Monday, May 4, 2009

An entertainment center and a marriage celebration

1997

Yes, I realize this is a really strange title. :) Bear with me though....

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is having a thrifty party and I thought I would share my entertainment center story as well as a bit about my marriage.

12 years ago yesterday my husband and I were married. We were young...REALLY young (20 & 21) and didn't have a whole lot of money. :)

We furnished our apartment with yard sale and thrift store finds, as well as hand me downs from friends and family. It was a cozy happy apartment and I loved living there. One thing I couldn't handle was the black modern entertainment center my husband had. :( Returning extra wedding gifts to Macy's we discovered their Electronics Dept was closing and they were clearancing out their items. Due to this, we were able to buy this entertainment center with money we received from the returns.
(picture that I posted on Craig's List - it sold after being listed 5 days!)

Over the years we bought a house, my style changed and I was ready to move on from this lovely piece. :) My husband is pretty particular about his electronics and we looked at several entertainment centers this year but they all looked so mass produced to me.

Last year at a yard sale I came across a white cabinet that I fell in love with. It had glass knobs...


darling hinges, peeling paint and was just my style!


At that time we were not looking for a new entertainment center and the thought didn't even cross my mind. The dear lady who was selling it was moving and said it had been in her garage for storage. I turned my back on it and walked away but Christina and Sarah persuaded me that I could use it for storage in my basement or even on my carport. The lady was getting ready to close down the yard sale and told me I could have it for $30! Sold!
On the way home, one of the doors flew up and broke off. :( For a year it sat on my carport holding spray paint and misc items with the door propped on.

While my husband was out of town on a work trip, I had my brother-in-law (who is a painter) paint my living room to give it a new look after 10 years. Christina helped me move this piece into the living room to try it out as an entertainment center. It took us about 20 min to get the thing a very small distance because it was HEAVY!


My husband came home, decided he would give it a go, glued and clamped the door then put it back on and voila...here is our new entertainment center for $30! I love it better than the ones I have seen for $300 - $1000 ( there was a $1200 one I would have liked to have had but that wasn't in our budget).


As all you married folks know, most of making a marriage work is the give and take that goes on. We will always have a large TV in our house (and probably our living room since we don't have a family room), complete with large black speakers (not so pretty) and that is okay with me. My husband allows me to have furniture with peeling paint (which he abhors) and I let him have his big TV with speakers in the living room! :) That's just how we roll and one small way we make our marriage work.

~Victoria~

22 comments:

Natalie Meester said...

It is beautiful! I love it.

Lots of compromises in life isn't there!!! Sometimes it's not very fun though~!!

Amelia said...

All good marriages have give and take in them. Too bad it takes some of us a long time to figure it all out. Finally I have learned what things you need to just let go of - move on - some things just are not worth getting upset over.

Love your story - congratulations on 12 years.

Kim @ Starshine Chic said...

Victoria,
I love your entertainment center. What a great find & such a deal! I'm jealous! It is exactly my style too. My hubby would probably abhore it too. Thanks for visiting my blog & leaving me a comment. Enjoy your cabinet!!
Kim

Andi at A Little Piece of Pink said...

I LOOOVE it!!!! I FINALLY let my hubby get a new flatscreen- 56" or something like that- I don't know about stuff like that. So now I need to go find me an entertainment center thingy like yours !!!!! It is beautiful- and really softens the hard look of the tv. That is my problem- the tv is a monstrosity in my living room!!! Looks fab! Andi

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Congrats on 12 years, Victoria! And I just love the story of the entertainment center. My hubby & I are so different too & he hates my old & vintage things as well, but puts up with it for my sake. Your piece is beautiful & so NOT mass produced, I just love it. Thanks for playing today.

Amanda@Imperfectly Beautiful said...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that beautiful chippy peice of furniture! And yes...you are spot on...making a happy marriage is ALL about give and take.

~Amanda

Sarah said...

I really love your $30 entertainment center, it looks awesome. :) Great find!

Dawn said...

It's absolutely beautiful! It's exactly like what I'm looking for to hold all of our electrical stuff, and video games!

Love it!

Hugs from Eventually Cottage!

Debbie said...

I love the new entertainment center and at a great price too. Thanks for visiting my blog, come back anytime. Debbie

Sarah said...

Victoria,
I would very much like to speak with you some more about Mary Kay, please feel free to email me at sarah @ fincanon .com so that we may chat. :)
Thanks for visiting my blog and tell Christina thank you too!

Keetha Broyles said...

We lived in a house once that had door knobs that looked like that. Our kids called them "diamonds."

Empty Nest Full Life said...

Great $30 entertainment center. Marriage is definitely about working together and being willing to consider one anothers interests. My husband is like that too. Have a great week. Jackie

Linda (Nina's Nest) said...

I think it's a very fair exchange to have your gorgeous cabinet with the TV on top. I know that one of those TVs is probably in my future, so I am just bracing myself for the give and take (after 40 years of marriage!) Linda (By the way, my darling tall cupboard - which usually houses my plate collection - is holding the sound system! Argh!!!)

Christina said...

Happy 12 years! Give and take is what it's all about.

Love the cabinet. It's heavy---that's the truth.

Angie said...

You got such a great deal on that cabinet! I love it!!!

Meg said...

I love your new/old entertainment center better than if you had spent tons of money on a store one.

Katie said...

Love it and the terrarium, they are hard to find by the way or go for a lot on ebay. Love it yes marriage is a lot of give and take and compromise. Can't imagine life without my dear hubby. Sounds like we have good men that love their family and work hard. I need to always remember the sacrafices that he makes too. We should pray for each other (:

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

What a beautiful "shabby" entertainment center...congrats it is lovely...

M.L. @ The House of Whimsy said...

What an adorable post about the give and take in a marriage....not to mention the absolutely darling photo at the top!!! : )

WhisperWood Cottage said...

I feel the same way! New furniture just doesn't have the right "feel" for me. And it's so expensive! This is a great piece and it looks fabulous!

Amy

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