...From the Greenhouse to the Kitchen...

This Saturday was a huge success with yard sales all over the place...

The hubby was absorbed in end of semester finals, buried eyebrow deep in research papers, so what better time for this little girl to steal away to a few yard sales, find herself some buried treasures, ooh and aah over lots of pretties, and barter for a few antique wire baskets?

{The piece of paper under the left leg is because I am inpatient!  There was still a little wet paint, so instead of leaving it outside until it was COMPLETELY dry, I put some paper under it to keep the floor clean...Yep!}

I try not to have any expectations when I head out on my yard sale adventures, mostly because, due to past experiences, if I go with an open mind and a blank slate, I can't be disappointed.  Sure, I like to have things in mind that I am looking for but I try not to expect to find them.

Well, this Saturday was just like any other... I got in my car, buckled my seat belt, and pulled up our local newspaper on my phone, searching though the classifieds for "Garage Sales."  

...I have to tell you,  I get so very giddy when it comes to yard sales!...  I mean, why in your right mind, would you get up at the crack of dawn, on a Saturday, when the rest of the world is fast asleep, if it wasn't to do something that made your heart race?...

And the great thing about living in the "city" now, I use the term "city" very loosely...this place is more like a large town, but to me, it's bigger and busier, thus a city!.... Anyways, there are yard sales EVERYWHERE, and I don't have to go very far to find them.

Back to the story...where were we, car, seat belt, oh yeah, "Garage Sales" in the classifieds... Yeah, so I crank the car after I find a few I would like to check out, pull the addresses up on Google Maps, and I'm off...

First house I come to is the epitome of Southern Charm... two story, white brick, columns, full porches on both levels, ferns hanging between each of the columns... I could just imagine the parties, and the sweet tea and the big hats that have been had, sipped, and worn in this house!  

  After I wiped the drool off of my face, I was ready to find some treasures, although because of the size of house and style, I figured I probably couldn't afford much if anything that they had for sale.  I'm walking around, perusing, and there were only a few things that jumped out at me... A beautiful old chest of drawers, with a "SOLD" sign on it, a white antique pitcher,{score} and then there was this beautiful solid table, being used to prop framed pictures that were for sale.

  

SWOON...my heart started racing as i walked over to it... Yeah it was old, yeah it was dirty, but with a little TLC and elbow grease, this baby was soon to be good as new...actually better than new and the most beautiful island that a kitchen had ever seen.  I walked over to the lady, and asked if the table was even for sale, which she informed me had been used in her greenhouse, and said, "You know what, actually it is."  Trying not to act too excited, I casually asked "how much?"

You know, part of the fun is the chase...if you act too interested, they may think you'll pay a million bucks for it, and if you act too disinterested then someone else may come buy it out from underneath you...

$25.00 she said.  At this point, there was no hiding the excitement in any more.  I'm not sure but I probably did one of those little Irish skip kick thingies...

"OK," I said, "Let me text my husband and see what he thinks."  He said yes, I paid her, went home to get him and his truck to come back and load the beauty up.  After taking the table back home, I checked out a few more sales, made a quick trip to Lowe's, got the wood I needed and one of the nice employees there to cut it to size for me, so that I could come home and get straight to work...

Three 1 x 6 x 12's, one 1 x 6 x 6, a small can of MinWax Wood Finish stain in special walnut and a quart size can of flat white Olympic paint and I was well on my way.  

Oh, and I don't know about you but a trip to Lowe's for me is just like a trip to Wal Mart for others, and I can't ever buy JUST what I need...there was a super cute PINK toolbox on sale, half price I might add, and every woman who is about the refinish the island of her dreams needs a pink toolbox to keep her tools organized once shes finished.

Came home, unloaded the truck, and went to work.  The table was in great condition except for the top...and since it was gonna be used in my kitchen I thought it would be best to wash the entire thing down with water and Clorox and then just replace the boards on top.

I first took the boards off of the sides and the top, brushed off all of the potting soil, and then washed the entire table down with Clorox and water and a brush.  

Once it dried, I nailed the top 4 new boards on top, and then nailed the new boards onto the sides.

 

I painted the legs and the bottom shelf white, and while that was drying...

I stained the new top and side boards.  And while that was drying I got my sander and sanded the legs and bottom shelf, which was now dry (thanks to a beautiful, breezy Saturday).

 And a little less than 4 hours later, I'm texting my hubby, which I'm trying super hard not to bother, to come and check her out! Oh, and to help me bring her inside.... I know, I know... He was buried and I was being a nuisance, but I was ecstatic with this beautiful piece of art that was about to take up residence in my kitchen.

  

The part I forgot to tell you was that this is the EXACT vision I had for the island I wanted us to build for the kitchen.  Only, my vision cost about, well at least, $150 dollars.  And because of the work that it would take to create this, I had settled on buying an island from Ikea, which I absolutely adored but was waiting on the funds to purchase.  It would cost a little more than we were wanting to spend, but where it was more in cost, it would compensate for in the time and work that would have had to go into making and building it.

And what does the good Lord do?  He sends me to that house with that table with a woman asking that price... Which after the trip to Lowes, costed me only $66.00... And I don''t know what you may think, but the Lord cares about the small things... My life is evidence of that!

SO what do you think? Are you swooning like I was and like I am?  This has to be by far, at the top of the list of my favorite projects.

Oh, and I did barter a bit...See, I had a $20 bill and five $1 bills in my pocket and this table was $25.00 and I also wanted that white pitcher, that was $1.00... So I got the table and the pitcher for 25$ :)...and I got in my car and screamed and clapped my hands, did a little dance, noticed someone looking at me like i was crazy, and screamed and did a little dance again!!

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