this blog? it is not an elaborate form of procrastination, I swear.

let’s review what I’ve done thus far, though I will forewarn, it is not extensive. I’m slipping in work while the youngest naps, and sometimes capitalizing on a lengthier snooze to travel to far flung exotic places to source items for the house (i.e., ikea and homesense). but, I have:

• dug out cans of paints for touch ups (phew, I was not excited to pay for gallons on gallons of paint, though I may still need a gallon)
• ordered peel and stick tile for the vestibule
• sent a lot of “what are the dimensions on this guy” questions to people on facebook marketplace who have listed lovely wood console tables with potential (I get it, if you’re listing furniture for $20 it’s quick ad to just get rid of it, but I have to be a little picky on depth and height for our space)
• re-painted the vestibule door
• procured a new rug for the living room, rolled up the old one and stashed it in the basement, and laid out the new one
• last but not least, purchased and installed a new pendant light over the island (by myself gang. thank you very very much @DadAdviceFromBo, so sweet and informative)

so this light, a little bit of a hard left from the intended scope of work. I mean, I know I wanted desperately to replace ours (it was this ugly orb of black frosted glass that did not at all suit our place), but I wasn’t anticipating to find something and replace it myself in the first sweep of updates.

I had been looking at fixtures for inspiration, my browser had a million tabs open (not really, but also if you’re Casey, you would vehemently argue it to be true), and it all boiled down to these favourites:

our dining room is also desperate for a new fixture (more traditional, less modern), but interestingly this was the only fixture I cared about, so definitely the direction I’m going with. pendants, I was a bit more open, but clearly there is a predominant direction in mind.

I figured I would just cruise wayfair sales, lurk home depot discounts, etc. to try and come up with something similar, but then I spotted this guy at Ikea:

introducing the skivtofs. it’s not a perfect dupe, it’s got some gold and it’s missing the black rod I was so clearly drawn to, but I’ll be damned, for $30 it sure does suit our space a lot more. it’s not an eyesore, it’s cute, it’s not something I can take with me (so no, not worth the investment in the ones I truly love from the lighthouse co.), and it’s perfect. no notes (I lied, black rod would be nice, but I’ll live).

all to say, progress is being made. certainly not at breakneck speed, but I look around and I can point to things I’m doing. will I be panicked if the perfect house comes on the market tomorrow and absolutely overwhelmed by the updates I want to make before listing? yes. but we’re progressing.