I know today is the actual date for Valentine’s Day, but mine came early… last night to be exact! If you read yesterday’s post, (HERE) you saw this sign…
…and like you…I was the biggest “wonder-er” of all as to what was in his office… Was it something I saw at the antique shop or maybe something new he found somewhere else?
Yesterday afternoon my hubby told me he needed to get “it” out of his office and Rebecca said she needed to do laundry. (the washing machine is unfortunately sharing space in my hubby’s office) My heart got to racing… well, it must be blocking the washing machine so that means it’s pretty big… I could only hope…
…He told me to close my eyes and he led me into the kitchen. There in middle of the floor I saw it…
I couldn’t believe my eyes… he had actually gotten the thing I would have loved the most of all the things I saw! He found this big Valentine and slipped it under the fretwork of the piece.
It truly is a remarkable piece and very very pretty…it’s called a Depression Era China Cabinet…(thanks to my sister, Cindy, for letting me know what I got!) If you google “Depression Era China Cabinet” and then hit “images” you’ll see so many different styles in every shape and color imaginable… I tried to find mine and found one very close, but not quite.
This is what I had my dishes stored in before… a cabinet that we’ve had for 34 years and my hubby had it a few years before we were married. It used to be yellow and I painted it red years ago. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it served its purpose.
It was moved out of the way and the new cabinet put in it’s place…on a slanted wall that goes into my dining room… The new cabinet was leveled with some coasters under the legs (for now…) because our floors are uneven. I was transferring the dishes from my old cabinet into the new one…
You can see where we moved the red cabinet…
…we both had our backs turned to the new cabinet, when all of a sudden… C-R-A-S-H… we bolted around and the red cabinet had fallen over and hit one of our dining room chairs, stopping it from hitting the table. The bottom door broke off, I lost an antique bowl from my mother in law and a glass dish with a lid, and all of my recipes that were in the drawers were strewn everywhere. Glass was mixed in everything too…so you know what we spent the next 45 minutes doing… :o(
But all is well now.. I have the cabinet filled up with my “ordinary” dishes and it looks wonderful. It has more room than the red cabinet did and it’s deeper so some of my dishes will even fit sideways. I just love it! Don’t look too closely at my kitchen wall…yes, those are ugly glue squares where there used to be aqua colored plastic tiles on the walls. We chipped them off the first week we moved into the house. We haven’t gotten to the kitchen yet with our remodeling… (My hubby did put up some drywall on a few of the main walls.)
I texted my sister Cindy with a picture of it, and the first thing she sent me was, “Oh how exciting…are you going to paint it?” I asked her if she would, and she replied, “In a heartbeat!!” But I’ll have to see. George told me if I wanted to, I could… what a guy!
We did have a gift certificate to the Antique shop for watching the ladies dog. Paddy used to come over to our house and hang out with Scruffy when he was still around. It paid for 2/3rd’s of the piece… (Just a thought… we saved enough on the piece, maybe I should see if that mirror is still available…)
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Blessings from one happy gal who loves her Valentine VERY much, but would love him just the same, even if he didn’t buy her Depression Era China Cabinets! Love you honey!
See you tomorrow,
~ Jeanne
Oh wow, Jeanne, what a wonderful hubby you have! I would never have guessed that he got you that huge, beautiful piece of furniture, and managed to hide it in the house! For some reason or other, I seem to think that his office is on the second floor, and I can’t imagine him getting it up and down the stairs without you knowing it! I think it will be very pretty when you get done with it, but it is very pretty now too! It certainly “glams” up the room! It must be wonderful to be able to look at something and remember how you got it—and who gave it to you!
So sorry to hear that you had a mishap with the old cabinet! Now, where does THAT go?
Your sewing room? Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
Hi Linda,
I was very surprised that I got it too…especially since my dentist visit was so much! Gotta love him though.
No, his office is on the main floor…we only have an attic that isn’t heated or air conditioned. Kristoffer used to claim that space as his own. He only had to get it up our front steps and I think Rebecca was his accomplice. I was gone when he came home with it.
I don’t think I will paint it just yet…but I might later.
The red cabinet is going to the garage….George is going to take the top glass doors off and and use one of the hinges to fix the bottom door. So it will be like a book shelf on top, with 2 drawers in the middle and doors at the bottom. He was asking me if I had any paint to paint it with now that it has a few “nicks.”
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
Beautiful. I wouldn’t have space for it, but, I love seeing such artful pieces and can only dream! 🙂 Enjoy for life!
Hi Mary,
Thank you so much… It’s nice to find a new, “old” piece to replace the cabinet we had. It really didn’t have any special memories…just a cabinet to hold my dishes. I’m looking forward to creating some new memories with my new cabinet.
Thanks Mary,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, you lucky gal! I said yesterday how much I love that cabinet, and I’m glad your hubby was so thoughtful to gift it to you! Why on Earth would you paint over that beautiful finish? I love it just the way it is! So sorry about the mishap with your other cabinet. Heirlooms that get broken is just heartbreaking! I know you will enjoy your antique cabinet and think of your special Valentine every time you see it. <3 <3
Hi Karen,
Well…just suffice it to say, I like painted antiques. I think it makes the details on them pop out…I’ll have to wait and see though.
The bowl was really just an extra bowl that I had and I didn’t cry over it…I hate that it broke but just glad I had gotten most of my glass things out. I’m looking forward to putting my things in it the prettiest way I can.
Thank you Karen,
Blessings, Jeanne
That’s the gift that I hoped would be behind that door. It looks to me like George polished it up after he got it home. It looks nicer than it did in the shop pictures — it has a warmer glow. This makes everyone happier, especially because I thought we’d have to wait until tomorrow to see what you got. The huge Valentine was wonderful too — an extra step to make your day wonderful. Now you’ll have to think of something extra nice for dinner — and lunch.
Can the red cabinet be repaired and perhaps repainted and maybe be used to hold the dolls?
Hi Marilyn,
You and me too! I think it was just my camera and the unclear picture it took. It turned out well for me to use it as a post too!
George has claimed the red cabinet for the garage. It is going to get a facelift with the top glass doors removed and one of the hinges will be used to fix the bottom door. Then we’ll paint it and it will hold lots of “guy” stuff…
plumbing and electrical things I think. Everyone is happy!!!!
Thanks Marilyn,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow, a lot happens at your house. The cabinet looks great where you have it. Such a thoughtful gift. Glad the table was spared in the crash. Check ebay for a replacement bowl. I think you can replace just about anything broken.
We’re celebrating 40 years today! Can’t believe that.
Hi Joy,
Happy 40th Anniversary today!!!! I hope you did something fun today. The cabinet fits perfectly on this slanted wall in my dining room. I love that this new cabinet is the first thing anyone will see when they come in my front door.
The bowl was just a yellow bowl with flowers around the middle of it. I’m not worried about replacing to.
Thank you Joy,
Blessings, Jeanne
I am so happy for you…1) your hubby is a really nice thoughtful man, 2) you have a beautiful cabinet, especially one you wanted, and 3) you have a wonderful sister who wants to refinish it if you go that route.
It’s a great piece whether you decide to refinish it or not. Sorting and placing items in the cabinet will be nice. It does look like it’s got a lot of room in it.
Hope you can still use the red cabinet. It’s neat too.
Have a great Sunday this Valentine’s Day, Jeanne.
Hi Paula,
Yes I did marry a wonderfully thoughtful man…he has been very kind for all of our 34 years…not just to me, but to everyone he meets.
He is going to fix the red cabinet and use it in his garage for some of his plumbing and electrical things.
I will live with the cabinet the way it is for now and see how I feel about it. I do love antique furniture but I also love how the details pop out when you paint.things. I might have to show some differences painting makes…
We got about 3″ of snow this morning…so we had a white Valentine’s Day today!
Blessings, Jeanne
I was hoping it would be the china cabinet. It looks great in the light in the new picture. Maybe save the paint job for another one that really needs it? How about the shadow box on the top of the cabinet with the little stove! Cute! Looks like you have a blue china cabinet in the living room. Lots of storage in your big house. You have your fan club and now I think George does too after the wonderful surprise. You sure have a story to tell about your gift at the Valentines Day dinner.
HI Susette,
I was hoping for the cabinet too, but really doubted that I’d get it… it was a very nice surprise… the little box was made by my sister Cindy and her hubby… I’ll have to show it sometime…it’s adorable!
The blue cabinet was one I painted with my sisters help back in the summer. It used to be an old brown pine cabinet… but painting it really livened things up for it! If you use the search box at the right side of my blog and type in blue cabinet, I think the post will pop up and you can read how it came to be…
George already has a fan club… he has a nice reputation for being someone of character, integrity and thoughtfulness. He does what he says he will do and he does it with all of his heart. I love him!
Thanks Susette,
Blessings, Jeanne
Wonderful !!! A true Love Story! You are both very fortunate.
I am all for not painting over a good finish. My feeling is paint can chip and I love the look of old polished wood. Happy more was not lost in the crash! Fun to find the big reveal.
HI Jan,
There are lots of people who don’t like painted furniture and my hubby used to be one of them, but slowly he is learning that some things just look better when they are given a lighter coat of paint. I’m not saying I will paint this piece, but it has crossed my mind.
Yes, the crash could have been disastrous if I hadn’t gotten as much out of it before it fell. Not too much was lost.
I’m glad you enjoyed the post today…
Blessings, Jeanne
Wow…you must have been an awfully nice wife and he is an Awesome Hubby for getting you that wonderful China Cabinet! The fun part is you will have a sweet memory every time you use it and he will remember how much fun he had surprising you when he sees it. Win , win! So happy for you!
HI Kathie,
Yes, I think he must have thought I was nicer than I really was… I was certainly surprised…but so happy! He IS an awesome hubby… just about the best, I’d say! It will be fun to remember yesterday… he was the one who said, as we were putting my ordinary dishes in the cabinet, “we need some antique dishes for this now…” He already weeded out a few plastic plates and bowls… he said they didn’t look right in there… Such a sweetie!
I just saw your email too… congrats on your new chair! It sounds wonderfully comfy…
Thanks Kathie,
Blessings, Jeanne
Oh, that’s a pretty piece of furniture. It’s in really good shape too. What a nice thing for your husband to do! I hope you will both get many years of enjoyment from it.
Thank you Carolyn,
It’s one of the prettiest ones I’ve seen… and to think…It’s all mine!!!
It’s got so much room inside it and holds what my red cabinet did plus more room to spare!
I’m kind of in heaven right now…
Blessings, Jeanne
I went back at looked at the mirror. It really is very pretty….
Yeah, think Jeanne should pick up the mirror.
Oh you two… you’re killing me…. :o)
Don’t tempt me or I’ll HAVE to go get that mirror…
Your new cabinet is just beautiful, Jeanne! I do love that wood–it’s so pretty, and I don’t think Anything could really enhance its beauty, so I’m in favor of leaving it as is. Also, some antique wood pieces actually lose value if you refinish them, so that’s something to take into account, too.
I’m sorry about the glass breakage, especially that antique bowl. Hope you were able to get all your recipe cards back in order!
Charlotte