Snippets of life: around the house

I love this photo of Thomas.   A little squishy bum, running free in the fields.  I had it printed on metallic paper and mounted on styrene, so it has an awesome, fresh glow on the wall.  I love the splash of color.  It just makes me happy in an area otherwise black, stainless steel silver and white. 



After a intro from Rich Brownrice on hanging things without the studs, I hung these frames a few weeks ago.  Times that I love:  Thomas's award winning pic, the 3 of us at the Seahawks game, our engagement shoot, and the drawing we used for the coloring contest at our wedding, complete with a wedding pic of us holding it at the reception. 


And my most favorite project of late: the transition from golden light in the kitchen to white light. 

I give you our previous golden glass chandelier.  It hung over the kitchen table and gave off the most 80s-era glow ever.  When we would move the kitchen table, people would always hit their head on the lamp because it hung so low -- even when we moved it to the shortest level. Oh, and the glass normally stands vertically.  :)  It's hanging in the living room until we get it in the 'donation box' for St. Vincent de Paul.  


Here's the brand new fixture, complete with 3 CFL's -- bright, clean light without lots of energy used.  You see the hook that used to hold the cord of  the 80s lamp.  That will be filled in an painted, sometime down the line. 


The fixture that used to be here was so ugly that I couldn't even bring myself to capture it on camera. 

Picture a $5 glass light...except the glass shattered and broke when we had our roof replaced.  All that was left was the lightbulb and insulation hanging out.  It literally hung like that for more than a year.  Just not high enough on the 'to do' list.  Rich, Sandy and I picked this out...and it gives off amazingly beautiful light!  Rich installed both the track lights and the light above, with the help of his trusty assistants, Sandy and me. 

And the bonus of this track lighting?  No insulation hanging out.  :)


This fixture was the last to go in.  It actually was a replacement after the first fixture (which was an incredible lemon to start with) began smelling like smoke.  Not the best feature of a new lamp.

Do you know why I love this particular fixture?

I installed it myself -- hard wiring and all!  Granted, I did have Rich on speed dial and speakerphone as I did the wiring, and I shut off power to most of the house (including the wireless router -- otherwise I would have Skyped Rich in!)...but the entire installation came at my own hands.  Yay me!


The whole kitchen will be painted sometime this summer, so I'll unveil the rest of the kitchen then. 

I love checking stuff off the 'house list'!!