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Friday, May 17

Easy Breezy... ish

I don't know about you guys, but we're getting some beautiful spring weather around here. And after a winter of hunkering down indoors, it feels SO good to finally get out and tackle some things around the house! This past week we've been fortunate to have lots of family visiting - which means lots of help and free babysitting! We've been checking several things off our to-do list while we have the chance, including switching out a couple ceiling fans before the summer heat hits.

One we replaced was in the kitchen. This may be the only picture I have of the old one. I generally tried to crop it out. :) It had a 60's vibe and wasn't very functional for the kitchen. Two of the four lights didn't work so only half our kitchen was lit up at night!


Thanks to some help from my momma and my mister, things are looking much brighter now. And prettier to boot.



All the lights work and it doesn't shake & rattle when the fan is on. That's a win-win. We went with a brushed nickel to flow with the other metals in the kitchen, and I thought the dark blades would be a nice contrast to everything else being light. Here's the sad part, though - we specifically bought a fan with four lights instead of 3 (and paid extra to get it!) so we would have plenty of light in the kitchen. After installing it, we found a tag saying it won't work with anything higher than a 40 watt bulb because someone decided that was too much energy (3 light fans can take up to 60 watt bulbs) so here's the kicker - four 40 watt bulbs = 160 watts, while three 60 watt bulbs = 180 watts. So yes, our specifically chosen, more expensive fan actually gives off LESS light than the cheaper 3-light versions. Fail. And WHY couldn't they say that on the outside of the package? Anyway, we're hoping to get around it with some HE bulbs. I'll let you know how it goes.


Even with the lower wattage, the kitchen still seems brighter because the glass shades let light go all around the room (vs. the spotlight shades we had before that directed the light). So I guess we're still coming out ahead. Plus both sides of our kitchen light up now. I just wish we had saved the extra $25! We have a little touch-up work to do on the ceiling since the base of this fan is smaller than the old one. I'll work on that.


We also replaced the office fan! It was the same as this one we replaced in B's room.


And we went with the same Hunter fan we used in his room because we've been so happy with it. And seriously, guys, Hunter is the way to go. It took a little longer than 5 minutes, but this one was SO MUCH faster and easier to install than the other brand we used in the kitchen. It cost a little more than some of the other three-light fans, but we feel like it is definitely worth it in this case. (we didn't get one in the kitchen because they didn't have a 4-light in the nickel finish. regret.)


Ooooo, pretty! I really love the dark fans in the bedrooms.


And, like in the kitchen, the glass shades make a huge difference compared to the spotlight shades. We flipped this one on and were all "WHOA! It's like daytime in here!"


Apart from that, we've also been spending lots of time outside with our favorite boy. His current favorite thing is the lawn mower. He loves to watch daddy mow, so when we found a toy mower at a yard sale a couple weeks ago we snatched it up! Now he insists on going out to "help" (under close mama supervision, don't worry.).

Just being a good helper.


Another warm weather favorite is bubbles, especially his new giant bubble wand.


deep breath..... and blow!


And running around with his aunties!




The other news is that I started a tiny little container garden. We may or may not get around to the big garden this summer. But at least I'll have something... if I can get B to stop pulling up the plants. Poor guy doesn't understand that we only pull weeds!


How are you guys ringing in spring?

2 comments:

  1. I have been ringing in spring by having my windows open when it is not raining, taking walks/runs outside and finally planting my flowers and container garden. Looks like you are all enjoying the spring weather!

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