Extreme Home Makeover: Craigslist Edition

We'd like to present our first big "house" project. We refinished a coffee table and end table we bought off Craigslist. We bought the set for $75 from an older man selling his deceased brother's furniture....ahhhh Craigslist, you just never know what you're going to get.

Here's what they looked like the day we got them.



They were in fair condition to begin with, but definitely had a few scratches and noticeable wear.


They are solid wood. Not a piece of wood vaneer, plywood, or particle board. We found that solid wood tables retail for more than $500, so we figured we'd save some moolah (to put towards other new furniture we're going to need such as couches and dining set).

We researched online how to refinish wood, and everything I read said it's a lot of work. And in retrospect I would have to agree.


Here's the play-by-play. The whole process took us about 2 weeks.

1. Remove old stain by applying wood stripper and removing with rags and putty knives (definitely the most cumbersome step)


2. Apply mineral spirits to help dilute any stripper left in the wood


3. Sand tables and wipe off dust

4. Apply desired stain and wipe with rag to blend light and dark areas


5. Reapply second coat of stain

6. Apply polyurethane (to seal stain)

7. Lightly sand

8. Reapply second coat of polyurethane

And here's the finished product:



You might notice that the wood is "distressed" which was nice because it sort of makes all of our imperfections just seam like part of the look.


I hope to do more furniture refinishing in the future!

A Little Tease

Big project underway at the House of Crouse. Here's a little sneak peak:


Stay tuned for more details!

Excuses, Excuses

The first thing I thought of when I woke up this morning was all the excuses why I shouldn't work out (tomorrow's my birthday, I have so much to get done today). But then I remembered the pizza and cake and ice cream from last night......soooo I thought it would be a good idea. Plus, the trainer that teaches one of my exercise classes emailed everyone "homework" for this weekend consisting of a circuit workout, which is my favorite. So I bit the bullet and went to the gym. Here's what I did:

20 curtsy lunges
20 push-ups
20 squats
20 jumping jacks
20 tricep dips
20 ladder planks (same as picture below, but bring one knee up at a time to elbow)
0.5 mile run at a "push it" pace (not a sprint, but faster than your base pace)

Repeat 3-4 times, resting for 1-2 minutes between each repetition.

curtsy lunge

plank

Out with the old, In with the old.

Yesterday I had my first experience with an antique mall, and well, I'm hooked! First of all, let me just say that it was not at all what I expected. Of course there was lots of junk that you have to sift through (I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure), but there are some really amazing and unique pieces.

I was looking for furniture for the new house. We will be getting new couches and a dining room set, but I wanted to get some quality pieces that bring a little more character into a home, but that don't break the bank. Turns out, antique stores are the way to go!

One area in need of replacement was our "office."


Very "blah", right? Well, I hit the jackpot at the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall, a place I have driven by probably hundreds of times since I moved to Des Moines three years ago.


Much more sophisticated, right? The black desk struck my eye first, especially with a price tag of just $75. It is solid wood, and looks as though it was just refinished. The drawers provide lots of great storage. Then I looked around for a solid wood chair to go with the desk. I found the chair above for $15, but I do plan to repaint it down the road (color suggestions welcome). The side cabinet was the most expensive piece at $113.50, but it was perfect for what we needed to house our computer tower and printer, so we couldn't pass it up. You can't tell from the picture, but it is also solid wood that has been repainted with a dark turquoise paint. Jury is still out on whether or not we will repaint it or not.


We spent the rest of the evening wiping everything down and came out with 3 towels that looked like this. There's just no telling where or how long these items have sat.

So for $215.71 (including tax) plus a little elbow grease we completely updated our office look by upgrading to better quality and more eye-appealing pieces. I think I'm now an antique store addict so stay tuned for more exciting finds!

A Recipe Keeper

I found this recipe for "Greek Pita Pockets with Tzatziki Sauce" in this month's issue of my Women's Day magazine. I tried it, and decided it's a keeper and will go in my "permanent" recipe book.

Combine:
1/2 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped black olives (or a few more if you're a black olive fanatic like me)


Whisk together:
1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup shredded cucumber
1/4 teaspoon dill
pinch each salt and black pepper


Fill a whole-grain pita with bean mixture and top with yogurt sauce.


I brought this for lunch and several so-workers commented that it looks delicious and healthy. And it is! Very quick and easy to make. And if you refrigerate the bean mixture and yogurt sauce in separate containers, it makes great left-overs.

A Win-Win

I have decided that making your own greeting cards is a winning situation for all. I have found that a homemade card is usually appreciated by the recipient, and it saves me money!

I created this card last night for a friend's bridal shower this weekend. Everything I used was something I already had in my scrapbooking materials.

The dress cut-out was part of a wedding card we received. It was just too cute to throw away, I knew it would come in handy one day.


I suppose card-making is a win-win-win because it also gives me a chance to exercise some creativity :)

A Quick Fix

One of the very first things we registered for was our bathroom set. We had been eying it for months if not years before we got married, and it was so fun to get it because it's something we would probably never buy for ourselves. The pieces are made from marble and stone, and we love how they look like something you'd see at a 5-star island resort.

But, being made of natural materials, part of the soap dispenser started to crumble.

So we went over to Lowe's to see if there was a way to save our beloved soap dispenser. The associate didn't seem to really know, but he sort of led us in the direction of using an Epoxy to fill in the area that had started to crumble, then sand it down after it dried.

Now it's dry, and I'm not sure if it's quite "sandable". It turned out okay, and luckily we can face this part towards the wall. It's not perfect, but at least we aren't finding tiny pieces of stone all over the counter any more!