An Unexpected Shopping Spree!

I'm really excited about sharing today's post.  It doesn't contain any mind blowing tutorials, or even any great DIY projects.  But it's exciting to me because it's all about my first partnership.  Well, maybe partnership isn't the right word.  Maybe sponsor?  I don't really know actually since this is my first time doing it.  : )

About a month or so ago I got an email from a media corporation asking me if I would like to join their campaign with a website called Build.com.  I would receive free product to try and all I had to do was blog about my experience.  Well.....let me think on that awhile before I get back to you.  NOT!  I responded so fast to that email I bet they didn't have time to breathe in between sending it and receiving a reply.  I've read about other bloggers getting opportunities like this and I had always hoped I would be able to do it as well someday, and now my "someday" was here!

After a few more emails back and forth it was all set and I was told I could peruse the build.com website and choose $250 of product to try!!  SHOPPING SPREE!! Oh man was that ever fun!  I spent a very long time considering all of my options.  I was considering a chandelier for our dining room, or maybe a new farmhouse style faucet for our kitchen sink, but in the end I decided I didn't want to spend it all in one place so to speak.  I ended up ordering five products that have been on my wish list but haven't been a priority before this.

 I've been working on finishing up both of the kiddos' rooms and on my list for those projects were ceiling fans for both of them.  Not terribly exciting I know, but something we've needed for an entire year but didn't really have the extra cash to spend on them.

We live in Florida and the summers (and the spring....and the fall) tend to get really hot and even though we have central air, ceiling fans are a must for circulating the air.  Plus, the fact that both kids are just like me in that they have trouble sleeping well without being able to feel some air movement.  In the meantime, we had been making do with little plastic oscillating fans that we already had in each of their rooms.  They looked ugly and collected dust like crazy, but it was our only option for the time being.  They both also had basic, ugly, flush mount ceiling lights.

I can't show too much of Lil Man's room yet, because that room reveal is yet to come.  I have a project to finish up this week and then I plan to show you most of it.

So, back to the ceiling fans.  I ordered two of these white Westinghouse fans.  

I went back to their website to find the link to share with you, but it appears they're not carrying this particular one anymore.  But {this} brand is almost identical.

So far we really like these.  Hubs got them up and installed in no time, and they feel solid and of good quality.  We have fans in other rooms of our home that are from the "every day low prices" store and they feel cheap compared to these.  Something is always going wrong with them, but these are quiet and seem really well made.

My favorite feature of them is the pull chains.  They have a little light and a fan emblem on them so there's no confusion about which one to pull.  Very handy!

And now, with the ugly plastic fan out of the way we can come up with something much prettier to display on their dressers.

Here's another quick "before and after" that has nothing to do with this partnership, but it happened at the same time so I wanted to show you.  

Another project for each of their rooms was to get rid of the ugly, grimy, cracked and broken, blinds in their rooms.  They were terrible already when we moved here, but after a year of not cleaning them they were much much worse.  I don't do mini-blind cleaning.  I just don't.  I'd rather pitch 'em and buy new ones than to clean them.  I much prefer roller blinds that don't require so much upkeep.  Plus, you don't have to worry about dangly cords in children's rooms.

I replaced my daughter's with these pretty scalloped edge ones from JCPenny and man, what a difference!  

SO much better, and the scalloped edge adds a nice feminine touch.

Ok, back to the FREE products now!

Another thing on my wish list (but not priority list) was new porch lights.  Ours were horribly sad.

They were too small, they were corroded and grody, and even still had the stickers on them from when they were put up years ago.   So ugly.

The back porch had the same depressing light with the same sad story.

The side entrance (actually the one we use the most) had a decent enough light that was still in good shape, it just wasn't quite my style.  And since this is basically the main entrance I wanted something a little more "me" here.

In comes..... 2 barn style lights!

From the picture on the website I thought they were going to be a galvanized color, so I was surprised when I pulled them out of the box and they were black.  I went back and looked at the listing and sure enough, right there in bold print it did indeed say "Oil Rubbed Bronze."  So...my fault on that one, but I still like them very much.  (And as for the mold around the white square, we tried and tried to clean it and bleach it but to no avail.  Any suggestions?)

Having a new light at the front entry way inspired me to finally come up with something cute to make it look more welcoming.  It probably helps that I finally took down the Christmas lights, too.  : )

                          "Go away, we hate life."                                                           "C'mon in!  We're friendly 'round here!"

Lookin' cute for Valentine's Day!  The only item here that's not second-hand is the cup cake sign. Well, and the flowers, too, of course.

The perfectly good porch light from the side entrance got moved around to the back porch and the scale of it fits much better here.  (And yes, we still have snowflakes on our windows. Don't judge.)

The side entrance then received one of the new barn lights.  I don't really have a good before and after shot of this area because the landing is SO small you can't do anything with it.  But the new light is the first step in making my vision for this entrance a reality.

I have in mind something like this.

(source)

But that's another "someday" project that isn't a priority as of yet.

So that brings us to the final product that I ordered on my spending spree.

Another barn style light, but this one is a pendant style.  We don't have it installed yet because it's going in our next room waiting for a makeover.

The Depths of Despair laundry room.

I hope to get started on that room next week.

So, in conclusion, this experience was SO much fun and working with build.com was a breeze and I want to say a big THANK YOU to them (and to Hawke Media) for giving me this opportunity!  They shipped my items quickly, even the ones that originally said they were back ordered still came much quicker than expected.  The products are good quality and were easy to install.  So, if you're looking for building products, or home renovation products, consider build.com for your needs.

* Disclaimer: this is a sponsored post, I received free product in return for my opinion about the products, but all opinions and reviews are 100% my own. *