11.04.2011 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |3 comments

Ding-Dong

We have been in our current home for three and a half years. It's not fancy, but it's ours. I'm always on the lookout for ways to improve little things around the house (i.e. new "rocker" switches I installed myself - *snaps* for myself), so I was shocked the other day when I realized, for the very first time, that our doorbell is UUUUUUG-LEEEEEE.

Cream colored. Dated looking. And dusty. Ick. Just... ick. Solution! Silver spray paint, of course. I soon found that it's easy as pie to remedy that yucky, cream colored plastic. Observe:


Get both kids either occupied or sleeping as to allow for time to give doorbell fabulous makeover. Lucky doorbell! (check)

Turn off power. (check)

Go outside and ring the bell to make sure power to doorbell is off. (check)

Discover power to doorbell is not off when test ring causes ludicrously paranoid poodle to start barking, waking the baby. (check)

Get baby back to sleep with cuddles and silky blanket. (check)

Turn off all power to the entire house, just for good measure. (check)

Remove doorbell. (check)

Realize halfway through removing doorbell that you are out on the front porch in your P.J.s and hope the neighbors aren't watching. (check)

Remove doorbell faster in an effort to avoid awkward run-in with aforementioned neighbors. (check)

Cover parts of doorbell not intended to end up silver with lovely blue painters tape. (check)

Give doorbell a good once over with said silver spray paint. (check)

Allow time to dry. (check)

While allowing newly fabulous doorbell time to dry, have a bit of leftover Halloween candy. You've earned it. (check)

Once dry, replace doorbell to exterior of house. (check)

Restore power. And be quick about it! After all, "Sesame Street is on, Mom!" (check)

While patting yourself on the back, admire your handy work! (check)

Take pictures of swanky new doorbell for {sadly neglected} blog. (check)

Write witty post about how you painted your doorbell, making the process sound infinitely more interesting than it actually was. (aaaaaaaand check)


 P.S. Please pardon the crooked, blurry second pic. I'd be ashamed if I wasn't just so darn proud of myself for actually following through and finishing this post for today! More *snaps* for me!

7.25.2011 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0 comments

Mis-Tints

Whenever I'm perusing our local hardware store, I make sure to stop by the paint department, even if I don't currently have a painting project on my design to-do list.

The reason? Mis-tinted paint, of course! When the blend of colors in a can of paint is slightly askew, making it unusable by the customer who ordered it, the store will using slash the price and put it up for grabs.

For example, I was in the market for some white spray paint, when I spotted a mis-tinted quart of a nice warm white, perfect for my painting purposes that day.

The cost? Normally, 15 bucks. As a mis-tint? A whopping two dollars and fifty cents! That's a dollar less than the spray paint would have cost me, and I got a whole quart of paint to play with!

What a steal!


5.31.2011 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0 comments

Price Match It!

I have been dying to paint our great room for the LONGEST time. But when money is tight, paint is hardly in the budget. Well, I had grown thoughtly sick of white walls, so this weekend, I decided to get a little sneaky in order to get my way.

I saw an ad in a weekly mailer for a sale at Sherwin-Williams, and not just any sale, it was their "More-Than-Epic-Memorial-Day-30%-Off-ALL-Paint Sale" (my name for it, not theirs). Oh, joy! The possible savings! Oh, bliss! The possibility of FINALLY painting!!!

There was just one problem: the paint color I wanted was only available at Home Depot. Their Memorial Day deal? A paltry $5 mail-in rebate on all gallons of interior paint. Lame.

Here is where I got sneaky: I had noticied a sign at Home Depot boasting a "price match" guarantee. The wheels started turning... See where this is going? I had my hubby pick up two gallons of paint in (*happy sigh*) Behr's "Wheat Bread," but I had him take the Sherwin-Williams ad, just to see if Home Depot would match their stellar 30% off deal.

Guess what? They DID! Guess what else? We still got the $5 mail-in rebates for both cans of paint!

So, what did my sneakiness get us? Let's do the math shall we? Two cans of paint coming to a total of $50. With price match of 30% off sale= $35. With the two $5 mail-in rebates= $25.

Yes, you read that right. Two gallons of paint for $25! That's 50% off!  I got my paint, I saved some cash, and we finally painted the great room. Hallelujah!

Kudos to you, my sneakiness. Kudos to you!

5.29.2011 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0 comments

wheat bread

We just painted our "great room." Before it was a very sterile Gorge Water (read: "white"), and now it is a lovely shade of "greige." It is simply the most. wonderful. paint. color. EVER.

I never knew I could love a paint color, but here I am: head over heels for "Wheat Bread." *happy sigh*

Now, I just need to convince my husband to let me repaint our bedroom this blissful hue.
 

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