THE LATEST FROM FRAN BERGER
Lifestyle
Flowers for Home Décor – How to keep Hydrangeas fresher longer
A popular ornamental plant is our favorite home flower decoration – hydrangea! The name “hydrangea” may or may not ring any bells. But if ornamental horticulture happens to be your “thing” or if you have ever seen the plant and...
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How to get the perfect rug size for your dining room.
Tips for Home Décor – creating the right “balance” between look and function. When I buy rugs for my home, I think about how they’ll look in my home – color and style, and how they will ‘get along’ with...
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Enjoy Al Fresco Dining – Even in Winter!
What a great opportunity – to cozy up with warm drinks, hot food, and close friends. The Italians love dining outside so much that there’s a term for it in Italian – Al Fresco; dining in the fresh air. Dining...
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Upgrade your Coffee Table or Dining Room Table
Make a statement with cool accents and fabulous conversation starters. A lesson I learned from my mother: if it has dust on it, it’s been out too long. The lesson from that idea may not be what you immediately think....
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The Perfect Valentine’s Day Adult Beverage
Celebrate love and friendships with this favorite cocktail recipe. There’s more to a mixed drink than a chunk of fruit, a swizzle stick, and a little paper umbrella. Most people think of mixed drinks as “cocktails” and some mixes are...
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Tips and Hints for your Outdoor Winter Décor
Because your home should look as good on the outside as it does on the inside. Yards look so sad this time of year, especially the backyard. The grass goes brown and the trees are mostly bare. Add to this,...
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Outdoor Dining for (almost) anywhere.
Just because it’s a little chilly outside doesn’t mean you can’t have your party outdoors. I’m not talking about freezing weather. Let’s be sensible! And – yes – I know: “chilly” weather in California isn’t the same kind of “chilly”...
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Another Year with Sophisticating Living
What I’ve learned about sophisticated living – and how I’m taking it to the next level in 2018. A friend of mine is fond of saying, “We only get one ticket to the big dance. Make it count!” I get...
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How about a New Years’ Day party?
An excellent way to balance a great NYE party is an excellent NYD Open House. New Year’s Eve is a great time to celebrate, don’t you think? What better time to party than to ring in the new year? And...
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How Much to Tip when I travel?
Tipping guidelines for keeping up with etiquette while traveling. There are general travel tipping guidelines, but during the holidays it’s even more important to remember to thank those with whom you interact and accept their services. Check out my videos...
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Recipe for a Quick Pickle
An easy “pickle” recipe that’s great for home or as a gift. I had a great Bloody Mary at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, and they served a simply wonderful vinegary/garlicky green bean as one of the vegetable garnishes...
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A Handy Tipping Guide for the Holidays
The easy “how-to” for tipping during the holidays. We all have service people that help us throughout the year, but sometimes it’s confusing on how much to tip or even whether you should tip at all during the holidays. I’ve...
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Tips for Wrapping Presents for the Holidays
Isn’t it time to change up your Christmas wrapping skills? I was always the gift wrapper at my house while growing up. The rest of my family thought it was a big chore, but I loved it. I turned every...
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Holiday Home Entertaining Tip – Stocking Stuffers!
A fun update for an ancient holiday tradition. I think one of the most fun and endearing holiday traditions is Christmas stockings. When I was a kid, it was a way to get a lot of candy. By the time...
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Holiday Appetizers: hors d’oeuvres and finger foods, yum!
Tips for making your holiday appetizers truly appealing. Planning a holiday party? Start with all the ones you’ve seen – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Why remember the bad and the ugly? Because, we don’t want to do...
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Time Management for the Holidays
My Top 5 Tips for sane and safe planning during the holidays. This is one of my favorite times of the year, I can plan all the holiday parties I want and not go crazy. It’s the one time of...
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How to Plan Your Holiday Shopping
SIX SHOPPING TIPS to help you from being “cyber-crazy” this holiday. It’s that time again – time for the year-end holiday traditions: the Christmas office party, finger foods, holiday decorations, and gifts. OMG, did you forget the Secret Santa...
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The Perfect Holiday Gift Guide for Women
All you have to do is think about what you’d want as a present. We all want to give the perfect holiday gift to our friends – especially our girlfriends. Last week, I posted a holiday gift guide for our...
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The Perfect Holiday Gift Guide for Men
Don’t settle for predictable – get an early start and go for the unexpected! One of the most difficult things to do is to find the perfect holiday gift for the man in your life. Maybe you’re thinking, “OH, it’s...
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Setting up a home bar? Keep it simple!
10 Simple Tips for setting up your home bar for a holiday party. Home bars do not have to be and, quite frankly, should not be complicated affairs. I mean, unless you’re a professional bartender, why go out and get...
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