Repurposed Old Doors

 I begin this post with a heart felt thanks to my husband.  Thanks, Darling!

This is the post where I admit my Pinterest addiction.  I can thanks several students (college) my first semester in Tennessee for introducing me to this epic (and wonderful) time suck.  I have said, more than once, that if Pinterest had been invented before I finished my dissertation, I would not be Dr. Kat.  That said, I have adored collecting pins (it's much easier than collecting crap!) of things I love; pinning ideas for craft projects; and dreaming about the many renovations going on at my house.


Last summer, for instance, we had the (hideous) paneling removed from the (not so) Great Room and replaced it with drywall and some gorgeous turquoise paint.  During that time we had new doors and windows installed.  Imagine my husband's surprise when I refused to let the doors or windows go.  And imagine his amazement about 10 months later when I showed him a few of my pins of "old door arbors".  In fact, this pin was one of my first ever pins! 


A few weeks before Mother's Day my husband dragged the doors up from the basement and began sanding and repairing them.  He caulked seams to prevent water damage and proceeded to paint those puppies THREE times with our favorite outdoor paint, Valspar Duramax (We have used this amazing paint on the porch, the bathroom cabinets, and the trim and bead board throughout the house!).  He had to fight the carpenter bees for the 2x6s, but in the end he won!

Like most of our home projects, they take roughly four times longer than we anticipate.  So shortly before Father's Day found us in the yard assembling this arbor down by the sidewalk.  Again, the husband thought of everything.  Instead of just propping the arbor up in the lawn surrounding the walkway, he created a foundation to protect the arbor from sitting on or in the wet earth.  This man thinks of everything.

After some time leveling, multiple brackets, and tons of screws, he caulked every hole and sealed every crack before repainting the arbor for a FOURTH time.  I am thinking this puppy is going to be able to withstand all sorts of weather.

After much discussion we decided upon Monrovia Climbing Roses in white and yellow.  They've been planted and their training has begun.  I cannot wait for them to begin climbing and blooming.  And I cannot wait to see what project we tackle next. 


Don't forget, I have those windows to do something with! 

25 Bucks!

Shortly after Mother's Day we headed up the road a few miles to one of my favorite stores in the area, Highway 13 Antiques. I have found all sorts of goodies at Highway 13 Antiques: Candlewick glasses, embroidered pillowcases, cast iron, Corelle dishes, and so much more. On this particular day the boys found goodies for their blacksmithing endeavors and I found a CHINA CABINET!
I wasn't looking for furniture in particular. But I did need to find something for my teacups, they were stacked up on the roll top desk! I had looked at a wall mounted curio-type-shelf for $25 on previous visits, but didn't want to commit. On this particular day I found a lovely hutch of sorts, for $225. A rich maple with a honeyed finish tempted me; the "no-lay-away" sign depressed me. But one booth over I found another hutch. This one looked like some sort of office piece with blood or barbeque sauce all over the front of it. Honestly, it was beat to hell. (I wish I had taken a before picture...) The price was marked down to $25! Could that be right? I took the ticket to the cashier to ask if it was correct and to inquire if the seller of the maple cabinet would do a lay-away.

Long story short, the ugly, blood/barbeque stained cabinet was indeed $25. The owner of the maple cabinet couldn't be raised to answer my question so I left my number and bought the $25 cabinet. To my pleasure I discovered that the glass doors were intact and safely stored between cardboard. We were in Grace, the Kia, so we headed back home. Orion and I returned with Maggie, the truck, loaded the cabinet, headed home, and just about the time I finished the second cleaning (about an hour after I got home), the shop called and said "yes" to the lay-away. I was so tickled with my cabinet that I passed! Besides, the storage capacity of the blood/barbeque stained cabinet was twice that of the $225 maple piece.

So I cleaned and I scrubbed and I gave it the once over, twice over, and thrice over with Murphy's Oil Soap. The previous owners left a few wedding or anniversary napkins. While the hutch dried, I scrubbed the glass doors. A few passes of Old English Lemon Oil and I was looking at a nice piece of furniture.

It was so nice I decided to display my china, originally my mom's china from the early '60s, Midnight Rose! Take a look below. It's gorgeous!

Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Hey all. Trying to avoid my dissertation. Again. Actually, I was cleaning my upstairs and moving some things around. I found 11 years worth of calendars (!). I know, I know. What was I thinking? Well, I'll tell you.

This is a picture of the calendar my friend, Shannon, bought me for Christmas last year! I plan to use it again in 11 years!

Years ago, when I was in college for the first time, my friend Jennifer Atkins, would reuse old calendars. She told me they could be used about every six or so years. I hadn't really thought about it.

Well, starting in '96 Shannon began buying me a calendar every year as a Christmas or birthday present. Yea! For seven years straight, I received Winnie-the-Pooh calendars. Nice ones. With stickers! But I didn't write on them. I told her I would reuse them. Well, I am! I am reusing 2001 for the rest of this year. I'll use 1998 for 2009 and 1999 for 2010.

This excites me as I have a wonderful Hello Kitty, Gods and Goddesses of India, Emily the Strange, and other favorites. Shannon as well as Michael and Robin give beautiful calendars just about every year. One for home. One for office. Best of all, I'll be able to reuse my Juicy Goose 2007 calendar in 2018. Ellie will be 13. Do you think she'll be embarrassed?

Well, if you're interested in reusing your old calendars, but you're not sure what year they'll be good, don't worry! Visit the Calendar FAQ site at Time & Date.com! Here you will find the link to the calendar calculator so you can find out when you can use that 1985 calendar again. One thing to note: While you're birthday lands on the same day every year, there are several holidays that change from year to year (e.g. Easter, the first Sunday after the first full moon to occur after the vernal equinox, or first day of spring!). If you decide to reuse your calendar, variable date holidays will not be listed correctly.

Good luck! Happy reusing!

P.S. Shannon, Michael, and Robin- 2008 will be a leap year and I will need a new calendar. Hint Hint! Leap year calendars can only be reused every 28 years so I don't have a calendar for next year!