A new hobby…

Merry Christmas week! Is everyone off of work this week? My husband is working everyday except for Christmas Day 🙁 But that’s OK. This year it’s just us since we moved to NC, so it’s going to be very low-key anyways. I’m done shopping for the little ones…though I do keep adding stuff every time I go out, haha. Kids consignment stores and Marshall’s / Home Goods have been great for puzzles and books for the little ones! Melissa and Doug puzzles are our favorite and both those stores have a HUGE variety for a great price!

I’ve been majorly slacking in the blogging department, but at least I have a few good reasons! For starters, we’ve all been battling awful colds. Cami and John got sick about a week ago and it’s still lingering, and I got sick two days ago and am still feeling very under the weather. And, it’s the holidays and I think it’s only natural to want to spend less time in front of the computer.

We also got the rental house that I mentioned a few posts ago and are moving in in a few weeks! We went and viewed it a final time and just loved it. It’s about 3000 square feet, has a beautiful deck, a huge kitchen, a playroom and a beautiful master suite. John and I have been playing the card game Canasta a lot lately (ie every night), so we’re going to make the sitting area in the master a Canasta room with a small table and two big, comfy chairs. I can’t wait!!

Since the house is a lot bigger than anywhere we’ve ever lived before, we’re going to need a good amount of furniture. I’m totally OK with rooms being empty until we can afford to add to it, but I’ve set a little goal of furnishing the place off of Craigslist finds that I refurbish (this is my new hobby) with John. He’s always been interested in building furniture and I’ve always been interested in refurbishing furniture, and now that we have the space, we can actually put these hobbies into actions.

So far, I’ve purchased a dresser and a bookshelf for a whopping $15. The dresser is pretty beat up, but I’m certain I can make it beautiful! I love love love the antique shabby-chic looking furniture and can’t wait to add pieces that I refurbish to our home! My “budget” is going to be around $500, but I use that term lightly as I really hope to not even spend that much. We will need to buy a washer/dryer immediately and I know John wants to get a BBQ grill sooner rather than later, so furniture is far back on the list of “needs.” We’re probably going to be in that home for two years minimum, so I’m in no rush to fill it up.

Has anyone ever refurbished old furniture before? I’ve been reading a lot of tutorials and will post before/after photos of everything I do here on the blog, plus post some of my own tutorials. My plan for the dresser (which is actually not real wood, unfortunately) is to sand it, paint it with a primer, paint the bottom coat, paint the top coat and then sand off some of the top coat so the bottom coat shows underneath, giving it that cozy, vintage look that I’m going for. I’m so happy that I only spent $10 on this dresser because if I mess it up, I’m really not losing that much money. The bookshelf ($5) just needs to be repainted. That will go in the playroom for the girls. Eventually, I want our playroom to have “stations” of activities for the girls – puzzles and books, a toy train track, a dollhouse, a coloring/art station, a building block area and possibly a keyboard for them (and heck – while I’m at it – a comfy chase for myself!!). The goal will be to get all of this off of Craigslist, too!

So, that’s a rundown of what’s been going on here in our household. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays spending time with loved ones!! Merry Christmas!!