We are pleased to welcome Allied Restoration as our guest blogger today with some helpful hints to avoid the dreaded mold in our homes! Allied Restoration is a general contractor that specializes in preparing for, responding to and rebuilding damages to your investment. More importantly, they are experts at creating and monitoring the overall health of your home or property. After emergency damages, many harmful contaminants linger and cause harmful residual consequences. Your family could unknowingly live in the after affects of fire or water damage for years.

Do you know what is living in your home?  Are you harboring harmful pollutants?

You may have seen white thread-like growths or clusters of small black specks along your damp bathroom or basement walls, or smelled a “musty” odor. Seeing and smelling mold is a good indication that you have a mold problem

Untreated mold can cause allergies, fatigue, and in some cases severe illness. Exposure to mold can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs of both mold-allergic and non-allergic people. Allergic responses include hay fever-type symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, red eyes, and skin rash (dermatitis). These symptoms can be heightened people who already suffer outdoor allergies and children who have direct hand to mouth contact.

How can I control mold growth in my home?

Fix any moisture problems in your home:
• Stop all water leaks first. Repair leaking roofs and plumbing fixtures. Move water away from concrete slabs and basement walls.
• Increase air circulation within your home, especially along the inside of exterior walls, and ventilate with fresh air from outside. Provide warm air to all areas of the home. Move large objects away from the inside of exterior walls, just a few inches to provide good air circulation.
• Install and use exhaust fans in bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry rooms.
• Ventilate and insulate attic and crawl spaces. Cover earth floors in crawl spaces with heavy plastic.
• Clean and dry water damaged carpets, clothing, bedding, & upholstered furniture within 24 to 48 hours, or consider removing and replacing damaged furnishings.
• Vacuum and clean your home regularly.

Allied Restoration Services is a leader in the Southern California restoration industry. Our strength lies in the ability to coordinate with insurance companies the numerous details that follow from damages due to fire, water, earthquake, and natural disasters. With a team of certified technicians, using the latest drying technology and detection equipment, Allied has built a reputation of quality craftsmanship, the highest standard in remediation, and outstanding customer service.  Our process begins with a thorough check for lead, asbestos and mold. In an emergency, our 24-hour response team is there to assist you when disaster strikes.

 Call or email us today at info@alliedrestoration.com to see how you can qualify for a free home health inspection and report.

Visit our blog for tips on how to keep your home and your family healthy!

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Dear Valentine…

• The heart is the most common symbol of romantic love and because the heart is so closely linked to love, its red color is thought to be the most romantic.
• A single perfect red rose framed with baby’s breath is the preferred flower for giving on Valentine’s Day.
• More than 35 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate will be sold for Valentine’s Day.
• About 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in US each year. That’s the largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year, next to Christmas.
• In the United States, 64 percent of men do not make plans in advance for a romantic Valentine’s Day with their sweethearts.

Wait, what was the last fact?  No plans for Valentine’s Day?  Come on gentlemen, you still have a week. The suggestion that immediately comes to mind is Abby’s Fine Jewelry Designs in nearby San Juan Capistrano.

Abby’s is a custom jewelry shop that specializes in all precious metal such as PLATINUM 18-karat and 14-karat white and yellow gold. Their designs showcase some of the most beautiful DIAMONDS and COLOR GEMS. With the ability to craft any design you may dream up or have seen in a magazine or jewelry store, Abby’s has the creativity to make your dream a reality. Every piece of jewelry is hand made with loving attention focused on detail and finish. Their designs are on the fore front of jewelry fashion and are of the highest quality.

And who wouldn’t love to receive this gorgeous ring on Valentine’s Day?  So come on guys (and gals, who says we can’t buy our own gift?), here is the necessary info:

Abby’s Fine Jewelry Design
32382 Del Obispo, Ste. C-3
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
949.493.3632  
http://www.abbysdesigns.com/

Welcome to OC presents guest blogger Craig Carbonniere, President of Orange County Coastal Concierge

It’s a beautiful summer day in July and you are visiting Orange County, what should you do? This is where Orange County Coastal Concierge comes in to give you and your family personalized recommendations on how to maximize your vacation’s potential.
 
You start out your warm summer day at Break of Dawn restaurant for breakfast and order the freshly baked Cinnamon Bun. Each gooey, soft, sweet bite of the Cinnamon Bun is a surreal experience!  Break of Dawn was founded by a remarkable chef who previously amazed Guests at Laguna Niguel’s own Ritz Carlton Hotel.

After your breakfast you spend the rest of the morning at “Surf City, USA”, Huntington Beach where you can watch the incredible surfers at the Pier. Now you are anxious to see if you would be any good at surfing so you enroll you and your family into Corky Carroll’s Surf School. You spend incredible family time playing in surf and your children obtain a memory that they will keep for the rest of their lives.

You have built up an appetite of course from your Surfing lesson and you want to pick up something quick for lunch. You shower off at one of the private showers at Bolsa Chica State Beach, and head up to the City of Orange for lunch. You stop at Mattern Sausage & Meats and eat a Reuben Sandwich that is piled high with their popular corned beef.

You and your full stomach are ready for your next adventure in the OC.  As I mentioned earlier, it is summer, and Orange County’s own “Boys of Summer” (Angels Baseball) season is in full stride. You purchase $9 outfield tickets and take the family out to the ball game.  The Angels sweep the Yankees and your appetite is back!

Just across the freeway east of Angels Stadium is Lazy Dog Café. The atmosphere of Lazy Dog Cafe is great for families who will truly feel comfortable in this restaurant. You will spend the next 45 minutes enjoying a blue cheese burger with bacon. Don’t forget to order the famous Cajun Fries!

As you make your way back down to the Laguna Beach hotel you stop at Joe’s Italian Ice, Garden Grove. As you enjoy your JoeLatti (layers of Italian ice and soft serve) you and the family reminisce on what an amazing day in which you just had.

Family Vacations can be such an important event in you and your family’s life.  We couldn’t agree more at Orange County Coastal Concierge!  We specialize in making our welcomed Orange County visitor’s vacations memorable. We understand that a perfect vacation can be so much more than the hotel or home in which you sleep in therefore we work day and night to find the best activities for your needs.  Take the work out of itineraries and planning by letting us assist in providing you our excellent services.
 
Please contact us at info@occoastalconcierge.com to arrange your next Orange County vacation!

As we move from Halloween to harvest, many Orange County residents start preparing for the blitz of shopping, cooking, cleaning, and decorating.  Yes, you know what is on the horizon – the holidays! With a few well chosen, budget friendly home improvement tasks now, you can enhance your home not just for the holidays but for the years to come.

10 ideas to make your home holiday ready:

1. Paint – Don’t underestimate what a little paint can accomplish.  A simple touch up of the existing paint may be all that is necessary to freshen up a room.  Or consider adding a splash of color by painting an accent wall.
2. Ceiling medallion – The  addition of a medallion around a ceiling light fixture creates interest and appeal on an ordinary ceiling and it’s easy and inexpensive.
3. Dimmer Switch – Create a soft, warm, inviting room by dimming the lights.
4. Cabinet hardware – The simple change of the hardware on the bathroom and kitchen cabinets make for a fresh, new look.
5. Hang a wall shelf – Make the most of an easy decorating tool.  Wall shelves can be used to highlight family photos or holiday decorations.  They allow indulgence of decorating with the seasons.
6. Hang a mirror – Simple or ornate mirrors open up a room, reflect light, and add visual appeal.  Add holiday greens around it for a decorative touch.
7. Pillows and throw blankets – Add color and texture to a room in a matter of minutes.  Shop at a discount store and this effortless tip is wallet friendly.

Don’t play favorites by concentrating on the inside of your home.  Think curb appeal with 3 more tips to bring the number to 10.

1. House numbers – Reflect your family’s personality in the house numbers you use.  Whether tiles, ironwork,or lighted, your house numbers will announce to your guests that you are eagerly waiting their arrival.
2. Landscaping – Update your planters or planter boxes.  Add some ornamental grasses for an easy to care for, yet unique look.
3. Paint your front door – A home’s front door is the focal point.  Welcome your guests during the holidays and all year long with a door that longs to be opened into an inviting home.

The many Orange County shopping centers can assist you in your quest for preparing now so you can party later.  Best of all, simple improvements made now can be enjoyed in the months to come.

A big thank you to this week’s guest blogger  Bill Koelzer. Enjoy his  informative post about  an unique furniture store in Orange County.

Richard Ross founded “South Coast Furniture & Mattress and Secondhand Store” in San Clemente back in 1957 and it’s been going strong ever since. Although Richard passed away at age 93 in 2010, his family carries on the tradition under the watchful eye of son Dale—who took over the business 9 years ago.

• South Coast Furniture carries a wide variety of brand new home & office furniture, mattress sets, custom upholstery, lamps, and other accessories…all at discounted prices.
• They also buy, trade, salvage, recycle and sell an eclectic mix of gently used home, office  patio furniture, antiques, appliances, collectibles, curiosities.

Featuring 12,000 square feet of retail display backed by a 4,000 square foot warehouse makes South Coast Furniture one of the largest retail firms in San Clemente.  Wander at leisure through the place– it’s an eye-candy adventure with literally thousands of items to choose from.  And you can even get same-day delivery!

They often get called upon to go out and actually furnish a home.  Professional real estate ‘stagers’ and decorators come here for the many one-of-a-kind pieces.  Designers find South Coast Furniture a fabulous source to furnish an unoccupied home to make it look more desirable to home buyers.  South Coast also assists landlords with short term and summer rentals + furnished apartment–who buy the furnishings outright–then sell it back to South Coast at salvage value.

Charity is an active part of the business, too. South Coast will often donate items to Camp Pendleton—or sell them appliances at a very low price. They donate furniture to rehabilitation facilities—and even the local playhouse and high school drama departments to use as props.
—————————————
An environmentally-sensitive business by its very nature, they recycle a lot of goods, especially furniture and art objects—which might have ended up in land fills. That was the original philosophy of the founder: It was his dream to have a secondhand store as a way to help people find a “second life” for their furnishings. That’s why he opened the store…to not only turn used inventory around for sale, but also repair it and make it better. And they’ve been following that philosophy ever since.

Dale recounts that customers often say, “I wish I had known about you sooner!” stating they had bought from a bigger and more distant location when they could have purchased almost the same thing for less at South Coast Furniture.

South Coast Furniture & Mattress buys and sells most anything.  Check them out!

Welcome To OC congratulates Glen’s Landscape for having been selected by MWDOC as a preferred contractor for:

THE SOUTH COUNTY SMARTSCAPE INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Through this project you may be eligible to receive water saving landscape and irrigation system improvements at little or no out-of-pocket cost.  This is a great opportunity to upgrade your irrigation system with state of the art technology.

The South Orange County SmartScape Incentive Program offers you a variety of landscape improvements that aim to save water, reduce runoff, and increase the value and performance of your irrigation system. Your home is eligible to receive up to $2,500 in landscape and irrigation system improvements. Your only cost to participate is a small $50 deposit that will be refunded to you upon completion of the project.

Eligible improvements may include:

• Installation of a “smart” weather-based irrigation controller that will automatically adjust your irrigation schedule (a required first step)
• Water-saving rotating sprinkler nozzles
• Overspray, leak, and pressure adjustments to your irrigation system
• Beautiful “California Friendly” and native plants to replace turf areas. 

If interested, we encourage that you to apply now, as funding is limited.  Applications will be processed in the order received.

Check out the website at Glen’s Landscape                   
Information and applications available at www.mwdoc.com/smartscape

Labor Day is almost here. Don’t be caught with a boring barbecue!  According to a recent poll by The Recyler, carne asada is the meat of choice for the carnivore connoisseur. 35% chose carne asada, 25% chose steak, 10% chose chicken, and 10% chose other. But it’s more than just the meat wouldn’t you agree? 

Bourbon Whiskey BBQ Sauce

Ingredients
1/2 onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 3/4 cup bourbon whiskey, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 tablespoon salt, 2 cups ketchup, 1/4 cup tomato paste, 1/3 cup cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring, 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/3 teaspoon hot pepper sauce or to taste.

Directions
In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic, and whiskey.  Simmer for 10 minutes, or until onion is translucent.  Mix in the ground black pepper, salt, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Run sauce through a strainer ifyou prefer a smooth sauce.

So now you have your meat, you have your sauce, do you have your barbeque?  Let’s get grilling!

Advertising, pricing items & having strangers in your home is not the way you want to spend your
valuable time. So what do you do with the beautiful sofa that just doesn’t fit your décor anymore?

Consider Furnishing Hope.
Furnishing Hope was founded to provide a home-like environment for kids and families in stressful situations. Recipients include: graduates of the foster care system,qualifying new homeowners,homeless veterans, the developmentally disabled and families who have lost their home to fire.

Seriously, it’s time to fill the gas tank again?  Prices are on the rise and there’s not much we can do about it.  Right?  Well, the answer to that is both no and yes.  No, we can’t do much to lower the price of gas, but yes, we can take steps to reduce the number of times we visit the cost consuming gas station.

Here are a few helpful hints to reduce the frequency of the Needle on Empty Syndrome:

1.  Take care of your car!  Besides the issue with gas prices, a car is a huge investment.  Checking the tire pressure and replacing the air filter on a regular basis will do wonders for improving your car’s efficiency and therefore it’s MPG.

2. Remember that when the traffic light turns green, it’s not a green light to jump on the accelerator – settle down Speed Racer.  Accelerate moderately so as not to waste fuel.  A perfect partner to this hint is to take a tip from the truck drivers on crowded freeways.  They keep their speed constant as they know it takes much more fuel to get a vehicle moving than it does to keep it moving.

3. Try roughing it and turn off your air conditioner.  At lower speeds, you will save fuel.  But on the flip side, at higher speeds the A/C will be more efficient than the open windows because of wind resistance.

4. Resist the urge to “pimp your ride”.  If your tires are wider than the stock tires, chances are they’ll create more rolling resistance and decrease fuel economy

5. So many of us fall into the category of being cleanliness impaired when it comes to our cars.  It takes little to acquire an extra 40-50 lbs. of stuff in our trunks.  Extra weight equals more fuel to burn to get from point A to point B.

6. One last tip for the carpool parent: Avoid Long Idles – The bottom line is idling burns more gas than restarting an engine. If you wait in line at your kids’ schools, you know what a long idle means!

Now that you know how to stretch your tank of gas, stretch your gas dollars by learning where the cheapest gas stations are in your area

We all know how important it is care for our environment and there is a big push to purchase products that are “green”.  But do you know how to determine if a product meets the green guidelines?

1. Is the product made with recycled, salvaged or agricultural waste content?

 Products with pre-consumer recycled content
 Salvaged products
 Products with post-consumer recycled content
 Products made from agricutural waste material

2. Does the product conserve natural resources?

 Products that reduce material uses
 Products with exceptional durability
 Certified wood products
 Renewable products

3. Does the product avoid toxic or other emissions?

 Natural or minimally processed products
 Alternatives to ozone-depleting substances
 Alternatives to hazardous products
 Products that reduce or eliminate pesticide treatments
 Products that reduce storm water pollution
 Products that reduce impacts from construction or demolition activities
 Products that reduce pollution or waste from operations

4. Does the product save energy or water?

 Building components that reduce heating and cooling loads
 Equipment that conserves energy or fuel cell equipment
 Renewable energy or fuel cell equipment
 Fixtures and equipment that conserves water

5. Does the product contribute to a safe, healthy built environment?

 Products that do not release significant pollutants into the building
 Products that block the introduction, development or spread of indoor contaminants
 Products that remove the indoor pollutants
 Products that warn occupants of health hazards in a building
 Products that improve light quality
 Products that help control noise
 Products that enhance community well being

Now that you know what makes a “green” product, take a look at these OC businesses  who have a made a commitment to Going Green by clicking HERE.

Source: U.S. Green Building Council, Green Building Inc., NAHB, Energy Star