A ray of light from the dumpster.

I've been having a lot of fun on Pinterest lately. Even though, as you may remember, Pinterest and I have had our problems.But none-the-less, during the quiet morning hours or late at night, I find myself mystically browsing through rows and rows of inspiration. And thoughtful ideas. And words. And humor.Which is probably good for me - I need the inspiration. When I read beautiful blogs like my friend Angela's, I'm constantly picking out little tidbits of it. Angela has a real talent for design and her home shows it. When one goes on the virtual tour via blog-land, it's easy to become swept away in it's beautiful, old, nostalgic, European-farm feel.Old, European-farm feel. Now that's a feel I'd like my home to have.Each of us has our own design taste, no doubt. I, for one, can't bring myself to decorate with blue. I love blue! It's just that I can't figure it out design-wise. It always feels cold to me. But some people love blue! And totally rock. And more power to 'em.I realize that a lot of the design stuff I post on here may not interest anyone, nor may it inspire anyone, nor may it be anyone else's cup of tea - but frankly, that's not really the point. I love to share whatever is happenin' around the homestead - and today, lo-and-behold, it's design stuff.You may remember a few weeks ago, I shared with you how to create homemade chalk paint. And lucky 'ol me, that recipe sure has come in handy already. You see, the other morning, Stuart and I met my parents at an old thrift store on the South side of town. They were looking for some old tools and mirrors, whereas I was looking to drop Georgia off with them so that Stuart and I could pick him up some new work clothes at a local department store. (Fine, I'll totally say it. Shopping with an almost-three year old is a nightmare. Hence the reason I never have any new clothes. Hence the reason I'm always ten years behind fashion trends. Hence the reason I'm wearing a fanny pack still. Hence. I'm kidding. At least about the fanny pack.) Anyway. Stuart and I ran into the store real quick (don't worry, Owen was with us too) to make the drop when I saw it......like a ray of light from heaven......more like a ray of light from a dumpster, but let's not focus on the details here......a beautiful, though slightly decrepit, sewing table sat under another pile of junk. You know me, my friends! I love decrepit things! When I asked the guy how much he wanted for the table, he quickly shot back an answer of $40. $40 dollars. Fourty dollars. Fooooourty dollars. That's a lot of money. Well, not in reference to a lot of things, but in reference to my bank account, yes, that's a lot of money. So, like a lioness hunting her prey, I circled the table. Squinting my eyes at it. Looking it up. Looking it down. I thought about it for a lonnnnng time (like twenty five seconds, people) and carefully walked closer to it, trailing my finger along it's water-stained edges. There was a lid. So I opened it.Inside, was a beautiful, old sewing machine. Now, let's not try and fool anyone here, I know nothing about sewing machines - my Mom taught me to sew pillow cases when I was, like, five but other than that my sewing skills are incredibly under-developed (and that's being generous). But so what! It was a sewing machine! I've wanted one for awhile... who doesn't have beautiful images of themselves laboring over a handmade skirt with the most beautiful, delicate floral fabric?What's that?No one else?Fine. I'm a loner. But I totally did.And sure enough, the 'ol machine worked. Booya. $40 for a killer table AND a working sewing machine? H-E-double-hockey-stick YA.I figured it would sit in our bedroom for awhile, while I tried to figure out what the heck I was going to do with it, and where I was going to put it (one cannot consider such small details while in the middle of an incredibly extreme retail experience). But the that danged 'ol project bug bit me and I couldn't resist finishing the whole dang thing. I hate when that happens. I get so fixated on what I want it to look like when it's finished that I can't see straight. Sorry, children, no food for you! Mama has stuff to design. Sorry, husband, but your wife is M.I.A., she's been taken captive by a tub of chalk paint.A whoppin' twenty minutes later, I had finished painting the table and it was completely dry (thanks to some super-important-paint-decision-making by my Facebook friends). Have I mentioned how much I love the ease of chalk paint?I gathered up a few small items around the house to display on the table, but nothing felt right..... the twigs were too harsh feeling...... the books lacked texture...Thankfully, our local Hobby Lobby had just what I needed. Five stems of peach roses and 1 1/2 yards of cotton fabric. Total cost? About $20.Ooh - but let's not forget about that delicious little jade plant I picked up at a local nursery for $2. That was a score! I love the look of jade plants.A few more books for interest.. an oil lamp for nostalgia... as well as the farm journal that I write in each day...Thanks to another little bit of inspiration, I recovered both of these disgusting, old throw pillows for less than $7. I love the way they turned out (just don't look at the stitch-witched seam on the bottom edge... I'm no professional). This once dead-zone area of our house has turned into a sweet little space of life. I love simple, uplifting improvements like that.I also love that I now have a sewing machine. I can learn to hem pants! And sew some long skirts! And maybe even learn to quilt (hey, a girl can dream, back off!).So all-in-all, even though it cost me about $65 dollars that I wasn't planning on spending, I'm really happy with the improvement. And I'm thankful that people like Angela keep inspiring me to develop and cherish the space that I've been blessed with.Even though sometimes I want to sneak into her house while she's on vacation and live there.What?!?!Girls got taste.