As promised, I wanted to reveal what one of last week’s Where-Are-They-Now “Thrift Store SCORE!”s is up to. I couldn’t spill the beans then because it involved anther “Before and After” that wasn’t quite ready yet…But we are now happy to let you guys in on one of our recent kitchen updates!
Before I started the move into the townhouse, John was using a dining room table that his parents lent to him. If I’m telling the story correctly, it was the table that John’s parents bought when they first moved in together – So it has some sentimental value!
So why on earth would we part with it? (Don’t worry, we didn’t get RID of it – just gave it back to his parents) Well first of all, it doesn’t really fit our taste…And secondly, I bought a very expensive dining room table a couple of years ago that I knew I didn’t want to chuck.
It’s actually a GREAT table – Some of you may think I’m nuts for replacing it…If we found a new set of chairs (one of them is broken…) and maybe worked on refinishing it, it could have fit right in – But like I said, my expensive new table made the decision for us…
You’ve actually already seen the new table too! It was featured in the post touring my old apartment:
But here’s the final reveal of it in place at the house (adorned with last week’s “Thrift Store SCORE!” Where-Are-They-Now candle sticks):
I fell in love with the unique, spider-like legs when I saw it in the furniture shop – Aren’t they neat?! The deep brown almost black espresso stain is also so beautiful…The chairs actually came from Target, but their dark finish matched my table so well that you’d almost think it was a set!
And the newly painted candle sticks seem to fit right in! Like the table, they are a nod to traditional style with a bit of a modern flair.
You can see the beautiful grain of the hardwood table top in the glare above – Love that…
I still think this half of the kitchen needs a little something extra to make it feel homey – It seems a little empty:
Maybe a shelving unit on the right? Some more art? More plates? What do you guys think? I welcome suggestions and advice. I’d LOVE to put a rug down, but the kitchen is where the dog lives when we aren’t home and we don’t want any accidents to happen. He tends to target absorbent areas of the house on the rare occasion that he can’t hold it any longer…I’ve thought about getting a vinyl flooring remnant, painting it a solid color, and then stenciling a pattern on top to create a non-absorbent rug for the dining area. But I’m not sure if flooring stores would even sell remnants like that…We’ll see!
Not sure if you guys are Twitter followers (if not, be sure to click here and “follow” my random quips throughout the day), but I recently Tweeted about ordering myself a new Kindle…
For YEARS I have been on the I-hate-digital-readers-because-real-books-with-old-book-smells-and-real-pages-are-so-much-better bandwagon. But for WHATEVER reason, these two recent commercials pulled me over to the “dark side”:
Those two are so funny…Emmy nominees for sure 😉 But really! They make me chuckle every time.
So I ended up on the Amazon site and, after reading the pros and cons of different models, I ended up ordering the white 3G with Wi-Fi Kindle. I decided on this slightly-more-expensive version because you can download books even if you don’t have access to or the password for the nearest wireless internet connection. I imagined myself on a train to New York City or lounging on a towel at the beach (two things I do allllllll the time ::sarcasm:: ) in desperate need to download the next book in a trilogy. The practicality of being able to download books instantly was one of the main reasons I wanted a digital reader in the first place, so being able to download even WITHOUT in-range wireless internet seemed like a no-brainer. Plus, there aren’t any contracts or monthly/yearly fees for the 3G network – It’s yours when you buy the device.
It came with free 2-day shipping, so two days later I had my brand new Kindle in hand! All of that pretentious loyalty to real books was forgotten in my excitement over holding this little gadget in hand…
(The above image is a dramatization. My thumb nail is NOT that manicured and that’s not the newest generation Kindle I bought – Also, I don’t tend to go for Einstein-based literature…Apparently this is a TERRIBLE dramatization, but isn’t that kind of always the way?)
So what on EARTH made me decide to change my mind?? Well moving actually! As you saw here, I’m a hoarder of books. I l-o-v-e to read and adore the smell of their pages (still do – having this new Kindle will NEVER replace the warm/fuzzy feeling I get from a real book), but they kind of add up fast in terms of storage. I have three book shelves, but they are already full to bursting. I needed to either stop collecting or get a library card, but realistically I know that neither of those things will COMPLETELY work for my reading habits.
So, to stem the flow of my book hoarding, I bought a Kindle. It was all in the name of storage, organization and pretty bookshelves (did I mention that a Kindle can hold 3,500 books??!)…In my opinion, bookshelves are NOT pretty when stuffed to the brim with novels. As you can see in the photo above, I like to throw a few non-book accessories in there too, but they were getting the boot because of my growing collection.
I was hoping my new Kindle would also be “in the name of money” as well, but it’s really not much of a cost savings…The downloadable books (at least the best-sellers or new releases I’m drawn to) are not much cheaper than real books, if at all. But apparently Amazon DOES offer a bunch of free or $1 books to choose from – I just haven’t gotten to that yet.
It was a bit of an adjustment to get used to the lack of page turning (you just push a button to go to the next page) and to not see the page numbers (instead there’s a bar at the bottom of the screen that tells you at what percentage you are – i.e. 2% through the book or 98%), but getting lost in a good book is no different whether you’re reading it on a screen or flipping pages in a bound novel. While I will NEVER give real books up for good, I will readily admit that digital readers are really just as convenient as they say they are.
But one of the big drawbacks I wanted to mention today is that a Kindle is delicate – Unlike old paperbacks that I used to toss into my purse without a second thought, I have to be mindful of the soft Kindle screen in transport. I thought about buying an official Kindle case off of Amazon, but a lot of them start at $50…Not in my price range.
This little beauty comes from Etsy seller, fernfiddlehead – Definitely do yourself a favor if you have a Nook, Kindle, iPad, etc. and check our her site for all sorts of beautiful cases!
What pushed me over the edge on this one was the soft colors and sketchy quality of the pattern – Plus it has birds on it so you know I love it 🙂
I also appreciate the attention to detail that the seller obviously puts into her pieces. Each case is lined with a coordinating fabric and has a zipper closure keeping all devises safe from crumbs, etc. The case is also reenforced with soft cotton and bonded poly foam for extra protection while jostling around in a purse or bag.
Gotta love something that’s practical AND gorgeous – Plus, it’s half the cost of the ones from Amazon! I can’t wait for my new case to arrive in the mail…
So in short, I highly recommend a Kindle if you are an avid on-the-go reader with the need for something small, portable and easy to use/figure out. I’m not a big techie person but I could figure this gadget out – And that’s saying a lot.
Happy reading!
(For purchase info on any of the products above, click on the links supplied in the “Photo Credit” section below – You don’t want to miss out on these great deals!! P.S. As always, I have not been compensated for linking to or promoting any of these products – I just think they are too handy and lovely not to share!!)
(Photo credit for Kindle image: here; for blue/yellow Studio art patterned Kindle case: here; yellow/gray kindle case #1: here; yellow/gray Kindle case #2: here; yellow/gray Kindle case #3: here; ikat Kindle case: here; purple bird Kindle case: here)
