Addition

I did something the other day that Dan dreads. That is, I spotted something in an alley that I just HAD to have, and insisted that we take it home in the back of his truck that he conveniently had with him at the time. I found my latest gem right across the alley from my parent's house when we were walking Manda to a friends house, which for some reason I feel isn't quite as ridiculous as finding something in a random alley while driving somewhere. I know some people would scoff at bringing something into their home that  was quite literally someone else's trash, but I generally feel that as long as it doesn't involve fabric and it gets a good cleaning - it's essentially a FREE addition to the house that I can do whatever I want with since it's not like I'm messing with an expensive piece of furniture or anything!

So, meet my new little cabinet, which is sitting pretty in the dining room waiting for a fresh coat of paint -

The cabinet has little dividers in it that seem to be permanent. I'm sure I could knock them out with a hammer, but instead I think they're absolutely perfect for helping to store all of my platters, trays and serving dishes -

Currently, this stuff is all stacked in the pantry, which is never fun when I want to use the one at the bottom of the pile -

I suppose things may change after the wedding and I have fun new things to find places for, but in the meantime I'll likely move my cookbooks to the bottom cabinet so they aren't piled in the pantry taking up precious shelf space (and falling over every time I grab the flour or sugar jar) -

(Yep, my pantry is a mess. And I got tired of the smoke detector in the kitchen going off every time cheese from a frozen pizza got stuck in the bottom of the oven, so I took it down all together. Don't judge.)

The plan is to paint the cabinet in pretty "mimosa" yellow, which I already have and am fairly convinced is the absolute perfect yellow to use in home goods. I used it on the wooden squirrel bookend that I got from West Elm and think it will be a welcome colorful addition to the dining room. This will also be the perfect opportunity to use a couple of fun knobs that I got a long time ago in the dollar section at Michael's. Thanks to craigslist, neighbor's alleys and garage sales, I'm excited that in some ways, our house is starting to take on that "collected over time" look that I envy in the homes of some of my favorite bloggers!