I told you last week that the next room I was going to show you was our dining room.  It’s a room that unbelievably we use all of the time, even with just the two of us.

Unlike most people these days, we both grew up sitting at the table for dinners.  It wasn’t really a ritual for my family or anything, it was just obviously more convenient than balancing a plate on our stomachs.  But, for Deb’s family, it was more of a THAT’S JUST WHAT YOU DO type of thing.  You know, the Mr. and Mrs. Cleaver family, with a stay-at-home-mom that preserves all of her food and cooks from what she has in her freezer and pantry.  I heart that so much!  ❤️

And they were very frugal.  Oh, the stories I could tell of Deb’s family.

OK, since you insisted.  I have to share a few because they make me laugh pretty dang hard.

Because hot dogs were cheap, the wifey grew up thinking hot dogs were pepperoni on her pizza.     ????????????????????????????    And the best one yet.  “Bacon sandwiches” were actually bacon flavored crackers in between two pieces of bread, because bacon was too expensive to buy for a family of 6.  ????????????????????   I died laughing when I heard that one.  Now, I’m not making fun, I just laugh at the fact that kids could be fooled back then.  And, also, at how creative they were to be their frugal selves.  Deb and I are very frugal so we get that part, but I doubt our kids could have been fooled that easily.

Dining Room Beginnings

So, remember the history of this house?  An attorney and his family built it in the 40s.  I’m assuming it was the same type of Beaver Cleaver situation as Deb grew up in.  The dining room was a place where the kids ate their after school snack followed by a dinner ritual when the hubs got home from the office.  It was where people actually talked to each other about their days.  Awwwww.  Those were the days!

But, if these dining room walls could talk.  Oh my!  I’ve heard it was in pristine condition when he and the next people owned it.  But throughout the years, it became a sad and lonely hoarding situation.  The energy of this house was so sad when we bought it.  It was not only filled with trash, but the walls and ceilings were painted very dark and the windows were all covered with drapes.  Ripping those suckers off with one quick yank was our first task.

These pictures were actually taken looking into the dining room from the family room which I shared last week.  As you can see, there was a path through each room.

After we hauled almost everything out,  the room looked like this.

And our faces looked like this ????.

Beyond those two doorways was the galley kitchen.  There was a little breakfast nook beyond the door on the right and kitchen cabinets to the left.

That wall, of course, had to go bye bye.

Along with that window on the right.  We eventually will be adding on a screened porch type of thing so we installed a sliding door during the whole remodeling process.

Also, say good bye to the 1980s wallpaper and the two corner cabinets that were in this room.  I know, I know…don’t send the corner cabinet police ???????? after me for getting rid of something that was original to the house.  I personally am not a fan of corner cabinets because they don’t hold much.  And, you know how I like to poop things up with lots of pretties.

You know I don’t share posts filled only with poopy cell phone BEFORE pictures, so I will leave you with this one from the finished dining room space.

And, if you follow me on Facebook and Instagram, you know Peter Cottontail is still a nuisance.    Ivy is waiting for him to show his face.   I HAVE to share my Back to Eden Garden with you.  My tomatoes are as tall as my shoulders and I’m about to harvest lots of lettuce the he hasn’t touched.   Did any of you guys use that method?  If so, I NEED a progress report.

I will be back later this week to show you progress pictures of the between stages of the dining room, but I’m pretty sure you all already know what kind of flooring we used and the paint color.  It’s the same throughout the entire house.

When and how did I become so boring?  ????

Thanks for stopping by.

Buh bye now, said in an old lady’s voice.

Danelle