The World's Greatest Shower Head

It's no secret that I love to travel.

When other people are reading interesting articles on line, or saving recipes, or "pinning" their favorite decorating pictures on Pinterest, I'm reading reviews on Tripadvisor, dreaming of a little inn overlooking the Mediterranean.

Everyone has different criteria for rating a hotel 5 stars. I want a convenient location, good coffee, and strong wifi in addition to a comfortable bed and a spotless room. (A view of the Eiffel Tower doesn't hurt, either.) If, as a bonus, the shower has great water pressure, I'm in heaven!

I'm very spoiled when it comes to water pressure. The heavy stream that comes out of my shower is wonderful. But it hasn't always been that way. My bathroom is the furthest from the water source, and my water pressure was so bad I could barely rinse all of the shampoo out of my hair.

My friend Carl came up with the solution.

How to Make Old Grout Look New

I love bathrooms in historic old hotels. The materials are classic and substantial. I love the look of an old fashioned white pedestal sink with deep moldings, simple white tile, and marble floors. No matter how many times those floors have been mopped, their patina just makes them more gorgeous with age.

Bathroom of the Regent Suite at © The Langham, London.

Just a few years ago we remodeled an old bathroom. I splurged on Cararra marble for the floor.

I left it up to the contractor to select the grout. Big mistake.

He installed the marble tiles with an off white grout. It looked great for about five minutes. Then normal traffic started making the grout look really dingy. I tried cleaning with various products, and even sprayed it with bleach. Nothing helped. I was the only one who knew the bathroom floor was clean.

Eventually the grout became this icky rust color. It looked terrible against the marble tiles. I had to do something.

The Perfect Solution to Ironing

I have friends whom I call The Perfects. 

Annie's Best Cleaning and Stain Removing Nugget

I was in the checkout line at Home Depot one day buying a bottle of my favorite household cleaner. I go to Home Depot just to get this cleaner because it is so good at cleaning everything in my house.  A lady in line with me leaned over and said, "Oh, I LOVE that stuff! It's the only thing that gets bad stains out of my grandchildren's clothes!"

Hmmmm.  An amazing household cleaner that also gets stains out of clothes?  Now THAT'S a nugget.....

Six Ways to Give Your House Guests a 5 Star Experience

They say house guests are like fish.  They start to smell after three days.

I happen to like having house guests.  A different kind of relationship evolves with a person who is drinking coffee in your kitchen in his/her jammies.

Because it can be awkward to stay at someone's home, I do my best to make things extra comfortable for my house guests.

After three days, they don't start to smell, but they sure are spoiled......