One Man's Trash...

Is our awesome new dining room!!! I know it's been a hot minute since I blogged last, but we've been extremely busy. You know, the Olympics have been going on. Now, we don't have cable, but I've been super pumped about it at work and I've been spending a lot of time decorating there. I'll be sure to upload pics of that later. 

But, while I've been extremely busy at work, Evan and I have also been really busy at home! See, we have this really awesome friend, Genesis, whose dad had this awesome table. I had seen this thing on Pinterest...

Check out the AWESOME Blog this came from

So I decided I wanted to replicate it. But I couldn't find the same stencil. Or anything close to it. But I also wasn't willing to wait for something I ordered online to come in. Ever get that bug in your butt about finishing a project IMMEDIATELY? That's me every single time I get an idea...

Anyway, I went to Michael's and found a Martha Stewart stencil. And then I stared at it...and tried to figure out how I wanted to lay it all out. And I stared at it for over an hour...

And then I decided I might want to sand it before I got a headache from trying to figure out how to lay everything out. Cali decided to help. By licking the sandpaper. Have I mentioned that she's not very bright?

And then I started to paint. And that took forever. I mean, like...FOREVER. Evan actually went out, had drinks with his friend, Jeff, and came home before I was even close to being done.

Now, Ashley from Domestic Imperfection stained over her paisley table. Since our table had been previously stained or treated or something, I decided that I was just going to varnish over ours. I have yet to do this. I got too impatient and wanted to put it all back together. And use it. I'll get to it eventually.

But I did manage to paint the legs and the bottom lip of the table.

Evan did varnish them while I was at work. It took forever for them to dry. But the table looks really great!

After that was done, I really wanted to use the table...but we had no chairs. But THEN, Gen's awesome mom had these chairs she didn't want anymore! So I gladly took them off her hands! 

Now...they didn't exactly match our decor. And they had a nice layer of dirt on them. So I scrubbed them clean and took the covers off the pads. Mercedes was VERY happy with the "lilypads" we had sitting in the living room for a few days. 

We had friends coming over for dinner last night and I had a day off...so naturally, I repainted them and recovered them. It was a really busy day! 

Now, Gen's mom only had 5 of these chairs. We really need a 6th one. If you happen to have this EXACT SAME chair, please message me! I know the chances are slim, but it would really be great! 

Here's the finished product...our dining room is really coming together! 

And this adorable bird cupcake dish is courtesy of my amazing mother-in-law!
Red velvet cupcakes courtesy of me. :) 

Once we get the bar built in the back, we'll be all set! Can't wait to show everyone the finished product!!

Oh, and here is our newly-built Cali area. I love having all of her stuff in one place!

I promise she has more toys than this...she just doesn't put them away. Ever. 

Thanks to Ben and Phyllis for her adorable Georgia bowls! We all love them!

A Little Bit of Old in the New...

So, a lot of people have those grandparents that are just such amazing people that you can't help but think of them long after they're gone. My Nana was this kind of woman. Sure, she could be abrupt and she might interrupt your story to tell you about the amazing thing that your cousin just did, but you always knew that the next time she was talking to that cousin, she'd interrupt their story to tell them your news. She was a strong, willful, passionate woman who did crossword puzzles every day, played golf well into her late 80s and firmly believed in the power of a strongly worded letter. She was a pioneer in her own right, banning smoking inside her beauty shop long before people were aware of the dangers of second-hand smoke. She was an all-around amazing woman. 

Nana and Bopa in Hawaii

When Nana was still alive, she and I found an old book of hers that made my inner word-nerd squeal with delight: Chief Modern Poets of America and England. It was from 1936. It was an English Major's dream come true. I mean, it had WHITMAN! Anyway, I digress...Nana and Mom and I totally geeked out over the book and at the end of our visit, Nana told me to take it home with me. It has been sitting on my nightstand ever since. It is, by far, my most favorite possession. 


When Nana passed away, I got this amazing chair that was in Nana's formal sitting room. I had always loved this chair and it looked perfect in my bedroom. 

I seriously love this chair. It's so pretty!

I probably should have researched the
Stratford Company to see if this was an
"Antiques Roadshow" worthy chair.
Oh well...

Over time, the chair had gotten some minor scuffs and scrapes. The fabric desperately needed a good cleaning and was getting slightly itchy. One weekend, my adorable 2 year old nephew accidentally flipped over it backwards and put the final nail in the coffin of the back right leg. Since then, we've had it ghetto-rigged with books and pillows. 

Yes, we actually use it like this.
Beats not having it at all!

I had been thinking for some time that I wanted to get it reupholstered, but I just couldn't afford it. Then I found this blog...http://www.threeboys.net/2011/10/anthropologie-inspired-upholstered.html


Can I just pause for a moment and thank Sarah from Three Boys for posting this? She detailed every step of the process and made it so easy to understand! She really inspired me to try this project. And I am so proud of myself, honestly. It was such hard work, but I'm so excited to say that I did it by myself. Completely. 


I'm not going to post every detail of my journey. If you want to find out how to do this yourself, please hop on over to Sarah's Blog. She put a lot of time and energy into her helpful videos! They're super helpful! Instead, I'll simply share the photos of this reupholstering rollercoaster I was on! 

Awesome...this is what was inside Nana's chair.
It literally fell apart in my hands. Gross. 

Deconstruction begins

Skeleton chair

Cali thinks I'm crazy at this point, but is
intrigued by this fluff coming from the chair.
PS...don't let your dog eat this stuff.
She threw up on that blanket shortly after.
Yeah. Cali's not that bright sometimes. 

This is where I decided to go to
bed on the first night. I was pooped. 

Cushy, right?

We found the fabric on sale for
half off at Hancock Fabric! I love it!

Here you can see the covered buttons and
that the back is still completely bare! 

And here is our finished product! Piping and all done!!

It's not perfect. At some point I'll need to replace
the tack strips (I just reused the old ones...)

And that leg is still broken, so Evan is going to Lowe's to pick up some new, sturdy ones!

I have to give my wonderful husband credit for his moral support. I was determined to do this on my own and he cheered me along from the sidelines (until I needed his help with one really mean screw that just WOULDN'T go in!!) and let me get frustrated and cranky and sore. And then he rubbed my shoulders. :) Am I lucky or what?!


Anyway, at the end of this tiresome project, I have to say that it may not look the same, but I know that I'll always have a piece of Nana in my home. As the years go on, I will continue to reupholster this chair and fix it when it breaks so that I can always have some old in my life. Nana will always be in my heart, but now she will also have a place in my home.