This cracks me up!

Today is my "Saturday"...since I went full-time....see, I forgot to even mention here that I've gone full-time at my job.......I will work most weekends.  So Monday and Tuesday (most weeks) will be "my weekend".

I'm loving working...just opened the new model home...that allowed them to take me full-time...have sold 3 houses so far...more in the works... so fun.

Our home is chugging along....still just dirt...ground is so wet, they are switching to a "block and fill" foundation.....that is making EngineerHubby happy..

Speaking of EngineerHubby....he has discovered some old Star Trek series on Netflix  (Star Trek : Enterprise) and it is ALL ( and I do mean ALLLLLLLL) we have been watching.....  So, I'm mostly listening to Captain Archer (I rarely WATCH TV....I have things I do on the computer and I listen....) and something is saying, "who is this guy....." over and over and finally last night, I GOT IT!!



He's the failed TV wanna be dude off "Men of a Certain Age"!!!



Silly trivia...but my goodness, honestly....how much Star Trek can one man ingest?????  (This one originally aired between 2001 and 2005...)

Took WEEKS to choose our flooring for the new house.  EngineerHubby said, "It is 100% YOUR choice, honey....pick whatever you want" and then proceeded to "have an opinion" on every single choice.....despite me reminding him what he said...it never clicked. Starting 25 years ago during the wedding planning, EngineerHubby has had to have a say in every single itty bitty detail over every single thing in our life........I just accept it nowadays.  When he assured me it was all MY choice after he had the 92 tweaks and changes to the house, I knew better than to believe him.....

So, the tile we finally decide on TOGETHER  (cough cough) is discontinued.  Of course it is.  So we go look at the tile I have wanted all along.....the tile EngineerHubby not only did not like but recruited other clients who were visiting the showroom to agree how awful it would be...ganging up on me despite it being in MANY homes....it IS neutral and lovely.....so yesterday, guess who now loves this tile and claims to have always loved it and what am I talking about????????????

Seriously.  Losing my molars here........  grind....grind.....

To balance things, In "Wonderful EngineerHubby" news, we ran back to SteinMart to return an item he bought me for Christmas and as I was browsing, he called me over to a rack of the PERFECT shirt for me....Dolman sleeves, drapey, gorgeous bright colors and even one print......these shirts are so comfy and perfect for work and......$14.99!!  His attention to detail that sometimes drives me crazy also brings wonderful "like having my very own personal shopper" benefits!   Woo Hoo!!

I am seriously addicted to House of Turquoise and wish I had the guts to paint my home in these gorgeous shades.....too bad I'm the only girl......maybe one room, one of these days......

If you haven't tried that $2.97 mascara from Walgreens I mentioned, you MUST.    Jordana Best Lash Extreme...found to the left or right of the beauty counter register.   I sent one to my mother and she loved it....couldn't believe it was under $3!!

Oh, "fancy granite" has been secured with a massive deposit and will be in our new home....here is a photo if the final slab of Yellow River Granite we  (*cough cough*) chose:



We will get to choose how they lay out the cabinets...and will definitely be "booking" the countertop with the full granite backsplash...I cannot wait....I WILL be laying on this granite with tears of joy...this was the one thing I was able to add (after all EngineerHubby's tweaks and changes, we had a little room for something I might want that was "extra"....lol)  This will go in kitchen and all bathrooms except powder room.

See how this granite veining continues up the backsplash???  This is called "Booking".

Think that about covers it....Hope you have a great week!

Need to find out what color that favorite Benjamin Moore paint color is in Sherwin Williams??  (Pick any companies......)

Well...I can hardly contain my excitement to share with you this website I stumbled across after LONG hours of searching for such a thing........


Example:

Let's say you see this photo on Houzz and fall in love.



Underneath the photo you find the color used is Benjamin Moore Mesa Verde Tan.

Since I must use Sherwin Williams, I go to ColorCharts.org and do the following:

1.  Type in color in Search Box.  In this case, Mesa Verde Tan.



2.  Look at results and pick the correct one.  In this case, only one result.  Click on correct company.


3.  To the right, the color will come up (sometimes more than one).  Click on the color square.

4.  The Color and the Paint Array will show up, helpful in deciding what undertone this color may have.  Click the tab "Match This Color" under the paint square.


5.  The results will now show any and all companies that have a color very close...and it shows the percentage of match.  In my case, I am looking for a Sherwin Williams match and I was thrilled to find a very close one:



6.  If you are like me and have every single paint deck from Sherwin Williams, you can go look it up immediately.  Or simply take this number to the nearest Sherwin Williams store and get a sample to try on a poster board for your project/home!

$4.99 at any Sherwin Williams Store

Can't remember - $10 - $15 at any Sherwin Williams store

One HUGE painting tip:  When you find a color you think will be perfect, look at the ENTIRE color strip......the one that has up to 5-6 different colors with the one you love.  This will help you determine what undertone that color has.....green, pink, yellow, gray........  This is very important.  You may have found what you think is a great taupe...but when you paint it on your entire wall, it may have a pink undertone......

Example:  A recent customer of another sales gal chose a color called "Compatible Cream" on a color strip.  When it was painted in her home, it looked VERY yellow.  Almost Big Bird yellow, with the lighting in her home.  She was very upset.  However, going back and looking at the entire color strip, she would have been able to tell how yellow it was despite the misleading name.



Now, this probably looks quite mellow in some homes, but in hers with the low level of natural light, it was seriously yellow. Not what she wanted.

We are on our 6th poster board trying out paint colors for the main interior color....and we are SO glad we have gone to this trouble and expense  ($6 or so for each sample size paint container).

Enjoy!!

Linking up to these parties:

Source:  The Craft Begins

Love this color palette:

Source:  Pinterest

One of my favorite topics is paint color and the effect on mood!  Where I would guess most people worry about matching furniture, making the general public happy when painting, I consider the effect of color on the mood of those in our house.  (You’ve heard about the prison who painted all the walls pink?)
So, that said, through the years in our 6 states and 14 hours, we’ve had opportunity to live with and paint different colors here and there.   The new trend of light blues/grays are beautiful but not sure if our style.  We are currently renting, so no painting for a while.  Therefore, I share my favorite colors from the past.
Pittsburgh Paint Carob Chip
When deciding on a purple shade, I’m sure a groan emits……not wanting it to look like a  funhouse, but a rich, eggplant color.  I found this at the bottom of a “brownish” paint chip – Carob Chip.


This was my office and had been painted 3 times in one year.  It was navy blue when we moved in:

I hated this.  Could not function.  Turned my brain “off”.  lol  So then I tried to play nice and paint it taupe:

After painting it taupe, I was literally sad.  Terribly sad and didn’t know why.  It was then that I realized COLOR has a huge impact.  I spent a lot of time thinking about what color would I love to paint, whether it was practical or not.  Since this was also technically a formal dining room, I knew I could be bold.  I chose Carob Chip, crossed my fingers and voila’!  It was amazing. 

Pittsburgh Paint Raspberry Truffle
Another color we stumbled on was seen in a home on the real estate tour one day (I am a licensed real estate agent, inactive due to disability.)  I was super lucky when my husband fell in love with it and asked to paint it in our bedroom.  I would venture to say this surprises his side of the family – that he would venture away from the safe colors  - but he is VERY affected by color and I’ve learned that making him happy color-wise goes a long way to marital bliss.  :)   Please IGNORE carpet color – house came with this and we saved our pennies until we could replace it.  We treated it as a neutral.  ;)




Same color – different house – different lighting.  We hadn’t finished the trim yet.  It never felt “peach-based” which I think it looks like in this photo.  I had to push for the neutral bedding.  Our bedding currently, at once again my husband’s request, is a bright RED.  Yes, of course, red is known to be a calming color.  Ha!  Not!  But he likes it and if he’s happy, we’re all happy. 

I’m joining the Paint Party over here:

320 Sycamore is having a Paint Party and I just found it! After you peruse my blog, you will see I am a crazy paint girl - color rocks my world. I am very bold and not afraid of color. If I don't like it, I (or someone I hire!) can always repaint. Color simply calls to me, makes my world go 'round.

So, first up, EVERY girl needs one of these - a Paint Deck!!


I'm a licensed real estate agent (in referral due to disability) and a former Accredited Home Stager, and I LOVED using these paint decks. Just go in to your favorite paint store and ask to buy one - at Pittsburgh Paint, they were $10 a few years ago. So worth it!

OK, my favorite color of all time - Carob Chip from Pittsburgh Paint.


Here is the room in different lighting when we staged the home for sale and made this room a formal dining room, and added a chandelier. This home had TONS of natural light and I do recommend that your paint poster board and put them around your home to see what looks good in your home and your lighting. When we were selling our home, we neutralized it (except for changing the paint in this room - most recommended we leave one room bold. Notice the neutral carpet? lol)

When we moved in, the room was blue:

I never liked it, and tried this beige. Just didn't make me happy, so we then tried the Carob Chip. Love!!

Purple is a very tricky color. This color chip looks almost black and has a deep brown tone to it. I would never have picked it had someone not recommended it - and had I not, I would have been trying A LOT of different plum colors until I finally found this one - it was just what I wanted.


Have you ever painted a room using the darkest color on a swatch? Ack - it can be scary!

My second favorite color of all time is Raspberry Truffle, also from Pittsburgh Paint. It is the 2nd from the bottom of the next swatch -

We used it in several rooms, but here was our Master Bedroom. The navy carpet was already there, so we just considered a neutral until we could change it. lol

I prefer the gold bedspread - thought it warmed the room perfectly.


Oh, and here's another house we used this color in:


We hadn't gotten the new trim up, yet. My preference is white trim, as you can go bold easily with color.


Also, I LOVE that color swatch from Sherwin Williams that includes Ivoire and Blonde. If you have oak cabinets and really want to set them off perfectly, that is THE color to use. Here was one house we used it in:



And finally, our current rent home. Lucky us, it had color too! Here are some photos, although I do not know the paint names on these.


It has been said that perhaps I need a color intervention, but until then, I will continue to let color bring joy to my life and spur creativity within me!! Be bold - give paint a try!

Thanks for visiting!

Cheri