Happy Thanksgiving...

Just a little peek at the table that inspired our love for Robbin's tables...

Food at the Fliet's is always awesome and Thanksgiving dinner was no different...hopefully my mom's cooking skills will rub off one of these days!

It is possible that Robbin's tables are magical...my dad willingly (after giving in to family pressure) ate a bite of Mom's new squash recipe...seriously, this was an event for the history books. 

 

Apparently, he has some texture "issues" with cooked squash...bwahahaha.

 

A place to hang your hat...

A place to hang your hat...and coat...and scarf...and large ring of faux keys. As the weather gets colder making bulky winter coats and scarfs more and more necessary, the need for a place to put these items also became more and more necessary. We received this rack with hooks as a bridal shower gift and it fit perfectly into the space next to the back porch entrance. Must have been meant to be.

Curtains...Take two...

Drum roll please........Tada. Curtains. Ten curtains. Ten freshly-pressed green 95" long curtains. 

Before: Dining area bay window

After: Dining area bay window

Before: Living area 

After: Living area

 

Curtains...Take one...

After taking the advice of some very wise women, I armed myself with a strong cup of coffee, popped in the fabulously dysfunctional Christmas movie, "The Family Stone," and plugged in the iron. Ten curtain panels at 95 inches...is a lot of curtain! It took about 2 hours ("The Family Stone" plus 1 episode of the Big Bang Theory show). 

In the middle of "The Family Stone," Chris sits straight up, grabs the remote and rewinds the movie to the kitchen scene where Meredith ends up wearing her uncooked strata. He quizzes me "Isn't that the same vinyl flooring we have in our kitchen?" Sure enough... minus the gooey eggy mess. It kind of makes me like the floor a bit more now...at least it makes me chuckle when I notice it. 

Coming soon...

So I had to special order our new curtains for the living room and after waiting a week and a half they showed up on the front porch. Yesterday. I brought them inside, which is where they have sat..and still are sitting...in the box. I am tired. I am unmotivated to iron 10 curtain panels on "low" (which takes an eternity to de-wrinkle anything). But I am slightly motivated to have privacy. Hmmm. Wonder what's that like, not being an exhibitionist?

This blog has been a good motivator to get things done (for the most part) so I figured if I posted that we got the curtains, people will start harassing me for pictures... then I'll put them up out of sheer peer pressure...and then take pictures...and then post them. If there's enough harassment, we might have curtains up tomorrow night...you never know. Right now though, it's off for a mug of spiced wine (from MI of course) and then to bed. Ahhh...I can taste the procrastination. Delicious.

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard...

It has been Mother Hubbard's cupboard since we moved in...which has meant a lot of fast food and other quickie foods. Blah. Blah. And more blah. So after being inspired to cook my own healthier, tastier, foods with known ingredients (no mystery meat), a trip to Aldi was in order. I pushed my slightly-overflowing cart of canned goods, essentials and, of course, an Iced Mocha imitation frappucino (my personal "good-for-you-for-grocery-shopping" treat) up to the checkout. Full cart of groceries and household products for $110. Seriously? I love Aldi. Getting regular groceries for unbeatable prices... fabulous. 

There is a reason I have not been motivated to cook lately. My oven/stove. It was gross. Was. Past tense. I gloved up and got down to business this afternoon. Have you ever really looked down the gap between your cupboard and the side of your oven/stove? I recommend it. If you want to gag and experience nightmares, that is. What's even worse? It was not MY cooking crusted in the gap. Eeeeewwwwww. (Note: I'm not a complete slacker. I was avoiding this job until now because we didn't know if the oven part was going to be able to be fixed or if we were going to get a new one. Well, it looks as though it IS going to be fixed...if I can get a hold of the appliance guy again). Elbow grease, paper towel and Clorox Bleach spray did the trick and the oven/stove is sparkling...I found that it is more motivating to cook on a clean appliance. Imagine that. Huh. 

No before picture. Too gross to capture on camera, let alone show anybody else. Here's the after, cleaner, de-crusted version:

And, here is the Hearty Winter Vegetable Soup that I cooked, all by myself, on my really, really clean stove top:

Now off to eat the soup. Hopefully it tastes good. If not...

Constant Comment...

Thank you for all the comments! I love to read everyone's thoughts on our postings so please feel free to share! The blog has become a huge motivator to keep working on the house so I have something to write about and it's exciting to hear what you guys think! 

P.S. To all the Kathys...I don't know who is who! Aunt, Friend or OT Friend? So thanks to whoever has posted!

Ikea...where dreams are made

Today, I traveled to Ikea with my neighbors, Jena and Finn. According to Jena, I've inspired her to love her house again...which meant an Ikea trip. Some may say I'm obsessed, but I do happen to love Ikea and have their catalog pretty much memorized. I can spot a "new" product in a display with relative accuracy. What can I say? I am a very visual learner! Jena told me "You haven't really been to Ikea until you've been there with (me)" which made me chuckle. 

After spending most of the afternoon perusing all that Ikea has a offer, we left with some great finds and dreams of possibilities...which may require a second Ikea trip. Actually, I will need to make a second trip... of course the day I go (in a truck) to pick up the couch Chris and I want, it is out of stock. I was really impressed with how well Finn did shopping all afternoon! We declared him our renovation mascot and Jena nicknamed him "Rehab."

He is teething so he was chewing on everything, tape measure included. Such a "oofba" (translation = goofball). 

Off with the old, on with the new....

When we bought the house, we didn't get a key to the side garage door. No big problem since we just used the garage opener...until we cleaned out the garage enough so we could both park in it. There is only one garage opener and I'm not okay with leaving the garage unlocked all the time. I'm not neurotic... I don't think anybody's going to steal anything (nothing worth anything is out there anyway) but it's just a matter of principle. Brand-spankin' new doorknob (with keys), $7.97 at Menards. Peace of mind, Priceless. Seriously? Why would I not buy a new one?

So I did. After inspecting the old knob and not finding any screws or way to remove it, Chris and Craig took doorknob replacement to the next level. 

Doorknob meet my friend, Sawzall...

Doorknob, meet my other friend, Hammer...

 

Now, the garage is well-lit AND the doors all lock. My mind is now at ease. And, come on...you can't tell me they didn't enjoy the demo a little.

Let there be light...

Until yesterday, our backyard was very dark at night...which made it an obstacle course getting from car to house when we get home. Now, thanks to Chris and Craig (his dad), the garage is lit up like the 4th of July from dusk to dawn. Okay, not that bright and not that colorful (I did not go for the "party bulbs"), but a distinctly awesome improvement from pitch black. 

Here's before...

 

Here's the work in progress...

 

 

And here is the after...

 

Hmmm....

According to Chris, I'm a  "realist" since I tend to take a practical, nuts-and-bolts, lay out the plan attitude toward most things. Therefore, you'd think I would have thought of chairs before signing on the dotted line when we bought the dining table. Nope. The question of chairs never even crossed my mind. Not even once. What's the first thing every one asks me about the table? What chairs are you going to use? Oh, chairs...right, minor detail. My lack of planning actually makes me chuckle. It means a) I liked the table so much I didn't care if I had to sit on an upside-down bucket around it,  b) I'm learning to be spontaneous and less-planned, and/or c) All of the above. Either way, I'm okay with it!

The find of the day...probably the year...

 

Some history. A year ago, I would not have known what a Robbins table was. This past summer, Chris and I went to the Allegan Antique Fair with my parents and found out. My parents had been looking for this specific style/make of dining table for about 18 years according to my mom and they found one that day. It was made by the Robbins Table Company in Owosso, Michigan which stopped making these tables (and/or went out of business depending on what your source is) in the 1920's. The table seats about 4 people without any leaves in but can have up to 6 leaves and seat 14 people. The best part is that the table is built to store all the leaves within so no more hiding extra table leaves in the front closet or basement. It's like the original Ikea but not completely flat-pack. The table also has a moving 5th leg under the center for support. It looks absolutely beautiful in their newly-remodeled dining room. 

Fast forward to today. Chris and I headed up to the monthly Kane County Antiques Fair/Flea Market in search of an island for the kitchen...since the dresser/buffet is now back in the dining room where it "belongs." It had been stored in the kitchen as a makeshift island while we redid the living/dining room...for the past 2 months. Well, we did not find an island but we did find something even better. A Robbins dining table. 

 I spotted it from about half the barn away, grabbed Chris' arm and whispered "Look, look, look!!!" I called my mom right away and explained the find. Now, these tables are kind of rare to find. The dealer who was selling it said that it was only the second Robbins table they'd had because people tend to keep them in the family and pass them down to the next generation. It was love at first sight from afar. According to my mom, I "bought the table at 500 feet." This is probably true. Chris' parents drove up with the minivan and helped us get the table home safely. Guess I don't have to sand the table top for our old dining room table anymore!

You can see the center support leg in this picture and the small handle opens the flap where the leaves are stored. 

 

Here you can see the four leaves inside. All tables were built with slots for six leaves but people didn't always buy all six leaves. Ours came with four- which makes it 10 feet long with all the leaves in.