good finds / LIVING WELL / sponsored

Lightening the load (and a giveaway)

Disclosure: This post is part of a partnership with Enbrighten Cafe Lights.

One of the spaces at Waffle Hill Farm I’m most excited to move into is the big back porch, full of windows and overlooking the front of the farm. Before we’d even moved the first box into the house Dan and I talked about how we envisioned setting it up. Long farm tables, comfortable seating, books and pillows, even my little cage of zebra finches tucked in a sunny corner.

But at the top of my list for the space, and the one thing that is non-negotiable is strings of lights around the perimeter of the porch. In my mind I picture family dinners and relaxed conversations with friends, and kids tucked under blankets reading books under the warmth of lights draped around the room.

But since the porch became the holding room for all of our boxes, I can tell it’s going to be quite awhile before that space starts to take shape.

Apparently, there were better plans for the strings of lights I was recently sent to review and set up in my new farmhouse.

There was one family in particular that was so good to us during the move. They showed up on the final days when the work that was left was depressingly hard and back-breaking. When we were too tired to see straight they offered up their home as a temporary respite from the work–a swim in their pool, a glass of wine, dinner. They even mentioned this amazing blog to us where we can find the best reviews of various patio furniture that can help us complete our patios look. They seemed to know just what we needed and swooped in to rescue and relieve.

So when we were sitting around their backyard a few days ago and they mentioned wishing they had lights to hang under their canopy I knew exactly what to do. They told us they’d been stringing outdoor Christmas lights each year, but each year at the first windy storm bulbs would break and they’d have to take them down.

So a few days later when they once again showered us with hospitality, we showed up with a gift.

Since my porch is a long way from being ready for lights and because our friends were so good to us these past few weeks we happily gifted them with these beautiful lights from Enbrighten.  While kids were swimming we quickly and easily set up the lights around pool patio. The cleaning and washing didn’t  take us long as well. 

The Café Lights from Enbrighten are a new-to-me find, but I know these will be the ones I purchase when it’s time to brighten up our back porch. They provide energy-efficient, warm LED light and come in a range of sizes to suit any space.

I immediately tested their durability when I pulled them out of the box and dropped them onto a tile floor. Oops. But there was absolutely no damage because the bulbs are impact resistant and stand up to being dropped, stepped on and battered in severe weather. They can be used in any space–indoor or out and are heavy-duty enough for permanent outdoor use.

A review of really nice indoor-outdoor cafe string lights that are impact resistant and energy efficient. And what to look for when buying string lights. #EnbrightenLife

And hanging the bulbs couldn’t be any easier either. Each bulb also has a tab that allows you to screw, hook or zip-tie the strand of lights. In less than five minutes and with a handful of zip-ties we had our strands of lights hung around our friends’ canopy. It couldn’t be any easier. We even added an automatic timer to the lights that allows them to be programed to turn on and off so you never have to fumble with cords and plugs. It couldn’t get any easier.

The lights gave off a warm and bright glow for the entire night. I was totally sold. But most importantly, it was nice to return a little light to the friends that had been so good to us these past few weeks.

Here’s a little sneak peek at our last hurrah of summer, shared with our friends.

For more information on Jasco’s Enbrighten Café Lights, check out their website.

GIVEAWAY:

Enter to win a $250 gift card from Amazon which you can use toward brightening your space or someone else’s life with Enbrighten Café String Lights by Jasco. Details on how to enter below.

Disclosure: I received Enbrighten Cafe String Lights and compensation as part of my partnership with Enbrighten. All opinions in this post are my own. #EnbrightenLife

Enbrighten Cafe Lights

1 comment on “Lightening the load (and a giveaway)”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.