My TV Cabinet, Re-purposed

There's been a bit of a furniture swap at my house.  With the updating of our den, we've done a switch-a-roo with some furniture.  One of our neighbors came over late one night and moved a lot of furniture with John.

The small TV cabinet to the room with the stencil.
The sideboard to the dining room.
The bottom of the hutch to the den.  

And finally, the big TV cabinet to the dining room.



I'm a big fan of using furniture in ways that it's not intended.  When we decided that the TV cabinet was not working in the den, I knew it's new life-purpose: to store my hoards and hoards of dishes.  

A friend gave me that little wooden angel.  Isn't she cute?  And all wood-sy?

Here are my dishes.  To be honest, this is only a portion of what I've gathered over the years.  These are my most frequently used things.  The rest of my stuff is in other pieces of furniture, in our attic, or sitting on the shelves at Goodwill.  I'm in serious danger of drowning in dishes.

Eventually, John is going to add another shelf in that big blank space, so I can store my table linens in there as well.  (Oh table linens, how I love thee.)  For now, I'm storing several other things.  I have some candle holders, "fancy silverware," silverware caddies, 

loads of serving pieces, (including this wooden salad bowl that was a wedding present from my mom.  It's pretty cool because it's made from one piece of wood)

(When we got married, I was working at a home decor place that had the cutest stuff for super cheap.  The owners were great and gave me a HUGE discount-and I developed a little addiction of platters.  Those teal platters below...I got both of them for less than $10.)

and lots and lots of dishes!  Besides the fun stuff, I have the practical stuff as well...the actual dishes to eat off of.  I think that I could feed 35-40 people at one time without running out of dishes.  Been there, done that, have the stories to prove it...like that one year we did a huge potluck Valentine's dinner...that was great!

There are two things that I don't use much in the TV cabinet, but I'm not ready to hide away yet.  When I got married, I didn't register for china.  However, my grandmother gave me one of her sets.  It's kept in the bottom half of the cabinet.  It's pretty with little pastel flowers around the edges.  I love seeing it and being reminded of being at my G.ma Polly's house.  Eventually, I want to get in the habit of using them.

The other thing that I keep in there that I don't use are these cute salt and pepper shakers.  I found them at an antique store in Ann Arbor and I love them!  They are just adorable.  Maybe one day I'll start using them as well...

For now, I'll just leave them be and I'll enjoy seeing them when I open the TV cabinet.  That's in my dining room.  That doesn't hold a TV anymore.  But instead is weighed down with dishes.  Lots and lots of dishes.

This Week's Menu

We are back from a week at the beach.  Last week was full of good times, fun, and more memories of our family and our friends.  

Everyone jumped back into routine.  Embraced it with open arms.  As much as we love a break from routine, we love returning to it as well.  Oh stability and structure, you suit us so well.  In our routine, I make the menu and buy my groceries before the week starts.  This week is no exception. Here we go...

BBQ baked potatoes

Cream of chicken and wild rice soup

Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, pea and lima combo
Brown butter tortellini with sauteed spinach

The Cream Ruffled Tote

Meet the Cream Ruffled Tote.  She's very cute.  Like super-duper cute.

There are so many things that I love about her.  First, the ruffles...love, love the ruffles.  Second, the flower pin on the corner.  Third, it's casual and fun at the same time.  She and I are really getting along well!

By the way...that pin comes off.  It can go on my shirt.  In my hair.  Or it can take the day off and one of my other flowers can have a turn.

She came to me packaged so wonderfully.  Vintage paper.  Vintage cards.  Cute Gift tage.  Fabric ribbon.  Muy bien.  Very, very, muy bien.

I met the ruffled tote through a blog giveaway from Dreamy Whites.  Originally, I won a really cool camera bag that hung low on my waist.  Since I prefer totes because they fit neatly under my arm, I asked for a little swap.  Jeanne was so nice to do that and I couldn't be happier that she sent me the Cream Ruffled Tote.  For more cute items, check out Jeanne's shop.  Then, go back and check the shop at Dreamy Whites.  It's all just gorgeous!  

Mossy Letters

Remember those mossy letters from Jenny's bridal shower?  I made them.  They were so easy and so cute, that I'm trying to find more excuses to make mossy letters.  Green moss.  Brown moss (except brown moss isn't really moss is it?)  And it's not really moss that I was using.

Here's what I used:

cardboard letters
hot glue and glue gun

that straw stuff*

spray paint, but that's really optional

*There was real moss at the craft store but it was $16/ bag, the straw was only $3, so I went with the straw.  

First, I spray painted them green.  I happened to have some green spray paint, and I thought that it would help camouflage the letters.  I think that I would have been fine without it.  

Then I squeezed some fresh melted glue on the letters, grabbed a wad of straw/grass/moss stuff and pushed it into the glue.   

I put moss on the front and sides of all the letters.  I think it took all of 15 minutes to do three letters.  They were a little wild looking, so I trimmed them with my scissors.  

 

Before trim!                                                    After trim

Wa-La.  A fun decoration.  I knew that Jenny was interested in using them in her wedding, so they didn't go to waste after the shower.  Now, think of all the possibilities that moss letters could enter your life!  Baby's room.  Showers.  Office inspiration.  Christmas decorations.  Oh the fun of moss...or stuff that kind of looks like moss...

(A little tip if you buy the real, more expensive moss:  apparently the moss smells pretty bad, but that problem can be eliminated if they are sprayed with hairspray.)