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Travel

Renting a Car? Do These 5 Things First to Avoid Headaches Later

Renting a car can be a travel necessity, but paying for unexpected fees or costs when things go wrong can sour your experience. Here are a few things to keep in mind when renting your next car to minimize unnecessary expenses. Determine Your Collision Coverage Although it’s easiest to sign up for insurance through the car rental company, that isn’t your only option. If you have personal auto insurance, your plan may extend to rental cars; however, you’ll need to review your specific plan to ensure you understand exactly what’s covered. If your plan doesn’t cover rentals, or if you’d rather not risk an increase in your auto premium, then you can purchase rental car insurance ahead of time from a travel insurance company or the car rental company, or you can see if your credit card offers insurance benefits, explains Kevin Fairbanks-Bloom, senior travel advisor at AAA. “Try to think of scenarios that could occur,” he says. It’s important to read the fine print on the policies, he warns, because coverage can vary by company. Some policies may only insure certain-sized vehicles, and many have limitations on where you can drive. “If you abuse the vehicle or drive it off paved roads, that will likely void your insurance,” Fairbanks-Bloom says. Andrea Woroch, consumer and money-saving expert, typically recommends paying for your rental using a credit card with collision coverage, so you can avoid paying for insurance. “If you booked your car rental with a credit card, check the credit card perks, as many offer rental car collision insurance for no added fee,” she says. Come With a List of Questions Before you even pick up your car, it’s a good idea to create a list of questions to ask the customer service rep, Fairbanks-Bloom advises. “It's about preparing yourself in advance for the scenario and being proactive instead of being reactive and ‘Why didn't I think to do that,’” he says. Some things to ask: who should you call if you get a flat tire/the car breaks down/you need a tow? If you choose to buy insurance through the rental car company, make sure you read the policy carefully before leaving so you can ask any questions. Additionally, ask about toll charges and mileage restrictions, advises Alex Black, chief marketing officer at EpicVIN, a company that provides the history of used cars. Finally, don’t forget to inquire about upgrades! “You never know if there's something you can get that's roomier or nicer, depending on their current demand,” Woroch says. Inspect Every Nook and Cranny—and Take Photos Don’t skip this step! Aside from dings, scratches, scuffs, dents—any sort of damage—on the exterior, you want to inspect some of the more unexpected areas, such as tires. “Sometimes they are half bald,” Black says. Take a look at the windshield wipers and make sure they’re in working order. “If you're tall enough, make sure there's no damage on the roof, either,” Fairbanks-Bloom advises. “People might throw on the top and tie it down with straps around it, and if that created any damage to the roof, that’s something that could come back to you at a later point,” he says. And don’t forget the interior. "When starting the vehicle, check the fuel level and any check engine lights,” recommends Mark Mannell, CEO of CarRentalSavers.com, a rental car booking engine. Mannell recommends taking photographs or videos of everything. Refill the Gas Before Returning the Car If you didn’t prepay for gas, then you’ll need to fuel up. Woroch recommends looking for a gas station near where your drop-off is—though gas stations close to an airport typically cost more. “If you are on empty, get as much gas as you can at a cheaper gas station that isn't right near the airport, then top off at the pricier gas station that may be closer to the rental car return area,” she advises. Do One Last Inspection Drop off can be rushed, but you don’t want to mistakenly be responsible for damage or leave anything behind. “Make sure to take photos or video of the fuel level, interior, and exterior at drop off, Mannell says. And keep all of your photos or videos for six months when renting domestically, he advises. Do another sweep to ensure you haven’t overlooked personal items. “Collect all your belongings, looking in the center console and side door pockets or under seats to ensure you don't lose something of value, because you may not get it back,” Woroch says.

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Home Decor

FINALLY! A Bathroom Remodel Plan For The Two 90s Bathrooms In Kaitlin’s Home

Well, I guess this is where I formally introduce myself to you, EHD readers! You’ve seen many photos I’ve taken, you’ve seen my basement, bedroom and living room makeovers that our girl, Emily, has so graciously helped us design, and you may have seen small bits of my face in some of the photos/videos from team retreats—I’m more of a behind-the-camera-gal than in front of it. While I’m not an official EHD employee, it’s been so fun to be a part of this team. Back in 2021, my family and I made the big move from the Eastside of Portland to the Westside for more space/more yard/slower lifestyle, etc. All the same reasons a lot of young parents move to the ‘burbs. Around that same time, a mutual friend of both Emily and I, Max Humphrey, introduced the two of us. The Hendersons’ rental house (while the farmhouse was being renovated) was in my neighborhood. Because we lived so close, Max thought Emily and I should be friends :) While she’s no longer up the street from me, she’s just a short 7-minute door-to-door drive away. It’s been a pretty great little partnership/friendship these past few years. Emily has given a little bit of a rundown of our home in previous reveals, but as a refresher, our home was built in 1962, and we are the second owners. The previous owners made a few (somewhat questionable) updates, likely in the 90s/early 2000s. But we still did a pretty large and necessary remodel when we moved in. We pretty much painted everything white to start, and slowly, with the help of Emily, have been adding in more color and character. The Bathrooms Though we made some pretty major changes early on, money and patience ran dry, and we were okay, or more like had to be okay, putting bathrooms on the back burner, knowing very well that someday they would need some serious love. The Primary Here’s what the primary bathroom looked like on the day we bought the house. And truly, before our contractors demo’d it a couple of weeks ago, it still looked pretty much exactly like this 4 years later! I had zero desire to do an “in the meantime” quick makeover. I didn’t want to replace hardware, paint the cabinets, hang a new towel bar–I didn’t want to waste a single dollar on bettering this space. (I’m the boring penny-pincher in my family, can you tell?) Honestly, aside from being small, it’s fine. Does the off-center light fixture, shower tile grout that never actually comes clean, and peeling linoleum flooring drive us insane? Of course. But our previous 1905 Eastside home had one small bathroom downstairs and off the kitchen, so an “en suite”, small as it is, felt and still feels very luxurious. I knew that once we saved up, our “someday” remodel would come eventually, so investing any time into this space felt unnecessary. Here are a few more photos before demo really started: The Kids’ On the other side of our bathroom wall is my daughters’ bathroom–equally hideous and luxurious. I say luxurious, again, because I shared a very small bathroom with my parents and brother growing up, so what a treat it is for my daughters to have their own. This space has also not been touched in 4 years. Between bath times when my girls were little, playing nail salon, and doing the mad morning-dash to get off to school, I’ve actually spent a lot more time in this bathroom than my own. The urge to do a few of those small updates in this bathroom came… and then, eventually, dissipated. In the end, the linoleum is still the linoleum, and the off-center lighting will still be off-center. The time and resources for the small updates just didn’t make sense to me. If it’s not super obvious from these photos, these bathrooms are tiny. Because it’s not financially an option to expand the overall footprint, the best we can do is make them more functional and more pretty. In comes Miss Henderson :) AllModern reached out to Emily about a partnership a few months ago, and we all felt like this could be the perfect opportunity to finally do some updating. They have a great selection of bathroom items, from vanities to lighting to plumbing–a bit of a one-stop shop. To be very honest with you, bathrooms stump me, design-wise. Everything feels (and is!) SO permanent. I had a hard time really knowing what I even wanted for our primary bathroom. I pulled images of so many amazing pieces from AllModern’s site, but couldn’t get a cohesive design going that felt like us. But then, late one night during a doom scroll, I saw my friend and incredible prop stylist/designer here in Portland, Karie Higgins, posted a photo of a beautiful bathroom with a BAINA towel in it. This led me to BAINA’s website, where I fell in love with the color scheme of one of their stack of towels, and the rest is history. Once I’d decided on colors I liked, everything else started to fall into place. I found this gorgeous white oak vanity and paired it with this medicine cabinet. I was also pretty sold on both the floors and the shower being blue square tile. I immediately pulled out all the samples I’d gathered when we redid our fireplace and ordered a bunch more. We eventually landed on this pretty light blue tile that Fireclay generously gifted. We’ll be using 2×2 squares on the floor and 4×4 squares in the shower. Here’s the moodboard I sent to Emily a couple of months ago. Honestly, I was just hoping she wouldn’t hate it—because by that point, I was completely sold on the whole thing. Good news: she loved it too. Moving on to the kids’ bath… Making decisions for their bathroom felt a bit easier than for ours. We knew we didn’t want to go too “little girl” in here. My daughters are almost 5 and 8, so it would be pretty easy to get carried away and design for their ages now. We still wanted it to be fun, but hopefully, a bathroom they’ll enjoy when they’re in their teens, as well. We found this pretty vanity and paired it with a big built-in mirror/medicine cabinet. Fireclay was kind enough to gift us tile for both the primary bath and for our girls’ bathroom. We’re going with this gorgeous 2×2 creamy-colored square tile for the floor and will be doing a 4×4 pattern for the bathtub walls in this fun, warm yellow and pale pink. While the tile was ordered with the intention of doing a checkered pattern, we know I love checkered, I am wondering if a stripe would be pretty instead? And, that’s where we stand today! Demo began a few weeks ago, and the crew (thanks, Afore!) is plugging along. Tile should be starting in the next week or so. Excited to share the finished product with you all in the coming weeks :)

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Gardening

5 Reasons Your Tomatoes Have Black Bottoms—And How to Fix It Fast

Growing tomatoes is an ideal option for beginner vegetable gardeners. They’re pretty easy to cultivate and, when you get conditions and care right, you can enjoy a bumper crop. However, poor practices can lead to problems with tomato plants. There are several possible reasons why your tomatoes have ugly black spots on the bottom. Learning about the causes, whether your fruits are salvageable, and how to prevent the problems going forward will help you yield the most handsome, healthy harvest. 5 Reasons Why Your Tomatoes Have Ugly Black Spots on the Bottom Being aware of some of the common reasons for tomatoes developing unsightly black patches can help you take steps to prevent inedible fruits. Anthracnose: A common fungal rot that ripe and overripe tomatoes are particularly susceptible to, especially when they’re close to wet ground. The black spots start small, circular, and depressed, growing over time until the entire fruit rots. The spores can spread to other tomato plants. Bacterial spot: The fruit develops small, brown to black spots that can fall away, leaving a hole. This infection can spread, and you shouldn’t eat the fruit as it can host secondary pathogens. Bacterial speck: This infection commonly occurs during persistent cool, wet weather. The raised spots that appear on the fruits are smaller than those caused by bacterial spot—around the size of a pencil tip. Blossom end rot: Irreversible water-soaked lesions caused by calcium deficiency. It doesn’t spread to other tomatoes, so you can just remove the blackened fruit. Early blight: This fungal tomato plant disease causes brown to black, leathery, sunken spots with concentric rings developing on the fruit. If you don’t take prompt action, early blight can result in significant crop loss. 7 Ways to Prevent Black Spots on Tomatoes Preventative measures vary depending on the type of tomato plant problem that’s causing the black spots. Below are some cultural best practices and other tips that can help reduce the risk of many diseases or fungal infections from developing. Select the right cultivar: Some tomato varieties are better suited to specific conditions, and others are more resistant to certain diseases. Plant at the right time: Avoid transplanting tomato seedlings too early. If the soil is too cold, it can affect root development and essential calcium uptake. Get it right with spacing and air circulation: Don’t have your tomato plants crowded too close together. Staking and pruning tomato plants can also help. Poor airflow promotes pathogens. Provide the right nutrients: Fertilize heavy-feeding tomatoes regularly, especially when growing in pots. Testing your soil and checking formulas helps, as overfertilizing (especially during early fruiting) and excess nitrogen can promote disease-related black spots. Minimize stress: Avoid over- or underwatering and water tomato plants at the base rather than overhead to prevent wet leaves. A layer of mulch can help to promote even moisture. Use shade cloths to protect your plants from the scorching summer sun. Keep weeds at bay: Pull unwanted interlopers out of your tomato rows. Weeds can encourage pests, cause airflow issues, and use up nutrients that heavy-feeding tomatoes will appreciate. Rotate crops: Allowing two to three years in between planting tomatoes (and other species in the nightshade family) in the same location can help prevent pathogens from recurring. How to Fix or Revive Tomatoes With Black Spots Once your tomatoes develop black spots, you won’t be able to reverse this problem. However, in some instances, changing watering practices, pruning away problematic fruit and leaves, improving airflow, or treating with a fungicide can help prevent the problem from worsening or spreading. Sometimes, you’ll need to remove all infected plants. Don’t leave infected plant material to decompose in the ground or on compost piles, as this can increase the risk of spreading disease.

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Home Decor

My Brother’s Playful Shared Kids Bathroom Reveal (Including Cute Double Vanities)

While this house has a lot of contemporary lines (with hits of traditional vibes throughout), it’s still a house for a family with two elementary school-aged kids (6 and 9). They share a hall bathroom that is a nice size and Max and I were able to design it to be happy and playful, and yet use high-quality material that will last (and obviously grow with them). I honestly never pictured this bathroom like this – it’s really sweet and charming and full of layers that are far from “contemporary”. Some of this is in the styling, for sure, but whatever it is I love looking at these photos and every time I walk in I get that surge of, “Oh this is so fun”. Where Are We In The House? Ok, we are on the second floor and you can see the kid’s rooms are nearby. The bathroom is pretty big – although I see that the floor plan has changed since this above version to NOT have a separation between the vanity area and the toilet/bath. It’s part of the house that was designed to be vaulted so it has high ceilings. When they did the window plan they chose a huge window in here – so it has a lot of natural light. Three Different Tiles Max Humphrey and I chose the tile (we co-designed many of the bathrooms together), but this tile is more him, I’d say (and I love it). That guy is a master at selecting and mixing tiles. He generally takes more risks than me but still stays within a restrained palette which you all know I love. We worked within Ann Sacks Made line (made in Portland, which we are big fans of) which has a huge variety of colors. What I love so much about it is the variation of the color at the edges in both the penny tile on the floor and the shower tile – it gives it a lot of dimension and texture (the outline isn’t the grout, it’s the tile). I should back up and say that my brother and SIL didn’t want a tub in here – their kids take showers so they didn’t see the point of a tub (and thought it would be hard to get in and out of). But as an avid bather, I pushed back hard saying how bad for resale it would be not to have a tub for kids. So they chose the most shallow tub (one that would be easy for the kids to get in and out of as a compromise. At times I feared that it would look too basic and not special enough, but as we built the rest of the design elements now I hardly notice that it’s just an alcove tub. The shower surround that we customized (with much agony, more on that later) really helps it feel more elevated. Also a huge shout out to Anne Usher, the architect who planned the skylight in here – the light that it brings into the shower is incredible and makes this area of the room come alive. We used a leftover Caesarstone slab for the niche (making it as big as possible to be in scale with the shower wall). The tray and little pot are from a local resin maker, Swift and Stone who I found at a market and immediately reached out to for this bathroom (you can see her work on the vanities as well). Mixing Tiles We mixed three different scales – the larger blue vanity wall, the medium shower tile and the small penny on the floor. The tones of them all looked really cohesive together and it feels highly customized and yet really cohesive. Purist Faucet Line FTW Always and forever I love the Purist line from Kohler. Of course, you have a variety of finishes (we chose vibrant brushed moderne brass) and different handle profiles (we chose the cross for this bathroom). It’s just simple, modern, streamlined, and timeless. We have this line all over the mountain house. It feels more contemporary there and here it leans more transitional – it’s really easy to mix in most styles, IMHO. The toilet is tucked on the other side of the vanities. We hung embroidery art from the OG Portland project by local artist Annie Odorisio and then styled the opposite wall with robe/towel hooks and a cute wicker hamper to warm it all up. You’ll see in here a circle motif everywhere, which I think really helped it feel more playful and fun for kids. Alright – a his and hers vanity that I seriously wish we had for our kids (who share and quibble and it’s a thing). These are two Tresham vanities that have a simple (and even shaker) vibe to them and then we made them more modern with the wood handles (from Etsy). If you are wondering why they are so close, we did too. In the plans, they were 18″ apart but the room just didn’t allow it so somewhere something was off. At first, I was like “uhhhh…” and then we just worked with it and now I barely notice that they are so close and I even think it’s really sweet. They both have their own storage and counters. With the more traditional tilework and vanities, I wanted to finish the room in a way that went more modern and contemporary like the rest of the house. So once I found these sconces from Worley’s I showed them to my SIL and we both were like, “these are them.” I love that they are graphic, with these playful round glass shades (which also provide great soft light), and you can choose from a variety of metals and wood tones (we chose brushed brass to match the faucets and cornsilk oak for the wood). The three of them flanking the pill shaped mirrors. I like how they call back to the penny tile, the shower faucet shape, the rug, and even the bench. The backsplash tile goes from floor to ceiling (although it originally didn’t – it stopped at 7′ which felt weird so we had to order more tile and cross our fingers the color would match perfectly). The pattern and color make this room come alive – it’s a pattern mixed with three different tiles, stacked in a repeat (this is a Max Humphrey move that I am into). The Tresham vanities also come with an integrated countertop and sink, making it a really easy one-and-done situation. I have this vanity in our mountain house guest room and love the joinery of the base. It comes in a couple of different sizes (I wish it came in 60″ or 72″ TBH – I think it’s awesome.) If you are opening up the walls and changing plumbing (or in this case, building a new house basically) definitely think about wall mount faucets. They really do free up space and I think give a more custom look (we didn’t do this in every bathroom – I like to mix it up). The room is pretty wide in a great way and we were able to add something opposite the vanities. The pocket door was custom (and white oak) and I hung a piece of art that I’ve had forever that worked perfectly in here. I continued with the circle/scallop motif with the rug (from Etsy), wicker pot (from The Container Store, can also be a cute trash can) and bench (from AllModern). We bought a lot of these resin (not pottery, which is nice for kids) bathroom accessories from Swift and Stone which she makes in a variety of colors and sells both locally and on Etsy. Top Down Bottom Up Window Treatments Opposite the vanity is this large window with black frames and while I’m so grateful for the natural light, these kids needed some privacy. So we had Decorview make the same shades that we have in our guest room that I love. They are modern Roman shades that as you can see can be used from the top down or bottom up (therefore letting nice light in through the top). It turned out to be far more of a mix of modern/traditional than I had predicted 3+ years ago, in such a good way. It’s really spacious, airy and bright with playful elements, but executed so well by a great team.

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