My new love

Please excuse the crappy cell phone photo, but I just had to share my newest Craigslist find...

I love Craigslist.  In case you can't tell from the picture, it's a quarter-sawn oak, Mission-style secretary.  In near-perfect condition.  I'll take a better photo when I get my camera back from my mom, but be assured that it is gorgeous.  I love how antique furniture looks so at home in this house. Whenever I get a new piece, it fits right in like it's been here forever.

I couldn't find any pictures, but this corner used to house a little "linen cabinet" that we bought while still living in our rental hovel.  It was about a third as wide and only had one drawer.  I tried to use it to organize mail and paperwork, but it was just too small.  I was able to fit everything (except the things I threw away!) inside the new desk, and it's now neatly organized.  I ended up pitching about 30 pens, which I feel bad about, but we just had way too many.  I swear they multiply.  We had pens from politicians, from businesses, and God-alone-knows-where-else.  I saved about 5 decent ones and put them in a pottery cup on the top, then tucked 10 or so more in one of the interior drawers.  That is plenty and will probably last us the next 5 years.

Saturday is going to be an organizational extravaganza.  My mom is watching Ethan almost all day, so I'm going to go through the cupboards on the back porch and reorganize everything.  I'm hoping to do the same in the bathroom.  And the "office".  And the buffet in the dining room.  Since I'll have about 8 hrs, I'm should be able to make my way through just about the entire house.  I don't have to worry about cleaning, since I've managed to keep up with housework this week, just all the other little things that never seem to get done and then turn into big ordeals.  Thankfully, I've already taken care of the kitchen, our bedroom, Ethan's room, and the basement pantry.

Shayne watched an episode of "Hoarders" last night, and told me today that he's determined to go through the basement and get rid of his junk and organize what he is keeping.  I'm amazed.  I thought he'd hang onto that stuff forever.  Maybe I should arrange for monthly viewings of the show to keep him motivated!

Farewell to more Redi-Shades

Ethan amazed me yesterday morning by taking a 3 hour nap (he must have known I needed some time to myself...), so I managed to put up the shades (blinds? No wonder they call the danged things "window treatments" now!) that had been languishing in their boxes under the couch since June. 

Only 2 more Redi-Shades left in the house!!

The dining room is far from being done, in fact we haven't even started, but having actual shades instead of accordioned paper makes a huge difference.  Yay for non-ghetto windows!

Dining room pics

Thanks to the help of friends and family, the "new" dining room set arrived safely yesterday afternoon.  Since then, I've been gawking at it almost constantly; it looks so pretty!  It's the perfect size for the room, and just looks like it belongs there.  New furniture is so fun!

Isn't it beautiful??  :)  All we need to do is buy some curtains, hang a few more pictures, and we'll be set.  The paneling, ceiling tiles, and laminate floor aren't slated for removal for a few more years, but at least the room will look decent now.

Sure beats the heck out of this:

I'm guessing that picture was taken about 2 years ago...  We've since painted the paneling and moved all the living room crap out of there (obviously).  It's far from perfect, but a little paint helped a whole lot, I think.  When we repaint the dining room "for keeps", I would like a darker tan for the walls, since it looks a little washed out compared to the rich gold in the living room.  Still, I don't hate it now, and I won't be embarassed to have company over!

"New" furniture!

Or, in which our house starts to look grown-up at last. 

Shayne and I will be picking up our "new" dining room set tomorrow afternoon.  Here are the pics that were posted in the craigslist ad:

The picture of the buffet is closest to showing the true colors, at least on my screen.  Both pieces are quartersawn oak veneer, with little bowtie insets.  And, there's a matching leaf, which expands the table to seat 8.  It was owned by the seller's grandma, who passed away recently, and has been very well cared for.  There's one spot on the top, about the size of a silver dollar, and a little chip in the veneer on the edge.  Stickly, it ain't, but it's a beautiful set, and an absolute steal at $500.  We told the seller we'd take it after looking at it for about 30 seconds...!  Maybe someday we'll move up to an heirloom quality piece, but if that never happens, I'm more than okay with what we're getting.

On the way home, I was thinking about how very few pieces of new furniture we own.  Not all of them are antiques, but there are very few that weren't at least secondhand.  All of the pieces we bought new, we plan on getting rid of within the next few years; they're things we bought before we were even married.  Everything we've bought since moving to the Prairie Box has been good quality antique furniture, except for the futon frame, which at least is nice, solid, wood.  We decorate with new stuff, but it seems like all our furniture is old.  It makes for a nice, eclectic mix, I think, and complements the house without making it look like a museum.

I'm so happy with the way things are coming together...  :)