We needed to shed some light in the guest studio/ my woman cave, I had found two amazing sea-side inspired exterior lights on sale at the Home Depot.

Unfortunately the two light boxes set for these beauties weren’t routing to any wall switch. (This was only figured out after we had installed one of the lights)

Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: Look at how nice it looks! And I didn’t even electrocute myself installing it!

Hubby: Good job babe that does look really nice!

Me: I know right! I love the light it looks like something out of Coastal Living

Hubby: Yeah it does, except honey, how do you turn it off? 

I was so deflated and ready to return the lights. I was even walking around HD forlornly with my two little lights in hand contemplating, whether I should give them up or re-wire my entire guest house… When low in behold, an “angel” in an orange apron named John, came to my rescue in the electrical aisle and found me this…

My $3.99 push button switch solution, John even walked me through the installation and attached them to the lights while in the store. (I think every HD needs a John in their store…sorry for the pun) Here is how it looks from the front and back…

Now we’re not licensed electricians, which is why it so important to read the instructions for both light and the switch in order to safely convert a light. It also helps to have a “John” in your corner who happened to be a retired licensed electrician.

All in all you’re going to need a drill bit the same size as the push switch’s base. Drill the hole in the light base, for where you want the switch to be, then secure it with the nut and washer that comes with the switch. You will need an extra plastic electrical connector/nut to connect one of the black wires of the switch, to the light’s black wire. Then follow the instructions that comes with the light for the actual light install, if all else fails, have a licensed electrician install it if you’ve already had a bad experience with electricity. However adding a pull chain or push button switch is an easy and economical solution to your lighting dilemma…Done!

Featured on the Budget Savvy Bride

I’m just tickled and so grateful to the Budget Savvy Bride for featuring our DIY wedding today! Giving the majority of the DIY credit to our parents, we are very grateful for their hard work! We want to thank everyone for helping us create a beautiful budget friendly wedding! Thank you the Budget Savvy Bride for featuring us!

Time to start breaking out a few of the before and “in progress” pictures. We’ve been so busy with work, and projects our home is too much of a disaster zone to be snapping the perfect “after” shots just yet. However here are a few good pics to show what we’ve been up to these past months.

The Man Cave Recap…

Before (previous owners)

Before (move in mayhem and after the bedazzled popcorn ceilings were removed)

In progress…

The Living Room

Before (previous owners with popcorn ceilings still intact)

In progress…

The Office…

Before (previous owners)

Before (our move in mayhem)

In progress…

The Master bedroom (previous owners)

Master bedroom Before (move in)….

We still have several rooms to go…Kitchen, dining room, two baths, and my “woman cave”…the guest house. We’re going through each room, very slowly, and with much TLC for this ol’ 1948 home. This home is in our dream neighborhood, so we don’t see ourselves moving anytime soon. We may even build up or out as time and money allows. Yet to be honest my first love is the backyard. We’re blessed here in California to have beautiful weather throughout the year, so to have an outdoor living space has been my dream for us and the dogs. We’ll be posting more dogscape updates throughout the summer. So many projects, so many blog posts, so much time!

I normally don’t post during the week, but I’m a bit giddy right now and jumping the gun…

IKEA HACKERS featured our wine rack today!

I’ve crushed on this website for 2 years and have found so much inspiration through all the featured projects. (If you are an ikea hacker like me, then this is the website for you!) I never thought they’d be interested in featuring my, shot-in-the- dark,  make-shift wine rack!

THANK YOU IKEA HACKERS!

Wrapping up our Sunday, I figured I’d better post some in progress pictures of the office/guest room. It had been our “stuff” /catch all room, that we pretty much had ignored. The only two requests from the hubby was not go “crazy DIY” and paint. Basically I made do with what we had on hand. Here are the before and in progress pictures…

Before (at an uglier and wider angle)

That’s it for Sunday! We have more work to do in the coming week, till then!

What is a “Dream Wall?” DIYers have heard of a dream board or inspiration board. We clog up our Pinterest pages full of ideas and inspiration for the next project or post them on a blog. However we should all seriously consider creating our own “Dream Wall.” Where one wall of your home is used to display art work and items that remind you of a goal or dream you want to attain someday. Visualizing goals are so important to making a dream a reality. Essentially a “Dream Wall” is like taping a 3×5 index card to your bathroom mirror with your goals, except a lot more stylish!

Here is mine, can you take a guess on what my goal and dream might be?

I’ve been collecting and photographing beach prints and photos for years with the hope of someday owning a little piece of the [expensive] California coast. A place our friends and family can use, and the dogs can chase seagulls on th beach. This Dream Wall, prominently displayed in my home office is a reminder every time we work on the budget, write, or plan the next DIY project. It is a fabulous way to keep you grounded and inspire you at the same time.

What does your “Dream Wall” look like?

Never fails! I always have to post or edit something late on Sunday night…Maybe because I don’t want Monday to come? Just a theory… However I wanted to give a quick
shout-out (or “post out”) to Frances Ha for featuring Sacramento in the movie. The star of the movie Greta Gerwig is from our ‘hood’ here in Sac. Fabulously funny movie! Go see it!