There’s Something New in the Neighborhood…

…who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! Sorry, I seem to have a thing about referencing kitschy songs from the 80s the past couple of weeks. I promise that will stop soon.

However, there is something new in my neighborhood, more specifically, in my living room. One of the items on my project list was to replace the entertainment center that was in the corner. I look on Craigslist periodically, just to see if anything catches my eye, and on Monday night I saw a china cabinet that was the exact width that I was looking for. It would fit perfectly along that wall, giving me maximum storage while still allowing the curtain to hang down the side of the window.

On Tuesday we went to look at it.  The cabinet was not exactly what I was looking for, but it was a nice piece, and I was unsure if I would ever be able to find another with the same dimensions. It was well worth the $200 they were asking for it. I am sure that if by chance I do find one that I like more, I will be able to sell this one for $200 and make my money back. So, we brought it home. Thankfully, the seller was willing to help Douglas load it in the car. Our neighbor was outside when we got home and helped us carry it into the house. I was spared any heavy lifting.

My job was to make it look good once it was in the corner. First, I went over the little dings with Restor-A-Finish. There were only a few minor scrapes and scratches, but the piece looked better after I had rubbed it down.

Next, I had to arrange the shelves. I first put in the items that had been in the entertainment center and then brought some books up from the basement. Shelf displays in my house are constantly changing. I am sure that this will look different on any given day, but this is what it looks like today.

Here is a close up of the left side. On the top is my collection of religious books. They have all been given to me at one time or another. The only major religions not represented are Hinduism and Judaism. On the middle shelf is a candle that was given to me by a student. and the bottom shelf has a metal box full of dvds I burned from old videotapes. If you want to see any embarrassing video of me or my family, that is where you would find it.

The middle of the cabinet holds a picture of my host family’s house in Venezuela and the candles from our wedding on the top shelf. On the middle shelf is the Buddah Kitty I bought in South Carolina, the dictionary/guest book from our wedding and an incense burner. Below those are some of my art books, a candle and a framed invitation to our wedding.

On the top right are some broken shells as well as a note that Douglas wrote me and I framed. I wrote about the the note in the post Frame Worthy. I plan to tell the story of the shells someday, but today is not that day. In the middle are my poetry books and on the bottom are a couple of backgammon games. Backgammon is taken very seriously in my family; we love to play and are extremely competitive. We do not believe in letting small children win to build up their self-esteem. My sister, the youngest, always complains that she never won a game until she was at least 17. She does have to admit that it made her tough, though!

The cabinet will also be a good place to lock Crème when she goes into attack mode… not that I would ever do that!

So, that is my new cabinet. I must admit that the current styling leaves something to be desired, but it will come together in the months ahead. I am happy about the new china cabinet. The living room feels much bigger. I will show you what the room looks like now in another post.

Happy Homemaking!