googiemomma learns direction(s)

i had a plan. a dream, if you will.

in all our additions and renovations to this house, we ended up with a kind of weird pass-through type un-room.

it connects the living room and family room, it looks into the kitchen and over the front porch. it's not big enough for major furniture, but not small enough to just ignore.

for lack of...well, anything better, we call it the "breakfast room".

wanna see?

here's my super official floorplan:

it's pretty accurately not to scale. which means i didn't use a ruler, but i'm pretty good at "eyeing" things.

and i had a plan.

i decided it needed a bistro set.

but not just any bistro set--an authentic one. one made from metal. with curls, and cuteness. looking like it just walked in from an old fashioned ice cream parlor. or a sidewalk french bistro.

i read all these other blogs, about these mommas that get super awesome amazingly cheap great buys on craigslist. i figured what i wanted--a curly, cute little bistro set--would be something i could find there.

so i searched. the thing is, i kept searching what i assumed was my closest craigslist--philly. and i realized the problem is it's philly. so yeah, i found bistro sets--for $200. 'cause even junk is gonna be more expensive if it's city junk.

i was frustrated and annoyed. was everyone lying about the great deals they were scoring? was i doing something wrong?

clearly, these options were both impossible.

but one day it hit me!

i don't have to go south! there's north! and east! and west!

each with their own craigslist!

and armed with my newfound knowledge of direction, i found this little beauty:

the curls! the swirls! gorgeous!

2 chairs and a table, rusty but sturdy, for $60, a mere 20 minutes to the east. (who says nothing good comes out of jersey?) 

i set them up outside and gave them a good cleaning with a wire brush. and then got out a blogger's BFF:

ahhh spraypaint, how i love thee. let me count the ways....

a good coat of primer on it all:

and two coats of shiny shiny red... oooohh ahhhh....

now, fabric is the hard part. because a couple of years back in a burst of creativity, googiedaddy and i had wallpapered 2 walls of our "breakfast room". 
with a rather ornate paper.

i didn't want another color introduced to the room. but i didn't just want a plain fabric. so we searched, and we found.
and googiedaddy again put his skills to good use making new seats & backs....

yeah, it's white. yeah i have 4.5 kids. wanna make something of it?
scotchguard, oh how i love thee...let me count the ways....

isn't she loverly?
and while i was taking these pictures, i got the bright idea to "stage" my bistro set...

i know, i know...it should be tea. but you'll have to deal with the last dreggs from the coffee pot. because, let's face it, i'm not that committed.

and yes, all you nit-pickers (knit-pickers? i guess it depends on if you knit, or have nits) the creamer and sugar bowl are in italian. right there next to my eiffel tower. but i lurve them. and my sister-in-law bought them for me after i drooled over them in italy. (and by italy, i mean at epcot. which is the closest i'll probably ever get to italy with my overactive uterus and all)

so there you have it. googiemomma learns new directions, gets a bistro set, and speaks italian.
who says i can't accomplish a lot in a day?

i'm linking up to some of these fun parties!