart for such a life, wouldn’t be able to bear it. 

Cassian’s eyes slowly fell to his feet before he continued his walk inside of the saloon, where he disappeared. A sudden pang of disappointment settled into the pit of Nesta’s stomach, even though he went in without her, which was exactly what she had wanted. 

As she entered, she avoided Cassian’s stare from the bar as she swept inside. She also avoided Maeve’s glare, but she didn’t make it far. 

“Nesta.”

Nesta stopped as she approached the wooden staircase and slowly turned around. 

Maeve sat in her booth, staring daggers at Nesta from where she sat. Nesta kept her chin held high as she approached the booth. 

She didn’t say a word.

“You are late,” Maeve said, quietly. “Which costs me money.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replied. She knew there was no point in apologizing or giving excuses. Maeve wouldn’t listen and they were likely to piss her off more. “I’ll be dressed and find a client in just a few moments.”

“You’ve already got a client,” Maeve replied, putting a cigarette to her lips and lighting a match. The tip of the cigarette glowed red, just like her painted lips. “Mr. Mandray has paid handsomely for your time, and you will be in his service for two hours. Now go. There’s cosmetics in your room. Use them, you have bags under your eyes.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nesta repeated, and was hurrying up the stairs.

Nesta didn’t live in the brothel above the saloon, not like some of the less fortunate girls. No, when their father had passed unexpectedly last winter, the house and land they lived on was already paid in full.

As she reached her door, the one across the hall opened and Nesta found Bryce Quinlar pulling her own shut. Her hair was a mess and the cosmetics she wore were smeared. She wore only a corset, thigh highs and her boots. She was bare from the waist down. Their eyes connected and Nesta quickly pulled a handkerchief from the bag she carried.

“Here.” She wiped the wayward makeup from her face and did her best to make her look presentable. She knew what walk she was about to have to make, they’d all had to do it from time to time.

The smile was sad, but it was a smile as she breathed, “Thank you.”

As Nesta entered her room to get ready for her own client, Bryce stood at the top of the stairs, trying to calm her shallow breathing.

Her room was lavish. 

Maeve always made sure of it, that their rooms were beautiful, exquisite even. It was their reward for doing her dirty work, night after night. 

They were forced to sell their bodies, but at least they had silk sheets. 

At the vanity on the far wall was the cosmetics that Maeve had so lovingly suggested that she used. She did, primping herself to perfection. After she figured she looked beautiful enough, she stripped out of her street dress and exchanged her old, ratty corset for the one that Maeve had paid for, the one that the clients liked. She rolled her stockings up to her thighs, then slipped on her boots, lacing them up before she sat on the edge of the bed, posing, waiting. 

She tried not to think of what Bryce was currently enduring downstairs. For whatever it was worth, she sent whatever power she could to her imprisoned sister on the floor below. 

A sudden knock came to the door, and Nesta tried not to jump. At least, she tried to erase the tense hold in her shoulders as the door swung open, and Tomas Mandray swept in, shutting the door behind him.

His bleary eyes were instantly on her, hungry. 

Nesta pushed down the need to puke as she lifted her chin and whispered, “I’ve been waiting for you.” 

The night had only just begun.

—————

Bryce was on her third client and it wasn’t even eight-thirty. She was exhausted, but she wasn’t about to show it, wasn’t about to exact Maeve’s wrath upon herself. 

The man lying on the bed beneath her was old enough to be her father, possibly even her grandfather. She couldn’t remember his name, nor did she want to, but she remembered what Maeve had murmured in her ear before she sat her on his lap in the saloon.

He’s paid a premium for you. What he wants, he gets.

Usually that meant she was going to be spit on or defiled in some way. But sometimes, that meant he wanted to humiliate her. The dark gleam in this man’s eyes told her early in the evening that she needed to shut her mind down, to take herself to that place inside of her head that could numb her.

“Get off.” The man gripped her hips and shoved her off of him. “Go get me a drink.” She nodded and climbed off the bed, reaching for her skirts-. “No.”

Bryce turned to look at him, hoping he didn’t see the pleading in her eyes.

“Leave them off.”

A silent nod and she was out the door.

The kindness Nesta Archeron offered her was more than she deserved and after cleaning her up a bit, Bryce was walking down the stairs, cool air hitting her in places she wished it never would.

Every eye was on her as she descended the stairs, some in pity, some hunger, some judgement. She tried not to look at any of them, most of all Maeve, who looked proud of the good little whore she’d become.

She paid attention to no one, nothing, until she was at the bar, but when she met the eyes of Hunt Athalar, he was shaking, seething. 

“Don’t, please,” she breathed, barely a whisper. She and Hunt had had the same conversation a million times, and she was so tired, it just wasn’t worth it, wasn’t worth the repetitiveness, not anymore. 

“He doesn’t even have the decency to let you dress?” he snapped, his voice low, looking around, giving anyone looking at her a death-glare. 

In a dreadful, monotone voice, Bryce answered, “He isn’t finished yet.” 

Hunt’s jaw hardened. “Bryce-.”

“Whiskey.”

“Bryce,” he tried, again, unmoving. “Let me give you my jacket, something-.” 

“Whiskey,” she repeated, trying to keep that part of her shut down, those emotions that longed for the man behind the bar, the yearning that brewed so passionately beneath the surface. 

With weary eyes he fetched a half-empty bottle of whiskey and handed it to her. As she reached for it, he wrapped his hand around hers, not caring who saw. 

“I’ve almost got enough,” he whispered, leaning over the bar, closer to her. She could smell the bourbon on his breath, could see the desperate plea in his eyes.

She glanced around, making sure Maeve couldn’t see them, seeing if anyone was watching. “It will never be enough, Hunt, she’ll always-.”

“I don’t give a shit. One day, we’re leaving this piece of shit town behind. You and me.”

Before she could let herself believe him, before she could let herself hope or dream or even feel, she swallowed hard and hurried away, back up the stairs, back to her own personal hell.

[imaginedhaven]

Rules of Engagement: Chapter Three

Link to Masterpost

Prince Dorian arrived in Orynth four days later, three days before her birthday, and Aelin greeted him with a smile. She had donned a simple gown of Terrasen green for the occasion, and a circlet of twisted golden strands kept her loose hair from falling into her face. “Prince Dorian, it’s an honor to meet again after so long,” she said in welcome. “I thank you for taking the journey from Adarlan to celebrate with us.”

Dorian answered her smile with an easy grin of his own, sapphire eyes sparkling against dark curls. “The journey was easy enough, and the pleasure is mine,” he said. “And it is good to meet you again, after… what, almost eleven years, now?”

“A long time, indeed,” Aelin replied. “I do hope your visit will give us time to become reacquainted with one another.”

“As do I,” he smiled. “Perhaps you could reacquaint me with the castle grounds, if you have the time?”

Aelin glanced to her right, where Regent Darrow stood, and he nodded his approval. “I certainly have the time,” she replied. “Are you tired from your journey? Should we meet at a later time?”

“If I’m being honest, your company would likely be far more relaxing than unpacking my things,” the prince grinned, offering her his arm.

Aelin laughed softly and stepped up to him, gracefully slipping her hand into the crook of his elbow and leading him away from the throne room. “Were you hoping for a tour of the grounds, or the common areas of the castle?” she asked.

Dorian laughed, the sound a rich baritone that filled the hallway in which they stood. “You’ve caught me, I’m afraid,” he admitted. “I’ve heard tales of the Library of Orynth, and now that we’ve slipped away from your regent and he doesn’t expect to see me until the evening I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.”

“I didn’t realize you were so interested in literature,” Aelin blurted out before she could stop herself. “Pardon me, I know as Crown Prince of Adarlan you would have to be well-read, but…”

“Oh, please don’t tell me you thought I was a warrior,” he replied, eyes wide in feigned terror. “I can wield a sword well enough, my guard made sure of that, but I’ll admit I would rather be reading.”

Aelin smiled and began leading him toward the library. “I’m afraid my lessons in magic take up most of my days now, but before that I loved sneaking off to the library myself,” she confessed. “Truly, I believe you could find a book or a scroll about any topic you imagined in our collection. I’ll admit that I miss it, so I’ll take you there myself, on one condition.”

Dorian gave her a conspiratorial grin. “And what might that condition be?”

“You must allow me to accompany you. After all, my regent likely thinks I’m showing you the rose garden, or perhaps the stables. It would seem odd if I simply abandoned you now.”

“That seems fair enough,” he allowed. “Perhaps you could direct me to some of your favorites.”

“Oh, I’m not sure your visit is long enough for that list,” she said with a laugh. “We’ll have to discuss a few of them, though, as well as some of yours.”

As they turned a corner and she opened a door, Aelin smiled at one of her favorite sights in the world.

The library encompassed an entire floor on its own, and she suspected there was even more to it than what she had explored. Each wall was filled floor to ceiling with books and scrolls, and each room was packed with as many shelves as it could reasonably hold. It was more than enough for a person to get lost in, and Aelin had herself, on many occasions. The shelves were loosely categorized by topic, with the newer books toward the entrance and the older ones in harder to reach areas. The oldest scrolls, Aelin knew, were kept shielded by a layer of glass, with only the most experienced of their historians allowed to move them.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked as she glanced over at her companion.

Dorian simply stared around himself, eyes wide as he took in the vast array of texts that made up this section of the library. “I hardly know where to begin,” he breathed.

“I felt the same way myself,” Aelin admitted, “the first time I came here. It’s easy to get lost if you’re not careful. And what you’re seeing is only one chamber, the library takes up at least this entire floor.”

“Truly?”

“And that’s only the parts I’ve explored myself,” she grinned. “Is there a particular topic that holds your interest? Philosophy? History? The arts?”

And as Dorian began to tell her of his most recent finds in the Adarlan library, Aelin led him toward her favorite corner. A window on each wall gave the area light during most hours of the day, and a small desk sat tucked against the southern wall. In front of the desk was a chair, worn but still comfortable, and writing supplies were neatly laid out on the desk’s surface. It was just enough space for a few pieces of paper in addition to a single book, and she had spent countless hours in this very space as she learned about the kingdom she was to inherit.

A small corner of the desk was scorched, and Aelin ran her fingertips across the burned wood fondly. “I did this when I was eight,” she said. “I had slipped away from my parents, and I was hiding among the shelves when I found this little desk. One of the guardsmen found me, but I was so lost in the tale I was reading that I didn’t hear him approach until his hand was on my shoulder. It was the first time my magic truly manifested, and I was banned from the library for almost a year.”

“What made them change their minds?” Dorian asked as he inspected the scorch marks himself.

Aelin laughed softly. “Mostly the fact that they couldn’t keep me out,” she admitted. “I kept sneaking in whenever I could. Even now, when I could ask for whatever books I wish to be delivered to my rooms…”

Dorian nodded. “I agree. It’s not quite the same, is it? I’ve always preferred what I found myself.”

As they continued to talk, Aelin allowed her mind to wander. This meeting had already gone better than she could have possibly dreamed. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so hard to be married to him, she mused.

If only her magic lessons were proceeding as smoothly as this arrangement was beginning to.

~*~*~

The next morning, Aelin grunted as her back hit the dirt of the training grounds for the third time. With a frustrated growl, she rolled onto her front and lifted herself onto her hands and knees, only allowing herself a single breath before springing back to her feet and whirling around to once more face her attacker.

Aedion laughed where he stood above her, one hand still extended in an offer to help her to her feet. “You realize you don’t actually have to do this, right?” he asked. “No one expects you to be a master of hand-to-hand combat, especially given your magic and your skills with a knife.”

“I don’t always have a knife, and I can’t rely on my magic,” Aelin replied, tucking a strand of stray hair back into her braid. “I have to be able to take on someone bigger and stronger than me, or at least not lose terribly.”

Aedion looked unimpressed, arms crossing over his chest as he leaned against a fence post. “And this has nothing whatsoever to do with how your magic training is going,” he drawled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said haughtily. “My training is—”

He cut her off with a laugh. “Cousin, for that to work I would’ve needed to not witness your training myself. You two really started off on the wrong foot, didn’t you?”

That didn’t begin to describe it, really, but Aelin knew there was a limit to what she could tell him. “You could say that. He’s so…”

As she grasped for words, Aedion lifted a single golden eyebrow. “I’ve never known you to lack an opinion,” he remarked. “Don’t tell me you’re uncertain now.”

“Infuriating,” she finally snarled. “He’s absolutely infuriating. Condescending. Smug. Patronizing. Maddening.” With each word she spat, she threw another punch at Aedion.

Of course, he neatly blocked each attack she launched at him. “Don’t you think in this subject he might know best? I think a few centuries of honing your magic for offensive tactics as much as he has would allow someone to be a little confident in their own knowledge.”

“I’d feel better about it if he wasn’t so… him,” she growled. “It’s like nothing I do is even close to good enough, or even enough to merit any kind of reaction at all!”

Aedion laughed then. “He’s got good insight, certainly. He can’t have just guessed that the easiest way to get under your skin is to act like you’re not getting under his.”

With a shout, Aelin darted in again. This time, she finally managed to land a glancing blow that slid along his ribs. With a knife it would have been devastating, but as it was he just grinned at her. “Better,” he said. “You have to remember your targets are different when you don’t have a blade, though.”

She growled in response and admitted, “I got lucky. You were distracted.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” he replied. “Distraction is a valid tactic, used correctly. It may be your best advantage in this kind of situation. Believe it or not, you’re not always going to be the biggest or strongest person in the room. You have to use other strengths.”

“You make it sound so easy,” she sighed.

Aedion shrugged. “Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. But I don’t think it’s wrong to do what it takes to make sure you can fight another day. Now. Is this really about learning hand-to-hand combat, or do you honestly think you need an excuse to talk to your own cousin about what’s on your mind?”

Aelin laughed and carefully untwisted the knot she had tied her braided hair into. “Please,” she said breezily. “You know I have no problem with interrupting anything unimportant. Besides, training with you was the only way I could get out of training with… him.”

“Oh, so we’re not even saying his name now?” Aedion grinned.

“Is there a reason we should be?” she asked. “I’ve heard that saying someone’s name while they’re absent can attract… unwanted attention. Especially from someone whose hearing is naturally heightened because he’s not human.”

Her cousin sighed, running a hand through his own golden locks. “You really don’t like him, do you?”

“I don’t trust him,” Aelin replied. “The first full-blooded Fae to visit our court in years, not to mention blood-sworn to their queen, who I also don’t trust. I’m surprised you seem to be getting along with him as well as you are, if I’m being honest.”

Aedion shrugged in response. “He’s a warrior, through and through. Very practical. I can respect that. Besides, his training with the Bane has been enlightening.”

“You let him train with you, knowing that he could be made to report on every detail he happens to see at his queen’s will?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he grinned. “I see everything that he sees. Let him report that we train hard. Let him tell her our strength as a company. And if she presses further, let him admit that he helped us become stronger. I’m certain he’ll find a way around mentioning that fact for as long as possible.”

Aelin grinned back at him. “You let him in to limit how much he would feel comfortable reporting. How devious.”

“Well, we can’t all be you, but I do try sometimes,” he replied.

Aelin took a step back and stretched, arms over her head, before relaxing once more. “Well. Keep up the good work. I’m sure I’m going to want to try this again soon.”

“Is it really necessary?” Aedion asked. “You could just—”

But before she could hear his suggestions on how to deal with her training she was already walking away from the field. She knew that Rowan would find her for training in the afternoon regardless of where she hid, but she was hoping she could spend just a little more time in the library before he dragged her out. Perhaps it would be merely delaying the inevitable, but the last thing she wanted at this point was to sit around and wait for him.

~*~*~

Predictably, Aelin had only just found what appeared to be a promising book when Rowan found her. Knowing her time was up and it was pointless to fight it, Aelin quietly handed her find to a librarian and asked for it to be delivered to her rooms before following him back down the stairs and out to the training grounds.

Despite having known that it was inevitable that he would find her, Aelin found herself scowling at his broad shoulders as they walked. “I hope you enjoyed your morning,” she offered as they left the castle and began walking to the grounds. “After all, you so frequently mention what you could do if you weren’t so busy with me, it must have been delightful.”

“Some of us actually work,” he replied shortly. “Not everyone has the luxury of whiling away their days indoors among friends, regardless of whether or not you’re gracing them with your presence.”

Aelin took a deep breath in an effort to maintain her calm. Perhaps her best recourse would be to do as he did and act as though she was unbothered by anything. “I hardly think you would consider a day indoors a luxury,” she said lightly. “As a matter of fact, if I didn’t know you were assigned your own rooms when you arrived I would wonder if perhaps you spent your nights nesting in a tree.”

Rowan paused at the entrance to the training grounds, just long enough to open the gate and let both of them in. “Perhaps if you spent less time wondering about my sleeping arrangements and more time focusing on your training, you’d have already mastered your shift and possibly even your magic.”

Aelin felt her fingers curl into fists at her side, and it was an effort to relax them again. Calm, she reminded herself. She would keep her calm. She wouldn’t fall victim to his condescension, not today. Instead, she reached up to her braided hair and carefully wound it around itself until it was knotted out of her way. “I think you overestimate the amount of time I spend wondering about your sleeping arrangements,” she mused. “Believe me when I say I try to spend as little time outside of our delightful little sessions thinking about you as I can get away with.”

Rather than show any outward reaction to her comments, Rowan simply sat in the center of the training ground. “You could be rid of that burden even sooner, you know. All you have to do is shift.”

Aelin scowled as she joined him on the ground, carefully crossing her legs and tucking her feet underneath herself. “What does it matter to you, anyway?” she asked. “What’s stopping you from telling Regent Darrow that we’re through and leaving?”

“I presume you haven’t forgotten about the oath I swore to my queen,” came his reply. “I am under orders to help you gain control over your abilities, and cannot leave until my task is complete.”

“That certainly hasn’t stopped you before,” Aelin snapped as heat began coursing through her veins.

Faintly, as if through a thick blanket, she felt the air around them grow cold and still. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rowan snarled, fangs exposed and pine-green eyes sharp and frigid.

Aelin laughed, though there was no humor in the sound. “Your precious oath to your precious queen,” she mocked as he growled. “It hasn’t stopped you from leaving before.”

The wind picked up suddenly, blasting her onto her back in a frigid whirlwind—or was it the male himself and not his magic that had knocked her back? It had happened so quickly, she couldn’t be certain. His fingers encircled her wrists as he pinned her to the dirt, and as Aelin looked on his eyes grew cold and dark. “Do not speak in that tone about that which you do not understand,” he said sharply.

Gods, what had she said that had provoked such rage in his face but such deadness in his eyes? Despite a small voice in the back of her head shrieking about caution, she pressed on. “I fail to see what there is to understand or not understand,” she continued. “You’ve left me before. You do it every gods-damned rutting day. You’ve left me completely alone, with nothing but my own thoughts to remind myself of what a failure I am.” All of it was true, and suddenly Aelin realized just how much it had been bothering her all this time.

For all that she gave the outward appearance of being surrounded by friends, Aelin knew there were precious few people she could trust with every part of herself lest they abandon her. Her cousin, for all she knew he loved her, put the security of her kingdom above herself—as he should, and as she had asked of him. Lysandra was more likely to be understanding, but less likely to fully grasp the complexity of the messes she had put herself into through her own actions. She couldn’t even be certain she could trust her dearest friends, for they had kingdoms of their own to maintain and would quite possibly take advantage of any weakness she let them see.

Worse still, most of those people who had known all of her were lost to her. Her parents had passed long ago, and the one person who had taken the time to learn all of her, the person she would’ve left everything behind for if she had to—he was gone, too, taken beyond her reach. Moreover, anyone who she could tell about him would immediately realize what she had come to know in the years since his passing. Her first and only love had been her greatest weakness and her biggest failure of them all, in more ways than one, and nothing she could do now could possibly make up for it.

While she had been lost in her thoughts, Rowan had only grown more irate. “Well, perhaps if you could master something as basic as shifting you wouldn’t think of yourself as such a failure,” he retorted as his grip on her wrists tightened.

Suddenly, a deadly calm washed over Aelin as she realized she had had enough of this. “If you’re trying to provoke me into shifting, you’d be better off hitting me again,” she snapped. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t know, and I certainly don’t need help remembering my own failings. Or you could just leave me again, you know, like you’re so good at doing.”

A growl filled the air and then there was a sharp pain piercing the junction of her neck and her shoulder. It took her a moment to grasp what had happened, but as Rowan spat a mouthful of blood—her blood—onto the ground, she realized he had bitten her.

Through her sudden rage at such a possessive and claiming act from someone who hated her as much as Rowan did, she heard a shriek and dimly recognized it as her own voice. The ground appeared before her, silver hair splayed across the dirt—had she flipped them? She couldn’t recall—and her hands clawed at his chest as a brief moment of agony surged through her.

Then she bared her own fangs at him, and there was nothing but fire.

~*~*~

Later that evening, Aelin paced in the hallway outside of the healers’ wing, hands clutching at a small jar of salve she had taken while no one was paying attention. It had been an impulsive decision to take it, and one she didn’t regret, but following through with the next phase of her plan was significantly more daunting. Even as nerves threatened to overtake her, though, she knew she had to carry on. It was her own fault she was in this mess, anyhow.

It would be easy to blame Rowan, and to say he had brought it on himself through his own actions. It would be easy to stew in self-righteous anger threaded through with self-pity. But it would be wrong to ignore her own role in the fight they’d had, and the consequences of her own loss of control were seared into her mind’s eye.

After he had bitten her, Aelin had finally, finally shifted—and then promptly lost control of her magic. Flames had swirled around them both, singeing the ends of her own hair as well as his. Before long, though, she was left gasping for breath, collapsed against his unfairly broad chest as the flames around them extinguished. He had pulled the air away from her, she realized now, and in so doing had deprived the fire of the fuel it required. Her aunt truly had sent a well-suited trainer, as angry as it still made her that it had been deemed necessary. Not someone with similar powers, but someone who could contain her as she learned to control the fires that burned within her.

That is, assuming he wanted anything to do with her now. Which he probably didn’t.

When she had shifted her weight to pull away from him, he had done his best to hide his reaction, but her enhanced eyesight had caught the tiniest flinch. She had looked down and gasped, scrambling away from him.

There were two holes in the fabric of his shirt from where she had burned through it, and underneath those holes bright red welts had just been beginning to blister.

Before she had gathered the nerve to say anything to him at all he had already stood, stalking away with some snarled remark about her lack of control and leaving her to stare after him. She had then looked down at her trembling hands, curling them into fists as she realized that of course her own flesh was unharmed. Aside from occasional scorched hair, she had never once harmed herself with her own power. She had only harmed those around her, and this lapse in control had been no exception.

Aelin shook her head in a vain attempt to clear her mind. She’d gone out of her way to stay in her rooms for the evening meal, doing her best to read and not worry about what was passing without her. It wasn’t until Aedion had returned from the evening meal that she learned that Rowan had been absent as well.

She had then gone to check with the palace healers, but it was apparent that he hadn’t stopped by to have his burns—the burns she had given him—examined. And so she had stolen a small jar of healing salve, which led her to her current predicament.

The ideal situation would be for her to find his rooms empty and simply leave the jar somewhere he could find it. Even as she thought it, though, she realized both that it was unlikely to work and that it wouldn’t be enough. No, she needed to own up to her shortcomings and apologize properly.

Aelin growled softly and tugged at the ends of her newly-trimmed hair, which now fell just below her shoulders. It was ridiculous to be this concerned over him when he was so clearly unconcerned with her, but she couldn’t stop reliving the moment she realized just how badly she had burned him. Even though most people would say he had certainly provoked it, the memory still turned her stomach.

She took a deep breath and strode purposefully to the rooms Rowan had been assigned before she could talk herself out of it. Luckily, she ran into no one else along the way. It was confusing enough to her that she was doing this to begin with; she couldn’t imagine trying to explain it to anyone else.

Steeling her nerves, she knocked on his door and received only a wordless grunt in reply. Taking that as permission, Aelin carefully opened the door and froze at the sight that greeted her.

She had obviously interrupted Rowan in the middle of cutting his own singed hair; a pile of silver strands laid on his desk beside a knife. His shirt was off, and before she could stop herself her eyes traced along the swirling lines of his tattoo. Without clothing to cover the marks she could see that it flowed unbroken along the entire left side of his body, across his shoulder and down his arm all the way to his fingertips. He turned to face her, pine-green eyes narrowing in irritation, and she thrust the jar of salve in his direction before he could say a word. “For the burns,” she managed.

He delicately took the jar from her grasp and inspected it before setting it aside. “I deserved it,” he admitted, and Aelin knew without asking that this was as close to an apology for his own actions as she was likely to receive.

Aelin shrugged in reply, tucking a strand of hair behind an ear that was once more rounded rather than pointed like his own. “That doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad about it, or that I don’t.”

Rowan frowned, studying her as though she was a particularly stubborn puzzle. “We need to work on your control,” he finally said. “I told you to shift, not to throw a magical tantrum.”

Just like that Aelin forgot she had ever felt bad for her part in it, the feeling replaced by the sparks of irritation that constantly burned through her whenever they spoke. “You didn’t tell me to do anything,” she snapped. “You bit me. What the rutting hell was that, anyway, some sort of domineering Fae male horseshit?”

He shrugged, and sympathy warred with vindictive delight as the motion pulled his burned chest taut. “It worked, didn’t it? You shifted. Now you just need to learn to do it on command instead of reacting like a sheltered princess who didn’t get her way.”

Aelin crossed her arms as she leaned against the door frame. “I fail to see what my title has to do with any of this,” she said.

“I’ve spent a great deal of time observing how you act these past few weeks,” he replied. “The only thing holding you back is your own fear.”

“I think it’s reasonable to be afraid of hurting the people around me,” she snarled.

“Which is why you need to learn,” Rowan snapped back as he finally stood. “If you can’t manage to set your fears aside and learn some godsdamned control, you’ll truly become the worthless figurehead you fear you are. I have neither the time nor the patience to coach you through whatever trifling fears you’ve experienced in your terribly short life, nor do I care. I am here to teach you to control your magic, not to assuage your sense of self-pity, and certainly not to be your friend. The sooner you realize that, the sooner we can both be rid of each other. Hate me if you must. I do not care.”

Before Aelin could reach through the sudden wave of tingling numbness that rushed through her and find the words to respond to such obvious animosity, Rowan crossed the room in four quick strides. “Now get out,” he snarled as he slammed the door in her face.

Aelin stared at the wood scant inches away from her face, jaw slack in surprise, before collecting herself enough to walk away. She didn’t make it far, though, slipping into an abandoned room nearby rather than attempt to maintain her composure all the way back to her own rooms.

She hadn’t expected Rowan to be particularly interested in listening to her, she reminded herself. She had injured him mere hours beforehand, after all. Not to mention that, as he had so rudely reminded her, he was only to stay until she had mastered her own power and then they would never see each other again.

It wasn’t even as if she particularly liked him. He was domineering and stubborn, and his temper ran as hot as her own for all that he had mastered his own control over ice and wind rather than fire. But perhaps in spite of the similarities she saw in them, or perhaps because of them, she couldn’t help but feel that it might’ve been nice to talk with him just once. To understand, and to be understood in turn rather than hated.

Aelin shook her head. It was a foolish notion, for a foolish girl. She should have known better.

Despite that knowledge, though, she couldn’t help but feel as if a small part of her had curled up and died along with that foolish hope. It shouldn’t have mattered that he thought so little of her. He barely knew her, and their time as master and student was limited in scope. It shouldn’t have mattered at all.

But it did, and she couldn’t for the life of her begin to figure out why.

[adm-online-usa]

Tempered Glass: Better than ordinary?

Nowadays, tempered glass is used in a wide variety in place of annealed or ordinary glass including bath enclosures, windows, shower doors, table-tops, ovens, screen protectors for mobile phones, computer screens and many more. The question arises is it a better option to use tempered glass even for large appliances and equipment. In actual, tempered glass is processed by heating and then quickly cooling the material. It comes with a different structure and thus forms a better density as compared to standard glass. 

Due to various qualities, tempered glass has a good list of qualities which are as follows:

1. Safe - The biggest advantage of tempered glass is that it never breaks into large and dangerous shards like annealed glass rather it disintegrates into small granular even chunks which get rid of the danger of sharp edges and lower the risk of injury. Due to this reason, tempered glass is often referred to as “safety glass”. 

2. Scratch-resistant - Thermal tempering process makes tempered glass tough and also scratch-resistant. 

3. Tough nature - Tempered Glass is manufactured using a thermal tempering process which makes it much stronger than ordinary glass. It is five times thicker than plastic screen protectors and thus provides better shock protection. Even, it can stand up to strong winds, blows and minor explosions.

4. Heat-resistance - Tempered Glass can resist temperatures of up to 470 degrees Fahrenheit therefore, it is an ideal option for kitchen appliances. 

5. Crystal-clear property - Tempered glass is transparent and crystal-clear and this property makes it useful in windows, glass doors and display cases.

6. Versatile - Whether it’s about a fully transparent smartphone screen protector or sturdy frameless shower door; tempered glass can be used practically anywhere glass is needed. 

7. Sound-reduction - Tempered glass has almost twice the soundproofing abilities of standard glass thus, providing a reduction in noise levels of up to 60 dB.

8. Designs and patterns - Available in an array of patterns and designs and a variety of clear, frosted, engraved, stained, and patterned; tempered glass is considered the best option to suit your needs. 

If you want to go for something which lasts longer and also offers lots of benefits for various applications, no need to think twice. Just make a final mark for Tempered Glass and prevent your glass from shattering.   

[raffertybrennan-blog]

All Those Things You Want to Know About Business Kitchen Equipment

Buying suitable commercial kitchen tools are essential or you do wind up with inferior grade material which will be of no good. Exactly what to be regarded as through the buy You must properly plan what sort of equipment you will require along with the order of their priority. For this reason, the plethora of menu available from you'll be a vital factor. It can be far better have a non rusting material which will be simpler to keep clean and maintain besides being more hygienic. A research has to be made of the different vendors selling such equipment available in the market. It is essential to purchase the equipment from reliable and renowned kitchen equipment manufacturers which means your equipment can last for long times to come. Such established vendors offer discounts if your products are purchased in bulk and also provide free after sales service for any specific period however goes completely wrong together with the equipment. You may obtain durable and also quality goods that will enable you to provide your customers well for a long while.

Basic Commercial Kitchen Equipment Following points give a perception of principle commercial kitchen equipment which will be required for starters: Cooking utensils Reliable commercial kitchen equipment manufacturers need to be tapped to ensure that you set a completely equipped working kitchen. Some of the items which belong to this category include the kitchen ranges, ovens, fryers, cooling trays etc. In terms of the kitchen range is involved it is important for you to check the available space along with the capacity needed and plan you buy the car accordingly. Ovens are another piece of equipment that's indispensable inside the cooking process. Several varieties such as the convection ovens, pizza ovens, industrial ovens etc are available; select one for your requirements the best. Besides these, there are numerous others like blenders, juicers, toasters etc that will must be purchased in industry. Refrigeration Equipment Apart from the regular refrigerators, pantry fridge and under counter refrigerator are a couple of most crucial types of commercial equipment coming under this category. Glass door refrigerators can also be popular nowadays. The typical refrigerators normally used in commercial kitchens include the 4 door refrigerators which offer ample space for storage. Exhaust Equipment It is a must to ensure that your commercial kitchen continues to be as well as oil-free as you possibly can. An exhaust fan pushes the fumes towards the exteriors through a chimney. The most up-to-date exhaust equipment is sold with auto cleaning technology and lights which cuts down on the task and expense of maintenance. A wide array of these items exists out there and you may take advantage choice most notable. These items just give a glimpse of the few issues that can be found in pertaining to people who desire to buy kitchen equipment's for hotels. To learn more about bep cong nghiep check this useful resource.

[cortezcirocco-blog]

Neodymium magnets, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, NdFeB magnets with superpowers

Neodymium Super Magnets very strong magnets for glass magnetic boards, magnetic board, whiteboard, chalkboard, pin board. Neodymium is just one of the uncommon earth steels as well as is an unique material: in mix with iron and also boron, it can be utilized to generate the world's greatest irreversible magnets These can be made in various kinds. Their nickel-copper-nickel coating additionally provides an eye-catching, silver surface area. We have actually assembled in our deal the best neodymium magnets (additionally extremely magnets, power magnets, called). If you hold neodymium magnets for the very first time in your hands, you will not be amazed. These incredibly magnets stand up to 1000 times their own weight. In an ordinary home, a selection of neodymium magnets are in usage. The fields of application of the very magnets include electric motors, generators, loudspeakers and also obviously the neodymium magnet is likewise utilized as office magnet. There are numerous situations in life where, for a variety of reasons, you might intend to place a note somewhere, as an example, so as not to neglect essential days or anything else. With a neodymium magnet and also the matching ground, that's no problem. If you wish to buy neodymium magnets Osenc is the excellent remedy for you. With a neodymium magnet and also the matching ground, that's no problem. If you wish to purchase neodymium magnets Osenc is the best remedy for you. With a neodymium magnet as well as the matching ground, that's no problem. If you wish to acquire neodymium magnets Osenc is the best solution for you.

Neodymium magnets, neodymium-iron-boron magnets, NdFeB magnets with superpowers

What various sorts of magnets exist? Neodymium magnets, bar magnets, disc magnets, round magnets, ring magnets, dice magnets, block magnets, cone magnets as well as various other variants can be located in the profession. Very much popular are the projects with neodymium magnets . They have a fairly little area and also a small volume. Nonetheless, they are stronger than the various other agents of the magnets. Disc magnets, as an example, make good sense when setting up closet doors if the cabinet door is to shut effectively. When it pertains to smart video games, the sphere magnet is in demand. Along with the advantage for game fans, he can likewise hold light documents on the wall surface and wants to it yet appealing - its counterpart are the cube and the cuboid magnet. Lastly, ring magnets need to be discussed. Their appearance is appealing. What establishes the neodymium magnet in addition to other magnets? Additionally relates to magnets, magnet is not the very same magnet. The high magnetic tourist attraction of neodymium magnets results from their product and also its mix with iron and boron. The starting product neodymium belongs to the so-called rare earth steels, also described as rare earth steel. Neodymium magnets are the greatest long-term magnets worldwide and also even a very small neodymium magnet has as much appeal as standard, larger magnets. Their super-strong adhesion, yet also their exceptional nickel-copper-nickel coating, which offer the magnets their silver surface, make the neodymium magnets so special. These magnets can additionally be made use of outdoors since they are weather and temperature level resistant, up to temperature levels of over 80 ° C, are. Where are neodymium magnets most frequently used? Whether the neodymium magnets are new or utilized, makes no distinction to their bond. They are a perfect bolt in many areas, such as pinboards in the residence, schools and also kindergartens, but also in public institutions and organisations. If you intend to get a neodymium magnet used, you can pick between different forms. The magnets are made in the shape of discs, rounds, cubes, cubes, rods, spheres and also rings as well as are additionally excellent as a present for enthusiasts. Strong neodymium magnets - the toughest on the planet are genuine incredibly magnets! These solid magnets maintain for life their high magnetic destination (long-term magnets) and are perfect bolts for numerous applications. Unlike connecting with various other means (eg, screws, and so on), these links are quickly as well as quickly releasable without leaving any drill holes or other damage. At Osenc.com you'll locate a variety of neodymium-iron-boron magnets (NdFeB) in many different shapes and sizes. You will certainly likewise find accessories and craft magnets. Almost all people that enter call with neodymium magnets for the first time are stunned by the great destination. In technique, this high glue pressure of neodymium magnets can be made use of in a selection of ways. Neodymium magnets (neodymium iron boride (NdFeB)) are the toughest permanent magnets worldwide. A neodymium magnet stands up to 2000 times its own weight - It's like a human lifting a Boeing 747!! Killer magnets extra strong. A magnet the size of a cent item conveniently raises a vacuum cleaner, and even tiny magnets from about 4cm ³ can rarely be separated by hand! These magnets have a much higher flux density than typical "fridge or pinboard magnets". Whether you take place a treasure hunt or merely grab steel shavings is up to you. The variety of applications for neodymium magnets is very vast - even more info below! Neodymium magnet and also its buildings? Super magnets made of neodymium have a high sticky power and also tiny quantity, hence making it possible for brand-new technological remedies and also opening up a wide range of applications. We supply magnets as well as neodymium magnets in various basic shapes from supply ( discs, cubes, cubes, rings, rods and rounds ). Their nickel-copper-nickel covering also gives them an eye-catching, silver surface. Application of neodymium magnets. In addition to the functional applications, the neodymium magnets can also be made use of for playing, trying out and creating ornamental things. Exceptionally flexible are self-adhesive magnets, as they abide by virtually anywhere. Practical applications in the residence as well as workplace Applications in the workshop and residence improvement Designing applications Creative and ornamental Applications in medication Other applications Magnets simply for playing Where Can You Buy Neodymium (NdFeB) Magnets? We offer business and also private clients premium quality long-term magnets. Our range and also item array consists of sintered neodymium magnets with a vast array of top quality NdFeB products with various magnetic properties. Strong magnets made from neodymium can be found in our magnet shop Osenc. Straight from our production and guaranteed at best costs!

[sethkate]

For Beckett & Cleo: 😲, 👙 and 💪 xx

😲 Smack my muse’s butt

A rare, 80 degree heatwave had passed through New York for Labor day weekend, calling for another one of Cleo and Beckett’s joint ragers. An array of high profile guests moseyed about poolside at the King manor, all taking full advantage of the wealth the modern day palace had to offer.

Cleo, against her wishes, was dragged inside the mansion by Ivy, who drunkenly was attempting to coax more of the partygoers into doing shots with her. Every small glass she made an effort to fill with the overpriced liquor ended up splattering on the serving tray beneath it, but Cleo couldn’t be bothered. She wasn’t the one footing the bill for this party so she didn’t care.

Bent over with her elbows perched on the granite island countertop, Cleo idly scrolled through her Instagram feed, criticizing each post that passed. How dare anyone try to top her last summer shindig by advertising pictures of their own elaborate parties?

Hearing the glass doors of the kitchen slide open, Cleo pulled her attention up from her phone screen. She was prepared to bite the head off of whichever patrons decided to try and sneak inside for a quickie or a taste of the good stuff they kept reserved for those who were in the inner circle, but she was greeted by Beckett instead.

Usually Cleo would seize any opportunity to bitch at Beckett for no reason at all, but lately, the only time she found herself raising her voice around the male was when they were caught in bed together and he was doing things to her body that made her eyes roll back and her toes curl. Even seeing him now in the broad daylight after the filthy things that occurred between them last night forced a faint flush to the girl’s tanned cheeks.

Fresh out of the pool, Beckett’s body glistened with tiny water droplets and he left large, wet footprints in his wake as he crossed the kitchen towards the fridge. Of course he didn’t bother with a fucking towel. Not when he had Rita at his beck and call. Cleo did her best to seem disinterested as he passed behind her, only because her friend was a few feet away. The last thing she needed was Ivy knowing what was going on between them. 

Still, that didn’t stop the ever-rebellious King progeny from using a full, wide palm to squeeze Cleo’s ass before reaching for a cold beer from the door of the fridge. The brunette jumped a bit, taken aback by the suddenness of the gesture. Cleo quickly made sure Ivy was still fumbling through her task before whipping around and shooting Beckett a wide-eyed glare. Her mouth didn’t move, but her hazel hues screamed ‘what the fuck are you thinking?’. 

Beckett challenged her with his telltale, smug grin as he shook out his hair, enjoying the silent battle that raged between them. Cleo was fuming, but Beckett couldn’t have been more amused. A situation where Cleo had to keep her big mouth shut? He couldn’t think of anything more perfect. 

Ivy’s slurred voice was the only thing that pulled their gazes away from one another, forcing Cleo to spin around again. Heaven forbid she and Beckett even get caught making lingering eye contact with one another. “I’m taking these outside.” Her friend murmured, stumbling a bit as she lifted the now full tray and headed towards the door. Cleo should have volunteered to take it for her so she didn’t make an absolute fool of herself, but unfortunately, her focus was currently elsewhere. Namely on the soaking wet, half-naked, six foot something fuck boy she had hovering behind her.

As soon as the door closed, Cleo exhaled a long sigh, instantly feeling the anxious tension leave her shoulders. Seconds later, she was met by another startling sensation. A quick, hard slap right against her backside. Cleo let out a soft yelp, but secretly reveled in the feeling, enjoying the bitter sting of it. Beckett could tell too, reading every unspoken word of her body language. He gloated from behind, sipping his beer as he waited for the giant, red welt to form on the curve of her perfect ass.

“What the hell was that for?” Cleo hissed, her eyes filled with a faux, fiery rage. It was easier pretending to hate him than the alternative, which was showing him just how badly she craved him again. That if there wasn’t an entire pool party going on right outside the door, Cleo probably would have begged him to take her right then and there. Or at least, firmly suggested it, since Cleo Sutherland was certainly no beggar. 

“I thought you were giving me your ‘I want it rougher look’.” Beckett mused, towering over Cleo’s small form. He had his own precarious thoughts floating through his mind, but he knew better than to try anything too risky. Rolling her eyes in his direction, Cleo put a hand on her hip defiantly. “You know that look. And that? That was not that look.” 

Setting his beer down on the counter, Beckett reached for her other hip, yanking her closer to him. Cleo barely resisted, allowing her body to be firmly manipulated under his touch. “You liked it though, didn’t you?” He asked, a devilish sparkle in his eye. Beckett didn’t need his question answered to know how Cleo felt. It was clear as day by the manner in which she seemed to melt into him, desperate for more contact.

Roughly, he then spun her around and bent her over at the waist, pressing her bikini clad body against the counter. A soft gasp fell through Cleo’s parted lips, her eyes rolling shut as Beckett’s hand began to knead at the sore spot on her ass he had just smacked only a moment ago. He pressed his damp body snuggly up against hers, pinning her in place while his other hand crept down along her belly, inching towards her bathing suit bottom.

They both knew how quickly this could go south if someone else were to try and come inside, but they couldn’t help but indulge themselves for just a few moments longer. Beckett was merely teasing her, his way of exacting revenge on her for always pretending she wanted nothing to do with him. Cleo on the other hand was seconds away from throwing in the towel and risking it all, judging by the way she started to guide his hand between her legs.

Suddenly, Beckett pulled away, forcing a wave of disappointment to flood through Cleo. “Are you serious right now?” She snapped, sounding particularly more whiny than usual. The door opening interrupted them again, thankfully in a less compromising position than they were seconds ago. “We’re waiting on you, Cleo.” Ivy shouted, her head poking around the frame. Clenching her jaw, Cleo forced a smile. “I’ll be right there. I’m just getting some more limes.” She replied, speaking through gritted teeth. 

Shoving Beckett to the side, Cleo yanked open the door to the fridge. As she rifled through the fruit drawer, she felt a familiar pair of lips press against her ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll leave a matching hand print on the other side later.” Beckett mumbled, his fingers ghosting against the outline of his palm that marked right along the fabric of her bikini. 

Smirking from behind the lip of his beer as he tiptoed backwards away from a very sexually frustrated Cleo, he couldn’t help but laugh as she attempted to launch a full size lime in his direction. “Ass.” She growled, pouting because she had missed her target and now had to wait until her stupid party was over to get what she really wanted. 

👙 Pull [an article of clothing] off my muse

Cleo got the call at 1:13 am from William, his voice full of exhaustion and despair. Like his quiet and stoic son, William rarely let his emotions be known, which terrified Cleo even more. If he was this upset, she could only assume the worst. Although she had class in just a few hours, by 2 am her bags were packed and she was waiting on the curb in front of her Columbia apartment for a driver to come pick her up.

When she finally made it to the hospital, she found her mother in rare form, wearing an oversized gown, hooked up to a variety of beeping and buzzing machines, her face battered with scratches and bruises. Under different circumstances, Charlotte was the epitome of elegance and grace. She was never caught wearing anything less than her Sunday’s best and she always donned a beaming smile on her face. To see her mom looking so grim tore at Cleo’s heart as she slumped down in the chair beside her bed.

Charlotte had been on her way back from a week long business trip in the Dubai when her SUV was hit by a drunk driver, right on the outskirts of the airfield where William kept his private jet. The driver of the vehicle was in worse condition, but Charlotte had her fair share of injuries too. Broken ribs, mild internal bleeding, a concussion and some superficial bumps and scrapes. 

William had given Cleo some time to be with her mother alone, even though all she could do was sit beside her, hold her hand and let her know that she was there. She must have dozed off at some point because the next thing she knew it was almost 3 am and William was laying a gentle hand on her shoulder, startling her awake. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest. You can come back in the morning once we know more. There’s no sense in us both being exhausted. I’ll call you if anything changes.” Cleo nodded weakly at his suggestion, knowing it was probably for the best. There was nothing they could do except sit and wait. 

Stepping out into the harsh florescent lighting of the waiting room, Cleo was met by a familiar face who immediately stood upon seeing her. Beckett looked as tired as Cleo felt. After his father’s call to notify him of Charlotte’s accident, Beckett demanded his helicopter be on Harvard’s main helipad as quickly as possible. He knew what it was like to lose a mother and if there was a chance that Cleo was about to lose hers too, he wanted to be there for her in whatever way he could. And if anyone asked, that would be his reason for rushing back into the city so quickly. Not that he was still madly in love with her.

Cleo was surprised, but happy to see him. When she approached, he pulled her in for a hug despite the fact that it had been weeks since they had spoken and even longer since they had touched. Whatever had been going on between them, if they were a fling or fuck buddies, it had ended abruptly when Cleo discovered her feelings for Beckett ran much deeper than his did for her. Or at least, thats what he had let on, anyway. Resting his chin on the top of her head, Beckett allowed Cleo to nuzzle into the warmth of his chest, knowing that it was what she needed right now, regardless of what they were to each other.

“Let’s go home.” He mumbled against the crown of her head, pulling away just in time for William to emerge from the room to go grab a coffee. Although the gesture was harmless and a normal one to share given the circumstances of the situation, both Cleo and Beckett had become so accustomed to hiding their affection for one another they almost instantaneously broke apart, creating more distance between them, just to be safe.

The car ride back to the King manor was quiet. As much as Cleo wanted to know how Beckett was doing and what he’s been up to during the time they’ve spent apart, her mind was elsewhere. She already had her father taken from her, what was going to happen if something happened to Charlotte too? Cleo didn’t want to imagine herself in a world where she had to fend for herself yet. She could do it if need be, but that didn’t mean she wanted to. Not when she still had so much to learn from the strongest woman she has ever known.

There was a blazing fire roaring in the den’s fireplace when they finally made it home, Cleo shrugged off her jacket to make herself comfortable in front of it. The warmth felt like a welcomed relief given the numbness she surely thought was going to swallow her whole soon. It was bad enough she had still been struggling to come to terms with breaking things off with Beckett and now she had to deal with potentially losing her mother. For a girl who usually had the entire world in the palm of her hand, Cleo was finding it awfully hard to get her life back on track.

Beckett had disappeared into the kitchen before joining a few minutes later, offering up a steaming cup of herbal tea. Under different circumstances, Cleo would have given him a hard time about actually knowing how to work the stove, but she didn’t have it in her tonight. Instead, she took it from him gratefully and briefly wondered when he had gotten so good at knowing what she needed. Outside of the bedroom, at least.

“You didn’t have to come all this way, you know.” Cleo muttered, finally breaking the silence between them. She raised the mug to her lips, sipping the pipping hot liquid. It burned the entire way down. “Yeah I did.” Beckett turned his gaze away from the fire, looking over to find Cleo seemingly on the verge of breaking, concern for her pooling in his deep, blue eyes. Cleo was glad to see he still had some small semblance of a conscience, at least when it came to matters of family. Even if she wanted it to be true, Cleo was sure Beckett didn’t just come back to New York for her, but in a large part for his father. He was struggling with this too.

“Well thanks. It means a lot.” Now it was Cleo’s turn to glance over at him. Tousled chestnut hair, small freckles doting his face, blue eyes sparkling by the flicker of the fire. God, she had missed him. The last few months had been so lonely for her. Cleo wondered if they were lonely for him too. Reaching out, the brunette laid her hand gently on top of Beckett’s, her fingertips light as they tiptoed along his flesh. Stares meeting for only a moment, Cleo grabbed hold of his hand and began to tug him closer.

“Cleo…” Beckett protested, but he did nothing to pull away or dissuade her from acting further. Cleo opened his arm to her, just wide enough for her to creep across the leather couch and occupy the empty space in his lap. “Please.” She implored, her eyes wide with desperation. Hands reaching up to cradle the sides of his neck, Cleo lightly ran her fingertips up to its nape and into the bottom of his hair. She could still sense his hesitation, but his resolve was disappearing. He was remembering it too. How good it felt to be together.

“I just… I need a distraction.” She pleaded further, her body pressing closer to his as her knees sunk deeper into the couch. Before tonight, Cleo promised herself she wouldn’t go running back to him. That if he didn’t want her the same way she wanted him, then so be it. He wouldn’t get to have her at all. Not her mind, sure as hell not her body and definitely not her heart. But now, he was the only thing that was going to make her feel better – more like herself. And if he was able to get her mind off her mother, then there was even more incentive to fall prey to this mistake.

Foreheads pressing against each other, her lips hovering just above his own, Cleo nuzzled her nose against Beckett’s, encouraging him further. Their eyes never once leaving one another’s. “It doesn’t have to mean anything.” She whispered in one final attempt to sway him. Broad shoulders and tight arms then encircled her, Beckett hugging her close as his lips needily pressed against Cleo’s. That was all he needed to hear. Less than a few hours back in each other’s presence and they so easily slipped back into old habits.

Eager fingers curling underneath the bottom of his t-shirt, Cleo hastily yanked it up his body and over his head, tossing it to the floor. She didn’t even care that she was losing herself again to the one boy she had ever fully given her heart to. It was a hefty price to pay, but for a girl who had unlimited wealth, she could afford to make the same mistake just one more time.

💪 Pick my muse up

It was the one time in her life Cleo would ever care about football and it had very little to do with the sport itself, but rather who was playing. Her alma mater, the Columbia Lions versus Beckett’s alma mater, the Harvard Crimson. Typically, Cleo couldn’t care less about such frivolous matters, but ever since Beckett came into her life she didn’t care what they were in competition over, as long as she came out the victor. 

Despite their never-ending rivalry, Beckett and Cleo were on particularly good terms. Technically together, just without the title. They still had to keep their relationship a secret from everyone, given the circumstances, but Cleo was still determined to make it work. She and Beckett had been sneaking around for the last few months now and nobody knew any different. So she didn’t see the big deal in hosting him and a few of his hottest Harvard friends at her sorority house for the weekend in order to celebrate the big game. After all, the Tri-Delt house had a few vacant rooms, given they haven’t accepted any new pledges yet for the year, which meant there was plenty of space for sneaking around.

The large group of frat guys and their female counterparts had been tailgating all morning. Cleo, as usual on game days, was decked out in her baby blue crop top with matching ribbons typing back her dark, curled locks into pigtails, all for show. Beckett found them cute and insisted on tugging on them whenever they were near one another. Cleo, despite loving the small bit of attention, had to shrug him off, but always followed it with a look that told him he could pull on them as much as he wanted to later when they were in the privacy of her own bedroom.

By 4 pm everyone was piss drunk and in mostly high spirits. Columbia had lost, yet again, which left most of the guys with a particularly large chip on their shoulders. It came as no surprise to Cleo that of course Beckett would befriend others that possessed egos that rivaled the massive size of his own. Once the game day celebrations were officially over, the group decided to head to a bar in the city to continue their binge drinking escapades. 

As much as Cleo wanted nothing more than to hang all over Beckett in public to let the entire world know they were together, she still had to keep some distance between them, careful not to raise too many suspicions. The other downside to that was to her sorority sisters, he seemed available. Handsome, intelligent and wealthy. Everything that the girls she surrounded herself with were looking for in a man. Cleo had warned many of them that he had a girlfriend before everyone arrived, assuring them that there were plenty of other eligible bachelors that fit their criteria, but from the looks of it there was one girl in particular that wasn’t heeding Cleo’s advice.

Amelia Page. Blonde, leggy and beautiful. Her father was apparently some important guy at Google. Big fucking deal. There were six-year olds with higher IQs than her so it was no wonder she ignored what Cleo had said about Beckett. The brunette had probably used too many syllables for her to understand. Initially, Amelia’s affections started off rather harmless. She cornered him at the bar, pressed her lips against his ear in an attempt to flirt over the drumming of the house music. Then she ordered a few rounds of shots for them to share with each other, though her taste in liquour was entirely subpar. 

Beckett took these gestures in stride, presenting with his usual aloof and semi-interested demeanor. Cleo observed from afar, proud of him for not being his usual dickhead self when he needed to shoo off someone that was far too clingy and desperate for his tastes, but Amelia still wasn’t really taking the hint. Cleo let it be for a while, distracting herself with the company of her friends knowing soon enough, she was going to have Beckett all to herself. That thought alone was the only thing keeping her temper in check – until Amelia started to cross a line.

Cleo was in a slurred, mid-sentence complaint about her Globalization and International Politics professor when out of the corner of her eye from across the bar, she noticed a scene unfolding in front of her that she wasn’t particularly comfortable with. “If you’ll excuse me.” She stated, as politely as she could muster through a forced, gritted smile. “I have a nuisance I need to take care of.” Cleo added, excusing herself from her friends.

As she crossed the crowded bar, it was like a scene out of the Bible when Moses parted The Red Sea. Anyone who saw Cleo coming almost immediately got out of her way, knowing by the look on her face, she was out for blood. There was no confusing the way that Amelia hung on Beckett for an innocent gesture. She was clinging to him in any manner that she could, tugging on the front of his pants, her fingers playing with his hair, hands trying to sneak under his shirt, her body pressed up against his grinding on him with the music. 

Beckett, thankfully, wasn’t returning any of the advances. He stood perched against the wall with a few of his buddies on either side, who were also half paying attention to the needy girls in front of them. That was going to make Cleo’s job a whole lot easier. Beckett noticed Cleo approaching and it took him only a half a second to catch the ferocity in her eyes. He shook his head meekly, trying to tell her that right now was not the time nor the place for what was about to go down, but Cleo was drunk, jealous and bitter, which was a lethal combination. Even Beckett wasn’t calming her down from that. 

Grabbing Amelia by the arm and attempting to tug her away from Beckett, Cleo shouted over the music. “What part about he’s off the market didn’t you understand, Page?” Cleo spat the girl’s surname with a distinctive venom, forcing the blonde to pull back in resistance, a scowl lining her face. “I don’t see his girlfriend here, do you?” A stab right in the heart, Cleo’s hurt gaze momentarily flicked up to Beckett’s. He was the only other one who understood what she was going through, how hard it was to be the only ones who knew about their relationship, but even then, he was a guy. So it was just different. 

“Go be a slut somewhere else. He’s clearly not interested.” Cleo snapped, turning her pain into fury. “How about you back off, Sutherland.” Amelia retorted, puffing out her chest a bit as she attempted to shove Cleo. “He’s been flirting with me all day.” She added, reaching over to grab his hand. “Haven’t you?” Before she had the opportunity, Cleo rebounded from the half-assed push and smacked Amelia’s hand away, coming between her and Beckett. “If you lay another finger on him, I will end you.” Her voice was steadily growing louder, capturing the attention of a few of the other bar patrons surrounding them. 

Beckett, mildly intrigued as he watched the drama come to a head, started to get the feeling that it was only a matter of time before the girls started resorting to physical blows. Verbal insults were no longer going to be enough. Cleo was losing her patience and with more people at the bar turning to watch the inevitable brawl, Beckett knew he had to get his girl out of there before security came and kicked them all out on their asses. “Come on Cleo, it’s not worth it.” He tugged gently on the flimsy material of her top, but Cleo wasn’t done. Not just yet.

“At Columbia, in New York. I will ruin your entire life. Try me, bitch.” The brunette snarled, squaring up to the girl. For a second, Beckett held his breath, thinking to himself ‘this is it’. Cleo was going to throw her drink and start pulling some hair. She had reached her breaking point. Before she could actually go through with it, Beckett decided to take matters into his own hands. “Alright, that’s enough. We’re leaving.” He ordered, a bit more forcefully this time. 

When it was clear she still wasn’t budging, in one easy swoop, Beckett bent down and swept Cleo right off her feet, tossing her over his shoulder. “You’re a buck fifteen soaking wet, do you really think you’re going to win this battle?” Limbs flailing as he carried her above everyone in the crowd, Cleo let out a frustrated and defeated huff. 

“I was doing it for you, you know.” She pouted, relaxing a bit in order to make things a bit easier for him. “And that’s why we’re going to go back to the house and I’m going to show you just how much I appreciate it.” Beckett grinned, giving her ass a small little love tap once he knew they were away from all of the watchful eyes of their friend group.

[daltonpesw252]

20 Trailblazers Leading the Way in CreativeGlassStudio.co.uk

Content

Alternatives To Over Bath Screens

Aqualux Edge 8 Frameless Wet Room Glass Panel Polished Silver 1000 X 2000mm 2682p

Framed Shower Screen

These things are expanded on below to make sure your purchase shall suit the requirements of you as well as your bathroom. Before fitting your bath bath screen, ensure that your bathroom is clean. Also, make certain all grouting and waterproofing happen to be done, and tiles are fitted. How good your bath shower screen reaches deflecting water and preventing water leakage whilst you are taking a shower will depend on a number of factors.

So how exactly does a walk-in shower screen must be long?

The most common reason for adding a shower display screen to a wetroom is to prevent drinking water from spraying or splashing the areas of the area. ... Waterproofing – Avoid drilling in to the tanked area of your wetroom to install the shower screen, as this could compromise the waterproofing and lead to leaks and water damage.

Some are foldable, some include padded seating or perhaps a perforated plastic seat. These seats do not lower you in to the bath - you shower from the seated position, or stand if you prefer. Most have got a lever to lock the swivel mechanism in place whilst you are sitting down on the seat and when on the bath. Armrests provide support while you are seated, but shouldn't be used to help you stay in the chair.

Alternatives To Over Bath Screens

Although many cubicles are set up with sealed shower doors to minimise normal water spillage in to the surrounding area, a pump may also be added to draw the normal water actively towards the drain. It is advisable to have some waterproof flooring immediately outside the area of the cubicle. All shower enclosures have pure water seals to help keep the water inside. All glass designed for these doors and displays can formed for sloping ceilings and slice outs around tiled ledges or boxings are usually no problem.

How big is the screen versus the energy and spray perimeter of your shower should be considered when you are purchasing a bath shower screen. Also, in most cases, the more moving components or panels a display has, the less normal water resistance it shall offer. Fixed shower screens can only beinstalled in rectangular-formed showersbut do supply the most efficient type of shower entrance.

Aqualux Advantage 8 Frameless Wet Room Cup Panel Polished Silver 1000 X 2000mm 2682p

If you prefer to generate some privacy, it is possible to choose patterned or frosted glass. Larenco Care Cup ScreensAvailable handed and non-handed Suitable for shower trays and wet floors Corner Installation Half Height Basic Door and Bi-Fold Door options availabl... Half height shower screens manufactured in the UK from components which are 100% recyclable. Sliding doorsare the best option for larger square or rectangular showers.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Unit%2020%2C%20Atlas%20Business%20Centre%2C%20Oxgate%20Lane%2C%20NW2%207HJ%2C%20London%20&t=&z=15&ie=UTF8&iwloc=&output=embed

The final of the frame(made up ofplastic, aluminium or chrome-plated steelU stations) and the type of screen you go for will depend on your tastes, budget and any other requirements you might have. The coating repels normal water and contaminants and helps drive back staining, build-up and etching from limescale & hard water. Precision Glass Ltd is situated in Burgess Hill Creative Glass Studio London UK , West Sussex, we are a leading supplier of top quality bespoke glass solutions. Our team has a long time experience in architectural glass jobs from design to installation. We undertake bespoke glass tasks for new build homes, professional buildings, refurbished structures and one-off projects.

Bath screens are made of durable safety glass which is easy to clean and keep maintaining. The range comes in a wide array of different designs and shapes, that and are easy to install. Choose from various sizes, frame types and colours alternatives from leading brands. If you don't want yourbathroomlooking like a pool, shower screens or doors are the way to go!

Fixed & Hinged Screens can be found from Rubberduck Bathrooms. Browse Fixed & Hinged Screens make the bathroom of one's dreams with help from Rubberduck Bathrooms. These cartridges are found inside most taps & contain two discs with holes through them. When both discs are aligned, water can stream through the tap.

Simon Rex is Perfectly Cast in 'Red Rocket' - 425magazine.com

Simon Rex is Perfectly Cast in 'Red Rocket'.

Posted: Mon, 10 Jan 2022 21:00:00 GMT [source]

[wineanddinosaur]

14 Things You Should Know About Boulevard Brewing Co.

It all began in the summer of 1984 with a European vacation. John McDonald found himself in Paris at a bar that specialized in Belgian beer. The pints he sipped that day inspired him to make beer himself — but it would be five more years until he opened Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, Mo. After attending art school, and taking up cabinet making, McDonald proved himself to be a true beer pioneer when he finally opened Boulevard in 1989.

In 2013, Boulevard joined Brewery Ommegang as part of the Duvel Moortgat family (which also includes Firestone Walker Brewing Company and breweries across Europe, such as Belgium’s Brasserie d’Achouffe and Birrificio del Ducato in Italy). McDonald sits on the company’s board, and we imagine he has the opportunity to fly off to Europe, or that bar in Paris, at more regular intervals than he did on that trip so long ago.

When asked why he started the brewery, McDonald says that he was really interested in making things. He’s made something pretty impressive with Boulevard. Here are 14 things you need to know about Boulevard Brewing.

Boring beer paled in comparison to Boulevard’s first ale.

In Boulevard’s early days, McDonald brewed beers he’d been dreaming about for half a decade. Those beers, like Boulevard Pale Ale, a combination of caramel malts and zesty hops, and Unfiltered Wheat Beer, a citrusy American-style wheat beer, would eventually win national attention and awards.

The first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was sold on Nov. 17, 1989. McDonald threw it in the back of his pickup truck and delivered it in person to the brewery’s first customer: a Mexican restaurant two minutes down the road. (A year later, McDonald convinced an investor to give him the capital he needed to buy a very small, very used bottling line, allowing the Boulevard team to start bottling.)

Boulevard’s saison was many Americans’ first.

After Belgian brewer Steven Pauwels came on board as Boulevard’s brewmaster, he took a stab at Belgian-style saison, a style not common — or well known — in much of the U.S. at the time. Eventually, Boulevard would help popularize the saison style with Tank 7 when it arrived in 2009 (a decade after Brewery Ommegang took the lead by introducing Hennepin Farmhouse Saison).

Brewed with a combination of Belgian yeasts (though not specifically saison yeasts) and dry-hopped with Amarillo, Tank 7 got set aside in the fermentation tank marked “seven” — which reportedly was the brewers’ least favorite tank of the bunch for an undisclosed reason. During quality control, someone took a sip and it blew them away. The brewers named it Tank 7 and incorporated it into its Smokestack Series, a collection of big, bold beers. The dry but spicy beer with notes of grapefruit from the hops immediately found a thirsty audience.

Tank 7 was ‘discovered,’ and became a movie star.

In January of 2020, Tank 7 stepped onto the silver screen — or, maybe more accurately, the aluminum screen. Boulevard decided to can its saison, printing the label onto 16-ounce aluminum cans and tucking them into 4-packs. The fresh packaging came as part of a partnership with Paramount Pictures to promote the release of “A Quiet Place Part II.”

According to Neil Gershon, vice president of marketing at Boulevard, the beer paired well with the film because they were both “scary good.” It also complements a big bucket of popcorn pretty well.

It left the brewery a beer and came back a whiskey.

When Boulevard shipped a tanker of its Unfiltered Wheat to Foundry Distilling Company, in West Des Moines, Iowa, it was the beginning of a two-year-long coming-of-age story. Foundry’s Scott Bush distilled the beer, then aged it for two years in 30-gallon charred oak barrels. The resulting spirit, an 89-proof American malt whiskey that featured aromas and flavors of banana bread, allspice, and caramel, arrived at Iowa retailers in August of 2020. Distribution of the whiskey, Midnight Ritual, would later extend to Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Midnight Ritual was the first in a series of brewer and distiller collaborations that Foundry intends to release. The distillery has teamed up with several other breweries aside from Boulevard. Whiskeys distilled from Stone Brewing Co.’s Arrogant Bastard Ale and Surly Brewing Co.’s Furious IPA, among several others, are slated for release in 2021.

Boulevard’s brewmaster has friends with benefits.

Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat wasn’t the first of the brewery’s beers to step into a whiskey barrel. Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels had a working relationship with Bush, having used barrels from the distiller’s previous venture, Templeton Rye, to age Boulevard’s Smokestack Series. The special collection includes bigger, bolder bottle offerings such as a Whiskey Barrel Stout, Bourbon Barrel Quad, and Tank 7.

McDonald brewed, built cabinets, and slept at the brewery.

In order to get the money required to start a new business, McDonald sold his house, moved into an old brick building in town, and operated his cabinetry business in a corner. Meanwhile, he retrofitted the building and installed a 35-barrel vintage Bavarian brewhouse. The building, originally a laundry for the Santa Fe Railway from 1859 to 1995, operated as the Boulevard headquarters until an expansion in 2006. (McDonald eventually moved out.)

Boulevard crossed the road.

By 2004, that original 35-barrel vintage Bavarian brewhouse was working overtime, producing nearly 100,000 barrels of beer per year. Boulevard had grown too big for its original brick building. That’s why in 2005, the brewery broke ground on a new headquarters across the street.

The three-story, 70,000-square-foot construction took advantage of urban land use to minimize its  footprint and also featured a sustainable design. In the years following the completion of the new brewery, Boulevard installed solar panels and adopted a zero landfill policy, meaning that the entire company either recycles or composts all of its waste.

Boulevard beer is a stadium staple.

For the last 20 years, seamheads have been able to find Boulevard beers at Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals play. In 2020, they took it up a notch by collaborating with two players: Third baseman Hunter Dozier and second baseman Whit Merrifield. Together, the players and Boulevard released Hustle Up!, a 100-calorie blonde ale. T-shirts sold to memorialize the partnership benefit both the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City.

Boulevard kicks glass.

As a way to extend its continued efforts to protect the environment, Boulevard teamed up with neighboring companies and organizations in the community to find a better way to recycle the glass used by Kansas Citians. The solution they came up with was Ripple Glass and it started in 2009.

By supporting the construction of a local glass processing plant and setting giant purple bins around the city, the group found a way to recycle used glass more effectively than sending it to a landfill. In addition, a local manufacturer transforms the glass into fiberglass insulation, and other partners have found ways to reuse the glass as well.

As of 2020, more than 80 surrounding communities, like Jefferson City and Branson, have adopted Ripple Glass to help them keep used glass products out of their landfills.

Boulevard practices sustainability, inside and out.

Not only does Boulevard practice sustainability inside, but it’s also gone green on the roof. Literally. The brewery installed a green roof on the top of the brewhouse and packaging building, which basically just means it planted a wide array of greenery and plants up there. It helps insulate the building, lowering heating and air-conditioning needs and minimizes the amount of energy needed to run the facility.

Boulevard needed more room for activities.

In 2016, another expansion added the Tours & Rec center next door to the brewery. It included a 10,000- square-foot beer hall and acted as a hub for brewery tours. The building included exhibits about Boulevard and its beer. The Rec Deck, an outdoor space, was added to the fourth floor in 2019. The 2016 expansion also gave Boulevard a 3,600-square-foot facility for six more 1,000-barrel fermentation tanks. It increased the brewery’s fermentation capability by 40 percent.

Boulevard fills cans the fancy way.

A $10 million canning line arrived at the brewery in April of 2018. It was Boulevard’s extreme entry into canning. The brewery, which had primarily relied on glass prior to this time, could now fill 350 12-ounce cans in a minute with its new fancy high-speed contraption.

The other interesting thing about this canning line? It fills cans warm. More technically, it uses a warm filling process to allow secondary fermentation after packaging. While Boulevard had been doing this with its bottles for years, it was relatively unheard of for cans.

To sell its own beer, it had to make wine.

Part of the 2006 expansion included a suite above the brewery where Boulevard hosts private events. Because of local laws, the brewery quickly learned it couldn’t sell its own beer in that suite during certain events — but discovered through research that wineries in the state had the ability to get permits that allow selling their own products on-premise. So, after a rigmarole with a lawyer, Boulevard got the permits it needed and started its own wine brand: Boulevard Wine. It would result in McDonald planting a small vineyard on two acres in Truman Lake, Mo. The Boulevard house wines are still served at on-site events.

Eat, drink, and be married at Boulevard.

Speaking of that event suite, couples get married there. The Muehlebach Suite, on the top floor of the brewery, can be reserved for wedding receptions, along with corporate and non-profit events. The package includes Boulevard beer and wine, a gorgeous view of Kansas City, a custom pint glass for each guest, and of course, a good story.

The article 14 Things You Should Know About Boulevard Brewing Co. appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/boulevard-brewing-tank-7-guide/

[johnboothus]

14 Things You Should Know About Boulevard Brewing Co.

It all began in the summer of 1984 with a European vacation. John McDonald found himself in Paris at a bar that specialized in Belgian beer. The pints he sipped that day inspired him to make beer himself — but it would be five more years until he opened Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City, Mo. After attending art school, and taking up cabinet making, McDonald proved himself to be a true beer pioneer when he finally opened Boulevard in 1989.

In 2013, Boulevard joined Brewery Ommegang as part of the Duvel Moortgat family (which also includes Firestone Walker Brewing Company and breweries across Europe, such as Belgium’s Brasserie d’Achouffe and Birrificio del Ducato in Italy). McDonald sits on the company’s board, and we imagine he has the opportunity to fly off to Europe, or that bar in Paris, at more regular intervals than he did on that trip so long ago.

When asked why he started the brewery, McDonald says that he was really interested in making things. He’s made something pretty impressive with Boulevard. Here are 14 things you need to know about Boulevard Brewing.

Boring beer paled in comparison to Boulevard’s first ale.

In Boulevard’s early days, McDonald brewed beers he’d been dreaming about for half a decade. Those beers, like Boulevard Pale Ale, a combination of caramel malts and zesty hops, and Unfiltered Wheat Beer, a citrusy American-style wheat beer, would eventually win national attention and awards.

The first keg of Boulevard Pale Ale was sold on Nov. 17, 1989. McDonald threw it in the back of his pickup truck and delivered it in person to the brewery’s first customer: a Mexican restaurant two minutes down the road. (A year later, McDonald convinced an investor to give him the capital he needed to buy a very small, very used bottling line, allowing the Boulevard team to start bottling.)

Boulevard’s saison was many Americans’ first.

After Belgian brewer Steven Pauwels came on board as Boulevard’s brewmaster, he took a stab at Belgian-style saison, a style not common — or well known — in much of the U.S. at the time. Eventually, Boulevard would help popularize the saison style with Tank 7 when it arrived in 2009 (a decade after Brewery Ommegang took the lead by introducing Hennepin Farmhouse Saison).

Brewed with a combination of Belgian yeasts (though not specifically saison yeasts) and dry-hopped with Amarillo, Tank 7 got set aside in the fermentation tank marked “seven” — which reportedly was the brewers’ least favorite tank of the bunch for an undisclosed reason. During quality control, someone took a sip and it blew them away. The brewers named it Tank 7 and incorporated it into its Smokestack Series, a collection of big, bold beers. The dry but spicy beer with notes of grapefruit from the hops immediately found a thirsty audience.

Tank 7 was ‘discovered,’ and became a movie star.

In January of 2020, Tank 7 stepped onto the silver screen — or, maybe more accurately, the aluminum screen. Boulevard decided to can its saison, printing the label onto 16-ounce aluminum cans and tucking them into 4-packs. The fresh packaging came as part of a partnership with Paramount Pictures to promote the release of “A Quiet Place Part II.”

According to Neil Gershon, vice president of marketing at Boulevard, the beer paired well with the film because they were both “scary good.” It also complements a big bucket of popcorn pretty well.

It left the brewery a beer and came back a whiskey.

When Boulevard shipped a tanker of its Unfiltered Wheat to Foundry Distilling Company, in West Des Moines, Iowa, it was the beginning of a two-year-long coming-of-age story. Foundry’s Scott Bush distilled the beer, then aged it for two years in 30-gallon charred oak barrels. The resulting spirit, an 89-proof American malt whiskey that featured aromas and flavors of banana bread, allspice, and caramel, arrived at Iowa retailers in August of 2020. Distribution of the whiskey, Midnight Ritual, would later extend to Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Midnight Ritual was the first in a series of brewer and distiller collaborations that Foundry intends to release. The distillery has teamed up with several other breweries aside from Boulevard. Whiskeys distilled from Stone Brewing Co.’s Arrogant Bastard Ale and Surly Brewing Co.’s Furious IPA, among several others, are slated for release in 2021.

Boulevard’s brewmaster has friends with benefits.

Boulevard’s Unfiltered Wheat wasn’t the first of the brewery’s beers to step into a whiskey barrel. Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels had a working relationship with Bush, having used barrels from the distiller’s previous venture, Templeton Rye, to age Boulevard’s Smokestack Series. The special collection includes bigger, bolder bottle offerings such as a Whiskey Barrel Stout, Bourbon Barrel Quad, and Tank 7.

McDonald brewed, built cabinets, and slept at the brewery.

In order to get the money required to start a new business, McDonald sold his house, moved into an old brick building in town, and operated his cabinetry business in a corner. Meanwhile, he retrofitted the building and installed a 35-barrel vintage Bavarian brewhouse. The building, originally a laundry for the Santa Fe Railway from 1859 to 1995, operated as the Boulevard headquarters until an expansion in 2006. (McDonald eventually moved out.)

Boulevard crossed the road.

By 2004, that original 35-barrel vintage Bavarian brewhouse was working overtime, producing nearly 100,000 barrels of beer per year. Boulevard had grown too big for its original brick building. That’s why in 2005, the brewery broke ground on a new headquarters across the street.

The three-story, 70,000-square-foot construction took advantage of urban land use to minimize its  footprint and also featured a sustainable design. In the years following the completion of the new brewery, Boulevard installed solar panels and adopted a zero landfill policy, meaning that the entire company either recycles or composts all of its waste.

Boulevard beer is a stadium staple.

For the last 20 years, seamheads have been able to find Boulevard beers at Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals play. In 2020, they took it up a notch by collaborating with two players: Third baseman Hunter Dozier and second baseman Whit Merrifield. Together, the players and Boulevard released Hustle Up!, a 100-calorie blonde ale. T-shirts sold to memorialize the partnership benefit both the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City.

Boulevard kicks glass.

As a way to extend its continued efforts to protect the environment, Boulevard teamed up with neighboring companies and organizations in the community to find a better way to recycle the glass used by Kansas Citians. The solution they came up with was Ripple Glass and it started in 2009.

By supporting the construction of a local glass processing plant and setting giant purple bins around the city, the group found a way to recycle used glass more effectively than sending it to a landfill. In addition, a local manufacturer transforms the glass into fiberglass insulation, and other partners have found ways to reuse the glass as well.

As of 2020, more than 80 surrounding communities, like Jefferson City and Branson, have adopted Ripple Glass to help them keep used glass products out of their landfills.

Boulevard practices sustainability, inside and out.

Not only does Boulevard practice sustainability inside, but it’s also gone green on the roof. Literally. The brewery installed a green roof on the top of the brewhouse and packaging building, which basically just means it planted a wide array of greenery and plants up there. It helps insulate the building, lowering heating and air-conditioning needs and minimizes the amount of energy needed to run the facility.

Boulevard needed more room for activities.

In 2016, another expansion added the Tours & Rec center next door to the brewery. It included a 10,000- square-foot beer hall and acted as a hub for brewery tours. The building included exhibits about Boulevard and its beer. The Rec Deck, an outdoor space, was added to the fourth floor in 2019. The 2016 expansion also gave Boulevard a 3,600-square-foot facility for six more 1,000-barrel fermentation tanks. It increased the brewery’s fermentation capability by 40 percent.

Boulevard fills cans the fancy way.

A $10 million canning line arrived at the brewery in April of 2018. It was Boulevard’s extreme entry into canning. The brewery, which had primarily relied on glass prior to this time, could now fill 350 12-ounce cans in a minute with its new fancy high-speed contraption.

The other interesting thing about this canning line? It fills cans warm. More technically, it uses a warm filling process to allow secondary fermentation after packaging. While Boulevard had been doing this with its bottles for years, it was relatively unheard of for cans.

To sell its own beer, it had to make wine.

Part of the 2006 expansion included a suite above the brewery where Boulevard hosts private events. Because of local laws, the brewery quickly learned it couldn’t sell its own beer in that suite during certain events — but discovered through research that wineries in the state had the ability to get permits that allow selling their own products on-premise. So, after a rigmarole with a lawyer, Boulevard got the permits it needed and started its own wine brand: Boulevard Wine. It would result in McDonald planting a small vineyard on two acres in Truman Lake, Mo. The Boulevard house wines are still served at on-site events.

Eat, drink, and be married at Boulevard.

Speaking of that event suite, couples get married there. The Muehlebach Suite, on the top floor of the brewery, can be reserved for wedding receptions, along with corporate and non-profit events. The package includes Boulevard beer and wine, a gorgeous view of Kansas City, a custom pint glass for each guest, and of course, a good story.

The article 14 Things You Should Know About Boulevard Brewing Co. appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/boulevard-brewing-tank-7-guide/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/14-things-you-should-know-about-boulevard-brewing-co

[ohdnewjersey]

Why It's Beneficial for Food Processing Business to Consider the Installation of a Dynaco Slimline Stainless Door in New York

The food processing business is sensitive in terms of cleanliness and food quality. It is mandated to follow regulations regarding hygiene specifically the layout, design, and construction of buildings. Specific rules for production spaces include ease in cleaning and disinfecting, good hygiene practices, and protection against external sources of contamination.  

Why Food Processing business must secure sanitary permits? 

The reason why all food processing businesses are required to facilitate their respective sanitary permits is to ensure that the preparation of their food products is within the standard requirements. In essence, the utmost cleanliness and process of disinfection are always the highlight of the industry.  

The disadvantage if the food processing company is negligent enough not to sustain the cleanliness of their food processing, the tendency of food contamination is high. When a client gets poisoned due to the ingestion of your food, they will file a complaint both criminal and civil against you aside from the move to have your food processing business closed for further operation. 

To ensure the cleanliness of your food processing facility and prevent the contamination of the food, it is highly recommended to avail the advantage of the Dynaco Slimline Stainless door in New Jersey and New York from Overhead Door Company of Eastern New Jersey Commercial, a division of DuraServ Corp. 

Dynaco Slimline Stainless door has been assembled using the stainless material. It was designed for a high-performance door that ensures a tight seal. It keeps a stable pressure to the door and it protects the storage area from the contaminants. One of the best attributes of the door is its airlock feature that corrects the pressure differentials. Moreover, the door has likewise been engineered for an energy-saving feature as it secures the door with a super tight seal feature against the contamination of food. Meaning, the contaminated air could not in any way penetrate inside the food processing area.

The following benefits of Dynaco Slimline Stainless door in New York are as follow:

·Keep open time to a minimum

·Rapid door cycle of up to 1,2 m/s open speed, 0,5 m/s close speed

·Conserve energy and reduce air leakage

·Patented side guides and superior seal design

·Control pressure levels

·Pressure resistant flexible PVC door curtain

·Restrict contaminants and airborne particles

·Full-perimeter door seal

·Keep employees and equipment safe

·No rigid elements to damage objects or injure staff

·Operate in silence

·Low-friction technology guarantees silent open/close 

The Dynaco Slimline Stainless high-performance door requires little maintenance in New York, due to its low-friction side guides, self-reinserting door curtain, and few wearing parts. With no rigid curtain elements, this flexible door is safe for staff and equipment.

Overhead Door Company of Eastern New Jersey, a division of DuraServ Corp, is East Jersey’s commercial door and operator provider for industrial applications. As an Overhead Door Company, we have access to the full line of Overhead commercial door products from rolling grilles to high-speed doors to beautiful glass aluminum doors. We have the right product to fulfill your needs. 

We are committed to making your food processing establishment contamination-free and the cleanest area you will ever experience. We have a wide array of products and Dynaco Slimline Stainless Dooris one of those. Also, our technicians are well-trained and they could surely install your door in the most efficient way to protect your food and provide you with a cost-effective fixture. Here are the other Dynaco High-Speed Doors we offer but not limited to:

·Dynaco Freezer M2

·Dynaco Dynarigid

·Dynaco M2

·Dynaco the Streamline 

If you happen to be in New York, you may choose of this high-quality and efficient door for your food processing facility through the Overhead Door Company of Eastern New Jersey Commercial, a division of DuraServ Corp. For your questions and orders, you may call us through telephone number 609-642-4864 or you may also contact us or send your service request online via our webpage. Our service areas in all of New Jersey and New York are always open to serve your better.

[vicostoness]

What Everyone Is Saying About Countertops Is Wrong and Why

The oversized sheets are very delicate and have to be precisely cut. You might want to have a kitchen with a no-fuss, no-mess feeling to it. When deciding on the best countertop material for your kitchen, restroom or bar area, you get a wide number of choices.

Leather finish is extremely popular. ColorSwaths of bold color can create a cinematic statement. Then you'll certainly need to have a close look at it because no other all-natural stone even comes close. Quartzite natural stone slabs are well suited for homeowners looking for the expression of marble but need something which is sturdier. With all these colours, patterns, and mineral inclusions readily available, locating a countertop that matches the fashion of your kitchen is definitely not an issue for homeowners. Whether you would like a pure look in your house, or something different completely, there's a very good chance you'll locate the color you desire. Unfortunately, a lot of the marble you're seeing all around the internet may not be the reasonably priced stuff. Opt for the color with which you are able to stay for extended moment. Quart are relatively less expensive than granite but are far more costly than laminate. Marble v. Granite have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of marble countertops vs. granite. Sealing The best means to keep the visual appeal of granite countertops or flooring is to ensure the material has been correctly sealed. While granite tiles may be used in place of granite slabs to decrease the cost of the countertop, not everybody can afford a granite countertop. It is generally difficult to maintain because ordinary cleaners won't work.

The Countertops Game

Whether you're searching for a conventional cut, custom made countertop design or expert installation, our team is here and prepared to help you locate the style that defines your Rochester kitchen. The most important advantage of tile countertops is they can be designed in an endless collection of means. It's very rare to find a home without the usage of marble in its construction. Besides durability, the charm provided by them to both home interiors in addition to exteriors is also unbelievable. Contemporary decor is likewise a crucial element in the modern houses as it offers great functionality. Cabinet replacingmeans you will be replacing the whole cabinet box, door, and hardware. Due to the price tag, glass countertops are frequently used as a highlight rather than as the primary countertop surface. All things considered, laminate countertops make a huge impression and are highly inexpensive. In the end, a quartz kitchen countertop supplies you with complete control over how you opt to design every surface of your kitchen. If you're searching for an elegant countertop option that demands very little maintenance, quartzite could be the ideal countertop for your New Jersey home. Make certain that if you want more than 1 part of granite for your kitchen countertops they come out of the exact same quarry so that they are as similar as possible. With a normal cleaning schedule and the proper products, your granite countertops will stay shiny and sealed for a long time to come. So you are certain to have a distinctive kitchen or bathroom marble countertop that is among a type. You are going to want to disinfect your bathroom countertops at least one time weekly, if not more often. Choosing countertops for your fantasy kitchen or bathroom can be an intimidating job! Granite counters can persist for a long time with the correct care and maintenance. Marble is being extensively employed for home renovation as it would improve its value and endurance. With a minimum quantity of maintenance, granite countertops will continue to look brand-new decades later.

Choosing Countertops Is Simple

Brighter and more colorful all-natural quartzite stones also increase the cost due to their uniqueness. A quartzite slab isn't the least expensive option, but it's great quality for your dollar. It's also less expensive than quartzite due to its availability. Other individuals prefer the sleek uniform appearance of quartz. There's a broader array of colors for quartz but granite can be gotten in many resilient colors too. In addition, although quartz counters are made to mimic the organic appearance of granite, some folks feel that quartz lacks the depth and beauty of granite. The use of marble slabs has simply overthrown the conventional means of flooring. Quartzite is a stunning all-natural stone that's often considered a viable alternate to marble. Therefore marble is perfect for your place. Sealing prolongs the procedure for absorption that is the reason it's suggested. The finial seal coat is a difficult epoxy made particularly for countertops. Scratches are easily removed by sanding.

Finding the Best Countertops

Quartz is popular by designers and building suppliers due to its very dense surface. Durability is another terrific facet of the material because of the sort of structure it has. It has been used for thousands of years in a variety of structures, including the great pyramids of ancient Egypt.

Finding the Best Countertops

It's fine to play with internet design tools, but examine the materials up close and take home large samples, even in the event that you have to cover them. There are several kinds of kitchen countertops, and each has its specific advantages and disadvantages, for example, price. So by now you've compiled a list of candidate countertop companies you will be contacting.

Countertops Help!

The cool stone surface is perfect for prepping and kneading dough for all baking projects. Controlling the quantity of water added to the concrete mix is vital to producing consistent color. Since laminate is similar to a veneer, there's absolutely no room to buff out damage. Read the full article

[aluminiumglassdoorprice438-blog]

20 Insightful Quotes About Aluminium Bifold Patio Doors

Developing a new house or refurbishing an present one particular; having said that, use Aluminium Patio Doors only Aluminium for home windows on your residence. Check out remodelings in aged structures, and you'll find. Aluminum may be the most widely employed substance for household window frames.

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Aluminum isn't going to rust like metal usually has a tendency to do, and also It isn't vulnerable to mildew, termite, fungus or rot attacks like wood. uPVC may not have the exact same toughness that Aluminium has. Aluminum, whether it is simple anodized or powder coated, will certainly very last for many years when built usage of for property window structures. Aluminum has structural toughness, and it will not warp in time. Windows open up and also close proficiently For several years whenever they use Aluminium to the preparations.

Sophistication

Aluminum is usually squeezed out in A selection of profiles with differing densities and widths to suit layout demands. Some accounts can fit dual or a few-way glazing. When a single broach double glazing, making use of Aluminium Home windows with inside blinds is obtaining in charm on account of inherent advantages. Aluminum may be designed use of in present day homes or in regular residences with profiles suitably chosen to accommodate the appearances of exteriors and insides. Aluminum is readily available in a number of metallic tones and anodized finishes different from natural white to satin brownish in addition to gold and blue In that case chosen. It might be powder coated in An array of shades. It can be In addition possible to apply foil by using a normal woodgrain surface area to replicate the seem of timber.

Matching components

Aluminum is broadly designed use of indoors, and windows as the most beneficial material for mounting and also this has activated accessibility of matching components in the shape of hinges, seals, locks, and even slides. Gear blends in Together with the frame and supplies a harmonized search. If you buy house windows with internal blinds, it is simpler to the soppier to acquire coordinating devices as well as custom made manufacture windows that will definitely in good shape fully in addition to work accurately. When you've got current Home windows with single glazing and likewise aspiration to make the button to double polished window panes with interior blinds, The seller, in all probability, will without doubt employ Aluminium given that the frame to hold the glass panes in place. These retrofits Mix in with the existing framework without having hunting away from location.

You will find other criteria for example Aluminium being much more recyclable and natural environment-pleasant need to you need to dispose from the windows as well as set in new types at a while Down the road. Aluminum is light in excess weight and also won't impose a structural load to the structure. You place different layouts of drapes to your property window together with allow it to be as unique as possible. Aluminum residence windows are the very best solution for your job. Architects and likewise assets owner world wide benefit the wonders of aluminum Home windows. Substitute windows are the solution to our problems without the need of creating a brand name-new household window. It truly is paying plan enjoyable as well as can conserve the appeal of your property within a jiffy. Aluminum has overtly utilized a product as substitute Home windows because of its functionality to face as much as rust, its power to boost sights. Aluminum windows can be employed to replace Virtually all Home windows. You'll find aluminum substitute Home windows for whichever house Home windows which means you don't have hassle if your house window, whatever style may be, needs a alternative for the reason that You will find there's substitute residence window prepared to conserve you. A few of the marketplaces today utilize Home windows made out of Aluminium as its Key window instead of instead property window as it offers a ton of advantages.

[thedesignair]

Flight: WY102 Aircraft Type: 787-9 Class: First Class Route: LHR-MCT Date: March 2019

www.omanair.com

Oman Air has long been on our radar to offer a trip report. Its careful positioning as a boutique carrier based in the Middle East doesn’t mean it is one of the big and bold ME3, but it is certainly pushing the envelope when it comes to the passenger experience. After winning last year’s Best New First Class at TheDesignAir Awards, we wanted to give the new product a run for its money, and show why big and beautiful don’t always have to go hand in hand.

On the ground

Like Qatar, Etihad and Gulf Air, Oman Air flies from Heathrow’s Terminal 4. Heading there at approximately 6pm, the airport is fairly quiet, as most of the long-haul flights leave later in the evening and just a few short-haul Skyteam flights leaving around this early evening window. That meant for an easy arrival and uncrowded terminal.

Situated in Zone E, Oman Air benefits from 6 check-in desks. They are operated by agents of the airline, with Oman Air being their only client. That made the desk staff incredibly knowledgable, friendly, and passionate about the carrier. First Class check-in was a breeze, with just 8 seats, there was no queue when we arrived.

The service seemed incredibly personal and the First Class approach was definitely in the detail. Our boarding passes had already been pre-printed, before we had arrived, and we were escorted through fast track all the way to the lounge by dedicated personnel.

Oman Air is one of the only ME carriers in Terminal 4 that doesn’t have its own dedicated lounge, but it uses rival’s Gulf Air lounge which offers impressive apron views and genuinely friendly and passionate staff. While we have covered Gulf Air’s lounge multiple times before, what was noticeable was that Oman Air uses the lounge’s private rooms, exclusive to First Class passengers.

While semi-private and quieter, we would actually prefer seats that overlook the runway and Apron. But as Royal Brunei and Gulf Air also have flights operating at similar times, these seats were already taken, so the benefit of a private room was welcome.

Although boarding had started, we were told a few times by our escort in the lounge to relax, and board last, we wanted to head there early and quickly do some shopping on the way to the gate. By the time we had arrived, our escort was guiding the rest of the First Class passengers through the boarding gate and on to the aircraft, clearing a way through the other passengers already on the airbridge. While slightly embarrassing, its touches like this that passengers in First Class are paying for.

The Cabin

Oman Air currently only has First Class on its 787-9 aircraft, meaning that this intimate cabin is perfectly crafted for the aircraft type.

As you walk past the small intimate forward business class cabin ahead of the boarding L2 door, you instantly see the noticeable difference between the all-aisle flat-bed business class and first class product, featuring just 8 seats in a 1 x 2 x 1 configuration. Ordinarily we’d suggest that the business class cabin of Oman Air featuring Apex Suites is perfectly acceptable for any length of flight, these First Class private cabins are remarkable in comparison.

While the cabin itself certainly isn’t ostentatious, it’s perfectly formed, with an intricate monument design at the front of the cabin, with a textured ornate arch design framing the incense logo of the carrier which is backlit. In fact, lighting design plays a large part in creating the cabin ambience against an otherwise, paired back, neutral luxury palette.

Each one of the 8 seats is vast, and should you want privacy we suggest the rear two window seats that aren’t affected by the curve of the fuselage, however, if you are travelling together, the forward centre pair is quite magical, being greeted by the ornate detailing of the cabin bulkhead, and of course, being served first.

The cabin also features two toilets, but the main one, which interestingly sits in the middle of the front galley (a configuration we’ve not seen before) is incredibly spacious, and features fresh orchids and a Toto toilet, with bidet functions, an option that a few carriers have opted for on their 787s.

The airline opted not to offer overhead bins in the cabin, which offers a large amount of space, but means that carry on bags need to be stored in the ottoman, or looked after by the crew, who store it in one of the galley storage areas.  The clear advantage to this is the increased cabin height, which makes the cabin feel spacious.

The Suite

Oman Air won awards for its First Class cabin for good reason. While not as bling as Emirates new 777 First Class, the suite is incredibly practical, spacious and comfortable. We can’t over emphasise the under-stated elements that make this First Class suite a product suitable for 2019 consumer habits.

Every single element has been perfectly thought through. Sliding doors offer privacy, with beautiful ornate lattice work that exudes an Omani design heritage that runs through the overall look and feel of the suite. For those who have had the luck to visit Oman will most likely state that it’s their Country of preference in the Middle East, due to their rich cultural history, more liberal attitude to life, and understated luxury that has less emphasis on bling, and more on creature comforts.

Each seat is a mass of details that are too numerous to list, but suffice to say, there are cocktail tables, neat aqua-coloured storage solutions, including ottomans, side storage and of course a vanity wardrobe for jackets each lined in a soft brushed fabric that exudes luxury.

Of course there is a mini-bar of sorts, featuring still and sparkling water and a couple of soft drinks, which are chilled pre-departure, but aren’t refrigerated.

The seat itself is expansive. And while a fairly flat surface, that makes for an excellent bed. There are no footwells or furniture restricting the body, allowing for a wide, lengthy ‘single-bed’ style product, which is far more than required considering Oman Air’s relatively medium-length route network.

The design of the suite also keeps the (huge) table out of sight and mind, under a wide enough side table to store personal belongings. There are also great design details such as a USB charger situated under the Corian cocktail table and in the side storage, meaning charging your personal devices doesn’t mean cables drape everywhere.

The Suite also offers complete privacy through a raised partition for the middles seats and manually open-and-shut doors to the suite.

But all of these major elements are supported by intricate details like etched metal seat numbers, personal air vents and lights in brushed gold finishes and a seat control system that allows the personalisation of the light levels in the suite as well as the seat position and massage function.

The Food And Drink

Oman Air offers some of the best food and drink we’ve experienced on a flight so far. The dining is made even more special thanks to the very special tableware that the airline has commissioned for the first class product.

On boarding, an option of cold and hot towels is offered along with champagne and juices. We opted for a mixed juice and a glass of champagne, that was hand-poured in front of us and served with warm nuts.

The champagne, Grand Siècle by Laurent Perrier is one of our favourites, and while not the Crystal that the airline advertises on their website, an absolute pleasure to drink. During boarding we were presented by a mountain of amenities, including amenity kit, pyjamas and hard-backed menu that featured a mouth-watering array of dishes.

Naturally wanting to explore as much as we could of the menu, we opted for a 5-course dinner, followed by a 3-course breakfast, a mere 4 hours later. This was hardcore reviewing at its finest.

We were impressed by the boarding process, which seemed effortless, with free-pouring champagne even as we started pushing back, our orders taken – with the friendlier approach to service – by crew lowering themselves when speaking so as not to tower over their guests.

Very quickly after take off, we were surprised by an amuse bouche served by a fresh, chilled glass of champagne. Packed with flavour, this was a fairly large filled pastry and accompanied by a roasted pepper and pimento sauce.

Shortly after this our table was prepared with an ornate (and crisp) linen table cloth, and all the accompaniments including a delightful tableware set with the distinct mountain motif that is synonymous with Oman.

A huge charger was then presented, which was spectacular, even with nothing on it, yet the friendly, professional crew then brought the charger to life with that airline’s famous Caviar service.

Everything was perfect, from the mother of pearl spoon to range of dressings and the caviar portion was large and of course, Beluga.

The taste was perfect, and the champagne pairing made for a filling starter. While that would have been perfect in its own right, we thought we should trial another of the starters, this time a seared crusted tuna, scallops and gravlax.

This dish was out of this world, perfectly plated and full of fresh, vibrant flavour. It wouldn’t be amiss in a Michelin star restaurant, and we don’t say that lightly.

Not to be beaten, we braved the main course, this time, a fillet of beef. Perfectly cooked, beautifully presented and full of flavour due to the addition of a flavoured oil and caramelised onions.

Almost at breaking point, we opted for a lighter green tea and vanilla ice cream desert, which included a fennel white chocolate chard. Sadly the ice cream was so frozen, it was virtually impossible to eat, without fear of breaking the fine glassware it was presented in, but absolutely stuffed, we weren’t that disappointed to leave some of it unfinished.

The cabin crew were so quick to realise that my urgent need was to grab some sleep on a relatively short flight, so no sooner had they taken the ice cream away, they were quickly turning down the seat and creating a well appointed bed for the night.

The IFE system even allows for added functionality, including being worked for meals, although the cabin crew were quick to ask once the bed had been made if I wanted to be worken, at what time, and what I would like to eat to maximise my sleep.

What felt like at least 6 hours, but was sadly only 2 or 3, I was gently woken with another hot towel, and a fresh glass of orange juice.

This was then followed by another food service which even now seems a little over the top. We started with a salad of saffron poached lobster and balik salmon, which was again, out of this world. It can’t go without emphasising how impressive the F&B offering is on Oman Air’s first class.

This was followed by an impressive bread basket and Americano which was above and beyond the usual breads offered onboard aircraft.

But the final course, an omelette with asparagus, sausage and mushrooms was packing a lot of flavour and the perfect end to the dining experience onboard.

The Entertainment

Meet Aria, Oman Air’s impressive inflight entertainment system. The selection of entertainment was certainly extensive, but not the most up to date in blockbuster offerings.

The huge HD TV screen is impressive, with great resolution and the perfect size.

It’s all controlled by a phone-style controller which is intuitive and easily accessible next to the seat controls.

The airline also has a duty free catalogue and its main inflight magazine. While the carrier has undergone a huge drive to improve their hard and soft product, the inflight magazine seems to be the only element left that reflects the old brand, and has yet to undergo a rebrand.

The airline also provides First Class passengers with complimentary WiFi and although that it for 3 hours, it only allows for 100mbs which can quickly be swallowed up.

The airline also offers a well-presented pair of noise-cancelling headphones, which are of great quality, but aren’t to the level of the Denon headsets offered by the likes of Turkish Airlines.

The Extras

That leads us to the range of other extras that Oman Air offers, from First Class pyjama sets, which come in two sizes (large or S/M) and if you are of average size, we recommend a S/M for a fitted set, or L for those wanting comfort.

The sets include slippers, which are the same as those found in Business Class, however, the amenity kit by Amouage is fairly extensive.

There are also a range of pillows, duvets and blankets which make sleeping an absolute dream.

And this is all partnered with the soft product additions of hot or cold towels pre and post each service, the cabin crews’ desire to hang any clothes as soon as you’ve changed, and on-ground services such as airport escort and premium fast track lanes at immigration in Oman’s impressive new International Airport.

In Conclusion

It’s hard to put in to words how truly special Oman Air’s First Class product is. It runs a very fine line between understated and opulent. It’s certainly not robotic, allowing for personality in the cabin crew to shine through, and the intimate privacy of the cabin exudes what First Class should truly be about.

The biggest compliment to any carrier is when passengers don’t want a flight to end, and we hoped for a much longer journey to enjoy the experience fully. Oman Air have truly managed to create a world-leading product that some of the larger carriers will look to emulate. The airlines size works to its benefit here, providing an intimate more personal service, allowing passengers to feel truly cared for, rather than just another number. There is good reason why Oman Air won the award for its First Class last year, and it seems that its soft product and dining only further cements. This is one airline to look out for when booking. If only the carrier offered a frequent flier program with better cross-airline earning opportunities, it would certainly become an incredibly powerful one-stop player in the Business and First Class world.

The Big Picture

THEDESIGNAIR.NET TRAVELLED AS GUESTS OF OMAN AIR, HOWEVER THE VIEWS EXPRESSED HERE ARE OUR OWN

        Trip Report: OmanAir impress us with their B787-9 First Class. Could this be one of the best in the skies? Flight: WY102 Aircraft Type: 787-9 Class: First Class Route: LHR-MCT Date: March 2019 www.omanair.com Oman Air…

[abiteofnat]

AVOCADON’T EVEN TELL ME ABOUT WHERE THERE IS GOOD GUAC… 

Because last month in six days I ate Mexican food for dinner six times. That’s right, every single dinner somehow started with a big ole basket of tortilla chips and ended with greasy fingers and 3-6 tacos in my stomach.  I think at one point I just began to expect that my night would end in rice and corn tortillas, and then it just kept happening…

Is this anywhere near a complaint? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Mexican is in my top three favorite categories of food, the other two being Italian and Mediterranean (but bagels always, always coming in first above all), and so I tend to be a harsh critic. There’s also different types of Mexican food: the traditional, authentic type that’s hard to find but life changing when you do, the 3 a.m. places that are the real reason we even go out in the first place so we can end up in front of a chimichanga of shame after a somewhat irritating house party, and then the nearly authentic kind that has a dash of flair added. I LOVE ‘EM ALL. Most of these will be a mix of the first and last kind, as everyone who knows me knows the only 3 a.m. place I frequent is Allende Restaurant even though everyone else is a Taco Burrito Palace bitch. That Allende rice and white tile walls; nothing will comfort you and your premature hangover quite like it. When your friend is crying over that fuckboy and your friend’s friend drank about six beers too many? Take them to Allende! Can’t cry when you’re choking on horchata! 

I haven’t done a good taco roundup in a while and for a city that loovvesss margaritas as much as Chicago does it’s about time. How can I even write this after being up to my ears in salsa verde without wanting to throw up? IT WAS ALL JUST THAT GOOD. I’m living vicariously through my own memories from the past week and I am legitimately excited to write about these tacos.  

HERE WE GO. 

1. Adobo Grill 

On any given menu, there’s about 10% of things I have no interest in eating. Add on the 80% I can’t actually eat due to being vegetarian, and that leaves 10% of a menu that is up for grabs. The fact that the happy hour taco offered the night we went to Adobo Grill was one of the most astounding tacos I’ve ever had literally blows my mind- what! are! the! odds! For $2 a piece you could assume that it’s going to be chicken, beef, or some odd mixture because at Adobo the taco platters come in sets of three tacos with rice and beans for $15-19 so why would they give the good stuff for cheap… AND INSTEAD IT WAS A LUCIOUS FISH TACO, GRILLED TO GOLDEN PERFECTION. Topped with pico de gallo and spicy mayo sauce? Add in some of their fresh to death guac and a little spicy red salsa? It was almost tooooo good. The single corn tortilla held up beautifully against the moist, meaty fish and they did not skimp on anything even though it was 5:30 p.m. and happy hour drinks were flowing and the restaurant could have really taken advantage of that. These tacos have not left my mind, or my heart… 

Another thing so wonderful about this place: the patio! It’s open and covered in tasteful twinkle lights, with the giant mural (pictured) of a happy skeleton man a and some flowers that play off the orange and purple hues of the decor. To sit outside right across from Second City (great date night all in one city block!) and sip a Modelo pretty much means fucking euphoria, and then add in guac that actually tastes like guac and not avocado slime? KABOOM. As much as I want to say all guac is good guac Adobo puts a lot of places to shame (cough cough Chipotle how the frick is that shit celebrated so widely) and gives you a TON of incredible guac for $9. Chip score: 8/10. Guac score: 10/10. Vibes: 10/10. 

Insider scoop: Go for happy hour until 6 p.m., splurge for guac, add the salsa to everything, and order a side of plantains with sour cream. Never had plantains before? This is the perfect place to just trust the food blogger and go for it because you will DIE OVER THEM. 

2. Big Star

BIG STAR IS MY KING, QUEEN, AND THE ENTIRE KINGDOM. If you live in Chicago, and it is above freeze-my-nuts-off temperature, it is patio weather and any restaurant that puts 2 chairs and a table out front will be considered a patio destination. Like Adobo (but even better) Big Star goes above and beyond as it’s a mainly-patio restaurant, with bulb lights lights above every stainless steel table and the warmest, most inviting outdoor seating there is once the sun goes down. You can watch the people, see some street art, watch the Blue Line zoom by, and walk to Stan’s Donuts for a wide array of treats afterward (aka a blueberry cheese danish, YUMBO). 

Located in Wicker Park, a very artsy n’ cute section of Chicago that’s a bit more on the ~trendy~ side since lots of blogged about restaurants have opened up, Big Star offers tacos a la carte and the best chips and guacamole on that side of the highway. I have gone for the past two years close to my birthday to celebrate because the pitchers are insanely alcoholic and also delicious, serving about 6 glasses in each pitcher. With one marg being $9 and a pitcher being $36, it is an absolute steal and even if only two people are at the table it is worth the high price tag. Best part is that the pitcher comes with a wooden ladle which adds to the vibe of Big Star, but is also hilarious to stir your vat of tequila and juice with. Like witch’s potion, but probably even more dangerous! 

Once everyone is seated and with drink, it’s time for the poor waiter to scream over everyone to take the order. While Big Star is mostly outside, it’s verryyyyy loud due to the sheer amount of people and the music pumping from the inside section that leaves the doors/ windows wide open. We were seated near the window and with a group of ten, it was one of those nights that leaves your voice hoarse and your ears ringing but feeling like you had a good as heck time! My favorite vegetarian tacos are the:

- Taco de Zananhorias: try ordering that when you do not speak Spanish and are two margs deep! This taco is the best yet overlooked one on the menu, featuring spiced cooked carrots that are savory and still have a crunch to them, pumpkin seeds for flavor and texture, and an incredible spicy date & yogurt dressing that offers a chipotle kick to offset the sweetness of the carrots and the dates. Wrapped in a corn tortilla, this taco is actually a filling veggie taco that doesn’t just taste like red peppers topped in guac! Which is like 99% of most vegetarian tacos! The flavors in this are worth more than $2.50 a pop, which is what it will cost you. 

- Taco de Pescado: Your typical and delicious fried tilapia taco! Beer battered and with the expected crunch of cabbage, top with some line for a perfect fish taco. This is a good standby if you’re weary of the more creative ones. 

- THE WALKING TACO: Most of the table ordered this one! It’s a DAMN fever dream to eat! Let me preface by saying honey BBQ twist Fritos are my most coveted, most guilty snack that I find myself eating far too often and usually when I’m having a flip off the universe and treat yourself moment. So take the trusted, panty-dropping crunch of the Frito and then add buffalo sauce, beans, cheese, crema, and cilantro? STILL IN THE SNACK SIZE FRITO BAG? AND YOU EAT IT ALL WITH A FORK? FUCKIN NUTS GUYS. I know for a fact this stretches the authentic “Mexican food” title, but man that was a great business decision to include it. Once a year, as a birthday treat, the Walking Taco is my bitch. 

Shoutout to Big Star, the ideal location for any event that needs tequila. 

3. Garcia’s Restaurant 

Garcia’s feels like home due to the amount of times a meal there has included the same group of close friends, emotional conversations about sorority stuff, and late night escapes from boys that don’t understand when they’re ridiculous, we will go get mole and strawberry daiquiris instead of dealing with them. While I have no photos to share, I do have memories and the assurance that this place is truly authentic. From the large wooden chairs to the flags on the wall, atmosphere lacks but the food is absolutely incredible. I always order the Cheese Enchiladas with mole poblano on top, and it is the real mole that makes you warm from the inside out. It’s thick with notes of cocoa, spices, and not too sweet- almost bittersweet in fact, and with the pull of cheese inside chewy tortillas all rolled up underneath it is a rare find indeed. 

The chips & salsa take the cake in my book; they’re perfectly crispy and not greasy, and the salsa will make your eyes water but then before you know it your face is soaking wet because you ate ALL OF THE SALSA ANYWAY. Hurts so good, you know? 

And as mentioned the strawberry daiquiri is DOPE DOPE DOPE. Huge for the price, sweet and sugary with all the spicy food, and perfect for late night gossip. Or pregaming, either one. 

4. Taco Diablo 

An Evanston favorite! The OG Taco Diablo opened a few years ago and was an instant hit in the North Shore as it was a dark, intimate den of Mexican food, a place for casual drinks, and coated in sugar skull paintings and weird demonic creatures dancing around the bar area. Given the logo has little devils in it, it’s fitting that here they take a sultry, somewhat naughty approach to decor and food. We went once or twice a week and craved their guac that has a very specific lime & garlic undertone to it in the best way guac ever could, and the baskets of thin chips with rock salt sprinkled on the sides. 

No one was prepared for the morning we woke up and Beloved Taco Diablo had burned down, along with it’s neighboring restaurant Pine Yard. Needless to say, everyone was SHOOK and really genuinely upset that this tragedy struck such loved, run-by-good-people places. So then even more was no one prepared when the ashes were burried and from them rose A NEW TACO DIABO RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET! The owners of this cantina and the conjoining (long time closed) Asian-influence restaurant Lulu’s bought a double lot across the street and just went gung-ho on giving Evanston two of their favorite places back, which was like Christmas 100x over. The tacos from Taco Diablo AND the sesame peanut noodles from Lulu’s??? Next door??? HECKIN’ YES. I have literally downed a -very strong- marg with friends at Taco Diablo and then placed an order for the noodles to go to enjoy later in bed, and if that’s not employing DEMAND AND SUPPLY IDK WHAT IS. 

Go here for dinner with friends, a second date or a weekly drink date, and to sample every fucking thing on the menu. Especially the chilaquiles!!! 

5. Depot Nuevo

This one is hardest to type because we adore it, cherish it, crave it, owe many years of our lives to it way too much and in fact I will be here this week a couple times already. Depot graced our lives many moons ago in Wilmette and quickly became the neighborhood hub, as it’s downtown and in a real, separate house with a wraparound porch and the same smiling faces greeting you every single time. The menu offers your typical Mexican favorites such as tacos, fajitas, burritos + bowls, and of course guac and salsa, but with a slightly more upscale twist in a casual yet good-enough-for-a-life-event setting. The shrimp taco filled with crispy grilled shrimp, spicy crema, and actual slices of avocado are in my list of favorite foods in the entire world, but order the cheese quesadilla with a side of avocado and rice and holy frickle frackle you will never see quesadillas as a children’s food again. The cheese is juicy, chewy, stretchy, buttery, everything you could imagine and more. House-made corn tortillas and red salsa are impossible to describe, and the pomegranate margarita is the sweet n’ sour necessity to the meal that will linger in your mind for days afterward until you go back. 

Don’t brush it off because it’s in the quiet and sleepy suburbs. It is constantly busy, turnt, and I promise people in my friend group will be there heckling the staff and demanding elite service because we keep them in business. I THANK AND APPRECIATE YOUR WORK, DEPOT! 

That’s all I’ve got for you today friends, I hope this helps shape some weekend plans and gives you some new happy hour spots! What are your favorite Mexican restaurants?? Always looking for new places! 

-Natalie 

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Enhance Doors

Enhance Doors

 Whether you keep in an individual home, standard, or even a flat, you will certainly possess some type of a sidewalk or even an entrance leading up to your major door. As an alternative, offer the area some colour and also personality through including some vegetations. Expand the attribute concept to the door as well as curtain a singular creeping plant around the doorframe.

 If you remain in an individual house, there is actually a property even more you can easily perform along with this place. Yet another excellent concept is actually to create a collection of your youngsters's illustrations as well as art work as well as placed all of them up Decorative Doors.

 The frontal door of your house is actually the very first as well as the final trait that guests will definitely observe when they see you. Through enhancing the main entrance place as well as the door on its own, you may offer a private contact to your residence and also create your attendees experience warm and comfortable as well as invited.

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 Decorative Doors Add Value as well as Safety

 Whether you are actually reconstructing or even constructing a residence, creating a really good option for your inside or even outdoor doors may include worth and also aesthetic allure to your residence. Look at where the door will definitely be actually mounted and also just how a lot it will certainly be actually made use of.

 Inner parts entrances are actually certainly not confined to being actually sound, several kitchen doors consist of developer glass inlays or even smoked glass concepts. All of these concepts can easily be actually altered through including developer hair specifies to match your house decoration.

 Florence Baptistry Doors Known likewise as the "Gates of Paradise", the north doors of the Florence Baptistry were actually developed through the well-known revival engineer as well as artist Lorenzo Ghiberti. Even with Ghiberti being actually the main champion, he and also Brunelleschi were actually appointed to operate on the doors all together, yet Brunelleschi gave up partway with the venture out of take pride in.

 Taj Mahal The popular sepulcher in Agra, India was actually designed through purchase of Emperor Shah Jahan as well as devoted to his preferred partner, Mumtaz Mahal. It is actually the best popular instance of Mughal design, which blends Indian, Persian and also Islamic structure designs. The entrances of the Taj Mahal are actually all exceptionally made and also a lot of utilize all marble arcs crafted due to the greatest stoneworkers of the moment and also embellished along with repainted styles as well as inscriptions Decorative Doors Jacksonville.

 Prior to you receive to function developing your DIY showpiece, you possess to eliminate the doors coming from their joints. If you possess a close friend all around, inquire all of them to assist keep the door while you get rid of the joints so it does not drop. Right now, established the door down in the place where you wish to function.

 Hohenstein Castle The Hohenstein Castle in Germany was actually installed 1180, as well as it is actually an archetype of the home approaches hired through palace home builders in between Ages. Hohenstein Castle lies atop a stone headland, as well as its own major function was actually armed forces self defense. Today, the palace functions as an accommodation, yet its own doors, constructed from heavy timber along with greatly strengthened joints and also ornamental rised press boards, still preserve that aggressive feeling.

 The Columbus Doors The Columbus Door in the U.S. Capitol structure's well-known Rotunda takes a bunch of motivation coming from Renaissance paneled entrances like Ghiberti's Baptistry Doors. Created through Randolph Roger as well as put up in the Capitol Building in 1863, the Columbus Doors stand up 17 feets high, are actually constructed from bronze and also consider 20,000 extra pounds. The doors' doors illustrate settings coming from the lifestyle and also trips of Christopher Columbus, for this reason the label.

 Outdoor doors likewise happen in sets that will definitely consist of transoms as well as side sight home windows that may be actually helped make coming from leaded glass. Setup sets create it simple to set up a brand new unit when substituting an existing door. Sets happen along with pre-hung components as well as are actually prepared to glide in to an existing entrance Decorative Doors

 Glass or even sound metal door openers are actually a fantastic selection due to the fact that they incorporate a great deal of additional particular to your door. As door button prepares grow older they can easily end up being damaged or even cut out therefore changing all of them along with higher top quality collections is actually significant. It is actually effortless to collaborate your brand new door components along with the existing equipment (such as buttons, draws and also hangs) around your residence to enrich your existing style Florida.

 Inside door buttons are actually accessible in 4 key types; personal privacy, movement, dual fake as well as singular fake. Solitary fake and also dual dummy openers perform certainly not switch or even run a lock device - a solitary fake opener is actually one handle on the outdoor edge of the door while a dual fake is actually an opener on either edge of one door.

 Attractive handles are actually a splendid technique to enhance the elegance of any type of space and also create your door components stick out. Opulent concepts generate included passion and also demonstrate added focus being actually paid for to the much smaller information in the house. Search in The Attic & Company uses a number of aesthetic door buttons is actually a wide array of dimensions, components and also layouts - they additionally deliver totally free layout aid and also aid 32257.

 Getting rid of the Doors.

 Doors in today's properties are actually usually under valued aspects of the design, as well as some will claim along with great cause. Inspect out the observing instances as well as attempt visualizing any kind of one of all of them in your property Decorative Doors Jacksonville.

 If you value ease over all else, at that point you might cherish the direct appearance of timber outdoor doors. If you like a little bit a lot more individual in your environments, conventional doors simply will not carry out. And also this means, you'll obtain all the type at merely a portion of the price it will take to get brand-new doors.

 Leading 5 Buildings With Decorative Doors.

 The door button is just one of the absolute most regularly made use of things in the property as well as could be made use of to create a remarkable distinction in your enhancing style. Aesthetic door openers are actually a terrific technique to make a brand new and also appealing centerpiece for your exterior and interior doors without needing to have to switch out the genuine door on its own. Door openers are actually offered in a selection of products and also kinds so you can easily collaborate the doors throughout your whole entire residence and also develop a brand-new as well as lovely style 32257.

 Doors that have actually home windows mounted all of them are actually additionally power effective as well as possess reduced E-glass. Spare your personal some opportunity and also recognize what you are actually appearing for in components as well as functionality and also invest your cash carefully Decorative Doors

 The doors at Versailles, unnecessary to mention, are actually definitely one thing to witness. Their fabulous layouts are actually opulent in sheer gold and also specified in to marble entrances.

 Action and also Mark Your Panels

 Utilizing your measuring tape as well as pencil, make a decision where you would like to position the door slick. Commonly, paneled wood outside doors possess 4 or even 6 boards, therefore you'll need to have to evaluate 4 to 6 squares (or even 8 or even 12, if you therefore need). The doors need to begin at concerning 3 to 5 ins apiece advantage of the door, so they do not hinder of the knob.

 Action the Molding

 Take keep in mind of the dimensions you created for the doors and also after that dual examination all of them. You do not prefer to leave behind apparent signs on your ended up timber outdoor doors Florida.

 Slice the Molding

 Location the creating on your miter found along with the noticeable edge fronting in the path of the cutter. Today, it is actually opportunity to create the decrease. If this method is actually entirely brand-new to you, you might wish to always keep a handful of additional items of creating on palm to account for blunders Jacksonville.

 Construct Your Paneling

 Extremely a lot timber adhesive are going to leave behind a wreck that can likely destroy your task, thus utilize it moderately. Attach the reduce item to edge up along with the pencil spot you created on the door. It is actually shocking just how promptly your wood outdoor doors start appearing paneled.

 Completing Touches

 The adhesive will definitely need to have to completely dry for at the very least 1 day, yet at that point you're complimentary to repaint or even end up as you will as if. Certainly, the coating or even coating will definitely additionally need to have to completely dry, and after that you're prepared to put up the door!

 Designated Iron Door Furniture - How To Choose Decorative Door Stops

 Hummingbird sunlight article spinner is actually crafted from copper and also formed like a sparkling arc. It is actually emphasized along with a hummingbird produced coming from tarnished glass and also an alarm dangling in the center of the arc. This item is actually definitely wonderful on doors.

 Whatever area in the house you are actually enhancing, modern-day door home furniture may be a wonderful favor to your present decoration. Unusual styles appear wonderful in a bed room, while styles that are actually created to seem like vintages are going to go excellent in spaces where you are actually making use of a great deal of vintage furnishings. You may also locate some enjoyable develops to utilize on the doors in the rooms of your kids.

 Whether you possess a present day design type in your residence or even you make use of a nation types of decor, you'll discover that modern-day iron door furnishings appears wonderful along with both types. The terrific point is actually that they are actually extremely hefty, which operates effectively when you are actually attempting to cease a door.

 The vintage cross and also alarm chime is actually an ageless item that symbolizes the crucifixion and also fatality of our Lord. It possesses mortal different colors that appears spectacular when silhouetted through direct sunlight which it dancings along with the smooth wind as it offers a mild unquestionable tune to the alarm.

 The Woodstock blue-green is actually made from a wealthy bronze pipelines as well as cherry-finished timbers in addition to an all-natural rock accessory located at the end of the cord. This is actually an artwork, type, style, and also a superb audio vibration of numerous songs that accomplishes your time as you enter your charming house Jacksonville.

 There are actually thus lots of concepts to decide on coming from if you opt for iron door household furniture like ornamental door quits. There are actually also ceases accessible helped make out of superhero as well as animation personalities.

 Searching for superb attractive door sounds concepts? Door sounds are actually without a doubt the very most found for things these times.

 Rainbow butterfly wind sounds are actually fantastic for attributes fans. This specific part resembles a collection of butterflies that makes strongly desirable shades which specifies sophistication as well as refinement. It appears beautiful as it breaks down an uproarious song while the wind swings it to and fro to your door.

 It could be a great deal of enjoyable to make use of iron door household furniture, like door quits, within your residence. They are actually evenly valued, long lasting, as well as they supply a wonderful feeling of type. If sophistication as well as functionality is what you wish to include in your property, after that cast iron is actually certainly the technique to go.

 Metallic invited hummingbird door design is actually an one-of-a-kind as well as stimulating method to welcome attendees as they go inside your house. It is actually made from multicolored grains, craft glass, gold rock water pipes, and also a coated hummingbird.

 Door owners and also door quits are actually each excellent alternatives if you're curious in door household furniture. While it made use of to be actually that stone as well as lumber were actually typically made use of to create these door furnishings possibilities, today they are actually commonly created out of various other components, such as glass, marble, iron, as well as hardwood.

 There are actually additionally the holy place alarms door sounds, the plunging steel alarms appears fantastic as it floats on the gentlest doddle that trumps a haunting track in to the sky. It is actually a combo of hardwood and also metallic regarding 5 1/2 inches in dimension as well as 30 ins long.

 If you possess gorgeous doors in your house, you'll prefer to match all of them along with attractive door ceases as well as various other actors iron door household furniture. Certainly not merely are actually these products useful, however they additionally deliver a type declaration and also can easily incorporate some beauty to the design you invite your property.

 Golden seraph wind sounds are actually the excellent technique to tone your door. It is actually created of steel and also acrylic regarding 5 in dimension through 19 ins long.