Desert Sun Retreats 1/6/23

Bennion Deville Homes Voted Best Real Estate Company in the Desert

Bennion Deville Homes, the #1 real estate brokerage by production in the Coachella Valley, has been voted the Best Real Estate Company in the desert by readers of The Desert Sun. The announcement was made at a Best of the Desert Awards Gala, held at the J.W. Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in scenic Palm Desert. In addition to taking home top real estate company honors, Scott Histed of the company’s Rancho Mirage office was voted the Best Real Estate Agent in the Coachella Valley, with Michelle White and Valerie Murphy of the Bennion Deville Homes Palm Desert office rounding out the top 3 vote getters. Bennion Deville Homes has won The Best of the Desert voting 3 of the past 4 years, taking home the honors in 2019 and 2020. Scott Histed has won the Best Real Estate Agent category for 3 straight years.

States C.E.O. Bob Deville, “Thank you to everyone who voted for us in the Best Real Estate Company category in the Best of the Desert voting round. We would also like to recognize Scott Histed for being voted as the Best Real Estate Agent for the third year in a row, and congratulate Michelle White and Valerie Murphy for placing in the top 3 of the voting. Real estate is a relationship-driven business, so being recognized as the best company by our peers and the communities and neighborhoods we serve means a lot to us. We have held the title of the number one company by production for 14 years, but it is the voice of the people that rings the loudest. Earning and justifying your trust and confidence in our agents and business is everything, and we are proud to

build our legacy in the Coachella Valley. The year ahead holds plenty of promise and opportunities in our market, and for our company. Whether you are currently working with a Bennion Deville Homes agent, or we have helped you in the past, we are excited to help you unlock possibilities for your real estate needs now and in the future.”

About Bennion Deville Homes

Founded in 2001 by real estate industry veterans Bob Bennion and Bob Deville, Bennion Deville Homes serves home buyers and sellers throughout Southern California. Bennion Deville Homes is a wholly owned subsidiary of HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. HomeServices is the largest real estate company in the nation based on closed transactions, strengthening Bennion Deville Homes and its standing as a top brokerage on the local, regional, and national stages.

Bennion Deville Homes agents serve in the primary markets of the Greater Palm Springs Area (Coachella Valley) and surrounding mountain communities of Riverside County. Coachella Valley offices include locations in Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta. Bennion Deville Homes also has an office in Garner Valley, Mountain Center in Riverside County.

Visit BDHomes.com for the location of the Bennion Deville Homes office nearest you. Follow us on major social media platforms @BDHSoCal for the latest local and national real estate and lifestyle news.

Bennion Deville Homes Rancho Mirage office.

3BD/3BA Mirage Cove 23 Alta Vista $1,350,000 Mike Bass 760-777-2449 Sat 1-3 • PALM DESERT •

OPEN: Sat 1:00pm-3:00pm

Sun City, Palm Desert 78581 Moonstone Lane • $879,900 • 3BD/3.5BA+Office • Turnkey Furnished Marilyn Bauer • 760-333-6303

2BD/2BA Sun City Palm Desert 37351 Purple Shadow $444,000 Gayle Pietras 760-636-8527 Sun 12-3

2BD/2BA Sun City Palm Desert 38568 Bent Palm $575,000 Gayle Pietras 760-636-8527 Sat 12-2:30

4BD/3BA Sun City Palm Desert 78149 Kistler $695,000 Gayle Pietras 760-636-8527 Sat 12-3

3BD/2.5BA Sun City Palm Desert 34743 Blake Drive $824,900 Gayle Pietras 760-636-8527 Sat 12:30-2:30

3BD/3.5BA Sun City Palm Desert 78581 Moonstone Lane $879,900 Marilyn Bauer 760-333-6303 Sat 1-3

3BD/3.5BA Indian Ridge 270 Tomahawk Drive $1,249,000 DW & Associates 760-776-7070 Sat 1-3

3BD/3.5BA Indian Ridge 870 Deer Haven Circle $1,699,000 DW & Associates 760-776-7070 Sat/Sun 1-3 • LA QUINTA •

3BD/2BA La Quinta Cove 53270 Avenida Juarez $549,000 Fred & Suzee Oberfelder 760-219-0085 Sat 11-2

3BD/3BA Trilogy La Quinta 60121 Aloe Circle

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Home Edit’s five-piece Pantry Edit plastic modular storage system is a perfect organizing starter pack. $24.98 at walmart.com.

Skillets and lids are easily accessible with the Tower adjustable pot lid and frying pan organizer. $47 at williams-sonoma. com.

Gardening resolutions for a successful 2023

Chris McKeown Special to Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK - OHIO

A new year offers us the opportunity to reflect upon the positive and negative things that occurred in the previous year. Gardening can certainly give us positive and negative experiences because there seem to be equal opportunities for both success and failure.

As we enter the new year, I want to go with the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. The resolutions will all be related to the garden. If you follow them, hopefully you will have more success and less negative experiences in the garden.

Realistically manage your expectations

This winter, many of you will go online looking for landscaping ideas to implement this spring. As you are doing this, please keep in mind that most of the websites you are looking at are trying to sell you something – either directly or subliminally.

The internet is a great place to gather ideas, but when it comes time to implement these ideas, shop local for the plants you need. When you shop local, you will most likely work with a local expert. They will know if your plan or ideas are good for our particular growing climate.

Responsibly manage garden insects and diseases

There are people who advocate against the use of any insecticides and fungicides. There are also people who want to have multiple sprays to use any time they see a problem in their yard. Both of these strategies are extreme.

The plants in your landscape are an investment in your property. It is in your interest to keep them healthy and thriving. There are plants that are more vulnerable to insect and disease problems than others. When these plants are affected, a safe solution can usually be found.

What should be avoided is using garden products preemptively throughout the landscape in an effort to avoid potential future issues. When you do this, you are most likely going to harm the beneficial insects in your landscape. Insecticides and fungicides should be used only when needed. When they are being used, the intention should be to solve a specific problem on a specific plant.

Understand sustainable landscapes

Sustainability in landscapes is about maintaining a balance in nature. It is about using native plants to support wildlife. It is about having native host plants for pollinating insects. The pollinating insects work to help plants produce fruit and seeds. We need the na-

tive plants to attract the pollinator insects. The insects need the host plants to survive.

There are some people who will only use native plants in their landscapes. This is a great, worthwhile concept. There are also a lot of non-native pollinator plants that are great to use. I believe that your yard belongs to you and your family. The plants in your yard and gardens should bring you joy.

Except for plants that are classified as invasive species, there really are not any “bad” plants. Every plant – from the grass in our lawns to the mightiest oak tree – is a benefit to our environment. Plants have always been, and always will be, the greatest resource we have

in our quest for cleaner air.

Gardening has no enforceable rules

Gardening has many benefits. It can feed you. It benefits the environment. It is great exercise. Most importantly, gardening provides a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Many people use different methods to accomplish the same results. You can let experience and tradition guide you. When you need help, our area is full of great horticultural resources. Don’t be afraid to reach out for advice.

New year's gardening resolutions could include attracting more pollinators to your garden in 2023. NORMAN WINTER/SPECIAL TO SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS

A dog bed for humans?

Olivia Evans Louisville Courier Journal | USA TODAY NETWORK

Two 22-year-old friends and business partners are embarking on a road trip from Louisville to Toronto, Canada to hand deliver 100 Plufl’s, a humansized dog bed, dubbed the “ultimate napping product designed to reduce stress and anxiety.”

The duo, who appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in October, came up with the unique product idea and have seen rapid growth and success. Earlier this year, Plufl opened its fulfillment center in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

For co-owner and Seattle, Washington native Noah Silverman, Louisville has been a destination city because it’s centrally located in the country, which makes shipping easier.

“Louisville is a big city and the perfect place to kind of embark on our journey,” Silverman told the Courier Journal.

What is a Plufl?

Working as a barista while attending the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, the now 22-yearold Silverman found himself tired, and envious, of a Great Dane.

During Silverman’s shift at the coffee shop as he was battling to stay awake, exhausted from his studies in International Economics, he noticed the Great Dane that lived at the coffee shop had a custom-made, very large dog bed, perfect for mid-day napping.

Silverman wished there was a product for him to catch a nap in a the massive dog bed. That’s when Silverman and co-founder Yuki Kinoshita decided

Meet Plufl, the ‘ultimate napping product’

Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita, the founders of Plufl, with the human-sized dog bed. The pair have been featured on Shark Tank for their idea. PROVIDED

Plufl

to create Plufl, “the world’s first dog bed for humans.”

“One day, I just kind of had this realization like, ‘Wow, I really want to be in a dog bed right now,’” Silverman said. “I kind of thought, ‘OK, dog bed, but for humans’ and realized no product like that existed.”

Naturally, the next step in the young entrepreneur’s journey was to test out the oversized dog bed the Great Dane used.

“When he first started, we jumped into the Great Dane’s dog bed, and we hit the floor really hard because it just has like a cushion pillow. It’s just like one giant cushion pillow,” Kinoshita told the Courier Journal. “Not only were we covered in dog hair, but we also just weren’t that comfortable.”

The duo decided their product would be made with high-grade orthopedic foam and memory foam. Since they aspired to create a luxury space where someone could relax, nap, and be com-

fortable, they decided the outside material would be faux fur.

The company name, Plufl, is derived from a mash-up of “fluffy” and “plush,” which were words used by Silverman and Kinoshita’s friends to describe the product.

From Tik Tok stars to an appearance on ‘Shark Tank’

After going through more than 10 different prototypes and business planning, the company was officially incorporated in March and Plufl found its claim to fame through a viral Tik Tok.

The video became so widely circulated that the two young businessmen found themselves with an opportunity to go on ABC’s “Shark Tank”. Silverman

and Kinoshita came away from the TV show with a deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner for a $200,000 investment for a 20% stake in Plufl.

“They approached us to be on the show,” Silverman said. “It was just so great to be able to kind of bring our product in front of the world and kind of present it in that kind of venue.”

The product retails for $499 and can only be found on the Plufl website. To date, Plufl has filled more than 3,000 orders.

The company is currently waiting for 800 more orders to arrive at its warehouse in Shepherdsville from Asia. Once the orders arrive, Silverman and Kinoshita plan to rent a U-Haul and hit the road to hand deliver the products, hopefully stopping in seven cities on the voyage, starting in Louisville.

Kinoshita said his biggest piece of advice for people wanting to start a business with nothing more than a crazy idea is “just do something that is fun and feels rewarding, and it’ll take you somewhere.”

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_

Noah Silverman, one of the founders of Plufl, shows how the human-sized dog bed can be used. THE COURIER

JOURNAL

“One day, I just kind of had this realization like, ‘Wow, I really want to be in a dog bed right now’”

Noah Silverman co-owner