The Newbie(s)

Ben and I were tooling around last weekend. No real plans, just looking at some stores to see if there was anything we couldn't live without.
We've had some small detail-ish plans to spruce up our house, but don't have anything the has to be done right this second. It's nice in a way, but it also leaves too many options.

After hours of perusing the isles we saw lots of nice things and got more ideas, but nothing had to come home with us.

That was until we went to a local "antique/whatever you can find store" that I love - Miscellaneous Barn. They buy estates, they have all sorts of weird and eclectic things, but they have furniture. Most times decent furniture too.

Currently I own a coffee table that we bought for a steal from there. It had a watermark in the stain, so we sanded it down and re-stained it, and I love it! For $50, it was worth the extra work. I also got the desk that is in my sewing room from there, and I think the computer desk might have come from there too...

Anywho, I love Miscellaneous Barn. You never know what you're going to find. But on our trek I spotted this beauty almost instantly:

It truly was love at first sight! I love the cracks, the parts where the paint is missing, the detail, the size, everything about it! Even the price - under $100. I couldn't pass it up. Plus it's tall and deep enough I can use my small cutting mat on it and trim up blocks or cut small pieces while I'm watching TV - score!

But I didn't buy it at first. I left without it, luckily I went back and it was still there. It was meant to be! Who knows what I'll spot next when I'm there! Do you have an awesome shop like this where you live? I'd love to hear about your treasures you've found!

*I started this post prior to the pantry cabinet coming into our home, so it's taken us awhile to rearrange everything (and I mean everything) in the kitchen and find a home for everything, but here's how that turned out:

 This is the before shot of the corner of our dining room, my desk used to live there...

 Now, this is what it looks like!

 It's still a work in progress and I'm sure it will always be, but doesn't it look great?! The smaller cube thing is one that you can get from a warehouse store, but Ben built a frame for it and put some baseboard along the bottom so it looks more like a built in piece, or a bit fancier shall we say...

Now I have a place for all of my cookbooks near the kitchen, my canning products and good can sit in the pantry with much sturdier shelves (also built by Ben, I love this man!), and overall much more storage space, however it did come with a price...

 New pantry cabinet + bored Husband with too much time on his hands = completely rearranged kitchen... Need I say more?

He did this all while I was at work. This cabinet used to hold our tupperware and casserole dishes... Now it holds our growing array of spices... We like a little spice in our lives, do you agree?

 This one used to hold all the canned goods, now it's an organized blend of pastas, rices and potato things...

And I think my favorite cabinet of all - the condiment cabinet. Yes, I have a cabinet dedicated to only spices, marinades, BBQ sauces, Salad Dressings (okay with a few canned goods that get used quite often thrown in). It's actually quite tame at the moment - and really organized.

But even with it all organized and wonderful - I have no clue where anything is! It's really bad when I'm still trying to wake up before work and make my lunch when at 5:30 in the morning I can't find what I'm looking for. I am entirely proud of Ben and his efforts, it will just take me awhile to find everything and get used to it.

He's been laid off of work the last couple weeks and we're hearing it could be a couple more, so we'll see what other projects he decides to tackle between now and then... Wish me luck!