Happy Easter!

Happy (belated) Easter, everyone!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday!  We actually stayed in town this year (cannot recall ever doing that before) and had the family over to our house instead.  My mom, sister, and future brother-in-law all came to Concord to spend the weekend with us.  Once the weather cleared around lunchtime on Saturday, we were able to get out and enjoy some family time together outdoors.  We went to the Memorial Gardens, took a stroll along the streets of downtown Concord, and even stopped by the local creamery for some good old fashioned homemade ice cream (mmm  . . . ).  Then we visited one of the coolest places I've ever been to - The Depot Antique Mall.  This place is truly ginormous and full of the most amazing little treasures!  I love going there - my mind just goes crazy with all the possibilty I see!  My friends, Bethany and Meghan, rent a booth there to sell their designs (which are amazing by the way!).  Other than that, we enjoyed all the usual family activites . . . popcorn and movie night, pizza delivery and Season 1 of 'Friends" (nothing can make us laugh harder!).  But my favorite part was sharing Easter Sunday with my family at my church.  Rarely do they ever get to visit our church when they're in town, so I was super excited when they did this Easter!  We've been telling them for years all about it (and our amazing friendships rooted there), so for them to actually experience it with us meant a lot ot me.  Then we came home and enjoyed a super-duper fabulous Easter lunch (at my new dining room table - lol!). 

Our menu this year was:
Breakfast: Spinach Cheddar Quiche, Fruit Salad
Lunch: Strawberry Fields Salad, Homemade Mac and Cheese, Balsamic Glazed Roasted Vegetables, Garlic Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes, Yeast Rolls, and Sweet Tea
Dessert: Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Poundcake

I must say, for my first "real" Easter lunch, I thought I did a pretty good job!  All the food came out very well, but I was a little disappointed in my pound cake :(  It tasted great but it didn't look like I was hoping it would.  But in my defense, it was my first ever pound cake!  PLUS, my mixer broke in the middle of putting the ingredients together (boo!).  Guess it's time to invest in a real KitchenAid mixer now (wink wink!).

My Craig's List STEAL!

Lately, I've been terribly envious of my amazingly talented friends and their abilities to transform old furniture pieces into the most gorgeous new designs.  My sweet friends, Bethany and Meghan, are especially gifted at this!  So on a whim, I took a quick glance at craiglist hoping to find a good deal on a particular item I've wanted for a long time now (a china cabinet).  Low and behold, I stumbled upon an unexpected, too-good to-pass-up deal!  A nice lady in a nearby neighborhood is moving soon and needed to sell (practically her entire household) quickly.  Her friend put up the following offer on her behalf: 1 table, 6 chairs, 1 buffet cabinet, 1 china cabinet (Bassett furniture) = $350 or best offer.  So I contacted her immediately (having been forewarned that these kinds of deals don't last long!).  We corresponded for about a week and finally Chris gave in (after putting up one heck of a fight) and we stopped by her house after church yesterday to sneak a peak and take some measurements.  Just as I predicted, it was even more amazing than I expected!  We ended up walking out of there having agreed upon a negotiated price of $275 and a pickup on Tuesday!  OMIGOSH!!!  The best part of this deal is that now I'll have enough room to accommodate my family at one table for Easter lunch this Sunday!  What PERFECT timing!!!  Here is a rough picture of the newly acquired furniture (minus the china cabinet):

I fell INSTANTLY in love with the chairs!  They are so unique that I just knew I had to have them!  Ironically, this was the part of the set that my husband despised the most! lol!  But once the remodel is complete, I'm certain he will love them just as much as me (and my amazing designer friends!).  So, what are my plans for this furniture?  Great question!  It will take a lot of hard work and dedication - but I'm totally sold out to it and cannot wait to get started on this project!  After conferring with my girlfriends, we have agreed that it would look best with a distressed antique white finish.  And BONUS, the hardware on these pieces is already incredible and only needs a quick polish and shine to be ready to go!  We're also going to recover the seats in the chairs.  Currently they are wicker, but I'd like to add a cushion with a coordinating decorative fabric on top.  I have HUGE plans for this furniture and I'm just so excited about this unbelievable deal!  I can't wait to get it in my house looking all shiny and new!