Cailen Ascher Design is currently being featured in the "Business Spotlight" on www.MyHunterdon.com. Check it out today to find out more about Cailen Ascher Design's mission to bring the elements of well-designed living into her clients' homes.
The direct link is: http://www.myhunterdon.com/businesses/businesses.php.
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Hollywood Regency is a style that developed in the 1930s and 40s - think Humphrey Bogart 
and Joan Crawford - very chic and utterly sophisticated. This style beckons for glamour, luxury, and all things that sparkle. What made this trend so massively appealing was not one overarching theme or color but a conscious dedication to details - the sheen of a fabric, the decorative fringe on a pillow, the delicate crystals on a chandelier, and the personalization and flexibility it allowed to suit each individual's needs and sense of style.
To give you a sense of what it generally entails, envision lacquered furniture and sumptuous fabrics. Metallic finishes and mirrors add a touch of elegance and class, while soft velvets, delicate silks, and sensuous satins appeal to one's sense of opulence. These all set the backdrop for Hollywood Regency. Though this style developed in a bygone era, it's completely adaptable to modern sensibilities, for the innate essence of the style is rooted in elevating the home to a haven.
So, we're officially 2 weeks into the "Flat Belly Diet", and it's going quite smoothly! My mom is down 6 pounds, and my dad is down almost 15! (Yes, already...15 lbs!!!) They're both so pleased with their results and the effortlessness of the program. We're all really enjoying the "diet" - though I really hesitate to call it that. It's not a diet because there's really nothing restrictive about it. I prefer to think of it as a lifestyle.
The food is really very good (and we love to cook, so it's especially fun for us because we're constantly trying new "Flat Belly" recipes). The best thing is that you never feel deprived because you have a meal or snack every 4 hours. Eating at regular intervals throughout the day keeps you feeling satisfied - never allowing you to get super-crazy-hungry. Also, it keeps your metabolism running at a steady pace. If you don't eat at regular times, and allow yourself to get really hungry, your metabolism slows as it goes into starvation mode because it's not sure when you'll eat again. So, even though you might feel like you're strengthing your willpower muscles by skipping meals, avoid the temptation. In actuality, you're slowing your metabolism (a.k.a. fat-burner), to a crawl. Eating revs it up -like filling an empty tank with gas.
One of our personal favorite "Flat Belly" snacks that we came up with ourselves:
1 caramel rice cake (50 calories)
1 tablespoon natural, organic peanut butter (100 calories) spread over rice cake
1 tablespoon semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips (50 calories) sprinkled over top
Both the peanut butter and chocolate chips are MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids), which the "Flat Belly" program recommends you to eat at every meal and snack. This treat is easy to make and completely delicious! Try it sometime, and let me know what you think.
As you can see, with peanut butter and chocolate chips (not to mention avocados, nuts & seeds, healthy oils, and olives) it's pretty hard to feel like you're "on a diet". All of these foods are rich and MUFAs, are delicious, good for you, and leave you feeling satisfied longer. Not bad, not bad at all...
I've heard about FLOR before, but today was the first time I took a moment to check out FLOR.com. It's a great company that offers "modular flooring" (basically rug tiles). You can design and create a rug of any dimension and custom fit it to your specific space - a great idea if you ask me. Though some of the colors/patterns are a bit predictable and dated for my taste, others are completely chic, new and interesting.
In addition, the cost for their flooring is significantly cheaper than purchasing wall-to-wall carpeting or even getting an area rug - plus you get to customize it to suit your needs. Also, if anyone spills anything or a spot gets stained, you can pop out the tile, clean (or replace it if need be) and put it back. Very simple, very ingenious!
Their website is lots of fun, and they even have an application for you to design your own rug online. They have endless colors, patterns and textures...the combinations are endless! You should definitely check out FLOR.com if you're in need of some new carpeting (or even if you're not)!
Enjoy FLOR!