Week 7: Replace Faulty Outlet

Week 7: Replace faulty outlet

When we first moved in, we knew something wasn't quite right with the wiring on the house. Everytime I plugged in my hair straightener or my blow-dryer and turned it on, the lights would shut off in the bathroom and walk-in closet and the device I was holding would still be doing its thing. For those of you new to GFCI outlets, this is exactly the opposite of what is supposed to happen. The device is supposed to shut off immediately and not effect the lights.

For all we know, the house was wired incorrectly. My Hubby, superman that he is, took it upon himself to buy new outlets from Wallyworld ($12.96) and got down to replacing the outlets himself. He is not an electrician, but he is a determined man, and we all know that can mean that the man can do anything. :) He did a great job. He found that the wiring was incorrect, made the fix, and now we have a safe bathroom. So if I ever am clumsy enough to toss the hair dryer in the running sink when I am using it, I will not be killed. Good news for all! And as much as I would like to say that this would never happen.... you should see the cut I got today from making powdered lemonade... yes, I am a clutz :)

Week 6: Repaint the Shutters

Week 6: Repaint the Shutters

Shutters only have so long of a lifespan... like anything else. We figure these had been "red" for about 5-7 years. It was a burnt red, a rusty red and the color was fading fast. I had this bright idea that they needed refreshing. The color choice was long and tedious. Why Red, you ask? We knew it had to be red. Red is what gave our house attitude and it is what drew us in the first time we came around. I had Tyler hold samples up to the house and then my Mom came and I had her check it out as well. We settled on "Flag" from Valspar at Lowe's. It seemed like a nice muted color but it had just a tinge of brightness to make the house pop. Here is the outcome, old on the left, new on the right:

The new shutter color is very bright. It is more like a Rasberry color. We decided that it was just a bit too bright and went back to Lowe's. The guy looked at me like I was nuts. I told him I just wanted to darken the paint just a bit. He told me he woud ruin the paint trying, but if that is what I wanted, so be it. Well, we think it went ok. We will be putting the new color on soon and hope it will be just the perfect color for the shutters. They do look nice. Just a little too bright :) Hey, at least they aren't pink :)

Week 5: New Flower Bed

Week 5: New Flower Bed

Not long ago, we made a new flower bed as we pulled a ton of bushes in the rain and made the neighbor's raise an eyebrow or two. Afterwards, I tried to plant several different types of flowers in my new flower bed and nothing really did well. The area flooded out all the time with the huge rains we have gotten and then got brutally dry with it facing the west and the harsh afternoon sun. I knew something had to give.

This past week we did our best to solve the problem by raising up the flower bed and it seems to have done the trick. I planted wave petunias in the bed and they are looking fantastic. The job wasn't too bad. We took out all the brick runners and raised them up higher, redid the landscaping sand and filled the bed with fresh topsoil and then topped it with red mulch. Voila!

Week 4: Install New Overhead Lighting

Week 4: Install New Overhead Lighting

This past week we got further along in our de-brassification project. Our house was built in the late 90s and with it came contractor brass hardware... everywhere. This week we took down the white and gold lights in the closet and laundry room and replaced it with new lighting from Lowe's. Here is how it used to look:



And here is how both rooms look now:
Much better! I couldn't get a good view of how it truly looks, but lets just say it is much better in both rooms.

Until next time~

Week 3: Install Magnetic Door Stop

Week 3: Install Magnetic Door Stop

Week 3 was supposed to be about installing new ceiling lighting to our laundry room and closet. We set out to do this only to find a broken dome in the package. I ran off to Lowe's to exchange the lighting and we pushed this project back to next week. While I was gone, Tyler installed our new magnetic door stop in the Master Bathroom.

I am pretty much a big time clutz. I bump into things, bruise and generally hurt myself a few times a week. One of my daily bumps was coming from the bathroom door in the mornings. We have a single sink in our BR and this means sharing the sink with my large shouldered hubby. I move myself over as far as I can to the side to let him do his thing but it never fails, that darn door gets me. To solve this, I found a magnetic door stop to keep the door from coming open when our robes get in the way. Here is the before:

As you can see, it was not a functional space. So we needed to make it better. I had seen these in a mail-order catalog and then happened upon them at Home Depot later on. I think I paid about $6.50 for it, saving at least $3 from what the catalog was charging. I think it turned out great and no more bumps have taken place.... yet :)

Here is the after:

and the zoom out:


Week 3 Goal: Attempt lighting again