Hello! A few updates from around here. We finally hung some lights I had bought on sales and were taking space in the storage room. I shouldn't say we because we actually hired a local student who also does handyman work on the side as he is trying to get his degree without any student debt. We love to support him and also get some things done around here! 

   

And do you remember this Sputnik chandelier on sale at Home Depot for $55 back in May? We thought it would be a fun addition to the mudroom.

I didn't realize it didn't come with lightbulbs though so that was an added cost. We went with these shatterproof LED's 

We've also learned a few things about getting rid of things. Most go to the DI (our local donation center), some we've sold on Facebook Marketplace and that is a slick way to get some extra cash and clean out at the same time. It's super nice because with Covid people just pay on Venmo and then we leave it on the porch or by the side of the house to pick up. I probably will not give things for free on marketplace again though! We had some leather sofas and a chair that had a broken recliner but were still really comfortable so we thought it would be better to have someone pick them up and be able to use them rather than to take them to the dump. I got many messages saying people were coming but they never did and then it started snowing so we had to cover them up on the side of the house. Then, some people came and just took one chair and then left a broken desk and a walker in our driveway! We were trying to get rid of junk and just got more junk in our driveway! Crazy.  They finally were picked up and the man was thrilled with them but I would probably ask even $10 to get people who were serious about wanting them. 

Can you belive it its Valentine's Day this weekend? If you need a quick solution you can pick up a box of Takis or Flaming Cheetos at Sam's Club and use these printables.   Or, grab some fun mechanical pencils and use these get to the point printables. Good luck! Thanks for stopping by.

In today’s news: we recovered our chairs! Here is what they look like!

They started off like this – $5 each at a yard sale

Then, we recovered them to look like this:

And then they were getting faded and we were ready for a new wood finish.

To get the old finish off I hired my teenage daughter to use the electric sander to take the finish off – it took 2 hours! Sanding finish off is not my favorite, I was happy to hire that one out. Remember Landon’s diy headboard with light that we made this spring?? We just used the leftover stain from that – it is a combination of Minwax classic gray stain with a little provincial.

And for the fabric? We used curtains from Target! One light gray 95” panel covered both chairs!

I loved the color and texture of the fabric:

As I’m looking at the picture I’m seeing some spots where the fabric could have been tucked in better (and straightened!) and some corners that were missed in sanding but I still like them and happily keep them in the family room off of the kitchen where we can slide them over for big family dinners.

AND! I need to tell you about a crazy good light bulb deal I found at Lowes. I have been slowly replacing my chandelier lightbulbs with these ones from Walmart – the 40 watt ceiling fan bulbs that I love the shape of – kind of an Edison type style and they last forever (well, 10,000 hrs) and take much less energy. But they are $6.74 for a 2 pack so I just pick one up every month. WELL, last week at Lowes I saw this crazy good sale for the same Kichler bulbs but they were 99 cents each (reg price $3.98) and didn’t get good reviews.  They also have the same style in a 60 watt equivalent and I got free parcel shipping.

But I thought: why not try and if they don’t work I can return them? I’m happy to report they all worked and so I ordered them for all of my indoor and outdoor light fixtures that they fit and are beautiful!  It’s hard to get a good picture of them when they are on but here is one:

and this is what they look like in the day:

Just wanted to give you a heads up if you are in the market for some LED lightbulbs!

I’ll be back tomorrow with CME + Deals!

I’ve had some requests to do an updated outdoor lighting post! I guess the old one is 4 years old and many aren’t available anymore -- I can’t believe it’s been that long! Anyway, twist my arm twice – you know I love stuff like this. And half of them are even under $50! Here you go:

1. Portfolio Brayden $66

2. Hardware House LED Lantern $38

3. Seagull Jamestowne $87

4. Heath Zenith Motion Lantern $79

5. Kichler Barrington Wood Base $69

6. Y Decor Lora Outdoor Light $36

7. Globe Electric Morrissey $38

8. Altair Coach LED Lantern $19.99 << can’t believe this price, go Costco!!

9. Hardware House Dusk to Dawn LED Lantern $43

10. Hardware House Large Square Dusk to Dawn LED Lantern $54

Do you have a favorite or another that you’ve seen somewhere else? I really, really love #3 but we also have #4 on our back doors and they are really fantastic – kept their black color really well, go on automatically at night, they have been great. Feel free to share in the comments ~

We talked about our entryway/foyer light debacle yesterday, but here are some of my favorites that I was considering:

1. Midtown $232

2. Piedmont $149

3. Valencia $84 --- see it in Chris’ home!

4. Antique Copper $160

5. Earling $145

6. Providence $115

7. Orb Chandelier $399 --- see knockoffs here and here!

8. Ashley $126

9. Edison $118

10. Filament $112

I hope this helps in your lighting searches! Do you have an entryway light that you’re drooling over?

** Updated: many of these are out of stock but we have an updated outdoor lighting post here **

Hello, friends! We have talked about pendant lights here, and sconces here, don’t you think it’s about time to talk about outdoor lighting??

As you can see, I love lantern styles, so I rounded up 10 of my favorites under $100 – most are about $50. I think they are just the finishing touch to the outside that say, “my owners care about me enough to pick out pretty lights – and I look expensive, but you’ll never know how much I really cost…well, unless you go look it up online.”

1. Barrie $52

2. Jamestowne $78

3. Parsons Field $99

4. Sutton 4 Light $100 (you can go smaller for less money)

5. Sea Gull $83

6. Brayden $55

7. Harbor $70

8. Transitional $56 OR see this 2 pack for $35!!

9. Castle Creek $40

10. Satin Black Motion $35

Which is your favorite? Or leave a link to one that you love.

I finally picked one out for our new home – do you want to guess which one? I’ll let you know in the comments tomorrow – I need to do a house update post, it’s moving right along!