This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Leviton. All opinions are 100% mine.

As seen on the DIY Network, Leviton’s newest product: Renu is the smart new way to update the look of a room in a snap, now and later.

The Renu® collection includes:

-Switches
-Combination switches
-Wallplates
-Dimmers/Remotes
-Tamper Resistant Outlets
-Tamper Resistant GFCI Outlets
-QuickPort Connectors

They are available in 20 different paint colors!  Isn’t that fun?!  Renu® products can blend in or contrast with a room’s walls or trim. Renu® turns the electrical device into a decorative, easy to change accessory.

I have my kitchen and bedroom lights on dimmers and I love the lighting options it creates.  Dimmers can dramatically affect the whole mood of any space.  I’ve been meaning to change the other bedroom switches to dimmers as well.  I would pick out a navy blue switch for my boys room, since the switch is directly on the navy stripe.  This way it will blend in and disappear.  It’s so great to have more color options than just white.

Leviton is hosting 3 twitter events and the dates and times are as follows:

Wednesday, April 18th 9pm EST
Thursday, April 26th 9pm EST
Wednesday, May 2nd 9pm EST

Just follow @Leviton and #Renu for the twitter events and participate, and you’ll have the chance to win some Home Depot gift cards!  Leviton is offering 2 sets of Broadway tickets as a grand prize for the twitter party on Wednesday night! Join in on the fun and see if you’ll win!

You can also like Leviton on Facebook and stay up to date on the latest products and info.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve mentioned before that gardening has never been my forte.  I’m always on the hunt for ideas to have a beautiful yard without a lot of work.  A big problem for us is that we really don’t have a great spot in our yard to plant anything, which is why I only use planter pots or baskets.  So I was delighted to find out that you can plant bulbs in a pot.  I never knew that!  Bulbs have always scared me a bit, but I don’t know why.  After visiting DigDropDone.com, I no longer feel scared to try.  I learned a lot about bulbs like what is it exactly, when to plant them, how far apart to space them, and how to care for them.  Bulbs can be can also be used inside (another fact I wasn’t aware of).   So whether you’re an experienced gardener or a beginner, it’s doable.  The “bulbs 101″ section was very helpful for a newbie like me.  You can also meet the “bulb ladies” as well.  I like Juliana’s tips on doing bulbs in pots–perfect for me.  Head over to visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more

Another great place to visit is Curbside Chaos.  There is a fabulous contest going on right now that you can enter for a chance to have HGTV’s Taniya Nayak come give your yard a $5000 makeover!  Taniya will go through and give you tips on the best way to update your yard! She will give you creative ideas for incorporating flower bulbs into your landscape.  All you need to do to enter is submit a photo of your yard at CurbsideChaos.com.  The contest ends April 15th, so get your entry in TODAY!!!!!!

Here are few other cool features:

• For every share on Twitter, “Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.” will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together – the nation’s leading nonprofit, working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities.

• Be sure to try out the Garden Guru Tool located in the bottom left of the screen. This tool will help you figure out which bulb is perfect for your home depending upon where you live!  Here are the easy steps. 
Step 1 – Pick your Country
Step 2 – Pick your location within that Country
Step 3 – Choose the type of bulb you want to grow
Step 4 – Check out the Planting Guide that shows you how to plant your bulbs.

Here is a screen shot of my planting guide.

I would love to know what your experience with bulbs is.  I’m going to try them in a pot, so I’ll keep you posted. 

I’m taking an early weekend to spend time with these cutie pies.

It’s our spring break this week and we are headed outdoors for the weekend.  Have a good one and I’ll see you back on Monday.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CafeWell. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m also a fitness instructor, so living a healthy lifestyle is important to me and my family.  It’s not about looking good, it’s about being healthy and feeling good.  When you feel good, you are able to give more to those around you and accomplish the things you want to do. 

If you feel like you’re in a slump or need a little motivation to get healthy, then this post is for you.  I’ve just been introduced to CafeWell, a social network for getting and staying healthy.  It’s like a healthy version of Facebook with a ton of cool features to help you stay motivated.  CaféWell is a dedicated healthcare community which is safe, secure and anonymous.  It’s also free to join. 

Here are just a few of the great features CafeWell offers:

• Explore and join discussion groups to share experiences and get support
• Connect with other community members with common health interests
• Invite family and friends to join your own personal health network
• Join or create a challenge that motivates you. 
• Participate with others who have common goals and interests.
• Ask questions and get advice from diet and nutrition experts.

I have to say that my favorite part about CafeWell is the challenges you can join.  There is such a variety to choose from.  You can even join intellectual challenges such as “Read 24 books in one year” and connect with others who are participating.  A few others that caught my eye were “Kick the Can”, “Work out After Work”, “Giving Back to Others”, and “Ban the Box.”  I always seem to stick to my health goals when there is a challenge or if I have to report back to someone.  This is such a great feature to keep you motivated.

Here is a testimonial form one CafeWell member:

“I never thought that I was competitive before.  Now I am counting steps and enjoying seeing them add up.  My husband was actually teasing me a little and telling me that I was competitive after all… It has been fun to encourage each other to get more steps in each day.  It is also fun to see the medals add up.  I don’t know whose idea it was to get this program started, but it was a great one.  I sure hope everyone else is enjoying this health competition to get healthy!”

CafeWell has also partnered up with larger health plans like Altius to provide members with great health programs.  Reach for the Peaks is one of these programs where members participate on CaféWell in a wireless pedometer program that focuses on helping members become and stay more active.  Reach for the Peaks encourages activity and includes regular prizes and social acknowledgements to insured members.

If you’re not insured by Altius, you can still join CafeWell for free and enjoy everything this social network has to offer.  Now that spring is here, there’s no better time to recommit to getting and staying healthy.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have never been one of those people with the perfect lawn.  My husband and I try to take good care of our lawn, but we never seem to achieve the lawn of our dreams. Last year we tried out a lawn service where someone came out to spray every 5 weeks.  I had high expectations but was disappointed with the results.  So this year we are going to try something different.  It’s called the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System.  Neither of us really has a “green thumb” so we need something that is easy and doable for our busy lives.  I think this product might just fit the bill. 

Here are some of the best features about the system:

• It has a no mess, no guess spreader system.
• The Snap Pac connects directly to the Snap Spreader–aka: easy to use.
• No cutting, no opening, no pouring from heavy bags–I LOVE this feature.
• No spilling or waste
• It auto-sets the proper flow rate.
• The EdgeGuard feature minimizes over spray so it stays on the lawn and off your driveway.  It keeps the product right where you want it.
• When you’re finished, the Snap Pac self-seals upon removal making it easy to store.  No more half empty bags sitting on your garage floor. 

Head over and like Snap perks on Facebook for a chance to win some cool prizes.

I am excited to try out this system.  It seems easy to use which is exactly what I need.   Hopefully, I’ll be able to enjoy a healthy beautiful lawn with my family this summer.

What are you doing to keep your lawn looking great?

I’m sitting here cringing as I write this post because I don’t have a video for you.  It turns out that our particular Sony camcorder is not compatible with a Mac.  My husband and I spent the entire last 2 days trying to get it to work.  We downloaded tons of programs, bought a bunch of different cables/cords, and read a million different blogs.  We still had no luck.  Our camera just does not work with a Mac.  It was SO frustrating and I’m so sorry to delay the promised video.  So today I’m off to find a new video camera.  I’m hoping to find something affordable since I wasn’t anticipating this extra expense.

The moral of this story:  DON’T EVER BUY A SONY CAMCORDER UNLESS YOU ARE SURE IT’S COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR COMPUTER!!!!  After everything we read, it seems like this is just a Sony problem.  Have any of you run into this yourself?  I used to think Sony was the best in electronics, but after this whole dilemma, I don’t think I will be purchasing that brand any more.

Hopefully, I’ll have the video for you tomorrow.  Cross your fingers for me.

I can’t wait to share my most recent internet discovery with you.  It will change your life!  Ok- are you ready?!  It’s called clipix.  It will totally replace your bookmarks or favorites bar for sure.  It’s ten million times better.

So here’s how it works.  Your sign up for a free account and drag the “Clip” button to your bookmarks bar.  This takes just seconds.  When you get to a page you want to come back to, you click the “Clip” button and save it into one of your clipboards.  So instead of a big generic bookmarks menu, you put everything into clipboards that you can customize.  You can create as many clipboard categories that you like.  When you go into clipix, you’ll see all your clipboards and everything has a picture so you remember exactly what you wanted to remember.  It’s simply fabulous!

You can watch this short video to see it all in action.

So I decided to clean out my bookmarks and put all the important stuff into organized clipboards with clipix.  Now everything is SO much easier to find.  Here is a screen shot of my clipboards.

When you sign up, there are pre-set clipboards ready for you to add to.  Things like books you want to read, favorite recipes, shoes, gift ideas, and more.  You can keep those, change them, and add your own.  I added categories like favorite fabrics, budget decorating ideas, favorite rooms, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  You can create a new clipboard at any time within the “Clip” panel
You can also choose whether you want your clips to be private or if you want to share them with friends, family, or the whole clipix community.

I spent about an hour going through my old bookmarks and transferring them into my new clipboards.  I didn’t remember what half of them were because there were no pictures.  That’s what is so great about clipix.  Not only are things organized much better, but the pictures help you remember exactly what you want without having to go to the actual page.

Can you tell how much I love clipix yet?  In the short time since I signed up, it has completely changed how I work.  I’m constantly putting together design boards for my clients, and having an organized clipboard for all my product sources has been a huge time saver.  I have a clipboard for each client which makes finding things a snap.

You are going to love it.  Head over to clipix, sign up for a free account, and start clipping.

So what would you use clipix for?  What clipboard categories would you create?

Promoted Post

Hi friends!  This is a sponsored post written by Adam Taylor on behalf of Bathrooms.com.  Thanks for supporting the sponsors that help me keep things running here at BWH.

Many people would love to increase the value of their home. If you’re serious about
doing this then it definitely helps to invest some money in the building, as this can
make a significant difference to what your home is worth. Read on to find out about
some of the best ways to increase the value of your home through investing money in
it.

Get a loft conversion
One of the best investments you can make in your home is a loft conversion. In some
areas of the country, it can add as much as 20% to the value of the building. Loft
conversions can be used for many purposes, such as an extra bedroom or a study
depending on your needs. This means it could be a really practical addition to your
house that benefits you and your family as well as the value of the property.

Renovate the bathroom
Bathrooms are another area of the house where it definitely pays to invest. If you are
looking at bathroom suites, it can be a good idea to go for something fairly neutral
in terms of color, as this makes them more appealing to potential buyers. You can
also get some fantastic bathroom furniture, such as cabinets and cupboards, which
add valuable extra storage space and are very attractive to many people who might be interested in buying your home in the future.

Consider planning permission
Even if you aren’t planning to extend your property while you are living there, it can be a good idea to investigate the possibility of getting planning permission for doing so anyway. For instance, many people who buy houses are interested in the potential to extend them in order to add extra living and bedrooms. If your house is sold with planning permission then this can make it more valuable to the people who are interested in buying it. Having planning permission for an extension means that a lot of the hassle is removed from the process in the future, as well as showing off the potential of your house.

Upgrade plumbing and electrics
Another good investment to make in your house is an upgrade to your plumbing and electrical systems. Modern, high quality plumbing and electrics are not only attractive to buyers and therefore beneficial for the value of your house, but they also make your house much safer and more efficient. This means upgrading your systems can be something worth doing even if you’re not interested in selling the house.

Get a garage
Finally, if your property doesn’t already have a garage, it can be a good idea to build one if possible. Garages are especially attractive to people looking to buy houses in crowded urban areas. If you have a double garage, it can add as much as 15% to the value of the property and so this is definitely an investment worth considering even if you don’t plan to use it yourself.

Overall, while investments by nature cost you money up front, if you are careful about what you spend and where you spend it, any investments you make in your home should more than pay off in the long run.