It's All About The Bling

It's Up!  Took a little over an hour, including a last minute run to Target to pick up the "special bulbs" and a quick google search referencing the Idiot's Guide to Electrical Wiring and ta da! We have a new dining room chandelier!!!

Remember to turn off the power

DH wondering if he should touch it

The last thing we wanted to do was end up on DIY Network's Renovation Realities so we read the directions four times to ensure we were connecting the wires correctly. 

Pairing the wires

First, we twisted the ground wire around the grounding screw.   Then we twisted neutral wire from the chandelier to the neutral wire coming from the ceiling.  Finally we joined the the hot/red (although it's not really red) wire to the hot wire from the ceiling.  After twisting those wires together we capped them off with yellow and red caps that came in the installation kit.

I'm still amazed that we actually got it to hang! Who would have thought 71 year old plaster was so strong!!!

And it works!

We may need to purchase brighter lights

Dollars & Cents:
My math skills occasionally resemble those of an Enron executive when it involves getting something we (I) want.  So in order to get the DH's blessing, I had to maximize the savings. 

• Pottery Barn's Clarissa Glass Drop Rectangular Chandelier: On Sale for $249, originally $449.
• DIY installation: $0, Quote from the Electrician $150

Spent: $290                       Saved: $350

Let There Be Light

What’s the quickest way to bring our dining room into the 21st century?  We've already painted, and now we're replacing the 1960s chandelier with one that’s a little bit more our taste (my taste).  We’re definitely looking for something that we’ll keep when we renovate the room in a few months.

The original 60s brass finish

 My Favorites!

I wouldn’t describe myself as traditional, but I do love how this piece incorporates both traditional and contemporary design elements.  

Restoration Hardware

I found a few variations of this chandelier on Etsy (one of my favorite places to shop!).  I love the industrial look and wonder if I could put one of these together with a few mason jars?  Maybe add some detail by using jars of various colors?  

It might take forever, but maybe I could DIY this?

Another Etsy favorite! Guess what? I’m attracted to the industrial look!  The medallion might not add much to our 60s chandelier, but I think it works here.  

Brass by ScaleWkshp

This piece caught my eye because of its rectangular design and what seems like hundreds of raindrop shaped glass pieces.  The chandelier makes a statement, but it’s not loud or overbearing.

Pottery Barn (How could I not?)

Which one do you think we choose?

The Dirty Word

Cartoon by Robert Leighton

Budget. 

The exact moment the honeymoon phase with Dolce Olin ended is a bit hazy. 

It might have been during the first week when I fell down the “1940’s building code” stairs. (~ Round trip flight to Italy)

Or maybe it was during week two when DH and I discovered a leaky roof over our bedroom and sunroom. (~ 4-day Italian Cooking Class)

Or definitely in week three when we discovered we couldn’t have more than a single major appliance running at the same time. (~ 4-day hotel stay in Venice)

I must have missed my calling as a "Miss Fix-it"!  Why is it that I can justify spending an absurd amount of money on shoes, purses, and make-up but cringe at the sight of a home repair estimate?  After 5 months of throwing tar over our problems (literally), DH and I had a very lively (air support was called in) discussion on our renovation budget.  Various DIY websites have a wide variety of formulas on how much you should spend on your renovation.  DH and I settled on a very unscientific, yet appropriate, formula to arrive at our budget.  

Dolce Olin sales price - Median home prices + a few top of the line finishes + “oh crap” incidentals (DIY mishaps and because we know a ‘40s home will always have a few  unexpected surprises) = our BUDGET!

Peonies and Jewelry

Our reno “must do list” is like an argument you try to ignore, but it keeps popping back up at the most inconvenient time.  We can’t stop revising it.  I thought a simple three piece suit (painting) would have been all of the renovations needed to make this rough looking home presentable, but unfortunately our Money Pit needs a little bit more TLC than anticipated.  A couple bottles of Lambrusco and a few lively discussions later DH and I both agreed that due to irreconcilable differences it would be best to separate…renovation priorities that is. 

A minor argument can usually be resolved with my favorite flowers—peonies and tulips—but an all out, trenches dug, hand grenades propelled, having to implement COIN (counterinsurgency), calling in air support type of argument requires jewelry, or for DH, at least 8 uninterrupted hours of Xbox.

Thus the creation of two renovation wish lists:

Peonies and Tulips

• Paint EVERYTHING
• Update Kitchen (budget $300)
•  Refurbish antique furniture

Jewelry/ Quality time with the Xbox

• 2-story addition 600sqf
• Master closet (to include laundry room)
• Master bathroom
•  Dream Kitchen
• Den/Family Room
• Refinish original 1940s wood floors if possible
• Remodel Upstairs Bathroom
• Update Electrical
• Update Plumbing
•  Repair or remove all plaster walls and popcorn ceilings
•  Add closet in 3^rd Bedroom
• Finish Basement
• Up to code staircase
• Built in shelves for Library/office
• New Light fixtures
• Privacy fence
•  Garage
• Sprinkler system
•  Patio
•  Paint Siding
•  Repair Walkway

Why the two?  Well, I think I must have been love drunk when I made the argument that we’d be able to do everything we wanted within the first year.  Sure we can easily spring for the items on our Peonies/Tulips list, but funding a 2-story addition, now that’s almost equivalent to the Tiffany’s Cobblestone Yellow Diamond bracelet I’ve been drooling over. 

I kid, I kid, our  budget is a little less....

Is your DIY list never ending?  How do you compromise with your significant other?

All About Christmas!

Warning, unashamedly liberal use of exclamation marks in the post below!

I love Christmas!  I love the colors, the decorating, the smell of a real Christmas tree, the chilly weather and of course the snow!

Christmas 2010:

I spent Christmas 2010 deployed to Baghdad.  There was no snow on Christmas morning, but somehow the crew was able to bring a little bit of the holiday to the desert.    

No, the reflective belt was not part of the decor

Christmas 2009:

DH had recently redeployed from northern Iraq, and I was determined to make our first Christmas living together "special" a.k.a I went a little overboard.  Saydee, our cat, wasn't around back then so getting a real tree was obviously the way to go.

DH told me 8ft was too long, can a Christmas tree ever be too big?

Overboard

Christmas 2011:

It's a bit bizarre not to be in the middle of deploying or redeploying this year.  I find myself with all of this time on my hands, but I have to admit I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with all of the space we have to decorate!  Although we have boxes of Christmas decorations, I couldn't stop myself from picking up a few new pieces.  

A few of my favorite things

I can't wait to unpack all of our Christmas decorations and get started!

Do you go overboard with your holiday decor?  What's your favorite piece?