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In the fabulous world of DIY, @mymulberryhouse is inspiring. DIY is the epitome of working in unscalable but agile conditions.

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9 Wonderfully Simple Ways to Make Your House Smell Like the Holidays

bonchan/iStock

Sugar cookies. Fresh-cut pine trees. Hot apple cider. Some of the best things that come with the holidays are the wonderful smells that fill your home courtesy of all the traditional trappings of the season. Winter holidays would not be the same without this warm, cozy goodness.

“One way to evoke holiday memories into your home is by infusing the nostalgic scent of Christmas trees, vanilla, cinnamon, warm burning fires, and of course peppermint,” says Dayna Isom Johnson, Etsy trend expert and a judge on NBC’s “Making It,” a DIY competition show.

So where should you turn to source these wonderful scents and make your house smell as festive? Follow these scent-sational tips from the experts.

1. Use fresh greenery

Wreaths, garlands, and arrangements filled with winter foliage go hand in hand with any holiday decor. Johnson suggests using real greenery in your floral displays or centerpieces at your table.

“Toss sprigs of sage, rosemary, or pine into your table centerpiece to pack an extra holiday punch in your dining room,” says Johnson.

2. Make pomander balls

Make a pomander with cloves and an orange.

iStock/karma_pema

Pomander balls—or citrus fruits pierced by whole cloves—can create a great smelling decoration to spice up your home. And that they are believed to ward off bad spirits and diseases and bring strength and fortune is a bonus!

To make, use any firm citrus fruit such as an orange or grapefruit. Carve a design into the skin of the fruit using a vegetable peeler. Poke a row of holes into the fruit with a toothpick to make your design. Push the cloves into the holes. Your beautiful, fragrant pomanders can be placed in a bowl as a centerpiece.

3. Light a scented candle

A scented candle can easily set the mood for your home and can offer an immediate sense of the season. But go easy on the aromas.

“I feel most people overdo it, lighting candles in every possible holiday scent. That creates olfactory chaos,” says Diane Torrisi, owner of Diane Torrisi Designs, in Naples, FL. “My tip is to choose a favorite scent and keep it consistent throughout the house. Don’t forget the bathrooms!”

Her favorite is from Ralph Lauren, which she says is sophisticated and never overbearing.

“And please keep the scented candles away from the dining table that will clash with the wonderful food scents of the holidays,” says Torrisi.

4. Simmer a pot

Herbs simmering in a pot

iStock/AmberLaneRoberts

A quick and easy way to fill your home with sumptuous smells of the season is by simmering a pot of water on the stove on low heat with orange and apple peels, cranberries, nutmeg, anise, cloves, and stick cinnamon.

A slow cooker can also be used to simmer the fragrant liquid.

5. Break out the holiday drinks

Who doesn’t enjoy a holiday beverage to kick things up? Mulled wine, apple cider, and hot cocoa can fill the house with irresistible aromas.

“Holiday beverages are also very personal choices. I would recommend taking a regular, like hot cocoa, and giving it a twist with a splash of Baileys, Kahlua, or RumChata—making it an original family drink,” says Torrisi.

Entertaining expert Mark Addison, author of “Cocktail Chameleon,” says his favorite holiday beverage is his signature cranberry sauce punch. It’s a Champagne cocktail that begins by stewing fresh or frozen cranberries with spices, orange peel, and dark brown sugar.

6. Bake some treats

The scrumptious smells of apple pie, gingerbread men, or sugar cookies baking in the oven will get guests giddy with anticipation.

“There’s nothing better than the aroma of freshly baked cookies, especially when they’re for Santa,” says Johnson.

7. Apply essential oils

Add a few drops of essential oil to pine cones.

iStock/designsimply

Using essential oils during the holidays is a big part of holiday house preparation for Julie Lancia, who, along with her twin sister, Jodie Kammerer, runs the blog The Design Twins. She says essential oils can be added throughout the house to create discreet aromas.

“I love to add essential oils to a bowl of pine cones. Unlike candles, these are safe to use round the clock and provide a continuous mood-enhancing aroma throughout the season,” says Lancia.

8. Create cloth sachets

Homemade potpourris can make use of holiday aromatics like cinnamon, pine, and orange. But you might want to ditch the bowl presentation.

“Bowls of intense-smelling potpourri are a bit outdated and cluttered. Instead, all you need are cloth sachets,” says Addison.

To make a serene-smelling sachet, place the following items in a small linen bag ($9.99, Amazon): 2 sticks cinnamon, 1 star anise pod, 1 tablespoons allspice berries, and 1 tablespoon whole cloves. Keep the spices at room temperature for up to six months.

Addison likes to discreetly place sachets around the kitchen and living room.

9. Place holiday-scented hand soap in the guest bathroom

With the amount of guests you’re likely to receive during the holidays, your bathroom is likely to see a lot of traffic. Keep it smelling holiday fresh with soaps that smell like evergreen, peppermint, or orange clove.

“The bathroom can sometimes be overlooked as a room to decorate for the holidays,” says Johnson. “But a simple swap of holiday scented soaps can add an unexpected touch.”

The post 9 Wonderfully Simple Ways to Make Your House Smell Like the Holidays appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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New Post has been published on https://vinbo.com/the-month-in-wordpress-february-2019-2/

The Month in WordPress: February 2019

A new version of WordPress, significant security enhancements, important discussions, and much more – read on to find out what has been going on in the WordPress community for the month of February.

Release of WordPress 5.1

Near the end of the month, WordPress 5.1 was released, featuring significant stability and performance enhancements as well as the first of the Site Health mechanisms that are in active development. Most prominent is the new warning for sites running long-outdated versions of PHP.

You can check out the Field Guide for this release for a detailed look at all the new features and improvements. The next release is already in development with plans to improve the Site Health features, PHP compatibility, and a number of other things.

Want to get involved in testing or building WordPress Core? You can install the WordPress Beta Tester plugin, follow the Core team blog, and join the #core channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

Gutenberg Development Continues

The block editor that is now a part of WordPress core started out as a project named Gutenberg with the lofty goal of creating a whole new site-building experience for all WordPress users. The first phase of Gutenberg resulted in the block editor that was included in WordPress 5.0, but development didn’t stop there – phase 2 of the project is well underway.

This month, one of the initial goals for this phase was reached with all of the core WordPress widgets being converted to blocks – this will go a long way to allowing full sites to be built using blocks, rather than simply post or page content.

Want to get involved in developing Gutenberg? Check out the GitHub repository and join the #core-editor channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

Block Editor Comes to the Mobile Apps

As Gutenberg development continues, the Mobile team has been working hard to integrate the new block editor into the WordPress mobile apps. Near the end of February, the team shipped a complete integration in the beta versions of the apps – this a significant milestone and a big step towards unifying the mobile and desktop editing experiences.

Both the iOS and Android apps are open for beta testers, so if you would like to experience the block editor on mobile today, then join the beta program.

Want to get involved in developing the WordPress mobile apps? Follow the Mobile team blog, and join the #mobile channel in the Making WordPress Slack group.

WordPress Triage Team Announced

One of the goals for 2019 that Matt Mullenweg (@matt) announced in his State of the Word address last year was to form a team who would work to manage the ever-increasing number of tickets in Trac, the bug tracker that WordPress Core employs.

This team, known as the Triage Team, has been announced. Their work will involve coordinating with component maintainers, release leads, project leadership, contributors, and other WordPress related projects with issue trackers outside of Trac to ensure that everyone is empowered to focus on contributing.

The team was formed based on nominations of volunteers to take part and will be led by Jonathan Desrosiers (@desrosj). The other members of the team are Chris Christoff (@chriscct7), Tammie Lister (@karmatosed), Sergey Biryukov (@sergey), and Sheri Bigelow (@designsimply) – all of whom have a strong track record of contributing to WordPress, have exhibited good triaging practices, and are overall good community members.

Further Reading:

In this year alone, the WordPress meetup program has hosted 800 events across the world, all organized by local community members.

An important discussion has been opened regarding the future of the WordPress Community Summit.

The Polyglots team has started planning the fourth Global WordPress Translation Day to take place on 11 May 2019.

The Theme Review team is working on a useful tool named Theme Sniffer to assist theme developers and reviewers in making sure their code is standards-compliant.

The first WordCamp Nordic is coming up on March 7-8.

The WordCamp Europe team is looking for feedback on their designs for a Progressive Web Application (PWA) for WordCamp.org.

The Design team has been working hard on designing the new Navigation Menu block and are looking for feedback.

Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please submit it here.

Original source: https://wordpress.org/news/2019/03/the-month-in-wordpress-february-2019/

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Inspiration is found in something as common as wooden doors. (Paris)

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Good engineering. Good esthetics.

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David (1502-1504)

In 1501 a large rough-cut piece of marble was commissioned to a young, 26-year-old, Michelangelo. Having been cast aside by two prior artists, the stone had been abandoned in the elements for 25 years, waiting to be finished. Michelangelo finished the statue within two years and had to work within the stone's narrow confines and the roughed-out pieces cut before his time.

From the Statue's caption: "At the end of 1501, Michelangelo obtained the permission of the Opera del Duomo to work a block of marble which had been abandoned in the courtyard of the Cathedral of Florence for the creation of the figure of the young hero, subsequently placed in front of Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria." (Academia Gallery, Florence)

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"For thousands of years, the Inuit and Yupik people of the Arctic have used traditional snow goggles made of walrus ivory, caribou antler, or driftwood." HistoryCoolKids

Similarly, modern snow goggles reduce radiation, but have a tendency to fog up. I love it when antiquated methods outperform modern innovations.

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Researching more than the functionality of stairs.

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“To wish a life without stairs, without hills and mountains is to wish a dim life without the joy of rising with our own efforts!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

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The new pool house.

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[designsimply]

I've been working on a project with Brian for months; the focus of his designs centers on functionality and usage of space for his clients. Hence, his ability to empathize and understand a client's use of space is vital. I feel as though it has been a course in empathy.

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Antique doors of India.