I always get an itch to make changes this time of year

Changing our 1970s (and not in a cool way) ceiling light fixture has been a dream of mine since we first moved in. I got this idea that I still wanted a pendant light suspended there, but it needed some serious updating...

 Before.

And did I mention there were cracks in almost every pane of the glass? Who knows what this poor, ugly light had been through before we came along.

I knew our neighborhood Swedish housewares supply company that will remain anonymous must have the base pendant fixture I needed to personalize my ceiling. But nooooo, all they had were plug-in pendant fixtures! I may be handy, but I don't know how to convert a hard-wired setup into a plug-in one. Here's how my conversation with the store employee went, no exaggeration:

Me: Excuse me, are you helping someone right now?

Her: What?! Geez! I just got off my break! Yes I'm helping someone!

Me: OK.

Her: I'll be with you in a minute... (walks away)

Me: (Gaping at my friend Alyson, I wait. Then I see her walking away following another customer.) Um, excuse me, can I ask you a question?

Her: Oh, crap! I forgot about you. What do you want?

Me: Um, uh, I was wondering if you had--

Her: No, we don't.

Me: (Holding up a plug-in pendant fixture) But I was looking for a pendant--

Her: No, we don't carry it.

Me: But I haven't even asked my question yet!

Her: What?

Me: I was looking for a pendant fixture like this but one that's hard-wired.

Her: No, we don't carry it.

So I found what I needed at Lowe's. And I had this vintage lampshade in our basement that used to belong to my friend Pam. I've always wanted to do something with it, and now, ta-da!

After!

Sooo much better. And now I know how to change a hard-wired light! I feel so empowered. Now all I want to do is update the mantle, paint the walls, find a bigger rug, maybe another plant...