Friday 5+1

Hello!

Are you ready for the holiday weekend?  It’s going to be gorgeous here, which rarely seems to happen on a holiday weekend, so I’m excited!  Especially since I’ll be watching a whole lot of baseball.

Some great things to share for this week’s edition of 5+1!

Tintable Chalkboard Paint
I found this at Lowe’s recently, and thought it was so smart!  Tintable chalkboard paint by Valspar.  It gives you some fun options when it comes to color – with 10 color options.  Love this!

My only request would be for more colors, like they offer at Hudson Paints (although there are a limited number of retailers, so I would have to order online).  But look at their selection – 30 colors!

Source: Hudson Paint

My friend (whose Knotty Pine redo was featured here), is the one who first showed me Hudson’s tintable chalkboard paint.  They did an entire chalkboard wall in their girls’ third floor playroom.  So cute.

Cleaning Your Top Loader
I have a top loading washing machine, and recently found this tutorial on how to clean it.  Be thankful I didn’t take pictures.  All I can say is ew, gross.  But now my washer is clean and shiny!

Source: Practically Functional

Ditching the Formal Dining Room
I recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal about the “Death of the Dining Room” and how homeowners (in this case, luxury homeowners) are ditching the formal dining room altogether.  I could jump on that bandwagon, as long as I had a large kitchen with ample eating space.

I’m thinking of something along these lines.  I would ditch my formal dining room if I had a space like this.

Or this?

Or even this – it’s still kind of a room, but not off by itself like what you normally see with a formal dining room.  It’s connected to the heart of the home – the kitchen.

Yeah, I could make that sacrifice. 😉

Raised Garden Beds
I’m hoping to install raised garden beds this year (yes, I’m behind the curve, I know), and I love all of the great ideas out there on how to do it.

Source: Positively Spendid

Or these beauties from Ana White’s amazing blog.

Source: Ana White

The Shark Sonic Duo
I admit it, I first found the Shark Sonic Duo via an infomercial, and I was hooked.  Since my husband is amenable to purchasing products that increase the likelihood that I’ll do more cleaning and/or organizing, he surprised me and bought it.  It really does the trick to keep your carpets looking fresh, without having to give them a deep shampooing.

Source: Sharkclean.com

For example, I had a couple of spots on the basement carpet that were driving me crazy.

After I took my Shark Sonic Duo to it, it looked like this. 🙂

No, I’m not getting paid for any of these endorsements – they’re just products I like, and I thought you might like them too.

As for the one thing I don’t like, I’m fairly certain I’m not alone with this one.

Source

But I do love the skits on Saturday Night Live:

Source

They’re getting married this weekend you know.  I’m sure this one will last, right?

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!