William has been asking us to make some changes to his room since we bought a bunk bed for Molly and Mia. His favorite color is green, so Micah got to work on Will’s great green room.

The color looks yellow here, but it’s actually a bit darker.

We had to bring swatches to Target to match them with Circo’s Backyard Friends collection. I found the quilt on eBay at half price, but it hasn’t arrived yet.

Mia spotted the matching wall decals for $3.88! I’m proud of her for shopping end caps. I’ve trained her well!

The last item (I hope I don’t regret this) was a TV. Molly and Mia have one in their room for “movie nights”, so it seemed like it was time for Will to have one of his own. We got a 19″ TV with a built-in DVD player for under $100 (another eBay find). We mounted it on the wall, which he thinks is so cool. I guess birthday presents are showing up early this year.

We also had to replace the track lighting in the living room. I was so disappointed that it burnt out, and even more disappointed to learn that no one sells Valo sets anymore. I re-wired the new set to plug it in. I had to tack down and paint the cord, and then, I added a dimmer.

The shades match the fixture in the entryway, as well as the decor in the living room. I was finishing up when one of the pendants in the kitchen broke (another Valo set). That meant yet another trip to Home Depot, which resulted in an impulsive purchase. The $19.00 clearance sticker was a welcomed sight, and I brought the brushed nickel G-shaped track fixture home. The installation was easy, but the fixture looks hideous. I keep picturing mauve carpets and black lacquer furniture, because that is the only place where this thing would belong. I think I’ll have to cut my losses and buy something else, but I need a break first.

This was supposed to be a dumb post about kitchen window treatments, but how else do these things start?

I put way too much thought into what would look good hanging from our kitchen window. Valances were always too long, shades blocked out too much light, and I despise cafe curtains. Finally, I took everything down to see how the window would look bare. I put a fresh coat of white paint on the trim. It looked lovely. What I noticed while I was standing on a chair… not so lovely.

The ceiling fixture was hanging down, and I couldn’t believe how loose it was. I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal to replace it, so I found a mini pendant on sale. Once I took the old light down, I saw that the ceiling was blackened above it. The insulation inside was black. The wiring was a mess, too. Not good, especially when you consider that we leave this light on every night when we go to bed. Still, no big deal, I could fix this… And then the screw holes disintegrated right in my fingertips and broke off the ceiling box. What. The. Eff.

I went up to the attic. That box might as well have been on the moon. I was starting to weigh my options when Micah declared I’d probably electrocute myself if we didn’t just get a handyman for this one. I didn’t want to give in, but we found a reasonable “no job’s too small” electrician in the Pennysaver.

We thought of a few other things while he was here. Our inspector had recommended that we add another GFCI outlet in the kitchen because we only had one in the house. Done. I asked him to figure out why the wiring was bad behind the range hood. Zap. For the first time in probably thirty years, this house has a working range hood. Amazing. Lastly, we asked if he could install electrical outlets in two of the bathrooms. We have one in the master bath, but none in the others. That always seemed kind of weird. He will be back to do that tomorrow. I’m all excited about having night lights and plug-in air fresheners. I think I need a new hobby.

Bare-naked window:

With new pendant:

I’m still dreading the yard work. We are going to hang the last two doors over the weekend, then stop for about five minutes…

I love the wall color in the master bedroom. It’s called Eversong (Color Place), and it seems to change its hue at different times of the day. We replaced the old white ceiling fan with a chandelier three years ago, and after that I started using black frames and accents in a pewter color.

I updated some of the wall art yesterday. I rounded up some extra frames I had in the closet, and ordered prints of some photos I had taken. Total cost: $2.00.

I also found a framed print on sale at Kohl’s (similar to the one in the dining room). It’s hard to resist when you have a 20% off coupon!

I also painted the light fixture in the master bathroom. I couldn’t find a metallic paint I liked, so I ended up using something I already had. I painted the frame of a large mirror (which is now in the master bedroom) and some plates that are hanging in the dining room a few years ago, so I used that. It’s an improvement, and it was free!

Before:

After:

Before:

After (actually lighter than pictured):

The ceiling fan in William’s room was old and obnoxiously noisy. We had been meaning to replace it for a long time, but I was very picky about what I wanted. It’s a very small room, so it couldn’t be larger than 44 inches. I hate the multiple-lights-with-shades look (I had that issue in the living room, but added some nicer shades to make it look better). Lastly, I wanted to have some sort of wall-mounted wireless control. I settled for a wireless remote with a wall bracket that installs over an existing light switch. Then, I found the fan. It was the closest thing I could find to what I wanted without ordering online.

I had been looking at ceiling fans for months, but I had no idea when we would get around to actually replacing the old one. I went to Home Depot and decided today would be the day. I went home, dismantled the old fan, and started assembling the new one. And then it hit me. I’m having a baby in four days. I’m huge. What the hell was I doing? I got as far as I could, then waited for Micah to get home. I thought he’d be shocked at what I was doing, but he knows me too well. He helped me finish up and did all of the awkward lifting/holding. It was hot outside and the air was humid, so it felt like hours of work.

Out with the old…

In with the new…

Will is happy with his new ceiling fan. He says the old one was dirty.

Micah has been working hard on yard work. The lawn looks beautiful right now! Here’s a view of our front yard (half of it, anyway):

I put fertilizer down a few weeks ago, and ended up with 5 or 6 big burn spots. Micah re-seeded, and it’s already filling in perfectly. I’ve kept up with the edging around the fence, pruning the apple tree and getting rid of weeds. I’m also kind of addicted to sweeping the garage. Some people “nest”. I just get a little carried away… but the house has never looked better.

The downstairs bathroom confused the hell out of me when a realtor showed it to us. Since then, we had most of the plumbing redone, put in new flooring and a new toilet. We even tried to paint the moulding to contrast with the walls, but that never looked right. The most confusing thing of all, however, was the light fixture on the ceiling.

Before:

I couldn’t find a replacement with the right dimensions at first glance, and couldn’t spend the money on one anyway. I picked up some glass trims for recessed lighting (which also reminded me to replace a broken one near the front door). I replaced the flood lights with energy efficient bulbs and painted the ceiling, along with the fixture. This was the end result:

I’d rather have this fix for a few dollars anyway. The next task was replacing the sconce. The ceiling was built with what I presume to be fiberglass-faced drywall. The sconce was so close to the ceiling that it had burned a hole into it! I’m surprised it didn’t start a fire.

Here’s my $11.00 replacement:

Micah was impressed. He helped me finish painting the rest of the bathroom, which I can only describe as the hexadecimal color formerly known as “Alice Blue” (I still miss the simplicity of HTML). Everything looks fresh and updated. I’ll attempt to keep it that way.

I went to Home Depot today and walked out with an under-cabinet 6 light set. Micah took over with the installation, and I finished up the wiring. I love it. This was a spur-of-the-moment project, but another affordable one. It really accentuates the backsplash.

My family visited us this weekend. My father and I completed some wiring in the attic; adding a junction box, an outlet in the attic, and wiring the twins’ chandelier.

Working on the wiring:

The new outlet, which was needed for the fan for ventilation:

Chandelier in twins’ bedroom:

Our chandelier has been installed. I am so happy to have a working light by the front door again!

Not much else has been going on. I spent an hour doing yard work today. It was about 90 degrees and very humid. Still, I’d rather work on things gradually than spend an entire day catching up. I don’t know if it’s the soil, or maybe the climate, but everything (including weeds) grow incredibly fast here. The corn stalks in the vegetable garden are already almost as tall as I am.

Next up: Replacing the metal railing at the edge of the living room with a wood railing.

It’s time to follow up on the doorway fixture… the doorway fixture fiasco. I spent several hours of quality time with my ceiling the other day, standing on an 8-foot ladder with a heavy chandelier in one hand. Eventually, I was done. Then came the big moment. I returned from the fuse box with pride and flipped the switch. Nothing happened. I walked upstairs to try the other two switches. Still, nothing. Without hesitation I turned everything off and headed back up there to remove the chandelier. It appears that the problem lies in the chandelier’s wiring. That’s what I get for buying questionably low-priced items on eBay. I don’t think I’ve learned my lesson completely yet, but in this matter, I have. The brass monstrosity was too heavy to return to its old stomping grounds, so became apparent that we would need to purchase another fixture. It would need to be the right size and style, and it would need to come from an actual store. And then, I found this:

A friend of Micah’s who happens to be a handyman/electrician is coming in to install it. Ahh, the luxury of kicking back, knowing it’s done right, and conserving my energy for far easier, more affordable home improvement projects.

I’ve been searching eBay for a new entryway light fixture. This has been going on for a long time. It had to be a good size, which meant it would be expensive. I didn’t want to pay much. So I didn’t. I won this in a no reserve auction for $5.25. It’s 26″ high, 32″ wide, with 5 lights. That should do it.

Right now, we have one of those brass-and-beveled-glass-strips chandeliers. I won’t be sad to see that thing go.