Hot and Cold: A Project!

You may remember a few months back, in the fall, when I begged  Cory  to pick me up an electronic thermostat from his part-time job since there was ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I could go through the winter without one....

We had opted not to roll the price of an electronic one into the cost of our mortgage, especially with the mark-ups they charge!  So we have been living with this thing since June:

I had really good intentions of making the change, and installing the new one myself.  I even attempted it 3 times.  (By attempt I mean took it out of the package, read the instructions, popped the top off the old one, and then stared at the insides for about 20 minutes before realizing that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing.  I promptly placed it back in the package each time.

Fast forward to this past Thursday when we had Cory`s family over for dinner. I happened to remember that his brother in law is an electrician.  So we made arrangements for them to pop over on Sunday and set the thing up.  So in about 10 minutes, while I gave Mandy  a tour of the house, Cory installed the new thermostat.  I`m actually a little sad that I never got to do it myself, but at least I know when to give in, and leave the hard stuff to the pros!!

Here`s what things look like now:

It`s a little larger than the old one...  but I`m alright with that, since the price was right and it`s got 5 programmable temperatures for each day of the week!

Now we`re a little greener and much more efficient over at our house!

Spring Essential

I came across this cute little jacket while doing some online browsing this morning, and had to share. Since I now live close enough to work that I will most likely be biking/walking/rollerblading to and from work, when the weather is finally nice out again. I've seen plenty of these jacket-to-go ideas before, but these ones are actually cute!!

They come in a whole slew of colors. But I am loving this cheerful orchid color! Perfect to leave in my desk drawer at work!!

a quick hello

I've been gone a little while, and I apologize. Between getting sick, and then slipping on some ice at the carwash, I was spending a lot of time holed up on the couch.
I'm just about back to normal, but since the bf finally has a weekend day off, we're having a "date" weekend, so I'll be back tomorrow evening with a new project to share.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

"Goodwill" Hunting

I had another afternoon by myself, and I wanted to get out of the house, so I decided it would be a perfect day to hit Goodwill. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, so I grabbed a few bucks, and hit the housewares section.

I can't actually tell you the last time I hit a Goodwill or related-type of store, so of course, I was pretty excited when I realized that there was a ton of things I could get for under $5.00!!

The first thing that caught my eye was this lovely wine rack:

Okay, so the oil-rubbed bronze with ivy covered trellis, isn't usually something I would be drawn to.... but I was really excited to find it! Initially I thought about possibly painting it, maybe a white or even a solid black.

But when I put it in the corner, it looked perfect! It only has 6 slots, which is fine for us, since we actually don't drink wine (well, Cory does once in a while, but I can't stand it!).

See? I didn't even have enough bottles in my stash to fill the thing! Plus, it opens up some space in the "bar" cupboard for bottles of alcohol we do actually drink

!Not bad for $3.99 huh? Especially considering I was contemplating buying a less sturdy-looking, less attractive rack 2 weeks ago at HomeSense that was quite a bit more!

I'm sure I'll be checking out other locations more regularly, to see if I can start amassing a collection of milk-glass for the china cabinet!

What else did I get up to today? It involved this: I'll post more on this project later this week, when I finish it!

Change in plans... but positive results

I had a lot of things on my things to do around the house list this week. Unfortunately, mom's time at the doctor meant an overnight stay at the hospital for her. She was released this morning, doing well, but they've recommended that she not drive til tomorrow.... so she's staying with us another night. So, while I don't get to do the house-related projects I had planned, I am glad to say my mom is doing well, and her heart scans are now "beautiful" according to the nurse I spoke with

I guess in hindsight, it worked out well, since I ended up working late each day this week!

Hopefully, I can get some stuff done this weekend. I have a brand new can of spray paint with my name on it!

Vintage (Wooden) Lamp Update: Stage 1

About a month ago, I scored this new girl:

Apparently, my mom had gotten a pair of the lamps from a friend a few years back, and had given one that she wasn't using, to my brother for his first place. Thankfully, when I mentioned I liked the shape and size, he mentioned he wasn't using it. So, a few weeks later, he dropped her off!

Thankfully, I have a pretty good imagination, cause when she arrived, she left little to be desired... The wood-tone was NOT my style, the base was gold, and the shade was sooooo old, the pleated fabric part had come completely unglued from the plasticy-liner portion of the shade.

What I DID like: The base was tall and pretty substantial, and I really liked the shape! I knew with a little paint, and a new shade, this would look great in my house!

Immediately, visions of the re-created lamp started filling my head. Should I paint it white, and add a black shade? No, too modern. Should I paint it the same color as the walls ( ICI's Antique Sterling) and add a huge white drum shade? That was veto'd as too boring by Cory and my mom, They thought I needed something with a little more impact - like the bright turquoise of our bedroom lamps. One of which is currently sub'ing in the living room for some extra reading light. Okay, so I was set on getting a huge white drum shade, and possibly a turquoise lacquer.... when my search for a white drum shade lead me to this beauty at HomeSense.
Love, love, love that nubby tweed. However, the $20 price tag made me put it back on the shelf, because I was looking for white....

When I came back a few days later, it was still the one tweed one sitting there, amidst a pile of cream damask! I took that as a sign, since I was still thinking about it. I threw it in my cart and never looked back!

Luckily for me, it was a perfect fit when I threw it on! It was a far-cry from what I was originally envisioning, but it looks great... well except for the base that needs some work!

So now, all that's left is painting the base. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a bright white... oh yeah, and grab a lamp finial (somehow this one went missing).

I'll share the reveal as soon as I finish it!

New Year, so far.

Hope your first few days of the new year are going well. We had a nice night ringing in the new year with good friends, as usual. We spent yesterday by just doing NOTHING and spending time with one another. I literally stayed in my jammies all day! It was wonderful.

Today, however the day apparently got the better of me. That, and when I went to download some pics on my desktop, I plugged in the USB port, and apparently broke the darn thing. Yup, the USB port fell inside the whole machine! So, I will have to get someone to look at it now. I will also have to start using the laptop as my primary machine :( since it appears my old one is about ready to go anytime soon! Guess I will be shopping for a laptop later this year!

Anyhow, I've been working through each room of the house, cleaning and organizing. I'm cracking down, and getting rid of the clutter. I want to start the new year off on the right foot! As I work through each room, I find myself writing and adding to lists I am starting in my notebook ( things to buy; new projects to do; stuff to fix; etc, etc.). So I anticipate a ton of changes, projects, happenings this year! I'm excited to tackle them. In fact, so excited that it caused me to put a small hole in the wall today..... I got ahead of myself and started to hang something and then realize it wasn't ready for hanging, and that I am not familiar with wall anchors lol... So that hole will be getting patched later this week!

Here's what I have planned for the upcoming week:

~ fixing damaged baseboards

~ accessorizing a toilet tank

~ a new front hallway display

~starting a lamp re-do

For now, I'll leave you with this gorgeous picture of our back deck:

I just love how peaceful it looks out there in the morning, covered in snow!