the un-dining room table

Thrifting, my new favorite past-time, has led to some fun changes in our home.

Last week I gave a preview of our un-dining room and promised to fill you in on where the table and chairs came from.

Well, here is the story of the table.

I have wanted a round table for the dining room for a while.

I did my research online and figured we could get a decent round table for $500.

Yeah, $500.

Without chairs.

I wanted something solid, all wood, that could hold up to the kiddos.

I also wanted it to have leaves so we could extend it for use when we had more than our family over for dinner.

One Saturday early this summer I took Lorelai to Goodwill…on a whim.

We did our usual route…looking for Pyrex, globes, and other fun stuff.

Then I made a spin through the furniture when I heard over the PA that all furniture was 50% for another 4 minutes.

That’s when I found it.

My round table.

Solid wood.

Two leaves.

And, a bonus…four chairs!

It was priced at $59.99.

Less 50%.

That made it less than $30!

I jumped on it…especially when I saw another lady eyeing it.

I texted Ryan after I left and said that I would need to use his truck to pick something up at Goodwill later that afternoon.

This is what I brought home.

Ryan might have been a little shocked, but I had a vision…for the table.

I promptly started to sand the thick speckled finish off the oak.

Every chance I got I would head out the the garage and sand.

I took all the pieces apart.

More sanding.

More sanding.

More sanding.

Until it looked like this.

Then I started painting the primer on.

Multiple thin coats.

After it was primed I put the base back together and painted.

Multiple thin coats.

I had help.

I would let each coat dry completely and then add another coat…alternating between working on the base and working on the top.

This was after one or two coats.

I’m not sure how many I actually ended up applying.

Sometimes I would just hang out and watch the paint dry.

Eventually, it started looking good.

I brought it inside and put a couple coats of paste wax on it.

This is what we ended up with.

I’m pretty darn pleased.

I love how the wood grain shows through.

You’ll notice we aren’t using the chairs.

They are currently in storage.

Anybody in Portland want them?

I’ll give you a good deal.

The story of the chairs will come soon.

Stay tuned…

For the record, I saw this table in the most recent Restoration Hardware catalog…

Source: restorationhardware.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

It’s $995.

home is…a little bit of do it yourself.

friends around the campfire

Summer is slowly fading to fall.

As I have said, it is my favorite time of year.

The sun retires earlier, the nights get cool, and a sweater in the morning is necessary.

One of my favorite spots in our yard is our firepit.

You can read more about our landscaping here, here, and here.

I have spent many quiet mornings around our firepit this summer, but my favorite times have been with friends around the campfire.

So, I did this…

I had old boards that the previous owners of our home used for a floor in a makeshift greenhouse. They had been sitting around for almost 5 years and I decided to do something other than use them for firewood.

I didn’t take photos for a tutorial, but here are the basics:

  • found a font I liked
  • printed it the size that would work (trial and error here)
  • traced over the edges with a ballpoint pen that left an indentation in the wood
  • penciled in the indentation
  • painted inside the lines

I’ll need to put another coat on the paint, but I was anxious to get it up on the fence. I just screwed the boards into the fence.

This is what I call “the best seat in the house”. It’s where I sit and share my coffee with Odyssey or watch the kids play (if I am not playing with them).

We’ve had lots of campfires this summer…on outdoor movie nights, just to have smores, or to enjoy and evening with friends and neighbors.

This goes to show that the unplanned, or unexpected, can sometimes be the best thing to ever happen.

I’m looking forward to a few more nights with friends around the campfire before the rain makes it way to the Pacific Northwest.

And, who doesn’t like a little Denver? John Denver.

{rocky mountain high}

He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin’ home to a place he’d never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door

When he first came to the mountains his life was far away
On the road and hangin’ by a song
But the string’s already broken and he doesn’t really care
It keeps changin’ fast and it don’t last for long

But the Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
The shadow from the starlight is softer than a lullabye
Rocky mountain high

He climbed cathedral mountains, he saw silver clouds below
He saw everything as far as you can see
And they say that he got crazy once and he tried to touch the sun
And he lost a friend but kept his memory

Now he walks in quiet solitude the forest and the streams
Seeking grace in every step he takes
His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand
The serenity of a clear blue mountain lake

And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
You can talk to God and listen to the casual reply
Rocky mountain high

Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land

And the Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high

It’s Colorado rocky mountain high
I’ve seen it rainin’ fire in the sky
Friends around the campfire and everybody’s high
Rocky mountain high

This song reminds me of my roots and where Ryan and I met and spent almost 10 years together…Colorado.

home is…friends around the campfire.

*linking up with…

Home Stories A2Z

{our home} the un-dining room

If you know me, you know I am always changing our house.

Always have.

Always will.

Mainly rearranging what we already have, because we don’t have the budget for major changes.

Although, the year that Lorelai was born (three years ago) we did make some major furniture purchases and changed out most of the carpet in our house.

Pretty much every room in our house got new furniture that year.

It was cool, but we also knew that the furniture had to last or “evolve” as our family needs changed.

And, for the most part, it has.

You can read my previous posts about some of the original changes we made here, here, and here.

This summer I made some changes to our living-room-turned-playroom-sometimes-guestroom…and the adjoining dining room, which I now refer to as the un-dining room (I think I borrowed that phrase from Megan and her Craft House).

I will do some more posts on the specifics of the changes, but for now here is a preview…

Our living-room-turned-playroom-sometime-guest-room is the first room you see when you enter our house…and it is completely open to and adjoining our dining room.

We do not have a breakfast nook in our kitchen, so we eat most of our meals in our dining room.

It has also been my main workspace and crafting area, so eating there when I was in the middle of some kind of crafting escapade was not always workable.

And, it was frustrating.

So, I moved furniture…and went thrifting.

I wanted a round table for the area…everything in the room was angular and the space needed some curves.

So, I added one.

I also added globes, embroidery hoops with fabric, and some new lighting.

We moved our old farmhouse style table to the area between the playroom and the dining room, which was previously open play space or filled by a train table that we donated to Goodwill. It is now used as a craft table/workspace for me and the kids.

This now leaves our dining room table open for meals…yay!

I will save the story about how the dining room table and chairs came to be for future posts.

{And, I hope to get some better photos with my DSLR…I used my iphone for these and the lighting was not that great…glaring through the windows or too dark.}

Stay tuned…

home is…happy spaces.

{diy} mason jar pendant light

Yesterday I took a photo of our clean kitchen and posted it on Instagram.

I was just happy to have it clean, but I had some questions about the mason jar pendants hanging above our counter.

So, here I am with my first {diy} post…I guess you could call it a tutorial, right?!

{I use the IKEA Hemma light kit, but you can find something similar in the lighting section at Lowes or Home Depot}

home is…personalizing your space.

UPDATE: I recently cleaned our mason jars and added some vent holes to the top by tapping extra holes in the lid with a hammer and nail.

{our home} is what thrifting makes it

I started “thrifting” a few months ago.

I’ve always liked to go “treasure hunting“…at antique stores, the Farm Chicks show, and other local markets/shoppes.

Initially, I went through a run when I would stop at a Goodwill almost every day of the week.

Through thrifting, I have been able to finally turn my house into the home I had imagined on a budget that is realistic.

It has recharged my creativity…for crafts and interior design.

Not to mention, I’ve started a few collections…

Vintage children’s books, map puzzles, embroidery hoops, vintage toys, globes, scales, vintage board games funky old artwork, and vintage pyrex.

I no longer go everyday, but you can bet if I drive by a Goodwill that I will most likely pull into that parking lot for a quick look around.

These photos are from my sewing desk…I don’t actually sew there, but it stores my sewing machine, fabric, and other pretty stuff.

It makes me happy.

Oh, and I have ALWAYS collected Mary Engelbreit stuff.

What recharges your creativity?

Do you collect anything?

home is…creatively recharged.

summer solstice

I was going to write a big post about our yard and how it has changed and grown since my last post, but I am tired and I didn’t take photos with my good camera today.

This morning was beautiful and I enjoyed our backyard…sipping coffee while the kids watched a show inside (it was a bit cold out).

After that, I organized, crafted, and cleaned inside while the kids ate breakfast and played.

Once it warmed up, we moved outside where we organized, played, cleaned (think car wash) outside, and made rainbows.

Summer definitely made an appearance here in the Pacific Northwest today…

I hope you all had a great day, too!

*all photos taken on my iPhone with Instagram…you can follow me @homeisablog

home is…summer.

working on it

So, I said it in my about page…I’m a procrastinator.

Yep, still don’t have our summer list done.

Actually, the list is done, but the display is not…and I’ve got to have it all ready for a blog post, right?

We have already crossed two items off the list…

5th annual playgroup birthday celebration

The first year (when all of our oldest turned one), it was 30 adults and 15 kids.

This year we had 26 adults and 26 kids (with one more due this month)!

One of the families lives on 5 awesome acres near wine country, apple orchards, and berry farms.

They graciously hosted the crew and it was fabulous!

Lala found this jumprope…

…and wouldn’t let it go.

And, we lucked out with June weather here in the Pacific Northwest…sunny and in the 70’s!

Bobo had a great time playing with some of his buddies and ran all over the place until he got blisters from his Batman Crocs!

It’s always fun to get the dad’s together with all of the kids.

The dad’s play with the kids, and , after 5 years, I think they know everybody’s name!

They all looked relaxed.

She finally played with the other kids after following me around for almost 2 hours.

Isn’t this outhouse awesome?!

We did it all potluck…the kids love the homemade cupcakes!

We sang Happy Birthday.

The kids shared their cupcakes with me.

This hammock was a hit with all the kids…Lala even wanted me to change her diaper on it!

I gave it a try and decided we need to get one for our backyard!

pool

Today we “officially” went to the pool.

Bobo had gone in a couple of times before his swim lessons, but today we packed a lunch, brought our beach towels, and all had our swimsuits on!

The kids has a blast!

So did I!

Actually, I didn’t sit around.

I got in the pool, went down the water slide multiple times, and left feeling like I had been on a mini vacation.

Sometimes, the easiest way to take care of kids is to act like one yourself!

colton+cadence

I made a fun graduation gift inspired by the theme of the graduation party we went to over the weekend.

I’m thinking about making more to put in the shop…so check it out later this week!

home is…working on our summer list.

spread happiness

Thank you, thank you, thank you…

to Kelle and Meg for mentioning me on your blogs this week!

You all probably already know who they are, but you can visit their blogs below…

And, THANK YOU to all of you who are new visitors to my blog this week because of them.

I hope you will come back for more!

First, Kelle from Enjoying the Small Things included one of my Instagram photos on her Friday Photo Dump.

My photo is the the middle one in the top row. She also had some great ideas for road trips…which I will use when we go on a road trip later this summer.

Second, yesterday Meg from whatever shared a photo of one of the globe lamps from colton + cadence that I sent to her for her Craft House!

See that?! She said my blog is adorable.

Anyway, these two women are inspirational to me, so it was an honor to be mentioned on both of their blogs this week. They both seem to enjoy life to the fullest and share that with others.

They spread happiness, love, and creativity, which is what I strive to do, too.

On Friday, I will have our summer list on the blog…inspired by Meg!

By the way…

I will be listing more globes lamps at colton+cadence soon…with pom-pom trim and decoupaged undersides…like what I sent Meg and what my giveaway winner won last month!

home is…fun stuff.

play games

Inspired by this

I decided to do this…

in our playroom.

I am not handy with a saw and I don’t think we even have a table saw. So, I just glued a 12″ x 12″ canvas to the back of each game board and hung them up on the wall.

Originally, I used our more current game boards.

Then, after thrifting, I found some “vintage” game boards from the 80’s that I liked better.

So, I took the newer game boards off the canvases and put some thrifted ones back on.

I got the canvases on sale at Michaels…7 canvases for $20…so that’s less than $3 a piece.

The Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and Life games were all found at Goodwill for $1.99 each.

We had the Scrabble and Monopoly games on hand.

So, for about $20, I added some colorful and playful art to our playroom!

home is…being playful.

*linking up with…

Home Stories A2Z

Today's Creative Blog