This Little $3.20 Light Of Mine

So two years this August we moved into our cute little ranch in Maryland. One of the things I down right hate about this house is the ugle flourescent light in the kitchen. I mean nothing is more depressing than the light cast by these lights. That's probably why I've only turned it a couple of times since we moved in.

See what I mean, U.G.L.Y!

I have been looking on and off for something pretty and inexpensive for a while. I have found some really nice pendants like this one for $100.00 at Onestoplighting.com

and this one for $79.99 from Destinationlighting.com:

Both exactly what I am looking for for. Both way to expensive =(

Since I have a strict budget, like almost non-existent, I had to keep looking. After months and months of searching high and low (not really)

I found her totally by accident, I was looking for something for the basement laundry room re-do. (more on that to come soon)

Look at this thing of beauty:

The real kicker, she was on clearance for a mere $3.20. I.Kid.You.Not!

Perfect.

Now I just have to convince my sweetie, that yes, he wants to spend tonight installing my sweet beautiful pendent, since I am not allowed to do anything involving electrical.

Where Is Spring?

Its Monday March 28, 2011 and I have a question. Where in the world is spring? She graced us with her presence briefly two weeks ago, but we haven't seen her since.

I miss this:

Pretty green paths begging, no pleading with hikers to explore. I wonder what wondrous treasures are around that bend?

I also miss this:

Beautiful butterflies and asters, and gardens in general. I need to be in the warm spring air basking in the spring sunshine. I'm looking forward to exploring the streets of our nations capitol again. I love it there. There is just so much to see and do. People watching, eating from street vendors, and taking pictures are at the top of my list of favorite things to do.

I can't wait to enjoy a frozen lemonade in the park again under a grand old oak tree.

Now, that's what I call heaven.

Please Spring will you comeback to Maryland. We miss you.

A Simple Entry

I am always looking for simple home improvement projects and this one has got to be one of the easiest I ever attempted. We have had problems with the "shoe monster" throwing up shoes all over the front hallway since we moved in to our home in western Maryland back in August of 2009. I finally got fed up enough to do something about it, because we are just to darn lazy to put our shoes away in our closets. =)

Oh the horror of it all, tripping over shoes every morning. Not a beautiful sight:

That bench never worked where it is and the entry isn't exactly wide like some others so I had to get creative with the storage. This is what I have to work with. A 75" wide x 44" tall x 8" deep area to contain the shoes of 4 people. Not really a lot of space, but I was determined to make it work.

Off to Ikea I went and came across this:

(oh, don't mind the mess in the background, we're just keeping it real in Maryland =)

Awesome!!! And only $39.99 for each set of three. I purchased two sets and rushed home and got busy! They were super easy to install using wall anchors, screws, a level and my best-est friend ever, my cordless drill. Total time spent to install the cabinets 20 minutes. This is what I ended up with:

Nice, but ohhh soooo boring. It needed something, but what? A nice wood shelf on top, of course.

Off to Lowe's I went. I found a six foot long piece of pine that was nine inches deep for $7.00. Cha-Ching!!

I had to really look for one that didn't have tons of knots. It took some time but I finally found it. Only problem was it was too long and too wide. The nice man at Lowes fixed that problem for me and ripped it to the correct dimensions. Home I went feeling very proud of myself. I plopped that beautiful piece of pine in it's new home but still wasn't quite satisfied. Still looked like it was not quite finished....

She needed something, more accessories, maybe paint, maybe a little stain to bring out her true beauty. Soo, back to Lowe's I went and got some Watco Danish Oil in Medium Oak.

I applied three coats 30 minutes apart. Thats some cool stuff, I tell ya! And viola, She finally shined! I looove, looove, looove it! I went around my house and did some "shopping" for more accessories for the top and I must say I am quite pleased with the out come.

My red chicken I found at Goodwill for $2.00 and spray painted him because he was so ugly before.

One last thing I did was add hooks to one end so my sweetie has someplace to hang his badges for work. It was so easy to do, and it looks too darn cute.

So, we went form this this boring wall not earning its keep:

and this crazy mess left by the shoe monster:

To this wonderful, you have no idea what I am storing beauty:

And another angle just to keep thing interesting =)

Don't mind the hole in the wall, my sweetie is doing some electrical work, so there are some holes in the walls at various spots throughout the house.

So, there you have it, an attractive and very inexpensive front entry shoe storage solution that doesn't take up one inch of floor space!

Enjoy your Sunday!!!

Getting My Feet Wet

After months of following other blogs I have decided to take the plunge and get my feet wet. My main goal is to share my decorating adventures and misadventures while trying to fall in love with my current house. Sometimes this house is not very nice to me. I understand because I have said some pretty cruel things about him over the past year and a half. But with time I hope that we can fall in love and learn to get along. My painted hammer is ready to do some work.