Nov 19, 2014

The Rug Pad to End the Search for all Rug Pads

I LOVE the look of flat weave rugs...


BUT, I don't always love the utility of flat weave rugs because they are famous for sliding all over kingdom come on any hard surface - wood, laminate, tile, concrete, marble, stone, etc.  A rug pad is a simply a must in the case of flat weave rugs.

I was recently approached by RugPadUSA.com - an online retailer that specializes in quality rug pads made in the USA - with the opportunity to review one of their rug pads.  I jumped right on the opportunity because I had been on a perpetual hunt for a runner length rug pad for a flat weave rug we have in our master bath.

We have a flat weave runner that spans the entire length of our dual-sink countertop in the master bath.  I love the length of it because it keeps our toes toasty warm no matter where we stand in front of the counter.  My love affair ends there...because for two years the rug would bunch up on either side or slide all over place on our laminate bathroom floors.  I had been wanting to buy a rug pad to literally "ground" our rug but just never seemed to find the right price, the right size, or the right type of rug pad for a flat weave rug on laminate flooring.

My hunt soon ended after I received the rug pad from RugPadUSA.com!

I had selected the Super-Lock Natural Rug Pad and it arrived just a few days later, well packed for shipping but in minimal packaging.  I unwrapped it and braced myself for the typical fumes that are associated with most rug pads; however, I was pleasantly surprised that there were no toxic smells with this rug pad.  I felt like I could simply unroll it and place it in the room without letting it off-gas outside for a week.  Hooray!


RugPadUSA.com offers a large variety of rug pads for different surfaces in your home, but I of course had honed in on a pad that was good for laminate flooring and the moist environment of a bathroom.

Since my rug pad arrived, our flat weave rug has stayed in one place.  No slipping, tripping, bunching, or bagging.  Now I'm just wondering why I waited so long...

The RugPadUSA.com website is easy to use and allows you to search by flooring type or rug pad material type...it was a very straight forward and user friendly experience.

Other great perks, you ask?  Shipping is FREE (often shipped the same day as the order), you get free returns for 30 days, and there is no charge for trimming the rug pads to your specified size for any custom-sized rugs you may have.

Finally, you can take 10% off your purchase when you sign up for emails on their home page!

Now go forth and ground those beautiful flat weave rugs to hard surfaces everywhere...

Nov 17, 2014

Splurge vs. Save: Faceted Serving Dishes

I'm a big fan of white dinnerware - even for special occasions like Thanksgiving dinner - but every once in a while I like to fancy it up a bit.  My favorite way to make a simple white table more special is to add fun, colorful serving platters/dishes to highlight family style fare.

Here's a great example of some serving dishes that will do just that!  You have your "splurge" option or your "save" option....they're equally as lovely, but cater to very different budgets.

Sources: Splurge  |  Save

They both give off a pretty kaleidoscope-like look - modern, artistic, and oh so of-the-moment in design.  The main difference is in the material: the "splurge" set is made of metal, while the "save" set is stoneware.

Which set would you prefer for your Thanksgiving table?  Do tell!

Nov 13, 2014

Europe with a Toddler : Barcelona, Spain

Here we are nearly 3 months after our Spain trip and I'm just now getting to share one of my favorite places with you...Barcelona.  I promise, it was worth your wait!

Here are the two other posts on our Spain trip, in case you're interested:

Now for Barcelona - a true gem in the treasure trove that is Europe and a fabulous place to take a little one! We visited Barcelona on the tail end of our Spain trip - we spent a day in Barcelona, left on a Disney Cruise from there, then wrapped up the trip with two more days in Barcelona.

First off, we stayed at the Le Meridien Barcelona just steps from the heart of the action on La Rambla street. It was a great hotel...I gasped with joy when I walked in to our room below.  Hello high-design and city views!




If you visit Barcelona (or any foreign place), I strongly recommend experiencing the city with a private tour guide.  It's well worth the investment as you get to see and hear and taste and smell and enjoy and internalize some much more than you ever would just walking around with a guide book. Our tour guides - Nancy and Teresa of Enchanting Barcelona Day Tours - were phenomenal.  Not only were they true experts on Barcelona's rich culture and history, but they also catered so well to our family and the needs we had in having a toddler in tow.

We started our first tour of the city - called 2,000 Years in a Morning - in the older gothic portion of the city. The first stop was Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, a very old market filled with vendors selling everything from fresh-squeezed juices to the daily catch.



Next we walked through the maze of gothic streets and discovered such pretty settings.


They're big into their "giants" in Barcelona - very tall puppet looking costumes that people wear in parades to celebrate holidays and other major events.  This site was a museum that houses the giants when they aren't out on parade.


We saw the beautiful Music Hall - Palau de la Musica...


The Cathedral of Barcelona...


Placa Nova where this cool mural by Picasso is featured...


The Arc de Triomf (yes, they seem have one in almost every European city I've been to)...


And, the lovely Parc de la Ciutadella...


From castles...


To mammoths...


We saw so much (even more than you saw in these photos) that first day alone!


Because the food is a very important cultural part of any locale, here are a few snap shots of food in Barcelona to make you drool a bit.



Caprese pizza at Luzia

Late night drinks and dessert in the hotel lobby...with a cute toddler

A Barcelona special, Seafood Paella, at Taberna del Cobre

Donuts at Chok Barcelona

I guess we should walk that off now by visiting some more of Barcelona's sites!  Our second tour in Barcelona - called The Great Gaudi and Co. - focused on The Modernists, the artists and architects that set the stage for one of the most artistic and culturally rich cities I've ever experienced.  

For this tour, we started off by walking by Puig Cadafalch's Casa Ametller (below left) and Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo (below right).  As you can see, the architecture in Barcelona was breath-taking and so much of it had to do with the Modernist Movement.


Next, we visited Gaudi's perpetual project called the Sagrada Familia.  Construction of this awe-inspiring basilica was started in 1882 and construction of the facility continues until this very day.  Gaudi died in 1926, but several architects fueled by passion and funded by private donations have continued his work since then. The Sagrada Familia is estimated to be completed in 2026. 


The inside of this place is beyond words.  Gaudi's attention to detail and his eccentric design concepts were ahead of his time during his lifetime and continue to be ahead of our time even today. 



Here's the detail on the massive doors...one of my favorite features.


After the Sagrada Familia, we walked up to the Hospital Saint Paul - a beautiful facility built by the modernist architect Lluis Montaner.  It was a fully functioning hospital from 1901 to 2009.


Next stop was Park Guell, another well-known Gaudi masterpiece, which was originally designed as a master planned community.  Because it was situated rather far from the city center, it never took off in that way and instead became a public park in the 1920s.


It's most known for it's serpentine mosaic benches...as shown off by my favorite little poser.




The splendor of the entire park - even the lower levels - never failed to disappoint.


Can you believe all of this is nearly a century old now??  It still looks "modern" to me!


Following our second tour, we felt confident enough to explore a little more on our own so our last day was spent walking the streets of the gothic Old Town, visiting art galleries and boutique shops.


We grabbed delicious tapas at the Mercat de Santa Caterina - check out the roof!


Took in some awesome sculpture art...


We then finished up our trip with a relaxing stay at the uber hip Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel on the outskirts of town.  Check out these digs, y'all...

The windows in the guest rooms look like palm tree shaped explosions through concrete.


The pool was just a bit swanky, to say the least...


Stark white bathrooms with nice rain shower heads...


Wish I could have brought this chair home with us.


This was a great indoor pool if you opted to avoid the snooty folks at the rooftop pool and splash a little.


City views anyone?


How's that for a way to wrap up a sublime vacation to Spain?  Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Bottomline, please add Barcelona to your bucket list!  It won't disappoint whether you're young, old, or in-between.

Nov 6, 2014

Happy happy hippo

Hi friends!  The case of the un-used spray paint has been re-opened...

This time the targeted item was this cute hippo I purchased at Homegoods ages ago.


Subject: A bright, happy, red hippo

Objective: A more neutral hippo with a "Jonathan Adler"-ish look

Medium of choice: Matte white spray paint found in the ever-abundant garage stash

Cost: $0

Result: A cute matte white hippo that blends better with our decor


What do you think of the hippo makeover?  Have you spray painted anything lately to give it a design face-lift??
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