Dining Table Makeover

October 20, 2013

Ok, so we technically finished this weeks ago, but there's been so much going on I hadn't had a chance to blog about it.

Have you seen the pedestal table makeovers in pinterest/blog land? I've seen a ton of people turn a hum-drum table into a thing of beauty with just a little paint and stain, so I figured I could do the same. When I was still living in Singapore last year, I spotted a pedestal table on Craigslist here in Lynchburg for a mere $60. My sweet sister was willing to go and pick it up for me and her in-laws held it for me until we returned. Gotta love family.

Well, what is a dining table without chairs? Besides a catch-all for junk...really nothing, cause we had nowhere to eat for the first month in our new place. I wanted to find 4 chairs that had an upholstered seat that I could change out and Craigslist came through again for me. I got a set of 4 for only $30! Here's what it all looked like before:


Ahhh, gotta love that orang-y wood tone :) And the fabric on the chairs? Please, take a closer look...they are amazing!


Yes, 70's! They were really appropriate for the kitchen with the all mushrooms, onions, and asparagus goodness, but alas, I decided to change them out for more updated fabric.

This is a photo I snapped after finishing the first chair. I was in love :)


Now, this was the first experience I had with Annie Sloan chalk paint. I'm not sure I would use the white again. After four coats, the coverage still wasn't very good, but I honestly just got tired of painting. Maybe it was the wood tone underneath, but I think if I paint white again, I'll probably prime and then paint with a different type of paint. Personal preference.

We sanded the top of the table and stained it a darker color which turned out perfect! Here is the finished product:


I'd say this was a successful makeover on our small budget!

The only thing I would change is the color of the walls, but considering I've made my husband repaint every room in our townhouse except for the dining/kitchen area...I've gotta let this one go. It may not match the blue in the fabric, but that won't matter in our next place.

Up next: Projects for the baby room! Here's a glimpse at my mood board:


It's a girl!!!

October 08, 2013

Well it's been almost a week since we found out we are having a little girl. It's still sinking in. Who am I kidding? The fact that I'm pregnant is still sinking in.

My siblings have basically been a male baby production line. The first grandchild was a girl...and that was the last girl we've seen. Since she was born, we've had four boys come along. And my brother Evan found out a few days before us that his wife was having a boy too! So needless to say, I think there were a lot of people holding out hope that we'd pull it out a baby girl win.

Of course I consulted the Chinese gender predictor months ago, which said I was having a girl, so for months I've been thinking that's exactly what we were having. That thing is freakishly correct! But once Evan and Christina found out they were having a boy, I started having my doubts.

We went to the ultrasound on Thursday and I told the tech that we didn't want to know. When the baby first came up on the screen, it was a full-body shot, but I swore I saw something "wiggle" in the bottom half. I quickly thought "Was that his thing?". Obviously I think in very adult terms.

Then I was SURE it was going to be a boy. Even the ladies in the office saw the ultrasound of the face and said it looked like a boy. But THEN someone mentioned it was probably the umbilical cord I saw. Duh.

So basically by the time the reveal rolled around, I had NO IDEA what it was going to be. And honestly I didn't care. Baby Clarence or Baby Girl Clarence....both are fine with me, as long as it looks like it's daddy!

We had my parents and my sister and her boys come over along with Clarence's parents on Skype for the big reveal. My best friend, Amy, was passed the envelope with the big secret inside and went to get us two cans of silly string. We just didn't know if it would be blue or pink, but we figured we might as well have some fun shooting each other.

In case you missed it, I've posted the video below. We are both so excited and can't wait to meet our baby girl! Now we just have to agree on a name. I've already vetoed Clarence's first suggestions of Eunice. Yikes. I think we have a long road ahead of us :)


 

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