Bookends. Not What You Think.

You saw it. You're clever little eyes caught sight of something you've been waiting for. Am I right??

Let's recap. Remember this post? Of course you do. Remember what we started with?

Did you see this picture the other day?

Yep. I've been holding out on you. We "finished" this little guy over a month ago. The reason I have not shared yet, is because it is too cold to polyurethane. And I really wanted him to be finished before I showed him off. But, that may be a while. And I teased you earlier this week. So I decided to share.

I have pictures of the process somewhere, but I'm having difficulties locating them right now. Sorry!

Also sorry that he does not have his polyurethane coat{S} on! He would be a much richer, dark brown color if he did. One day he will completely match my dining room table.

On top of him not having his coat on, he also is not styled. Stacy and Clinton would have a field day on the poor guy. The mirror he's sporting is actually borrowed from our bedroom until I find time to DIY a Pottery Barn inspired mirror to go with my Pottery Barn inspired console. He's got a measly Woodwick and key plate. That's it. I feel like I should be apologizing for his lack of styling. I feel like he's naked. I'm sorry for exposing him so crudely. But you had to see. You had to know I finish projects I start. {Well I almost finish them. And then I use them. And one day I will finish them. All.}

So.... dare I ask? What do you think?

A big, huge thanks to Ana White for providing the amazing plans for this little dude. Seriously. Check her website out. You'll want to make every piece of furniture in your house.

I cannot take responsibility of time wasted on the aforementioned website. This is your warning. 

Love my Seat.

Well, after a balmy 75 degree day Saturday, it's only right that we are snowed in today. It's crazy how different the snow storms are around the country. I've lived in Michigan, where the snow keeps coming down, and turns to a slushy, brown mess the next day. I've lived in Colorado, where the snow all comes at once and stays pristine and white for weeks. And now I've lived in Oklahoma, where we get a few inches of snow that later blow around like crazy, producing blizzard like effects, as well as patches of visible road and grass feet from drifts of snow 2 feet deep.

But I am another year older. {More on that tomorrow} I have gotten some awesome presents this year. Some things that I really, really wanted. So thank you SO much for all my fun new gadgets and toys. And loveseats.

Yep, you heard that right. I was putting away dishes yesterday morning when I heard a knock on the door.

"Here's your couch!" said the UPS man.

My what?!

Yep. The loveseat of this post of yore. One of my loyal, wonderful blog readers agreed with me {in thinking this couch was a fabulous and chic seating option for my husband} and sent it to me for my birthday! Thank you, THANK you!!!! :-)

So are you dying to see it in it's rightful place??? After a little sweat and tears putting it together {not really... well probably a little sweat. But as soon as the man of the house let his little wife help, it went together no problem... funny how that happens} it is ready to be sat on. And Calvin has tested that out.

Seems like his jaunt on Desire to Inspire has gone to his head a bit.

Love it. Do you? I think it is perfect for that space. Now husbands and wives can both sit in the office. At the same time. Not on the ground. :-)

PS. A special thanks goes out to Sandy who keeps an eye on the blog and gives fabulous gifts.

Stay tuned this week for a birthday recap. And perhaps you spotted another post just ASKING to be written in one of these pictures?? Yeah, stay tuned for that too. 

A Place to Dine: Part II

Finally. I know I talked about this table a while ago, promising pictures of the finished project. Well, I have learned two things from this post.

First, never promise a post of a project until it is done. This took quite a bit longer than expected, due to weather, polyurethane issues, and life. Next time I promise a post for the next day/week, I will already have the project done.

Second, finishing wood takes a REALLY long time. Especially when its cottonwood season in Colorado. And its hot. And you can never tell when its going to start raining.

But, its done, and its moved in to our house. We even had dinner on it last night, but more about that later. First, lets do the grand reveal.

You remember the original table we got for free when we bought our chairs? If not, I'll jog your memory.



We gave it quite the makeover. But, before I show it to you, you have to make me a few promises. First, don't judge us for our chairs. They were J's and they were cheap. I am working on painting them all white right now. Second, I know we don't have any artwork in there. We did. I promise. A big black and white picture of a canal in Amsterdam. But we're moving. So don't hate. Third, we don't like the legs of the table either. We're working on it. Okay, so you promise? Check it out.

First, we gave it a coat of wood conditioner:



Next, we stained it about a million times (okay, maybe only 3 or 4) with Minwax Ebony:



Last, we poly-ed the heck out of that thing:



And then it was ready for eating:



And if you want a close up of that pretty wood grain:



Oh, and in case you wanted a close up of those beautiful flowers I got for my anniversary:



We will just pretend that luck had nothing to do with the fact that J picked out flowers JUST LIKE my bouquet from a year ago.



Oh, and wondering what our first dinner was on our brand new old table??



Anyway, what do you think??? It's taken us forever, which means I am SO excited to share this with ya'll, but that also means you cannot say anything bad about it. Isn't it beautiful?? Anyone else have some awesome furniture makeovers you want to share?

How Should I Dresser?

We have a dresser that we found on the side of the road. We gave her a home.



It was supposed to be a temporary fix until we had the budget to adopt a new dresser from the store. It's been 11 months and this little lady has made her presence known. I've warmed to her. I actually want to keep her.

You see, she is real, solid wood. Not that stupid particle board they sell at the store. That stuff will fall apart the first time we move it. And we'll be moving a lot. And, she has good bones. Sure, she might have a huge gash out of the top of her, and her pulls might be a little outdated, but really, who are we to judge? Which one of us can say we don't have scars? Which one of us can say we don't still have that dress from 1999 hanging in our closet, just in case?

So instead of replacing her, I'm giving her a facelift. Dollin' her up a bit. But that is why I need your help. I cannot decide on the color! You see, I'm going to have to use a little too much wood filler to stain her a "wood" color, plus I feel like painting her will bring her into this century. But I can't decide. Red, yellow, gold? What about silver, white, or gray? I can't decide.

She lives in our bedroom, which to be honest, doesn't have much design to it anyway. The only thing I have to take into consideration is that my duvet has to stay.



So what do you think? Is red too Americana? Is yellow too University of Michigan? Is gold too "Mallory, stop with the gold already?" These are some of my favorite finishes:

Oficina Inglesa

Oficina Inglesa

Oficina Inglesa

Oficina Inglesa

And there are so many more that I love. Help! Whats your favorite color for dressers? What about this dresser? Is red too USA! or is it okay? What about yellow? Too mustard-y? What do you think we should do?

A Place to Dine.

When we moved to Colorado, we brought a lot of hand-me-downs (read: junk) with us. We were poor college kids, so it didn't feel all that wrong to have mismatched couches, silverware from 20 different kitchens, a cinder block under the bed (yes.), or this former garage dwelling table.



Now that we are young professionals (being a nanny IS professional), it feels a little sad to hold on to these college digs. Our wedding took care of the mismatched couches (we now have a wonderful L-shaped sectional in our living room), the silverware (one set!), and the cinder block is gone (we won't even go there). But, we still have THAT table.

Now, don't get me wrong, the table served its purpose. And to be honest, it really wasn't bad. But I'm a grown up now, and I want a grown up table. Is that too much to ask?? (Oh, and thank you MIL for the kitchen table! We totally loved it, and used it every night for dinner. We'll be so sad to see it go!)

Remember this?



It's our old refurbished NEW table! Well, almost. We found it at a garage sale when we were looking for kitchen chairs, oh, two years ago. The lady gave a great deal on the chairs ($20 for five chairs!) but only if we took the table too. DEAL.



When we walked away from that garage sale (well drove... we weren't about to carry five chairs and a table home walking) we had visions of a beautifully refinished table. We were going to do it all ourselves. This was going to be our first furniture project together. And we were going to do it now.

(Could someone please go kill those crickets???)

Well, like I said, that was two years ago, before I found my passion for all things DIY, and right in the middle of life, school, wedding planning, and working. So it sat in the garage for a year. Then we moved it into our new garage, where it sat for another year.

But finally... we are done (almost). We are going to have a beautiful kitchen table that we worked on together. Are you ready to see it??

You'll have to tune in next week. (Cue: maniacal laughter)