Weekend Warrior: The To-Do List // June 1

With only four weeks until Josh leaves for Alaska, we're channeling our inner beast modes by kicking some ass and taking names. We're hoping to knock out our ridiculously long to-do list well before he leaves so we can spend some good ol' fashioned quality time together.  That means the next few weekends are going to be jam packed.

Here's what's in store for us this weekend:

• Electrify the shed
• Finish electrical in mudroom/nook
• Finish installing the bathroom wall treatment
• Caulk and paint the bathroom wall treatment
• Find/create lighting for mudroom/nook
• Build bench and bookcase in the nook
• More yard work
• Build raised garden bed

I wish we could get more done inside, but we're waiting to wrap up a few items with the electrical before we can get it inspected.  After all that, the finish line will be in sight...Wish us luck!

Houzz: How to Repair A Broken Glass Door Pane

If you're keeping up with me on Instagram you might have caught this photo back in February.  In the words of my favorite uber-dork...."Did I do that?"  Seriously, ever since I saw the throwback reference on New Girl I can't stop snorting laughing.

So you know when everything in your being tells you not to do something and you ignore your smarter self and do it anyway?  Like car surfing or drinking that outdated milk?  That's exactly what happened here.  Apparently I was in a "I also like to live dangerously" kind of mood when I was cleaning up our mudroom and leaned an old window against the door.  It was safely leaning on the wood parts, until I nudged it out of the way and CRASH! - broken glass.

After cleaning up and removing the remaining glass shards from the door, we used painters tape to close up the opening.  Then it stayed that way for months....I just couldn't find a glass company in our area.  I finally tracked down Thorseness Glass in Astoria and bought a replacement piece of safety glass for only $7.

DIY // How To Install or Replace a Bathroom Vanity Light

Whether it's task-focused, mood-setting or just for style points, lighting is one of the most important details in a room.  With only a single light source, a hideous ceiling mount light/fan combo, our bathroom's lighting left much to be desired.  Not to mention, the light and the fan were wired to the same on/off switch so if the light is on, the noisy fan is on.  Which is perfectly fine if you're using it to drown out the noise during an intense bathroom sesh but, aside from that, just an insane waste of energy.

When we first started renovating the mudroom we removed the back wall which gave us access to the framing and backside of the bathroom wall.  A perfect opportunity to install a vanity light, right?  Unfortunately, an utter communication breakdown shattered those dreams as Josh replaced the drywall before we could install the wiring. And then the clouds parted, the sun shone down and the design gods answered my prayers. The drywall had to come back down which meant we once again had access to the inner workings of the wall.  The bathroom light installation project was on!

Based on budget alone, Josh quickly shut down all the gorgeous options from yesterday's Schoolhouse Electric post.  Back to the drawing board, I set out to find something that was a win-win for us both - an attractive fixture for less than $50. The Portfolio vanity 2-light bar from Lowe's was a great fit.  It could be customized with any type of shade and was just over $30, plus it was very similar in finish and style to our Moen Glenshire pivoting mirror.  With the vanity light in our possession, installation was the next step.

Here's what the job required:

7 Perfect Vanity Fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric

Have I mentioned how much I love Schoolhouse Electric? When my dreams to install a vanity light in the bathroom were restored (more on that tomorrow) I hightailed it to my favorite lighting store to track down the perfect vanity light - online, of course.  I love the classic-with-a-modern-spin selection of period lighting that Schoolhouse Electric offers and my green side loves that SE is headquartered just down the road in Portland, Oregon.  To say that I found a wall sconce that would work for our vanity is a definite understatement...

5 Vintage Inspired Pendant Lights {Almost} Perfect For Our Mudroom

The lighting choices from yesterday had me drooling, but sadly none will work for our space because of our dang sloped ceilings.  We need something that can be mounted at an angle but will hang vertically - so a pendant light with a flexible cord that we can shorten is probably our only option. 

Remember when we installed pendant lights above our sink by using an inexpensive kit from Westinghouse and glass shades from Goodwill?  Those turned out great - although I think I'm going to replace the glass shades with these or these from Schoolhouse Electric which will give them a more modern feel and the bulbs might actually fit!

As for the mudroom pendant light, we just might end up making our own again if we can't find an option that looks good and fits within our budget, but until we make that final decision I thought I'd share a few gorgeous options that I found while hanging out on the internet.  The combination of vintage design, warm edison light bulbs and dark hardware gets me all hot and bothered - hope it tickles your fancy, as well.