Wow Home Idea

Getty/Dougal Waters After a long day of chasing after the kids, dashing between meetings at work, or running a million errands, the last thing you probably want to do is wash the dishes (that dinner you just slaved over disappeared so darn quickly .... sigh.) But standing over a sudsy sink might just be the best thing you can do, according to a study in the journal Mindfulness , reports the Wall Street Journal .  Apparently, if you do it just right, it'll give your exhausted brain time to detox. Here's how it works: Researchers from Florida State University did an experiment with 51 students to explore the power of meditation while washing dishes. They encouraged half of the students to focus on the sensory part of the experience (smelling the detergent, feeling the hot water, noticing the shape of the dishes). The other half just read a passage about the importance of getting the job done.  Afterwards, ...

Getty Images First almond milk was outed as mostly water and virtually no nuts. Then we found out table salt contains tiny bits of plastic and most "extra virgin" olive oil is essentially a fraud. Now the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  is warning consumers that pre-grated Parmesan from the grocery store could actually be a bunch of cheap cheddar and wood pulp. Is nothing sacred anymore? FDA tests reveal that many products marketed as "100 percent Parmesan" routinely contain fillers like cellulose, an anti-clumping agent made from wood pulp. In other, less revolting cases, companies use cheaper cheeses like cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella instead of real Parmesan or Romano.  And apparently this has been happening for years. Bloomberg reports that back in 2012, agents of the FDA got a tip that Castle Cheese, Inc., a cheese factory in Pennsylvania, was using fillers and passing off their prod...

Who needs a Pumpkin Spice Latte when you can mix up these? Natalie Migliarini Apple Cider Sangria Fall vibes in a glass. Get the recipe from Apple Cider Sangria. Courtesy of Hello Natural Honey Bourbon Apple Cider Cocktail Bourbon is by far the best way to warm up when it's cold outside. Get the recipe from Hello Natural . Courtesy of Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch Hot Apple Cider Buttered Rum Get really festive and throw a cinnamon stick in there. Get the recipe from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch. Courtesy of Inspired By Charm Caramel Apple Martini The rims are even lined with caramel. Get the recipe from Inspired By Charm . Courtesy of The Cookie Rookie Apple Pie Punch A dessert you can drink is the best of both worlds. Get the recipe from The Cookie Rookie. Courtesy of Kitchen Confidence Pumpkin and Apple Cider Fizz Because it just wouldn't be authentically fall without some pumpkin thrown in somewhere. Get the recipe from Kitchen Confidence. Courtesy of ...

Invest in some smart finishes and you can unleash so much potential. The House Diaries Hide Away Clutter in Style Nothing is worse than heaving your stuff all the way up to the attic, then letting it sit out in plain sight. What's the point? Instead, utilize rolling doors to make it easy to stash items out of the way — in style. One Dog Woof Create a Craft-Lover's Heaven If you're all about DIY projects, you probably have mountains of paper, paint, and other supplies in your home — but no where to put it all. Enter: A chic reorg solution that offers space for storage and craft time. Apartment Therapy Utilize Sloping Ceilings Since most attics have steep walls, they're not always the most convenient storage spots — unless you take advantage of open shelving as in this room. Suddenly an unlikely wall becomes a convenient desk. My Love 2 Create Make Your Built-Ins Work Overtime Built-in storage is genius, but hidden space behind it is even better. Stash out-of-s...

Ice cream just became even more delicious, thanks to a cafe in Prague called Good Food: Coffee and Bakery. How do you improve a classic dessert like ice cream? By replacing the standard wafer cone for a doughnut cone, and then stuffing ice cream inside. Yes, it's true, and they look as wonderful as they sound:  Last day in Prague and I had to get another one of these trdelniks (Slovak pastry grilled and rolled in sugar/walnut mix). I did the American thing and added soft serve.🍦#trdelnik #chimneycake A post shared by Chris📍SF (@breadbunnie) on Jun 21, 2015 at 12:09am PDT Und so sehen die #trdelnik 's von GoodFood aus: Baumstrietzel gefüllt mit schokolade, Erdbeeren und als Abschluss Soft Eis oben drauf 😥😄 an morgen wird weiter gefastst, aber diesen #foodporn porn musste ich einfach probieren und ja es war himmlisch 💁 #chimneycake #chimney #praha #prague #goodfoodprague #goodfood #karlova #trdelnik #trdlo...

Elizabeth Mollen has a lot on her plate. The young, Austin-based designer manages both her decorating firm and home product line, Stone Textile, she just launched a wallpaper line with Black Crow Studios, and she's a new mom to boot. Yet if you ask her the name of the off-white paint color used in a living room almost 8 months ago, Mollen doesn't miss a beat. (The answer: "Chantilly Lace" by Benjamin Moore).  This is testament both to Mollen's design prowess and the power of paint, particularly when it comes to her latest project. The client, a writer who had just moved to Texas, approached Elizabeth to completely transform her drab new home, but without doing any renovations. With dark brown walls, an outdated kitchen and lackluster furniture, the house needed a serious makeover from top to bottom.  "This project shows how much paint and good décor can change the entire look and feel of a space," says Elizabeth. "And...

Flickr Creative Commons/Anthony Quintano Halloween celebrations of epic proportions crop up all over the country once October hits, but none may be more dazzling than the Great Jack-O'-Lantern Blaze. Held at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, the event celebrates Halloween with breathtaking displays made with over 7,000 (!) pumpkins. And though not all the pumpkins are real (some are actually Funkins), each one is, in fact, hand-carved by the event's pumpkin pros. Visitors can meander through the Pumpkin Planetarium, complete with an arched ceiling of intricately etched pumpkins. Others can pay a visit to the iconic Headless Horseman, or gawk at the giant spiderweb cast in the shadows of the riverside fields. Courtesy of Historic Hudson Valley Courtesy of Historic Hudson Valley Children can also join in on the fun since many of the displays are friendly manifestations of Halloween fa...

From silvery shades to cooler blue tones, this hue is a go-to color for designers. And since it also has a calming effect, it's the ideal hue for a serene sleeping space. Take a look at these gorgeous bedrooms and feel free to copy. JAMES MERRELL Nautical Inspiration This Massachusetts home, designed by Frank Roop, puts a new spin on nautical decor by featuring soft blue accents against a gray backdrop, instead of  the usual navy blue and anchor takeover.  Amy Neunsinger Traditional Gray In the master bedroom of this Los Angeles house, designer Mary McDonald embraced European drama with the help of a crisply-pleated bed curtain and pops of taupe and lavender in an otherwise all gray room.  BJÖRN WALLANDER Smart Symmetry The petite scale of this Colonial-era bedroom in this Charleston home designed by Jill Sharp Weeks required her to abandon symmetry and overlap one of the windows. To help soften this, she painted the walls a light gray an...