Archive for September, 2009
Fab Freebie: Color Combo
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries***
This week’s giveaway sponsor practically needs no introduction. It’s Valspar Paint (which Meredith successfully figured out last week from our anagram clue). They’re giving away FIVE gallons of their high quality, Ultra Premium interior paint (one each to FIVE of our lucky readers). So we foresee a handful of paint projects in some of your futures… and hopefully some before & after pictures as well.
But Valspar isn’t just offering up paint this week, they’ve also created a great online resource for couples faced with the challenge of combining their styles. The “Love, Our Style” site includes some painting tips via a Painting 101 section, a photo contest where you can win a paint makeover, and – our favorite part – a quiz to help figure out how to merge your aesthetic with your partner’s.
And although Sherry and I feel like we’ve figured out our combined style pretty well, we jumped at the chance to see how we fared with the quiz. After 10 simple (and sometimes thought-provoking) multiple choice questions, the quiz revealed that our style is “Relaxed” which came with this description: “You’re in perfect harmony when it comes to your eye for the simple yet functional. When it comes to your home decor, eco-conscious style- like natural textures, tones and sustainable furnishings- can play a big part. Take your love of the outdoors and find inspiration in nature, with warm neutrals.” Pretty dead on, eh? Not to mention that the paint colors they suggested are pretty much right up our alley too.
So here’s the scoop on how you can score some free Valspar paint this week:
- PRIZE: One gallon of Valspar Ultra Premium interior paint in the color/finish of your choice
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “COLOR ME” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: Head over to take the “Love, Our Style” quiz and share your results (and how accurate you think it is)
- CONTEST CLOSES: Wednesday, September 16th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: Five
- PRIZE SHIPS: United States only
- THE USUAL: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winners will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday. Good luck!
Get more info on our freebies at our Giveaway FAQs page. Images courtesy of Valspar.
Reader Redesign: Nursery Magic
When Holly Mathis (of the amazing Holly Mathis Interiors) sent over her latest nursery makeover we couldn’t wait to share the gorgeous transformation. Here’s her letter:
This time around I wanted my second little boy nursery to be a little less cottagey but I worked with the room’s existing light, awnings and basic furniture (but I did get a better rocker- I learned that lesson!). I chose some more modern fabrics but stuck with some Southern baby staples like monograms and smocked outfits… it is just enough of a Domino look to make mommy happy but it doesn’t look nuts with the rest of the house which is still pretty cottagey. Now I’m just twiddling my thumbs waiting for this baby to come (I am due on Monday) and wanted to share. Good luck with all of your projects. Love what y’all do! -Holly
Here’s the blank slate before:
And the brilliant after:
Isn’t this nursery makeover amazing? We love the modern fabrics combined with the charming cottage-y touches. What do you guys think? What’s your favorite part? Thanks so much for sending over the yummy before and after photos Holly! And good luck with your little one on the way…
Reader Redesign: Best On The Block
When Christy sent her amazing curb appeal makeover our way we couldn’t wait to share the eye candy. Here’s her letter:
First, love the bathroom stripes! I was amping up to stripe my laundry nook and I am even more excited about it now! But the reason I’m writing is to share our new and improved retaining wall in our front yard. When Erik and I moved into our townhouse our property line on the unattached side was marked with a DISGUSTING retaining wall. It was raw cinder block, 2 rows too short and just plain u-g-l-y. Of course our builder said he would complete it with stucco to match the foundation but I, thank goodness, didn’t hold my breath because as he ran from finishing our development, our retaining wall hopes ran with him. Needless to say, we had to pick up his pieces and finish it on our own. So our plan was this: 1. Add more rows of block to raise the wall. 2. Finish the exterior of the wall with paint. 3. Add a decorative planter box to cover the top of the stone. 4. Do it all affordably!!! We just finished it the other day and we couldn’t be happier. Here’s our price breakdown: cinder blocks: free (found them), mortar mix: $5, paint: $15 (Walmart baby), wood: $30, potting mix: $16, five begonias: $25… GRAND TOTAL: $91! We hope you guys like it! – Christy (& Erik)
Here’s the icky before:
And the lush and lovely after:
Isn’t this a great example of using your wits and not your wallet to transform something less than appealing into a functional feature that actually contributes to curb appeal? We love the planter box they built right on the top of the retailing wall. And of course prepping and painting those cinderbloks definitely took them from raw and wrong to oh so right (on a major budget). Thanks so much for sending the delicious before and after photos our way Erik and Christy (check out their blog here)! The neighbors must be green with envy.
In Case Of Emergency
It goes without saying that today is a somber day. No matter your connection to the events of eight years ago – whether you’re like Sherry and tearfully witnessed the towers falling firsthand or like me watching on TV, praying for family that worked in both NYC and DC – this date probably still shakes you. And while we were both fortunate that all of our loved ones escaped harm, our thoughts and prayers go out to those whose didn’t.
We’ve decided to use this date not only to reflect, but also to plan for the future. I’ve had emergency preparedness on the brain recently due to a project at work, through which I’ve learned that I’m actually in the minority. Most of us don’t stop to think about what we can do around our house to prepare for an emergency – whatever that disaster may be. And as much as I’ve been thinking about it at work, I figured it was time to see exactly how much I had put into practice at home. So here’s our own Emergency Supply Kit audit.
You can find the suggested Emergency Supply Kit list that we used to evaluate our preparedness on MakeAPlan.org. The first thing on the list is water - three gallons per person to be exact. We’re good here, I thought. We snagged a big case of bottled waters at least two years ago for this very purpose and stored it out-of-reach in the kitchen specifically for instances when we’re without clean water for a day or two. We’ve broken into a couple of times, but our supply is still pretty good. We’ll give ourselves a B+.
After water naturally comes food. Again, a three day supply of non-perishables is suggested. We’re lucky if we have a three day supply of non-perishable food within a day or two of our latest grocery trip, so we could stand to stock up on our canned food supply. But at least we’ve got a manual can-opener! I’d say that earns us a C.
We do get an A+ when it comes to five days of pet food. We’re always sure to have a full canister of Burger’s kibble – mainly because the pet store that sells his food isn’t in our neighborhood so we always stock up when we go. And since Burger is a light eater (he’s 8lbs after all), five days worth of food doesn’t take up very much space.
I was ready to give us an A+ in the battery-powered radio category, until I realized that the batteries in our guest room’s plug-in-with-battery-back-up radio are totally dead (and we’ve been relying on the cord). Did our grade just plummet to an F?
Nope! Because I realized that our shower radio is battery operated. Woo hoo!
We even have a few back-up batteries tucked away in a kitchen drawer. I’d say that gets us right back up into grade A territory on the radio front.
Though I’ll have to give us a B- on the flashlight front. While we’ve got a flashlight handy, we have absolutely zero back-up batteries for it.
And while we’re also tempted to give ourselves a big round of applause for having a fire extinguisher and a real life first aid kit around the house, we must confess that it’s technically a Pet First Aid Kit. But it actually has pretty much all of the stuff we humans might need (just on the small side) so let’s call that one a B-.
Overall I’d say we get somewhere around a B for our home’s basic Emergency Supply Kit. Where do you guy stack up? Have you done any emergency planning or supply kit gathering? Got any other be-prepared tips to pass along? You can find out more from the official government folk at Ready.gov or MakeAPlan.org- and feel free to pass along anything else you learn on the subject. Oh and while we wish that all of you are ready for any emergency, here’s hoping that none of us find ourselves actually experiencing one anytime soon.
PS: If you’re in the Washington DC area, check out Capitalert.gov. It’s the project I’ve been working on at the office and it’s a way to get free emergency alerts sent to you via text message or email by your local government.
Doggone To Sleep Freebie Winner!
Your entries in our AllModernPet.com giveaway we’re cracking us up this week. And it was comforting to know that Burger isn’t the only animal out there who likes to sleep in weird places. Burger’s favorite sleeping tools are oddly human: a pillow and a blanket. He loves being under the covers with his head out, resting on a pillow (guess he learned it from us). He’s also a fan of perching at the very top of accent pillows around the house (see bottom left). He’ll just spin around and around until he has created a chihuahua-sized dent and then he’s one very happy Hamburger.
But we’re pleased to say that, with the help of AllModernPet.com and their wide selection of pet beds, we’re about to make another pet just as happy. We plugged all of your entires into our unbiased BFF (aka: random.org) and suddenly we had a winner: Leslie (or maybe we should say Seamus the cat is the true winner). Congrats to you both! Burger’s thrilled to be spreading the love across species lines to your kitty. And by “thrilled” we mean “barking defensively” (since if Seamus is like most cats, he’s got about 5 pounds on Burger).
For everyone else – including you non-pet owners – we’re back to human friendly giveaways next week. I thought I’d present my usual hint in a new form this week: a word scramble! Next week’s prize is from SPIRAL VAN TAP. Good luck anagram lovers…
