A Before and After!

Earlier this week I went to Menards (a dangerous place to go by myself) to get some padding to put around our fireplace.  This has been something that has been on my mind since Keziah went face first into the stone.  It's been really hard for me to relax in our living room which is our main play area.  I am thankful to say that I was able to get some pipe insulation for really cheap and in the color black.  I had previously been looking at some actual fireplace padding on Amazon and it only came in white and cost much more.  It looks really nice.  That wasn't my only purchase that day though.  We have been in much need for some new lighting fixtures so I thought I would 'just look'.  I found the most perfect chandelier and it was on clearance!  It fits nicely in our house and matches our ceiling fans that hang in our living room which is right next to our dining area.  I was feeling much better this afternoon after my apt. wed. and I couldn't wait to get it up.  It took me about 2-3 hours to do by myself.  I could do it again in much less time but because this was my first time hanging something like this it took me a while.  Plus, by the time I got it up I realized I wanted it shorter so I had to take some links out of the chain and then that required me to rewire in the ceiling too!  The results were totally worth it!  I love it and almost every time we sit down for a meal, Keziah tells me how much she loves it too!  We have a dimmer on that light switch which makes it look even prettier!  I love that it is so much brighter than our other one.  And that it isn't brass and that it actually has light covers!
I don't have any pictures for the outdoor lights but I did end up buying 5 new outdoor lights too.  They look amazing as well!  One of them is a motion light for above our garage doors.  The others are porch lights.  The old ones were brass too (the previous owners really liked their brass!)  Oh, and I can't forget to mention my most exciting purchase of that day...a NEW CHRISTMAS TREE!!!  Let's not forget that my tree fell over 3 times last year because it is REALLY old!  I could totally justify this purchase, but just to be sure I got Brian's approval!  He fought me on a new tree all last year, even when they were on clearance!  I am sooooo excited to set it up...right after halloween passes!!  Just kidding!