Pendant Light

The contracter for our new kitchen is dependable, honest and a personal friend. Out of the kindness of his heart, he presented me with an old, brass pendant light, knowing I would love and appreciate it! It needed a complete overhaul, including a rewiring. I wanted to tackle it, but it was too much for me. Mr D was able to do that part of it...thank you, honey!

Because it was old with years of paint collected on it and the brass would have needed to be polished, I chose to paint it. I used a metallic paint not because of the metallic but because it was the closest color to match the kitchen hardware. I was very pleased with the results!

 - Before -

 - After -

It was disappointing when the pull chain broke even though it would not have been used. We replaced it with a knob switch. I'm really liking this thoughtful gift from our thoughtful contractor...thank you, Paul Nissley!

Sigh...

...and sigh again!

I'm gonna be ruthless! Cross my heart...

On Cleaning...

 I love my Swiffer products for the weekly cleaning! The long one in the back is a dry mop and it does a fantastic job on wood floors to get all the dust bunnies that tend to run away when using a broom or vacuum.
The short one mops the floor. What I don't like about it is the chemical loaded cleaner that comes with it. Being a barefoot gal in the house, after a mop up, the floor felt sticky and 'chemical-ly.' I use my own solution of water and vinegar that I put in a spray bottle, spraying as I go, switching out with my new BFF...Meleluca. The floors feel CLEAN, CLEAN and I love the smell of Meleluca!
The blue and yellow ones are life major dust time savers...oh. my. word! My sister L introduced me to these. The wand is so thin one can brush behind, in and around hundreds of things VERY effectively. The yellow one is a 360 degree brush and can be 'elbowed' by a button and with an extender, which comes in so handily for out of reach areas without falling off a step stool.
After the kitchen remodel, I spent hours on my hands and knees with a knee pad, literally scrubbing the floor with a Stanley (the best!) scrubby and my new BBF.

Yep...this scrubby! The floor 'before and after' pic showing my clean-up. And yes, my knees paid for it, but my floors look all but new! (the true color of our floor is the first picture)

Last but definitely not the least, is Meleluca's laundry soap. It only takes one tablespoon or one pump squirt per load to wash. The fabric softener smells wonderful and it's all chemical free!

And yes, it suds! :)

       Here is a link to Meleluca if you're interested.

Here's to chemical free cleaning!

Edited Feb 12, 2012 - The swiffer mop broke soon after I posted this and I got a new one. The new ones are much studier than their first model...yea for 'new and improved!'