Explore St Pete: Black Crow Coffee St Petersburg Florida

Black Crow Coffee

St Petersburg, Florida is growing quickly. With the increase of people moving to live in the best city Florida has to offer comes more spending and more growth of local businesses. Black Crow Coffee Co is a staple in the Old Northeast neighborhood of St Petersburg, Florida. Located at 722 2nd St N, the eclectic local business strives for eco-friendliness, inclusiveness, and amazing service.

And that’s not to mention the superior quality of their coffee, teas, and baked goods. For strong coffee lovers, we recommend ordering the Red Eye, a coffee and molasses and espresso drink with your choice of milk (coconut, almond, or dairy) guaranteed to keep you going until 5pm. Most of the pastries are made in house, while some of the goodies are brought in by local makers. Whatever your dietary needs are, Black Crow Coffee has you covered with vegan and gluten free options. Don’t skip the gluten free and vegan donuts if you get lucky enough to grab one!

The shop also hosts a variety of event each month including musicians, speakers, and art shows. Each month they feature a different local artist from painters to photographers and allow them to present and sell their work. For the foreseeable future they are offering a free coffee or tea if you pick up trash around the neighborhood and bring it in. Free coffee and a cleaner city sounds like a perfect match to us! Stop in and tell them we sent you. You don’t be disappointed.

Daylight Saving Time: Weird Facts and History

Daylight Saving Time: Weird Facts and History

This Sunday morning, just as every second Sunday morning since 2007, we will set our clock forward one hour at 2am. We all complain about it – who wants to lose an hour of sleep? But how much do you actually know about the time change? Here are some interesting and weird facts about DST.

The idea of DST was brought to life by William Willett from Britain but officially started in Germany in 1916 to help conserve energy. Britain followed soon after calling it “Summer Time”.

DST is not unique to the US. In fact, there are about 70 different countries who participate in DST.

The US enacted timezones and DST in 1918 with the Standard Time Act but it was repealed in 1919. Still, most of the US recognizes it.

In 1966, The Uniform Time Act worked to uniform time in the US, with DST starting the the last Sunday in April and ending the Sunday in October.

States are not required to recognize DST.

It’s actually pronounce Daylight Saving Time (singular) not Daylight Savings Time.

Florida currently has a bill that has moved to the senate called the Sunshine Protection Act proposing DST be made permanent.

DST was implemented not to help farmers have more time in the fields, as the story goes, but to saving on electric costs in cities.

In 2005, President George W Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Extending DST to the second Sunday in March-First Sunday in November.

Hawaii, Guam, Virgin Islands, Arizona, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa do not participate in DST.

Fall in Love with Your Home: Outside

Fall in Love with Your Home: Outside

If you’ve ever been house hunting you know that curb appeal is like any other first impression: it sets the tone for the entire home. Whether you’re interested in selling your home or want to be a contender for the Best Lawn Award in your neighborhood, follow these tips to fall in love with your home.

Get your paint brush out. An unappealing paint color will not only deter potential buyers but also not give you the warm and fuzzies when you get home from a long day. These seems like a large project to tackle all at once, but never fear. If you’ve not up for all that work take it one step at a time. Start by painting the shutters or trim a complimentary color to your paint paint color, or painting the door with a pop of color. Once you’ve made that tiny leap, getting the hole house done will be a breeze.

You can also hire a professional – and we know some! Contact us for the best painters in St Pete.

Plant some color. If you love your paint color but something seems missing, pop into your favorite home and garden store and pick up some native plants to complete your landscaping. What we love: Needle palms, Elliott Lovegrass, and Firebush will give your home’s lawn a regal feel and bright colors with low maintenance without being busy or overwhelming. If you love to garden, turn your side or back yard into a vegetable and fruit mecca. Rosemary, mint, and strawberries make great salads (and mojitos!) and also provide some visual interest. You can read more about native plants of Florida at Wilcox Nursery and Landscape.

Outdoor living. If you don’t have a lot of green space chances are you have balcony, pool area, or some other space outdoors. Especially if you live in a temperate climate, take advantage of the space by adding a screened in porch, new patio furniture, or art that make you feel at home. Don’t under estimate the power of good lighting. Tiki torches can double as mosquito repellents, but if you’re not into that, string up some tinkling LEDs around your porch or patio for an amazing outdoor ambiance.

Want more tips on loving your home? Check out how to love your kitchen, living room, and bedroom.

Fall in Love with You Home: Bedroom

Fall in Love with You Home: Bedroom

We’ve covered some of the most used rooms in your home including the kitchen and the living room. In the third part of our Fall in Love with Your Home series, we talk about how to love your bedroom.

Remove the TV. It’s easy to slip into the habit of watching TV before bed when it’s right in front of you. This seems harmless enough, however there are factors that can prevent you from getting a good night’s sleep, which is the whole point of loving your bedroom, right? Artificial light can cause your brain to stop making melatonin, a hormone that helps your sleep cycles. So love your room (and yourself) a little bit more and remove the TV, and limit your screen usage before bedtime. (Read more science-y stuff here.)

Make your bed an oasis. Everyone loves going to a hotel with a large, plush bed and comfortable, crisp, clean sheets. Why take that home with you? The color, fabric, and amount of pillows should make you feel relaxed and help soothe you after a long day. For softer sheets, buy cotton with long fibers. Ikea has an assortment of pillows to choose from, whether you like super soft cloud-like pillows or extra firm. Also, don’t under estimate the ambiance of an aesthetically pleasing head board and side tables. Surround yourself with things that relax and comfort you.

Did you know: Thread count refers to the number of threads in a square inch of fabric, not how soft/luxurious they are.

Keep it neutral. You may love bold, bright colors, but keep in mind that your brain may night like them when you’re trying to wind down for the day. Keep it neutral with soft tones, bring in some calming colors (like blues and greens), or add elements that create white noise that will help you relax and sleep better. If you really need some color in your life, try adding some accent pillows with patterns that include those fire-y reds and oranges – just don’t go overboard.

Fall in Love with Your Home: Kitchen

Fall in Love with Your Home: Kitchen

In February we are focusing on loving your home and what you can do to love the space you’ve invested in. Whether you’re there to stay or sprucing it up for sale, follow these tips to help you (or help a buyer) love your kitchen.

Open it up. This doesn’t necessarily mean a whole kitchen renovation. If you’ve got the time and means to blow out some walls and create a whole masterpiece from scratch, go nuts. But if you are looking for a quick way to make your kitchen seem larger, try removing some of the upper cabinet doors or invest in a pot/pan hanger. You can place your most appealing glassware (like that colorful Fiestaware you want to show off). This will create the illusion of more space and give you something beautiful to look at. Pro tip: Switch out what is displayed based on the season.

Refinish. While we’re talking about cabinets, how much do you actually like the color? Consider switching things up a bit and having your cabinets refinished. You can do this yourself (here is a great article and step-by-step how to) or have them done by a professional for $300-$3000 depending on the size of your kitchen. For a quick update, switch out the knobs for ones that feel and look great – to YOU.

Looking for a good, licensed contractor? We know some! Contact us today. 

Make it cozy. The kitchen is the main hub in most homes for families and guests. (That’s where the food is, it’s a no brainer!) So why not make it welcoming? Throw some comfy (but easy to clean!) rugs on the floor, add seating where you can, put up your favorite conversation starter art pieces. They’ll come for the food, but stay for the comfort. We promise.

Previous article: Fall in love with your living room.

5 Easy Spring Cleaning Tips

Spring has officially sprung and with it the annual tradition of cleaning every-little-thing we’ve been neglecting the last three seasons. It can get overwhelming: What do you clean first? Do I have all the right tools? Keep reading to make this year’s spring cleaning simple and easy with our 5 easy spring cleaning tips.

Take inventory

5 Easy Spring Cleaning Tips Inventory List

Make a list of everything you want to accomplish. (You can download the sample list to the right, just right click, save and print!) After you have an idea of what you want done, take a look at the supplies you have. For example, if you want to deep clean your carpets you’ll need an upholstery cleaner (you can buy or rent these) and plenty of cleanser. If you’re mission is to spruce up the garage, you may need paint, new shelving, or pest control items.

Start at the Top

When you start your spring cleaning adventure, we recommend starting, literally, at the top. Dusting ceiling fans and other high surfaces after you’ve vacuumed can cause frustration when you get dust on your already sparking floor. Save your self some time and clean the floors, cabinets, upholstery, and washing/spot treating any area rugs last.

Hire Professionals

Feeling too overwhelmed? Don’t have the time? You can hire a reputable cleaning, pest, and maintenance services to help. Not only will they not miss a speck of dirt, they may also catch things you might have not thought of like cleaning the fridge coils or checking the efficiency of your washer and dryer.

Don’t Forget the Outside

We spend a lot of our time indoors, so when we think of spring cleaning we think of all the things within our walls. If you have a pool, lawn, shed, detached garage you may want to pay attention to those as well. Check to make sure your pool pump is working properly, and set traps/clean out any pests that may have found homes during the winter.

Clean Everything (Even if it Looks Clean Already)

Don’t let “clean” walls or floors fool you. Dirt can build up little by little over time without notice. Take a sponge and mild soap to walls with high-traffic, move furniture and vacuum underneath, wipe down cabinets, and make use of that self-cleaning oven!

Holy cow – what a historic game! We had a blast watching the Super Bowl this year and we hope you did, too! Thank you to everyone who played along with our prop bets! (Who knew there would be no Gatorade dumped on the winning coach?! Not us!)

We actually had a tie for the winner! The two names were thrown in the hat annndddddd…

Congrats to Chris! We will be sending you an email on how to pick up your $50 gift card to Bonefish Grill.

Liked playing along? Want more fun games? We have some cool stuff coming up for you next month. Stay tuned!