Anyway, last time I had Thad’s Carpets replace flooring in a bathroom after they came out to give an estimate. They were able to make the install happen in the short timeframe I needed. On the install date, they brought the wrong product with them but within minutes delivered the product I ordered. They also told me I could come into the store and pick out a lighting fixture if I wanted (interesting?) because they’re getting out of that business. They did a very efficient job of installation and we’re happy with their work.

We hired him to stain our deck and paint a bathroom for us. He explained to us the process beforehand and gave us some reasonable estimates. We were very impressed with his testimonials and clients. His native language isn’t English but it’s good enough to communicate.

We asked him to do some additional painting work a year or so after our first job, but on the day he arrived he brought his brothers to perform the painting work. He said they actually taught him how to paint. So I agreed and we had them do some interior painting for us. Initially, Daniel told us it would be $25 an hour but never wrote it down anywhere. I thought that was reasonable and said okay as they’re brothers afterall and they were ready to work. No paperwork to review in advance which was a bit troubling.

Zuniga Brothers and Southern Boys Painting

The brothers did great work, but unlike Daniel, they would not come up with an estimate upfront. I asked them a couple of times but they said they didn’t do that because they didn’t exactly know how long the work would take. That made me uneasy but I went with it as I was able to see their progress along the way and that there was a near finish in mind with a two day job. Plus, I was in control knowing that they didn’t work more than 8 hours a day and was expecting a two day job. When they finished they told me that the rate was $25 per hour per person. Whoaaa…that’s not what I was told.

So I ended up talking with Daniel again on the phone and we worked it out. I don’t remember hearing at all the per person per hour part. There seemed to be some confusion and since they never wrote anything down on paper, as I was the customer, I was able to have them see it my way. I don’t think the Zuniga Brothers are used to doing business with customers directly as this was more a side business for them and their English wasn’t good. I had learned that their main gig was working for nationwide homebuilders and they happen to have some time on their hands during the real estate slump.

So all in all, I would definitely hire Daniel/Southern Boys Painting to do painting jobs. And if his brothers were available I’d only work with them if they gave me a written estimate upfront. My thought is that if they see additional work they can always present that to me later and let me know what that additional work would be. That’s what Daniel had done anyway for us in his first job with us. Let’s keep things simple, boys!

So why not LIVE IT UP with some CUL-AH!!!!

Painting is one of the few fun things you can do around the house yourself, inexpensively and really make a very dramatic impact. For me, colors either inspire me or they depress me.

I’m just not afraid of the COLORS. Some people really ARE! I’ve been in homes where they’re deciding between a white and an off white. Are you kidding me??? Like anyone is going to really notice the difference!

So you’re probably wondering, what kind of CRAZY colors I have on my walls, right?

Well I’ve got a clay orange wall in the dining room. The kitchen is a dusty rose color but that’ll change to something warmer. The living room is a yellow beige called Blonde. The study that I’ll show you soon has a red accent wall with the rest of the walls as a blue-gray. I’ve got a green room. We’ve got a denim blue den. And wait ‘til you see my bathroom. It’s a melon pink with a band at the bottom with a split pea green soup (well…you’ll see it in my future videos). Let’s just say I had fun with the big Crayola crayons set to play with when I was younger. Oh, and I also have a navy blue hallway…it looks pretty regal if you ask me. So I’m pretty all over the place when it comes to colors and the mood I wanna bring in. And lighting, size of room, and furniture all come into play in paint color choices.

So where do I get all these CRAZY color paints? My favorite paint store…Benjamin Moore. I used to buy my paints at Duron (Sherwin Williams brand) and places like Lowe’s and Home Depot. But then I discovered that these are the brands that builder’s choose ‘cause they’re the cheapest. They’re the contractor grade paints. I asked the Benjamin Moore helper one time what made their paints so superior? And when I asked her specifically what made theirs different from Duron paints…she just laughed. OOHHH-KAY… Then she went onto tell me about how if you rub your fingers across the flat Duron paints on the wall…you’ll see it’s like chalk that you can’t wash over if there’s a smudge mark. Well, I discovered it’s hard to clean over any flat paint. I think she meant to say that the Benjamin Moore paints last longer and are easy to clean – that’s what I’m talkin’ about! And they have an eco-friendly line called Eco Spec. There’s also a premium quality line called Affinity where the colors are more subtle so you can mix and match say for example, if you want several striped colors in a room. If you’re at a loss what that can look like, they do that a lot on HGTV’s Color Splash show.

Benjamin Moore Affinity Premium House Paints

Now I wanna let you know that all those paint benefits are great… but for me, it’s secondary to having a large color palette to choose from. Benjamin Moore has one of, if not the largest color selection. And they sell tiny samples for $3.99 like the ones pictured below here so you can try it on a wall before you invest in a quart or gallon can. Once in awhile they have a coupon out for a free sample that you can take advantage of. The samples are really the way to go if you can’t decide ‘cause a can of paint is gonna cost you.

A gallon of Benjamin Moore paints starts at $38 per gallon. While that’s not the least expensive, it’s also a much better quality paint so it will last you a longer time. Something to think about next time you have a paint job. OH – and they have a very helpful selection of paints that are pre-selected in case you want to narrow the paint choices down to just a few most popular paints. They’re labeled the Pottery Barn paints. These must’ve come out sometime late last year I wanna say. Pottery Barn to me is very mainstream. You just can’t really go wrong. And if you want to see these choices, then order their free catalog or get one from one of their stores. You’ll see a lot of the paint options in their catalog where they illustrate rooms with painted walls and their home furnishings. They even point out the paint color on the wall.  Colors like Truffle (pinkish beige) and Olive Branch (greenish beige)… notice I didn’t just describe them as boring beige ’cause they actually have an undertone to them.  Oh, and if you’re daring they’ve got a spicy red called ‘Caliente’!  Would be good for a dining room — not too orang-y and not too bright red where you need your Jackie O’ dark sunglasses to look at in the morning. 

Pottery Barn's Benjamin Moore Selection

Do you have a favorite house paint color (and brand) you wanna share?

But in fairness to GE, I guess that’s how most large companies are. They usually can’t come out right away for emergencies ‘cause they’re busy and have automated processes. Sure would be nice to not be put on hold for hours on end! And when they do show up, they charge you a standard arm and a leg.

Well, DK Appliance was very different in a great way. I’m thinking ‘mom and pop’ local businesses is where I’ll be spending a lot of my service dollars. When I called them this morning, they answered my phone call professionally and promptly. Believe me, this was not the case with other local appliance service repair companies. I mean, one claimed to be available 24×7 (at least for a phone call) and didn’t even have an answering machine that worked! Another one may have been good but they couldn’t come through for my emergency freezer situation. So they lost their chance for a new client.

But with DK Appliance, I called and Dawn answered on the other end. She by the way is the “D” in “DK”. She checked with Kris (the “K” in “DK) and then called me right back to tell me that he could be at my home between 12 and 3 pm and that they’d call just before he was on his way. I said “GREAT!”. She also asked for my refrigerator model number. And then she did as she said they would and called me 15 minutes before Kris showed up.

When Kris arrived promptly, he immediately got to work. He suspected it could be the freezer defrost heater. When he pulled out the back panel, he saw the burnt color. Here’s Kris on the job.

Friendly Technician, Kris, at Raleigh's DK Appliance Repair

So he knew it was out and immediately started to melt the frost with a hair dryer. He had the right part with him and replaced it. No fuss, no muss. He was done in less than an hour. And it cost me a very reasonable $127. That’s probably a lot less than GE would charge for the service call, parts and labor. I mean last time GE came out to replace an ice maker agar part, it cost me $179. The simple metal part cost 100 bucks or more! I mean c’mon, if GE makes their appliances, can’t they come up with a reasonable discount on their own parts! Another time, I remember calling GE about another problem with a fridge and it was a lot of back and forth calling before the service repair guy came by. I mean I placed at least 10 calls. You’d think I would’ve quit after the 3rd or 4th call. I was way too persistent and eager to use them. …And this was in the hottest week of the summer! Truth be told, I think the first guy ‘walked off the job’. Well…needless to say, we never got a call or anything. And since he was supposed to come out on a Friday and never showed…guess what? We had to wait ‘til Monday. Not to mention, food was lost that weekend. Not a happy camper. So no more of my time or money will be going to GE. But I will be calling my new friends at DK Appliance. I hope this helps you too.

I’ve owned an Oreck vacuum for several years. After owning a few Hoover vacuums, I got tired of them. They just weren’t all that great. And one day, I’m convinced I lost my prized college ring in my then apartment. I always wondered what happened to it. I’m not sure if my cats at the time played soccer with it one day while I was at work. Or if the ring fell on the floor and I accidentally vacuumed it up. Either case, I went on a mission to search for the ring in the Hoover vacuum bag. Don’t ever do this! I swear my eyes were swollen for days from all the clouds of dust smoke in the air. Couldn’t have been too good for the lungs either. I’m glad I didn’t need a ventilator after that experience.

Anyway… years later when I found HEPA filtered vacuums popular and affordable, I was ready to do some research and buy a new vacuum. My other gripe with Hoovers and most vacuums were that they’re heavy. Since I have a bad lower back, well…heavy vacuums don’t help any.

So I found Oreck. While it wasn’t the cheapest vacuum available. At the time, it retailed for 500 bucks which was a lot of money for a vacuum cleaner. But I was ready to make an investment. And, plus they had a monthly payment plan of twenty some dollars. Okay, that’s much better! So I made the investment.

The Oreck is awesome. It does a good vacuum job. And it’s extremely light to push around. …It also came with a little vacuum that’s great for stairs and small spaces. No more lifting a big vacuum cleaner around for those hard to reach places! This little vacuum comes with small tools that work really well for stairs and baseboards. So all is good.

…Except Eric gave me a hard time about it when I bought the Oreck. He thought it was a gimmick. He was convinced they were just really good marketers that charged an arm and a leg for a vacuum cleaner. And I was a sucker. And besides, he grew up in a home where his mom bought every kind of vacuum cleaner there is out there. Including the Kirby. You know the Cadillac of vacuums. But no Oreck.

But I was convinced. ‘Cause I had done my homework online reading about reviews. Do that for everything and you’ll never make a big mistake on a purchase. Or you can just continue reading my blog :-)

By the way, I ordered my Oreck online. I learned later after my purchase there is a store at Brier Creek. YAY! That way I can go in and buy bags or whatever accessories I need. So I went in today and Carly, the store manager, was very helpful. She showed me how to remove the screws and change the belt on a demo vacuum. And when I got home and changed the belt, it was a cinch! I actually felt like I was doing a man-ly sorta job. I like feeling independent and not relying…I.E. waiting…on a man to do maintenance around the house. However, I like delegating that stuff. Shhh! Please don’t tell my husband.

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Green cleaning is good for health reasons, and it helps the environment. Thinking about it takes me back…in April 1990 I was down on the National Mall. Me, and tens of thousands of others were witnessing the birth of Earth Day where the green movement officially started. Tom Cruise spoke about the cause. And 10,000 Maniacs performed… that’s the name of the rock group…not the description of us people there. And white recycle bins were laid out everywhere. But that was almost two decades ago.

As I look out the window on this Inauguration Day, it’s beautifully white outside. Snow in Raleigh?…that’s a sight.  I mean a real snowfall… not the occasional angel snow ferry dusting that doesn’t happen often in Raleigh either.

But turning on the TV today and seeing the White House and Lincoln Memorial, brings back a lot of memories.  I lived in that town for over 25 years.  Yup…I was a Washingtonian, originally.  Big City girl.  But I always lived in Northern Virginia…the ‘burbs.  Raleigh reminds me a lot like Northern Virginia 25 years ago.

But that was eons ago.  Today, Raleigh is my home…  It’s exciting to live in a place where so much comes to town and it’s all such a big deal.

I remember when Cheesecake Factory came to Crabtree Valley Mall in 2003.  That place was packed on day one.  And, it hasn’t stopped being packed.  There’s always a wait.  Smart of them to be in the mall so patrons can walk around with their beepers.  I’m a big Cheesecake Factory fan…I’ve tried just about every one of their cheesecakes in all their restaurants I’ve been in.  But some just don’t taste like cheesecakes anymore after all the ingredients. Like chocolate-peanut butter-cookie dough..cheesecake. Sounds like a whole ‘nother dessert and tastes like one too. So my favorite still is the Original with Strawberry.  Did you know they have two choices of strawberry topping?…although there’s only one listed on the menu. As if there weren’t enough cheesecake choices.  One, is sliced strawberries and the other is more of a glazed strawberry sauce topping.  I like the real deal of fresh strawberries. …Gosh, just thinking about it, I could eat one right now.  But doesn’t look like I’ll be going anywhere anytime soon with the snow falling down.  Anyway, my sweet tooth has gotten much tamer over the years.  Not a lot, but some.

Well, onto my topic today.  I wanted to let you know about a maid service that we’ve been using.  It’s called Maid Brigade.  The reason we use them is ‘cause we like their use of all natural cleaning, all green products.  When the maids leave our home it doesn’t smell like an ammonia lemon factory, all day.  I’m allergic to that and the chemicals.  I think most of us are, but some of us just have bodies that aren’t as sensitive.  Most house cleaners use that stuff ‘cause they think that’s the only way you’ll know if they cleaned or not.  Plus, it’s a lot easier to use those cleaning products then safe ones, ‘cause you put in a ‘lil more elbow grease.  C’mon… working a little harder builds character!

We actually buy only Shaklee cleaning products at our home. They’re all natural, bio-degradable and green all the way.  Eric has a membership so we get stuff every month.  I had an episode last year actually where I was using Zuds powder to clean the kitchen sink.  Do you know Zuds? You can buy Zuds anywhere. Well…I set the Zuds can down on the counter and the powder went POOF into the air.  I ended up inhaling just a tiny bit and started having a coughing fit.  I mean a really bad coughing fit where I felt like I was coughin’ up a lung.  It was like that all night.  I drove myself to the emergency room the next morning.  They gave me an Albuterol  inhaler, similar to what asthma patients use.  Man, that was a rude awakening.  I ended up going back to the emergency room a week later when I was supposed to be attending a funeral…not mine.   But I had a fever of 104 which was pretty alarming to me.

So, anyway, that’s when I decided we weren’t gonna have chemical house cleaning product or house cleaners who used anything but all natural cleaning supplies.  So I did some research and found online this place, Maid Brigade.  The owner is Bradley Zohn.  He’s always very helpful on the phone.

I got a flyer in the mail from them after my first call to them. It described how they’re ‘green cleaning certified’ and the depth of their all natural cleaning methods.  Very smart.  I know I wasn’t up to speed on how green products work and all that, so getting some education was good.

We’ve been using Maid Brigade for awhile. I especially think it’s cute how the Maid Brigade maids kinda rearrange our décor when they come to our house.  Like the pillows and the throws will be slightly different each time.  It’s kinda like when you stay at a hotel and they do turndown service at night.  They sometimes change the sheets up differently.  And if I’m lucky they leave some chocolates .  No chocolates from Maid Brigade though.  I wonder if I leave some chocolates out, would they re-arrange ‘em?

They do leave a prepaid postage comment card each time. They ask us to fill it out and send it back. Apparently they are measured by those cards. So they’re always looking for an excellent score.Good checks and balances. I wish more of my fav’rite service companies would require comment cards to keep service levels up.