Friday 5+1 (5 Things I Like + 1 Thing I Don’t)

Happy Friday!!

I hope you’ve had a great week and are gearing up for a nice weekend.  After a rainy and gloomy week, the weekend is looking much more promising, which is good, since we’re scheduled to have our family pictures taken.

Let’s get going on this week’s Friday 5+1!

Fall in the Midwest
On the note about beautiful weather, I swear, I don’t remember the leaves being this beautiful in a long time.  It’s one of the perks of living in the Midwest (although I really wish our winters were shorter. And warmer).  So I’ve been enjoying every bit of the fall foliage, and have taken it to a whole new geeked out level of taking photos of the gorgeous trees when I’m out and about.

Hearing from Readers
I can’t tell you how much I love hearing from you and the projects that you tackle at home.  It seriously makes my day.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to hear from Giulia in Italy, as she shared her paneled wall project that was inspired by the one I did in my daughter’s room.  First, it’s a great project, and second, Giulia is from Italy.  So cool.  Check out their project!

I love it!  Honestly, please send me a note if you have a project that you’ve taken on yourself.  I really do love seeing the transformations.

And then there are the smart comments that I receive on some of my posts that leave me thinking, “Duh, why didn’t I think of that?”  Like this window panel I found at Bargains and Buyouts where a reader suggested using it as a long shower curtain.  

YES!  Why didn’t I think of that?  Custom shower curtains are expensive and hard to find – what a brilliant idea.  Now I’m wishing I had picked it up.

Detached Garages
I know this is an odd one, but I’ve noticed that some homeowners are adding detached garages to their properties.  While we do have lots of garage space, it’s amazing how quickly it gets filled up with a riding lawnmower, gardening supplies, table saws, snow blowers, etc…  Wouldn’t it be lovely to have one of these?  (Apologies for my stalker quality photos)

And I love that there is an upstairs living area.  I imagine that to be a great office space or guest suite.  A girl can dream, right?

And, it’s in keeping with the design of the home as well.  Even better.

Fox and Picasso Paintbrushes
I already told you about the Traditional Painter website that is one of my daily reads with great painted kitchen transformations.  They also have great product recommendations, like the dustless sanding system that I recently purchased and talked about here.  Well, I purchased some of their Fox and Picasso paintbrushes too and used one for the first time yesterday.  Holy cow, it’s like the holy grail of paintbrushes.

Source

These brushes hold paint like none I’ve ever used, without dripping!  Definitely worth the money and shipping (they’re based in the UK, and not available in the US – yet).

What was I painting?  Here is a sneak peek of the wild hair I got yesterday.

Paint Transformations
Speaking of painting, I’ve gotten to work on the kitchen cabinets that I talked about here.  They’re spraying up beautifully, and I’m putting my new Erecta-rack to good use!



The +1 Thing That I Don’t Like – Grocery Stores that Sell Non-Groceries
We have a relatively new “Kroger Marketplace” that opened a couple years ago and had a furniture section, as well as a jeweler under its roof.  Because those are items that I buy when I go to the grocery.  “Let’s see, I need milk, eggs, a sofa and a diamond ring.  I’ll go to Kroger and knock it all off at once!”  Um, no.

The furniture department ended up being a flop (shocking), so now they’re adding a (wait for it) clothing department.  I’m sure that will be a booming business.  I’m just wondering where people are going to try on the bras that they’re offering…  In the meantime, they have rearranged everything in a store that I had just finally been able to navigate.

There you have it.  I hope you have a great weekend!

4 Comments

  • Reply
    Simply LKJ
    October 17, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    What gorgeous fall color. And yes, furniture and clothing in a grocery store? That's what super Wal-mart and Target are for.

  • Reply
    Genny
    October 17, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    How exciting! A reader from Italy! And they did a great job – must make you feel good!

  • Reply
    Debbie J.
    October 17, 2014 at 11:57 pm

    It sounds like another Sam's, BJ's or Costco and I love those when I need to go there; however, we don't need more in our grocery stores. They are already huge, I hope our stores don't start to do that.

    Great info on the website in the UK and their brushes. Up to this point, I had heard many bloggers prefer Purdy so it's even better, right? So good to know all this great info and thanks for sharing.

    Take care

  • Reply
    Lisa @ Shine Your Light
    October 21, 2014 at 2:10 pm

    Okay let's see more of those bookcases!!!!!! WHAT WHAT? Also I love your cool painting tools – the brush recommendation and the rack!!

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