Better After

25 In miscellaneous

Life’s a Beach

Surprise! It’s my birthday! I’m off to enjoy the rest of the day, but first I’ll leave you with this fun bike makeover from Irene at Carpe Diem. It just seems like an appropriate makeover for a birthday, because if I could be anywhere today, I’d be cruising down the beach on a cute little beach cruiser, with a big slice of cheesecake waiting for me at the end. Mmmmm.

I’d much rather have cheesecake than regular birthday cake, that’s my one birthday tradition. My husband has to have German chocolate cake on his birthday, straight from a box, nothing fancy. Same with my kids, only it’s Funfetti cake mix. And my brother-in-law Tim insists on pumpkin pie. Do you have a specific birthday treat? Tell me, tell me!

PS: We have a Summer Done Bright Prize Pack giveaway winner! #428 Rebecca M. Owen, it’s you! Be on the lookout for an email from me soon!

June 25, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

4 In decor/ office

Necessary Accessories

We all know about the power of love. And the power of positive thinking. And the power of attorney. But what about the power of accessorizing? How come Celine Dion never wrote a song about that? Accessorizing is just as important, and I can prove it. Exhibit A: This office makeover by Better After reader Larissa. No major changes, the furniture is still the same, I don’t even think the walls were painted, but look at the difference! Color! Texture! Art! Flowers! I would be ten times more productive in the after.

Even an old file cabinet got in on the fun. Larissa picked it up at Goodwill for $5, used two cans of pink spray paint plus a little gold acrylic paint on the hardware and shelf liner to dress up the labels. Grand total: $13. I’d say it fits right in!

June 24, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

5 In bathroom

Extended Stay

Hey howdy hey, it’s Monday! I hope you had a great weekend. Did you get a chance to see my mini porch makeover and enter the Summer Done Bright prize pack giveaway? If not, hurry it ends soon, and if so, thank you!

Now, to feed your need for some before and after action, I present to you this vanity makeover from one of the most creative gals on the internets, Beth at Sawdust and Embryos. Actually, it was her husband Nick who did all the dirty work, but Beth says she did her best to help by offering words of encouragement and the occasional bicep stroke. Can you believe the actual vanity never even moved? He extended it on either side, redid the drawer fronts, and added a new custom built butcher-block countertop, and it’s all 100% handcrafted, even the rounded wood shelves. Wowzers.

June 24, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

308 In Uncategorized

Summer Done Bright!

This post is sponsored by Proctor & Gamble and Lowe’s. All opinions are 100% my own.

It’s officially summer! Are you officially ready? Have you fired up the grill and dusted off the patio furniture yet? If not, Lowe’s and I want to help by giving you a friendly kick in the pants to get yourself in gear. So get ready for some outdoor inspiration coming your way!

Are you feeling inspired yet? Ha! Of course not. You are probably feeling the need to back away slowly and call the cops to report a plant murderer at this address.

But Lowe’s doesn’t want your outdoor spaces looking so grim. Lowe’s wants you to Go Outside and Shine! And now they’ve made it easier than ever for you to get your outdoor spaces all spiffed up for summer. Not only can you head to your local Lowe’s for flowers and fertilizer, now you can purchase your favorite P&G products there too, like Bounty, Tide and Duracell.

And they want to spread the word by giving one lucky Better After reader a Summer Done Bright Prize Pack, which includes:

$100 Lowe’s gift card
Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Outdoor Pro
Bounty
Tide Pods
Duracell AA Batteries

That’s everything you need and more to get your outdoor spaces ready to shine! Obviously my front porch needed some attention, so I started off with a good dose of Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray on my bench, which was still wearing the scars from an exploded soda incident that happened um … in the spring. Don’t judge.

All better!

Next, I had literally worn our our welcome mat, having inherited it from the previous owners when we moved here … four and a half years ago. Continue to not judge. It was unattractive, to say the least. But underneath the mat was an even unattractiver problem. All kinds of grody discoloration that looked stained too deep into the concrete to ever come clean. The before picture is AFTER I had sprayed it with the hose as hard as I could to degunk it. But get this. After about 30 seconds with the Magic Eraser Outdoor Pro, it looked practically brand new.

I’ve been a fan of Magic Erasers for years, but I was still shocked at the difference.

(angelic choirs singing)

After the deep cleaning, just a few more little touches was all it needed, like swapping out that depressing palm for a sprightly lemon tree … (It’s not actually a lemon tree, but that’s what originally wanted. Just pretend, ok?)

An improvement either way.

I also jazzed up the stick wreath by layering on a smaller wreath that I had hot-glued fake lemons to (I’ll get those lemons one way or another), and added some yellow pillows and a colorful new welcome mat.

So clean! So summery! And SO much more welcoming than before.

Hopefully YOU will win the Summer Done Bright Prize Pack and be welcoming summer at your pad before you know it. Once again, it includes:

$100 Lowe’s gift card
Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro Spray
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Outdoor Pro
Bounty
Tide Pods
Duracell AA Batteries

Entering is easy! Simply leave a comment here! Extra entry for Better After fans on Facebook!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

P&G and Lowe’s provided compensation and products for this review and giveaway, all opinions are 100% my own.

June 21, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

7 In tables/dressers

Chunk Rock!

Don’t go overlooking that certain style of dresser that overpopulates the thrift stores. You know the ones. Chunky and funky. Gaudy and shoddy. Or scrolly and holey. Ornate and … unstraight? Curvy and scurvy? I have no idea what we’re talking about anymore. Anyway, if you find one of those things, don’t be scared. Drag it home and surprise yourself with how fabulous all those swoops and swirls and curlicues can look under a fresh coat of paint. Like this one in white from Jen at Girl in the Garage.

And this one in gray from Sheena at Modern Missus. Looks great! And if you STILL aren’t a fan, guess what? Most of those appliques will easily pop right off, leaving you with a blank slate to work your own magic on. Everyone wins!

Oh, what do we have here? Fun surprise alert from Sheena! MeOW!

June 21, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

8 In kitchen/dining

A matter of taste.

So the other night I went to the movies with some friends. We saw Man of Steel, and I Henry, uh highly recommend it. Anyway, it was this kind of fancy movie theater, and their big deal is that all the seats have built-in tables, and they’ll serve you food and drinks throughout the movie. Sounds awesome right? WRONG! Have you ever tried eating a giant plate of chicken nachos in the dark? No? Try eating a giant plate of chicken nachos in the dark while wearing a pair of 3D glasses. It’s … eventful. And it occurred to me, as I was blindly stabbing at my plate (they served the nachos with a fork, this place is weird, I’m telling you) that for some strange reason, since I couldn’t see my food, it didn’t really taste all that good either.

All of which makes me wonder … will a well-lit and attractive dining room actually make your food taste better? I think the obvious answer is yes. Maybe Linda, who turned her dining room into the board and batten beauty it is today, will know for sure. Find out on her blog It All Started With Paint.

June 20, 2013 By Lindsey @ Better After

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