What's a girl to do?

I have this little breakfast table in our kitchen. I love her, but she is a little plain. Right now she is a light oak color, and just begging for a coat of paint to give her new life.

I'm really torn between going bold and daring, and making her red, or staying in touch with my white appliances and giving her a nice safe and soft coat of white. Or...to make things really complicated, I could make her chairs red, and the table white, or paint just the legs of the table and leave the top natural. Le sigh. I can't decide.

See the bottom left photo, that's a white table with red chairs...best of both worlds, or just too busy?

Here is the option of painting the legs and chairs, and leaving the top natural, in true farmhoue fashion.

Or here is the bold and daring all red table. Keep in mind this table would be opposite the all red wall in our dining room.

Or, nice and neutral, white table legs and chairs with a natural top.

HMMMMMMM......

Christmas Wish List

My mom asked me to throw together a Christmas list for her, and it wasn't an easy task. All I really want are a few big-ticket items. A (small) antique hutch for the dining room, smaller coffee table, dining room chairs, deck for the front of the house....you get the idea. Not exactly christmas-wish-list-ready items. I did put at the top of the list though, these new dining room chairs. They are Better Homes and Gardens brand from Wal-Mart. I have the matching bench in our dining room already, and I love it. A little mix and matching with the dining room table and I think they will lend a nice farmhouse vibe. At $65 for two, they are pricey but even one set for now would get me started, and I can afford to get two more down the road.



Next on my list was the Classic Batter Bowl from Pampered Chef. Doesn't need much explaination, because pretty much anything from PC is awesome.
I have been eyeing antique wire baskets for a while now, but just haven't found any while thrifting lately. Ideally I'd like a large antique one to put atop the bookshelf in the living room. But for now, these new ones from Wal-Mart would mimic the look of them. Perfect for storing whatever, wherever.

And more or less, that's about all I could think of. A shopping spree in my grandmas basement would be the best Christmas present, and one I may need to give myself. I saw a sign the other day in an antique store that read:

The theory of antiques: Your grandmother used it, your mother gave it away, now you're buying it back.

So very true!

Do you know what I love?

I love not being afraid to mix different colors, textures and patterns. It makes life so much easier when you surround yourself with things you love, and not just what 'fits' together. Take for instance these beautiful rooms, I love the painted furniture, and check out that last photo, who would think all those bookcases would go so well together?

Do You See What I See?

There's that darn coffee table again. On the upper left. Do you love it as much as I do?

I've been eyeing this shabby beauty for weeks now on craigslist. I am going to take a look at it tomorrow no matter what. I've since seen it featured in two absolutely beautiful rooms in blogs this past week, and the table wasn't even the first thing I noticed about the rooms. And that means that my instinct is right to love the table, and hopefully I'll love it for a looong time!

The seller has lowered the price $5 since I found the first post on craigslist, and she is moving next weekend so she is motivated to get it moved, so hopefully she is also motivated to make a deal on it for an even lower price.

She originally listed it for $35, then dropped it to $30, do you think I should try offering $20? I'd be willing to pay $25 so hopefully if nothing else we can meet there, in the middle. I'll be back tomorrow with pics if this beauty lives up to my expectations!

Tah-tah!

It's Officially Winter 'Round Here!

Yup....this confirms it. Winter is here in all her beautiful fury.

Check out our birdbath, yup that's almost almost up to the top of it. We got about 15 inches, but it's drifting upwards of 5-6 feet in some places.

We also had a cute furry visitor while I was taking photos, you can't see in the pictures but his little chin and mouth were caked in snow and ice...he looked so cold!

And when the wind blew, you could hardly see him!

So today if anyone else is stuck in all this snow, stay close to your family, stay warm, and above all stay safe!

DIYs for the week

I am excited to try a few DIY projects I found this weekend, I'm in the mood to be crafty and motivated by the cost of these items if I were to go out and buy something similar...yikies!

First, are these beautiful No-Sew(!) Vintage Stockings I found on Susie Harris' blog. I have been searching for new stockings this year, either cable knit or burlap ones. I can't believe how hard it is to find either one of these, not to mention crazy expensive when I do stumble across some. The stockings Susie shared are not only easy to make, but uber cheap by using drop cloth that can be purchased at home improvement stores on the cheap.

How adorable are these??

My second project are these fun word banners I see popping up so often anymore. I love the simplicity and rusticness of this one in particular, which is sold by Frenchie and Flea on Etsy. Not a bad deal for this at $17.50, but I'm going to make my own for 3 reasons:

1. She doesn't offer a "Noel" sign, although she does offer a custom order option.

2. I'm pretty darn sure I can make it for less.

3. Everything is better when you made it yourself!

I'm hoping I can find a burlap remnant, but if not a yard of burlap will go far for only a few dollars. The only other things I need to purchase are a small paintbrush and clothespins, since I have the paint and twine already.

I'll be sure to share photos when I finish. I also have some thrift store to DIY finds to share, but those will have to wait until later this week!

A little gem

Recently I've been debating about putting a coffee table in our living room or not. As we have it set up right now, it would really take away from Lincoln's play area, but once we get the new TV stand in, it should open up some more floor space, not to mention Lincoln has a whole room to play in, but don't tell him that!

I had found a large square coffee table at an antique mall a few weeks ago, and I drooled over it for a while. Beautiful shaped legs, rustic white with amazing natural distressing, exactly what I would envision my dream coffee table to be. However, it was much too large to put on our living room, and upwards of $50, so there was no justifying a purchase.

I happily browse craigslist a few times a day, my brother-in-law is a craigslist God, swooping up free furniture and items here and there, stellar deals and fixer-uppers which he later sells for a profit, he's got this craigslist stuff figured out. So I'm lucky that should I ever need a hand in the city he lives, which is about an hour from us, he is there with his truck and willing to lend a hand, and a tow, if I should ever need.

Last night while browsing I came across a post titled 'antique table', I opened it expecting to find some old oak dining table from the 50's or 60's (people around here seem to think these things are 'antiques'). I was beyond thrilled when I found pictures in the post of this:

I love it. Love it love it love it. It might need a few minor touch ups, but it's exactly what I would have if I could have a choice of any coffee table out there. (Ok, well maybe not any table, but to be practical, that's what I'm going with). I was slightly worried about size, I ideally would like something more narrow. I debated all day about going to look at it or not. We need more seating in our living room, so I looked for ottomans that could double as a table with no luck, at least not in the price range I am looking to spend, or comparable to the asking price of this table.

I still wasn't convinced purchasing it was a wise idea though. Something about the drop sides made it seem large and looming, although being that they are hinged, I could easily remove them. Although it I didn't, I could also store some large pillows below, so people could sit on those when they came over, or played used the table for eating, drinking, playing games, etc. Pros and cons, pros and cons. I debated all day.

But then, just like fate, after having a terrible night, I came across this photo in a blog.

My chin nearly hit the floor. There was my table! And looking magnificent if I might add. I was immediately sold. It's so simple and understated in the room, yet so functional and elegant at the same time. I couldn't have found this photo at a better time. So what do you think, is it a keeper? I'm going to look at it this weekend.