Our desire to paint the exterior of our brick house white has been growing, but we still have some reservations. In this post we explore the pros and cons we’ve been debating for years, share a few new insights we recently learned, and ask for your opinion—what would you do if this were your house? We also explain why Sherry stopped following a vegan diet, how our TV provider unexpectedly left us prompting a rethink of our cable-cutting setup, and how we ultimately figured out ways to save money.
You can download this episode from Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn Radio, or Spotify — or listen to it below. Use this page to follow any links, notes, or photos we reference. Note: If you’re reading in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to see the player.
What’s New
- If you missed the original discussion of Sherry’s veganism experiment last fall, you can catch it in Episode #66: Are Meal Delivery Kits Really Worth It.
- Here are some of her favorite meals and snacks from this near-opposite eating experiment:
- Scrambled or hard boiled eggs
- Taco bowls without beans or rice (extra meat, avocado, cheese, salsa, and sometimes sour cream)
- Barney Butter almond butter single-serve packs — a favorite snack in the episode
- Cobb salad or any salad with chicken, ham, or bacon and a rich dressing (bleu cheese or tzatziki)
- Chicken salad eaten straight from the bowl
- Turkey and cheese roll-ups
- Fresh broccoli with spinach-artichoke dip
- String cheese, Kalamata olives, roasted almonds
- Turkey slices spread with Laughing Cow cheese and rolled
- Mozzarella, basil, and a drizzle of balsamic dressing
- Bai drinks as a low-carb sweet breakfast beverage (favorite flavor: Pineapple)
- If you want more on how we cut the cable, listen to Episode #46: The New Home Habit That’s Saving Us Nearly $1000 or read our blog post on cutting the cable.
- We also posted a how-to on hiding TV wires that you might find useful.
- We use Sling for streaming and are on the Sling Blue plan for $24.99/month. Sling Orange is the cheaper option at $19.99/month, and there are several a la carte extras available.
Painting Our House
- For context, that image above shows our house as it looks today. Below is a view from the back, where you can also spot a peek of the cafe lights.
- Thanks to Elsie at A Beautiful Mess and Gwen at The Makerista for sharing their experiences with maintaining a painted white exterior. Their projects helped inform our thinking about upkeep and aesthetic choices.
We’re Digging
- We installed Fiet Electric 48ft indoor/outdoor string lights over our back patio. They create a warm, casual vibe. There are multiple listings for these lights, so you may need to search if a particular listing is out of stock.
- We ordered two sets initially, thinking we’d double them up, but with only one anchor point on the right side they created a bulky cluster. We returned the extra set to use at the beach house instead.
- Currently the lights run from a white outdoor extension cord that we plug into an outlet on our covered porch, and are hung using white Ook hooks.
- For shorter runs, the Smith & Hawken 14ft string lights from Target are well reviewed and worth considering.
- The Barney Butter almond butter packs are Sherry’s daily 3pm snack—they’re convenient and portion-controlled.
If you’re looking for recommendations from past episodes but don’t remember which show notes to open, here’s a master list of everything we’ve been digging from previous shows.
Thanks to Annie Selke’s BED101 for sponsoring this episode. Enter to win a complete “Load It On” luxury bedding set at AnnieSelke.com/Giveaway. This prize is exclusive to Young House Love listeners.
Thanks for listening, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on painting the house white and any tips you have for keeping a painted exterior looking great.
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