October Newsletter 2021
Fabricare Center Blog , Newsletter
The Leaves Are Changing
Ben Feingold | Fabricare Center Owner
Fall is here and that means spending lots of time outside with family and friends. The sweltering summer temps are on their way out making it the perfect time to entertain outdoors again. The crisp autumn weather is always such a welcome change with the start of this new season. With the nicer temperatures, my wife and I love dining al fresco, playing in the backyard with our little boy, and entertaining guests for football games, pumpkin carving, and other fun festivities that make this time of year so much fun. Autumn in Atlanta really cannot be beat!
If you’re like my family and plan on spending lots of time in your backyard this Fall, let Fabricare Center help spruce things up by cleaning your patio cushions. Our expert cleaners will spot treat your cushions for mold, mildew, and grease spots. Our alterations department will also take a look to see if they have any tears or loose threads or ties that need to be resewn. We will send your cushions back to you looking as good as new. Give your patio the refresh that it needs this season!
As I mentioned, we get immense joy from spending time outdoors. Many weekends this time of year you can find us taking hikes in the North Georgia mountains or at some of our favorite spots closer to home. Protecting the environment is one of Fabricare Center’s core values. We thought we’d share a little bit about our best environmental practices with you.
Fabricare Center is proud to use GreenEarth cleaning solution to treat our garments. Silicone based, this environmentally non-toxic, non-hazardous solution is extremely gentle and a great alternative to petro chemicals. This solution is designed to ensure the best possible result for fabrics and the environment. Using GreenEarth is just one way we can do our part to protect the beautiful planet we live on.
Now that fall is upon us, get outside, savor those cooler temps, enjoy nature’s beauty, and create special memories with family and friends!
Kind regards,
5 Eye-Catching Ways to Update Your Home
Your home is a reflection of you, and your decor should match your tastes. With some simple home upgrades, you can create the perfect space for you and your family, even if your design preferences change over time.
Consider these ideas to get started:
Add a Fresh Coat of Paint – One of the easiest home improvement projects, a fresh coat of paint can change the entire look of a room. Whether you choose to paint the entire space one new color, opt for an accent wall in a vibrant shade or simply freshen up the trim, paint can go a long way toward adding visual appeal and reflecting your personality. Patterned wallpaper, board and batten, stone and tile can also be added to create textured accents.
Bring Warmth and Ambiance with a Fireplace – More than 3 in 5 homeowners have a fireplace or other hearth product in their homes, according to the HPBA, and including a fireplace in your construction or renovation plans is a gift of warmth, comfort and ambiance you can give yourself. Whether it’s a centerpiece for your living room or family room, or an accent to your bedroom, bathroom or study, a fireplace can provide an artful design element for your home and a safe, reliable heat source in the event of unexpected weather.
Update Lighting Fixtures – Proper lighting can bring rooms to life and make spaces look larger and more welcoming. You can brighten up your home in a variety of ways, from strategically placing table and floor lamps that fit your design style to replacing older ceiling and wall-mounted fixtures with more modern styles.
Give Cabinetry a Fresh Look – There are numerous easy ways to update your kitchen and bathroom cabinets to create a more updated look. One of the easiest is swapping out older cabinet pulls and knobs for more modern options. With a variety of finishes – stainless, bronze, brushed nickel, black, copper and more – and styles available, you can match your cabinets to nearly any design style in a matter of minutes. Adding a coat of stain or paint is also a relatively quick and easy way to update some of the most-used spaces in your home without completely replacing the cabinets.
Upcycle Furniture – You can breathe new life into your current furniture by making simple changes. The easiest would be simply rearranging your pieces and moving some to different rooms to create an updated look. You can also add decorative covers to sofas, chairs, throw pillows and more, or take your upcycling a step further and refinish a bookshelf, table or other wooden furniture with a fresh coat of paint or stain, or give it a more weathered look with some sandpaper.
A Plant-Forward Twist on Taco Night
Try something new, by making tacos featuring walnuts as the star ingredient. Packed full of flavor, “walnut meat” turns taco recipes into plant-forward options you may have never though of. Try these Walnut-Stuffed Korean Street tacos, and let us know what you think.
Walnut-Stuffed Korean Street Tacos
Total time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Walnut “Meat”:
2 cups California walnuts
2 tablespoons gochujang (red chili paste) sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Marinated Vegetables:
4 green onions
ice water
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 English cucumber, sliced thin
1 watermelon radish, sliced thin
1 cup carrots, cut into matchsticks
fresh cayenne peppers, sliced thin (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
Crema:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
8 whole-wheat tortillas
1 bunch cilantro
2 fresh limes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup California walnuts
To make walnut “meat”: In food processor, pulse walnuts to coarsely chop. In skillet over medium heat, add gochujang sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic and ginger. Add walnuts and stir. Turn to low heat, cover and keep warm.
To make vegetables: Cut whites off green onions and discard. Slice greens into thin strips and place in bowl of ice water. In bowl, stir vinegar and honey. Add cucumber; radish; carrots; peppers, if desired; and sesame seeds. Stir to combine.
To make crema: Mix yogurt with chili sauce and salt.
Warm tortillas. Scoop 1/8 walnut meat into each tortilla. Spoon cream on top of walnut meat. Add marinated vegetables and green onions.
Top tacos with cilantro, squeeze of lime juice and walnuts.
4 Ways to Live a Healthy Lifestyle with Your Pet
While every pet is unique in looks and needs, a responsibility shared by all pet parents is to make sure their four-legged friends stay in good health. A pet’s health can reflect that of its owner, so living alongside your pet in a healthy way can help you both thrive.
Keep it Clean
Good grooming and hygiene habits can help keep you and your furry friend in good health. Baths can help kill fleas, ticks and parasites that may be in your dog’s fur, which protects him or her and your home. However, washing a dog too frequently can lead to dry skin. Different breeds of dogs require different amounts of time between washings, so be sure to check with your veterinarian to see what is recommended for your specific dog to keep everyone happy and healthy.
Dig into Something Nutritious
A well-balanced diet can be part of a healthy lifestyle for both you and your pets. Out of all the ways to keep your pets healthy, watching what they eat (and how much they eat) is one of the most critical. Look for dog foods that are rich in nutrients and full of flavor, which contain a trio of proteins from chicken, lamb and salmon and a medley of 15 superfoods, like brown rice, flaxseed, sun-ripened blueberries and more. These ingredients are not only healthy for dogs, but humans as well, so opt for recipes and dishes that feature these ingredients for yourself, too.
Grab the Leash Instead of Your Car Keys
Even if you live in a big city, a hiking trail or dog park may be just a short distance away. Make time to head outside with your dog. This not only gets in some quality bonding time with your pet, but also brings exercise into your day. If you don’t have enough time for a hike, take a few minutes for a quick stroll around the neighborhood or play fetch with your furry friend to get you both moving.
Don’t Over-Treat
Sometimes a treat is deserved. Rewarding both yourself and your dog after a task, in moderation, is a healthy way to recognize a positive action and promote happiness. When choosing the right treat for your furry friend, look for an option that is not only tasty, but also helps support his or her health.
Decorate Your Way to a Howling Good Halloween
Along with costumes and candy, decorating is a fun way to set the mood and add a little extra excitement in the weeks leading up to the holiday. These spooktacular ideas will help give you some easy ideas on how to add some holiday spirit.
Pumpkins aplenty: A glowing jack-o’-lantern is one of Halloween’s most iconic images. And pumpkins can be used in plenty of other fun ways for the holiday. You can dress them up with glitter and ribbon for a more elegant look or group a series of pumpkins in varied shapes and colors for a seasonal centerpiece. Or you can paint your pumpkin with a coat of chalkboard paint. Then you can change the face every day!
Creepy kids’ crafts: Get little ghosts and goblins into the Halloween spirit with hand-made decorations that make your seasonal decor equal parts sweet and spooky. Fold a black piece of construction paper down the middle and trace a child’s hand and wrist, with the wrist extending over the folded edge. Cut along the traced line, leaving the fold intact, and when you unfold the paper, you’ll have a bat to decorate. Add eyes and attach string to the top of the wings to hang and display.
Gross and ghoulish: Some of the best Halloween displays have something in common: attention to detail. Get creative with your props and decorations to incorporate some unexpected attention-grabbers like brains in a jar. Place bunches of cauliflower in a clear glass container and cover with water died red.
Spooky serving: If you’re entertaining guests this Halloween, make sure to incorporate spooky decor with your food and drinks. Keeping the theme going throughout the party. You can use cauldrons as serving bowls and skeleton hands as serving spoons. Adding plenty of cobwebs is always easy and other spooky accents on table and shelves go a long way. Search for easy recipes that fit your theme. A fun idea for the kids is baking sugar cookies in fun Halloween shapes. Then serving them with a selection of food-safe syringes pre-filled with colored frosting.
Ghostly greetings: All the decorations indoors make for plenty of good spirit. But don’t forget to set the Halloween mood outside, too. Dressing up your front door lets visitors know you’re into the holidays. And is an unexpected treat. A haunted graveyard scene in the front yard or a spooky spider den around the door with lots of critters dangling from fake cobwebs are sure to show all who dare to enter that a howling good time lies ahead.
SERVICE SPOTLIGHT – Outdoor Patio Cushions
Mother Nature can really take a toll on your outdoor furniture and patio cushions, in screened-in areas and outside. As spring approaches and the weather warms up, get your outdoor areas ready for guests.
Before you set up your patio cushions for friends and family to enjoy for the season, send them to us for a deep clean. It’ll be like getting all new patio furniture this spring.
We’ll spot clean and remove grease, mildew, and mold spots. We’ll also do
an expert assessment of tears and ties that have come loose and need to be resewn. We’ll send your patio cushions back to you looking as good as new!