One of my favorite times of the day is the sun setting, known as the golden hour. It’s when the most beautiful golden hue covers our farmhouse. To me, it’s like everything turns to an antique look and makes our farmhouse look even more like it’s been here for a hundred years. Even though it’s a new build. For a minute, in the golden hour, time feels as though it’s standing still. And when you seize the moment to take it all in, a peaceful feeling will fill your soul. We could all use more peace during these uncertain times that we are all living in, right?

Recently, we celebrated my birthday and of course in all pandemic fashion we celebrated a little different from the norm. Yet, it was still very special. My husband got this beautiful hammock set up for me and I’m already loving this new place to relax. You can put me out surrounded by nature and I’m good to go. Plus any excuse to be closer to my hydrangeas! Seriously though! It’s hard to grasp their size from a picture but they are 6 to 8 feet tall! In just two years of planting them. I’m so amazed, all the time.

Anyway, I wanted to share this amazing “dupe” with you. What’s a dupe? A dupe is simply a term that has come to mean that something is being replaced as a more budget friendly alternative to a higher end product. For example, the higher end product is from Pottery Barn and my dupe is right here from Amazon.

Every time I go into a Pottery Barn store, I am immediately drawn in by the ambient feeling coming from all their battery operated candles, which have the prettiest flickering light. However, they range from $50 to $100 a piece! So, instead of buying those, I’ve tried to find more budget friendly ones through the years that mimicked their glow and flicker but failed….until NOW! It’s so exciting really, and these are even better in my opinion. What’s amazing is that they come to $5 a piece (sold in a set), so it’s a “super dupe!” Just made that term up, ha. You can click here to view the candle dupes.

(EDIT in 2023 - due to inflation, the set of 3 candles now fluctuates from $6-$7 a piece).

At first I wasn’t sure if these candles would really turn out to be as great as the reviews said. So, earlier this year, I started with one set. They were so perfect that I’ve added on more sets as time went by. I actually put them on auto subscribe and saved a little more money, because they are that good. What I love about these candles are their very realistic flicker, that they are battery-operated and on a timer so you can place them somewhere and forget about them and lastly, they come with a remote. Even the high end ones don’t have a remote. Plus the remote has many unique features that allows you to change the mode of the candle where the base of the candle will flicker in addition to or stay steady, you can dim the candle flicker part or make it brighter and lastly you can set the timer to either 2 hours, 4, 6 or 8. They will automatically all come on the next day at the same time. I have quite a few in our bedroom and in the evening they all come on before I settle down for the night. Instant ambiance!! And these lanterns, filled with the candles, stay around the back porch and they come on every evening by the timer when we are out for a few hours. It’s one of those things that just set the tone and mood.

And with everyone being more budget cautious these days, like we are being, these make the perfect “dupe” for the budget. It was a total win, in my book! I know you will enjoy their many features and their beautiful flickering glow too. If you get a set, please share with me how you are using them and tag me on Instagram @whitetailfarmhouse.

p.s. If you are looking for the hammock, it’s no longer available but this one is similar and from a brand I’ve used.

Until then, don’t forget to take in the beauty of the golden hour! This season of uncertainty and unfamiliarity won’t last forever. The beauty is all around us, it just takes us seeking it out and pursuing it. How are you finding peace during these times? Seek out beauty, goodness and truth in everything.

Oh, and here’s one way you can help me spread out the goodness. I would love if you pinned any of my images here on to your Pinterest boards! You can also pin the image below to save it to your board. All you have to do is hover over the top left hand corner of any image and a cute “pin this” pops up, just click it and you are good to go! I would love for you to follow along and join me on Pinterest too! You will find lots of inspiration from my boards. Click here to follow. I appreciate you for stopping by and spreading the love!