Happy Mother’s Day!  Moms, we appreciate all you do for us and hope your day is wonderful!

If you’ve recently visited a store to check out the selection of blenders you may have noticed the newest trend in foods that go round and round. Big bulky blenders are out, and smaller versions are in. There are all kinds of smoothie machines on the market and some are even combo machines that also serve as food processors, with just a switch of a few moving parts.

The beauty of this innovation is that you can now make single serve smoothies with ease. Not only is it more convenient (the mixing cups come with ring tops that allow you to drink right out of the cup), they are far more cost effective. You don’t have to use more ingredients that you need, so you won’t have to store any of the smoothie concoction in the fridge. Smoothies can potentially taste good the next day if you give them a second whirl in the blender, but it’s not nearly as bright and refreshing as when it slows to a stop after the first spin.

We have discovered just one obstacle to the enjoyment of this new technology. Most recipes aren’t portioned for just one serving. So, we created several for you! These particular smoothies all share one thing in common. They include nuts so you are sure to have some protein and healthy fat in your diet. Happy fruit spinning!

Pie Face

• 1 tbsp crushed pecans
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder
• ½ cup coconut water
• ½ apple cut into chunks with peel left on
• 1/3 cup peaches
• Whisper of sea salt

Berry Mango Delight

• 1 handful mixed blackberries, blueberries, raspberries
• 1/4 ripe diced mango
• ½ tbsp vanilla protein powder
• 5 cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut water OR almond or rice milk
• Whisper of sea salt

Fun with fiber

• Water OR brewed then cooled herbal tea (lemon, raspberry, green, etc.) OR coconut water to achieve your preferred consistency
• ¾ tbsp protein powder
• ¼ cup almonds or walnuts
• Almond or rice milk to cover the nuts in the bottom of the blender
• 1 packet raw sugar (Stevia if you prefer)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries/raspberries/blackberries & mangoes/papayas/peaches
• ½ small apple
• ½ small ripe pear

One of our favorite tools is our Virtual Room Designer. This tool enables you to visualize a variety of floor designs and materials in many different types of rooms. This can be incredibly helpful when you are just beginning to decide what kinds of flooring you want to use in the room you are redesigning. 

It can feel overwhelming when you first begin exploring the myriad of options there are and you might feel like there is so much to choose from it feels impossible to know where to start. But with this tool, you can easily picture what different flooring looks like from the comfort of your own home before you come in to visit our store.

The first step is to get online and head to http://www.carpetsnmore.com/designcenter/vrd.aspx to get started with our Virtual Room Designer. Below we will walk you through how to use this tool to illustrate how this feature of our website can be helpful to someone who is trying to decide on what flooring will be best for them.  

Once you have pulled up the link above in your web browser the first step is to identify what room it is that you are going to be designing. For example, say you are going to be changing the flooring in your kitchen—you would first click on the kitchen option. Below several options will appear and you can choose from these options which kitchen matches yours the best.

Next the picture you choose will bring up a window where you can try different materials in the room. This is the best part of the tool because it allows you to visually picture what kinds of flooring would look best with what you already have in your room. For example, you have chosen the kitchen that best matches your kitchen. You will then choose from the ‘type’ drop down menu, picking between things such as hardwood or ceramic tile. Once you’ve made your selection you can narrow your search based on brand, product and color group if you need to.

Have fun and try all different types of flooring! You never know what combination might look best and you might even try something you hadn’t thought of before. It could surprise you as your favorite! Once you have a selection of your favorite flooring come in to one of our locations and we will help you decide what flooring works best for your needs and your home.

Cooking is a joy in the home – the scents, helping one another and of course, the eating!  But what happens when cooking leads to a mess or even a spill? 

Inevitably when we are cooking or eating with oils there are bound to be accidents. It always happens when you are wearing your favorite white sweater while you are cooking and the oil jumps off the pan right onto it. Or when children are eating a salad and the bowl is accidentally knocked off the table and right onto the beautiful new carpet.

Luckily these little life accidents can be reversed if handled in a timely manner and save the carpet from permanent damage. The most important thing to know about these kinds of stains is that acting immediately is extremely important. The longer a spill remains on carpet, the harder it will be to remove.

The first step is to use a spoon and carefully scoop up any solid food that may have also fallen in the spill.  Next, gently blot the stained area with white paper towels. Test a spot remover on a hidden area of carpet to ensure the spot remover does not discolor the area.

For spot remover, combine ¼ teaspoon of liquid dish detergent with 1-cup lukewarm water.  Do not use automatic dish detergent (the kind used in a dish washing machine) or laundry detergent.  These will not help the stain and may damage carpet. 

Once you have confirmed your spot solution is not going to stain your carpet further, spray the spot solution onto the white paper towels and gently apply moving from the outer part of the stain inward, so as not to spread the stain further. Let the solution set for a couple of minutes and then blot to remove. This step may need to be repeated several times if the spot does not lift on the first try. Don’t use more than necessary, however.  More is not better!

Once the stain has been removed rinse the area several times with lukewarm water. Spot removal solutions can leave residues that soil can be attracted to. Use a bottle that will spray the water over the affected area so as not to oversaturate and blot with white paper towels. Repeat this process several times to be sure to remove everything from the carpet.

Don’t hesitate to ask the staff at Carpets N More any questions you may have about your carpet!  

If you’re a glamour girl and you like the style of your home to reflect it, don’t leave out the small details. Any glamour girl knows that a look is never complete without accessories and this includes the home. Here are some simple but effective ideas for giving your desk or vanity the finishing touch! 

Crystal vases: No DIY work required. Crystal exudes glitz and sophistication on its own. But skip the flowers because that’s too obvious. Instead, use them to store small items. Such as cotton balls, hair ties, paper clips, etc. This looks best when filled to the top so don’t use a vase that’s too large.

Glass, cylindrical vases: These are neat because you can see the items inside. So use them for things are aesthetically pleasing when grouped together. Nail polishes, lipsticks, colored pencils, etc. Again, the contents should fill the vase all the way to the top for it to look finished and decorative.

Glitter candles: No glam room is complete without glitter. Purchase plain white candles. Use Mod Podge and apply it in small dots or other designs around the candle. Rotate the candle while sprinkling it with fine grain glitter. It will be concentrated where the glue is and more spread out on the rest of the candle. Let dry and set in a crystal candle holder.

Small scale coffee table books with subjects that are glamorous: Use these to create tiers on your desk or vanity. Set vases, candle holders and other pretty items on them for display. This looks more interesting and polished than everything sitting at the same level. 

Hoping this holiday season is filled with happiness, laughter and love!  Make sure to take time to enjoy the family and friends gathered around you at this amazing time of the year.

If you like Urban Chic – then clutter, conformity and the complicated have no place in your home. Low tech, high maintenance and the middle ground aren’t for you. Knickknacks are a no-no, less is more, and form faithfully follows function.

If this sounds like you, then your lifestyle is Urban Chic. It originated in the Bauhaus art movement of the 1920’s and has also been called Contemporary. Its heritage can also be traced to the 1930’s German and Scandinavian design schools.

Urban Chic :

Treats spaces almost as pieces of three-dimensional art, balancing form, shape, color and texture – texture from rough and smooth to glossy and matte.

The spaces are highly functional and well organized with lots of storage to eliminate clutter, celebrate order and meet the demands of your modern life.

Surfaces are simple, colors are clean and pure, shapes are geometric with immaculate detail. The look is linear, pared down and polished.

Your Urban Chic furnishings are sleek and strong but uncomplicated in shape, allowing them to mix effortlessly with other styles of furniture.

It all has the effect of creating a home that is cool and contemporary, urban and fresh, sophisticated and streamlined.

A recent interpretation of this style is a movement called Loft Living.

These are homes of modern architectural shape featuring vaulting ceilings, open, spacious floor plans and a multitude of high, wide windows.

The look is a unique combination of industrial masculinity and refined elegance.

Art Deco, the marriage of art and industry, is another variation of Urban Chic.

Introduced in 1925, this style created geometric and asymmetric furnishings of beautiful, organic simplicity.

A dining table with chrome base and glass top was a classic example.

Country kitchens are a mixture of different textures, colors, prints, and patterns. They make good use of natural materials whenever possible, as well as textures and materials that have been shaped and affected by people. When it’s time to select a floor for your Country kitchen, you have several options to choose from.

Hardwood Floors

There are many different hardwoods that are perfect for the Country kitchen. Wide-plank yellow pine is always a nice option, because its soft finish patinas and weathers beautifully over time, showing the family’s history in the house.

Hand scrapped boards are also a nice choice for Country kitchens. The hand scraping results in a textured floorboard that has a rustic appeal, and many hardwoods finish beautifully this way including maple and hickory.

Limestone

There are several different types of Country kitchens, and there is no better floor for the French Country kitchen than limestone. These rough-textured stones have been used in French farmhouses for centuries. Unlike other limestones, they are extremely tough and durable and they can withstand years of hard use without aging in the slightest.

Complement Your Kitchen

Ultimately the floor you choose for your Country kitchen should complement the rest of your décor. Look for materials and colors that match what you already have going on to get the most cohesive look. 

There are a lot of different types of grout on the market today. Sanded, unsanded, epoxy, presealed – it can be difficult to figure out what type of grout to use with what type of tile. It’s important to use the right type of grout, however, to ensure that the installation looks right and lasts as long as possible.

Glass is very fragile with a low tensile strength. This means that it does not flex in any way and will crack instead. Therefore the grout and caulk joints in the installation need to do the bending and flexing for the glass. So your grout joints will typically not be any smaller than 1/8-inch, regardless of the size or style of the glass tile.

At 1/8-inch the grout joint begins to get large enough that it becomes more difficult to fill with a standard grout. Sand is used in this size joint and larger to help fill the joint and make it more stable. Most people get a little hesitant about using sanded grout with their glass tile – after all, won’t the sand scratch the glass? In most cases, the sand will not affect your glass at all. There are a few types of color backed glass tile that do need an unsanded grout; if this is the case, you salesperson should indicate it to you at time of purchase, or the tile should have instructions that includes this information.

In addition to the size of the joint, your grout needs to be able to flex as much as possible to protect the glass. Therefore, latex additive grout is usually recommended. The added latex will help the grout to bend without popping out of the joint or harming the glass it surrounds.

Occasionally, epoxy grout can also be used with some types of glass tile. Epoxy is hard to spread and work with, but it flexes and it fills up grout joints without scratching the glass. If you’re worried about mold and mildew in your bathroom, for example, epoxy grout can be a good option to use.

When selecting flooring for homes occupied by older adults it is important to be cognizant of a few key issues. Most importantly, the flooring should be well padded and provide good traction to limit and protect against falls. Secondly, maintenance should be fairly easy as older persons tend to not only tire quickly but have a fixed income which limits continuous professional maintenance.

Cork and linoleum are two excellent choices as there is usually a padded subfloor between these materials and the base floor. Due to the fairly thin materials used, cork and linoleum both adopt the quality of the layer in which they cover. Both of these choices are also extremely easy to clean. Cork, while more affordable than linoleum, has higher maintenance costs attached, as it must be sealed at least once per year to protect against stains. It is also highly susceptible to water damage so is a not an option for bathrooms.

Vinyl flooring is another low maintenance material available on the market. Unlike cork it can resist water damage, is stain proof and does not have high upkeep costs.  Like the other two flooring choices mentioned, a subfloor can soften the feel underfoot. The biggest drawback is its non-renewable properties. 

If sustainability is important to the homeowner, rubber flooring can be one wonderful but more expensive option. It has great traction, is very soft, water resistant and even fire proof. It is fairly simple to clean, however as mentioned earlier the initial installation costs can be quite high.

Carpeting is one of the more popular floorings found in homes occupied by the elderly. While upkeep can get expensive it undoubtedly is the softest underfoot. Furthermore its woven strands act as insulators so it remains fairly warm in the winter and cuts down on additional costs of having to install insulated floor panels. However, carpet can stain if not properly maintained.

Each flooring option has its own benefits and drawbacks. Weigh your priorities in terms of costs, maintenance and safety against personal preferences.  The staff at Carpets N More is happy to help with any questions you may have.