Let it snow…let it snow…let it snow.

Well, the weather outside is frightful…

(We didn’t write that, I swear.)

But the fire is so delightful…

But since we’ve no place to go…

Let it snow…let it snow…let it snow!!

Today was possibly the best snow day, I’ve ever had.  Complete with Scrabble, homemade soup, and our first fire in our very own fireplace.  I couldn’t love Brooklyn more right now.  Of course, our street may never get plowed if that person doesn’t come back for the minivan they abandoned at 4am last night.

Apartment Kitchen Update

The difference between living in your own house and living in an apartment is pretty big.   For example, what I would choose to upgrade my kitchen with vs. what the landlord chooses to use is vastly different.  Neither of us are fans of granite countertops…however, never one to look a gift-horse in the mouth, we’re grateful for our new dishwasher, granite counter, and single-head sprayer faucet.  I feel as if “The Jefferson’s Theme Song” has been running through my head all day. We almost didn’t even get the sprayer faucet, but I mentioned that since the new sink is shallower than the old one due to the under-sink dishwasher, it would be next to impossible to fill our coffee pot if we kept the old faucet.  He agreed.  (Whew!)  One lesson learned today…it never hurts to ask!

Our next plan is to paint the cabinets black.  It’s going to make a huge improvement on the overall aesthetics of this little 5′ x 5′ space.  (Mainly because the fridge and stove are white….so it needs a single color scheme to keep it in check.)  Also, I’ll be getting rid of all the brass cabinet pulls.  Little details will make a big improvement.   (P.S. Our counterspace is hilariously small.   Can you tell from this photo?  Yes, that’s IT!  But we have a solution for that too thanks to Ikea.  More details to come soon.)

The Beauty of the Bulb: Light bulb-exposing industrial lighting trend

I love my cfl’s for the sole purpose of saving energy costs, don’t get me wrong…but I hate the light quality that they produce. Therefore I’ve relegated them to use in our reading lights, lamps with patterned shades [to help disguise the light color], and any overhead lights with frosted glass shades.  So with that disclaimer, I launch into a post about bare bulb lighting.  It seems to be everywhere these days, as are edison bulbs.  (Even my mother-in-law has used them in her new guest house!)  And now that we’ve moved into a new apartment with TERRIBLE cheap, brass apartment light fixtures, we’re looking for some relatively inexpensive light fixtures that we can replace these gaudy brass ones with.

Now, I’m sure you’re thinking…why would you replace them?  This isn’t your apartment!  Well…true that.  But we will be living here for quite some time, and when we move we can always put back up the ugly ones and take the new ones with us.  Sooo…with that being said, here are a few of the bulb-exposing fixtures that have caught our eye during our lighting search.

1. Burnside Bulb Pendant from Rejuvenation $112, comes in 12 finishes and different classic cord colors. 2. Blazon Gleam Copper Pendant from Anthropologie $98.  3. Barely There Pendant from Anthropologie $248. 4. Mechanic’s Beacon Pendant – Large Flower from Anthropologie, $148. 5. Defiance Bare Bulb ceiling mount fixture at Schoolhouse Electric, $89. 6.  Clark Flushmount Ceiling Fixture by Wilmette Lighting at Affordable Lamps, $200. It reminds me of this Roost table lamp, but for your ceiling!  7. Clark Modern Pendant Light by Wilmette Lighting at Affordable Lamps, $292.

1.  Wayland Pendant from Schoolhouse Electric, $151 as shown 2.  Porcelain Bare Bulb from any local hardware store, $3.50  3.  Lyon Ceiling Mount fixture from Schoolhouse Electric, $127 as shown 4.  Vintage Pendant Lights from Moon River Chattel, $300

1. Dose of Color Fabric Cord bare bulbs at Anthropologie, $68 (These also look great when used with a lampshade as a hanging pendant over a dining table.  The fabric cord is a great pop of color!)  2.  Roost Berlin Pendant Light from Velocity Art & Design, $163

Soon, you’ll see what we ended up choosing for ourselves and our new apartment!  Hint:  One of these we already owned and brought with us.  A second we chose out of this grouping, and the third wasn’t on here at all.  Haha!  (Everything can’t be bare bulb, y’know!  After all, variety is the spice of life!)