I was at a friend's house this weekend, where she had the most beautiful pair of navy blue leather Chesterfield sofas in her living room. Though it's an old fashioned style, the upholstery looked so fresh and glossy I assumed they were reproduction pieces rather than actually vintage. I asked her where she got them, and turns out they were a recent acquisition-from a flea market just a couple weeks ago, and she got them for a total steal ($400 for the pair, whereas these things normally cost well into the thousands, whether they're used or not). Major envy ensued.

And just few days prior, I talked to a friend in Santa Fe who told me about the old school metal apothecary cabinet she found at her local market the weekend before-for $5! All this has me thinking that a) I really need to get back into the flea market circuit and b) I wonder what my own best-ever flea market score is. Sadly, I can't even come close to either of their purchases (there was a Shaker side table once upon

I'm in home improvement mode, and perhaps the biggest (and the most costly) of the changes I have planned is springing for new marble countertops. And despite the fact that they haven't even been installed yet, given the risk of staining, I'm already thinking ahead to how to best protect my investment. In case the rest of you are in the same boat with granite or marble countertops, here are a few tips for how to keep them pristine.

Granite and marble are porous, and need to be sealed on a regular basis (at least once a year)-otherwise acidic things (which includes soda, ketchup, and lemon juice) can leave spots. To check if you're due for sealing, splash a few drops of water on your counters. If the drops still look exactly the same after 20 minutes, you're in good shape. If the drops have started to spread out, that means the stone has started absorbing the liquid, and it's time to reseal.

Thankfully, sealing is an easy enough process. Most come in spray bottles, so you

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There's magic to be found in the medicine cabinet.


New Uses for Baby Oil

• Remove latex paint from skin: Pour a generous amount of baby oil on a cotton ball and scrub.
• Untangle a necklace chain: Massage a dab of oil onto the tangled area, then use a straight pin to carefully pull apart the knot.
  
  Related: 50 Summertime New Uses for Old Things

• Peel off bandages: Avoid involuntary hair removal―and extra agony―by rubbing baby oil over and around the sticky parts of an adhesive bandage before pulling it off.
• Slip off a stuck ring: Massage oil onto your finger and rotate the ring until you can slide it off.
  
  Related: Surprising New Cleaning Solutions

New Uses for Dental Floss

• Unstick a photograph: Slide a length of dental floss under the corner of a photo that's stuck to an album page or another snapshot. Work the floss between the two surfaces to separate them without damaging the picture.
• Save a necklace: Rescue a busted strand by threading the beads onto

There's an old, dirty baseball cap of my husband's that's been crumpled at the bottom of our hamper for, well, at least four months. I've been avoiding dealing with it given I've somehow never washed a baseball cap before, but after seeing it for the umpteenth time this morning as I went to go do a load of laundry I decided it was high time to take action.

After doing some research, I now realize it's an easier endeavor than I'd have thought. All you do is pretreat the stains with a spot cleaner and then wash it with the rest of your laundry. In this case, the cap is a deeply saturated dark blue, which means I'll throw it in with blacks just in case the color bleeds. There are special molds you can buy to preserve the cap's shape, but I've decided to forgo that step (though if you've got a lot of baseball caps in your household this is something you may want to consider purchasing). The key is not to put it in the dryer-just let it air dry to make sure it doesn't shrink or lose

The latest incarnation of Bravo's "The Real Housewives" takes place in Washington D.C., home to our nation's capital and to some unique and wonderful homes. Cast member Stacie Turner gave us a special look into her home and some insight into the DC landscape.



Stacie was the perfect DC host during my visit. I love the high ceilings and the dramatic style of her historic Spanish style home. The Turners purchased the former church in 1999 for three hundred thousand dollars, and after a massive six hundred thousand dollar renovation the Spanish-style villa was transformed into a 5000 square foot haven, complete with four bedrooms and three and a half baths.

More than a reality show star, Stacie runs a successful real estate practice, she's a wife, a mother of two adorable kids and the director of a charity she founded called Extra-Ordinary Life, which helps out teenage girls living in DC foster care.

Check out Stacie's home in this weeks episode and watch The Real Housewives of

Hollywood moms make a splash in the current issue of Us Weekly magazine. From Christina Aguilera and her son Max, to soon to be talk show queen Marissa Jaret Winokur and her 2 year old son Zev. We went behind the scenes of one Hollywood mom's birthday party, check it out.



Make Home A Haven got a special invite to Marissa Jaret Winokur's son's birthday bash. But other stars share their mommy secrets too; Kirstie Alley tells Us Weekly "Parenting is what I take most seriously", she also shares a tip "Point kids in the right direction, and let them find their way.''

More from Us Weekly:

See adorable star babies

Meet Hollywood's newest moms

Get celeb kids' back-to-school style

See you next time on a brand new episode of Make Home a Haven.

Can you guess what Rocco's grilling up for summer?	Do you know the seven summer solutions to entertaining?

Turn these

I just read about a trend sweeping the New York City real estate market, where potential buyers of luxury apartments are being asked to remove their shoes before walking into showings. According to the New York Times, the reasons sellers are requesting people to do this vary, from having softer wood floors that might dent with heels to having toddlers in the house and being reticent of all the germs and dirt being trekked through on people's shoes. And though most are happy to comply, being asked to go barefoot has proved a dealbreaker for some.

Personally, I wouldn't be offended if I was asked to take off my shoes during an open house. It's a slight nuisance, yes, but if the sellers are that meticulous about maintaining their property, chances are they've been diligent about keeping up the rest of the house. But as a seller, you definitely risk alienating potential buyers by asking them to do this, and in a tough real estate market, I'd want to be as welcoming as possible.