Not much worth noting in today’s post. To be honest, I want the week to fly by so that Friday arrives. That is Greg’s 28th birthday and we have plans. Hot dog! Besides grilling steaks and decadent peanut butter cup cheesecake that is. Greg’s request this year. We do birthday meals for one another or, in my case, I request restaurants. Not that Greg doesn’t cook but the homecook/foodie in me wants to go out. What are the plans you ask?
A few people have mentioned the Gold Rush Days in Oronoco, Minnesota to us over the years. We’re going this time after not being in the state the last few years. Minneapolis and the metro area is usually where we find our furniture but southern Minnesota holds some amazing pieces as well. Traveling to the metro area and traveling farther into southern Minnesota take about the same amount of time from our house so it’s nice to have options. We’re not too far from the town and plan to check the festival out for the first time. That’s like 50 garage sales in the same place. That’s how elated I feel…oh, and Greg is pumped too. We tend to share the celebratory planning for birthdays since ours are only weeks apart. (He’s also getting a new computer game. He knows this because any possible purchases get approved by one another. There’s hardly ever a surprise. Those are for when we’re sitting pretty financially.)
What are the Gold Rush Days? Ummm, some kind of flea market/antique show but I just got that from the website. I know it’s celebrating its 40th anniversary. Also from the website. We don’t know what to expect. Someone said antique furniture galore. Goodies, bargains and finds at every turn perhaps. What we hope not to see are inflated or outrageous prices. And people carrying something away that I desperately want. Or something we can’t fit in our Subaru. Sad face.
We looked at engineered hardwood flooring. I want to move the photoshoots upstairs for our finished pieces and I just plain want hardwood flooring upstairs asap. The studio has become the place where pieces are stored along with the smaller decor items in our etsy shop. It’s crowded in here. Did I mention we’ll be moving on to projects inside? No more living in the old, bland rooms that someone else put together. Beige, walls, beige carpet, warm trim and doors. Soon the season will change and work outdoors will cease. I’m picking out shades of gray…no, not that book going around. The naughty one. I’m set on gray being in the living and dining rooms. Most likely a Benjamin Moore color. I love that brand and it’s at our local Ace Hardware store.
Nothing new going on with the yard beyond the grass growing at a wonderful pace with all the rain. It’s lush. I find myself taking it all in from our kitchen window. Never thought that moment would come. We are without the tiller so anything involving digging gets passed over; instead, we’ve been working on the furniture that sits everywhere around the house and garage. Seriously we have about 13 pieces waiting. The other day I sat and wrote down my ideas for every single one. Some I’ve known all along upon viewing but some I just knew could be great and let it come to me later. Inevitably I’ll change my mind about something but the overall looks/styles seem pretty well set in my mind. Greg is on board. His trust is a beautiful thing.
With fall coming up I’ve been inspired. It is my favorite time of year. New colors, I’m going to finally get to try new techniques and supplies I’ve been sitting on in the name of reducing debt and keeping costs low. We’ve gone a bit safer than I’d ideally like to go in the last 6 months to appeal to more buyers. So, different looks are on the horizon for the Wits. What would you like to see us do in the future?
The antique cabinet is taking longer because frankly, we have to rebuild several parts with wood putty/filler which takes time. We have to put it on in several coats until it’s finally built up and each coat requires drying time then we sand between those. We’re trying to keep the integrity of the piece by keeping some of its dings but most of the damage requires some attention. The paint needs to adhere and the old finish has been hard to remove. The base had water damage so we cut off a tidge on the legs. We bought new semi-hidden hinges and a drillbit needed to insert those. I have my hands on the secret touch (you’ll see) and hardware.
The windsor chairs are nearly done. The species of wood used is a bit soft so it dents easily and we’ve been trying to fill the very noticeable areas. But we’re at a point where we have to say that’s good because they are vintage and we want to keep some of those characteristics just like the cabinet.
And of course, I’m coming back from a summer weekend which means we went to some garage/estate sales and I found a few goodies. One is more than a goodie, better than a greatie…what’s that make it? I don’t know. Wait, yes I do. It makes it a vintage, solid brass tray top for a coffee table. Only missing the base which I have found online. It’s another “mid-century” (the overused, all-encompassing term) piece. The 32″ diameter top was a whopping $.75. Gorgeous in person. And it’s worth about 400 times that.
I was needing something to store family art/posters/background props/paper and was lucky enough to come across this vintage case.
The remaining finds will end up in our etsy shop soon. Excuse me, I’m going to get to work on the cabinet. There’s sanding to be done.
