RockTheDesert

The Table

We are table people. End tables. Coffee table. Game table. Console table. Kitchen table. Dining room table.

Unfortunately, our tables tend to be overtaken by things that love to accumulate on tables. Coffee cups. Laundry. Fruit bowl. Mail. Books...lots of books. Keys. Remotes. Xbox controllers. KIeenex boxes. Xbox games. Movies. Cereal boxes. Notebooks. Centerpieces. Photo albums. Extra socks with no match. Receipts. Laptops. Purse. Ribbons, tape, gift wrap. Newspapers. Coupons.

All this to say, we'd be in sad shape without our tables. I have been searching for the perfect table for our tiny little dining nook for two years. When we bought our darling little ranch house, we were looking for a yard with grass, at least one huge tree, and three bedrooms. All other amenities were secondary. So, no surprise, we ended up with a miniscule dining area which is really just a cozy corner at the north end of the living room. Some friends gave us their round, glass dinette set when they upgraded. This set was a definite upgrade for us. I could have lived with that set forever. Really.

As circumstances played out, a few weeks before Thanksgiving, Dan and I walked to Acacia Cafe for coffee and Sudoku as is our usual Tuesday routine. On the way home, on a whim, we decided to browse through the antique mall about 2 blocks from our home. I'm not a big shopper, but I just thought we might find an interesting table for the TV in our bedroom. We did find a table, but we didn't buy it. Instead, I became completely distracted by this fabulous, vibey, totally retro, round table with 6 matching upholstered chairs in aqua, turquoise, avocado green - my colors!. It was love at first sight...it was The Table! The price was astonishingly low, like the-price-of-one-brand-new-chair low. I decided we should put it on a 24-hr hold so we could measure our space, just to be sure. The next day I took my mom and Alyssa to see it. Alyssa loved it. My mom, not so much. I decided to not get it. The next day, I took my good friend Kelly to see it. It was gone. Someone bought MY table. I was incredibly disappointed, but took the stoic, "it wasn't meant to be" approach. Alyssa was actually quite upset that I hadn't bought it while I had the chance.

Fast forward to last Saturday. Alyssa and I were Christmas shopping. Urban Outfitters. Sur La Table. Borders. Anthropologie. Crate and Barrel. I have to say, I love Crate and Barrel. And I found the most fantastic retro (think The Dick VanDyke Show) living room set there. If I were a little more impulsive and could justify the purchase, a Petrie sofa would be on its way to my house right now. And the matching big chair. And definitely the groovy green leather chair. Definitely. Oh, and the awesome coffee table. So cool. I kept thinking about that living room set while Alyssa drove me home. Even seriously considered looking on Craigslist for a used set.

I walked in the door with stars and retro-vibe in my eyes. Walked in the dining room. Discovered an early Christmas present. Someone went back to the antique store and bought The Table and hid it 'til it couldn't be hidden anymore. @daninreallife, my favorite twitter buddy and husband, actually came up with the surprise gift of the century. It fits in the dining room just perfectly. I absolutely love it and, of course, @daninreallife is my hero. He's the best. I might love him just a tiny bit more than The Table.

Table In Real Life

 

Table With The Best Centerpiece - Ever!

The Granny Chronicles

My mom, Lilly, and my mother-in-law, Judy, cruised into town Thursday afternoon, ready to paint the town red, or at least paint Steven's bedroom blue. Actually, by the time they're done, it will be dark blue on the bottom 1/3, light blue on the top 2/3, with a San Diego Charger gold stripe racing around the perimeter of the room. This is a custom, deluxe paint job which is not something I specialize in. I specialize in white walls. Easy care, easy touch-up, easy color matching.

Here's a few pictures of the progress so far:

In an interesting twist on a Sunday afternoon, the grannies were impatiently waiting for the third coat of dark blue to dry and just to kill some time decided to redecorate my living room by redesigning the space using items I already had on hand....[3 hours later]...Unfortunately for them, they discovered that I have no artwork stored in the basement, no antiques hidden in the attic, no bolts of designer fabric being stored in the garage, unlike those design shows on TV where hidden treasures abound in out-of-the-way places. I have about a million books, a few trinkets from Africa, a couple of lunch boxes,  a game table with no chairs, and a huge pile of stuff waiting to be packed for our Africa trip in 10 days. They are pretty ambitious, those designing grannies, and right now, we've created a giant jumble of stuff which I will deal with sorting out tomorrow. After I work out, that is. Oh, and after I finish editing a stack of testimonies for my Romania trip in July.

Here's a few pics of the grannies in action and the living room in all of its current glory:

And here's a picture of my poor, displaced baby, sleeping on the living room couch while his room is disassembled...isn't he sweet? I mean tall.