Telephone Table

When we were in the process of closing up my grandparent's house (Pop's side of the family) I got a hold of this old telephone table.  It's not a family heirloom in the sense that it has been passed down and cherished from generation to generation.  It's a piece of furniture that definitely served it's purpose as a functioning table for a telephone and then spent its later years as a bedside table in my grandparent's guestroom.

telephone before: check out those water stains! 

So, I got my hands on it and used it as a bedside table as well in our first apartment.  Now, here's when you should know that it always had a cloth (doily) covering the top.  The reason being this--->



See what I mean?  It never bothered me because those stains were always covered!So, fast-forward about a year and the table has made its way into our dining room as more of a focal piece of furniture.  After staring and pondering it for a long time, I decided to try to redo the table.  GULP!  Me, being the thrifty person I am, had been seeing lots and lots of neat furniture redo projects on Pinterest as well as different blogs.  Fast-forward maybe another week of pondering, we're into June here and it's a humid and stormy Friday night.  I decide that I'm going to try to tackle the stains and the table.  I start with this technique I saw online for removing water stains from wood.  It required mayonnaise and rubbing it onto the wood.  I wasn't really sure what was going to happen, but I tried it and let it set on the table for 7 or 8 hours.  It maybe worked a bit after I wiped off the goo??  So while it is thundering and lightening outside, I decide to start sanding and actually get a good portion of those stains sanding off the top.  The next day, B and I went to Lowe's and I bought some white satin (I would go for semi-gloss next time) paint and some dark walnut stain.  I was really looking for an antique white color, but had no luck in finding it.  Well, maybe fast-forward once more and after lots of sanding, 3 coats of paints, and 2 coats of stain, here is the finished project. I am pretty pleased!   

finished!

before...

close up of the top.  no water stains!

after :)

House Before

After many promises to finally update and post with new pictures, I am trying to start and follow through finally!

As many of you know, we bought our first home in August 2011.  5 days after closing, I started school and so it has been a very busy time since then!  Our house in a 1920's Dutch Colonial style home.  We are absolutely in love with it!  Due to some time constraints with work, we've done a few little fix-ups around the house since we've moved in, but nothing major thus far.

SO, I've decided to post some pictures of our house "before" and then update with the "after" pictures as we go along.  The pictures below are a bit out of order, but I think you'll be able to have adequate tour of our home all the same.  Enjoy!

bathroom

backyard

garage

stairs

stairs #2

upstairs hallway

bedroom #1

room #2

room #3

looking from back door into backyard

basement

basement #2

laundry and B's shower

our first night at our house

storage area and laundry shoot (yay!)

front door (with all our cleaning supplies)

kitchen #1

kitchen#2

pantry

back door, stairs leading to basement

 

looking into the dining room

Summer 2012

We promise that after a very, very, very long hiatus, this blog is back in action!  We have lots of projects and news to get everyone caught up on, so stayed tuned for updates!  Love you all!

--B and M

**By the way, this is how I feel about being done with the school year...

We're Back!

Hi all!  For our few and faithful followers, we just wanted to say we are finally re-emerging from the fog of moving into a new house, starting a new job, and staying on top of everyday life!  We hope this nice fall weather finds all of you with refreshed spirits as that hot and humid air is hopefully behind us. 
We will be posting pictures soon and catching up on all the comings and goings in this home!  Stay tuned for more updates!

The Lost Summer

If you're good at math, or have looked at a calendar, you'll notice the glaring fact that we haven't posted since mid-June. I know how difficult these last two months have been, not getting your regular dose of Garrett news and views. But don't worry, we're back and we've got lots to talk about.
Today is a big day. Today is our last day as non-homeowners! We've spent the last month and a half house hunting and tomorrow we will close on our very first house! It has been such a crazy month and a half, and explains why we haven't posted in so long. It seems like we haven't had time to even think about anything besides "House, house, house" for the last six weeks. It's a strange feeling to know that by this time tomorrow we will be standing in a place we can truly call our own. No rent to pay, no annoying neighbors down the hall, no fire alarms at 1:30 in the morning, and hello mortgage payments, clogged gutters, and the endless "honey do" list. But although we'll be slaves to the bank for the next thirty years, but I guess that just goes with the territory. Regardless, it's exciting and scary at the same time. But Mir and I are happy to be starting this next chapter in our lives. Goodbye innocence of youth and hello crushing servitude of responsibility.
In other news, Mir has been hired by a local school district to be the new elementary music teacher! We're so thankful that she has been given this opportunity after so much time searching and wondering. She's looking forward to a class she can truly call her own and a place where she can begin building her experience. The good news is the school is not far from our new house, so it will be very convenient. But we're both happy with this new opportunity for her and anxious for the new school year to begin.
Sorry for the hiatus from blogging, but we'll make sure to keep you updated more often in the future. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers during this hectic time. You've all helped keep us sane and grounded with all these changes.

Just Dive Right In

This time last year, our wedding was 4 days away and I was SO excited!  Of course any bride-to-be has nerves, but the excitement overrides those nerves.  Last year I was also teaching C4K the week before our wedding, so it made the week just fly by.  Honestly, during that week leading up to our wedding, I don't remember eating, relaxing or anything along those lines.  It was a crazy week, but very special and we have so many wonderful memories stored away from that weekend :) This year, to celebrate our one-year anniversary, B and I are going on a quaint little trip to Galena.  There will be pictures and stories to come :)
Now, zoom forward a year later and we find it very hard to believe that it has gone that fast!

This year in the week leading up to our wedding anniversary, instead of running around getting all those last minute details together for our wedding, B and I are looking forward to a break from the "real world" and are so excited to just get to spend some quality time together without any distractions!
This past week for me has been an adventure.  Most of you should know of my frustration finding a teaching job.  I know that teaching is my calling--it's what I love to do, I love the students, it really is my passion.  However there are very few music teaching jobs for someone recently a college graduate (without experience) in our area.  In these past few months it has come to me that I need to go another job route for a while.  Especially since now we are well into summer and of course school is out--we have some big goals in mind, but to achieve them I need a job as well.  So, long story short, I have dove into the retail world and recently been hired as an associate with a local department store.  Let's just say hello panty-hose and dresses, goodbye shorts and t-shirts.  I've had training all week long and it is a bit overwhelming, but I like all the people I've worked with thus far as well as I've learned a lot!
So, while in the year that has passed since our wedding many things have changed, many have stayed the same.  As we've gone through this crazy week leading up once again to June 19th, B has been the ever supporting husband that he always is--even when I come home a bit cranky and frazzled---just like he was the ever supportive fiance listening to me hash out wedding details or vent about wedding stress :)

A Sunray a Day...