Chairs!

Well I quickly realized that our “solution” to chairs for our new table wasn’t going to work. They look good and all and will be great for when we need extra seats-but the big problem was that I felt like a little kid at the adults table. The folding chairs are too short.

Not giving up hope on finding a deal on some chairs I continued to scour Craigs List.  A few weeks ago or was it a month (?) I came across these.

He was asking $50-so I quickly emailed him to clarify that that was for four chairs and not apiece. It was! I also verified that the seat height was tall enough…and it was too! So I showed Adam. He liked the chairs and even said they reminded him of Frank Lloyd Wright! (my little Archi Husband is learning) And so that Saturday we drove out and picked them up!

As you’ve probably already concluded we had plans for these chairs.  You know that I want WHITE chairs for the new table and while the toffee finish on these was nice-it wasn’t what I was after. I was after good bones that I could modify into what I wanted. Also there were only 4 chairs and my idea was to have 6 chairs in different styles. In the meantime we’ll still use two of the folding chairs-tall people only.

To begin Adam removed the seats and took the frames outside to be painted a gloss white.  We used Rustolium spray paint after my over excited self attempted to paint them with satin paint and a brush. I quickly realized that was NOT going to work.  Back to Adams painting. Since we don’t have a yard or any “work” area he did what he could, but he said he’d have to just do the tops first-let it dry-then bring them back out to get the bottoms.  He blew through our two cans of paint in no time and we brought the half painted chairs back upstairs.

And they sat there for a good month.

In the mean time we had been to Joanne’s to find fabric we thought we’d like for the seat. White of course. Our best bet was actually some white drapery lining. We liked the fact that the back side actually had a rubbery finish and thought that would be good with spills.  The next week Joann’s had an upholster sale so I went back and purchased the 2 yards I need for $6.

While Adam was in California I attempted to remove the existing fabric on the seats…and didn’t have much luck. Those suckers were stuck down good. When Adam returned he whizzed through 3 while I barley finished one. Then we were able to re stable on the new fabric. Me pulling it tight and Adam going to town with the staple gun.

Adam was finally able to finish painting the chairs and I know he’s not as happy with his work as he’d like to be-but I think they look great! 

After they had dried a few days and we finished the seats, we (he) screwed them in place and pulled them up to the table.
I must say I like the way they look.They’re not the Modern chairs I was pining for, but for $50+ they’re good for now!

And just in time for Adams dad to come visit too.  now if only we can finish the table in time for Thanksgiving…

Here’s our breakdown:
4 chairs: $50
4 cans of paint: $24
Box of staples: $3
2 yds of fabric: $6
Grand total: $83 ($20.27/chair)
not bad!!

Before/After:

Two Year Anniversary

Adam & I celebrated our anniversary by going out for dinner downtown Tampa.  We’ve become quite thrifty and savvy about eating out so we chose the restaurant based on Gift Certificates we could get at a discounted rate and the fact that this restaurant hosted 1/2 off bottles of wine on Mondays.  The restaurant was Fly, which we’ve been to before and really enjoyed.

We sat outside, as it was too noisy inside and the weather wasn’t scorching.  It was a beautiful evening to watch the city turn from dusk to dark.  Tampa really is a beautiful city and I hope that soon the downtown area really takes off. It is getting there, seeing a busy restaurant on a Monday night is always a good sign.

Adam really enjoys one of their signature cocktails, Wrong End of a Gun.  The first time we went there we got into a discussion over which end was the wrong end. He said the barrel end I said the stock or as I just learned on Google-the Action end.  I think he ended up being right. Anyway, he started off the evening with his favorite drink (which he wants to make for his dad this weekend) and a grilled roman salad with bacon and gorgonzola. It was quite tasty and luckily big enough to share.

For dinner Adam chose the Pepper crusted Filet Mignot (I took one bite and was coughing up a storm!) while I chose the seared scallops with cauliflower and curry sauce.  Our waiter recommended a new Malbac from Peirano Estate (I saved the cork) which was really nice but at $42 a bottle it had better be. (we only paid $21)  Afterward with wine still in our glasses I ordered the flourless chocolate cake. I had always wondered how they made cake w/o flour. Basically it was like a piece of chocolate fudge with a scoop of ice cream. It was very good!

When we got home Adam tore into his present (which he hid under the bed while he walked the dogs so that I couldn’t use it first!).  I had gotten him an electronic foot massager.  He was very excited to use it and sat on the couch enjoying as the dogs tried to figure out what it was.

All the while I was having fun with the new camera he bought me! Such a surprise.  I had mentioned that we needed a small camera to take places since his is too big and his Olympus is on the fritz.  He ended up getting me another Olympus Tough, but it’s not as “tough'” as his is.  We had fun playing with the new features and even got to snap a couple of self timed photos.

We had a lovely anniversary. Thanks to everyone that made our special day two years ago so wonderful and for all the continued well wishes we get.

My sweet parents sent us this yesterday and I thought it would be a nice way to end this post

Happenings…

I realize I tend to post in spurts…like I’ll have all these posts for a week and then 2 weeks go by and I’m like-oops.

So here’s what’s been going on…in no particular order..

1:

Adam liked his cake.

Took us a week to eat it.

He’s already talking about me making it for Thanksgiving.

2:

I was busy sewing for a week, while Adam was in California, for our new niece Zoe.  After finding out she was a girl I could finish the quilt with all the bows. If it was a boy I wasn’t going to do the bows.

I tied 48 tiny little bows…

The back is a nice fine fleece.

She also got some new outfits. 2 of which were 1st timers for me:

And I attempted my first time sewing with a knit.  I was really proud of the way my onesie was turning out until I realized the PATTERN was incorrect and my leg pieces where short. But I was beyond fixing the issue by the time I realized it. So the crotch of poor Zoe’s onsies was all jacked up. Lucikily she’s too young to realize it and I fixed it as best I could when I got up there.

I love the fabric I used for the jumper.  I bought it on super clearance last fall from Fabrics.com.  And this pattern was pretty easy to do-so I’ll be making more of these. Kylie, want a new jumper?

I also loved this romper and the sweet polka dot print. 

I knew it was a risk picking this fabric as that precious blue is know as Carolina Blue in North Carolina and Zoe’s Dad is just like my husband…a big Carolina Hater-they went to NCState.  But josh was  sick of all the pink…so maybe she’ll get to wear it…just not at an NCSU game.

The last piece I made for her was one I’ve done a few other times. I think it’s the cutest little romper – and I hear Zoe got her photos taken in it already. I can’t wait to see!

This fabric is super sweet too. It’s bunny Toile. I liked the fabric so much that when it was on sale I bought it in pink, blue and green!

3.

We made the long trip in the car (9.5 hours) to North Carolina to meet Ms. Zoe over Labor Day weekend.  It was a nice relaxing time with family.  We played cards, ate, drank, held the baby, fed the baby and danced with Ms. Kylie.  I wish we lived closer so that we could do this more often.  Here are some of my favorite photos from that weekend.

We had bought this glow-sea horse for Kylie and she didn’t put it down the whole weekend. It was her baby

now I know where Adam gets his smiling abilities from!

Big girls!

Zoe Slept a lot while we were there…makes for great cuddles.

Rare awake time with her that weekend. I think she likes me.

4:

Adam had Ultimate Sections this past weekend. His team played 3 games Saturday and 2 on Sunday.  I made it down to support him both days and enjoyed the fresh air despite the hot sun.  His team came in 2nd and will be headed to Regionals in Little Rock AK in a few weeks.

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I love this face

5:

I go in for my Biopsy Wednesday morning. As I said before, I’m not worried, but your prayers are always appreciated.  I’m almost 2 weeks without Caffeinated Coffee.  I did cheat and have a couple of Arnold Palmers this weekend-but I figured the tea in those is pretty weak anyway…

6:

Jordan is the best Pre-rinser.  The other night after tacos we put the pan on floor for Jordan to clean it up.  We always put the pans just outside of the kitchen. That why they’re not always under our feet when we cook.  Well we came back in a while and found she had moved the pan into the kitchen and wedged it into the corner. Her head was crammed into the pan and basically under the toe kick! We laughed so hard and luckily got to snap some pictures.

7:

Today is our anniversary. It’s been 2 years and it’s been wonderful. We’ve been through a lot in this last year, but we never focused on the bad.  We both always have such positive attitudes.  My friend Kristi, who has had a horrible year, said to me: “Pleva, I love you and the la la land you live in.  It’s so not reality. Don’t ever get out of it. I wish I could live in such denial”. But I don’t think we live in denial nor are we naïve to the fact that bad things happen to good people, including us.  We just know that as long as we have each other-we’re going to get through it, together.

All you need is love.

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So there you have it- a super big long catch up post. We have a busy week ahead of us. Russ arrives Thursday and Hockey season is firing up.  We still have lots to do around the house, parties to plan and of course Fun to be had.  Have a wonderful week.