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It's Denver Restaurant Week! Here's What You Need to Know

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With numerous food and beverage awards to its name, Denver has quickly become a dining destination for foodies.

You’ll find plenty of fine dining options at chef-owned eateries, along with cuisine from around the globe at our gourmet food halls and markets, and fresh, local ingredients like green chile and Colorado beef and lamb.

About Denver Restaurant Week

VISIT DENVER’s Denver Restaurant Week was initially designed to showcase Denver’s growing culinary offerings to local residents during a traditionally slow time of year; over the past 18 years, it has evolved to highlight what is now an award-winning, nationally recognized dining scene. 

Denver Restaurant Week will be held for 10 days March 3 – 12, 2023. The program will showcase the creative, exciting menus that diners have come to expect - with both to-go and in-person options. Once again, Denver Restaurant Week will include three price points: $25, $35, and $45 for a three-course meal. The program will also focus on advocacy for the industry while keeping the health and safety of the community top of mind.

All participants are listed on the Denver Restaurant Week website by neighborhood, cuisine and price. You can follow the link for a specific restaurant and see the menu, according to Mile High on the Cheap.

The fun of this food fest is checking out all the menus and then nabbing a spot at that restaurant you have always wanted to try, but couldn’t afford or hadn’t gotten too yet.

Many of the city’s hottest spots are on the list, as well as many neighborhood bistros. We have a list below.

Table fill up fast during DRW, so make plans soon. But be sure to cancel any reservations you don’t intend to use.

Also, while these delicious menus are great deals, be sure to still tip your servers generously.

Things to know about Denver Restaurant Week 2023

Days and hours of operation vary by restaurant. Please check the operating hours of the individual restaurants when making your plans.

Reservations are recommended wherever possible.

Menus are subject to change without notice based on product availability.

If you are unable to keep your reservation for any reason, please be considerate and cancel as soon as possible to give other diners and the restaurant the opportunity to fill those seats.

Please check with the individual restaurants in advance to inquire if they can modify certain items on their Denver Restaurant Week 2023 menu to accommodate dietary restrictions.

Please refer to www.denver.org/denver-restaurant-week for complete details.

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6 Plants That Definitely Belong in Your Bedroom

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Houseplants can be great for mental health — in fact, studies have shown that having plants and flowers in your space can ease pain and anxiety.

But whether or not they belong in the bedroom remains a matter of debate. Many feng shui practitioners say their vibrant energy is all wrong for a restful space, while some landscaping experts say plants in the bedroom can actually be soothing and sleep-inducing.

If you do put plants in your bedroom, you just need to choose the right ones and make sure they get the TLC they need. “All plants need sunlight, good airflow, water, etc., no matter where it lives,” says Lisa Griffin, the greenhouse horticulturist at Filoli, a historic house and gardens in California. “Choosing the right place for your plant should be based on its light requirements,” adds author Sarah Gerrard-Jones, known as The Plant Rescuer on Instagram.

So if you want to breathe new life and color into your sleeping quarters but aren’t sure where to start, here are six plants that experts say will make beautiful additions to your bedroom. 

Snake Plant

 
 

The snake plant is a welcome addition to the bedroom, especially if you have more intense light coming in through your windows. This durable plant holds up well to brighter light conditions and comes in a variety of heights, colors, and leaf shapes, says Griffin. She often adds snake plants near west-facing windows, where they’ll thrive on sunny afternoons, although she refrains from putting them directly in the beam of light, which could harm the plant. Snake plants also reproduce and can be split up into other pots if your plant starts to outgrow your windowsill.

Pink Pinstripe

When you need a bit of encouragement to drift off to sleep, take a cue from pink pinstripe, which is also known as calathea. “This plant signals that it’s time for bed as it folds its leaves upward,” says Debbie Neese, a horticulture expert at Lively Root. “It shows off under the pinstriped leaf to reveal a purple underside, which is like having two plants in one.” Calatheas are also an easy plant to take care of, as they love medium light and prefer to be on a pebble tray to encourage humidity as water evaporates, which keeps the leaves from turning brown.

ZZ Plant

 
 

If you’re looking for an appropriate bedside companion, try the wonderfully low-maintenance ZZ plant. Although the acronym comes from its scientific name, Zamioculcas zamiifolia, its nickname makes it a perfect match for your bedroom. ZZ plants are also great for first-time plant owners as they will flourish with little care. “They thrive in about any light you put them in and don’t need a lot of attention, either,” says Neese.

Gerrard-Jones recommends finding the dark cultivar of the ZZ plant. “The new growth is particularly striking due to its lime green appearance, which makes a dramatic contrast to the almost-black mature leaves,” she says. In addition, the darker plant with pops of lime green can be a beautiful accent to a bedroom color palette. 

Peace Lily

Peace lilies are a popular plant as their name evokes a sense of calm and rest. You can choose several species for your bedroom, such as the domino, which has variegated leaves. Griffin enjoys utilizing them both at her home and office. “Peace lily is my favorite plant for poor growing conditions,” she says. “They come in various sizes and a few different leaf colors.” For open spaces, she tends to use the traditional larger form, and for narrow areas, she says medium and small cultivars are best.

Philodendron

 
 

When plant experts weighed in, one plant was mentioned repeatedly: the philodendron, which has more than 450 varieties. The imperial green has wide leaves, creating a lot of surface area. “Its large, deep green leaves are adept at harnessing light, making it a good choice for an area with lower light,” Gerrard-Jones says. Just be sure you give this philodendron ample room as it grows, she says, as it can get big.

Have a ledge or shelf for a trailing plant? The velvet leaf and sweetheart vine philodendrons are lovely to hang in front of a window or place on a dresser. Gerrard-Jones says the velvet leaf can have tendrils up to 6.5 feet long indoors, so make sure you have room. Sweetheart vine, also known as lemon-lime, is tolerant of low to medium light and perfect for beginners. “Its trailing vine is a multi-lemon-chartreuse-green leaf version that will spill over your bedside table quite romantically,” adds Neese. 

Kentia Palm

For more of an island flair, the Kentia palm adds a tropical touch to any room. “It will survive in lower light than many of its counterparts,” says Gerrard-Jones. Although it’s a tolerant tropical plant, it still needs a bit of bright light, so place it by the window if possible. These plants grow slowly, but it’s best to make a long-term plan to move them outdoors as they can grow quite tall over time.

Get more like this on Apartment Therapy.

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Equity Gains for Today’s Homeowners

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Today’s homeowners are sitting on significant equity, even as home price appreciation has eased recently.

If you’re a homeowner, your net worth got a boost over the past few years thanks to rising home prices. Here’s what it means for you, even as the market moderates.

How Equity Has Grown in Recent Years 

Because of the imbalance between how many homes were for sale and the number of homebuyers in the market over the past few years, home prices appreciated substantially.

And while price appreciation has slowed this year, that doesn’t mean you’ve lost all the equity in your home. In fact, the latest Homeowner Equity Insights report from CoreLogic finds the average homeowner’s equity has grown by $34,300 over the past year alone.

And if you’ve been in your home longer than that, chances are you have even more equity than you realize.

While that’s the national number, if you want to know what happened in your area, look at the map below from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). It shows on average how much home prices have risen over the past five years, which has been a major driver behind equity growth.

 
 

Why This Is So Important Right Now 

While equity helps increase your overall net worth, it can also help you achieve other goals, like buying your next home. When you sell your current house, the equity you’ve built up comes back to you in the sale, and it may be just what you need to cover a large portion – if not all – of the down payment on your next home.

So, if you’ve been holding off on selling, it may be time to find out how much equity you have and how it can help fuel your next move.

Bottom Line

Homeownership is a long game, and if you’re planning to make a move, the equity you’ve gained over time can make a big impact. To find out just how much equity you have in your current home and how you can use it to fuel your next purchase, connect with a local real estate professional.

Read on.

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How to Keep Your Hardwood Floors Looking Their Best

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Hardwood floors are an investment in your home, and they should be taken care of accordingly.

With the right maintenance and cleaning routine, you can keep your hardwood floors looking beautiful for years to come. Here are five tips you can use to care for your hardwood floors.

Sweep or Vacuum Regularly
One of the most important steps in caring for your hardwood floors is keeping them free of dirt and debris. A simple broom or vacuum cleaner will do the trick. Be sure to use a soft-bristled broom or brush attachment on your vacuum to avoid scratching the wood. Additionally, make sure that you clean up any spills immediately using a soft cloth.

Clean with Mild Soap and Water
If you need to deep clean your hardwood floors, try using a mild soap diluted in warm water. Avoid using harsh chemicals, as these can damage the finish on your flooring over time. Once you’ve cleaned with soap and water, dry off any excess liquid with a soft cloth or towel. If there are still spots remaining, use a little bit of vinegar on the spot and let it sit for 15 minutes before wiping it away with another damp cloth.

Use Furniture Protectors
Using furniture protectors is an easy way to protect both your flooring and furniture from scratches and dents. Place furniture protectors underneath all legs of heavy furniture such as couches, tables, chairs, etc., so that they don’t scratch or scrape against your floors when moved around. Hardwood floors are particularly vulnerable during times of renovation or construction; if possible, cover them up with plastic sheeting during these projects as well as when painting walls nearby.

Avoid Exposure to Sunlight
Direct sunlight can cause fading on any type of wood surface over time due to ultraviolet radiation contained within the light itself. Whenever possible, try to keep curtains closed over windows that get direct sunlight throughout the day so that fading is minimized. In addition, move area rugs around occasionally so that no one spot gets more exposure than another; this helps even out any potential discoloration due to sunlight exposure over time (and also keeps one side from becoming too worn down).

Refinish Every Few Years 
Refinish your hardwood floors every few years (approximately three times per decade) so that their shine stays intact without losing durability from everyday foot traffic wear-and-tear . Because refinishing is somewhat involved process—it requires sanding down existing layers of finish before applying new ones—it’s best left up to professional contractors who know what they’re doing and have the right tools necessary for job completion safely and effectively.

Taking care of hardwood floors may seem like an intimidating task at first, but it doesn't have to be! With regular sweeping/vacuuming combined with occasional deep cleans using mild soap and water solutions (followed by drying!), along with adding furniture protectors and avoiding direct sunlight exposure wherever possible, taking good care of your hardwood flooring becomes much easier over time. Additionally, make sure you're getting them professionally refinished every few years -- this will help maintain their beautiful luster while also preserving their longevity. Following these steps will ensure that your hardwood floors stay looking beautiful for years to come!

Get more like this on RIS Media.

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America’s Hot Mess of a Housing Market Just Got a Little Bit Uglier—Here’s Why

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Make no mistake, today’s housing market has plenty of homes for sale, but very few buyers are biting.

According to a new report by Realtor.com®, the overall number of homes for sale in the U.S. increased by a whopping 67.8% in February. That amounts to 234,000 more homes on the market than there were during this same month last year.

The problem, though, is that most of these listings are stale—ugly ducklings that have been sitting online for weeks or even months with no takers. Homebuyers and sellers all know that a real estate listing garners the most excitement in the first few days after it hits the market, so when a home lingers (and lingers), buyers get suspicious, wondering: What’s wrong with this house?

As for fresh listings, those were down in February, with 15.9% fewer home sellers entering the market compared with a year earlier. This lack of new homes for sale is even starker when you compare these numbers with pre-COVID-19 levels from 2017 to 2019, when fresh listings were 27% higher than they are now.

The growing problem of stale listings—at higher prices

Adding insult to injury is that, on average, most of this growing morass of picked-over, passed-up listings now cost more than they have in the past.

In February, listings hit a median asking price of $415,000—down from June’s all-time record high of $449,000, but nonetheless creeping up from January’s $406,000. Plus, this number is likely to tick up as we approach spring’s homebuying rush.

Piling onto a buyer’s financial hardships are mortgage rates, which have been rising since the past year and averaged 6.5% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan for the week ending Feb. 23, according to Freddie Mac. This means buyers typically fork over about $630 more per month for a house than they did just one year earlier.

This unsettling combo of steep mortgage rates, high home prices, and stale listings has more or less caused winter’s real estate market to grind to a halt. In fact, in February, homes spent a median of 67 days on the market—23 days longer than this same month last year.

The seller-as-buyer dilemma

What this market needs to get moving again is a fresh injection of new listings.

“Even though inventories are less constrained now than they were last year, I think buyers and the total sales figures will both benefit from an increase in sellers,” says Danielle Hale, chief economist of Realtor.com.

So what’s stopping sellers from listing right now? Many don’t want to give up their locked-in low mortgage rates—that ranged between 2% and 3% in 2021—and become buyers who’d now have to get a new mortgage at nearly double that rate.

“Lower mortgage rates would benefit buyers and especially seller-buyers who are trying to both buy and sell a home at the same time,” observes Hale.

Unless rates subside, she says, “I expect sellers in many markets will have good reason to stay put and hold onto mortgage rates that are still much lower than is available to today’s shoppers.”

Johnny Chappell, owner and broker of Chappell Real Estate in Raleigh, NC, agrees.

“It seems like we’ll be working with more buyers and sellers who need to move and fewer who simply want to move,” adds Chappell.

Read the full blog on Realtor.com

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