KNOB SWAP

I have a vanity, well first my mom had a vanity, then it was mine, and actually it isn't mine anymore. Thora has a vanity. This vanity is well-loved and has seen many facelifts in its lifetime. It was built by the Rockford Standard Furniture Co.. What? Never heard of it? Great company in my hometown, been around forever. Anyway, I think my mom said she may have painted it black during her teen angst years, then it had this awesome green 70's faux finish during my childhood until we painted it a nice cream. I moved the piece with me while I was in college, but not before my mom stripped and stained it. It's something of a pecan color, a bit orange but I like it.

And once I broke the mirror and had to replace it. This tragedy I try not to think about.

Today it sits in my daughter's room. And she already uses it the way I envisioned. If she stands on tiptoe, she can just see herself and it makes her smile! We put bows in our hair here, and she crawls underneath to read or be sneaky. It's an outdated piece of furniture that offers little by way of storage, but lots and lots for imagination.

So when my husband gave me a gift card to Anthropologie for my birthday, did I think of pretty dresses for Spring? Nope. I thought of that amazing knob carousel. The one I've casually spun, more than once, wondering when and for what would I ever get to use these? The time had come.

The vanity uses 6 knobs. Currently they are all the same, cute little chunky round swirly wooden knobs. Not a thing wrong with them really so I tucked them away in a ziplock for the future. Then know what happened? I went to TWO different Anthropologies AND I shopped online to get the six knobs of my dreams. I even bought, then exchanged, one that wasn't quite working, scoring the final sacred coral knob on clearance. Then I bought myself some earrings. It was MY gift card for pete's sake.

Side note: Have you ever taken a toddler to Anthropologie? Unless you are wearing running shoes, I do not recommend.

Here's another pic because hello. gorgeous.

Thora helped me put these on, saying Beep! Beep! Beep! all the while. She loves a knob too, or a button, whatever you want to call it.

I love that these knobs are playful, but not too playful and girly without being trite. I think she will love them for years to come, possibly even through her teen angst. Would they look good against a black vanity? Sure. Why not.

So there you go beloved family heirloom, yet another little girl for you to charm.

Give Table

The past few weeks have been a killer. Lots of work (not complaining) has left little time for anything else. All work and no play, that's me! Not always, just lately. And when I work sun up to sun down for days in a row, I get annoyed. I act put-upon and sometimes I forget to wash my hair (I work from home so this is totally ALLOWED). Anyway, this past Tuesday was a big day with a big deadline. I stressed and worried and worked and in the end, I conquered.

Post victory, I settled in for a little craigslist browse, something mindless to begin my decompression. I always start in the Free section because you never know...

Title: Give Table
Reaction: Interesting wording. Ah, pic included. click!

The ad was quick to the point, some dimensions followed by two blurry photos of two tables. One, an 80's bore. The other, excuse me, some sort of Saarinen-style tulip table? Say what?

I gasp, nearly jump from my seat. Do I need this? I must, it's FREE. Hmm, size is nice. 30" diameter x 28" tall. I bust out the tape measure and check my kitchen table. Looky there, 28" tall. I wrote the author to ask if it was still around. She said yes, please come get it right away!

Now, I just mentioned how much I love my farm table. And I do, I really do! But in working out kitchen layouts I'm having a hard time fitting it in. It's another rectangle in a sea of rectangles, and I was just at the beginning of considering something round for the space. I do have other ideas for my farm table, so... my feelings of guilt are minimal.

We hopped in the Jeep and headed out to Lafayette. During the drive, some time was spent pondering whether the table could actually be authentic. I was totally kidding myself, but man, what a score that would be! We knocked on the door and the cutest French girl let us in. There was our new table, in all its free glory. It's got stains, a chip, some rust. But that silhouette is to die. Don't you agree?

We got it home and I couldn't be happier. It's just the sweetest little thing and is going to be perfect in a kitchen nook. Apartment Therapy has a post where someone had an identical base repainted at an Oakland shop. This is a great option for down the road. For now, I'll just clean it up a bit.

A couple of tiny succulents on top and I've completely forgotten about my deadlines...