Update the Color of an Electrical Outlet

I have a quick little tip to share today... We had a bid from some electricians to swap out some biscuit colored outlets for white... The bid.... $15 an outlet! Whew... We got a few other bids and they came in around the same... Drew has a super quick, super cheap option to get white outlets and switches...

Drew cut a quick square slightly smaller than the electrical box, just exposing the actual outlets...

I lined the cardboard up over the outlet...

And with a can of white spray paint... We used what we had in hand, Rustoleum White Primer... Worked great...

And with three quick spritzes voila! White! (I should have scrapped the little bit of wall paint off first... But honestly once its white, you don't see it...)

 

Slap the faceplate on and done!

**Always use caution when working with electrical...***

 

Paint Samples...

I can say this until I am blue in the face... And people still won't listen... Always, always, ALWAYS put paint samples on your walls before you choose your color! It's tempting to choose your color from that little 2" swatch but don't do it! I am working with a client who hates to get samples and just goes to the paint store and buys her gallon of paint.... Oh boy! I took pictures to show why it is so essential to actually put the samples on the wall... Every wall!

Here is the gallon of paint... looks nice enough.... Putting on a sample in the corner... Do a large sample, and make sure to fan out the edges... Always use two coats... And WAIT! As paint dries it changes colors.... Obviously.... 

Here is the large sample color in the corner... Looks nice enough.... And here is the crucial part.... Try it on every wall! It will change... This picture below is the opposite wall... 4' away... A tiny bathroom...

Two coats later... Dried... Same paint and its pink!!! These pictures show the colors pretty spot on how they look in the room... It is a major change.... 

So remember... Bring a sample home... Two coat, large area sample on every wall!

That is all...

Paint Colors...

We are painting!! And I'm kind of crazy about using the Vine App to document the construction process.... Follow me username: Lindsay Redd...  This is my favorite Vine so far... After I filmed the paint I begged Drew to bow... Took me 15 minutes but I finally got him... Totally made the video!

 Oh paint prep.... I love/hate it... I am trying to put together a step by step for how we paint prep... It's a little more intense then most DIYers do, but it gets the professional look... Worth it!

The wainscot is in and looking fabulous... More on this later... 

For now the paint colors are:

Moonshine, Benjamin Moore (Walls)

And

Simply White Ultra, By Specialty Paints... Matched at Kwal... Kwal is the best at matching paints!

Bear Lake....

We went up to Bear Lake for a day on Saturday... It was short and sweet...

This is what Bear Lake looks like in the summer...

 

 

This is what it looked like on Saturday...

We strapped on our snowshoes and watched the pups run.... I was a little worried about pups breaking through the ice.... We survived. It was so nice to be out in the sun. Ad have what felt like the entire lake to ourselves...

Ice as far as the eye can see...

Mac and Cleo wrestling...

We stumbled on some goose footprints....

They were not too sneaky....

We saw this beautiful home... Love the porch... And all those windows...

We found our Bear Lake house twin! This was a little more grey and a little more orange in the door, than ours. Super cute!

Then we just went wild with lottery tickets.... I broke even.... Drew lost $5.... Sucker!

 

Winner!

Congratulations Brittany Anne Nielsen!! I laughed when I read your winning comment! "Can't wait to win!" So awesome!

Email me lindsayredd (at) gmail (dot) com!

Thanks everyone for entering! And you can still use the 10% discount code lindsayandandrew10off!

 

Friday Fun!

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How incredible is this origami gorilla?

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I'm a huge fan of up cycling a product. Repurposing it, instead of throwing it away. This bridge is made up of recycled shipping containers.

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These pencil drawings blow my mind!

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This seems essential to everyone's kitchen...

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Of course I need a tiny roomba to clean my ipad screen!

Happy Friday!

Remember to enter the Shabby Apple $50 gift card giveaway!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

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I had every intention to make this a fabulous Valentine's day... I was going to make chicken noodle soup with all sorts or hearts in it... But it looks like a night of paint prep and painting is what we are going to get.... As long as I can be with Drewpy I'm happy.

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Remember to enter our Shabby Apple $50 gift card giveaway!

XOXO

 

Giveaway! (Closed)

CLOSED! Winner will be announced MONDAY 2/18!!!!

I'm sure you have heard of Shabby Apple! Their darling vintage inspired clothing... Super cute accessories and much more... The thing I love more than their clothing is the fact it is a woman owned business! I'll support that! And do I have good news for you my friends... A $50 gift card GIVEAWAY!!

You could use it to get this darling Crosswalk chevron skirt... Love how the lines gradually thicken!

Or this little black tulle skirt! Need it!

This ruffled skirt is one of my absolute favorites and needs to be added to my wardrobe ASAP....

A GOLD SWIMSUIT.... Are you kidding me? It's absolutely fabulous!

Everyone needs a little black dress... And this one is stunning!

Now how to enter:

Here's how to enter:

Leave one comment per entry...

Giveaway is open to US only

Giveaway ends at 12:01 am on Saturday

Winner will be announced on Monday!

1) Like Shabby Apple on Facebook (mandatory)...

2) Visit Shabby Apple and leave a comment here telling me which dress or item is your favorite...

3) Become a Follower on my blog, leave a comment saying you are a follower...

 

Done! Easy as that! And just so everyone feels like a winner you can use the code lindsayandandrew10off and get an immediate 10% off! How 'bout that!

Good luck! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

 

...continue on this little journey>>>>

 

The Pups...

Far too long since we have had a pup update here... Some darling pup pictures ahead...

Madly in love with these two.... When Mac needs attention and we are sitting down, he comes up behind and sits like this. He watched tv with Drew like this for a good 20 minutes. He also enjoys piggy back rides.... That dog has my heart...

Cleo resting her head on our foot rest.... Look at all that grey... Our old lady at only 4 years old...

I have an app called timehop... It shows what you posted on social media on that day in your history... I got this timehop of Polly.... While on this walk with Cleo....

Very different winter from last year...

Polly and her world.... Aka Drew.... Let's just remember again it was me who begged for Polly... I knew English Springer Spaniels were the perfect dogs for us. Drew claimed he would never like a "little" dog... When he picked Polly up from the airport it was all over.... This pup won his heart... Bench bred Springer Spaniels for life.... Ha!

Love how much these two love each other....

 

Built-in Progress...

Drew is finishing up his latest project. A 1600 sq/ft condo remodel. This week he is working on the finish trim. And with that his built-in window seat bookcase.

Here is Drew's Google SketchUp of the built-in...

Here it is so far... Sorry about the crummy blown out pictures... It's hard to get a picture of something by a window. And the lighting is so bad at night that well... You git whatcha git...

The plan is for flush mount pulls for the seat tops for easy access to storage. More trim to be added to the seat and middle section needs crown moulding. This week Drew will finish up the wainscot, tile and paint. I can't wait to show the pictures!

 

Friday Fun...

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It seems like the more blogs I read the authors always get in trouble for having "perfect lives." Like there is so,etching wrong with high lighting the good and moving passed the bad. I have my own problems let alone spending my days reading about everyone else's woes... I read blogs for pretty pictures, fun ideas and design. Why are people so fixated on making sure others share in the same suffering? I like to talk about the joys.

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People are awesome...

Fighting Grime and Lifting Spirits at a children's hospital...

 

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These reviews are hilarious!

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Can I come with him tomorrow?

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Any color geeks out there? Song titles with Pantone colors.

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Migratory path of a Fresh Prince...

This reminds me so much of my nephew... He's didn't miss a puddle! And that pooch? I love how he just waits for the boy to do his thing. Then they finish their walk... Adorable!