DIY Remodel: How to Choose Berber Carpet

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Sometimes you need to choose carpet over a hard flooring for your remodel. We are redoing our office space and we need part of it to be more quiet so we are choosing to use a loop berber to help dampen the sound in the room.

Berber carpet is a popular choice for homeowners because of its durability and unique appearance. When choosing a Berber carpet, there are a few things to consider to ensure you select the right one for your home.

  1. Fiber: Berber carpet can be made from different fibers, including wool, nylon, polyester, and olefin. Each fiber has its own unique characteristics, such as durability, stain resistance, and texture. Consider which fiber will best suit your needs based on your lifestyle and budget.

  2. Pile height: Berber carpet is known for its looped construction, which creates a unique texture. However, the pile height of Berber carpet can vary, from short and tight loops to longer and looser loops. Shorter loops are generally more durable, while longer loops may be more comfortable underfoot.

  3. Color: Berber carpet is available in a range of colors, from neutral shades to bold and bright hues. Consider the overall color scheme of your room and choose a Berber carpet that complements it. We are choosing a beautiful charcoal color that is a great neutral foundation color for your room’s remodel color palette.

  4. Pattern: Berber carpets can be found in both solid colors and patterns. I really love a good pattern. It can mimic a large area run in the room. If you choose a patterned Berber carpet, consider the size of the pattern and how it will look in your space. If you want to layer an area rug on top think about the pattern of the rug and if it will go well together. Rule of thumb:you can mix and match patterns just be sure one is a small pattern and one is a large pattern.

  5. Quality: Berber carpets can vary in quality, depending on the materials used and the manufacturing process. Look for a Berber carpet with a dense construction, even loops, and strong backing to ensure it will last for years to come. Wool is a beautiful high quality natural fiber that I would choose if it is within your budget!

Overall, when choosing a Berber carpet, it is important to consider your specific needs and preferences like it are for us and our office renovation, be sure to think about the fiber, pile height, color, pattern, and quality.

DIY Remodel: How to Choose Your LVP Flooring

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View of lvp flooring

photo via HGTV

Luxury Vinyl Plank Flooring aka LVP

We are remodeling our offices and have decided on a mix of LVP, Luxury Vinyl Plank, and low berber carpet, for the spaces we need quieter. Going into this remodel I had no idea how to choose LVP and didn’t even know that Pergo/faux wood floor is called LVP!

Here are a few things I learned and some tips to help you with if you are shooing LVP for your renovation.

When choosing the best luxury vinyl plank (LVP) flooring, there are several factors to consider. Here are some tips to help you choose the best LVP flooring for your needs:

  1. Quality: Look for LVP flooring with a high-quality wear layer ( ask about this! It makes a difference especially if you’re putting it in high-traffic areas!) that is scratch-resistant and durable. A thicker wear layer will generally provide better protection and last longer. Consider the thickness of the plank, wear layer, and construction type.

  2. Appearance: Consider the color, texture, and design of the LVP flooring. Choose a style that matches your decor and personal taste. You can even find LVP that looks pretty close to wood@

  3. Thickness: Look for thicker LVP flooring, as it will generally be more durable and provide better sound insulation. We learned this the hard way in the past. You don’t want to hear everyone upstairs!

  4. Installation: Consider the installation method, as some LVP flooring is designed for floating installation some types of LVP flooring require glue, while others have a click-and-lock system. Choose the method that is best suited for your skill level and needs. If you are new and doing this on your own I would suggest the click-and-lock. My 12 year old niece was able to do thsi herself in her bedroom!

  5. Brand Reputation: Check reviews from past buyers or ask for references to ensure that the brand you're considering has a reputation for quality and customer service. Always look for reviews. Best lesson I learned from Amazon!

  6. Warranty: Look for LVP flooring with a good warranty that covers manufacturing defects, and wear-and-tear.

  7. Maintenance: Choose LVP flooring that is easy to clean and maintain. Some types of LVP flooring are scratch-resistant, waterproof, and stain-resistant, making them ideal for high-traffic areas and for those with fur babies!

  8. Cost: Consider the cost of the LVP flooring, including the price of installation. Choose a flooring option that fits your budget.

Overall, when choosing the best LVP flooring, it's important to balance your personal preferences, budget, and practical considerations such as quality, installation, and maintenance. By taking these factors into consideration, you should be able to choose the best LVP flooring for your home or business. Good luck! I will keep you updated on our office remodel! Before and after photos coming soon!

National S'mores Day Recipes and Ideas

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Today is National S'mores Day. For national S'mores Day why not host a S'mores party with a S' mores bar. Our Raspberry Nutella and Chocolate S'more is so delicious and simple to make. Add it to the bar along with other toppings for your guests to choose from.

Nutella S'mores Recipe

  • Original marshmallows

  • Homemade or the best raspberry jam

  • Hersey's chocolate bars

  • Nutella hazelnut spread

  • Graham crackers

First, toast your marshmallow to the perfect melting point. See our directions here: The Perfect toasted marshmallow. Next spread Nutella, and raspberry jam on a square of graham cracker. Next place chocolate square on the top. Finally, add the perfectly warm toasted marshmallow. Top with a second square of graham cracker and press together. Enjoy!

Sweet Tip:

Be sure to have your cracker ready for the marshmallow so you can place the marshmallow on top while it is still hot so your chocolate will melt for the perfect S'mores.

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Spring Tulips } Displaying Grocery Store Flowers

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Spring Tulips } Displaying Grocery Store Flowers

I love searching for well-designed vintage home goods to add interest to my home decor.. I recently found two lovely cream soup tureens while thrifting. Many people are focusing on ironware but a nice vintage ceramic piece is just a Both of them are ceramic. As soon as I saw them I knew just what I wanted to use them for… nope not soup… spring tulips.

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Winter Weather - Cozy Favorite Finds

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Be sure to stay cozy and warm! Here are a few of my favorites.


♫ ♫ “I love the winter weather so the two of us can get together…” ♫ ♫

 

I love the changing seasons. I appreciate so many things about each season but I think winter is my favorite season of all. Even though winter is the coldest season it has my heart. I love the crisp cold air. I love the snow flurries and when everything is covered in a blanket of snow white. There is something magical about a walk on .a cold winter’s night in knee-deep freshly fallen snow. It’s like the whole world around you is dusted in white glitter and if you know me you know I’m a glitter kind of gal. Then there’s the glow of a warm fire in the fireplace with a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee and John Coltrane playing. It’s magic.

Here are some of my favorite finds for making the most of your winter weather.

Warm Woolen Mittens

Women's Lined Winter Mittens - Several colors avaiable click here to see them all!

If you are driving or our for a walk in that knee deep snow thick mittens with a cuff to keep your wrists warm are a must. The colder the weather the more a mitten is preferred over gloves to keep those fingers toasty and warm.

Warm Lined Winter Hat

Women's Winter Beanie Warm Fleece Lining - Several colors avaiable click here to see them all!

Cute, cozy and warm - winter beanie hats are a must have in several colors and the pom poms make them even cuter.

The Perfect Fleece Throws

TASTHROW Large Flannel Fleece Throw Blanket - available in several colors click here to see them all!

These fleece throws are the perfect size and thickness for sitting fireside or cuddling up for popcorn and binge-watching your favorite show. We carry ours room to room. One for me and one for Harrison my little black chihuahua mix pup. I also have a basket of them rolled up ready for when my kids come to visit. Everyone loves to have one as we sit on the sofa and visit or play a game or two.

Fuzzy Cotton Flannel Sheets

Great Bay Home 100% Turkish Cotton Flannel Sheet Set - They come in several prints and sizes! Click here to see them all!

Nothing is nicer in the wintertime than snuggling up in flannel sheets. I have all the prints above. These sheets from Great Bay Home a made of soft Turkish cotton. The deep corners have never pulled up on me. You will love them!

How to Choose a Fresh Christmas Tree

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Are you a real or fake Christmas tree family? I have always loved the smell and look of a real tree. When I was growing up we always had a real tree. Sometimes they were big and fluffy other times more sparse. When my mom was growing up during the fall my grandpa and uncles would go up to the family homestead on the mountain and choose a tree for their Christmas. On the day after Christmas, they would go up and cut down their perfect fresh tree. When I moved to Utah my uncle and grandpa would choose one for me too and I would go and pick it up after Thanksgiving. There was something really special about getting a tree from your own land.
Now that my grandma and grandpa have passed away we visit a local Christmas tree lot that carries the freshest prettiest trees.

We wandered around to look at all the varieties of trees. Do you know which variety is your favorite? I like a short needle with a strong branch to hold all my vintage glass ornaments. I have a lovely collection of Shiny Bright balls and assorted vintage German glass ornaments.

Choosing a Neutral Paint Color -Taupe or Greige

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I’m sure if you have been looking at paint colors recently you have heard the made-up color name Greige. It sounds a bit confusing because really it’s just taupe. Taupe is a cool natural that is a mix of beige and gray. For some reason, the trend for the more cool color of taupe is to call it greige.

Photo Credit - Jenn Verrier Photography @jennverrier

Photo Credit - Jenn Verrier Photography @jennverrier

The gray and white look is on its way out while adding some walnut wood and painted navy or deep peacock color cabinets is showing up in new homes with the greige/cool taupe wall paint colors.

I love the dusty pale blue painted cabinets above with the brass/soft gold color hardware. The reason they look so great together is that yellow and blue are complementary colors and the tints and tones in this palette are perfectly balanced. Such a welcoming classic look.

As a trained designer and color expert I’ve been helping my bestie choose colors for her new home. Even though her home is semi-custom her contractor is working with Sherwin-Williams but she loves many of the Benjamin Moore colors so I am helping find a greige aka taupe palette that will be more timeless and traditional than trendy.



Easy to Grow Indoor Plants * Adding Some Fresh Green to Your Home

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Adding Some Fresh Green Plants to Your Home

I have been into house plants lately and want to add more to my home. I’ve been researching easy-to-grow indoor plants and wanted to share will you some of the interesting and helpful info I’ve found. There’s nothing like a bit of fresh green to add to the coziness of home.

Jade Plant

Crassula ovata, or the jade plant, is also known as the lucky money tree. If you’re looking for a great durable plant that is easy to care for the Jade plant is for you! This succulent is snow growing but can grow up to 6 feet tall.

Jade plants are easy to propagate which means you can grow more plants from your main plant and fill out all sections of your home or give some as gifts too.

Care: light with

ZZ Plant

 
 

Zamioculcas Zamiifolia or the ZZ plant or the Zanzibar Gem is an easy low light plant. I love the shiny oval deep green leaves of the ZZ.

Care: Can tolerate everything from bright indirect sun to low light with well-drained soil.

Snake Plant

Sansevieria or Mother-in-Laws Tongue has a long pointed leaf that is almost waxy. I love the look of this plant but I’m not in love with the name. Snakes and mother-in-law’s tongues?? I hope my daughter’s-in-law think of me as kind and loving! As for snakes, I can leave them but this plant I will take! I love the upward movement of the leaves.

NASA researched the Snake Plant and found that they help clean the air by removing toxins such as formaldehyde and benzene.
Care: Snake plants are great in low light, require very little watering, and will endure if you forget to water them.

English Ivy

Hedera helix or English Ivy is such a lovely plant. I love growing Ivy indoors. I love the shape of the leaves, I love that they trail along so nicely and make a great handing plant or can be trained around a frame for a topiary.

Care: Ivy does like bright in-direct sunlight so this is a plant to house near a window. Keep the soil moist but not too wet and don’t let it dry out.

PRODUCT SUMMARY 

Gray Slope Arm Sofas - Restoration Hardware Inspired Home

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One day last fall I walked into the SLC Restoration Hardware store and was struck with inspiration. This is the feel I want for my home redesign. I wanted it to feel light airy and full of well-designed pieces of furniture, tall palm trees, and plants, with a touch of a cozy relaxing home. A place my mind could rest and a place where my family could come and hang out. In addition to buying my beautiful Majestic Palm, I started to add one piece at a time. Although I LOVE the Restoration Hardware sofas they didn’t have a couple of things I wanted for my gathering space.

A few things on my checklist included both form and function. Anyone who knows me knows that if there is something in my home it must be deigned well as well as have a use. It’s not form verses function with my it’s form AND function.

  • It must be aesthetically pleasing.

  • it must be comfortable, the kind of comfortable where you can curl up and take a nap comfortably.

  • It must be durable to withstand long hours of use and my cat Henri and my Taco Terrier Harrison (aka a chihuahua mini fox terrier mix)

  • It must have a place to put my feet up, I debated back and forth over the chaise lounge end sofa and the reclining sofa.

The reclining sofa won out only because I finally after A LOT of searching found one that was in the perfect gray color and had a similar reverse slope arm as the restoration hardware sofa. I’m totally happy that I did choose these two because they come with USB portals and the loveseat has an outlet in the center storage area and 2 drink holders AND the headrest is adjustable too!

I’m not crazy about the pillow cover design of the pillows that came with it so I’m ordering these woven Baileywick Linen Pillow Covers in shell pink for some texture and these Maddie Textured Pillow Covers in mauve. I like that the colors are muted and soft pale colors that translate more as a neutral in the room. For the holidays and seasons, I will be adding a throw and lumbar pillows with a print.

Easy to Care For House Plants: #1 Majesty Palm

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Let’s talk about house plants! I mean the easy to care for hard to kill variety that pretty much anyone can grown. From pathos to palms there are some lovely plant you can grown in your home.

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Majesty Palm

Right now I’m loving my new Majesty Palm. It grows pretty fast and I bought a smaller one and planted it in a taller straight pot so it would stand taller without having to spend more on a bigger plant upfront.

It’s best to keep the soil moist but they are forgiving if you forget to water them. They thrive in a low light indoor setting just fine.

When I got my last majesty palm my cat decided the pot was his new litter box and ruined it so now I cover the soil with a little bit of stone mulch since cats don’t like its rough texture.

This photo is of Rhianna Meyman’s beautiful Majesty Palm. I will post photos of mine as soon as I’m finished with my unpacking here in my new home.

My Mostly Natural Migraine Protocol

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Migraine

*I am in no way a doctor I am simply sharing what works for me. Please talk to your doctor and even get second and third opinions if you are suffering.

For me, migraines start very suddenly in my late 30’s. I literally didn’t know what was happening. My first migraine looked like a stroke. Half my face was numb, I was having a hard time talking and then came the kaleidoscope flashing lights and a blurry blind spot in my vision. Luckily my sister was nearby and she called my mom to tell her what was happening.

My mom calmly said I think you are having a migraine. Your aunt gets them.

I was never even much of a headache person up to that point so why did this suddenly happen to me? It took me 3 years of suffering, tons of major migraine drugs and days of suffering skull crushing mirgaines followed by my head pounding migraine hand over headaches before I figured out what was causing my migraines.

My migraines all started when I started drinking diet soda pop with artificial sweeteners and eating sugar-free treats with artificial sweeteners.

I had no idea that artifical sweeteners could do that to you! But for me I am very sensitive to them and haven’t eaten them before the migraines started so I had no idea. It took be 2 years after I stopped eating artifical sweeteners including aspartame and sucralose for them to completely leave my body and to stop having migraines!!

Robert H. Shmerling, MD Faculty Editor, Harvard Health Publishing said in his article, Could artificial sweeteners be bad for your brain?, “ a study has raised the possibility that artificial sweeteners in diet beverages may increase the risk of dementia and stroke.” I am in no way surprised by these findings. I’ve had more than one CT scan that has shown progressive white matter damage from what they think is a result of my server migraines. I was also told my neurologist that because of my migraines I'm at a high risk of stroke.

Through trial research, I found a few things that are tried and true techniques to help minimize the pain and suffering during a migraine.

It’s my personal migraine protocol. I’ve only had one migraine in the past 2 years and the last one I had was very minimized and did not need heavy prescription medications to manage the pain.

Let call it my personal Sweet Life Migraine Protocal. It’s a mostly natural way I have found to help calm down a migraine.

This is what I do.

 
 

My *personal Sweet Life Migraine Mostly Natural Protocol

NOTE: I do these with the first onset of a migraine - when I start getting blurry vision even before the kaleidoscope lights.

  • I eat a 1/2 teaspoon of salt - pink salt or another unrefined salt is best but if I don’t have immediate access to them I use table salt

  • I chug one 16 oz bottle of room temperature water - purified filtered water is best

  • I rub pure essential peppermint oil on my forehead, back of neck, ears, and bottom of my feet.

  • I get a hot pad and hold it at the bottom of my neck ( I have a sock filled with uncooked rice that I microwave for 2 minutes)

  • I take 600 mg of IBuprofen ( the non-natural part)

  • I alternate sipping on a caffeinated beverage and another 16 oz bottle of water until the water is gone.

I have used these things to help alleviate some if not most of the pain from excruciating migraine pain and averted the nausea and vomiting that has inevitably followed.

For those who suffer, I am so sorry. I have been there and I hope you find relief very soon xo -April