stain.

After forever, the desk is finally finished! Thank goodness, because I really don't get anything done with my computer set up in the living room; I'm ready to move back to my kitchen corner! 

All that's lacking now is the hardware, which I'll add in the morning when the top coat has completely dried.  After all of the hard work, I'm really proud of myself.  For anyone out there who has qualms about re-finishing furniture, don't worry! It's really not as scary as I thought it would be, though you should be ready to put in a lot of hours with some sand paper if the finish is in bad shape.  The staining went very smoothly, I used a rag to rub the stain into the wood and just let it dry.  For the varnish, I used a foam brush (grand total of 96 cents at home depot) and made very long strokes. 

I think, in review, that the color was a good choice, even though it still doesn't match much of our furniture.  It was a cleaner version of the original color, and it stays true to the natural wood, which I believe is pecan.  I can't wait to get my hands on the other pieces in the set someday so that I can clean them up too! What a great bedroom set it will make!

build.

Here it is! The bike is back together! Not by any means ride-able yet, but not too much left before it will be!  Re-greased/ oiled the parts, got everything back on the way it came off, and I think that everything works.... List of things to do before I can ride: new tubes and tires, new chain, and a little work on the shifters, also need some handlebar tape; I'm thinking yellow to match. Take a look:

spin.

After about a week of rain, I couldn't take it anymore... I had to find something to do!  While wandering around the house after about 3 cups of coffee, I decided that we needed a "real" dining area.  Before yesterday, our table was a catch-all for junk. I only have 2 of the 4 chairs that match (the other 2 are half-sanded and stashed in my parent's attic somewhere...) and the cats just can't keep their lazy butts off the table.  We received place mats and napkins for our wedding that hadn't even been de-tagged.  So. Goal: Phase one, clear off the table, wash and iron everything, and find some sort of "scheme" for a centerpiece and maybe some napkin rings (which I am not really a fan of... hence the challenge.) Phase two, find the other two chairs, re-glue, and paint all four... 

Now, I already had a good centerpiece.  A small tray with glass votive holders and a few red candles to pop into it.  Napkin rings on the other hand were the challenge.  After a little internet research on "non-ugly" rings I decided I wanted to try and make some.  I decided on twisted wire and beads because they wouldn't be overpowering (not to mention silly looking) and they would be a quick project.... little did I know.

Now, side note: my husband is a bona-fide artist.  Degree and all. We have the supplies to make any 3D form of art imaginable.   While digging through our "supply wall," I stumbled on a handful of glass beads left over from some endeavor of his.  Perfect!  When I left them out on the table though, I began a revolution... He was inspired. Instead of using found beads, I was going to learn to make my own! Yay! 

Below are pictures and a little further explanation of the process, but in short, it involves fire, molten glass, and a lot of patience.  And the end product of "phase one" is pretty nice, if I'm allowed to say that... See for yourself:

And a little more about the process here.