While I was on my vacation, I was contacted by a representative for Silksleep to do a review of one of their silk products.  To be completely honest, at first I was not familiar with Silksleep or their products.  After doing a little more research, I found out they are a UK based company that ships worldwide and specializes in luxurious silk linens.

I told the representative I was more of a ‘cotton sheet person’ and that I wanted to be honest to my readers about what I preferred.  (whats the point in doing a product review if I’m not going to be honest, right?)  He suggested I try one of their Silk Eye Masks and offered to send me one for free, what did I have to loose?

When I got back from our vacation, my package from Silksleep was in the mail.  My silk eye  mask came in a little silk pouch, just a nice touch..us girls love these details.

The first thing I noticed when checking out my mask was the soft texture.  These masks, along with the other silk products by Silksleep are made from 100% pure fiber mulberry silk which is the softest, highest quality silk available.

When it came time to put it on, I was SHOCKED at how much light it really blocked.  It was total darkness in a completely lit room as it was daytime.  I am one of those people who is really bothered by light when trying to sleep.  Blinking electronics, digital clocks, even light peaking through the bottom crack of a door can be bothersome and when we travel I actually lay shirts and towels over anything with a light in a room.

The mask also felt very comfortable to wear.  The strap was secure but not in the slightest bit tight as there nothing soothing about wearing something tight across your face at night.  I didn’t realize it until I was wearing it that the mask that is also contained these little soft pouches that sit right under your eyes.  (probably what helped to block out all that night)  They felt like little soft pillows under my eyes.

I’ve never been a “sleep mask” kind of person before so despite its comfort and functionality,  I was still skeptical I would enjoy a night’s sleep with it on.  I gave it a shot…

It was wonderful!!!  Truly!  I wasn’t bothered by John watching his tv before bed, or the light from my son’s monitor.  I never had to adjust the straps in the middle of the night and wasn’t once tempted to remove it.

Silksleep really impressed me with their quality of product.  I am so pleased with my new mask and have been checking out their website interested in other products, such as their silk blankets.  Silksleep offers a number of other luxurious products including but not limited to linens, duvets, even pillows. I highly recommend them and am thankful for an opportunity to review their product.

*While I was given this product for free to review, I did not receive monetary compensation for my product review.  All reviews represent the opinion of Floridays Mom based on personal use and results.*

The majority of our house has popcorn ceilings.

I know they absolutely repulse most people, but they’ve come to be something that I’ve just always known to have.  The house I grew up in had them, as did the 2 homes we owned before this house.  In our existing home, the kitchen and dining room were spared (or removed by the previous owner) and most of my downstairs is vaulted so its really not super notable in my opinion.

However, there are a few spaces in our downstairs (master, laundry room and hall) that I’m considering removing as they are lower ceilings and really started to bug me.  The house was built in 1989 so there is no concern for asbestos.. its just an eyesore at this point.

Now, the huge question.  Do we DIY, Hire-Out or Let em’ Be?

DIY:
I’ve read countless tutorials on how to remove popcorn ceilings, and everyone seems to be on the same page in that it is an easy job but an extremely messy one. Pretty Handy Girl has one of the best tutorials I’ve seen out there.  She tackled her laundry room which is on my list.

via Pretty Handy Girl

While she states the job is quite messy she also notes that it is an incredible rewarding job.  I think I’d be willing to take on my laundry room as its small, but my master is quite large and certainly more intimidating.  Pretty Handy Girl left her ceilings with a smooth finish and they look amazing, but I’ve read that larger spaces can have dips  and valleys where the drywall meets leaving a really unfinished look.

2. Hire-Out

Sometimes you have to just let the professionals handle the job.  I’ve had several quotes and most seem to be around the same price.   In order to remove the popcorn ceilings and add new knock-down texture to I am looking at $800-$900 for the 3 areas on my list.  ($400 for my master alone)  The nice thing with hiring out is they will do all the taping off and we’ll get that professional knock-down texture finish rather the smooth finish that we’ll likely end up with if we DIY.  BUT, I can’t help but think of all the other fun things I can buy for my master with $400.  (i.e, new lamps, paint, decorative pillows)

3. Let em’ Be:

Should I just leave them alone?  Are they really that bad?  If I give the space a face-lift and keep the popcorn as-is will I be equally happy with the results?  Regardless of what route I choose there is going to be a lot of prep work involved as my master bedroom is currently FULL of furniture and I’d have to prime and paint the ceilings after with either removal option.  Would a fresh coat of paint on the walls and some colorful decor be all I really need to spruce up this space?  Think of all the time and money I could save if I just forgot about the popcorn ceilings and moved on with updating this room otherwise.

What are your thoughts?  Do you current live with popcorn ceilings?  Ever removed them yourself? Are you someone would couldn’t even consider living with them?  Would love some honest advise here.

That’s right, I’m back!  Vacation is over and its time for me to get my head toes out of the sand and get back to DIY’ing and blogging.

So where have I been?  Well, my husband and I rented a beach home for the month of June.  We took Colin out of pre-school, packed up every beach toy we owned and called the charming beach community of Ponce Inlet, FL our home for the month.

Here is an areal shot of the town

 As you can see, its a perfect little inlet with Inter-coastal waters on one side and powder white-sand beaches on the other.  (can you tell I love it there!)

There are no hotels in Ponce Inlet, its all private homes via condos or houses, most of which only allow for monthly rentals.  We rented the same beach home we did 2 years ago because we just fell in love with it then.  If you usually stay at hotels when you vacation, renting a home can be a really fun and different vacation experience.    We’ve had better luck with some than others.  (some weren’t quite as charming in person as they were in pics), but usually we make out well.  We prefer to use VRBO.com  when we rent a private home.

VRBO.com is an awesome site that lists vacation rentals literally everywhere in the world.  Whether its a London flat, a Mexican villa, or a cabin in the Carolina’s, VRBO.com has one listed.  You can narrow your search by location, availability or other options such as the number of bedrooms or whether they are pet friendly.  Its so easy to find the vacation home for your needs.

If you are interested in checking out the place we rented, its http://www.vrbo.com/9007.  Its a beautiful oceanfront town-home in a small complex of just 12 units with a pool.  No other fancy amenities; just miles and miles of beaches and a perfect place for a family vacation.

As much fun as our vacation was, I’m excited to be back and have a long list of projects I am ready to tackle and share.  Thank you and welcome to those of you who signed up as subscribers while I was on my little break.  I am sorry I just checked out and didn’t offer more warning about my absence, I just didn’t feel right about letting the world know my home was going to be empty for a month.  (I hope you understand)  Happy to be back.

Have a great weekend!