The History of Ugg BootsWritten by William Siebler
From Australia's Official Dictionary: The Macquarie Concise Dictionary - ug boot / Australian 100% merino sheepskin lined boot. Also called ugh boot , ugg boot.Did you know that Australian Sheepskin Ug boots have always been called Ug, Ugh or Ugg boots and have been made in Australia for almost 200 years? "We always called them Uggs, Smith says, "long before it was a trademarked brand." Brian Smith, Founder UGG Holdings, Inc. Los Angeles Magazine October 1st, 2001 The Ug Boot Story The original Ug Boot. "Ug," (also spelled "Ugg" and "Ugh" in Australian dictionaries) is not a brand name but an age old generic term for this style of Australian-made sheepskin boot. In Aussie slang, Ug name is short for "ugly." In terms of comfort, however, Ug Boot is a thing of beauty. The softness of Australian Merino sheepskin produces a boot with a snug, cozy, form-fitting feel that’s more like a sock than a shoe, yet it’s rugged enough for outdoor wear. The fleece lining has astonishing property of providing year-round comfort. In cold weather, plush fleece provides an insulating layer of warmth by trapping your body heat, much like goose down does. But in heat of summer, natural fibers of fleece actually cool your feet by wicking away perspiration. Growing Up in Ugs By 1970s, in Perth, largest city on Australia’s West Coast, Ug boots were being manufactured by several small companies in area. Perth has much same climate as Southern California and is also a haven for surfers, whom Aussies call "surfies." And it was community of surfies at great surfing beaches at Margaret River near Perth who first adopted Ug Boots as their footwear of choice and made them a symbol of Aussie surfing lifestyle. Ug Fever Spreads From beaches of Western Australia, Ugs were soon seen on feet of East Coast surfers from Brisbane to Sydney. And it wasn’t long before some of these surfers -- ones who traded their surfboards for skis in winter -- found that their Ug Boots were just as at home in ski resort areas of Snowy Mountains as they were on warm sands of Sydney’s Bondi Beach.
| | Helpful Hints for First-Time Home BuyersWritten by Rachel Greenberg
Buying a house can be a daunting task, even for someone who has owned several homes. My husband and I recently purchased our first home together, and it was hard to find good advice that we truly found useful. We had to learn a lot on our own, but at least now we feel comfortable and knowledgeable about whole process. Here are some helpful hints we picked up along way:1. Use your online resources. Almost every state and local government has a website where you can research real estate information. The data on home sales, taxes, and neighborhoods is invaluable when you are shopping for a home. We were able to find out most recent sale prices in neighborhood we selected, and we didn’t have to rely on a real estate agent to get data for us. Doing research yourself will make you more knowledgeable about market, which is key to making a good purchase. 2. Be realistic about how much you can spend. Try to buy a home in a price range that allows you to put down 20%. If you put down less than this, you will have to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) to protect lender in case you default on loan. I know that 20% is a lot, but it’s not unrealistic. You may not be able to do it on your first home, but hopefully you can on your second home. The profits from sale of my condo enabled my husband and me to have more than enough for 20% down payment on our home. But we didn’t put it all down on home – we saved some of profits for unexpected expenses that come with buying a home. We suggest that you do same. 3. Shop for a home in winter, preferably around holidays. Since most people just aren’t interested in buying a home when they are trying to deal with holidays, you can pretty much be one of few buyers out there. We bought our home right before Christmas, and it was definitely a buyers market. We had our pick of homes and were able to underbid on asking price, even though we live in one of hottest real estate markets in country.
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