Thursday, December 28, 2017

Sleep Better with the Spoon Mattress

All of the latest studies indicate that a good night’s sleep is more important than we realize. But work, family, and other distractions, can lead to insomnia and sleep deprivation for many people. Once you finally lay down, a comfortable mattress is the key to a sleeping through the night versus tossing and turning and waking up exhausted and sore. The new Spoon mattress is not just another foam bed-in-a-box, they’ve taken a new approach to building a bed you will love.

Spoon Sleep features a state-of-the art supportive sleep technology of Spoon pillars that respond to the body like an innerspring but also withstand the compression or wear and tear of an average sleep. These foam pillars are designed to be the most durable foam in mattresses to-date and literally spoon the body, providing flexible support with
each shifting movement. The memory foam is also a cooling comfort layer that regulates temp and creates a cooler sleep environment.

Spoon is the only mattress brand to feature these pillars. A nice visualization might be how a traditional coil/spring supports the body in key places. Well that’s what these pillars do. They are placed where the shoulders, back and hips require additional pressure point support. Also they are super durable. They lose less than 1% of their volume after 100,000 compressions. To put that in perspective. Other memory foam loses about 10%. That doesn’t seem like much but that’s an inch of “sink” in a 10″ mattresses. Which forms that dreaded sleep pit you can experience as your mattress ages.

A spill-resistant cover guards against spills and accidents and allows for maximum airflow to keep the mattress cool and clean. Designed and manufactured in the US (Chicago actually), the Spoon Sleep mattress is shipped to your door, compressed and easy to move and set-up. 

Going beyond all of the mattress specs and features, we needed to know how the mattress felt after a weeks worth of sleep. Our friend, Matt, suffers from lower back pain. He tried the Spoon mattress and shared his thoughts below.

When the Spoon mattress arrived it was heavy, over 100 lbs. It might be a two-person job to move it into a room, but I was able to just throw it over my shoulder like a lumberjack would a log and carried it upstairs.

The Spoon mattress was wrapped really tight but install was very easy – they provide a tool to cut the shrink wrap without damaging the mattress. Took maybe 15 mins to set up including opening the box.

Prior to the Spoon mattress I had been sleeping on a latex (coil-less) mattress for the past 10 years or so. I suffer from lower back pain, which is what prompted me to try a different mattress. After the first night sleeping on Spoon my back pain was gone and I haven’t experience any since.

The Spoon mattress feels like it runs on the firm side of the spectrum which is a perfect fit for us. It’s truly comfortable whether sitting or lying down. Our previous mattress was very uncomfortable in a seated position. 

The Spoon mattress is a lower profile and puts us closer to the ground – it’s only around 10” high. Our bed frame sits up higher so the lower profile spoon was a nice surprise.

Movements on my side of the mattress don’t transfer over to my girlfriend’s side. She can’t feel my movements at night or when I get out of bed. If only it could mute my occasional snoring then it would be perfect (maybe spoon 2.0 upgrade)!

In a crowded field of bed-in-a-box companies, the Spoon mattress has separated itself with its innovative technology and performance that we can definitely vouch for. 

Available for purchase on Amazon or through their website. Prices start at $700 and feature free shipping, returns and a full 100-night trial period. 



from http://bit.ly/2lnFGcK

DIY_Express

How To Recycle Your Christmas Tree

treecycle2

A dry Christmas tree is a fire hazard, and also makes a big mess as it drops needles. Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree and give it a new purpose beyond the holidays.

Christmas trees should not be disposed of in landfills, and most communities have laws prohibiting cut trees and yard waste from being dumped in the trash.

Recycle your Christmas tree by contacting your local recycling center or waste management company for information on where to drop off your tree. Some recycling centers have a separate “treecycle” area for discarded Christmas trees.

treecycle-desert

Before recycling your tree, make sure you’ve fully undressed it by removing the lights and packing away the ornaments. Make certain all tinsel, hooks and wires have been completely removed.

Recycled Christmas trees are put through a chipper and the mulch is used for erosion control, landscaping or trail surfaces.

recycling-center



from http://bit.ly/2loc8vx

DIY_Express

Thursday, December 21, 2017

2017 Christmas House Tour

Christmas House Tour 2017 - SawdustGirl.com

A few weeks ago I agreed to join a Christmas House Tour with a group of my blogger friends. Several weeks can sometimes be enough time to knock out a serious amount of work. So I wasn’t completely out of my mind for allowing myself to think that making this commitment would give me a […]

The post 2017 Christmas House Tour appeared first on Sawdust Girl®.



from http://bit.ly/2BLMcSn

DIY_Express

Friday, December 15, 2017

Paint with Plaid on Facebook Live

Paint along with Plaid®! Join them for their Facebook Live painting parties!

One of the brands I work with a lot (as most of you know) is Plaid®. (Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Plaid, but all opinions are my own.) I love working with them because I get access to fun new products and I’m always learning new things and being challenged to create and try new techniques. A few months ago, Plaid started doing fun “Paint with Plaid” Facebook live stream paint parties, and I have been lucky enough to attend a couple of them in person. This month though, I decided to paint along from home. We painted a Christmas tree, and they made it so easy! I’ve never considered myself to be a very talented artist, but they show you step by step exactly how to make each painting, and the process basically allows anyone to become an artist.

Paint along with Plaid®! Join them for their Facebook Live painting parties!

First, I gathered my supplies.

Paint along with Plaid®! Join them for their Facebook Live painting parties!

I had a scheduling conflict and wasn’t able to paint along live, but luckily the replays of these events live on their Facebook page and can be accessed at anytime. I had fun just enjoying a relaxing night of painting alone, but this would be such a fun girls’ night in! In fact, I have a post with tips on hosting the perfect craft night, and you can check that out here. I know some couples even do these as a date night at home which would also be fun. Here’s my setup for a craft night I hosted a while back:

5 Tips for Hosting the Perfect Craft Night

I grabbed my laptop and painted along after the kids went to bed one night. It was peaceful and therapeutic and so much fun!

Paint along with Plaid®! Join them for their Facebook Live painting parties!

Here’s my final masterpiece!

Paint along with Plaid®! Join them for their Facebook Live painting parties!

These Facebook live events are monthly, and you can find out more by following Plaid on Facebook. This is such a fun way to learn the basics of how to create art. This painting in particular would be a really fun and personal gift for your loved ones since it’s something you can create on your own. You can find the supply list for this “Holiday Magic” painting here, and you can watch the replay below. (You can also access the library of past live streams here.)

Also, now through December 31, 2017, you can use promo code “ErinSpain” at checkout at PlaidOnline.com to get 25% off your purchase of $25+.

Will you be creating any handmade gifts or works of art for your loved ones? I would love to hear about it!

subscribe box post footer

You can also connect with me here:

Thanks for visiting!

-Erin

The post Paint with Plaid on Facebook Live appeared first on Erin Spain.



from http://bit.ly/2Ca3nf9

DIY_Express

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Deep Dive with Fathom IPA from Ballast Point

This post is written for ages 21+. If you are under 21 check out Matthew Gray Gubler’s Halloween Haunt.

We’re excited about all of the possibilities our new home has provided. Beyond the remodeling, we can’t wait to furnish our home and setup areas for play and entertaining. We truly love to entertain, so appointing our bar will be one of the first priorities. We think about beautiful bars so much that we even built a couple for the GMC DIY Challenge last year.

But no bar is complete without beer, and not just any old beer. There is a time and place for mainstream lagers, but you won’t find them at our house. We don’t like to waste money and calories on cheap/low quality drinks.

Laura is partial to dark beers and craft beers are always popular with our dinner guests. Last week, San Diego-based Ballast Point Brewing Company invited us to check out their newest brew, Fathom IPA. We thought this was a great opportunity to invite a few friends over to try it out. Our crew knows their craft beer, and was very familiar with Sculpin from Ballast Point, so they couldn’t wait to try Fathom IPA, which was launched in October.

Fathom IPA was definitely a hit, and the first comments were how “crisp and clean” it tasted. Overwhelmingly our friends said that Fathom IPA was a beer that deserved to be enjoyed with a great meal. Recommended pairings from Ballast Point include, smoked mozzarella & heirloom tomato salad, seared tuna and black truffle ravioli, blue spruce ice cream, mimolette cheese and soft-shell crab sandwich.

The overall consensus was that Fathom IPA had a great “bite” to it, and could be easily enjoyed on any occasion. The six percent ABV wasn’t flooring anyone, which is a good thing, and after two beers our informal gathering felt like a party.

We’re suckers for great design and the Fathom IPA packaging won us over. Ballast Point is known for the gorgeous artwork on their cans and bottles, and this beer doesn’t disappoint. The deep-sea diver is based on an original painting by Paul Elder, and really caught our eye.

We picked up our Fathom IPA cans from our local Whole Foods and they are available nationwide in six and 12 packs, making them ideal for transporting to your next tailgate or camping adventure.

Since Fathom IPA was such a hit, we’ve decided to grab some more for our Christmas party next week, and wishful thinking is that there will be some leftover for our camping trip to the Alabama Hills after Christmas.

We’re pleased to be a Ballast Point Partner, and work with them to help introduce Fathom IPA. This post is sponsored by Ballast Point, but all opinions are 100% our own and we purchased the beer ourselves.



from http://bit.ly/2AgxUrb

DIY_Express

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Choosing Hinges for Cabinet Doors

types of cabinets

There are a lot of factors in choosing the right hinges for your cabinet doors. The type of cabinet and door being at the top of the list. Followed closely by the type, style, and function of the hinge. With as many options as there are available, there’s a hinge that will work for every possible […]

The post Choosing Hinges for Cabinet Doors appeared first on Sawdust Girl®.



from http://bit.ly/2APuO0l

DIY_Express

Friday, December 8, 2017

GMC DIY Challenge

GMC-DIY-Challenge-Laura-Dahl-sanding

GMC recently invited us to participate in the first GMC DIY Challenge and we gladly accepted.

Pitted against builders Brad Pennington of DoItYourself.com and his crew from Moca Handcrafted and Dinah Wulf of DIY Inspired and her teammates Jennifer Sevick-Hostetler and her Dad, Robert (master cabinet maker).

The challenge was to shop with $500 at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and build a furniture piece and household item, to be donated to a Habitat for Humanity home in Los Angeles. We had less than two days to complete the challenge and then be judged by representatives from GMC, Habitat for Humanity, and our host Kathryn O’Shea-Evans of This Old House.

IMG_2290

Joining me on this challenge was my lovely wife, Laura Dahl. With her on board, I knew we’d knock the concept and design out of the park no matter what we built.

The Truck

GMC 2500 HD Denali

A perk to this project was spending a week with this bad boy. A 2015 GMC 2500 HD Denali 4×4!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

11234968_10153083637423233_1880561815139424877_n

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

IMG_2302

For a truck capable of pulling a house, it had all the comforts of home including 4G Wifi, full leather and heated/air conditioned seats, onboard GPS navigation, proximity warnings, and every other bell and whistle you can think of. We took it on a surf trip up the coast and enjoyed just cruising on PCH. But when it was time to load up the tools and get to work it was ready to go.

The Challenge

IMG_2267 1

We spent Saturday morning in the ReStore parking lot shooting the intro to the challenge and then had one hour to find what we need and go. A gold travel trunk immediately caught our eye and we knew we could do something with it. For our challenge we needed to design and build a piece for the dining room. It was Laura’s idea to convert the trunk into an elegant sidebar that would look great in a modern home as well as the lobby of a Philippe Starck designed SLS hotel. A serving tray would be the perfect complement to the side bar and we found some amazing art-deco glass panes that would work well as the base.

GMC DIY EVENT

_MG_7028

The trunk needed to be elevated and we had thoughts of using crossed up wood posts as legs but that seemed too unstable and bulky. We only had a few hours for this challenge so finding legs from another item that we could attach to this piece was the ideal solution. An outdoor patio table had the perfect narrow legs to complement our bulky bar. Our thought was that the legs would make the piece look as if it were floating. But until we actually turned it over I had some concerns of it would hold and be steady enough.

IMG_2288

FullSizeRender

It turned out great and we barely came in under time. Thanks to Bob the builder from team Dinah who lent us his chop saw, brad nailer, and miter clamps.

sidebar

Check out the video below for the challenge.

In the end the judges voted for the outdoor fire pit (how could they not). We knew Brad and his team of pros were the heavy favorites but we were confident our piece would make them think twice about simply handing them the win. Kudos to Dinah and her team for attempting a very ambitious project and we love how they incorporated a family element into it with the kids desk.

GMC DIY Challenge

As winners of this challenge, Brad and his team are heading back East for a behind-the-scenes tour of This Old House. Speaking from experience I know they will have a great time, as the guys on the show and the production crew are all solid people.

Thanks to GMC, Habitat for Humanity, This Old House, and the amazing team at Weber Shandwick, for pulling this event together. We had a fun time doing what we love and being able to share and document our creation was a bonus.

Here’s a quick tips video for working with reclaimed pieces as well as more photos from the DIY Challenge.



from http://ift.tt/2AZaRoD

DIY_Express