Chocolate as we know and love it began in Southern Mexico where it was first enjoyed as a fermented beverage as early as 450 BC. The Aztecs believed that the cacao seeds, from which chocolate is made, were a gift from their God of Wisdom, Quetzalcoatl. The seeds of the cacao had so much value to the ancients that they were even used as currency. [One hundred seeds could buy you one turkey!]

With all these great things happening, it’s easy to get caught up in the nostalgia and forget that Prohibition was also active from January, 1920 to December, 1933. Like much of our history, even Prohibition has been romanticized with restaurants and bars shaping themselves as a callback to that era of gangsters and flappers. After all, who doesn’t love the idea of giving a password and being let into a speakeasy to steal a drink under the cover of the star-spangled night? If you’d like to feel that vibe when you come home, Provia has got you covered.

 Like any good birthday cake, it would not be complete without a rich layer of icing and perhaps some adornments as well....candles, cake toppers, celebratory words. It's the same with your entry-way, the lighting (candles) and hardware (cake toppers) you choose, all work together to make the cake a focal point for the guest of honor. Let's tackle this area one layer at a time.

Lighting

The goal of entryway lighting should combine beauty and make guests feel secure at night. As an added bonus, it may lower your electric bill depending on the bulbs you choose.   

Here’s the truth—working in an office is dull. We’re stationary all day everyday like a bunch of barnacles stuck to a ship. Lucky for us, our office manager Shannon is one of the most active people I know and she motivated my coworker, Joe, and me to start off our morning strong with our now-trademark Office Plank.

As the new year approaches, we all take the time to think about things we would like to improve or focus on for ourselves in the new year. How about making some resolutions for your home? It makes sense to enhance the area you spend much of your year in. Feel free to add some or all of these suggestions to your resolution list. 

Deck the halls with boughs of holly…! Tis the season to be—damaging your door with Christmas decorations! Well, it’s that time of year again when we all decorate our house to the nines and the winter weather blows in and makes a mess of all the pretty decorations. My personal nemesis is the wreath that I hang on my door. It seems that the wind is always making it crooked and twisting up the lights. Here are a few out-of-the-box ideas to try to minimize the frustration of hanging your wreath on the door.

No matter where you hail from, there is a legend about the origins of winter weather. In Russia, it is represented in Father Frost, a blacksmith who binds water to earth with heavy chains. In Germany, she is an old woman who causes snow by shaking white feathers from her bed. In the United States and Britain, Old Man Winter is responsible for nipping the noses of lovers and the toes of young children. In Norse mythology, he is a minor demi-god called Jokul Frosti meaning “icicle frost.”

A.B.E. Doors and Windows deals in LiftMaster brand electric operators for garage doors. A recent addition to our in-stock operators is LiftMaster’s WLED. It is driven by a belt system and has a quiet yet powerful DC motor. The combination offers a soft and quiet start/stop function, smooth operation, and long-lasting service. The 12V DC motor and belt come with a lifetime warranty.

A trend is starting to take shape in our office. Most of these begin with our general manager, Marc, and I having a conversation whereupon one of us will say something the other one questions. Then, I do research and wind up blogging about it. Most recently, I was talking about our newest recruit being “the Low Man on the Totem Pole.” Marc was confused as he thought that the lower figures on the totem pole were the more important ones. That makes sense, but that wasn’t how I understood the saying. Thus, I began to search for the truth. 

Whether you are one strand kinda person or tend to cover every possible area with lights, it's important that you hang your decorations with care, so you can admire them standing up.....not flat out on your back. We surveyed over 100 elves for the best tips and tricks to make sure you, and the surfaces you use, hold up well year after year.

A few things to consider before you start decorating. Knowing what surfaces you will be working with will help you determine what instruments you will need to help hang, fasten or drape decorations on. You should also determine if this is an area that you will use year after year, you may want to use better quality nails or fastening items if you plan on leaving these things in place for future holidays. If you will be removing nails afterwards make sure you have the proper items to fill the hole.   

We all know jack-o-lanterns. However, in the early 1500s, the term ‘jack-of-the-lantern’ was applied to people, not pumpkins. It originally meant ‘a man with a lantern’ or a night watchman. In its earliest recordings, the term was used to encompass the mysterious lights sometimes seen at night over bogs, swamps, and marshes. These ghostly lights are caused by nothing more than the ignition of natural gases created by decomposing plant matter. However, for centuries before the scientific explanation was known, ancient people made up stories to explain these jack-o-lanterns, hinkypunks, corpse candles, will-o-the-wisps, fairy lights, and fool’s fires.

Fixer-Fixer-upper shows are still all the rage on TV. In the span of an hour we get to see a house go from drab to fab. What they might not show you in the process is the fact that they may have already had the house tested and possibly treated for lead.

In the scheme of things, it's not that long ago...1978…that the government required paint manufacturers to stop using lead in their products. Many first-time home buyers will purchase a home that is around 50 to 61 years old. The chance that lead based paint is present is very likely. Even if you own a newer home, it's important to know your facts and how to address a problem, should it arise.

Sarah Lockwood Pardee married William Winchester, magnate to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, in 1862. Now, most people know of the Winchesters for the Model 73 Rifle, better known as ‘The Gun that Won the West,’ released in 1873, but Sarah Winchester is responsible for one of the single most fascinating homes in the United States. After her husband’s death from tuberculosis in 1881, Sarah inherited the Winchester fortune, purchased an eight-room farmhouse in San Jose, California, and started building in 1886.

The first time I saw a Vermont window was pretty recently. It flickered through Facebook, touting itself down the ‘Creepy Facts’ site that I’m subscribed to. Vermont windows are often called by other names—such as Witch windows or Coffin windows. Well, color me intrigued. The windows are named as such due to their unique placement and style. They are often double hung windows that have been installed on an angle fit between two eaves of a house so that they follow the line of the roof. They are more simply called sideways or lazy windows by people who aren’t looking for a scary story.

It’s that time of year again—every kid’s nightmare and every parent’s dream. It’s Back to School Season! It seems like everywhere you go this time of year, you’re bombarded with colored folders, giant binders and notebooks, divider and tabs, pens and pencils, markers and crayons in every color, glue sticks and staplers. It looks like our office supply closet multiplied by about a thousand.