FROM THE FLOOR UP

In 1910 Haig Kashian and his brother opened a small rug business in Wilmette priding themselves on professional service with a personal touch. One hundred and ten years later, the beloved community-based KASHIAN BROS continues to serve North Shore residents including many of the early customers’ descendants. With storefronts in Wilmette and Lake Forest, the expanding business now boasts a vast selection of luxurious tile for countertops in addition to its array of flooring and rug options. An in-house design team is on hand to help navigate the selection and turn any home renovation dream into a reality. Kashian’s goal is to serve customers in a way so that they become customers for life. With 110 years under their belt, this long-established company is well “grounded” and here to stay. For more information, visit Kashianbros.com.

GREEN THUMB

On twenty-five acres in Washington, D.C. sits the garden paradise envisioned by Marjorie Merriweather Post after purchasing the Arbremont estate in 1955. Working with prominent landscape architects, Post set about mapping out the estate grounds using a diverse array of trees, shrubs, and plants. When Post, an art collector, businesswoman, social figure, and philanthropist, left the estate to the public, she endowed the country with the most comprehensive collection of Russian imperial art outside of Russia, an exquisite 18th century French decorative art collection, and acres of beautifully landscaped gardens and natural woodlands. A GARDEN FOR ALL SEASONS: MARJORIE MERRIWEATHER POST’S HILLWOOD, published in partnership with Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, is the first book on the history and design of these remarkable grounds. © A Garden for All Seasons: Marjorie Merriweather Post’s Hillwood by Kate Markert, Rizzoli New York, 2020. Images ©Erik Kvalsvik. For more information, visit rizzoliusa.com.

S’MORE GOODNESS

While the 1927 original Girl Scouts’ recipe for s’mores hasn’t really changed, the marshmallows desperately needed an ingredient-list makeover. Losing the bad but keeping all of the sweet and gooey goodness, DANDIES MARSHMALLOWS are 100 percent vegan, all-natural, gluten- free, gelatin-free, certified kosher, and Non-GMO Project Verified. Compared to its conventional counterparts, the taste is superior and the texture indistinguishable, but what’s inside is totally different. Dandies are made with high-quality, clean ingredients like real vanilla flavoring and vegan cane sugar, and completely free of high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, and colorings, plus the common allergens gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, peanuts, and tree nuts. With a roast and melt just like the marshmallows we grew up with, Dandies are perfect for roasting over a campfire to make gooey springtime s’mores. For more information, visit Dandies.com.