Such the Spot

FAVORITE THINGS: GIFT GUIDE FOR GRANDPARENTS

I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you that my grandparents are some of the most difficult people to shop for. They seem to have everything. And though it’s been tough, over the years, I have been able to find some gifts that they’ve both appreciated. Today, I’m sharing a gift guide for grandparents that lists some things geared specifically for senior citizens. A little bit practical and very thoughtful, these gift ideas are sure to be a hit with the grandparents on your list.

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Here are some thoughts as to why these items made my favorites list on my gift guide for grandparents.

ANCESTRY HEALTH – By now, you’ve probably heard about the DNA test that satisfies the curiosity of knowing where you came from. This test takes that a bit farther by revealing how DNA might influence health conditions that might be hereditary. I know that my grandparents spend a lot of time and energy focusing on their health. Having additional knowledge about their own health and potential conditions they’ve passed down would empower them to take preventative steps.

FOLDABLE TABLE/LAPTOP TRAY – Both of my grandparents like to spend time on their respective devices. Grams kills it at her Sudoku app on her iPad. This handy tray allows a convenient space to rest either a tablet or a laptop at an incline while also allowing a flat surface for a cup of tea. Win win!

AUTO SWIVEL SEAT – As we age, certain things become just a tad more difficult. Getting in and out of the car can be a challenge for people who have some mobility limitations. This seat makes it easier to get in and out and drive where you need to be.

CRACKER BARREL GIFT CARD – Sometimes you just have to go the classic route. My grandparents are huge fans of the Cracker Barrel chain and love to eat there. The nice thing about this gift is that it can also be used to purchase merchandise in the Old Country Store if they find something there they love!

DIGITAL TIRE PRESSURE GAUGE – This handy gauge has a light which makes it easier to properly place the nozzle in the dark. It also features an easy-to-read digital display. It’s a handy tool to keep in the glove compartment.

TV HEADPHONES – These wireless headphones easily connect to most TV sets. They allow people who’ve experienced some hearing loss to engage in a favorite show or movie without the use of subtitles or excessive volume that disrupts the rest of the household.

ECHO SHOW – The Echo Show is a great alternative to FaceTime for people who don’t have iPhones. It allows grandparents to stay connected with their loved ones, no matter how much distance keeps them apart. The nice thing about it is that it doesn’t require users to maintain Amazon Prime so it’s affordable for even people with limited incomes.

WINE GIFT BOX – The perfect gift for discerning grandparents who want to raise a toast every now and then, this gift allows the recipient to choose from an impressive selection of wines for front-door delivery.

COZY COMPRESSION SOCKS – My grandpa has been wearing compression socks for years to help boost blood flow to his lower limbs. These pairs are the highest quality I’ve ever found and super cozy, too!

Jun 7Jun 8

5 vignettes every perfectly-staged house needs

Listing your home for sale can be a stressful process. Not only do you need to work with your real estate agent to get everything priced and documented just right, but you also have to make sure that both the interior and exterior of the home are in prime shape for showing. The tips I’m sharing here are kind of like a cheat sheet for how to stage a house for sale. No matter the age, style or location of your property, you can create some vignettes that will allow buyers to see themselves making your house a permanent home.

This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases you make through my links results in a small compensation for me at no additional cost to you. Originally published in 2015, this post was recently updated for 2019.

When we decided to list our house, I turned to Pinterest in hopes of finding ideas and inspiration on how to stage a house for sale. The good news is that my search was successful. The bad news is that actually implementing all of those great ideas was a ginormous amount of work. Here are someof the tips I found that we’ve utilized in preparing to put our house on the market:

Remove half the items from closets, cabinets and the garage and store them in an offsite, rented storage unit.
Neutralize the color scheme by painting over any bold color choices.
Depersonalize the home by removing and storing photos and mementos.
Declutter the home–store excess toys, collections and nick-knacks.
Fix anything that you know to be broken.
Clean up the yard.
Deep clean the inside of the house from top to bottom, including the baseboards.
Have the carpets cleaned.

Phew (she says as she wipes the sweat from her brow). I can happily report that we can check each of those items off our list. With all of that prep work out of the way, we moved on to another step that–I’m told–is supremely important: staging the house. The act of staging involves setting a scene in which buyers want to insert themselves. To that end, I’ve pinpointed five vignettes every perfectly-staged home needs.

In this case, we’re looking to illustrate the story your house tells. While that might be an easy thing to do with, say, a beach house, it can be a bit more difficult if your house is smack dab in suburbia–or, like me, in the middle of the dusty desert. When I began this process, I didn’t exactly know what story my house tells. I only knew that life lived within it can be pretty darn good. And so I started there. I started thinking about what makes life in this house so good. I thought about my favorite little spot to sit and enjoy a glass of wine, and how we love to gather on the back patio under the string lights on warm summer nights. It’s those spaces that make this house a home–those are the stories I wanted to illustrate.

Of course, I didn’t have an endless supply of funds to stage every room like a Pottery Barn ad, so I had to improvise. I pinpointed five key stories I wanted the home to tell and set out to paint pictures that would “fade into the background without a definite border” like any good vignette should.

May 30

SUMMER PORCH TOUR

One of the easiest ways to improve the curb appeal of just about any house is to show a little love to the entryway. Whether that’s a full porch, a narrow walkway or even an apartment stoop, there are a lot of ways to make your entryway both pretty and welcoming. Today, I’m taking all of you on a virtual tour of my summer front porch.

This post contains affiliate links. Any purchases you make through my links earns me minimal compensation.