Most of us want a beautiful yard or at the very least not to be labeled "that" house on the block. My wife and I are afraid we might be in the running to be "that" house, so this year we are doing our homework. The first step we took is Knowing Our Zone! What's a zone you might ask?

The United States Department of Agriculture has a plant hardiness zone map where you can enter your zip code and see which plants are most likely to thrive in your specific location. This is very important for grass seeds, herbs, vegetables, and trees. A friend of ours spent hundreds of dollars a year trying to keep Aspen trees alive in his yard and one reason the trees had so much trouble is they were out of their zone. It's hard enough to keep plants and grass watered and alive, so the last thing you want to do is fight an uphill battle. 

Let's take a moment to check your zone. My zone came up as 7a : 0-5 (F). Now that I know my zone I can take this information to my local nursery or start dreaming online at a site like burpee.com. Your local nursery will have first hand knowledge of what will actually work in your area but if you live too far from one, a website like Burpee can help you narrow down your options by sunshine, uses, color, spread and resistance.  

If you have never tried growing vegetables or flowers give it a try this year! Every evening in the summer we try and cook something from our garden, and trust me, if I can do it so can you.

There are many other contributing factors to whether or not plants are going to thrive such as wind, soil type, moisture, humidity, pollution, light, and even placement, so once you know your zone you can move down the list in troubleshooting and hopefully have a great lawn or harvest this year.

Again, I am a novice with a very light green thumb so if you really know your stuff please leave a comment and help all of us out! You could be the person my neighbors send a thank you note to this year! And if you want to take your garden to the next level we have planters, raised beds, hoses, and a variety of greenhouses, many with free shipping. 

 

 

 

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Hey everyone- Andie here!

So, I'm probably the last person on planet earth to make the jump, but I just got a kindle a few months ago.  It took me a while to embrace the idea.  For the longest time I was pretty adamantly against it because I felt like I was selling out on books!  I mean hello, you kind of can't beat the feel & smell & experience of holding a beautiful, tangible book in your hands, right?  Well, despite being a hater at first, I have to admit that I really enjoy my kindle.  I love that I can throw it in my purse and read when I get a few extra minutes on the go, and that I essentially have an entire library of books with me at all times!  Now that's power!

While I'm certainly a fan of the convenience & ease of the kindle, I still swoon at the sight of a pretty book collection that is tastefully & artfully displayed!  Most of us have somewhat of a book collection in our homes, but how you present it changes things!  Have you put time & thought into how your books are arranged and presented, or are they just haphazardly thrown onto a shelf?  Here are a few ideas to spice up the way your book collection looks:

- Snag a unique bookshelf (like some of the shelves pictured below).  Total show stopper!

- Organize by color.  I'm way too disorganized to do this, but it looks amazing!!

- Wrap your ugly books in colorful wrapping paper or wall paper to make them look prettier on your shelf.

- Organize by genre.

- Organize by book title.

- Organize by author's name.

- Organize by size of book.

- Organize by preference or reading order. (Which books are your classic standbys, and which ones haven't you read yet?) 

 

Any other ideas?  What am I missing here?  How do you organize your books?  And now, for some inspiration........

 

  

via pinterest

 

via pinterest

 

 via pinterest 

 

 via pinterest

 

via pinterest

 

 via pinterest 

 

 via pinterest

 

via pinterest 

 

via pinterest 

 

 

 

There are a few brave souls among us who are willing to forgo a warm and cozy bed and sleep outside in below freezing weather to get a good deal. Some of these fine folks show up on Black Friday and others show up on the rare occasion that we open a brand new RC Willey. These men and women were rewarded today to the tune of a combined $21,000 in RC Willey gift cards. I had the pleasure of speaking with them this morning at our brand new location in the University Mall in Orem, Utah, and I found out exactly what makes them tick. Watch the RC Willey Orem Grand Opening video right now and be glad you didn't battle with these saavy shopping warriors. 

p a href http www.rcwilley.com orem target blank img style display block margin-left auto margin-right auto src static.rcwilley.com blog 34 5500 orem-rc-willey.jpg alt Orem Utah RC Willey width 558 height 300 a p p a href http www.rcwilley.com mail 2015 Apr 15 2595 Orem-Grand-Opening---21K-Gift-Card-Giveaway.jsp target blank img style display block margin-left auto margin-right auto src static.rcwilley.com blog 34 5500 orem-blog.jpg alt Orem Utah RC Willey width 558 height 400 a p p nbsp p p Tomorrow April 16th is the Grand Opening of the new RC Willey in Orem Utah. We are very excited about this event and we want you to be there to celebrate with us so to nbsp sweeten the pot we are giving away 21 000 in gift cards to the first 320 qualifying adults. p p The first 50 qualifying customers nbsp one gift card per family will receive a 200 RC Willey Gift Card when the store opens at 10 AM tomorrow April 16 2015. The second 50 qualifying customers will receive a 100 RC Willey Gift Card. The next 20 qualifying customers will recieve a 50 RC Willey Gift Card and the final 200 qualifying customers will receive a 25 RC Willey Gift Card. There is no minimum purchase with these gift cards winners must be 18 or older and only one winner per family. nbsp p p So that s pretty exciting right Well it doesn t stop there. When you visit the new Orem Utah RC Willey or any other RC Willey in Utah Idaho California or Nevada you can enter to win a number of awesome prizes such as a Southern California vacation for 4 a house full of flooring 5 000 value a 55 SONY 4K ULTRA High-Definition TV 1 499 value mattresses for every bed in your house up to 10 000 value a new dining set up to 1 850 value a new bedroom set up to 2 899 value a complete kitchen appliance package 3 270 value and a beautiful sectional 2 800 value. p p I ve literally emailed all of my friends about this because a Grand Opening does not happen that often. On top of all of the above nbsp there is a sale tied into the Grand Opening where there are even more deals to be had. If you are a Utah resident you will want to click on this a href http www.rcwilley.com mail 2015 Apr 14 2592 Grand-Opening-Sale.jsp target blank Orem RC Willey Grand Opening Sale flyer a . If you are a resident of Idaho Nevada or California you will want to click on this a href http www.rcwilley.com mail 2015 Apr 14 2591 Anniversary-Sale.jsp target blank RC Willey Anniversary Sale flyer a p p Thanks for helping us continue to grow and we look forward to serving you. p p nbsp p p nbsp p

I'd like to take a quick moment to introduce myself. My name is Kerry and I will be joining Andrea here on the Room to Talk blog! I'm very excited and hope to bring a different perspective, one of many perspectives here at RC Willey. I've been spending a lot of time on my back patio with my family in the past few weeks: eating dinner, making ice cream, and generally hanging out. Today I'd like to bring you my version of modern backyard essentials. I'd love to hear your thoughts and let me know what I missed, because I love new suggestions and insights from everyone!

 

We like to change our style regularly, but buying a new furniture set each season or each year just isn't feasible for our budget. This is where pops of color come into play. A few well-placed throw pillows on a neutral patio set will really liven the place up and once you place your patio set on a coordinating outdoor rug, the whole place will come together nicely. I chose the modern patio set below for a number of reasons. First of all it's very versatile. You can take the two loveseats and put them side by side to create a long couch and when you add the chair to the end it acts like a modern outdoor sectional. Or, you can configure this set like it is seen here for a smaller patio like the one I have at my home. I also like this set for the price. It could be 3 times the price from another manufacturer and people wouldn't blink twice and I could easily see a set like this at a boutique hotel or on a rooftop deck downtown. 

Outdoor rugs are an amazing invention! They unite and define your space and give you a safe place to rest your feet. They are durable and colorfast and you can either sweep them with a broom or hit them with a leaf blower when grass clippings and leaves collect. I chose this one because I love the colors and it blends perfectly with the modern patio set. 

I received the mint Bose SoundLink bluetooth speaker for my birthday and I absolutely love it. The sound quality is perfect for the patio; it can be loud enough to host a party but not so loud that you annoy the neighbors. I also love the retro look - reminds me of a 1980's Sony Walkman or something. Music is a must on our patio and I find myself taking this speaker into the garage and on road trips and camping as well.

I also believe you need fire in a backyard and this cool Crosley Wildlife Fire Pit offers that cabin look and feel in a compact package and thanks to the top firescreen you can enjoy the heat without unleashing embers all over your grass.

Finally, I am a big composter and I challenge myself to see how little we can throw away each week. When you recycle and compost, your trash can gets pretty light, and it's very exciting to see your old leaves and food scraps turn into rich soil for your garden. These new composters are amazingly efficient and they also lock down the mess and the smell of open air pits.

 

Finally, it's kind of hard to enjoy the patio without loads and loads of food. The summer for me is all about cooking out. It takes a daily activity and turns it into an event.  The kids play in the yard, the music is going, and everyone enjoys each other's company. A few years ago I decided it was time to invest in better products and the Weber gas grill is a grill that will keep you happy for years to come. Plus, the copper finish looks great outdoors.

The final product I have chosen for this modern backyard essential list is this galvanized potting bench. I think it's perfect for a dual-purpose piece of furniture. You can use it and abuse it when potting your plants but the rest of the time it will make a nice sideboard on your patio for drinks, snacks, and a speaker. This is one of those pieces that will look better and better with age and can always be spray painted to match your taste. 

I hope you enjoyed this essential list and please let me know what I missed! I love spending time in our backyard so anything to make it better will be much appreciated.