DIY Credenza...Take 3

The third one is always a charm!!

A couple weeks ago I found these two amazing Mid- Century dressers on Craig's list.  The guy had just listed them and knowing they would go really fast I called him right away.  The girls and I hitched the trailer and we left to go pick them up.  He was selling them both for $95.00.  Whoop Whoop!!  This older man just thought he was selling some old dressers...not knowing this kind of stuff goes like hot cakes!!  As I was driving there he called me to confirm I was on my way because he was getting so many calls on them.  I knew when I saw these dressers this was going to be the DIY Credenza I had long waiting for.  The set consisted of two (one long and one short) dressers.  In this picture I had already removed the legs. 

 The dressers were old and the wood was dry and dull.  The top had a laminate top but that was okay because I was going to be painting it anyway.

 Here is the smaller one with the legs.

 I lightly sanded all of the drawers and gave them a good coat of Danish Oil.  Look at the difference!  Love it!!!

 There were quite a bit of chips, nothing wood filler couldn't take care of.  You would never know now there were chips.

While I was working on the dressers my girls were busy finding treasure around the yard.  They made necklaces with the treasures. DIY necklace with rusted washer lol.

 Here is the almost finished product.  I painted the sides and top white.  You'll notice the legs are different.  As much as I liked the white legs I thought it might look better with some satin legs.  The white legs reveal that it's a mid- century piece, not that that's a bad thing, but my eyes seem to go right to the legs and that wasn't really the look I was going for.  I thought the satin legs modernized it more and now the attention was no longer on the legs

 The Finished Product...

 I love it so much!  I love how long it is, I love the color, I love that I didn't spend $3000 (that is what my dream credenza cost) and I love that I got to work on it with my own hands...makes me appreciate it all the more!!

I have been waiting and waiting for that perfect piece for this wall.  At times I was tempted to just go buy something because I never thought I would find the right length, color etc...But just like everything else, I knew if I waited long enough, eventually I would find something.  It's better than I had hoped for!  So thankful!!  Okay, I just noticed my lamp shade is crooked in these pics...gotta go fix it.

Craig's List, An Ocean of Opportunity

I love how gracious the Lord is when He points out how self focused I can be.  I get a little too excited about the great deals to be had and get a wee bit wrapped up in MY intentions in the moment.  My focus seems to shift.  I get somewhat of an addictive high when I find such good deals and unfortunately today's high came at the expense of another.  That high suddenly became such a huge huge low.

So to back up a bit...earlier today I found some AMAZING deals on Craig's list.  I was so excited for the price and the furniture I was about to get.  The prices were so fabulously low and I knew the potential they had, wa-hoo score for me.  I couldn't wait to get my hands on the new pieces.  The girls and I hitched the trailer and set out for our first stop.  I met a nice family, we swapped some stories, picked up the two new (old) dressers and off we went to our second stop.  As we pulled up to the next house I was on this high because things were going so well...thinking yea for me...and then...the good deal turned bad, so bad.  Pain struck my heart soon after the lady of the house opened the door.  She asked me to please excuse her mess of  a house, she was preparing to move.  Last Sunday this mother of five, not to much older than me, lost her husband suddenly.  She can't keep the house, she is scrambling to selling most of their stuff.  She and her five boys are moving in with her parents.  She shared that one of her sons wakes up screaming in the middle of the night for his daddy...another one looks up to Heaven begging Heaven to give his daddy back. 
A total stranger shared her grief stricken heart with another stranger. This trip to Gilbert today was not about a dresser...it was about an opportunity.

If you are reading this please take 2 minutes to lift this family up in prayer.  I have her contact info and I have a couple ideas that I am praying over that I would like to do for her.  I am not sure what God would have me do???  I am overwhelmed with her situation and all that she shared.  I cannot even fathom what she is going through but I do know that God can.  I know today was orchestrated by a Sovereign God who hears our cry.

Like I said, it was a gracious reminder to me that it's ALWAYS about Him...every single second of the day.  All of a sudden my trailer of worldly goods seem so. so. completely. unimportant.

If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.  Colossians 3:1&2