Time for the holidays! If you haven’t started Christmas decorating yet or if you need some help on improving the decorations you’ve already put up, we’d like to share some easy Christmas decorating tips.

These Christmas decorating tips are from Real Simple Magazine:

• Flank an Entryway. Give your guests a dramatic welcome: A pair of inexpensive plastic urns from the garden center instantly dress up a front doorway. Place a tall foam cone in each urn, anchor it with sand, then use florist sticks and wire to attach greenery and Christmas balls.
• Make an Easy Table Topper. Buy a garland of greenery (available at garden centers) for Christmas decorating to run down the length of your table. Send your kids out to collect pinecones, and use them as rustic toppers. (You can also buy pinecones at garden or craft stores.)
• Go With a Simple Centerpiece. Another festive idea: Load a simple glass jar or bowl with multiples of the same fruit, nut, or monochromatic ornament. Bowls can be  filled with red apples and green baby artichokes—the colors of Christmas—and walnuts. Or do bowls of lemons and limes.
• Create Outdoor Decor. For subtle outdoor Christmas decorating, gather pine cones of various sizes and arrange them in a window box or in pots on your porch, sprinkling the tiniest ones on top. The weatherproof display should last until spring.
• Give the Kids a Holiday Craft. A perfect, zero-supervision craft for kids is making aluminum-foil ring chains. All you need to give them is squares of foil (cut up a roll yourself or buy a box of precut sheets): no scissors, glue, or sparkles.
• Spell Out Your Message. Stencil letters (available at the stationery store) will say it loud and clear. Back some—or all—of the letters with brightly colored construction paper, then attach with a removable adhesive so painted walls go undamaged.
• String Up Some Starlight. Wind a strand of battery-powered fairy lights around a medium Styrofoam ball. Tie it off, then tape the end of the strand to the ceiling or loop it around a curtain rod. Suspend three or four balls of varying sizes together for an even brighter arrangement.
• Set Up a Forest. Decorate a buffet table with a trio of snowy cookie trees. Make a base frosting by beating together six egg whites and 3¾ cups confectioners’ sugar. Spread a thin layer of frosting on a Styrofoam cone, then, working up from the bottom, overlap vanilla wafers (use straight pins to hold them in place until the frosting dries). Use a small sieve to dust each finished tree with confectioners’ sugar. Makes a great edible Christmas decorating project!
• Build a Snowman. Use the same frosting to make a snowman of oranges or clementines. Stack the fruit, holding the pieces together with toothpicks. Add cloves for eyes, peppermint sticks for arms and a nose, licorice for a scarf. The hat is a vanilla wafer and peppermints layered with frosting.
• Make an All-Purpose Display. Streamline seasonal decorating with a mantelpiece tableau that can take you from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Mix various ivory and pure white candles. If setting up the display for Thanksgiving, tuck wheat around the candles’ bases, adding walnuts here and there. Later, replace with greenery.
• Prop Up Some Art. Blank canvases in assorted shapes make an artful mantelpiece display when wrapped with cheerful ribbons.
• Do Something Sweet. Something as simple as glasses and dishes filled with seasonally appropriate candies can make a sweet table topper, especially at dessert time.
• Make Christmas Decorating Good Enough to Eat. Bake (or buy) gingerbread men to personalize for your guests. Pipe their names on the cookies and use as gift tags, place cards, or tree trimmings.
• Band Together. Make “ornaments” by wrapping rubber bands in a multitude of colors to form balls (maybe you have a few of these started?). Tie on a bit of ribbon and cord and suspend in your windows.
• Take a Cookie-Cutter Approach. String tin cookie cutters of assorted shapes—such as angels, bells, and stars—on pretty ribbons, then tack them to the window casing.

The Lawhead Team would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Enjoy your Christmas decorating and remember to send a picture in to us so you can win a $50 Gift Card to La Costa Resort and Spa!

Summer is here and hotter months can cause stress on your garden.  Check out some of these helpful summer gardening tips to ensure your garden looks its best throughout the season.

The Lawhead Team believes in the importance of making your home look its best, especially to enhance curb appeal.  Your outside garden should be a reflection of how your home looks inside so we’d like to share some helpful tips to keeping your garden looking its best through the summer months.

• Water trees and shrubs deeply if natural rainfall is less than one inch per week. Watering the soil and not the foliage reduces leaf spot diseases.
• Replenish mulch under trees and shrubs to conserve moisture, reduce weeds, and control temperature fluctuations in soil.
• Prune late spring flowering shrubs and hedges in your garden now.
• Avoid pruning oaks and elms between mid-April to mid-July. Oak Wilt and Dutch Elm Disease are spread by sap-feeding insects carrying the disease from tree to tree.
• Monitor all plants in your garden regularly for pest and disease problems.
• Pull weeds before they go to seed. After a rain, roots will pull out more easily and completely.
• Plant summer flowering bulbs and annuals. Annuals are developing roots; fertilize and keep well watered.
• Monitor container plants (especially those in clay pots) daily for watering needs.
• Pinch garden mums and asters once a month (until July 15) for bushier growth.
• Remove faded blossoms from flowering annuals, perennials, and roses to encourage more blooms.
• Fertilize roses with a 10-10-10 slow-release fertilizer after first bloom.
• Check bird houses for unwanted tenants and fill birdbath regularly.
• Cool weather and excess moisture in spring allows fungal diseases to thrive. To prevent reinfection, remove as many infected leaves as possible.
• Cut rose blooms back to the first set of five leaves after blooming to encourage stronger canes and more flowers.
• Divide and replant iris. Discard any plants in your garden showing signs of insect or disease. Iris should be divided every three to five years.
• Remove spent flowers and pinch back leggy foliage from annuals and perennials to promote bushier growth and more flowers. Stop pinching mums after July 10 to allow flower buds to set.
• In hot weather, let the grass grow longer by raising the height of your lawn mower.
• Provide fresh water for birds and other wildlife.
• Spectacular summer-flowering shrubs and perennials are blooming at the Arboretum in the Ground Cover Garden, the Fragrance Garden, along Joy Path, and in the Four Seasons Garden at the Thornhill Education Center. Plan a visit soon.
• Mid-August through Mid-September is an ideal time to establish a new lawn or seed in bare spots.
• Plant peonies at the end of August through October.
• In August, don’t fertilize woody plants. New growth will not have time to harden off before winter.
• Continue regular weeding and monitor for insect and disease problems in your garden.
• Start cuttings of herbs to growing in a sunny windowsill during the winter.
• Order spring flowering bulbs to plant this fall.
• Remember to photograph gardens for winter planning.

Good luck with your garden this summer!  The weather is perfect to sit outside and admire your hard work you’ve put into your garden.

If you are thinking of moving down to San Diego but still want to have the luxury of keeping that country feel, check out La Costa.  You are very close to the ocean however there is still that country feel to it.

La Costa is a northern San Diego neighborhood made famous for the nationally acclaimed La Costa Resort and Spa, location of the annual Acura Classic tennis tournament and many more international events. La Costa is home to various upscale hillside housing communities, a top-ranked school district, and a few fine dining and entertainment establishments.

The Lawhead Team would like to share some reviews we’ve come across about the La Costa Resort and Spa.

This is best spa ever!  It’s beautiful and very relaxing.  The staff they have for massages and facials are wonderful.  Also, the staff at Kidtopia are really nice too and very flexible.  I had a spa appointment and needed to put my 4 year old in their camp for a half day because his preschool was closed for winter break.  The staff was extremely accommodating and let me enroll my son in the morning program so I could get a relaxing break at the spa.
Thank you La Costa — the happiest place in Southern CA!

If you need to relax and have “your self” time- this is where u need to be!!!! – Sean

Excellent resort! Great golf. Great location. -Gozer

The remodeled La Costa Resort & Spa is a dream come true! An easy drive from anywhere in Southern California, it is a great place for an overnight getaway or a week of spa relaxation and golf or tennis. Service is friendly and a variety of restaurants both on the resort and nearby are available. Be sure to check out the boutique shopping, complimentary exercise facilities overlooking the world-class golf course and the new dining experiences. Families are catered to with Camp La Costa activities and the facilities are great for small and large groups. The state of the art Ballroom is now serving brunch and is available for corporate or private events. -Patricia

If you are looking for a fabulous place to spend your vacation filled with golf, tennis and more or are even looking to escape for a luxurious spa day, La Costa Resort and Spa is your place!

Fabulous venue for world class golf, tennis and spa treatments and more, La Costa Resort and Spa has truly outdone themselves.

Spa – Since 1965, the Spa at La Costa has set the gold standard for wellness retreats and was recently named the #1 Wellness Spa in the nation by Spa Magazine and Travel + Leisure’s #4 Spa in North America. While at La Costa Resort and Spa, cater to your palate with a variety of options at the Spa Café, or enjoy an endless selection of activities in our state-of-the-art Athletic Club. Relax poolside under the sun with a signature Bellini, or awaken your senses underneath one of the Waterfall Showers. Walk barefoot between the thriving gardens and lush landscapes on Southern California’s only Reflexology Pathway. And if the San Diego spa resort is the ideal solution to treating your outer being, the Chopra Center allows you to find your inner self, creating an all-encompassing program for overall well-being. Come for a treatment, stay for a day.

Golf – The golf courses at La Costa, Southern California’s only Gold Medal Golf Resort, are amongst the most storied in California, boasting a rich tournament history and a cadre of prominent guests, ranging from the best professional golfers in the world, to prominent politicians, Hollywood celebrities and legendary sports heroes. La Costa’s tee sheets read like a who’s who: Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Phil Michelson, Tiger Woods and more. Almost 50 years after their inception, their two courses now offer the modern player new challenges while reintroducing this championship-caliber golf destination to world-class standards.

Accommodations – A lush atmosphere echoes inside each newly renovated room at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad. Rich fabrics pop over a palette of blues, greens and terra cotta. Natural light pours through the windows that perfectly frame the stunning views beyond. And steps from your door, world-class golf, tennis, dining, and spa anxiously wait to welcome your arrival. It’s simply the perfect respite while on a perfect Southern California getaway.

Dining – Fresh ingredients from the farm, the sea and our on-site organic gardens find their way onto each plate served at La Costa Resort and Spa. It’s a promise sure to please every palette.  Enjoy Executive Chef Hans Weigand’s award-winning menu filled with local cuisine and vintages while overlooking the golf course at Legends Bistro. Meet Chef Greg Frey Jr. at BlueFire Grill and taste what happens when a passion for cooking and interactivity with guests meets farm-to-table freshness and perfectly crafted seasonal menus. Indulge yourself with Pastry Chef Jaimie Hileman’s desserts at The Marketplace. And relax with your friends while watching the game with beer and appetizers or a flavorful cigar at the all-new Diversions Lounge. These experiences, including the delicious Spa Cafe and convenient Poolside Cafes, elevates Californian cuisine course by course.

Check out more at their website: http://www.lacosta.com/

KSL invests $50 million in renovating the La Costa Resort & Spa Community

In this edition of The Lawhead Team’s featured community showcase, we are highlighting the fabulous, world-famous La Costa Resort and Spa.  We are pleased to inform you of the $50 million renovation currently underway at La Costa.  Residents and visitors alike are anxiously awaiting completion this fall when “The Next La Costa” will have its grand opening.  The golfing experience will change dramatically as the former North Course has been totally redesigned and will open as the Champions Course.  The former South Course has undergone partial renovation and will open as the Legends Course.  Can the return of the PGA to La Costa be far away?     Check out the following link to learn more about the lastest activities regarding the renovation:

View the La Costa Renovation Video…Click Here

“We love La Costa!”  This first class resort has outstanding amenities in a very relaxed setting.  It’s no wonder the spa at La Costa was ranked as the Best Spa in Southern California and one of the top four spas in all of California.  The kids just love the pool areas and especially the three waterslides.  It has a great tennis facility with lots of courts, golf and gourmet restaurants too!”