Permission To NOT Make Your BED!!

 

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You are going to love me today!! I am giving you all permission to NOT make your bed today!

Seriously, I am!! I even have a good reason for you to NOT make your bed.

I know this  is contrary to everything we were taught as children. At least if you lived in my house the bed had to be made before any fun for the day was going to happen.

Everything I have  ever read on how to keep a tidy home has told me that one of the things to do is…. “Make your bed everyday!”

Not only is it on the chart, but is almost always #1!

So how in the world can I give you permission to not make your bed? Keep reading…..

In the book, “Home Comforts,”

 

Author Cheryl Mendelson said the following:

"Each day when you arise, air the bed. Open the windows, if possible; throw the bedcovers back over the foot of the bed. (If the bedding will otherwise drag on the floor, stand a chair at the foot of the bed to support it.) Let the bed stand this way, unmade, while you shower and eat breakfast. The bed should air for at least an hour if you are going to work, or even longer if you are staying home. This helps immensely toward keeping the bed feeling and smelling fresh until you next change the sheets."

Now here is the why you are getting permission to not make your bed!

"While you are sleeping, you breathe about two pounds of moisture, along with breath odors and flocks of microorganisms, into the air, your pillow and your bedding. You also perspire, perhaps a cup's worth, and exude skin oils and body smells. And you use up the room's oxygen and replace it with exhaled carbon dioxide. When there are two or more people in the bed or the room, these effects are multiplied. All this explains why, if you sleep with closed windows, the room has a characteristic stale morning smell (although you might not perceive it until you leave for a few minutes and then return.) Unless you leave the bedcovers pulled down and the windows open for an hour or two, the moisture you have left in the bed either does not evaporate or evaporates very slowly, which makes for an environment in pillows and mattress in which dust mites, molds, and other microbial life have more of an opportunity to multiply. Opening the windows lets in new air to dilute the pollutants (microbial and particulate), carry them off, and bring in fresh supplies of oxygen."

Who knew?

I don't know about you, but after reading that, I am a believer in NOT making my bed everyday! 

Unmade beds really don’t look that bad, trust me, I do it almost everyday. Let me show you my unmade bed right after getting up, and then look at the after, still not totally made up, and it is airing out nicely and I even gave it a spritz of linen spray….

(Remember both images below show an unmade bed, the one on the right is how it looks while airing out and the one on the left is how it looks when we get up. The one on the right is neat and tidy, but still allows air to get to the bedding.)

See it is not so bad!

My bed all made up for the rest of the day!!

I like what  Erma Bombeck said……..


‘
Here is one more little quote that I will leave you with…

Now go un-make your bed and let it air out!!!

 

 

 

Smudge and Blend Please

Recently I saw some pictures of three very pretty ladies. One probably in her 40s, one in her 50s and the last one in her 60s.

They all had one thing in common.....

The way they applied their eyeliner. 

As pretty as the girl is in the above image using such a harsh color on both the top and bottom of the eye is just too harsh. 

I know that all three of the ladies I mentioned were trying to make there eyes look bigger, but the reality is, it just makes the eyes look smaller.

That began my search...

I searched the web to find a make-up artist that does a beautiful application of make-up with easy how to videos. 

Lisa Eldridge does a lovely job on her clients, and I found her advice to be sound, and easy to follow. She has a group of videos on YouTube that I really enjoyed watching.

When you watch her videos you will see that you don’t have to use harsh blacks to line the eyes, but rather softer shades like charcoals, soft browns, and even sometimes a darker eye shadow can be used.

Remember line the upper lashes to where the eyelashes begin and end as close to the lash line as possible. The lower eyelashes should be lined the last third of the eye on the outer corner. Once you line the eye...

 Smudge, Smudge, Smudge!!!

There is nothing more aging then doing your make-up like you did in your 20s or 30s. 

Just as in design there are certain looks that just look dated, and will date you, and I know we don’t want to be dated.

As we age our skins needs change, and so does the look we now need to wear. So ladies really take a look in the mirror, and be honest, do you need to eliminate that harsh eyeliner that is rimming your entire eye?

One thing I have noticed is my color and definition in my face has changed so I need a brighter pop of color on my cheeks without looking to garish and also on my lips. As time marches on we need to keep marching along with it, and not lag behind in the parade.

I will admit I have always gone for a more natural look, in fact I have my whole life, but I find it to be classic, and it works for me.

We all have a look that we will gravitate towards, but don't get stuck in a rut. Every new season go to the department store and have your make-up done by one of the make-up lines you enjoy wearing and see what is new.

I prefer Bobbi Brown colors so she is my Go-To when it comes to freshening up my look.

So remember softer colors on those eyes and smudge so not to have a harsh line.

Be sure to take time to watch the videos I have posted, I found them very helpful and easy to follow.

Another good article to read......HERE!

Adding Blue + White In The Kitchen

   

Recently I added a little touch of blue and white to my green kitchen cupboards and marble counter tops.

 IT ALL STARTED WHEN......

 

My sweet hubby brought home some white flowers that just cried out for a blue and white vase…..

I think it adds to the freshness of my kitchen, don’t you?

He also brought home some juicy ripe peaches. They just were crying out for a blue bowl.

I am having such fun adding a little of this and a little of that to my new kitchen. I tend to like very little on my counters so it is a bit hard for me to add anything, but as time passes I am finding a few things that I enjoy having out.

 I like the way the blue bowl picks up the color of my outdoor shutters and window box.

I think I will keep it this way for awhile.

Next color experiment will be…..

 

 

Family Room Update

   

 It is done!!

 

The family room now has a lighter fresher look.

Let me show you the before of the old paint color…..

BEFORE

Here is a comparison of the old paint color, and the new color right next to each other……

Both have almost the same pigments added to the paint base, but the old color is much darker, and a little more muddy. The new color is like French Vanilla Ice cream.

We painted the wainscoting the same color as all of the trim in my home, Swiss coffee. It has a makeover coming up in it's future!

AFTER

The view from my kitchen. This is my family room with its summer pillows of all blue and white, and summer accessories on the mantel. 

As you can see I get a lot of great light in this room especially this time of day. We are really enjoying the new light, soft feel of the new paint color.

Once we put in the new marble counter tops, and the white subway tile back splash I knew immediately the color of the family room walls needed to change.

They seemed to shout out at me for the very first time. 

Everything feels light, airy, and serene to me. These are all the qualities I love to have in my home.

I know we all spend time trying to make our homes LOOK a certain way, but to be honest I spend more time trying to make my home have a FEELING of calmness. 

If I can’t get this feeling with something I want to change I will wait until the perfect plan comes together.

We still have more to do, but for now we are going to enjoy all of my hubby’s hard work.

Next on the agenda is: finish out the wainscoting around the room to match what he did on the fireplace wall.

Add crown molding, and then, by golly, I think she will be all done!!!

If you would like to read the story of the changes in our Family room you can click HERE.

For those of you who would like to read about the evolution of my kitchen, just go to the search box on my sidebar, and type in Kitchen Update, and all of the blog post will be listed for you to read.

Today is the beginning of the week so I am going to make the best of this beautiful day and just….

ENJOY THE PROCESS!!!

 

 

How To Nail Down The Right Paint Color!

   

Some people can grab a paint color, and go for it, and live with the consequences. 

These are probably the same people that can go to the hairdresser, and make major changes because they know it is only hair and it will grow back.

Personally I am NOT that girl! When I get my hair cut differently, even slightly different I feel as if I am in the dentist chair.

When it comes to paint on the walls the paint sets the mood, or feeling in the room. It is what wraps around me every single day. It is NOT just paint in a can to me.

I want it to have all the qualities I have grown to love in my home for the last 37 years….

Warm, inviting, fresh, clean, and it needs to give a glow, and life to the room.

Whenever I choose a new paint color I will try to narrow it down to the top two colors that I think will work. I will live with it for an entire day before taking the plunge. I need to see it in all of the different qualities of lighting that changes in a room throughout the day.

This time I started with four different samplings of warm whites. I narrowed it down to three.

Then I narrowed it down to two, and not one of those was the perfect color.

Oh my, what is a girl to do?…..

....Study Why They Did Not Work

What I will look for:

1. Undertones that showed up that I don’t like………… I saw a pink undertone coming through first thing in themorning.

2. How the color reflects or absorbs light…… both colors absorbed light making my room look dead and flat, instead of the nice warm glow it has always had.

3. Do I need to go lighter, darker, or even brighter…….all of the colors I tried were in the right value. They all were  on the lighter side.

4. What was the feeling the color made me have……. none of the colors made me smile or feel like I could take a deep breath with a sigh of calmness. They did not have enough life to them. They just went flat in my room.

5. How the color marries to its surrounding

colors……..every color I sampled married well to all

of my surrounding colors.

After going through this process I realized the color I needed was right under my nose. It was my living room color.

It is like French Vanilla icecream.

Simple? Not so much!!

WHY?

As with most of the colors in my home I tweak, or make my own formulas by adding a touch of this, and a drop of that. 

I work with the tinter’s at the paint stores, and they help me concoct my formulas.

The color in my living room, and hallway are a special brew that was made over 12 years ago. Since that time the actual paint bases have changed. 

If the base is different, and they will vary from paint company to paint company, the color will be different if you try to use the same formula in a different base.

This is where modern day technology has been very helpful with the onset of computer matching. It is not an exact science, but it at least gets you in the right ball park.

Keep in mind a good tinter is worth their weight in gold. Once you find a good tinter that really knows paint and pigments, and how they work, be sure to maintain a good relationship with them, they are invaluable.

Most computers will pull up 4 different formulas, and it will tell the tinter which one is the closest match. It is up to the tinter to make a decision based on their knowledge of how pigments will mix together.

Since I am an active participant I looked at the formulas, and made the decision which one I felt would work based on my experience with color in my home. The tinter concurred so we moved forward.

Let me bring up another point here…..

If you are using a flat paint it will tint up more quickly and could possibly tint darker if you are using an old formula of an eggshell, satin, or semi-gloss, so keep that in mind and adjust the formula accordingly.

My original formula was an eggshell finish so we adjusted and made the formula slightly lighter. After the first try the hue was correct but the shade was too light so we added more pigment, and Voila it was almost spot-on!!

Close enough for even me, and I know I am way beyond picky.

So that my friends is the paint saga, and how you should analyze, and have your paint formula’s mixed up.

Kathysue now has a new paint formula on file for any upcoming touch-ups that might be needed.

I have named my color: VANILLA!!

Let the painting games commence!!!