Building a Kitchen Table: Part 1

I think I've mentioned in the past my great tendency to over estimate my ability and underestimate the effort a project will take.  There were the aprons that took 3 months to finish (and the two that are still half finished in my closet), learning to surf (I swear they make it look so easy), and baking that infamous Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake (It was delicious, but it took two days to make and when I moved out of my house last year I was still finding chocolate on the walls). 

You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.  I can just hear my past self yelling, "DON'T START ANOTHER PROJECT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FINISH!  You remember the mountain biking incident don't you?" 

But the small voice in the back of my head never tells me to put down the absurd project and slowly back away.  Instead, it echos, "It can't be that hard.  You're an intelligent person.  You can figure this out.  And even if you can't, just Google it.  Google knows everything."  And besides, this year is the Year of Do.  If there is ever an excuse to start an absurd project, this is it.

And so...I give you the most over involved project that I am under equipped to do. 

I am building a kitchen table.  (Or rather, I've convinced a friend to help me build a kitchen table.)

That's right, the girl who isn't really sure how to hang a picture straight on a wall and hates to measure things because it takes too much time is going to attempt to build a kitchen table that won't collapse the first time a fork is placed on it.  Do I know the first thing about "planers," and "routers," and "saw horses?"  Nope.  But, the people on Pinterest say, "It's the easiest project I've ever done."  And the Internet never lies...right?

Here's the look that I'm aiming for

A rustic reclaimed wood table from Restoration Hardware

 

And here is what it looks like right now

 

Don't let the picture fool you.  It's all just placed very strategic to make it look like I have some idea of where this is going. 

 

The cool part is that all of the wood for the table came from an old dock at my parents river house.  This dock has been washed away in two hurricanes and has been hunted down and towed back by kayak at least once before it was replaced with the concrete pier that now stands in it's place.  I have long loved the idea of a rustic, barn wood kitchen table that is big enough to fit an army around, but even more, I love the idea of having a piece of furniture with a story behind it. 

 

Don't worry.  This is just Part 1 in the saga of the kitchen table.  I'll post more as this project gets underway.  It should be an adventure to say the least.



The Timeline of A College Reunion, Late Night Pizza Run and All

6:30 pm- reunite with college friends.  Lots of hugs, lots of laughs, and lots of "do you remember that time when..." statements.

7:30 pm- Dinner downtown at a favorite Mexican restaurant.  More reminiscing and laughing.

9:00 pm- Stop into another restaurant when you hear live music coming from within the building.  Lots of laughing, although your not quite sure at what because it's hard to hear over the music. 

9:30 pm- Wilmington friends show up and meet said college friends.  This inevitably leads to immense amounts of high pitched laughing and story telling as lots of your favorite people end up in the same place.

10:00 pm- Pile into someones Jeep and take an impromptu drive on the beach (because this is just one of the perks of living in a beach town, and your friends are amazing).

10:34 pm- Climb out of said Jeep onto the beach and attempt to watch the stars.

10:39 pm- Realize that no one in the group can feel their fingers or toes because it is March 2nd, 30 degrees outside, and you're are standing on a beach.

10:40 pm- Load back into the Jeep and explore the beach a little more, this time, from the comfort of a heated vehicle with Drew Holcomb playing in the background.  Ahhhh...much better.

11:20 pm- Convene back at a friends house to start up a bonfire in the backyard.

12:03 am- Realize you are starving and warm up the only thing you can find in the frig/freezer, Stoffers Macaroni and Cheese.

12:30 am- Sit by the bonfire and enjoy not only reminiscing about fun times in college, but also what is new in your friend's lives.  Start making plans about the next time you can all get together again.

2:15 am- Realize how late it is, but it's been such a fun night, and since you're already reliving your college years tonight, why not end it with a late night Pizza run.

2:30 am- The five of you finish off a large pepperoni pizza.

3:30 am- finally crawl back into bed, exhausted and happy.  Look at the clock and think to yourself, "I haven't been up this late since college."

10:00 am- Alarm goes off.  Promptly turn off, roll over, and go back to sleep.

10:30 am- Wake up and think to yourself, "I'm too old for this."

Sometimes in the Year of Do, you say "yes" to random opportunities and it's some of the most fun and unexpected times in your life, and other times, you say "yes" to random opportunities and wake up thinking, "How did I do this on a regular basis in college?  Did I not love sleep back then?"  Luckily, this past Saturday was mostly extreme amounts of fun, with only a little exhaustion thrown in.  And if I had the opportunity to do it again, I'm pretty sure I would. 

The Intrepid Speaker

Ugh...I hate public speaking.  Have I mentioned that?  I guess I did write a blog post recalling my fear of public speaking based on the tragic/epic fainting epidemic in my seventh grade English class during a speech on Colonial America.  But, in case I need to say it one more time to reinforce the point, "There are some things you were just made to love and enjoy doing.  For me, public speaking is the exact opposite of that." 

And that's actually how I started my talk entitled A Biblical Basis for Social Justice at this past CRU meeting.  My plan was to come over prepared for my time, and then set low expectations so if anything bad happened, like another spur of the moment fainting attack, I would be covered.  In the end, it was unnecessary.  On two feet I stood, firmly planted on the middle of the stage, bible in hand, ear microphone wobbling ever so slightly in front of my face, with fifty sets of eyes either fixed on my every move or checking Facebook on their smart phones.  (It's hard to tell on stage with all of the spot lights shining in your eyes.)

And as uncomfortable and scary as it was, I'm so glad I did it, for a couple of different reasons.  First, and maybe most importantly, there has been a HUGE resurgence of Social Justice platforms lately among college students.  It affects almost all of their choices, how they spend their Christmas Breaks, which shoes they will buy, what stores they will shop in, which campus organizations they will get involved in, what they will major in, and what job they will eventually have.  As they contemplate how they will use their lives to meet some of the needs in this world, they need to understand that Social Justice fits perfectly into the heart and plan of God as well.

Secondly, and a far more selfish reason, it provided a great opportunity to step further out of my comfort zone and try things that are all together intimidating for me.  Call it nerves, or adrenalin, but it's kind of a rush to look at something with complete fear and walk into it non the less.  It may be one of the biggest perks of the Year of Do.

Passionately Persuing and Loving Friends in the Year of Do

There has been a theme in this week's Year of Do activities if you haven't already picked up on it, initiating with friends.  It's really easy for me to have an "out of sigh, out of mind," mindset with friends.  It's easy to keep up with friends you see every week, the ones you work with and see at church.  It's harder to set aside time for phone dates and road trips.  But the friends in my life who know me the best, the ones I call when life goes a little crazy (like a few nights ago when a racoon walking in front of my car in my neigborhood and I was overcome with excitement/nausiousnes), are the one's who have been around for multiple stages of my life, the one's I've made commitments to call and visit on a regular basis.  Thus, this year, being the year of doing and not just wishing, I want to passionately persue my friends, both near and far. 

And this weekend was a huge, and rediculously fun, step in that direction.  I traveled back to my previous home, Charlotte, NC, for a wedding of a dear friend and former roommate/co-worker.   The wedding was beautiful, and such a sweet reminder of the Lord's tangible belssings for my friend.  We cried, we laughed, we ate, we danced, and then we danced some more. 

Goodness...I love these people.  And there were probable thirty others I got to see this past weekend that aren't pictured here.

 



Here's to many more fun weekends with old and new friends in the Year of Do! 



Meet My Friend Carrie: A Year of Do Accomplice

Meet my friend Carrie...

and her fat pug in a little coat...aka...GIBBY!!!  (I really hope, as your read that statement, you sang it as Chris Farley from Tommy Boy)

 

Carrie and I met almost ten years ago.  She was a Georgia girl.  I was from North Carolina.  And for no logical reason, other than the fact that we loved the city, we both ended up at the College of Charleston, not knowing a soul in the entire state of South Carolina.

 

I still consider putting Carrie and I in a dorm room together that first year one of the best decisions the College of Charleston has ever made.  I wish I had pictures of that dorm room.  It was literally one of the smallest rooms I've ever been in.  There was a bed on one wall, a bed on the other, and a small walk way that ran between then.  Theoretically, one person could lay on their bed, reach out their hand, and hit the person on the "other side of the room."  But we loved that dorm room.  There were dance parties (I seem to remember Carrie going through a Hillary Duff phase that year), long talks late at night, and random moments that you can probably never get away with any time in life other than your freshman year of college.

 

From there, we lived in the Bull St. house (a historic house in downtown Charleston that looked far more charming than it really was), and after that the Society St. apartment (that was conveniently located next to a fire house that tested their sirens at 2 am every morning).  We graduated from college wearing our white sun dresses, a tradition at the College of Charleston.  We navigated the awkward transition from college friends to adult friends.  We moved to different states.  We switched jobs.  We have been through singleness, dating, and marriage (her, not me).  Life has changed a lot, and Carrie has been one of those sweet friends that has walked through a significant number of different stages with me. 

 

Carrie now lives in Indianapolis with her Husband and Gibby, the pug (pictured above).  I live in Wilmington, NC.  For those of you unfamiliar with east coast geography, that is a twelve and a half hour drive.  I think one of the biggest changes after you graduate college is that your relationships take effort to maintain.  Gone are the days when Carrie and I would run into each other at the Chick-fil-a in the Stern Center on a daily basis.  But for some relationships, there's really never a question as to if it's worth the effort.  It just is.  Carrie is one of those. 

 

So after a long phone date Tuesday night, we decided that the Year of Do would just be incomplete without a girl's weekend.  We've been talking of doing this since she got married last October.  Time to make it a reality.  We have it narrowed down to two weekends in May.  Updates will come as more planning happens, but needless to say, this may be the Year of Do activity I'm looking forward to the most right now.

Denim Dreams Really Do Come True

OH MY GOODNESS....I stopped into J. Crew really quickly tonight as I was waiting on a friend for dinner.  And what you do you think I found?  Only a jean jacket that looks identical to the one I have had for the past seven years.  The same one I recently proclaimed my love for, very publicly I might add, on this very blog. 

 

The $120.00 J. Crew version of the iconic jean jacket

 

 

My Jean Jacket I got from the Gap seven years ago, for a lot less than $120.00.

 

Here is proof that all fashion trends really do cycle around, and that if you wish hard enough, denim dreams really do come true.  I like to think that the new J. Crew trend was inspired by the Year of Do and my famous blog post.  I'm pretty sure their designers regularly read my blog to find out what is back in vogue.  Your welcome world!





Best. Valentine's. Ever.

I love holidays!  Really, all of them, but if I had to pick one favorite, it would be Leap Day.  Think about it, there are no pre-established traditions, no expectations, you can celebrate anyway you want, and it is an extra 24 hours in your year.  And, if all of that wasn't reason enough to celebrate, it only happens once every four years.  Want to spend all day eating popcorn and watching reruns of Gilmore Girls?  Sure, why not.  It's Leap Day!  Been trying to find an excuse to take that road trip?  Go celebrate Leap Day with a good friend!  Last year, I baked all of my favorite foods (I also really love holiday themed baking) and had a Leap Day Party, and all day justified everything I did by saying, "It's Leap Day!  I can't do this on Leap Day for another four years."

And even though this Valentine's Day was no Leap Day, it was still a pretty incredible day.  Actually...if I'm honest, it may have been one of my favorite Valentine's Day thus far. 

It started with a dinner of eggplant curry, a burger, and fries with good friends. 

I'll skip the fancy Italian restaurant, just give me a good burger and fries. 

 

 

Next Stop: Chocolate fondue and girl's time with some of my favorites.

Meet my friend Kinney.  She's kind of wonderful.

And last, but certainly not least, the day ended with a late night airport run to pick up Beth, a good friend visiting from Atlanta. 

Sigh...seeing this girl makes me miss Charlotte.

 

 

Like I said, it was no Leap Day, but this has certainly been a Valentine's Day for the books.