Hair Idol

That's right. I have an American hair idol.  I have for quite some time now.  Now let's be clear here,  I've had many many hair styles, colors and idols.  I guess we could start from the beginning... 4 years old?   It was Shirley Temple:

DIY Filing Cabinet Makeover

Heya Nesters!  Well I finally had a chance to put the finishing touches on a project I've been working on for a couple months.  I alluded to it in this post but I don't think anyone really picked up on it. It really was only a few days work, but with nice long gaps in between.  I guess it was somewhere between laziness and being busy.  I had about hit my wits end when it came to file organization...

Boston Picker

Heya Nesters!   Do you ever have those mornings where you do exactly the same thing you do every morning, but for some reason that morning, everything takes twice as long?  This morning was that morning for me.  I leave myself two hours and fifteen minutes to get ready.  That includes some light house cleaning, eating breakfast, making Matt and I lunch, and probably the longest portions: doing my hair and standing in front of my closet figuring out what to wear.  Somehow I left my house 10 minutes late today.  When I got in the car, I remembered that it was pretty much on empty. *sigh*  Of course.....

All lit up inside!

Last weekend was an exciting one for the ol' homestead... Matt and I popped out to Home Depot Saturday afternoon for some odds and ends and wound up craning out necks, checking out the lighting fixtures.  We had done a quick lap, landing looking at these two similar, yet very different chandeliers to potentially live over our dining room table.

Matt really liked this Mission style guy.

And I really liked this lovely lady.

I thought his was a little too severe, and while Matt liked my choice, he isn't crazy about having downward facing bulbs.  Looking up = going blind and that's no fun for anyone. Fair enough.  We decided to make another lap around before giving up. And in this crazy little section that was all on it's own {we still aren't sure why...}  we found our Kate Middleton of chandeliers. 

She's clean, sophisticated, not too flashy, but still totally stunning.  Sure, it's not the most original chandelier known to man, but it's clean look will withstand any of my future crazy, design changes in the house. After falling in love with our Princess Kate Chandy, we were talking about how much we loved her and that with all of our huffing and puffing about how ugly our 1970's etched glass chandeliers were, it would be better if we shied away from the trendy oil rubbed bronze look anyway for fear that down the road, that will look just as dated.  I can just see our grand kids saying "Ew Grandma!  That chandelier is so 2012!"  Let's be real- I'll never let my house get that way, but it's kind of funny to think about.

But the best part?   If you check out the link, HD has it on their site for $189!  That crazy little section must have been the clearance corner because we snagged this puppy for $79.99!  Putting my math to work, that is a 57.7% savings!  Our wallet was thanking us!  

 

We also noticed this little $6.99 flush-mounted ceiling light whose box was sitting right next to our chandy's, that was perfect for our hall way. And again! On the website... $29.99!! That is 76.7% off!  We thought we got good deals, but until I was checking them out on the Home Depot website, did I really realize how much we saved!! I am on cloud nine!

On our way home, Matt prefaced to me "Now,  these might not go up until April break, is that okay?" {Remember, he is a teacher.}   Of course it was! As long as we had a light at the end of the tunnel {believe it or not- that was a fully unintended pun.}  I was sittin' pretty!  That evening I set sail on a beautiful and super fun Odyssey Cruise, for my girlfriends bachelorette party.  While sitting at dinner I got a text from Mr. Handyman himself "The Chandelier is almost up!"  He decided he couldn't wait either, and took advantage of my evening away to make a mess with his brother and install the new lighting fixture!  If I wasn't already happy before, I was elated after that text!  The boys hadn't finished the chandelier when I got home that night, due to some technical difficulties, but they finished it the next morning and tackled the hall light.  In less than 24 hours the house was looking like a normal home in 2012 and no longer a throw back.  

We certainly still have a long way to go but to think that this is where we started.....

 

You can see a wee bit of it up at the top of this picture and you can see it from afar here as well...

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Okay enough drooling over the  new chandy.... Here is a vague picture of the hall light before....

See how the door {the ugly, ugly door} hits the light? It was no good. I wish we had taken more pics of the old lights before they were gone-zo. But then again, I don't even want to remember what they look like.  So maybe I'm not that sad! HA! 

Thank goodness for flush mounted ceiling lights!  Now, we don't have to worry about our weird little storage closet hitting the fixture like it used to!

We couldn't be happier with how things are coming together.  A huge bonus that we hadn't anticipated with the new fixture, is the additional light.  Our dining/living room is so much brighter than it was! We catch ourselves sometimes just staring, like a moth to a flame.   This was also the very first light that Matt ever installed, so I am super proud of him and he did a fantastic job! Everything is up to code and safely done, as opposed to before which was apparently done very poorly and unsafely.  Another happy bonus! Safety!

Well there you have it, Nesters! Another happy day in our house hold.  Has your husband or wife {or boyfriend in my case or girlfriend} surprised you with a house upgrade while you were gone?   Or maybe you got an awesome deal on something at the store instead of online?  Spill the beans!  We want to hear it! 

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday weekend with family friends and loved ones. 

<3  Gina

No. 5 Lamp - Where are they now?

Do any of you Nesters remember this old post of yore?  I had bought a stunning lamp from Target and I hated the matching shade.   And to boot, no other shades would fit.   I convinced Matt to try to combine the two shades together to get the aesthetic of the one I liked and the fit of the one above. Alas, it didn't work.  I was at a loss....

SOS! CALLING ALL TARGETEERS!

Okay Nesters- I am calling all Target Aficionado's and web surfing experts-  I need your help!!  I have fallen in love with curtains from target- the only problem? I can't find them online OR in stores.  Here's what I mean....

Rack 'n' Trash

Happy second day of Spring, Nesters! Before we get this party started, can we just talk a wee bit about this insane weather we've been having?  I live in Massachusetts and it should be damp, rain-boot-wearing, bone-chilling-cold weather out right about now.  Instead, I'm wearing a skirt {without tights!} and a tee today because it's EIGHTY DEGREES.  Yes, you heard me- eight. zero. Actually above that for the next couple days.  I know what you're thinking- BEACH DAY!  My thoughts exactly.  Alas, the new job has got me AC'd and chilly in my cube but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm taking advantage of my lunch break and heading outside today! 

Anyway, I realized I haven't shared much of anything with you lately, except maybe some meager subway art that I made and our little octopus friend George. Well things have been comin' along in the ol' homestead.

Fat Bottom Girls

I'm going to make an embarrassing confession to you all, Nesters.  Maybe some of you will sympathize?  Well the truth is, I am overweight.  I'm not saying I'm "obese" by any means, and I'm not whining {okay, maybe a little} but I'm uncomfortable in my own skin at my current weight.  I attribute this additional ass-mass to the fairly large life changes I have undergone as of late. The sadness with the loss of a job and the nerves of starting a new job with a bunch of strangers. At first it started with being home and having time -that I didn't used to have- to cook things that are more time consuming.  It was also fostered by the several new cook books and amazing cooking gadgets I got for my birthday and Christmas. Kitchenaide mixer thanks to my Lovah, a Cuisinart food processor and mandolin thanks to my Grandparents {they obviously don't know how clumsy I am, and are mistaken to trust me with such sharp objects} and a pasta maker thanks to my brother and SIL. So of course I decided to start making my own pasta from scratch, turning it into lasagnas, or alfredos, or homemade sauce with meatballs and hot Italian sausages.  And who doesn't need some baguette and brie with wine while they cook!?....  Anyone else getting hungry as they read this? Because I'm starved just writing it.  Well... it was a recipe for disaster for my waistline.

via

Hiya Nesters!  Today we have a guest post from Susi from Arcadian Lighting.  She knows how much of a sucker I am for a new glass accessory and thought she'd share some of her favorites with us.  Without further adieu, here's Susi!

Hi, I'm Susi, a blogger over at Arcadian Lighting, a great source for lighting fixture ideas and inspiration. I'm so excited to be here at Temporary Nest today to do a guest post about cool glass accessories. From vintage finds to contemporary glass mobiles and lamps, glass accessories add color and shine to any space. Hope you enjoy!