DIY Nightstand

 After two years of living without nightstands, we finally got so tired of it that we decided to just build one ourselves (and by "we" I mostly mean "Clark"). We've been trying to decide what style nightstand we want for a long time now and have cycled through tons of options. Our original favorite was this mid-century beauty from West Elm.

So pretty! Plus it would go with our craigslisted dresser... but it was obviously out of our price range. Next up: straight up shelves attached to wall (as inspired by idea #111 from the Young House Love book). Sorry, I don't have the actual inspiration photo but they were similar to this:

But then I saw this image on A Beautiful Mess:

Look at those bookshelf nightstands! And as it turns out, they're homemade. So, Clark, being the crafty dude that he is, decided that he wanted to make one himself this weekend so that he could FINALLY ditch the old set of wire drawers from my college desk that was serving as his temporary nightstand and have a real, grown-up place to set his book every night. Onward!

Check out our awesome sawhorse/work bench. Yes, that is the base from the free side table that Clark had in college. 

 I had the extremely difficult task of staining all the pieces. It was sooo hard. Just kidding, it took all of an hour. Clark worked for roughly three days doing all the rest of the work. 

And, just like magic, finished product! 

It's so pretty! 

We still need to add some trim pieces to hide the supports but we're still deciding on color. The fox picture needs to be framed and hung up above the nightstand and we need to get a lamp (probably this task lamp from West Elm - same as in the A Beautiful Mess image above).

But for now, it's done and it's amazing. 

Career Change

I'm having (yet another) career crisis. Time to brainstorm!

When I grow up I want to be:

1. Salesperson at Anthropologie - seriously, I've wanted to be this forever. Obviously the pay grade is a bit lower than I'm currently interested in, but on the other hand, I would be required to look this fabulous all the time.

Just kidding, I would never be this sparkly at work. This is clearly a New Year's Eve outfit. Or a disco ball. 

2. Buyer at Anthropologie - okay, this is basically the same as #1 but more relevant to post-college me. And in this career path I would be the person who finds pieces like the above jacket and forces all future Anthro shoppers to pick a side: jacket or disco ball. You can only pick one! That's the rule at Anthropologie! Also, I would make enough money that I could afford to put a giraffe bust above my fireplace.

3. BHLDN Wedding Planner - obviously this post just turned into an Urban Outfitters, Inc. love fest. Pretty typical. But seriously, look at this dress! Tell me you don't want to design an entire wedding around this dress!

4. Anthropologist - Ha! Not Anthropologie the store, but the same name! Oh so tricksy. Anyway, this is the only one on the list I'm actually thinking about. My B.A. is in Cultural Anthropology but I have spent the last 4 years convincing myself that I didn't really want to go down this career path. Recent events, however, have convinced me to give it a second look. Pros: 1. I LOVE thinking about culture and all the unanswerable questions associated with it. 2. Lots of travel. 3. University lifestyle. Cons: I may not like actual research. That's a big con if it's true, but I'm not convinced that it is. Thoughts?

Cape Point, South Africa.