Goodbye Builder Grade Light!

The one thing that has bothered me since day one is the builder grade lighting that can be found throughout our house. Well, truth be told, all of the builder grade qualities bother me, but the lighting is the worst. We purchased this light from Home Depot and got an extra 10% discount thanks to the moving club. David installed it while I was out shopping and now our breakfast nook has a whole new vibe.

Its modern, yet traditional, and far from builder grade! Now, we just need to paint the table and chairs since they clash horribly with the current cabinets. And since we plan on going black, white, and grey with the new kitchen in the future, we are thinking black. What do you think?

   

Where Have We Been?

During our 20-day hiatus from blog world we took a couple trips to Florida. One weekend we were there seeing friends and family for our college's Alumni Weekend and the next we zipped into town for one day to shoot our engagement photos. Our amazing photographer, Amanda Young, was a friend of mine from high school who is now an accomplished wedding photographer in Philadelphia, PA. Check out a her blog along with a sneak peak of our session here.

    

  

Our Lights Are Smart

The lights flanking our garage were faded and bit outdated, so we ordered some new ones from amazon.com (they were $32.50 each when we ordered them about a month ago).

Notice the small red dot on the light bulb? These lights are smart! The dot is a sensor that turns the light on when it senses there is not enough light -- like dusk or when it's raining. Homes seem so much more welcoming when the outdoor lights are on in the evenings and with these lights from Home Depot, we no longer have to remember to flip on the switch. Genius! 

Spray Paint is Awesome!

It's been weeks since our last post -- things on Longberry Lane have been hectic between work and a weekend visiting friends and family in Florida. This was our first two work-free and travel-free days since the middle of March and we were able to tackle a few home improvement projects while still finding time to lounge by the pool with some neighbors. 

There were a couple of curb appeal items that bothered us since we saw the house -- the planters and mailbox. Fortunately, both were easily conquered with some spray paint.

The mailbox before -- faded and beginning to rust.

After a can of Rust-Oleum semi-gloss black paint. 

Planters before -- chipped and faded.

We yanked out the strange grass plants and used a wire brush to clean 'em up.

So much better! Our neighbors even stopped by to comment.

Even without plants it looks so much better.

Next weekend we will be planting some boxwood topiaries in the planters to add a bit of height to the landscaping. And once we tackle the other front yard plants and add a wreath, the front of our house will be finished...for now.