We’re back with our second week of “Ask the Editor!”
Confession — last week’s article was long. Like REAL long. But we couldn’t contain ourselves! We were just TOO excited to narrow it down, but this week we’re only doing 4 questions so it’s quite a bit more digestible.
1.From @katewalthall: “Playrooms for kids 10 years apart. How to please both!”
Firstly, this article is a GREAT resource to answer this question! Since there are two different age groups present, this room needs to serve two different purposes. This article walks through how @palmbeachlately converted her home office from solely and office to an office + playroom. Your youngest will want a place to play, while your oldest might benefit from having a place to do homework, so this balance can work to your favor!
2. From @cassiwatkins: “Can someone explain to me new stylish jean styles? I’ve had skinny jeans for a decade”
This is a fun one! Jeans are an ever-evolving style, totally all-American and have worked their way into being a wardrobe staple.
Jeans started out pretty stiff and utilitarian. They were created to get a job done and worn by predominantly men who worked in hard jobs that needed hard material to last.
In the 50’s we see jeans start to tighten up a bit and represent a new style — just watch Grease and you’ll see jeans move into a whole new demographic.
The ’70s is where we first see the first major style shift — bellbottoms— which cascaded into blouse tends, chunky shoes and a slew of other new trends.
Jeans straighten out a bit more again in the ’80s. They go back to their utilitarian nature here and are less of a style statement with ALL of the other style statements that came in the ’80s.
The ’90s is where you first see the “Mom jean” emerge. They have a high waist, loose fit and are frequently cuffed at the bottom to expose a cute little ked shoe or tasteful loafer. Boot-cut was introduced as the less abrasive cousin to the bellbottom and as a whole, we see jeans re-emerge as a style statement.
Then the 2000’s hit and we see a new style that targeted the top of the jean as opposed to the leg, the super low-cut cut jean (thank you, Brittany Spears.) This change is almost in direct opposition to the high-waisted “mom jean.”
Skinny jeans joined the main-stream circuit around 2010, but still with a low cut top. And with the skinny jean came the jegging.
But what happened with the 2010 low-cut skinny jean is that people realized they wanted to prioritize fit over fashion. What looks best for you is what FITS best for you. So after the skinny jean ran it’s course, people realized they had a choice beyond what was “current.”
We see this today! People are choosing from a myriad of fits that work best for their body type. The fitting on the leg is becoming a little less elastic, cropped flares are introduced to accentuate pretty ankles, high-waisted is coming back in the MOST flattering way, and the straight-line cigarette jean that is universally well-received is currently taking the lead.
We needed to back up all the way to the earliest style choice in jeans to illustrate that people now have options for the type of jeans they want to wear, and they now feel like they have the power to choose.
So, to answer your question, if you like skinny jeans and feel confident in them, then you’re in style! Welcome to the new decade where the fit is best and style is in the fit.
3. From @justsimplyyuu: “How to control spending when we are saving for a vacation. How to be more disciplined.”
The hardest part of budgeting is committing to starting. There are so many different methods, tricks and tips out there, so here are a few of our favorites!
– Use Cash: When you pay with cash you have a better grip and understanding of the transaction that just went through. Paying in a tangible way is scientifically proven to help you spend less money. When you swipe with a card, you’re a lot more likely to spend more than you intended. When you’re saving up for a vacation, it’s the little expenses that can accidentally take away from your larger fund!
– The $5 dollar trick: This trick work’s in tandem with using cash. Every time you get a $5 dollar bill, stash it! It’s a small enough amount not to hurt you too much, but it adds up fast! This stash can now be used on your vacation.
– Assigning EVERY dollar that you receive and spend: the saying is “tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” The idea is that putting an assignment to every dollar spent means that you don’t let unknown dollars slip away. Create a dollar amount for eating out, getting groceries, clothes, getting gas — you name it! Knowing where you’re spending your money really helps you to save up for that vacation.
The discipline is hard but SO worth it when you’re on that vacay!
4. From @megansmooney: “shelves that are also used for lots of books”
One of the biggest questions that came from this week’s Home 101 as was how to decorate bookshelves WITH books. Which made us laugh because yes, that is the primary function of a bookcase but sometimes you get so carried away with decorating that you can forget the original purpose!
When you’ve got a bookcase that has a lot of books but you still want it to look good, you’ve got options. First off, you’ve got a full bookshelf which is great! That means you have a lot to work with. The way you organize the books will make the biggest impact with what you have! You can stack by color, genre, size or even alphabetical authors. That being said, try to choose a method that doesn’t require you to go on a scavenger hunt to locate books from the same series. You don’t want to separate your Harry Potters. Here are a few tips and tricks to make those stacks look styled, neat, and organized.
1. The best aesthetic way to organize your books is by height. Whether you keep everything all the same height, or you organize by descending height, creating this kind of unity helps to bring a little order to book chaos.
2. Candles, figurines or other smaller trinkets are always at home on a shelf and help to break up all of the books
3. Horizontally stacking your books helps to break things up a bit, but logically it also helps to get those REALLY large books to fit on the shelf :)
4. Isolated stacks are another great way to break things up and not make the shelf look too too crowded. You can prop them up against other books, or use bookends.
5. Add in greenery! You seriously can never go wrong with adding in some greenery. Ever. Like ever. And expect to hear that from us quite a bit.
That’s all for now! Tune in this Sunday to submit your next round!
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Fresh flowers with small to tiny blossoms (think spray roses and wax flowers)
Choose which container you would like to plant your garden in and from there you can figure out how many succulents you will need. Feel free to play around with the succulents in the bowl before you put the soil in to decide how you would like to place them.
Fill the container 3/4 of the way with special potting mix specifically for succulents and cacti. Choose a fast-draining soil that retains little moisture as succulents do not like wet roots.
To plant start with your largest succulent. It doesn’t necessarily have to be placed directly in the middle of the bowl but it will offer you a focal point to build from. Remove the succulent from its plastic pot by turning it upside down in your hand and pulling off the pot, then gently breaking up the bottom to loosen the roots before setting it in the container. It can be helpful to plan your placement beforehand.
Enjoy your beautiful creation!
