another before and after

my mom and i found this little mid century step end table at a garage sale at the beginning of the summer.

the price: $5.

i brought it home, tried to find a place for it, thought about painting it (cause you know i love to paint!) and then decided to try and sell it.  when no one seemed all that interested in it, i revisited the idea of painting it.

so that's what i did.  the black legs and gold metal trim were in vintage condition.  the gold trim was rather splotchy in places, showing a bit of surface rust and just general dirtiness.  because the laminate top is in great condition and is a light, brown color, i thought spray painting the metal areas an espresso brown color would look nice.

now i have to pace myself when it comes to spray painting.  i get so excited about seeing the transformation, i want to zip through the spray painting and not take the time to do it right.  this table was particularly challenging to my not-so-patient self because i had to prime the metal surfaces before painting, not to mention the pain-staking job of taping off the areas that i didn't want painted.

so when the big reveal came, i was quite excited to see just how much better the table looked. 

i brought it back into the house and took pictures of it beside our sofa in order to relist it for sale.  one problem:  when john saw how much better it looked, he decided that we should just keep it instead!

slowly but surely, our collection of mid century furniture and accessories is growing.  we just love it!

the best mid century treasure(s) ever

i love to troll craigslist for treasures.  many of you know my affection for mid century furniture, and that is my most favorite thing to look for on CL.  sometimes i just enjoy looking and educating myself on popular designers of that time and other times, i am hoping to find that "just right" treasure for our home.

well, last night we hit the jackpot.  we've been looking for a pair of mid century chairs for our living room.  a pair of matching chairs is extremely rare.  and when you do see some (maybe once every 3 months or so), they are astronomically priced.  way out of our budget!  and while i love original upholstery, it is quite a challenge to find a chair in overall good condition that doesn't require an immediate upholstery job.

so you can imagine my surprise when i found two matching, beautiful mid century chairs that have already been reupholstered quite tastefully.  and for a very reasonable price!  score!  good thing we had a garage sale, and i was called for a handwriting job today, ha!

the chairs have been recovered in a white micro suede material.  white is not my ideal color of furniture with two young boys, but i'm hoping that the claims of easy cleaning that are touted with this material turn out to be true.

john has been making fun of me ever since carrying them into the house right now.  i just love them and love to stare at them.  they are beautiful.  why don't they make furniture like this anymore?  i was meant to live in the fifties!

random stuff

call me a bad wife or a bad blogger but i just didn't get around to posting a "happy father's day" post on the blog like every other blogger in the world yesterday.  BUT we are so thankful for the dads in our lives.  and we are especially thankful around here for john david.  he truly is an exceptional father, and i don't say that flippantly.  he really is.  every day i am continually amazed at his grace and patience with me and the boys.  and we all know it comes from the Lord because who can keep that up without the help of the Holy Spirit!  john david we are so thankful that you love your Heavenly Father and soak up His Word to lead and guide you as the head of our family.  we LOVE you!
because he's so awesome, this is what we got john for father's day...

ha, ha!  not really!  we got him a gift card to half price books, john's favorite destination for hunting down book treasures.

and talk about a great dad!  how many dads would lay in the floor and let their kids put all of these cars on them!  be sure to look real close, they are even going down his feet!

last week was the week of home projects.  the internet is so great to help teach you how to diy so many things!  we educated ourselves on the how to's of re-roofing our covered patio.  so off went the old roof and on went the new.  if only it was that easy!  actually it really wasn't that hard, just HOT!

after accomplishing that feat we decided to not stop there and give the patio cover a new coat of exterior paint.  we have lived here almost 3 years and we're not sure how long ago it had been painted, but it sure needed it.  it's amazing what a coat of paint can do!  we loved it so much that i think we may tackle the exterior painting of the rest of our house next week.  and just because you don't see me in these pictures, doesn't mean i didn't help!

next week.  we need a fun break this week!  i am ready to hunt down some more mid century treasures like this one i found a few weeks ago:

isn't she lovely?

so what do we have planned for this week?  we're hosting another senior movie night, we're having a garage sale at my mom's house, we're going to concerts in the garden to hear star wars (and other movie tunes) performed by the symphony, and we have john's cousin's wedding to attend.  see...no time for home projects this week!

postscript

after speaking with my husband regarding my previous blog post, we thought it would be wise to add a postscript.

you know, a p.s.......

p.s.  i love aprons.  my husband giving me an apron for mother's day is not/was not/will never be a sexist gift as far as i'm concerned.  i love aprons, i love most things associated with the 1950's and i know aprons are a thing of the past, and i love my role as wife and mother and cook and cleaner and to be able to don a rather cute and stylish apron while doing those things makes those things a little more enjoyable.

you should try it, really.

while this apron is not actually vintage (it came from world market by the way), it sure looks it and i couldn't be happier about it.  so while most women prefer jewelry, pedicures or perfume for mother's day, i prefer aprons.

just wanted to clear that up.

thanks :)

happy mother's day

this is my mother's day present.  it is perfect.  i love aprons...now i just need my mid-century kitchen to wear it in!  happy mother's day to all the mommies out there! (picture taken by noodle)

normal, i've missed you

i know what you're thinking...

"finally, a blog post about something other than jenn's health!"

let me assure you, i am just as excited. it seems that normal has once again returned to our home. well, mostly normal...noodle woke up with a tummy ache this morning (i think it might be a touch of the stomach bug going around), but as much as we've been sick lately, even that feels normal!

so here are some signs of normalcy. we were able to babysit our nephew, who we've decided to lovingly call porkchop here on the blog (in keeping with the foodie names, of course!) on friday night while his mom and dad went to see a movie. the boys are insanely obsessed with him. they were sure to commentate every single little move he made.

and in case you can't read what porkchop's little shirt says, i would not want you to miss this detail. it says, "my aunt rocks!" love it!

with all the craziness lately, i've neglected sharing with you some little treasures we've found in our thrifting outings lately. i found this book at half price books and LOVE it! the ranch house is the term that refers to a house built in the post-WWII era, typically in the 1950's -1960's. there is a ton of eye candy in this book and makes me long for my mid century ranch that someday we shall purchase and live in. every time i look at this book, i can't help but jump on the computer and check out the homes for sale in our area that were built in this time period.

the weekend before the torsed ovary hit, we found these plates (a set of 4) at an antique mall in denton. they are made by royal china and are called the star glow pattern. we like them because they match our atomic mid century china cabinet and hutch that i pictured here. the day before the torsed ovary craziness, i found a huge set of these dishes at a reasonable price about an hour away. some were still in the original boxes! the plan was for me to drive and pick them up the next day, but instead i had the privilege of driving to the e.r. they are no longer listed so i am sure another mid century lover picked them up. i was sad, but i'm happy with the 4 plates that we have for now. besides, now i have one more thing to add to my treasure hunting list!

i've had great luck finding vintage tupperware at our local goodwill lately. i am a sucker for vintage tupperware. so is my mom. it must be genetic. ha!

now if everyone could get well around here, i could go treasure hunting again!

a new treasure

whew.

today has been a full day. yesterday was too. i am beat.

the boys are beat. their song about "hot dogs and bikinis" on the way home tonight was a sure sign of delirium. especially since they have no idea what a bikini is!

part of the busyness of our day had to do with the acquisition of this:

a wonderful new treasure (i guess i should be specific and say the sofa) i found thanks to my good friend craigslist. what do you think?

coping with distractions

so this is how we coped with burrito's second day of school:

are there child labor laws against this?

he insisted on helping me vacuum and who can say no to this sweet little thing?

and burrito survived day 2 of kindergarten. he seemed much more at ease about the new routine. isn't he cute in his chapel uniform?

i've decided that i still don't like kindergarten but i am trying to get over it.

and my other distraction for the week has been the makeover of our cute little mid century modern coffee table. here are a few pictures from this post to remind you of what it looked like before the makeover.

and here is the new and improved version. i am so pleased with how well it turned out. this was my first experiment with refinishing and staining a piece of furniture and to say i was a little nervous is an understatement. and the nerves only got worse as i progressed but i think it turned out great.

and i think the java gel stain i used is a pretty near perfect match to the black-brown furniture we already have in our living area (even though the flash on the camera made it look a lot lighter here).

so now i am ready to conquer our bathroom cabinets with this gel stain. i wonder how long it will take me to work up the nerve for a project like that???

what projects have you undertaken lately? inquiring minds want to know! :)

school is coming

so i had this great idea yesterday to try and snap a picture of our family while we were still looking somewhat nice from church.

oh dear. i should have known better.

this is the best shot we got so we'll go with it but there was a lot of drama and impatience to say the least. i have plans to have our picture taken as a family this fall by a friend who is a photographer. she does outside shots which i love because of the natural lighting and less unnatural posing as one might encounter in a studio.

it's tough getting a picture where all 4 of us look nice and are smiling. it's tough because 2 of the 4 seem to always have ants in their pants!

john started inservice today at school. he is teaching 7th and 8th grade latin and senior a.p. english this year. it seems to change every year, but i think he is pleased with this lineup. school officially starts next tuesday.

i will officially have a school-aged child next week. burrito starts kindergarten, and i just cannot believe that! crazy, crazy how fast it goes. after having him home every day all summer long, i think him being gone to school 5 days a week next week will be a total shock to my system. and not in a good way.

i love having my children home with me. now on any given day during a moment of complete chaos and disobedience i might tell you otherwise, but seriously, for the most part, i completely enjoy being a mom and having them home with me. while it would probably be quite ludicrous to not send them to the fabulous classical christian private school my hubby teaches at, there are days where i am quite tempted to homeschool them nonetheless. part of me likes, rather loves, teaching my kids about the LORD and his creation and how everything works, and the other part of me sees it as my second chance at educating myself. my public school experience severely lacked the rigor and exposure to all things rich that a classical education affords.

educating your children and your philosophy of education is such a big thing. i am thankful that for now we have a great option for our boys, and time will tell what the future holds.

oh, and on a sidenote: for all of my readers who totally love mid century modern furniture, listen to this story. i had been watching a mcm chair on ebay all last week and it went off auction last night. it started at $149 and my limit of $300 was reached before the auction was over. what did the chair sell for you ask? $520 plus $80 shipping!!! for one armchair!!! those mcm lovers are crazy!!! i am too but i'm just crazy and poor, not crazy and rich! ha!

treasures

as i mentioned yesterday, we love to thrift shop. i think most women and a lot of men like to shop but in this economy, conventional shopping is not always wise. so we like to save money by looking for things at thrift stores. and it gives me my shopping fix! the boys love it because we say we are looking for treasures.

yesterday i found an orange bleacher seat to use at football games for $4. those bleachers are so uncomfortable, and our school colors are blue and orange so this was perfect. not to mention i am loving all things orange right now. i even found some orange tupperware that i love!

the boys bought a blue and orange volleyball for $2. they like to play basketball with a volleyball because it is lighter and softer and easier for them to shoot it up high into the basket.

and i am always on the hunt for mid century finds.

like this alarm clock by westclox. it is annoyingly loud as it keeps time and it is actually one you have to wind to keep the time which is also a little inconvenient but i could not resist those beautiful aqua numbers. so retro! love it and a steal at $5!

then we found this unusual barometer, temperature and humidity guage. it is made by airguide and definitely has a midcentury modern groove to it. we found it for $2.50.

this is a super neat chrome ball eames era floor lamp. a great example of mid century modern style and function. it is a three way lamp so one light comes on, two lights come on or all three come on. i found one of these for sale on ebay for $250! let's just say i paid no where near that!

so if you went thrifting, what would you be looking for?

living room makeover

i love makeovers don't you? i love seeing women get makeovers and i am admittedly addicted to watching any home makeover. there's just something about how just a little change can make a huge difference.

i usually choose not to watch extreme makeover home edition. don't get me wrong, i love the great things they do to change a family's life. it's just that i get so emotionally wrapped up in those stories, i can't hardly sleep at night. i know my limitations. :)

i have no problem watching whatever is on HGTV. my favorites are design on a dime (because i am cheap), color splash with david bromstad (he does a lot of modern design) and especially design star (nothing like a design competition to get my heart pumping).

i think as a stay at home mom, my home is all that more significant to me. i am here a lot, this is where i work and i love that my family feels comfortable the most here. i am always rethinking how i can make a space more functional or change things up a bit for fun. i have painted every room since moving here 2 years ago with the exception of our master bathroom (that's a total of 9 separate spaces in our home) and i am working on that right now.

so the latest transformation has been our living area. it was painted this great shade of red from the ralph lauren line at home depot. we really liked this color when we first saw the house and were excited to be able to move in without an urgent need to repaint. we arranged the furniture in our living area almost the same way the previous owners had arranged theirs. it seemed to be the most functional and practical way of using the space.

i don't have any great before pictures because the transformation was not planned. i just decided to do it one day. so here are a few shots from our living area before. notice the red paint and the furniture shoved against the walls.

(the boys with uncle daniel)

(the boys opening christmas presents)

well after 2 years, i was itching to change things up. it took months for john and i to finally decide on a paint color. i wanted something a little lighter because our living area is so dark. we only have one window in the room and not much light comes through there because our patio is covered and this is where this window is located. with that decision made, i ruminated for weeks on how we could rearrange the furniture. i was constrained by leaving the television where it currently is because of wiring. so the boys and i finally summoned up enough energy and courage to move things (that's right! who says a 5 and 3 year old can't help scoot around furniture?!?!) while john was teaching latin camp, and we were all quite pleased with the result.


here are some after pictures.

this is coming down the hall from our front door. the walls are a lighter brown (can i put a plug in here for behr ultra premium paint and primer in one? it really only took one coat of that paint to cover over the red!) that great bookcase from ikea is now where our couch was. our desk is tucked away between it and the window for a little study space. our couch is now in front of the bookcase facing the television.

here's the view if you are looking to the left from the front hall. the coffee table is my $20 mid century find i talked about in this post. i did buy the new accent pillows on the sofa from walmart for $8!


here's a shot from the dining room looking back at the living area. the leaf pictures over the chair were pictures i had hanging above our buffet and hutch. i think they look even better here.



i scooted the t.v. to the right on the t.v. stand and added a little stick arrangement i made from things already in the house (but i did buy the sticks at hobby lobby). and here are our two comfy little chairs that lend to some sweet conversation. and that little table in between the chairs has a door that folds down to set your drinks on....love it!

and here's a shot from the dining room looking over at our study nook. we love having all our books with us in the living area, and that huge bookcase looks good on our really tall walls.


everything feels more cozy and conversation-friendly. i was so proud of myself and my ability to redecorrange, to borrow a term from this great blog. we just LOVE our new space, even though there really is not much new, just moved around and borrowed from other rooms.

what have you redecorranged lately? do you like to change things up or do you leave furniture in the same place for years? my next transformation will be that cute coffee table. but this time i will remember to take some before shots!

my mid century modern madness

so in my post about my personal passions and interests i spoke of my newfound love for all things mid century modern. what, you may ask, is mid century modern?

well, seeing as how i don't know the exact definition of such a term, let me define it in pictures. and maybe a few words too.

mid century modern furniture typically is known for its clean lines, use of teak or walnut woods, rainbow of colors and textures and use of cutting-edge materials (like plastic or lucite that had never been used before in furniture production). it was generally produced in the 1950's to early 1960's.

my love for this era of furniture began with the inheritance of my grandmother's dining table. while it is more early american in style, it is paired beautifully with teak furniture. when we remodeled our kitchen last summer we decided we could use an additional piece of furniture in the dining area to increase our storage. so the hunt began.

i love a good hunt, don't you? and what did people do before craigslist? i mean, seriously, did garage sales and ads in the paper suffice? i love craigslist and found exactly what i was looking for. check out this beauty!

please notice those fabulous atomic stars on the doors of the buffet. to die for! this is a vintage drexel buffet and hutch from the suncoast line and is stamped 1959. i have not seen another one like it online and i totally love it! and we bought it for a steal.....$200!
it not only looks good but is a hard working storage machine! i've got my vintage tupperware, vintage pyrex, Orla Kiely bowls, placemats, trivets, dish towels and even crayons and coloring books stored neatly away in this thing.
so this piece of furniture really got the ball rolling in a sense. john began to embrace this style as well and we've slowly added a few treasures to our collection.
like this coffee table i found also on craigslist for $20. it's not in perfect condition and i have plans to refinish it to match our other furniture but we think it has great lines.

next we found this sweet little nightstand/end table at a garage sale for $5. again, not in perfect condition but for $5 i can overlook that! this is made by american of martinsville and is probably a little more 60's-ish but we fell in love with the front that folds out to hold your drinks.



this chair also probably hails from the 60's but it's got a great low profile. i covered it in this fab fabric but left the original blueish-green tweed intact underneath. i actually stole this one from my parent's house who in turn had bought it at a church garage sale.


drumroll please for our latest treasure.....scored at a local antique mall for $20. a westclox alarm clock complete with atomic sunburst night light. push that little button at the top and the left side of the clock glows.

so that concludes my mid century modern menagerie. at least for now. i'm off to go hunt for more treasures!

passions and interests

passions and interests....

isn't it interesting how some passions come and go through different seasons of life and how some stay with you throughout life?

burrito's current passion is all things cars/trucks/anything with 4 wheels. he would line his trucks up across the length of his room even as a toddler.

see? this is burrito at age 2. his resemblance to noodle shocked even me when i revisited this picture!

his other interests currently include legos, digging, and swimming.

noodle's current passion is all things sports/balls/games. he will play basketball all by himself without interruption for at least half an hour. i think that is quite remarkable for a 3 year old. and he's good. seriously.

his other interests currently include coloring, playing board or card games, or pretending he is a dog. don't ask.

john's passion is clearly books. he would prefer to do nothing else but read. and he has enough books to last a lifetime. no kidding.

his other interests currently include pulling weeds, becoming mr. fix-it, teaching, and me, of course!

so all this begs the question, what is my passion? like most of you i would answer God and family....the ones i love and love to serve the most.

but what about other, not so obvious passions?

i am passionate about music....music that honors and praises the Lord mostly....but some other stuff as well. before marriage and kids, i was a c.d.-aholic. i can make that a word, right? i spent all my money on c.d's. love, love, love music. and still do.

i am passionate about my third child, ahem, my Taylor 814ce guitar. though i don't have much time to baby it anymore, it still holds a dear place in my heart. i was really convinced that i was going to be a rock star.

most recently i've become quite infatuated with all things mid century modern. our next house will be a 50's ranch. i plan on filling it with mid century modern furniture. i plan to don an apron, paint everything turqouise and pale yellow and wear high heels while i vacuum. okay, okay, i'm getting a little carried away but this is seriously, my current passion.

and i am passionate about God and his holy word. this is how john and i fell in love....duking it out over theology. basically it went like this:

jenn: ".....so that is what i think about that."

john: "you're totally wrong. i can't believe you think that! this is what you should think....."

and i still married him!

and look what our love for theology has produced! i love these pictures, taken years apart in 2 different houses, but doing the same thing!

so my other interests would include coffee, avocados, reading, interior decorating, and blogging, of course!