Getting to Yes

I pulled the title of the post from the name of a book I read for an international mediation and negotiation class I took during a law school summer abroad program.  Call me crazy but I do believe I am a spectacular negotiator.  I may have just negotiated my way to a compromise on a chandelier for our dining area.  Yipee!

After having mentioned how much I hate the current light fixture in this earlier post, I've done plenty of online searching.  My husband and I just could not agree on what we liked.  He rejected about 50 of the light fixtures I loved and I rejected the two he picked out.  One because I found it fugly and the other because we have friends living only two miles away with the same fixture.  Following more discussion we both decided the second one I rejected because our friends have it also didn't fit with the less formal set up we have going on.

There was some hope though.  We did agree to liking two together.  Here is one from Shades of Light:

And the other was from Anthropologie but is not available on their site anymore.  It was a round shaped open iron work chandelier shaped like tree branches with crystal leaves.  Except they were really pricey!  Considering the fact that this is a first home (as in, not a rental) for the both of us and we don't have a lot of money.  Also considering we'll probably sell after five to seven years depending on when we start and expand a family, this was too much money to spend precious early career money on!

The one pictured above is THREE THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED and TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS!  I know, I know, I always use caps when saying the price but it's just that surprising every single time I see it.  It's as if my eyebrows jump to the ceiling like a Three Stooges bit every time I see this price.

Then came lovely Pottery Barn with their comparatively affordable wares.  Somehow they managed to recreate the Anthropologie style chandelier for $349 dollars instead of the almost $1000 dollars Anthro was asking for.  The nerve!


Check this out:

We both love this one!  Well... I love it, he likes it.  That means we should get it!  It is so stylish and modern with a touch of whimsical personality (or whimsy if you prefer), kind of like the cute quirky pieces you find at Anthro.  I know some people think Pottery Barn is not the best furniture quality but I love it!  For a young and new home buyer, nice looking and affordable furniture is key.  I know when we get older of course our taste will be more geared towards nicer more expensive furniture but we will also have more money to afford those things too.  For now, I love PB!

So that is how we got to yes!

And just to refresh your memory, here's the flying saucer above our dining table now:

Ugh! Awful!

While replacing the U.F.O. isn't in the works anytime soon.   At least I know there's a lovely and suitable replacement out there.  One day E.T., one day... You. Will.  Phone. Home.