Dining Room Table & Chairs- Before

When we were looking at houses in North Carolina and trying to decide if this was the house that we wanted, one of the factors we kept thinking about was our furniture. This house is about 200 sq ft smaller than our house in Nashville which isn't a huge difference, but the layout makes the rooms a lot smaller. We knew that a lot of our furniture wouldn't fit. 

Someone gave us a good piece of advice and said, "Don't buy a house based on your furniture. The investment of furniture doesn't compare to the investment of a house." True story. But we had only had our furniture (that we bought brand new) for 5 years so it felt a little painful to get rid of.  

Obviously we ended up buying this house, so we had to figure out what we were going to do. 

The was our old dining room table & chairs in Nashville. 

The chairs (that were a gift) are from Pottery Barn. 

We found this table at Rooms to Go. We loved it but it is honkin. 

Clearly these weren't going to fit in our dining area in our new house:

We put them on Craig's List and they sold quickly. I was happier to part with them when I found out the wife had been looking for months and made her husband drive down from Kentucky to get them, AND they were huge UK fans. 

Once we moved here, it was time to look for a new set. I knew that we didn't want to buy something brand new again. Good thing refinishing old furniture is "in."

We looked at Shelton's- a huge furniture warehouse in downtown Raleigh. It's the same place where we found our TV Stand. 

Amidst a jungle of furniture, we found this set..... 

We knew we had to see past the finish & upholstery to try to find the right shape & size, knowing that we were going to refinish everything ourselves. This set was the perfect size for our little dining area so we took it.  

This upholstery was something for sure. 

One we got everything home I realized how much I loved these chairs. 

I love the details on the spindles. 

It came with 6 chairs but only 4 fit well at the table.  

While it fits well in the space, clearly there was lots of work to be done. 

And lots of work I did with a lot of help from other people.  

I turned to Pinterest for inspiration on what I was going to do. 

For the table, I knew that I wanted to stain the top and pain the bottom like these:

Source: Brittany Makes

Source: Design Stash

This picture convinced me that I really did want to stain the chairs- as daunting as that sounded (and believe me daunting it was). 

Source: Houzz

For the color, I wanted to use green chalk paint. 

I really liked this color:

Source: Simply Seleta

Source: Copper Roof Interiors

I wanted to use Annie Sloan and had originally thought that using a lighter version of Antibes Green would give me what I want but from everything I found on Pinterest, it goes on much brighter than I wanted. 

The Annie Sloan seller here has pieces that she has painted in different colors, and I was really surprised when I asked what color something that looked like this was:

Source: Oliver and Rust

It was Chateau grey without any Old White added. 

The paint chips for Cateau Grey look like this:

 I was really surprised at how green it went on. 

So I went with that and it was exactly what I was looking for. 

So that's the "before" and I will share the "after" soon with the daunting process that it took to get there.  I'm excited to share more of our home with you! 

Where to Begin?

Where to begin? I really, really miss blogging. So why don't I just do it? That's a great question... that I can't answer. I've considering doing a "relaunch" of sorts. But let's be honest, I'd probably fail on like day 2. So I'm going to just go for it and try my hardest to start writing more. We'll see.

SO where do I start. With a major life update. How does that sound?

"Look at the birds of the air' they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?... See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin." Matthew 6:26&28b

I wrote this post back in the fall..... "What to do when you just shut down?"

Clearly it had been a long, hard season. I implied it from time to time, but never came out and talked about what was going on. So here goes....  For the longest time I have longed to be a mom. I've always loved babies and kids. I started babysitting when I was really young. I remember being 13 and rocking a baby I watched regularly to sleep thinking, "One day when I'm a mom, I can't wait to do this with my own baby." It has always been something I've looked forward to. At the same time, I have always had issues with my endocrine system and knew deep down that I'd have problems with my reproductive system when the time came. The last several years have been a roller coaster of health issues that go even beyond those issues but definitely have a significant impact on this area of my life. So that's where a lot of the pain and frustration has come from. Dealing with all of these problems. And waiting.

For the longest time being a mom has seemed so far fetched, so many steps away with too many hurdles to jump over to ever get there. I've watched people seemingly cough, blink, and sneeze and get pregnant and been perplexed. I've struggled to not feel defective. Struggled to not feel like an insignificant woman.

For years I've continued to see doctors and specialists who have worked together to help me move forward towards progress and healing in many areas. Sometimes I forget how great of a gift from God these people have been, but I can look back and see exactly how He used them in my life. Often it seemed like one step forward three steps back. Yet, I can see exactly how he worked through all of it.

Part of moving to North Carolina meant finding a new reproductive endocrinologist- or fertility doctor. Dr. Fritz was recommended to me with great praise, so my doctor in Nashville referred me to him and I was able to get in soon after we moved here. I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am that I was able to get connected to him. Just a little side note/plug- if you know anyone in the Raleigh/Durham area who has had any problems with getting pregnant, you have to recommend them to Dr. Fritz at UNC Fertility. I can't sing his praises enough.

In August, after seeing him for 9 months, my body was finally at the point of being ready to start more aggressive fertility treatments- around that time I wrote that blog post about shutting down. I was prepared for months and months of sticking myself with needles, being poked and prodded more than I cared to, but hopeful that it would be worth it in end. We started the first round of injections....another side note- if you know someone who has to do this, I'd be happy to talk to them. It really wasn't bad AT ALL. So yea, first round of injections, going to see the doctor every day or two for poking and prodding, and I was convinced that we would have to cancel the cycle and start over- because that's pretty common in the first round with this type of treatment. It is usually for figuring out what dosage works for you. But everything kept going smoothly and follicles grew, and levels increased, and for the first time in my life with the help of hormones injected into my body, my endocrine system did what it was supposed to. So we waited, with low expectations but encouraged and hopeful for the next cycle that would probably start a couple of weeks later.

But there wouldn't be a next cycle. I went back for blood work and Dr. Fritz called me. "Well young lady, You. Are. Pregnant." The three words I thought I'd never hear. My head spun and I thought "This can't be real!" It took days for it to sink in and of course I was reluctant to get too excited, but as my levels went up like they were supposed to my nerves subsided and reality set it. Hearing the heartbeat for the first time was one of the most incredible moments of my life. I'm 26 weeks along now and it still doesn't seem like reality.

As I look back, I often think about my response to the Lord's goodness to me. I don't want to take any gift He's given me for granted. Yet, it is so easy to praise doctors, medicines, and processes. But He created this sweet life in His perfect timing. He saw me. He knew my heart and desires, He used a really hard season of my life to work in my heart in ways that I desperately needed. I want to respond in gratitude to this precious gift. And not just to the gift of this little one growing and kicking inside of me, but to the fact that He is good, that He has done a great work in my broken body, that He did hear me and have compassion on me, that He has seen my tears and brokenness and comforted me. He knew what He was doing all along.

It's the greatest news I've ever received and while I know that so many are right here with me, I know there's someone out there that it hurts. And what can I say to you? He sees you and He knows. I feel hopeful for you as others felt hopeful for me when I had no hope.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I have asked of Him."

1 Samuel 1:27

Coming May 22nd, 2014. By the grace of God.

Every good & perfect gift comes from above.