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    <title>Reece's Blog</title>
    <link>http://activerain.com/blogs/simplicityhomedesign</link>
    <description></description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/663041/do-you-want-to-achieve-success-i-ll-let-you-in-on-a-little-secret-</guid>
      <title>Do You Want To Achieve Success?  I'll Let You in on A Little Secret...</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Before I let you in on the little secret I want you to ask yourself a few questions.&amp;nbsp; Do you have a clear vision of how you want your life to be?&amp;nbsp; Are you satisfied with how successful your business is?&amp;nbsp; Are you happy with the way you look and feel?&amp;nbsp; Do you want more money, desire a new car, or long to stroll through the streets of Italy?&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I know I do, and that is why I have been changing the way I think and do things.&amp;nbsp; If you are like so many others who desire things in life but they never&amp;nbsp;come to fruition, than&amp;nbsp;you need to stop what you are doing and start to think about what it is that you truly desire and want out of life.&amp;nbsp;Once you have a clear vision of what your goals are you can begin to see results right away if you follow these simple steps.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;First, write down everything you&amp;nbsp;hope for or want on a piece of paper&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I am not&amp;nbsp;just talking about what you want out of your business, but what you would like out of life, for yourself, your family, etc.&amp;nbsp; Not until you really stop and think about what you&amp;nbsp;desire,&amp;nbsp;can you truly have your dreams turn into reality&amp;nbsp;and bring success into your life.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Now that your&amp;nbsp;list is made&amp;nbsp;you have started the ball rolling.&amp;nbsp; Just by putting your dreams and desires into concrete form you have&amp;nbsp;put the vibrations out there into the universe and your plan is already starting to make these dreams a reality.&amp;nbsp; Now you can't just write something down and walk away thinking that you are done.&amp;nbsp; No, there is some work that must go along with it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Inorder&amp;nbsp;to put your words into action I want you to create a Vision Board&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For those of you who are unfamiliar with Vision Boards, they are most often made on a poster board and consist of pictures&amp;nbsp;which&amp;nbsp;represent your goals, dreams and aspirations in life.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Vision Boards are a powerful visual tool that will motivate and inspire you to reach your desired goals.&amp;nbsp; There are several ways in which you can make a Vision Board.&amp;nbsp; Traditionally&amp;nbsp;people cut out pictures of what they desired, from magazines, newspapers and books and pasted them onto a poster board.&amp;nbsp; But today there are other creative&amp;nbsp;ways to make your Vision Board.&amp;nbsp; There are companies out there that will create one online for you.&amp;nbsp; Below are just a few of the sites that provide such a service.&amp;nbsp; I have not used any of them, nor do I endorse them.&amp;nbsp; I am just providing you examples of a few sites that came up in my Google search.&amp;nbsp; If you choose to make your Vision Board online, you should research each company and find out which one best fits your needs.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.visionboardsite.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.visionboardsite.com/&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.mymasterboard.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.mymasterboard.com/&lt;/a&gt; &amp;nbsp; &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.visualizeyourgoals.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.visualizeyourgoals.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.spiritual-law-of-attraction-prosperity-resources.com/law-of-attraction-vision-board.html&quot;&gt;http://www.spiritual-law-of-attraction-prosperity-resources.com/law-of-attraction-vision-board.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Or you can do a spin off of the traditional poster board and paste pictures onto a large sea shell, picture frame, chicken wire screen, etc.&amp;nbsp; You can be as creative as you like?&amp;nbsp; Just make sure that you don't get caught up in the creative part and never get your&amp;nbsp;board made because you can't stop looking for just the right piece to make it on.&amp;nbsp; That's what I did until I came to my senses and reminded myself that my true&amp;nbsp;goal was to get my wishes and&amp;nbsp;desires onto paper as soon as possible so that I could get&amp;nbsp;results faster!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;vb&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/5/3/8/4/ar121988485648351.jpg&quot; height=&quot;263&quot; alt=&quot;vb&quot; width=&quot;350&quot; style=&quot;float: left;&quot; /&gt;Here is an example of my Vision Board:&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I cut out pictures of places I want to travel to, people who've inspired me &amp;amp; I aspire to be liike, things I want to do, i.e., swim w/ the dolphins, &amp;nbsp;quotes to inspire me &amp;amp; keep me on track, pictures to remind me to live healthier &amp;amp; happier,&amp;nbsp;and I even left a few blank spaces so that I can continue to add to it.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Place your Vision Board in a prominent area&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;You will want to prominently display your board in an area that you will see it often.&amp;nbsp; I have mine in my office.&amp;nbsp; I also took a picture of it and made it my background wallpaper on my laptop and cell phone.&amp;nbsp; This way I can take time to look at it if I'm in the office or out in the field.&amp;nbsp; You may want to share it with others so that they are familiar with your goals and can motivate you along the way.&amp;nbsp; My business partner and I both have made Vision Boards and we talk about it often so that we keep each other on track.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Don't just look at it....feel it!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Throughout the day take time to look at the pictures on your Vision Board and really feel how it would feel if you were to travel to the places you have listed.&amp;nbsp; What would you be doing?&amp;nbsp; What would you be seeing? If you want to get in shape and start living a healthier life think about how you would feel and look if you were 15 lbs lighter?&amp;nbsp; Think about how much more confidence and energy you would have.&amp;nbsp; Envision how busy you would be and how much money you would make if your business took off and you became very successful.&amp;nbsp; Think about what you would do with it.&amp;nbsp; Think about how you would grow professionally and what it would feel like to have reached each of your goals.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I'm sure&amp;nbsp;most of you have been hearing a lot&amp;nbsp;of talk lately&amp;nbsp;about positive affirmations, the power of positive thinking and the Law of Attraction.&amp;nbsp; What you think about and desire will come your way, whether it is positive or negative.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; You really need to start being more aware of the negative things you say about yourself.&amp;nbsp; Like &quot;I can't&quot; or &quot;I'm so dumb&quot;&amp;nbsp; I was recently walking down the book aisle of Costco when I saw this beautiful book entitled&quot;&lt;em&gt;You Can Heal Your Life&lt;/em&gt;&quot; by &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.louisehay.com/&quot;&gt;Louise Hay&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp; She is all about positive thinking and how your thoughts create your life.&amp;nbsp; Click here to see a short clip from &quot;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Utbp0uHOk&quot; title=&quot;You can Heal your Life&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;You Can Heal Your Life.&quot;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;So now that I let you in on every successful person's secret tool just remember that &lt;strong&gt;YOU&lt;/strong&gt; are the key to your success!&amp;nbsp; You can be as successful as you want, as long as you have a clear vision of what you desire.&amp;nbsp; And as you work daily to reach your goals you will be surprised at quickly you can achieve success!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;I would love to see pictures of your Vision Boards, as well as hear about all of your success stories.&amp;nbsp; Your stories of success will encourage others to achieve their own success!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:49:02 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/663041/do-you-want-to-achieve-success-i-ll-let-you-in-on-a-little-secret-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/654248/villa-toscana-b-a-photos</guid>
      <title>Villa Toscana B&amp;A Photos</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Once upon a time, there was a young family who lived high on top of a hill in Moorpark.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Whether you were&amp;nbsp;looking out of the windows or standing outside their expansive property, there were views overlooking all of the city which were amazing to see.&amp;nbsp; Although this young family designed and built the home from scratch, the young maiden longed to be closer to the city so that they could be closer to friends and family.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;We received a call from a Realtor with whom we have never worked with but had seen our work before and thought we would be a perfect fit.&amp;nbsp; Our&amp;nbsp;work is the best form of marketing and that is why I always have a beautiful frame which contains our company information,&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks&lt;/a&gt;,&amp;nbsp;along with&amp;nbsp;business cards so if people like what they see they know who did it and they know how to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com&quot; title=&quot;(805) 499-8727&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;contact us&lt;/a&gt;.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As my partner, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com/aboutus.htm&quot; title=&quot;Vicki Sears&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Vicki Sears, Home Stager &amp;amp; Redesigner&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp;and I drove along the back roads to the home we suddenly saw this beautiful home on top of the hill and we knew immediately that was it!&amp;nbsp; I have to tell you that we both looked at each other at the same time and said it felt like we were arriving at the Hearst Castle.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;house&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/0/1/8/6/ar121941722668101.JPG&quot; height=&quot;336&quot; alt=&quot;house&quot; width=&quot;354&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp; Click&amp;nbsp;to see &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sothebyshomes.com/socal/sales/0422351&quot; title=&quot;Villa Toscana Listing Info&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Villa Toscana&lt;/a&gt;'s listing info.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we entered the gates and drove up the windy path we passed a smaller home, which was still bigger than my own, which was the guest house.&amp;nbsp; We continued to drive up the hill and came to the main house, which had these amazing front doors.&amp;nbsp; We were excited to see what awaited us inside!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BEFORE&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; AFTER&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;front door&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/2/6/1/6/ar121941754461622.JPG&quot; height=&quot;236&quot; alt=&quot;front door&quot; width=&quot;282&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/8/5/2/6/ar12194177362584.jpg&quot; height=&quot;236&quot; alt=&quot;&quot; width=&quot;275&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we walked into the home we were greeted by a huge palm tree.&amp;nbsp; You cannot see it in this picture, but there were 2 other palm trees on either side of the doorway.&amp;nbsp; Instead of looking at the amazing cascading double staircase and amazing hand painted&amp;nbsp;ceiling, we were halted in our steps, not feeling welcome or comfortable going&amp;nbsp;beyond that area due to the overwhelming size of this tree.&amp;nbsp; We later learned that there was an entire other living area hidden behind that tree which included an in-home theater, great room with wet bar, a large bedroom with complete full bath, laundry room, a back stairway to the other part of the house, as well as access to the 5 car garage.&amp;nbsp; Not many buyers in the past had ventured beyond that point.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BEFORE&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; AFTER&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;entry&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/7/2/0/2/ar121941797220274.JPG&quot; height=&quot;327&quot; alt=&quot;entry&quot; width=&quot;197&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;entry&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/6/8/5/0/ar121941813205869.JPG&quot; height=&quot;223&quot; alt=&quot;entry&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;As we ventured up the stairway we were greeted by a room filled with toys and a life size mad scientist that stood in the corner.&amp;nbsp; You know the ones from Halloween.&amp;nbsp; Here there was a room full of windows, high coffered ceilings and a beautiful fireplace not being utilized for it's purpose, which was the living room.Buyers were missing out on seeing the beautiful views,&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BEFORE&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;lr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/8/7/3/7/ar12194189373786.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;lr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;lr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/7/1/9/ar121941901691756.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;lr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;AFTER&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;lr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/0/6/3/0/ar121941912703606.jpg&quot; height=&quot;204&quot; alt=&quot;lr&quot; width=&quot;266&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;lr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/7/7/9/ar121941921097756.jpg&quot; height=&quot;205&quot; alt=&quot;lr&quot; width=&quot;271&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;then we ventured up the staircase which led us into the dining room.&amp;nbsp; This room also had amazing views, but the way the table was not everyone could see the views.&amp;nbsp; Once we switched the direction of the table it utilized the space better and allowed everyone to have an opportunity to see all of Moorpark.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BEFORE&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;AFTER&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;dr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/4/9/1/9/ar121942082391943.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;dr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;dr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/8/0/5/7/ar121942089275084.jpg&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;dr&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;we continued our tour into the family room which was expansive but did not show off the space well because all of the furniture was pushed back along the walls.&amp;nbsp; By bringing the furniture away from the walls and into the center of the room, it suddenly became a warm and inviting space that any family would want to hang out in.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;BEFORE&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;fr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/9/6/5/8/ar121942143385691.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;fr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;fr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/1/8/2/1/ar121942152112819.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;fr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;AFTER&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;fr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/7/7/5/0/ar121942159105774.JPG&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;fr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;fr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/6/7/5/ar121942170557656.JPG&quot; height=&quot;314&quot; alt=&quot;fr&quot; width=&quot;267&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Although the family is still wanting to move to the city to be closer to friends and family, they are enjoying the new look and feel of their home!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com&quot; title=&quot;Call us for a consultation!&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Simplicity Home Design...Turning Houses Into Homes!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Serving Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Newbury Park, Camarillo, Santa Rosa, Oxnard, Ventura and beyond!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:22:02 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/654248/villa-toscana-b-a-photos</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/484317/buyers-want-bright-sunny-but-not-like-this</guid>
      <title>Buyers Want Bright &amp; Sunny, But Not Like This</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;update:&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;strong&gt;PROPERTY SOLD IN 10 DAYS!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Sunny and Bright was what this house screamed.&amp;nbsp; The sellers were a bit skeptical about painting but with a few simple changes the owners were shocked at how different and great&amp;nbsp;it could look!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Even while we were finishing up staging Realtors were walking in with their clients trying to buy the house.&amp;nbsp; You might think it was strange for people to see it before you are done but it was actually very rewarding to hear the buyers comments from another room, knowing they weren't saying it looked great just because we were there!&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;BEFORE&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;span style=&quot;text-decoration: underline;&quot;&gt;AFTER&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;LR B&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/7/8/2/9/ar120914058092871.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR B&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;LR&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/9/8/2/0/ar120914067802891.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;FR&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/0/6/2/ar120914079126056.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;FR&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;FR&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/6/0/7/ar120914106270695.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;FR&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;dr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/0/9/9/1/ar12091411319906.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;dr&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;dr&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/6/6/9/9/ar12091411899666.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;dr&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;loft&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/4/8/0/4/ar120914126940842.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;loft&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;loft&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/5/9/4/8/ar12091413484954.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;loft&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;mb&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/5/4/4/0/ar1209141404451.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;mb&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;mb&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/6/2/6/9/ar120914145496261.JPG&quot; height=&quot;247&quot; alt=&quot;mb&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:35:59 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/484317/buyers-want-bright-sunny-but-not-like-this</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/227210/joann-s-coupon-50-off-10-5-10-8</guid>
      <title>Joann's Coupon - 50% off 10/5-10/8</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://l.joann.1nc024.com/l/r/04yBFxbg0stV72041F42&quot; title=&quot;http://l.joann.1nc024.com/l/r/04yBFxbg0stV72041F42&quot;&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;http://l.joann.1nc024.com/l/r/04yBFxbg0stV72041F42&quot; src=&quot;http://c.joann.1nc024.com/email_domains/jom/0738/images/coupon_50poff_100507.gif&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; height=&quot;200&quot; alt=&quot;Columbus Day Coupon Savings! Valid Fri., 10/5/07 - Mon., 10/8/07. 50% OFF the regular price of one item online. Use promotion code OCTER750 in your online shopping basket*.&quot; width=&quot;230&quot; /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:51:59 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/227210/joann-s-coupon-50-off-10-5-10-8</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/204349/a-unique-way-to-market-yourself-to-realtors</guid>
      <title>A Unique Way To Market Yourself To Realtors</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Over the last few weeks I have&amp;nbsp;been trying to brainstorm on different ways in which I can market myself to Realtors and then a great opportunity happened to come my way.&amp;nbsp; It must be partly due to the philosophy stated in the book entitled&amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;The Secret&amp;quot; as they say what you think about the most tends to come to fruition.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anyways...one of Realtors that I&amp;nbsp;partner with decided to switch&amp;nbsp;realestate companies and&amp;nbsp;asked me if I would decorate her office.&amp;nbsp; What better way to market your work than to have your work on display 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for an entire real estate office to see.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;The main wall&amp;nbsp;of&amp;nbsp;the office is glass so everyone can see it as they walk by.&amp;nbsp; Several people have stopped by and complimented on how beautiful her office is and picked up my card...mind you her office is the only decorated one at this time and now other people are wanting to make theirs just a beautiful.&amp;nbsp; This could have started a trend...home staging for Realtor Offices!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The following pictures are the before and afters.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;BEFORE:&lt;/u&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;u&gt;AFTER:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;office 1&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/6/0/0/0/ar118977100400067.JPG&quot; height=&quot;256&quot; alt=&quot;office 1&quot; width=&quot;295&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;office 1a&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/3/3/1/4/ar118977113541337.JPG&quot; height=&quot;259&quot; alt=&quot;office 1a&quot; width=&quot;297&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;office 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/6/2/8/0/ar118977123208266.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;office 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;office 2a&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/0/8/9/2/ar118977129529803.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;office 2a&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;office 3&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/4/6/9/6/ar118977135969641.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;office 3&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;office 3a&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/6/1/7/7/ar118977152477163.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;office 3a&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Now I&amp;#39;m not just &amp;quot;Turning Houses Into Homes&amp;quot; but turning offices into places that feel like home!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece Mack&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 14 Sep 2007 07:14:04 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/204349/a-unique-way-to-market-yourself-to-realtors</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/175060/how-do-you-charge-your-clients-</guid>
      <title>How do you charge your clients?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I have been in business since January but was mainly focused on Home Staging.&amp;nbsp; Now that&amp;nbsp;this portion of my business is&amp;nbsp;figured out I am wanting to market redesigning better.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;I&amp;nbsp;have also been asked to do a job by a friend/client but wanted to get some feedback from the experts, like you, about how you charge.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Do you charge&amp;nbsp;by the square foot or do you charge by the hour?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Aug 2007 17:37:45 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/175060/how-do-you-charge-your-clients-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/167543/contemporary-artwork-</guid>
      <title>Contemporary Artwork </title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Two&amp;nbsp;8 in&amp;nbsp;x 20 in. wall artwork.&amp;nbsp; Never used.&amp;nbsp; Asking $30 for the pair.&amp;nbsp; Does not include S&amp;amp;H&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;art work&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/6/8/3/0/ar118652013503867.JPG&quot; height=&quot;378&quot; alt=&quot;artwork&quot; width=&quot;449&quot; style=&quot;width: 449px; height: 378px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece - Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:59:04 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/167543/contemporary-artwork-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/167535/shabby-chic-shelves</guid>
      <title>Shabby Chic Shelves</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Barely used 2 white Shabby Chic Shelves.&amp;nbsp; 13 1/2 by 19 1/2 in.&amp;nbsp; Asking $45.00 for both.&amp;nbsp; S&amp;amp;H not included.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;shelf&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/0/1/5/0/ar118651957105105.JPG&quot; height=&quot;367&quot; alt=&quot;shelf&quot; width=&quot;521&quot; style=&quot;width: 521px; height: 367px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece - Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:52:36 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/167535/shabby-chic-shelves</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/164833/example-iron-wall-hanging-example</guid>
      <title>Example - Iron Wall Hanging - Example</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Large bronze iron wall hanging.&amp;nbsp; Excellent shape.&amp;nbsp; Purchased for a client project that is no longer needed.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;$25.00&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/9/1/7/2/ar118625958127198.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot; &quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 04 Aug 2007 15:33:38 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/164833/example-iron-wall-hanging-example</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/163500/welcome-</guid>
      <title>Welcome!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I wanted to welcome you to &amp;quot;Decorators Haven,&amp;quot; a place where&amp;nbsp;people just like you and me can go to sell, exchange or give away items that they may have purchased for a client/project and no longer need or want.&amp;nbsp; Or maybe you are wanting to update your inventory by getting rid of items and adding new ones.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If an item is posted that you wish to purchase, you must contact the&amp;nbsp;poster directly to inquire about the item.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;This system is based upon&amp;nbsp;a first come, first serve basis.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So, if this sounds like something you&amp;#39;d love to be a part of post your items and get shopping! &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Enjoy!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 02 Aug 2007 23:35:14 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/163500/welcome-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/142880/red-tulips-in-vancouver-</guid>
      <title>Red Tulips In Vancouver!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;This is my first picture post to Great Shots!&amp;nbsp; I am not a photographer by any means but I took this picture and wanted to share it with you.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My husband and I went on a cruise to Canada for our honeymoon and just loved seeing all of the beautiful flowers and greenery throughout Vancouver!&amp;nbsp; In order to get back home from Canada without a passport we&amp;nbsp;had to take&amp;nbsp;the&amp;nbsp;train&amp;nbsp;back into the US.&amp;nbsp; But who wouldn&amp;#39;t want to take a train ride along the coast?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After a day of sightseeing, my husband and I decided to sit outside&amp;nbsp;in the park across from the Vancouver train station, and as I sat there I couldn&amp;#39;t help but admire the beautiful red tulips!&amp;nbsp; They were amazing to me so I had to take a picture and share them here with all of you.&amp;nbsp; I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;tullips&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/0/9/7/0/ar118404804307904.JPG&quot; height=&quot;375&quot; alt=&quot;tullips&quot; width=&quot;483&quot; style=&quot;width: 483px; height: 375px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jul 2007 01:15:52 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/142880/red-tulips-in-vancouver-</link>
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    <item>
      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/117640/all-clients-are-not-created-equal-great-b-a-photos</guid>
      <title>All Clients Are Not Created Equal - Great B&amp;A photos</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Have you ever gone on your initial consultation and thought to yourself as you&amp;nbsp;walked to your car&amp;nbsp;&amp;quot;&lt;em&gt;how am I ever gonna pull this one off&lt;/em&gt;?&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; Well, I must say that I just completed a job that I am truly amazed and pleased with!&amp;nbsp; My clients deserve tons of kudos and recognition for a job well done.&amp;nbsp; As you know, for most individuals change is not easy, but they allowed me to come into their house and change the way they live, and as you can see, it&amp;nbsp;was&amp;nbsp;dramatic, and all for the purpose of selling their house!&amp;nbsp; This&amp;nbsp;project would not have been so successful in its transformation if&amp;nbsp;it were not for&amp;nbsp;my wonderful clients who worked so diligently to get this house ready to sell.&amp;nbsp; I met with them,&amp;nbsp;told them what things needed to be done and then&amp;nbsp;we made a plan.&amp;nbsp; We changed out the flooring, took off wallpaper, painted the entire house,&amp;nbsp;spruced up their landscaping&amp;nbsp;and did a thorough cleaning of the house and carpet.&amp;nbsp; Together, we all worked hard to meet our goal, which was to sell their house!&amp;nbsp; &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt; was able to transform the clients &amp;quot;&lt;em&gt;house into a home&lt;/em&gt;&amp;quot; just as our motto states!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;After the house was transformed, the real estate agent and her husband told me that they were&amp;nbsp;pleasantly surprised.&amp;nbsp; They loved it and&amp;nbsp;said that they felt like they had just witnessed an episode from one of those HGTV shows, &amp;quot;Sell This House.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; That comment alone made me smile.&amp;nbsp; Also, the look on the clients faces when it was all said and done, also made me feel like&amp;nbsp;I did a job well done.&amp;nbsp; You&amp;#39;ll have to look at the pictures yourself and be the judge.&amp;nbsp; And thank goodness for cameras, as no one would have ever believed this transformation if they hadn&amp;#39;t seen it with their own two eyes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I would love to find out if you have a house or project that you thought you could never do, and in turn, it ended up being your favorite.&amp;nbsp; Send pictures if you have them, as I&amp;#39;d love to see your great work and ideas.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Enjoy the pictures below of the transformations:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;LIVING ROOM BEFORE &amp;amp; AFTER&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;LR before&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/7/3/7/7/ar118119559877375.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR before&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;LR 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/8/8/1/4/ar118119568841888.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;LR After&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/7/0/7/7/ar118119576177074.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR After&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;LR after 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/6/1/8/9/ar11811959098167.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;LR after 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;DININGROOM BEFORE &amp;amp; AFTER&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;DR1&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/3/7/0/9/ar118119599890739.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;dr 1&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;DR BEFORE&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/5/1/3/8/ar118119611083157.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;DR BEFORE&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;DR AFTER&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/4/3/6/2/5/ar11811965052634.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;DR AFTER&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;DR AFTER 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/2/7/9/2/ar118119664329723.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;DR AFTER 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;KITCHEN BEFORE &amp;amp; AFTER&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;KIT 1&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/5/0/1/3/ar118119673431059.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;KIT 1&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;KIT BEFORE 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/8/1/1/1/7/ar118119680571118.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;KIT BEFORE 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;KIT AFTER 1&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/8/9/6/3/ar118119696636983.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;KIT AFTER 1&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;KIT AFTER&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/5/3/4/0/ar118119706004357.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;KIT AFTER&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;FAMILY ROOM BEFORE &amp;amp; AFTER&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;FR BEFORE&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/7/4/2/ar118119717324795.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;FR BEFORE&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;FR 1&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/5/2/3/1/ar118119734813259.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;FR 1&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;FR AFTER&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/8/2/6/7/ar118119746076287.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;FR AFTER&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;AFTER 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/6/9/6/2/ar118119754726967.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;AFTER 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;MB BEFORE &amp;amp; AFTER&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;mb BEFORE&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/4/5/6/2/ar11811976526545.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;mb BEFORE&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;img title=&quot;mb AFTER&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/9/5/5/8/ar11811977585593.JPG&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;mb AFTER&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thank you for sharing in my excitement!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 07 Jun 2007 01:57:02 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/117640/all-clients-are-not-created-equal-great-b-a-photos</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/111065/what-are-you-rated-</guid>
      <title>What are you rated?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I am somewhat of a newbie, or at least new to learning about all of the ins and outs of&amp;nbsp;the rules or way things work around here on active rain.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; I never really&amp;nbsp;understood the purpose or rules behind scoring blogs.&amp;nbsp; Are we supposed to rate each blog we read?&amp;nbsp; What if we just comment, is that okay, or have I been doing a disservice to those members that have written great blogs and I haven&amp;#39;t scored them?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I almost feel bad, like maybe all the blogs I&amp;#39;ve commented on could of been so much better if I just realized what the heck the rating system was all about and what is it&amp;#39;s purpose?&amp;nbsp; Please HELP a fellow active rainer&amp;nbsp; and all the other Rainer&amp;#39;s out there that have been to afraid to ask how to figure out the system.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Thanks,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 29 May 2007 23:38:42 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/111065/what-are-you-rated-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/105614/who-wouldn-t-want-to-cook-in-this-kitchen-</guid>
      <title>Who wouldn't want to cook in this kitchen?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Here is one of my favorite kitchen transformations.&amp;nbsp; This is a job&amp;nbsp;Simplicity Home Design was hired for by a couple that had just purchesd this house and wanted to make it into something that represented their taste and style.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We did several&amp;nbsp;different rooms and things througout the house but I wanted to share this one with you as&amp;nbsp;I loved the outcome!&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Hme Design&amp;nbsp;took a small, cramped, colorless and outdated kitchen and turned it into something amazing.&amp;nbsp; Who wouldn&amp;#39;t want to cook and spend all your time in this beautiful and colorful kitchen!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;BEFORE:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Kitchen before&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/0/3/0/2/ar117993782920307.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;Kitchen before&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;AFTER&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Kitchen after 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/3/3/9/2/ar117993789229335.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;Kitchen after 1&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;img title=&quot;kitchen 2&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/0/7/0/2/ar117993796520702.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;kitchen 2&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img title=&quot;Kitchen after 3&quot; src=&quot;http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/6/2/0/5/ar117993807250262.jpg&quot; height=&quot;225&quot; alt=&quot;kitchen after 3&quot; width=&quot;300&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2007 11:38:24 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/105614/who-wouldn-t-want-to-cook-in-this-kitchen-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/98417/are-you-a-stageaholic-</guid>
      <title>Are You A &quot;Stageaholic?&quot;</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;My name is Reece and I am a &amp;quot;Stageaholic.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I have to admit that it was confirmed by outside sources that I am truly a &amp;quot;Stageaholic!&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; This was confirmed by my new husband this past week when we went on a cruise for our honeymoon.&amp;nbsp; And if he was here, he could tell you many a story, about me moving things around constantly wherever we go, so that it betters the situation or the purpose of the room.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As we entered our room I immediately began to scope out the pros and cons of the decorating, as well as the furniture placement.&amp;nbsp; I kept these thoughts to myself at first, but as we began to unpack, I couldn&amp;#39;t help but think of better places to move the furniture so that it would make our stay more comfortable.&amp;nbsp; As I continued to unpack I&amp;nbsp;kept stopping what I was doing and would start to rearrange the room!&amp;nbsp; The smaller table would look so much better over there and would allow us to walk out to the balcony without having to maneuver around the bed and the desk.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My husband just stopped unpacking and had to laugh.&amp;nbsp; He joked about how&amp;nbsp;we couldn&amp;#39;t even get away from work on our honeymoon and asked me if this was going to be the way it&amp;#39;s going to be the rest of our lives.&amp;nbsp; I thought for a moment and then&amp;nbsp;reluctantly answered &amp;quot;yes&amp;quot; and giggled&amp;nbsp;as I realized how crazy this lifestyle could be for someone that hates change or can&amp;#39;t remember where he put his slippers.&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;But then he realized he agreed and before&amp;nbsp;I knew it he was out on the balcony rearranging the furniture and we both had a good chuckle.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#39;s funny...once you realize you love to stage, and how much better things can be when you do change things around, you can&amp;#39;t help but be a &amp;quot;Stageaholic.&amp;quot;&amp;nbsp; It gets in your blood!&amp;nbsp; I just have to remember now that when he starts looking for where we keep our car keys I need to be empathetic as I&amp;#39;ve changed them twice since last week.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When was your &amp;quot;Aha!&amp;quot; moment?&amp;nbsp; When did you&amp;nbsp;or your spouse realize that you are a true &amp;quot;Stageaholic?&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://simplicityhomedesign.com&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;quot;Turning Houses Into Homes!&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2007 12:26:31 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/98417/are-you-a-stageaholic-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/71570/don-t-forget-to-hide-the-drugs-</guid>
      <title>Don't Forget To Hide The Drugs!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Have you ever thought about what items should be included in the decluttering of a home?&amp;nbsp; Well besides the usual clothes, furniture, books, toys, knick knacks, etc. we need to remind&amp;nbsp;our clients&amp;nbsp;that they need to put away and&amp;nbsp;possibly hide any prescription drugs.&amp;nbsp; This is not something that had ever crossed my mind but I suppose there are some individuals out there that go throughout homes and pick up items that they see left out around such as&amp;nbsp;Vicoden,&amp;nbsp;cell phones, Ipods, car keys, check books, etc.&amp;nbsp; Even calendars which post extra curricular activities or vacations should be stored away as people may take note as to when the sellers will be away from their house.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I guess there have been a few incidences in my area where 2 women and a man have gone to a few open houses and while the man distracts the agent the two women scope out the house&amp;nbsp;take what they want.&amp;nbsp; I&amp;#39;m sure incidences such as the above happen more often than we know and not just at open houses.&amp;nbsp; So as a reminder to your clients and to your family and friends &amp;quot;be aware of what is left out, as what&amp;#39;s there today, may be gone tomorrow.&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Turning Houses Into Homes!&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:04:32 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/71570/don-t-forget-to-hide-the-drugs-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/70512/turn-your-dull-winter-house-into-a-beautiful-spring-haven</guid>
      <title>Turn Your Dull Winter House Into A Beautiful Spring Haven</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;Does your home have the winter blues?&amp;nbsp; Does it feel dark and dreary?&amp;nbsp; Well, Spring is in the air so lets get going on turning your home back into a light, bright and cheery place to live.&amp;nbsp; I have put together a list of things you can do that will surely turn your dark winter house from dull to fabulous with just a few simple changes that won&amp;#39;t cost a ton of money.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Light:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; I am talking about natural light that comes in through the windows as well as the light that comes from the lamps that you have throughout the house.&amp;nbsp; First of all you want to make sure that all of your windows are clean and sparkling.&amp;nbsp; The cleaner your windows are, the nicer and brighter your home will look.&amp;nbsp; Also, don&amp;#39;t forget about the curtains.&amp;nbsp; Are they open?&amp;nbsp; Are they to heavy or dark?&amp;nbsp; You can always tie back your curtains.&amp;nbsp; Or if you need privacy, invest in some inexpensive sheers which can be found at Ikea or Target for a very reasonable price.&amp;nbsp; You can use sheets for curtains to achieve a totally different look for a very low price.&amp;nbsp; You will need to purchase the clip on curtain rings in order to hang them properly.&amp;nbsp; During the spring and summer months the sun is out brighter and longer so you should take advantage of it and change out your light bulbs.&amp;nbsp; You can either change your light bulbs to a 3 way which will allow you to switch from a softer feel to a brighter one depending on the mood, or you may want to look into florescent light bulbs.&amp;nbsp; They not only last longer, but they will save you more money on your electric bill.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Accessories:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Look around your house and see what kind of accessories you have.&amp;nbsp; Are they all in the rich winter tones?&amp;nbsp; If so it&amp;#39;s time to put those items away.&amp;nbsp; You can start by sprucing up your sofa with bright or light colored pillows and/or a throw blanket.&amp;nbsp; Change artwork and other accessories which appear to have the darker tones with wall hangings that have the lighter colors.&amp;nbsp; Change out the dark area rug with a lighter toned one, or if you have wood floors, remove the rug completely and give your room a whole new look.&amp;nbsp; It&amp;#39;s a good idea to have winter and spring colored items to rotate throughout the season, which will allow you to give your house an entire makeover every 6 months. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Bedding:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; &amp;nbsp;Replace dark colored blankets, sheets, comforters and pillows that say &amp;quot;winter&amp;quot; with light colored bedding.&amp;nbsp; If you don&amp;#39;t have a summery comforter you can always buy a duvet cover which can be switched out for the seasons.&amp;nbsp; You can purchase fun and light colored sheets to go on you bed.&amp;nbsp; Then pull down your comforter and fold it towards the end of the bed allowing your sheets to show.&amp;nbsp; Add some colorful accent pillows and you are set!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Freshen Up&lt;/u&gt;:&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Open up the windows and allow the spring air to come in.&amp;nbsp; This will help get rid of the closed up smells that can often linger in a house when all the windows have been shut for a given length of time.&amp;nbsp; If you use air fresheners throughout your home, now is the time to switch to fragrances that have a fresh spring smell to them.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Bring the Outdoors In:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; Fresh flowers in assorted vases located throughout the house are always pleasant.&amp;nbsp; It not only adds color, but it also can add to a nice scent throughout the house.&amp;nbsp; One of my favorite and easy things to do is to go to your local nursery and purchase daisies in a big pot and use it as a center piece on a table.&amp;nbsp; Flowers definitely say spring!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;u&gt;Declutter:&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&amp;nbsp; The most important thing you can do, which doesn&amp;#39;t cost a dime, is to look at each room in your house and remove any unnecessary items.&amp;nbsp; Remove furniture that lacks purpose or use.&amp;nbsp; This will open up space and make the room feel airier and refreshed.&amp;nbsp; In the kitchen you should remove any items that are not used daily from the counters.&amp;nbsp; Take off all magnets, papers, and pictures that are on the fridge and designate a drawer for them or find a nice basket to store them in and use that as your catch all.&amp;nbsp; Anytime a room is clean and declutterd it will always feel and look better.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Enjoy...&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:30:19 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/70512/turn-your-dull-winter-house-into-a-beautiful-spring-haven</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/53459/signature-items</guid>
      <title>Signature Items</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I have been trying to come up with an item to give clients that says thanks for using me, but that it also is something that people will recognize or remember me when they see it.&amp;nbsp; What are some things that you use at the close of the deal?&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#39;ve heard a few suggestions of personalized towels, a vase full of a specific flower that represents you, i.e., always use sunflowers, etc.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I was thinking about possibly a nice candle with my company logo on it.&amp;nbsp; What do you use?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:26:27 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/53459/signature-items</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/49319/t-shirts-car-advertising</guid>
      <title>T-Shirts &amp; car advertising</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I wanted to find out if there are any companies that anyone has used that they would recommend using for getting t-shirts made as well as car magnets or car graphics for your windows.&amp;nbsp; I would like to get some&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;and have done some research already on my own but would be more comfortable using one that comes highly recommended as being good quality and reasonable in price.&amp;nbsp; Thanks in advance for your input.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2007 18:17:26 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/49319/t-shirts-car-advertising</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/49187/walk-thru-consultation-guide</guid>
      <title>Walk-thru consultation guide</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I was wondering if any of you use a specific form or guideline as you do your initial walk-thru consultation of the house that is to be staged.&amp;nbsp; I.e.&amp;nbsp; a form that you make notes on for each room.&amp;nbsp; If so would you be willing to share your ideas of what you do?&amp;nbsp; Do you just take notes on paper or do you have a fill-in the blank form?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Sat, 24 Feb 2007 11:22:54 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/49187/walk-thru-consultation-guide</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48903/staging-tips-and-secrets</guid>
      <title>Staging Tips and Secrets</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#39;ve read about the tricks of the trade for what items can be used for making a bed, but are there any other tips out there than you can share?&amp;nbsp; I was also wondering if there is one section on this website that everyone posts these tips&amp;nbsp;so that it is all in one spot and easily accessible?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Have a great weekend!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Cheers,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:16:11 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48903/staging-tips-and-secrets</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48902/where-do-you-get-all-those-great-deals-</guid>
      <title>Where do you get all those great deals?</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;I am located in Ventura County, which is also close to LA, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some ideas of where to find the best furniture, accessories, etc. deals...any stores/catalogs that exist besides the typical BBB, LNT, Target, Marshals, etc.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Since I&amp;#39;m new to staging I just need as much help from those seasoned individuals who have alredy discoved the hidden treasures and staging secrets that I have yet to learn.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;Cheers,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Simplicity Home Design&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Fri, 23 Feb 2007 13:13:13 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48902/where-do-you-get-all-those-great-deals-</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48470/vacant-home-staging</guid>
      <title>Vacant Home Staging</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;This is my first blog ever!&amp;nbsp; I am new to this site,&amp;nbsp;as well as to home staging and I just wanted to share my excitement with all of you.&amp;nbsp; I received my first call from a realtor&amp;nbsp;after&amp;nbsp;starting&amp;nbsp;Simplicity Home Design and was asked to stage a vacant condo that had been on the market for just about 1 year.&amp;nbsp; I accepted the challenge but inside was scared to death.&amp;nbsp; I had told myself that I wasn&amp;#39;t even sure I was going to venture into vacant staging until I got a few regular staging jobs&amp;nbsp;under my belt.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;This was a 4 level condo over 2000 square feet and the owners were not&amp;nbsp;financially able&amp;nbsp;to spend much on furniture rental.&amp;nbsp; So I used what I could from home ,along with the&amp;nbsp;rental furniture and it transformed itself into something amazing.&amp;nbsp; Now my website reads:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vacant home sells in 5 days after being staged by Simplicity Home Design!! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This job basically gave me the inspiration and belief that whether you have a huge beautiful home with tons of money to spend on staging it, or you have a simple condo with little to spend, it is all in the presentation and placement of items.&amp;nbsp; As long as you give your prospective buyers the feeling of &amp;quot;home&amp;quot; when they walk in the door and allow them to visualize the possibility of them living there that&amp;#39;s what is important.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I can&amp;#39;t wait to do my next one!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com/&quot;&gt;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:22:05 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48470/vacant-home-staging</link>
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      <guid>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48467/first-time-staging-a-vacant-home-</guid>
      <title>First time Staging a Vacant Home!</title>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;This is my first blog ever!&amp;nbsp; I am new to this site,&amp;nbsp;as well as to home staging and I just wanted to share my excitement with all of you.&amp;nbsp; I received my first call from a realtor&amp;nbsp;after&amp;nbsp;starting&amp;nbsp;Simplicity Home Design and was asked to stage a vacant condo that had been on the market for just about 1 year.&amp;nbsp; I accepted the challenge but inside was scared to death.&amp;nbsp; I had told myself that I wasn&amp;#39;t even sure I was going to venture into vacant staging until I got a few regular staging jobs&amp;nbsp;under my belt.&amp;nbsp; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;This was a 4 level condo over 2000 square feet and the owners were not&amp;nbsp;financially able&amp;nbsp;to spend much on furniture rental.&amp;nbsp; So I used what I could from home ,along with the&amp;nbsp;rental furniture and it transformed itself into something amazing.&amp;nbsp; Now my website reads:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Vacant home sells in 5 days after being staged by Simplicity Home Design!! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This job basically gave me the inspiration and belief that whether you have a huge beautiful home with tons of money to spend on staging it, or you have a simple condo with little to spend, it is all in the presentation and placement of items.&amp;nbsp; As long as you give your prospective buyers the feeling of &amp;quot;home&amp;quot; when they walk in the door and allow them to visualize the possibility of them living there that&amp;#39;s what is important.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;I can&amp;#39;t wait to do my next one!&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Reece&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.simplicityhomedesign.com&quot;&gt;www.simplicityhomedesign.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>
      <dc:creator>Reece Mack, Owner (Simplicity Home Design, Thousand Oaks, CA)</dc:creator>
      <pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:18:37 -0600</pubDate>
      <link>http://activerain.com/blogsview/48467/first-time-staging-a-vacant-home-</link>
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