My interior design hero has to be Candice Olson. Her work is simply stunning, and if you’ve watched every single episode of her show as I have, you’d know one thing.

She loves lighting.

In all of her designs, she focuses a huge amount of time and effort on lighting. She will rip out ceilings, spend half the budget on a chandelier, etc.

Well…I am no Candice Olson and even if I sold a kidney I would not be able to splurge as much as her clients do on lighting. However, you can apply those same principles to any makeover you do. Period.

We have a guest room in our home that gets used maybe 5 times a year. Every time we have guests, all we do is wash the linens and tell them to make themselves at home. It’s about time we showed our guest room a little TLC. Now, unlike many of my makeovers, I didn’t buy a ton of accessories nor paint any walls. I simply focused on the foundation of a good room—lighting.

Daniel and I headed to Walmart with a $2 coupon in hand (which you can print for yourself at the bottom of any page on my blog) to buy bright, white CFL/energy efficient bulbs by GE Lighting. And, I also wanted to splurge on a lighting addition, whether it be a floor lamp or a table lamp.

The room desperately needs better lighting.

See? It’s dark and yellow. You know what I mean by yellow, right? It’s that awful yellow that normal light bulbs cast onto a room.

Not flattering. It also didn’t help that 1/2 the light bulbs were dead in our ceiling fan. I believe they’ve been that way since we moved in back in 2010.

While at Walmart, we chose this pack of CFL bulbs. Why? Well, it said fresh, energizing light, which hopefully will be bright like natural daylight. Basically, not yellow.

They came securely packaged. A+

While I was swapping light bulbs, Daniel put together my new crystal column floor lamp. I’ve been wanting this lamp for years!

And 10 minutes later I had a BRIGHT guest room. What a difference that makes.

Once I adjusted my camera settings, you can better see how the light looks in the room:

It’s white, flattering, bright yet very livable. You don’t feel like it’s too bright.  Well, maybe Pee Wee does.

I love how I was able to get accurate color on my pictures without a flash and without any post editing. This is all straight out of the camera.

And if you turn the ceiling fan lights off and just opt for the floor lamp, you still get a bright, natural light that is great for reading or watching TV. Isn’t my new floor lamp pretty?!

And here’s what the bulbs look like in my ceiling fan. Not super chic, but I’ll take the energy savings and white light over the yellow bulbs of doom.

What do you think? Here’s a side-by-side before and after.

 

I did add in a few accessories I already had on hand (pillows/mirrors), but overall this makeover took 15 minutes and about $65 ($50 floor lamp, $15 bulbs). I hope our guests will appreciate the slight facelift when they visit us again. And maybe I will paint the walls…eventually.

Overall, the main motives for this makeover were to improve the look of the guest room AND to help save money on energy costs. Energy efficient lighting may cost a smidge more upfront, but in the long run it’ll last longer, save you money on your electric bill, and it will make a room look fantastic without needing to spend tons of time and money.

If you click on over to this neat CFL Savings Calculator, you can calculate how much you’d save by switching your bulbs. I calculated my savings and over one year, we’d save about $37 in the guest room. The bulbs were $13 with coupon, so this means in our first year we’d save $24. If we replace all the bulbs in our house, we could potentially save $285. Looks like I need to do more light bulb shopping. That much in savings could equal a new designer handbag every year.

Just sayin’.

If you have more questions on GE Energy Efficient Lighting, feel free to connect with them on their social media channels: Twitter or Facebook.

Do you care about lighting choices in your home? Do you try to pick energy efficient lighting?

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE. All opinions are true and not influenced by monetary compensation or promises of puppies and rainbows. #CBias #SocialFabric #GELighting

As many of you know, mine and Daniel’s 3rd wedding anniversary was this past week. Being married for 3 years has flown by just as quickly as being together for nearly 9 years has. I will say that the beginning of our relationship, like many, is always the most fun. It’s new, it’s exciting, and it’s fantastic.

Now, we’re sort of comfortable with one another. This sometimes means that we can be mean, ungrateful and generally just not all that lovey-dovey to one another. We take each other for granted sometimes…

And it’s not what I would want my marriage to be. I don’t want to be that crazy wife that is always nagging, and I don’t want Daniel to be that oblivious, apathetic husband that they portray all too well on most TV shows.

Photo credit: Amazon.com

I was asked to read “Attracting Your Extraordinary Love” by Ricky Cohen, and I really did enjoy the overall message of the book. Although I am not trying to attract anyone other than my husband nowadays, the book helped me focus on our relationship. Lately I have been snippy and angry and bossy and that’s not good for us.

I let all the small things and nuisances of our hectic lives affect our relationship. I try to get Daniel to act certain ways. I am angry about something that has nothing to do with him and take it out on him.

Cohen’s book didn’t read like a how-to manual, nor does it promise to fix everything, but it reads more like a stream of consciousness. Prose, even. Little tidbits of thoughts and information for the reader to mull over and apply as needed or desired. The only slight issue I had with it was it did have a bit of religious stuff in it, which is just not my thing. But a minor caveat to an otherwise good book.

My favorite line in the book is this:

“Love him or her for how each can love you, rather than how you would like to be loved.”

Personally, I took that as let Daniel be who he is. Sometimes we expect things of our significant other that wouldn’t be natural to them as individuals.

The book was a very quick read on my iPad thanks to buying it from Amazon and reading it in my Kindle app. It wasn’t condescending, and it will definitely make you think a little, if not feel a little differently about your spouse or loved one. Overall, it didn’t feel like I was reading a self-help book with 10 steps that I needed to do or else.

So, with some new thoughts in my head, Daniel and I headed out for a fun date day. We got up early for breakfast, went and shopped at Walmart, got excited when we saved 20% on our groceries using coupons. Then we came home and watched TV, had dinner, went to a graduation, then went out for a movie night. It was fun to chronicle our day through some Instagram photos. Gotta love technology.

It was a gorgeous day to enjoy great company and conversation.

We both love to have drinks, so we were excited to find a light beverage both of us could enjoy. Both of us had one last night and thought it was tasty. See? Shopping trips to Walmart can be fun.

Some tasty food at Dog & Bee. Though it’s not good for our bank account and waistlines, we enjoy eating out on date nights. Makes it feel a bit more fancy and special.

During our date night we made time to support our best friend’s daughter at her Kindergarten graduation. Part of having a strong relationship is to be good to friends and family.

Here’s a picture of us before heading to the movies. I love this pic!

And during the pre-show at the movies we have fun chatting about our day. The movie we ended up watching is “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” and it was such a cute movie. We give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Overall, I think the book helped me work on myself, which will in turn mean less fights and nagging. I hope. He hopes. Our weekly Friday date nights help us have fun and remember why we picked one another to be with forever more.

Also, I created a board on Pinterest with some fun ideas, tips and quotes for date nights/relationships.

What sorts of tips do you have for keeping a marriage strong and fresh when it starts to feel a bit stagnant?

We love to laugh.

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

I am back with another post about Coffee-Mate’s Natural Bliss creamer, as promised. I wanted to give you all a quick, tasty, and easy recipe for a iced coffee that uses no artificial ingredients or sweetener. If you’d like to check out my experience in shopping for the creamer, you can look at that right over here or if you want to check out my initial review of the creamer that can be found here.

The basic attributes that appeal to me are that the creamer is all natural (4 pronounceable ingredients), affordable (you can download a $1.00 off coupon) and easy to find at your local Walmart.

But even more so, I love that the creamer can make a tasty iced coffee. I tend to make my iced coffee in the evening after I get home from work so that it is ready first thing in the morning.

When I get home, I brew a pot of my fave coffee. After it is done brewing, I let it get to room temperature for about an hour-ish. I like my iced coffee to taste the same all the time, so I just use a 16.9 oz. bottle of water to make my pot (I have a small brewer). This is usually enough to make 2 glasses of iced coffee.

After it cools down, I add in 5 tablespoons of Natural Bliss Sweet Cream creamer + I sweeten it up a bit using Stevia packets. Usually 4-5 packets will do the trick. By using Stevia instead of traditional artificial sweeteners I stay true to the all natural ingredient coffee/beverages pledge that I’ve under taken.

Even better? Each glass of iced coffee is only about 88 calories. All natural ingredients, affordable, quick…what more could you ask for?

If you do make this the evening before, make sure you refrigerate it and make sure you use it all the very next day. You don’t want it to spoil or get that bitter taste from coffee that sits out for too long. This is best made when it will be enjoyed soon.

I used the sweet cream flavor, but if you want it to taste a bit more gourmet, definitely try this out with the vanilla or caramel varieties. The sweet cream flavor gives it a milky, smooth taste with a hint of sweetness. It is pure bliss. Pun definitely intended.

Cheers! I am off to enjoy my 88 calorie natural iced coffee!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias #NaturalBlissWM All opinions, photos and ideas are my own and not influenced by any compensation.

A week ago I was in Orlando with my darling husband. We were likely sipping on butter beer inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter... and trying to put out of our heads how much we were paying for said butter beer.

It's essentially magical cream soda. As in, I think it may have something illegal in it causing it to cost $3+ per cup. Hey, that's still cheaper than Starbucks, isn't it?

And while we were in Florida a mere week ago, 3 years ago today we got married. We pledged to be with each other forever. And everyday I am blessed that he hasn't come to the realization that he committed to be with my crazy self forevermore.

Poor guy.

But for now I am going to leave you with some pictures from our vacation, and I promise to have a full review of our vacay soon. I am thinking of maybe a top 10 things I learned at Universal Studios kinda thing? We did our vacation on the cheap and want to spread our frugal travel skills to all of you wonderful people. Anything you'd like to know?

Happy anniversary, my dear Daniel. I love you more today than I did yesterday and I will love you more tomorrow than I did today.

Unless you forget to give me a card.

Then, all bets are off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a blogger for over 3 years now (crazy to say that), photos have always been something I’ve strived to improve on. Now, if you look back at my archives from when I first started blogging, you’ll see that the photos are not so good. Finally, in 2010, I splurged and got myself a Nikon D5000 that I do love, but it is crazy bulky.

This past February, I got the immense honor of heading up to NYC to do some work on behalf of Collective Bias. While there, I was given the Sony NEX-C3 and I was smitten. It was sleek, savvy and capable of producing fantastic photos without me changing 11 different settings.

Since February, the Sony NEX and I have been pretty inseparable. Especially on trips. I went to Hispanicize in April, and all my photos of Miami turned out splendid. I just got back from Universal Studios Resort in Orlando, FL and ohmygosh have I got a ton of beautiful photos to share with you.

But, to be perfectly honest, my travel adventures are usually few and far between, so my main use for my camera is to create content for this little blog o’ mine. A challenge I’ve always had when taking pictures for my blog is getting clear, crisp well lit photos and getting a large portion of a room in a photo. It’s hard unless you have a wide-angle lens with good aperture to let light into the photo.

And now I have one! I was sent to checkout lenses for my Sony NEX camera, and I was over-the-moon excited to snag a wide-angle lens for $250. A Nikon one would set me back mucho dinero. No bueno.

The Best Buy I went to has a end cap display dedicated to the NEX camera series:

After a quick and painless checkout at Best Buy, I brought my lens home and give it a whirl to see if it would hopefully improve my room makeover, DIY tutorial, food posts.

Funny story at Best Buy…the guy that helped me in the camera section was asking me questions about the camera because he says a lot of folks are weary about it. It’s different and new, etc. So I was gushing over how fab it is, and I noticed that there was a man kind of eavesdropping on our conversation. When I finally shut up about the camera, the man tells the Best Buy employee, “Get me one of everything she mentioned. I’ve been doing months of research, but she convinced me the Sony NEX is what I need and want.”

Amazing, right? I know word of mouth is quite powerful! That’s why I am totally honest when I review stuff on here. I talk to you all like I would talk to my friends and family. But I digress…

As you can tell, the lens is quite slim. The camera fits in my pocket with this lens on.

Now it’s time for the moment of truth. Let’s see how the lens performed when taking shots of my office. Yes, the one I am going to do a full before/after makeover post about really soon. But, hey, you get a sneak peek today!

Usually, I can’t get in a full ceiling to floor shot with my normal lens. Yay wide angle lens!

Here’s another shot. My office area is usually kind of dark, so a bright photo like this is hard to come by without a good lens.

The nailhead trim really pops in this photo and slowly fades away.

Getting in a full wall while standing right in front of it was usually impossible.

And finally, my living room is also super dark, yet this photo captures everything perfectly without looking dark and drab.

Overall, I am loving my Sony NEX camera and even with the kit lens, you’ll have amazing photos. I recommend it to someone who doesn’t want the expense or bulk of a DSLR, but wants the superb photo quality of one. I can’t wait to show you all the pictures I took with the camera while in Orlando last week, and I hope to continually improve my blog photos for all of you to enjoy. If you want to check out the Sony NEX series in person, head over to Best Buy- they have so many of the products in store so you can take a look up close.

See you soon!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows I am obsessed with 2 things:

damask and metallic finishes

That’s why when I got selected to participate in a crafty/DIY tutorial project using Painters Paint Markers by Elmers on a glass surface, I knew I had to do something metallic, damask-ified and mirrored.

Daniel and I revamped our closet in December (which reminds me I need to show you all the before and after, don’t I?) and I’ve been wanting a mirror for the closet. Everywhere I’ve looked has been expensive, and with the bathroom reno still underway, I just couldn’t justify the expense.

Then I remembered I had one of those cheapy door mirrors that we took down during the closet reno, and I thought to myself, how could I spruce it up?

Inspiration hit.

After a quick trip to Walmart, I was ready to go.

Let me show you how it all went down.

Supplies:

-Painters Paint Markers in gold and silver, medium point

-Standard $5 door mirror

-Straight edge (I used a yardstick and a ruler)

You start with a mirror…

Very run of the mill, very boring.

Make sure it’s clean and dry.

Now, I grabbed the silver Painters Paint Marker and haphazardly painted the border of the mirror. No rhyme or reason, just paint.

It should take you no more than 5 minutes. If it does, you’re overthinking it!

Grab the gold marker and do the same thing all over again until you’ve achieved a metallic, rustic, aged look. This might require multiple coats to achieve the desired look. I wanted the brown to still come through with flecks of gold and silver all over. Again, there is no wrong way to do this.

Then I grabbed one of my self-adhesive, reusable stencils and painted gold damask flourishes on the diagonal on all 4 corners.

I wasn’t too stressed about it coming out perfect because I wanted my mirror to look as if it were old and shabby and maybe vintage chic. Like something you’d find in a dusty old Parisian boudoir.

Finally, I grabbed my silver Painters Paint Marker and a straight edge and I connected all 4 damask flourishes together to form a simple border.

Do you realize how hard it is to photograph a mirror?! I hope these pictures do it justice.

 

In case you’re wondering where exactly you can find Painters Paint Markers at Walmart, here’s where:

In the paint section, in this nifty area. I love the craft section at my Walmart. It fills the void of Hobby Lobby being 40 miles away.

Lots of colors and only $1.97 each.

I adore my new mirror.

What’s even better is that the Painters Paint Markers are very opaque (not transparent) and they dry super fast, but if I want to get rid of the paint all I need to do is get a cotton ball + nail polish remover and it wipes right off. I did try to clean my mirror with Windex, and the paint didn’t wipe off unless I really scrubbed. So I have to be somewhat careful when cleaning my mirror.

I have some other ideas of how to use the paint markers… I’d like to use the metallic markers to do a trellis stencil as an accent wall in my home office or maybe find a square mirror and use the paint markers to make a perpetual calendar and just use dry erase markers to make notes and such on it.

I need to keep a list and get on it, don’t I?

Have you tried Painters Paint Markers? They’d be lovely to incorporate into summer activities for those of you with little ones home from school. To see more ideas of how you can use these markers, check out the #ExpressYourself hashtag on Twitter or follow Elmer’s on Twitter & Facebook. Lots of bloggers did projects with these markers on other surfaces like wood, paper, etc. Worth a look!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. #CBias #SocialFabric #ExpressYourself