#18 - The Tortoise and the Hare
First things first, I don't believe I've ever actually written the word tortoise before. It was never on a spelling test and I've never used it in my writing. Therefore, I had no idea how to actually spell it. I know how to spell Czechoslovakia (5th grade bonus word, completely useless now), but tortoise is a new one for me!
I might have the beginnings of fine lines and crows feet, but I still have a lot to learn!
So, about the tortoise and the hare - we are the tortoise. Slow and steady, and we aren't really racing anyone. Therefore many days go by before I have anything notable to write about. The plumber has completed his rough-in work and the inspector is going to meet him here Monday to pressure test his lines.
The HVAC team has been here the past two evenings and will come back tomorrow morning to complete their rough-in work. I don't think I've mentioned before that we're getting a completely new AC and furnace. We were due for a new one pretty soon anyway, so the timing of this is perfect. The current ducts and registers are in the floor, and we're abandoning those and opting for overhead heating and cooling. YES, this means there are vents and returns on our ceilings where there weren't any before, but you take the good with the bad, and they're really not anywhere near as noticeable as I anticipated! Our old ducts are asbestos, they're broken, dusty and going on 60 years old--it's time for new and fresh. And I cannot tell you how relieved I am to no longer have to arrange furniture around the placement of floor vents. All of the current vents in our house are in all the wrong places for furniture placement.
The electrician has also been here and upgraded the electrical panel, and started the process of running wire from the new panel to the new outlets, light switches, etc.
Once these three groups of people are finished, it'll be time for drywall and insulation...which means paint colors and flooring!
In order for the electrician to install everything in the proper places, we had to decide on light fixtures a few weeks ago! Since the light boxes have to be placed before drywall is installed, we had to know what types of lights we would be installing so we knew exactly where the light boxes should go.
For most of the addition, we're going to just have recessed lighting, but I wanted some special light fixtures in a few places.
I love pretty things, I love home decor, and I love a bargain, so this entire process of selecting finishing touches will absolutely be a combination of Good Looks and Good Deals. I had been looking at several stores online and finally came across a lighting collection at Pottery Barn that I LOVED. These were the only fixtures I could find with shiny, elegant milk glass globes...not the typical chalky, frosted glass globes. Before ordering, I went to the Pottery Barn Outlet to see what I could find.
1. Upstairs Guest Bathroom - We'll have 2 sconces on either side of the mirror. I found this one at pottery barn outlet for $30, and ordered the match to it from the internet. Polished Nickel wouldn't have been my first metal of choice, but at a savings of $70 for the 1st one, it quickly became my first choice!
2. Stairwell - In my online shopping, I fell in love with these lights. I like the look of all of them, but I really really loved that shorter, fatter one on the far right.
At $70, I decided we would just buy one for the bottom of the stairwell but still stay within our budget. (Originally, I wanted one at the bottom and one at the top). I was hoping that I would find at least one at the outlet store. I looked and looked through the boxes (Nothing is opened. The light fixtures at the outlet are all in cardboard boxes with either a print out from the internet or the stocking label on the side and you have to use your phone to look up a picture.), and stopped dead in my tracks when I caught a glimpse of a familiar picture on the side of not one, but TWO boxes stacked up together with a glorious light shining down on them and and angel chorus singing above them. Or something like that. But, much to my disappointment, it wasn't my short fat Paxton lights in those boxes! It was a the taller, skinnier Paxton lights in those boxes. But they were only $30 each!! I could get TWO for $10 less than the price of one (and not pay shipping) if only I could wrap my mind around a tall skinny paxton instead of a short fat one.
That took all of .25 seconds. SOLD. I bought both. It's important to remember in these situations that there will never be a time, once this is all finished, that I'll have a short fat paxton come visit and hang beside my tall skinny paxton and make me think oh man my life would be so much better with that short fat light! In the picture, when I compare the two, I have my favorite. But in real life, I'm never ever going to be in a situation where I'm comparing the two side-by-side. And tall, skinny, CHEAP Paxton is a lovely choice! In the big scheme of life, it's not going to matter one bit that the light I bought is 2 inches taller and 3 inches narrower that the one I wanted.
3. Master Bathroom - My outlet deals ended there. However, because of the savings on the other lights, we were able to fit this into our budget for our master bathroom light. I really fell in love with the Covington collection after seeing the other one in person. I wasn't planning to choose the same fixtures for both new bathrooms, but I loved the Covington so much that I didn't feel the need to make them different just for the sake of not being the same. So, I intended to come home and order a 3 light Covington for our master bathroom. But it was $170, while the Mercer was on sale for around $130. Again, it was an easy choice and I ordered the Mercer in satin nickel.
So, there you have our lighting choices! I'm still in the market for something special to hang in the dormer. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it.
As long as no one comes over and taunts me with a short, fat paxton light we're happy campers, moving right along...not at the speed of light, but at the speed of us...and that's good enough.
Have a wonderful weekend!
I might have the beginnings of fine lines and crows feet, but I still have a lot to learn!
So, about the tortoise and the hare - we are the tortoise. Slow and steady, and we aren't really racing anyone. Therefore many days go by before I have anything notable to write about. The plumber has completed his rough-in work and the inspector is going to meet him here Monday to pressure test his lines.
The HVAC team has been here the past two evenings and will come back tomorrow morning to complete their rough-in work. I don't think I've mentioned before that we're getting a completely new AC and furnace. We were due for a new one pretty soon anyway, so the timing of this is perfect. The current ducts and registers are in the floor, and we're abandoning those and opting for overhead heating and cooling. YES, this means there are vents and returns on our ceilings where there weren't any before, but you take the good with the bad, and they're really not anywhere near as noticeable as I anticipated! Our old ducts are asbestos, they're broken, dusty and going on 60 years old--it's time for new and fresh. And I cannot tell you how relieved I am to no longer have to arrange furniture around the placement of floor vents. All of the current vents in our house are in all the wrong places for furniture placement.
The electrician has also been here and upgraded the electrical panel, and started the process of running wire from the new panel to the new outlets, light switches, etc.
Once these three groups of people are finished, it'll be time for drywall and insulation...which means paint colors and flooring!
In order for the electrician to install everything in the proper places, we had to decide on light fixtures a few weeks ago! Since the light boxes have to be placed before drywall is installed, we had to know what types of lights we would be installing so we knew exactly where the light boxes should go.
For most of the addition, we're going to just have recessed lighting, but I wanted some special light fixtures in a few places.
I love pretty things, I love home decor, and I love a bargain, so this entire process of selecting finishing touches will absolutely be a combination of Good Looks and Good Deals. I had been looking at several stores online and finally came across a lighting collection at Pottery Barn that I LOVED. These were the only fixtures I could find with shiny, elegant milk glass globes...not the typical chalky, frosted glass globes. Before ordering, I went to the Pottery Barn Outlet to see what I could find.
1. Upstairs Guest Bathroom - We'll have 2 sconces on either side of the mirror. I found this one at pottery barn outlet for $30, and ordered the match to it from the internet. Polished Nickel wouldn't have been my first metal of choice, but at a savings of $70 for the 1st one, it quickly became my first choice!
 |
| Pottery Barn - Covington Single Sconce |
2. Stairwell - In my online shopping, I fell in love with these lights. I like the look of all of them, but I really really loved that shorter, fatter one on the far right.
 |
| Pottery Barn Paxton Glass Single Pendants |
That took all of .25 seconds. SOLD. I bought both. It's important to remember in these situations that there will never be a time, once this is all finished, that I'll have a short fat paxton come visit and hang beside my tall skinny paxton and make me think oh man my life would be so much better with that short fat light! In the picture, when I compare the two, I have my favorite. But in real life, I'm never ever going to be in a situation where I'm comparing the two side-by-side. And tall, skinny, CHEAP Paxton is a lovely choice! In the big scheme of life, it's not going to matter one bit that the light I bought is 2 inches taller and 3 inches narrower that the one I wanted.
3. Master Bathroom - My outlet deals ended there. However, because of the savings on the other lights, we were able to fit this into our budget for our master bathroom light. I really fell in love with the Covington collection after seeing the other one in person. I wasn't planning to choose the same fixtures for both new bathrooms, but I loved the Covington so much that I didn't feel the need to make them different just for the sake of not being the same. So, I intended to come home and order a 3 light Covington for our master bathroom. But it was $170, while the Mercer was on sale for around $130. Again, it was an easy choice and I ordered the Mercer in satin nickel.
 |
| Pottery Barn Mercer Triple Sconce |
So, there you have our lighting choices! I'm still in the market for something special to hang in the dormer. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for, but I'll know it when I see it.
As long as no one comes over and taunts me with a short, fat paxton light we're happy campers, moving right along...not at the speed of light, but at the speed of us...and that's good enough.
Have a wonderful weekend!
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