Shouting it from the Tabletops!

Just a quick post to let you know I got some amazing news today. Amazing. Like shout-it-from-the-rooftops amazing news. So amazing, I jumped out of my seat. But you're going to have to wait to hear it. I've got to pinch myself a few more times before I am ready to make this announcement. Please be patient!

And because it is Christmas Eve Eve Eve (as my mom would say) I wanted to continue with the Christmas Showdown. Or the Ho Ho Ho Down (since we are in the dust bowl). Either way, I an here today with another little holiday vignette. In the form of a dining room table.

We have no fireplace. Or staircase. So the stockings were hung on the back of the chairs as a temporary location while we were unpacking all our Christmas goodies. I was going to think of a "better" place for them. But I actually kind of like them there. Call me crazy.

As for the centerpiece (Thank you Grandma!) Jon and I received this beautiful piece from my grandma as a Christmas present. It works so well with the rest of our Christmas Simple Decor, and it brings a pretty pop of color to the dining room. Around the flowers are some of our wedding candles as well as lots of flowerettes made of the same fabric as our stockings!

Are you ready for Christmas?? I'm just about there. Santa and I are working together for the last of J's stocking stuffers. Do you do stockings? This year, like last year, J and I are getting one big present for ourselves (this year it is a Nikon D3100!!). This means all we get to pick out for each other is whatever Santa puts into our stockings. So stockings are always fun for me. :-) Oh yeah, I'm not pregnant, that is not my news!

A Place to Dine: Part III

Remember our table? And more importantly, remember those ugly chairs?





They appear to be handmade. Nice, sturdy wood, a few small flaws in the craftsmanship, and no labels anywhere. We bought them from a garage sale for $25 (or was it $20?) and they threw in our table for free. The seats of the chair were looking a little rough, and the rest of the chair was no Georgia peach.

So we fixed them. Sort of.





And then we roughed them up a bit. Because, lets face it. We don't live in a perfect world. We have a cat who will use these chairs to propel himself toward the squirrel outside, scraping them with his sharp nails. And we move, a lot. And I'm not saying they don't care, but sometimes the movers don't really pay too close attention to what they are doing...

(Yes, that door stopper was knocked off by a couch.)

But anyway, we distressed the chairs a bit to add a little texture, dimension, and interest.



It's not quite done, I still need to make a few seat cushions, and if we're going down that road, I still need to find a rug for under the table to make this area a bit more of a dining room, but at least we have chairs again! And they match! And they're pretty! And they match!

So? How are you feeling about the dark table/white chair situation? Have you ever considered refurbishing a dining room set? It takes time, but so far, I think it was worth it. What do you think?

Oh so Tired.

Well, we're getting into the long runs for the marathon training. Whoever (me) thought the marathon was going to be the hard part, was wrong. These long runs are taking up quite a bit of time... not just to run, but then to recharge (all day) after the run.

And since I'm still recharging from this mornings run, I'll give you a little sneak peak at what's coming tomorrow:



Can't wait, can you?

I'm a Gallery-na!

I have a wall. It's big. It's white. It's bare. It's also a feature wall in my house. Sits right behind the dining room table. You can see it from the kitchen, you can see it from the couch, you can see it from the table, and you can see it from the door. You can even see it from outside.



Now, let it be known that I love a good gallery wall.

Photo courtesy of Elements of Style.

Photo courtesy of Alicia B. Designs.

And when I came across this inspirational picture, it hit me like a train. I knew what I wanted to do...

Photo courtesy of Knock Off Wood.

I'm pretty sure you see where this post is going. I wanted needed a gallery wall! It's perfect. I can display photos in a way that will look like one giant piece of art. I love it. And I can design it however I want. I can do whatever I want to do. And J can't say anything about it because he's in Colorado (love you LT!).

So I promptly stopped doing whatever I was doing at the time (which may or may not have been blog stalking) and grabbed a ruler, some graph paper, a tape measure, and a pencil. Because I'm a little nerdy and I get excited about things like this.

I came up with three different ideas and needed an extra opinion. To Facebook chat I went, and luck be a lady, my artistic and design savvy friend Amy came to my rescue.







I was starting to lean toward option #2, so when Amy said she "loved the simplicity of four," I knew option #2 was it. Now, how do I do this cheap?

12 frames is a lot of frames. I needed cheap frames. To Walmart, to Walmart to buy an 8x10 frame. Home again, home again, with 12 frames I came. Yep. 12 frames, $2.50 each. I can handle that.

(Remember this picture from the other day?? It was your hint of things to come.)



Once I got these beauties home, I dug out a calendar from 2 years ago (90% off after January 15) and started cutting. I decided I wanted black and white pictures. Of lighthouses. Good thing I had a calendar of black and white lighthouses laying around. I also filled in a few extra frames with some pictures my talented sister took, my aforementioned friend Amy took, and a few from my camera.

And then I had my gallery wall.



I love it! I love it so very much! I, of course, went with straight lines for my wall. What more do you expect from a girl who would marry stripes if she could? I find my eye being drawn to that wall. All the time. I'm loving the look. And what did I spend? Maybe $35? On the whole wall? All the art I need on one huge, white wall for under $40? Yes please.

And if you wanted a few close ups:









What do you think? I love it. Are you more of a random gallery than straight and orderly? Or maybe you love the order of a wall like mine? Have you ever thought about displaying art/photos in a artistic way? Maybe you have? Please share!