Something Old, Something New

Every once in a while, (about every 6 months) I get a bit stir crazy. In those moments I usually suggest to my husband that we either move somewhere else, or join the Peace Corp. He, being the more rational of the two of us, always finds some kind of logical excuse to stay where we are and eventually helps me to realize that we are just at that stage in life where we are putting down roots and we need to bloom where we are planted. He's always right (on this matter) of course, so I back off my crazy ideas and try to find somewhere else to place my restlessness. That place is usually in a PROJECT.


Like my mother, when I am feeling restless I LOVE to move my furniture, scrub my walls, and make old things look new. One of my favorite changes was to this Ikea chair last year. Kevin thought it would be cute to buy Brooklyn her own chair but didn't realize how messy a white chair can get with a 2 year old in it. So, when Grandma Hanks came out to visit, she created a pattern for me and I sewed a washable slip cover for the chair. It turned out cute and totally hides all the old Cheetos stains underneath, and the new ones on top!


Another favorite of mine is this old secretary. An elderly gentlemen who lived under us at our last apartment was moving out and let us have it for free! It had some weird wood glued on to the glass and some outdated hardware when he gave it to us, but Kevin just cleaned it up, sanded it down, slapped on some paint, and gave it new hardware. Now it is one of my favorite pieces of furniture in the whole house!

Anyway, the point is, I got that restless feeling again a few days ago so I made Kevin saw my table in half. We were running out of space for the girls to play and the leg had fallen off of it already anyway. So, he hacked it in two and now we have an awesome bar table to enjoy our breakfast together (when we're not feeding the girls in the kitchen to prevent them from painting our carpet with food!)

Thus, if you are ever feeling restless, take a look around your house, see what furniture you can move around or refurbish, and make a change! If that doesn't work, try some light spring cleaning. It really feels good!