the hutch wasn't meant to be....

i really wanted that hutch...

however, shannon called me on friday and excitedly told me

"mom, i found the perfect piece of furniture for you"!!!!

she had gone to a flea market that she has been trying to get me to go to for a couple of months.

of course, i was at work and wasn't getting out for a few hours.

so she sent me an iphone picture of it.....

it was a cruddy picture but good enough that i knew that it was exactly what i been looking for.

a wonderful jacobean buffet.  

i finished up at work as fast as i could, snuck out and headed home.

 i stole borrowed my neighbor's minivan and headed out to the flea market and found it hiding under a bunch of junk.

i paid the man, had them load it into the van (thank you, laura) and brought that bad boy home...

here is what she looked like when i got her into my garage new furniture reworking space.

i love her curves

 her detail

 and her knobs and pulls

i sanded the top and filled some of the defects with wood filler. 

now i fully intended to sand and paint this project myself. 

don had just rolled his eyes when i asked him to help me take it out of the van.

however, 

saturdays in the fall in michigan mean university of michigan football games.

don is a michigan man.  

he graduated from u of m.

he loves football..

but he cannot watch a michigan football game.....

it's a long story.  but that will be the subject of a future post...

so he started sanding...(because it keeps him busy and diverts his attention from football)

please ignore the beer in the corner.  i use it for cooking....really!!

beer and buttocks, or michigan football...hmmmmm

i chose michigan football.  so while he sanded, i kept an eye on the game....(we won)

and i picked out a beautiful shade of turquoise, a lovely robin's egg green

and he got busy painting.....

the games last 3 hours, so when the game was done, so was don...

and he paints with one of those cheapo paint brushes that are like 2 for a dollar. 

now all i have to do is layer a nice gray or espresso glaze on it so all of her 

lovely details shine through.

and i left the best part for last...

oh no, it wasn't 35.00

it was 20% off of 35.00

$28.00.

here is the final paint job.  i love the color.   i just need to decide on the glaze now....

i painted the hardware with a oil-rubbed bronze spray.  i love it...

we touched up the missing paint on the back right leg...
and i turned the drawer pull on the top left side.

i will post the final pictures later.....


linking up at
http://creatingahouseofgrace.blogspot.com/2010/10/we-have-been-busy-and-twice-owned-party.html
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/2010/10/nifty-thrifty-tuesdays-no35.html
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2010/10/fireplace-for-my-dream-library-welcome.html
http://www.perfectlyimperfectblog.com/and http://www.inthefunlane.com/2010/09/fresh-coat-friday_24.html
and http://www.storiesofahouse.com/2010/09/project-diaries-volume-1.html
http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2010/09/show-and-tell-get-your-link-on.html
here too...http://www.domestically-speaking.com/2010/09/39th-power-of-paint-party.html
http://primitiveandproper.blogspot.com/2010/10/piece-of-work-wednesday-link-party.html
http://decormamma.blogspot.com/2010/11/frugalicious-friday-giveawayjunk.html



edited to add....
i have had some friends ask what kind and color of paint i used for this project....
i used behr premium plus paint in a satin finish.  when i sent hubby to home depot to get the paint with the swatch, he left the swatch at the store so i don't know the exact color.  it is very similar to the
martha stewart living tidewater msl 121
paint swatch, though...
for the glazing i used ralph lauren glaze from home depot and just mixed black acrylic paint from hobby lobby until i got the gray that i liked.

the glazing results are
here:
http://camerasandchaos.blogspot.com/2010/10/finishing-touch.html

and you can see the final result
here:
http://camerasandchaos.blogspot.com/2010/10/final-result.html

unemployment, the finale....

well, i've been afraid to say anything, especially after the first disaster with don's job situation....

but...

he has a job.  a JOB!!

for real this time..

he starts his third week tomorrow.  

so i am hoping that the precautionary waiting period is over with. and that it's for real this time.  

he is working for the state of michigan in lansing.

it's an hour away........which sucks.....

but it is a job.  with fantabulous benefits!!!
and a three year jump on being vested.  because he is a veteran of the military
he is vested after 3 years instead of waiting 6 years.

the drive is long but i have him set up with harry potter books on cd and this has made a huge difference there and back.  it really makes the time go by faster.

so for now, all is good!!

i want to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers for us.
you rock!!!

BACK TO WORK!!!!!

don started a new job today.  he has been out of work since october 1st after being forced out of general morons motors after 10 years.  his severance got us through until mid february but then unemployment had to kick in.  which doesn't pay much.  at all.  which prompted us to refinance our mortgage back to a 30 year loan.  ugh!!! we only had 8 years left until our house was paid off.

however,


he has a JOB.


even if it is at a significantly lower salary. that's okay, because we are used to scrimping and saving.

it's a JOB. 

and i am grateful.  we all are.  especially austen who was worried that we would have to sell our house and move out of our neighborhood.

i am going to miss having him home.  he did the laundry and cleaning and cooking.  and i got this....

so much better than our builders grade flooring.  and yes, it is peel and stick genuine faux wood vinyl flooring.  it's not my real wood floor but loads better.  

and new painted walls.  no pictures of that yet.

today is a good day!!!!