In with the new

I started my new job last week and am staying with friends while I look for a new place. I have been living out of a suitcase and boxes for the past two weeks and in desperate need of something to put clothes in. So late last night I decided to troll Craigslist for a cheap dresser. Most of what I found were ugly old Ikea dressers or something from the 80's laminate heyday. Then I found a gem! Emailed the woman selling it and picked it up this morning for 40 bucks.
Now I need to decide what to do with it. I had my first inspiration idea before seeing it in person. Something like this below by Tobi Fairley. I would probably use a dark charcoal gray paint instead of black.


But then I saw the dresser in person and it has a great burl wood pattern on the front, so I am a bit hesitant to paint it. Maybe I should just touch up the finish and do a high gloss poly like below? Then paint the hardware a satin nickel finish. Now I'm confused as to what direction I should go.... suggestions?

Update: Day 1 mini makeover- found some silver spray paint out in the garage and did a few quick coats, and some poly. Then used some dark wood polish to give it some life back.

HomeGoods Shopping

So I moved back to Southern California yesterday and I start my new job on Monday! I ended up selling almost all of my furniture that I have collected over the past 7 years... Time to start fresh. I didn't want to move everything again since I had just done it 4 months ago. Now I have a good excuse to buy new furniture and to be honest my taste has changed quite a bit in the past few years. This time around I am really going to think through my purchases and save up before buying anything new. My motto is "do I really need this?" and if the answer is yes, than I must go home and give it a day or two before purchasing. That being said, today's post is about Homegoods, and if you go home and think about your purchase from there, you might miss out on something great. Homegoods is all the about the instant satisfaction, purchase now and return later if need be! So here are some pictures from my "window shopping" Homegoods trip. Have a great weekend!

$24.99- glossy teal goodness!

8' x 10'- $199

$499.00- seriously

$39.99- saw the same thing online for $125.00

cute for the kitchen sink- $3.99

Mercury glass- $29.99

bookends- $12.99

funky chrome side table- $49.99

Napa

The past few months that I have lived in Northern California have been full of fun family gatherings. Some of the most fun have involved great wines from the Napa Valley. Here are some pics from recent Napa excursions with my brother and dad, two of my favorite winos!

All photos taken by designRN. Please do not re-post without permission.