a funny story about end tables.

do funny things happen to me because i have a blog to share them on? or do i write a blog because funny things happen to me & i want to write them down? i was thinking about that the other day as a simple exercise in picking up some end tables turned into an epic misadventure.

ok, not epic. but really, i just had to laugh.

so, we needed end tables for beside the couch. we set up a new configuration of living room/cozy movie watching den & had no place to set a lamp, a drink, etc. and since we are very much the movie-watching sort, this had to be corrected immediately.

well, these end tables were about 4th on my list of top 4 that i liked on craigslist. however, they were solid wood, supremely paintable/distressable, & the price was right... $30 for BOTH. win! & if the price weren't enough to put me over the edge about them, i somehow bumbled my way onto a cute thrifty/home design blog where the gal had almost the exact same tables painted white & i thought they were awesome. i almost couldn't find her blog again because i have googled/pinned/linked around to about a zillion living room inspiration photos in the past few weeks, but here it is:
cute right? i'm such a visual person, it really helped me to be able to see something so similar to what i had in mind already done.

one of the things i like the most about 2 matching end tables is how much more flexible they are than one big coffee table. you can pair them on either side of the couch as expected, push them together to function as a more traditional coffee table, or even push them together under a window as a bench or window seat, like above. i plan on putting big pretty baskets for storage underneath... probably one for extra toys or blankets, and one for living room stuff we want to keep the kids out of.

so i emailed the guy & we set up a time to meet at his storage unit to pick them up.

i was convinced i could fit them in our camry, despite the 2 kids + carseats in the back. hubs[wisely] was not. so i drove the camry plus kids, and he drove his big blue truck. we had to drive to the other side of raleigh, missed one of our exits [darn you googlemaps directions] & accidentally drove 15 minutes out of our way... into another county. had to pull a u-turn & just as we were back on track with me following behind the truck, i got distracted by a very old unique possibly-closed little store by the side of the road with a huge sign that said 'sewing machines.' when i turned my head to look back at the road, the truck was about 4 inches in front of me, and hubs had turned it into the oncoming lane to keep me from hitting him. i swerved the opposite direction onto the shoulder of the road & despite screeching, smoking tires & a nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach, were no worse for the wear [both kids in the car with me, remember?].

thankfully, it was a quiet little neighborhood-like street with no oncoming traffic & no crazy ditch on the side of the road to fall into or anything. thank you, LORD!

what felt like forEVER later, we turned up at the storage place 30 minutes late, by which time the college-age guy had left. the super nice storage unit manager lady was able to call him, & he showed up & we loaded up the tables. yay! guy was cool about us being late, & even offered to sell me a cool mirror when i mentioned the other things i was looking for, although he was asking $60 & i was looking for more like $20.

i forgot to mention that all during this time in 2 separate cars, following first-time directions to a new place, neither of us had our cellphones. so any communication we could do was by either pulling over, yelling from the windows, or gesturing wildly & insanely.

it was the wild/insane gesturing [by M] that led to someone taking a random incorrect off-ramp on the highway [me] & thankfully knowing where i was after taking 2 more random incorrect off-ramps to try to turn around.

but all is well, & i'm calling 2 end tables for just $30 a win. i know they don't look like much, but i'm excited to get to work on them!
& look what a close call perfect fit they are! we shall now have a place to place drinks again. & some lamps [working on those]. & my laptop.
i had some creamy white paint left over from another project [a great valspar spray but so glossy] which was not ideal, but i'm trying to use what i've got, you know? & the weather was finally nice enough to spray outside this weekend, so they'll be done soon...
these bad boys are way too functional in our home to languish half-finished for months in our basement. yay!

p.s. you can always find some new end tables or polish up those old ones with help from these coupons from home depot!