What Gran Gran gave me

Work has been INSANE busy….I have to keep reminding myself that I love my job. And I do, but I am missing the bloggy world.  I’ve only been able to visit 1-2 blogs each day, and then just for a quick look through.  I have really been surprised at myself by how much I enjoy seeing what other people are cooking, fixing, creating or just doing. That sharing and connecting is really cool. Thanks to everyone that takes the time to share.

And, on to some sharing of my own! Ever since we finished the office, I’ve been looking for some kind of bookcase or something for one of the walls.  While I was visiting my grandmother in Jasper, Arkansas, I saw this great piece she had stuck in the corner of her basement and was using for storage.  I asked her if she would loan it to me, and she said YES! 

But, alas, it wouldn’t fit in our car for the ride home.  So, my super sweet mother arranged to get it the last time she was visiting and bring it to our home.  How great is that!?!






It is in need of more work than I originally thought when it was covered with items in Gran’s basement. The original(?) finish is full of runs and uneven spots and then it’s faded and dinged in spots, too, but the size and look of it is EXACTLY what I wanted.  And even better, now I have a project!.  Ryan thinks we should paint it, but I’m really considering stripping it and staining it.  I really like the current color, and was hoping some clean up and Liquid Gold would save the finish, but that’s not going to fly.

What do you think?  Paint?  Strip? Embrace the drips, fades and imperfections and do nothing?

Replacing and Centering a Light

When we moved in, the main light in the Dining Room and the niche for the buffet were each centered on different parts of the room.  And it drove me crazy.  You can kind of see in this photo how the table is centered on the buffet, but the light is not centered over the table. 



Turns out there is a bedroom immediately over this room, so we had no real access to the space in the ceiling.  But, when we replaced this light



with this light in the entry,



I knew that when Ryan centered the Dining Room light, I wanted him to swap it out with the old Entry Way light.

This weekend, he went to work.

We moved the furniture, threw down some old sheets, took down the original Dining Room light and started measuring.  After we decided where the new light would go, Ryan cut a new hole



When that was done, he used this from Home Depot.



It slips into the new hole and tightens (like a tension rod for a shower curtain) until it “bites” into the joists for support.  The electrical box is then attached to it, pulling the wires from the old hole through the new.



We’d taken the light apart, too, for easier hanging.  That sucker was heavy!



But not nearly as heavy as the replacement light in the Entry.  Wow!

And we also used a medallion from Lowe’s so that we could hide the old hole.  Much easier and cheaper than repairing the ceiling, and I really like the look.



And here she is all put back together. And centered at last!





My mom came by and was NOT blown away by the change, but I love it!

Linked to  Savvy Southern Style