We were both surprised by the experience of going completely without television for a while—especially Sherry. Today we’re sharing what we learned from that experiment, what was difficult, and the unexpected side effects. We’ll also talk about how this break might change our viewing habits going forward. On top of that, we tried a fresh paint-sampling approach to solve a wall color dilemma at the beach house. Sherry gives an update on her continuing “tooth jail” situation, and I nerd out a little about pairing paint colors with geography.
What’s New
We tested several pink swatches for the beach house living room. The photo isn’t perfect—it was a quick phone snap on an overcast day—but it gives a sense of the tones we sampled. The removable vinyl paint color decals we used were from Clare; we picked them up for free during a promotion, though they’re normally sold individually for a small fee. These decals helped us experiment without committing to full paint samples.
- We originally discussed Clare Paint on Episode #109 last summer; that conversation explains why the brand caught our attention.
- The three Clare colors we tried were Wing It, Baby Soft, and Rosé Season. In photos some of them look better than we remembered, but in person they didn’t quite hit the mark for the living room.
We also ordered sample decals from Backdrop, another online paint company. Their package arrived recently and we tried four of their decal shades—Harajuku Morning, Rose Quartz, Modern Love, and Not So Delicate. We didn’t put all of the swatches on the wall because one was clearly too dark, but the set gives a sense of the direction we’re exploring.
- Balancing paint choices against the chimney’s undertones and the gray trim is a tall order—some colors read differently beside those existing elements.
- We haven’t captured a great photo of our new beach house couch yet, but it’s the Mellow Sofa from our furniture line. It’s currently sold out thanks to strong demand, and we’re working to restock it.
- For a previous project at the duplex we used DIY paint sample decals: you buy blank decals, paint two coats of your samples on them, and stick them on the wall. It’s not necessarily faster or cheaper, but it gives real confidence when choosing a color.
If you’re following Sherry’s Invisalign updates, we’ve covered this journey before. Past episodes detail getting Invisalign back in 2016, adding elastics in 2017, and an extended “tooth jail” sentence that carried into 2018. Those earlier conversations give context to her current progress and occasional rants.
State Your Colors Quiz
We explored the State Your Colors paint trios from Sherwin-Williams to find coordinated palettes and regional color cues. In a fun twist, my suggestion of Chesapeake for Virginia turned out to be an exterior stain color, and Sherry’s offhand “Dogwood White” idea closely matched Sherwin-Williams’ White Dogwood, which reads as a subtle pink—illustrating how regional associations and undertones affect color perception.
TV-Free Week
If you missed the mention of our TV-free experiment, it came up during our Joshua Becker interview in Episode #128. The short version: going without TV reshaped daily routines and revealed a lot about what we actually missed—and what we didn’t. Cutting cable years ago saved us money and reduced passive viewing, and this week-long break produced similar benefits.
- During our TV-free stretch we played a lot of quick, energetic games with the kids—Happy Salmon, Life Jr., and Tenzi have been big hits and kept everyone engaged.
- We’ve written about cutting cable before; removing it forced us to be more intentional about shows we value and saved us roughly a thousand dollars a year.
We’re Digging
- Our furniture collection is currently on sale at Joss & Main for a limited time. If you’ve been watching any pieces, this is a good opportunity to pick them up.
- It’s also been amusing to see the playful product names the retailer assigned—some felt delightfully random and oddly charming.
- During our TV-free week I read Radium Girls, a powerful and enraging history that highlights how workers were told radium was beneficial while they handled it. It’s an excellent, sobering read.
- Sherry’s been into biodegradable floss picks lately and has been recommending them. She enjoys the ritual and the environmental angle, even when items go temporarily out of stock.
If you’re searching for something we’ve recommended in a past episode, we maintain a master list of all the things we’ve been digging over the years, including the books we’ve suggested on our Book Club page. Those resources are a handy way to revisit favorites and find the episodes where we discussed each item.
A thank you to Agility Bed for sponsoring this episode. They recently ran a Presidents’ Day sale that included discounts on mattresses and complimentary pillows during the promotion. We appreciate their support in helping keep the podcast running.
Thanks for reading and listening, everyone—your attention and feedback mean a lot to us. We’ll keep sharing what we learn as we test new ideas, tackle home projects, and try experiments like the TV-free week.
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