Livin' in the fast Lane!

How's that for a catchy title? Most people are so witty when it comes to daily blog titles! Me...not so much! Anyhoo, this one today seems to fit, so we are going to run with it! Remember the other day when I told you I had a new "project" to share? Lucky you cuz' I'm sharing today. Of course it is not finished yet, but I am itching to get at it!

I was bored last Saturday afternoon so I decided to take a little trip to the Salvation Army. It was later in the afternoon and I was convinced all the good stuff had to be gone because typically furniture (if not the whole store) is 50% off on Saturdays. Anyhoo, I kissed my hubby goodbye and away I went. I should have driven the truck, but that's usually bad luck...I never find anything good when I have the right vehicle to haul it home in!

I walked in the door, took about 20 steps, and it happened...the clouds broke up, blue skies appeared and I am pretty sure I heard angels singing over the intercom!  Okay...some none of that happened but when I saw her, I was pretty sure she was going home with me. Are you ready?  Here she is in all her glory:

Then I opened the lid and although she was a little "stiff and creaky", this is what I saw:

Back in the day when I was, ahhemmm, younger, I knew that Lane was a very good brand of cedar chest, aka "Hope Chests", as I remember them.  The price on it was $100, but thankfully the store WAS 50% off so it was only $50 and it didn't take me long to convince myself I had to have it.

Sure, she had a few visible bumps and bruises: 

Nothing that a little wood putty and sandpaper couldn't fix.

The next day I decided to do a little research and see if the Lane company was still around...and they are!  The first thing that popped up in the search was how to determine the age/value of your cedar chest.  Turns out there is a Serial # and a Style # on the bottom, which also (when read backwards) tells you when the chest was manufactured.  This one was built in 1986...not an antique by any stretch of the imagination, but old none the less.  It was also missing the key, so I called Lane and they were kind enough to send me one for no charge...sweet!

Since bringing her home (I paid for it and hubby and I went back later to pick it up), I have removed the hardware (which Kelli didn't care for and thought I should replace), sprayed them with primer and added a few coats of Oil Bronzed paint...I love them, so they are keepers.  I have also started to fill in the little gotcha's and sprayed the hinge with WD40 and she now opens completely "pain free"...ahhhhhhhhh!  Next on my list is to remove that nasty cushion (you can't even see all the stains in the picture) and looking for new fabric...this girl is going in my second guest room.  Since I will be starting from scratch, I will be building the whole room around some really cool fabric!

I will share my love with a few more pics:

That's it for me folks...I am off to an estate sale!




There's a skinny girl who lives inside of me that's screaming to get out...I can usually shut her up with cookies!