So there I was, needing a side table to go with some nifty new chairs I got from Wayfair in my current home renovation project. I ran out to World Market and found cute tables . . . for $200.

I wandered over to Target and found cute tables . . . for $125.

I went to the thrift store and found this ugly but cool pine table for $28. (It was $40 but in a lucky quirk it was ‘buy furniture’ day at the thrift store and it was 30% off.)

Then I went to Ace Hardware and bought $10 in paint and got to work.

So first I had this:

and then, after a few days of painting/letting it dry/painting/letting it dry/etc. . . .

I got a new table, which I love much more than any table I found at any of the stores. And I have the satisfaction that “I did that” which is important sometimes when you work at a job which often feels like never-ending paperwork, with no end in sight. Sometimes, you just need a project.

So, Ta Da!!

P.S. The wooden armadillo is from Target, because sometimes when I need to be cheered up, I watch Family Feud, and whenever anybody gives a dumb answer, Navy Guy yells “ARMADILLO, STEVE!” for no reason I can understand but of course when I saw the armadillo I had to have it. For Navy Guy. Because this explains a lot about our marriage.