I’m proud that Dry Soda is a local Seattle company, but even more excited that you can now find it virtually all over the continental U.S. or, if you prefer, buy it online. What’s so special about it? Well, personally, I love carbonated drinks, but not all the sweeteners. Dry Soda has a, dare I say, sophisticated flavor — but still quite tasty! — heavy on the refreshment but not heavy on sweetness. They’re flavored with natural fruit, flower or herb extracts and a small amount of pure cane sugar. (No high-fructose corn syrup.) And the flavors are something special — I’ve had Lavender, Lemongrass, Kumquat and Rhubarb, and I love them all. And they’ve just introduced two new flavors — Vanilla Bean and Juniper Berry. So next time you need to wet your whistle, I encourage to go Dry. –Mary T.

1. Nothing says spring more than fresh flowers — and some new cleaning products! Emma writes of her seasonal ritual: “I put a large vase of daffodils, tulips, etc. on the kitchen table and fling open the windows. Oh I love spring!” Click here to tell us how you get your house ready for spring, and you could win a Mrs Meyer’s Snap Pea Cleaning Kit!

2. We don’t have suffer overheating from our laptops. Tiffany says: “I have these and they’re awesome! Not only do they help keep my laptop cool, they also let me type at a much more ergonomically-friendly angle!” Click here to see what she’s talking about.

3. We’re very excited to have a second chance on Orla Kiely’s Target goodies. Jamieofalltrades is excited to know that the stores are restocking in mid-April: “I really wanted some kitchen towels and now I’ll be able to snag something. Thank you!” Click here to read all about it.

4. When something we want is too pricey, the sewing machines come out! When we wrote about a shower curtain that was too expensive for her daughter, S’mee had another plan: “We went shopping… to a fabric store. For about $25.00 we were able to purchase enough fabric to make one exactly like it! It took me a couple of days to cut and gather all those tiny ruffles, but in the long run it was well worth it. ” Click here to see her inspiration.

5. We were looking for a cool retro radio, and you found it! Paola wrote in to identify the object of our lust: “That’s a Roberts radio – they’ve been hugely popular in the UK for the last few years and have become a design cliche.” Oh, well — cliche there, fresh find here! Click to see.

Like the Harri Koskinen block lamp? You can win one from Lushpad.

Want to save water this spring, literally? Set up your own water supply with help from Charles & Hudson.

Curtains can mix and match (and look great). See how at Casa Sugar.

A simple tip on hanging pictures evenly comes from Mrs. Blandings.

More Ways to Waste Time has just fantastic prints by Brandi Strickland — go look!

We always like finding a colorful new shop, and Modish found Red Velvet Art.

Here’s one we could use help with, from WikiHow: how to remove tomato sauce from fabric.

Planning makes perfect at Eddie Ross.

Trunks as a trend at Elements of Style — are you in on this one?

Take a look at some fun vintage wallpaper (one word: poodles) at Retro Renovation.

West Elm, 20% off cute office storage, like the above woven storage boxes.

Click! Design That Fits, 20% off entire order (including already discounted items) throughout the month of March — enter code MARCH20 at checkout. In-person or phone, get 15% off one in-stock item — mention “March online sale.”

Designpublic.com, 50% off select OFFI furniture.

Conran Shop, 20% off all furniture, lighting, rugs, and upholstery.

Paper Source, save up to 50% off envelopes, wedding invites, stationery, and more.

Fishs Eddy, 20% off the melamine collection.

Dwell Studio, take an additional 25% off items already on sale. Enter code SALEONSALE09 at checkout.

My laptop gets hot. Really hot. I don’t know if it’s due to the voracity of my web surfing (I kid, I kid), or just standard happenings, but I like the idea of cooling it off. These suction cup “cool feet” over at Charles & Marie would do the trick. According to the writeup, they will also increase the efficiency of my machine: “when laptops release their excess heat, they become faster!” Sounds good to me. Pick up a set for just $13 and start chillin’. –Erica P.

Ready for another giveaway? We are — especially when it comes from a company we like as much as Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day. They’ve generously supplied five spring cleaning kits for us to give away to five lucky Shelterrific readers! Each kit is in the fresh, new Snap Pea fragrance — the garden scent of springtime and fresh-picked peas, with a pinch of white thyme and lemon. The kits contain liquid dish soap, countertop spray, window spray and all purpose cleaner, all in a handy carrying container, a $14.99 value.

Here’s how to enter: Leave a comment on this entry by Tuesday, March 24, at 5 p.m. EST, telling us how you freshen up your home for spring. Be creative, but be sure to use your real email address. Once comments close, we’ll choose five winners via a random number generator. One entry per person, please. Thanks, Mrs. Meyer’s!

Great news from Target!

We’ve heard that some of your readers have had trouble locating their favorite Orla Kiley for Target items at their local stores. Target has heard their pleas and is happy to announce that the many of the most popular items will be restocked mid-April.

Decorative home pieces including the canisters, melamine bowls and plates, tumblers, and ceramic mugs will be restocked beginning 4/19. Additionally, select domestics items including the placemats, napkins, table clothes and kitchen towels will hit shelves between 4/10 and 4/26.

There’s a small victory for Orla Kiely enthusiasts — see you at Target in April.

It’s been a while since we’ve given you an update on the bees. When last we checked in, we sadly discovered that one hive had starved to death. Now, as things have finally started thawing out in our little hamlet near the Hudson River, our worst fears of been realized. None of our hives survived the winter! The remaining two hives had plenty of honey, but they obviously couldn’t get to it. They most likely were huddled together for warmth, unable to dig into their reserve stock in the layer above. It’s so sad, especially now as the first bulbs we planted are starting to sprout. One theory on our failure is that we had tried to start our hives with Italian bees (the American honeybee no longer exists — all honeybees here are now bred from foreign lines). We have heard they are not very hearty for cold climates. Perhaps next year we’ll try Russian bees? — Angela M.

There’s no “kinda” about this one. Locavore, a just-released app for the iPhone, tells you what local fruits and vegetables are in season. Simple, wonderful. This is what technology is meant to be. More details at Enjoymentland. And thanks to a tip from Locavore’s Twitter, now we know about another great app as well — this one lets you find the freshest local seafood.

I just love the simple Bookshelf Set Bookcovers by Book City Jackets spotted over at swissmiss. They’re a more sophisticated take on the brown bag book cover, and a set of three costs just $9 at Amazon. It would be nice to cover the books I’m currently reading to protect them from the perils of my purse (I usually carry them with me to pass time while on public transportation). I love the look of a monochromatic bookshelf, but if I were covering all my books I’d probably go for the more economical DIY approach. –Erica P.