Archive for January, 2011
Fab Freebie: Designer Labels
***This giveaway is no longer accepting entries – scroll down to see who won!***
Since January is often the season of organizing, the folks at DYMO thought they’d help a couple of you amp up your process with a brandspankingnew label maker. But the LabelManager260P isn’t your mom’s label machine. This puppy lets you design labels with a full keyboard, special characters, 3 label sizes, 3 fonts, 6 text styles, and even 8 underlining and framing techniques. So get ready to pimp your “bills” folder or those “recipe” files.
Here are all the entering deets:
- PRIZE: The DYMO LabelManager260P
- TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “LABEL ME!” and…
- BONUS QUESTION: … spill the beans about what “label” you wore (either proudly or shyly) in your high school days. Maybe you were a “band geek” like me or an “art freak” like Sherry?
- GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Wednesday, January 19th at 8pm EST
- NUMBER OF WINNERS: Two
- PRIZE SHIPS: The United States and Canada, eh!
- USUAL STUFF: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winners will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday as an update to this post. That’s right, come right back here on Thursday morning for the announcement of our winner. Good luck…
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Random.org has chosen our two winners and they are… Jill S. (whose studying obsession made her the flashcard queen in high school) and Angela Tucker (whose husband still gives her grief for being a flag team girl). Congrats!
Note: We weren’t paid or perk’d for hosting this giveaway, we just take them on to reward our lovely readers! See our Giveaway FAQs page for more info. Pics from DYMO.
Here’s The Story, Of A Lovely Napkin
Please tell me you sung that title to the tune of the Brady Bunch? If not I’ll give you a minute to get to it. Feel free to play the video below if you prefer some back-up vocals like I do.
Now that we have that out of the way, I thought I’d share our inspiration command center when it comes to the new house. It’s this napkin that we scored on clearance from Crate & Barrel (which you might recognize from this post of yore).
I kid you not. That napkin is like the Sue Sylvester of Casa Petersik when it comes to picking colors and pinning down that ever elusive whole-house-color-scheme. She’s loud. She’s totally in charge. And she’s fun to watch. Thankfully no bullhorn though. That wouldn’t go over well with Burger.
When it came time to choose a color for the back of the built-in bookcases, Ms. Napkin was the inspiration. Same with the master bedroom walls and the artichokey green color that we’re thinking about in the kitchen. We literally pull swatches, hang them on the wall in each room to see what we like, decide on a favorite, and then make sure that they look nice next to El Napkin before running to the store to get paint. We definitely haven’t been holding swatches up to the napkin to find a perfect match to every color or anything (we’re picking based on what looks best on the wall in each room, and then just making sure it “goes” with Sue). Look, here we have some of our favorite swatches with her:
Not all of the swatches are reading exactly as they look on the wall (which of course is par for the course, so always hold something up to the wall in your space to see how it looks depending on the lighting sitch), but the top swatch is our blue-green-gray bedroom swatch (looking quite tame next to all that color and pattern): Catalina Crescent Roll Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar (get that joke here). The second swatch (which is reading less dark and moody in this pic) is the color that we used on the back of the bookcases (Dragonfly from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line). The third one is the color we’re contemplating for the kitchen walls… when we finally work up the momentum to tackle that room (Agave from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line). The fourth one is a deep aubergine plummy tone with chocolate undertones (Caponata from Benjamin Moore’s Affinity line) that we’d love to work in somewhere when I put on my big girl pants and grow some cojones). And the bottom swatch is a super layered and moody deep teal (the photo does its depth of color no justice) that I’m working up the guts to use in the hall bathroom (Benjamin Moore’s Teal Ocean). Yeah, it should be interesting to say the least…
What is it about that napkin that speaks to us? We have no idea. Other than the fact that we like the colors and we like how they look together. So if they can work on a square of fabric why shouldn’t they work in a house? It might be a foolish plan of attack, but we intend to see it through either way. And it’s so easy to pop Sue in my purse and keep her with us when we’re out shopping. Because even though our colors don’t match her to a T, they definitely “go.” So if we see something that goes with El Napkin, it probably will go with our house. Look, it even looks good with my Christmas teapot from the hubs. Nicely done Mr. Petersik.
Of course we’re also majorly inspired by these tear sheets that we shared a while back.
See where we’re going? At least for now. Who really knows where we’ll end up. We’re just taking things one day at a time and are definitely dedicated to taking more risks with bold color and pattern than we did in our first house. Especially with the bambino around. We’re just feeling the more-playful-splashes-of-color approach over the whole beachy-airy-neutral thing that we did last time. Should be fun.
Psst- Inspiration scans from House Beautiful, House Beautiful, and Real Simple (in that order). See more of our favorites here.
The Deed Is Done
Everyone on Team Paint The Mirror White (not to be confused with Team Edward, which I’m totally a member of) can rejoice. Our mirror above the sink went from this:
To this:
And I guess we should show how it originally looked when we moved in for the full before:
But back to the white paint choice. After much thought (and a decent amount of flip-flopping) we decided to go with our first instinct and paint the mirror white to match the trim. It definitely looks integrated and a bit less heavy, so the nook is now a little less look-at-me-right-now distinct (which is a good thing since we’re trying to make it blend in as opposed to stand out). Now it looks as if it’s always been there, and it’s not too high contrast to draw all attention to the sink nook.
So my apologies to all other teams (like: Leave It Black, Paint It Gray, Paint It Teal, Paint It Yellow, Paint It Gold, Paint The Molding Black, and Paint The Vanity Black). We definitely considered all possibilities and there’s certainly more than one way to skin this cat (gross expression, sorry). All of those options probably would have worked, but in the end it just had to come down to good old fashioned personal preference. And you know we love us some white…
Speaking of white, here’s how we got the look: Behr’s Premium Plus Paint (the can of paint with primer & paint in one) in off-the-shelf white in a semi-gloss finish. I just brushed on four thin and even coats with a paint brush. I did this instead of spray priming and spray painting it (which we’d usually recommend, and would also work swimmingly) because the Behr primer/paint stuff is low-VOC and spray paint isn’t. Thankfully it worked like a charm. Oh and I used a straight razor to scrape the paint off the surface of the mirror for a nice clean result.
And for those who like contrast, don’t blow a gasket. Here’s what it looks like at night:
We actually LOVE that going with white was the bold choice at night since we spend a lot of not-day time in the bedroom, and the white frame totally pops out from that black background out the window for awesome at-night drama that we can enjoy before heading off to sleep. Back when it was black it practically disappeared at night.
And look, here I am:
Stop the presses. My hair is down. Can you believe it? I know. Shocking stuff. After many many requests, there you have it. It’s like a ponytail but different. For actual video footage of me with my hair down (and a whole bunch of it’s-Friday giddiness) check out this Texas road trip video of yore. That trip was thebomb.com. For reals.
Oh and although there are a ton of Team Frost The Windows peeps out there, we’re leaving them bare for now. Just because we like looking out ‘em when we’re tooth brushing in the morning. Sometimes we spot a robin or two at the bird feeder. Shucks, that’s quaint. So even though they look frosted in a few of the photos, they’re not.
And for those wondering what things look like from the neighbor’s perspective (it’s a side window), since we live on almost an acre of land, we’re pretty far apart apart. But here’s what it looks like during the day from about a fifth of the distance between our houses:
Yup, it’s invisible (most exterior windows are reflective during the day, and ours is no exception). We even took the shot above with the bathroom light on to hopefully highlight the silhouette but all you see are the sky and some tree branches reflecting on the window panes during the day.
And here’s what it looks like at night:
So not bad right? I mean, we have 99 curb appeals problems, but the mirror ain’t one. Yes, that’s a reference to 99 Problems by Jay Z. Because I’m gangsta like that.
Psst- Why Team Edward and not Jacob? Even though I’m from Jersey, tan juice-head body-builders have never been my type. As demonstrated by my tall, angular, and sometimes pale hubby. Does it make me insane to admit that the whole time I read Twilight, I actually pictured John as Edward? Remember this was before the world had been introduced to Robert Pattinson.
Psssssst- To everyone worried about if I could reach the buttons on the dryer, we updated that post with a pic of me in action. Go Team Five Foot Two Inches!
Giving Us That Warm Feeling
It’s time for our monthly shout out to thank our sponsors for making the other 35+ posts possible and keeping the lights on in our new house (how else could we check out our paint swatches at all times of the day and night?). They definitely make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside (or is that the eggnog?) so instead of just listing everyone, we like to pick something from each of them that makes us smile/drool/inspired/happy. Not that we’ve been gifted any of these things ourselves (see our no-swag policy here) but we did have fun trolling their sites on a virtual shopping spree of sorts. And as usual, there’s a little sump’in extra in it for you (you know we love hooking you guys up) so scroll down for some pretty sweet reader discounts. Here’s what we’re loving:
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- Royal Design Studio‘s wide collections of gorgeous stencil designs.
- Home improvement insight from articles and other users on Networx.
- Birdy Blue Invitations‘ sweet, playful and stylish wedding sets.
- Tons of fabrics that Jenna Lou Designs can turn into wallets, clutches, scarves…
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- Metal photo panels from CanvasRox that even got the Nate Berkus endorsement.
- The Tile Shop‘s website redesign – it’s making us crave a new backsplash. Stat.
- These ornate two-toned Aeronaut monograms from WallQuotes.
- Shades of Light‘s awesome and exclusive collection of, what else, lampshades.
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- Tiles like we’ve never seen before at Design for Less (stainless steel penny tile!).
- Three words: Starfish. Bowl. Z Gallerie. Two more: Bling-y Silver.
- Custom designs from Heart & Stone Jewelry like this charming pendant.
- Digital scrapbooking downloads from Ali Edwards to celebrate the new year.
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- Real life home design consultations from real live designers via My Design Guide.
- This type map from Hoot Design Co’s, even if we don’t live in Columbia, MO.
- Frame The Date‘s collection of 11′s – they make it easy to commemorate events this year.
- Cards that say just the right thing (and in an eco-friendly way) from Smock Paper.
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- This graphic bird and leaves print from Trendy Peas that comes in 3 color schemes.
- Freshline Illustration‘s super fun (and customized) family tree prints.
- This cool sawtooth glass dish spotted in one of Ruby Lane‘s virtual antique shops.
- These companion glass candlesticks from their companion site, Ruby Plaza.
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- A new website design and new jewelry offerings from Lisa Leonard Designs.
- What else is making us feel all warm and fuzzy? Dreaming about summer fun…
- …like Clara’s first trip to the beach last June…
- …and Burger’s blissful “chewing on a stick atop a warm river rock” face.
And now for the JUICY DISCOUNTS:
- WallQuotes.com: 15% off with the code YHL15
- The Tile Shop: 10% off when you use the code YHL10
- Freshline: 10% off any orders with the code YHL10
- Heart & Stone Jewelry: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- My Design Guide: 10% off your purchase with the code YHL10
- Royal Design Studio: 10% off stencils with code YHL10
- Jenna Lou Designs: 10% off your with code YHL10
- CanvasRox: 10% off your with code YHL10
- Birdy Blue Invitations: 10% off wedding orders when you mention YHL
They’re Here!
Our new washer and dryer are here!
Which of course means that our old ones are not. Fortunately our plan to craigslist them worked out swimmingly (thanks for buying ‘em Leslie Ann!) even if it did leave us appliance-less for a few days (as you saw in the video house tour).
By selling them for $250 thanks to good old craig and his list, we in effect brought our already-super-discounted total down from $638 to $388. Although after the wall plug, the stack kit, and taxes it was closer to $460 spent. Either way, we’re still feeling crazy good about the deal – and we’re glad that so many of you were able to take advantage of it too (whether you also scored the additional 20% off that we begged for or the amazing base price of $399 per machine that Lowe’s advertised online).
Delivery and installation by the Lowe’s team was mostly uneventful, although they did forget to bring the stack kit (the thing that secures the dryer atop the washer) – even thought we ordered it on the same receipt as the washer & dryer to keep things organized – so one guy had to go back to the store to get it, adding about 30 minutes to the process. And we’re pretty sure the guy that stayed back used part of that time to catch a catnap at our kitchen table while he waited (either that or he’s just a heavy breather).
Even though these Whirlpool Duets are higher capacity than our previous Duet Sports, they have a sightly simplified control panel up top, which is fine with us. As long as they get our clothes clean and dry, we don’t mind. And so far, so good.
Except for one thing. Our washer seems to think it’s one of the Seven Dwarfs. It’s got this whole “whistle while you work” thing going on. We noticed during our first load that it made a loud high-pitched whistle whenever cold water was being pumped in. It was literally whistling while it worked. Just listen below (or watch the video on YouTube) to see what we mean:
After adjusting the cold water supply a few times I couldn’t make it any better, so I called the Whirlpool people and they came out yesterday to take a look. They said it’s not a totally uncommon issue, and it’s just a bum supply valve in the washer itself. Boo. But they’ve ordered the part and are scheduled to come back next week to fix it – which is all free since it’s still under warranty (we didn’t purchase any extra warranty from Lowe’s but they’re sold with some sort of built-in warranty for a year, which is really nice – especially given this problem).
In the meantime, we’re just doing our best to distinguish when the laundry starts and when the tea kettle’s boiling. Same exact sound. I kid you not. We’re also already starting to mentally plan the shelves that we want to someday build next to the appliances and under the window for shoes, laundry supplies, and other mudroom-y junk. Someday being the key word (but that doesn’t stop us from thinking up a million different approaches).
Any other appliance delivery success or horror stories out there? I’m sure someone can top ours.
UPDATE: Due to a somewhat surprising amount of inquiries about my 5’2″ wife (I like to call her pocket sized) being able to reach those top buttons, and three requests for an actual photo of Sherry demonstrating that fact, here you go:
It’s really not a stretch for her at all. Notice that her arm isn’t fully extended and there aren’t even tippy toes going on. Atta girl.
Psst- Thanks to signing up for Lowe’s email list, I just got an alert that they’re doing 20% off all Samsung Appliances that are $229 or more through Monday. You can score that deal at your local store or by checking out their website (you don’t need a coupon code or anything). Just thought I’d pass that along in case anyone’s still in the market.
Pssssst- The repair guys came out to fix our new washer within a week and eradicated the annoying whistle issue. Happy happy joy joy.
