Making Progress...and Other Unique Discoveries

Remember this piece of furniture I found? 

I finally started working on it. 

I put on a pretty mask. (It was windy, so please excuse my hair).

And started to use a sander for the first time. And this is what I ended up with after about 15 minutes.

Nice, right? I'm kidding. Obviously, it's not that good looking. But I had an old piece of sandpaper on the sander and it ultimately doesn't matter if I get it all off since I'm painting it, as long as the surface is pretty smooth.

Then I decided to work on one of the sides. And made the mistake of taking out the drawers.

And I found this inside:

Nasty. 

But I'm pretty sure this stuff was the source of the smell I mentioned in that previous post. 

I tipped the whole thing over and these are some of the things that came out:

Gross. At least they were dead. And I did a decently thorough inspection, so I'm pretty sure they didn't have any live friends. 

And then I tipped it over again and kind of knocked on the back of it to get more stuff out, and this is what I found:

Yes, that is a pile of hair and dust, in a line. I have to wonder, with this many short little hairs, did somebody trim their hair over a drawer? Or maybe store a razor full of little hairs in it?

I don't want to know.

At this point, I was extra thankful for the mask my mom had recommended I use and that my dad had found for me. The smell of that hair and all that dust was bad, but it could have been much worse. And I could have been breathing it in.

There was some stuff that just didn't want to come out without some assistance, but there was no way I was touching it with my bare hands. I didn't have any gloves in the house though, so I had to resort to this, the next best thing:

By this point I was pretty much ready to call it quits for the day. There's still a substantial amount of cleaning/vacuuming to be done in this piece before I'll let it anywhere near my front door. But hopefully the worst of it is gone and the smell will start to dissipate...

Packing for Two Weeks in Europe

Two weeks with nothing but a backpack. And not even with one of those fancy hardcore backpacking ones. Oh no. I'm taking my trusty Jansport that got me through three years of law school case books. I need this thing to fit in either an overhead compartment or underneath the seat in front of me since we're not checking any luggage. *fingers crossed*

How, you may ask, am I preparing to pack for such a trip?

I am test packing. (Yes, I know, I made it up).

Jason and I made a trip to Target the other day and spent a serious amount of time in the "travel size" section. I am so not a fan of liquid restrictions in carry-ons! Will I be able to fit three weeks worth of shampoo in a three oz container? I sincerely doubt it.

We bought Eurail passes and plan do most of our travel on trains. And I did not want to be lugging a suitcase behind me in a crowded train station. Overpacked American, coming through. But I needed to make sure it was feasible that we could get by with just backpacks and not check any luggage. So, I did a "test pack".

I made a pile of all the stuff I thought I absolutely had to have. And then proceeded to pack. I used a number of ziploc bags, mostly just to make it easy for me to find things once they're packed. I can reach into my bag and quickly find my bag o' socks instead of scrounging around the bottom of the backpack for them where they will inevitably fall. But I also use them because if it starts pouring down rain and my bag gets soaked, I'll still have some dry stuff inside. Nothing's worse when traveling than getting stuck in wet clothes for the rest of the day!

I loaded it all into my backpack. Very carefully, because those carry-on dimensions are tough. And I succeeded! Everything I will need fit perfectly, with even a little extra space in case I find something I can't live without. And it wasn't even very heavy! But then I realized that I forgot a few things.

And that is why practice makes perfect. Stay tuned for pictures of my perfectly packed backpack.

An Estate Sale Find

I've never been overly crafty or had too much motivation to do a DIY project. But then I joined Pinterest last summer after I took the bar exam and all that changed. Suddenly I was inundated with craft ideas, sewing patterns and furniture overhauls. I've made a couple of shirts, tote bags, and paint chip calendars.

But I've never attempted to redo a piece of furniture. When Jason and I came across this at an estate sale last week, I knew this was destined to be my first project. Plus, you can't beat estate sale prices.

I think it's the perfect size for a starter project!

The finish is peeling off, the wood isn't nice quality, it has the "I've been in a basement or garage for a while" smell and the hardware is, well, not my style. A defunct maple leaf doesn't match anything else in my house. I know it was in style at one point, but I don't know when that was and I probably wasn't alive for it!

If you disagree with me about the hardware and happen to want the handles for a project you're working on, let me know and I'll save them for you. They're really not that ugly; they're just bigger than I like and not the style any of the rest of my furniture is in.

Doing a furniture project means I get to use a sander (borrowed from my dad) and wear a stylish face mask. It doesn't get better than that.

Will it turn out nice enough that I'll actually want it in my house? I have no idea.

But,with any luck, there will be pics in coming posts of the work in progress and the final product!