Too Pretty To Eat In

So I meant to post this in the morning but got totally engrossed in Candy Crush Saga! If you're my Facebook  friend please send me lives ;)

The dining room is complete!

We've already painted, added shutters and purchased a brand new dining table and chairs. Although its a huge improvement over what we had before, it still needed the final touches. You know, the stuff that makes it pretty.

Please excuse my face in the photo below but I had to send my mom a photo!

It looks so much better with a that new mirror. It's from a Kirkland shopping trip with my mom. It looks so much better in person but I couldn't get a good photo without being in it. The original price was $99 but it was on sale for $69. Thanks to a 15% off coupon it rung up at $59.49. I had a gift card from Jon's old coworkers (thanks guys!) and I ended up paying $2.04. Does anyone else notice I get these amazing deals when I go shopping with my mom? Remember our $120 dining set?

Jonathan hung pretty close to centered. We had to work around the studs. I think once we get rid of the overhang (you can see it in the corner of the second photo) from the kitchen counter it will help it seem more centered. And can you believe they called that little overhang part a breakfast bar?

My personal favorite is the new vase. The size works way better now and its actually a focal point of the table. You can see the old here from the Deeply Discounted Dining post. Its actually two vases. The outside one is the large oval shaped one with a dented pattern. I purchased a smaller cylindrical vase that's open on both ends and just placed it inside the big one.

This works perfectly for all of our old wine corks. I placed them on the outside of the inserted tube. When we're done with a bottle I write the date, event and people that we were with. I have all the ones from our wedding and honeymoon along with a few random ones. The one photographed below is the the very first one in our collection: "celebrating our first home with the Behrs, Shirley, Jeff & Winston!" A sentimental favorite :)

The runner is from Home Goods for $10. We still don't have any placemats (can't believe we didn't register for any!) but I'm on the hunt!

Now that we've got all the accessories in place the room looks almost complete. We still need to purchase a new lighting fixture and a rug. And I really want to add wainscoting in there. I just think it would break up the darkness of the room and make the gray grayer and the table pop. And the flooring... I HATE that tile!

The end result is a dining room that's too pretty to eat it. I don't want to make it messy so we still eat on the couch. So comfy! Overall I'm really happy with the progress we've made and I think the work in this room is momentarily over. We have to look and save up for the right light and rug. Unless I can convince Jonathan to install some wainscoting.....

Deeply Discounted Dining

Would you believe that we got this BRAND NEW table and chairs for $120? And its not from Craiglist.

I love a deal. Seriously. I am one of those crazies that goes out all night on Black Friday. And I will push you out of the way (it's do or die out there!). I hold off on buying stuff if I think it will go on sale. And when I get an AMAZING deal I will tell everyone I know.

I just got our new dining set for almost 90% off. I know! SUCH A DEAL!!!!

After Jonathan painted the dining room last weekend we I talked out how we needed a new dining table. Obviously  I can't go out and buy whatever I wanted. We got bills to pay! Thankfully window shopping is free.

The Monday after Jon painted I had an errand to run right by the JC Penny Furniture Outlet and I decided to stop and see how much a decent table and chairs would be. I figured we could start saving for that. I found this elegant eight seater and thought "that would be perfect..."

But then my little eyes spotted the price tag and I knew destiny had brought us together.

No, your eyes do not deceive you. Original price $350. Sale price $70. The only thing stopping me from buying it on the spot was making sure it would fit in the space and that Jon liked it. With an affirmative answer to both those questions I called up my favorite shopping buddy (my mom) and made a date to return the next day.

Luckily the table was still there (once its gone, its gone) and we quickly found a lady to stick a sold sticker on it.

That's when things got interesting. My mom asked why I wasn't buying the chairs. I explained I had shown Jon pictures of the chairs I liked but the side chairs were $50 for the pair and the arm (ones at the heads of the table) chairs were $100 for the pair. $200 for 6 chairs isn't bad but Jon and I weren't looking to spend that much since we got other plans for right now.

I won't tell you exactly what went down (mother-daughter secrets) but she convinced me to get the chairs! We were in the process of looking for the nicest ones (they're sold as is) when I spotted a pair with a lower price in the corner. $30 for a pair. 

The saleswoman said that those were cheaper because you had to assemble it yourself. I shouted (louder than my normal loud voice) "I got a handy husband! I'll take 6!"

The original total would have been $350 for the table, $450 for the pair of arm chairs and $700 for 4 side chairs = $1550. My total? $70 for the table + $90 for the 6 chairs = $171 with taxes. BUT I still had $11 on a gift card (we used the rest to buy our bed frame) which brought my total to $160. Killer deal!

Oh but I said I got all this for $120? It's because I sold our old table and two chairs for $40 to a coworker. $160 - $40 = $120.

We had to live in a mess of boxes and tables for a couple of days...

but its SO worth it now.

This is one of the best deals I've ever gotten. All that, brand new, for $120? Unbelievable. People sell stuff for way more on Craigslist and its used. If you're not shopping at the JC Penny Furniture Outlet and you live locally you are missing out. If you do decide to check it out please note that I will push you out of the way if you try to buy something I want. Told you I get Black Friday crazy.

Jon's Gray-t Weekend

I was out all day Saturday and came home to this.

Jonathan is the BEST HUSBAND EVER. He also went to store, bought me my moisturizer since he "noticed I was out" and made dinner. Swoon.

We've been steadily working on our place but we haven't really touched anything downstairs aside from our half bath. But all that is about to change since we are excited to make our dining space pretty. 

After some discussion over paint colors (welcome to married life!) we settled on a dark gray for the space. Once we brought it home we had a momentary freak out because it was super dark. Luckily the lovely folks at the Home Deeps added some white to it for free and lightened it up. Crisis averted. 

Then Jon got to painting. 

He prepped the space,

primed the walls,

and painted.

And of course remembered to take pictures to share on the world wide web.

We want to purchase a new dining table and chairs, add shutters and maybe some wainscoting. I also think a mirror and new light fixture are necessary. And of course white baseboards and crown molding. 

Since you all just saw Jon's weekend, I guess I need to share mine (and my brother's).

Again, Jon is amazing. And yes ladies, he's taken.