Feeling "Light" headed

Last week I mentioned that there are a few things I'd like to do in our kitchen. Just to spruce it up and personalize it a bit so its not the same as every other new house in LV. One idea is to change out the glass shades on the pendant lights over our island. I have totally been left light headed and overwhelmed after checking out all the options out there for new pendants. Here's a little reminder of how it looks now...

There's absolutely nothing wrong with them and they do match the other fixtures (in the ENTIRE house which is what makes it BOR-ing). Here are a few pendants that I'm sweet on (as of today).

Jupiter Blaze Mini Pendant Glass $16.28

This would definitely bring a pop of color over to the kitchen. We have red couches in the adjoining family room and the rumor is that its good to tie connecting rooms together with subtle touches. This is a great price (I have to get 3!) and doesn't require any electrical work because it would just be switching out the glass. But, I think this might be too contemporary for my tastes and probably would be more than the "subtle" hint of red I'm going for.

Edison Pendant $59

I love this one, too. I like that it looks a little like an outdoor light. And, while its not as inexpensive as the 1st option, its still not too bad at less than $200 for all three. But, I'd have to change out the whole fixture, not just the shade.

And now let me bring you to the "honey, you've gotta be dreamin" portion of this post. The following are from School House Electric and cost waaaay too much moo-lah, but maybe someday, right (as in "someday someone will create a knock-off that I can afford)?

Old Dominion, $109

I love how petite this one is and all the color it would bring to the room. I think it might be perfect.

Folk Birds Red+Blue, $159

And I don't even know how to describe how much I love this light. Its too big for my space but I think its the most awesome-ist lighting I've ever seem and captures my style (my idea of what my style is at this particular moment in time, anyway) to a T.

Do you have any dreamy pendants or lighting fixtures that you love? Have you abandoned builder basic for something a little more boisterous? We'll see if I can convince the hubby that this tiny change would make big impact!

Everything AND the kitchen sink.

So this all began with a post over at YHL. I mean, if John and Sherry can talk about kitchen sinks I can too, right? Right? Well, I'm not in love with my kitchen sink or anything but I did make a little change that has made the dreaded chore of dishwashing a little better.

See this ugly white dish drainer? Well, I've wanted a silver one for a while now (I'm talking about 5 years or so). But it seemed like a silly expense until the white coating cracked and it started rusting. Yay! Now I can justify that huge purchase (or $12.99. Whatever. I'm weird about spending $$ on certain things). So I've been looking for a new one since we moved here but couldn't find silver in a small enough size.

Enter this blackish/shiny beauty from Target. Why does Tarjay always save the day? I even like it better than the silver. Va va va voom!

I know. You're a little embarrassed for me because I'm talking dirty to a a dish drainer. Get over it. This kinda stuff really pushes all the right buttons for me.

That also got me looking around the kitchen for some other things I could fix easily and my eye fell on the dumbest thing ever that lives right under my cabinets...

Why, oh why aren't these two outlets closer together. Who wants their phone right in the middle of the counter (the stove is to the right in this pic)? Lame-o. So I added this little picture that is super wipeable (it used to be above my sink at our old house and holds up awesome...thank Mom!) and I'm really digging it.

I'd like to get something a little smaller that I can actually hang over the outlets but for now its functional (as in hiding the UG-LEE) and adds a nice little bit of color.

And, if you're curious, yes I am cooking Guinea Fowl with Red Wine for the Hubs and my little squirts (um, no. not so much. The Silver Spoon cookbook is for pleasure reading and for lookin' purty, not really for cooking at my house).

And, I figure that since I'm sharing little snippets of the kitchen it might be time to show you the whole she-bang.

The builder chose everything (except the paint) and there are a few things I'd (possibly, maybe, even though we'll move in 2 years) like to do.

1. Change out the pendant light covers. I figure this wouldn't cost too much and could add some real pizazz.
2. Add knobs and pulls to the cabinets. I always wanted to do this at our old house too but never did. Weird since its not that expensive and I feel like it adds a lot.
3. Get a new sink faucet and sprayer. Especially since the sink is visible the moment you walk in the front door. This one works fine but is a little ho-hum. It would have to be on sale.
4. Get some counter height stools for the island (a little tricky because the vinyl and carpet butt together in exactly the wrong spot. bah. another builder boo boo).
5. Add a backsplash. Something blingy and zingy. Probably glass mosaic.

Well, that's it for me today. I need to get back to de-feathering my guinea now or it'll never be ready for dinner in time (actually there's pork in the crock pot). Maybe I'll put together a little list for my 5 kitchen updates to share with you later this week. I also want to show you some more of my Missouri trip because it was just so darn awesome.