Welcome to my Metamorphosis Monday post for this week. Thanks to Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for so graciously hosting this weekly event. Visit Susan's blog at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ to see a list of this weeks participants.
This week, I've decided to share a project that is still ongoing. Our family loves to read, and our book collection was getting out of control. We were also tired of the massive entertainment center and bookcase system that seemed to be taking over the living room.
We really wanted a cleaner, simpler look for the room. We looked high and low for just the right wall unit, yet couldn't find anything we really liked that was within our budget (remember, we've got one in college!) Everything we found was either too country, too ornate, or just the wrong finish. We finally found a media stand that was exactly what we were looking for. Unfortunately, it was one that we had to assemble ourselves. So DH set to work.
What, no words?
We then added two much smaller bookcase/display units that we felt would work in the space. This is the view of the left side unit
Here is the right side unit.
We then installed two uplight wall sconces to bring some light to this side of the room and voila,
our new entertainment unit.
Can you believe we condensed that original mess into this? We sold the center unit, and are using the two end bookcases in our daughter's room, which will be turned into a guest room/small reading room. We purged alot of books that we gave to charity, and the rest were dispersed throughout the (numerous) bookcases throughout the house. I have also purchased a leather storage ottoman to replace our coffee table, but that's a post for another day! We aren't quite finished with this area. We need to find artwork for above the television, but are waiting to find just the right piece. I will also be painting the light cords to match the wall color, but since we will be repainting this room sometime this year, I decided to hold off for now. I'm sure I will be tweaking the display items for a while, but we are pretty satisfied with the results!
Hope you enjoyed our entertainment center redo, now head on over to Susan's and see what everyone else has been up to!
Welcome to Themed Thursday, graciously hosted by KD at Southern Whimsey. Visit her at http://southernwhimsy.blogspot.com/ to see a list of this weeks participants. While you're there, check out KD's great home ideas! You'll be glad you stopped by. 
This weeks theme is "Furry Friends, Real and Faux". I know she looks stuffed in this picture (the cat silly), but our little Sax is very real indeed. When our daughter was in high school, she worked part time at the veterinary practice that I manage. We had lost our 3 dogs and 2 cats within 2 years, and just could not bring ourselves to get another. DH and I thought that it would be best to hold off on any pets with Cait getting ready to go to college. It's a big responsibility to care for one of these little creatures, and we assumed (and we were right!) that we might be taking alot of weekend trips for football games, recitals and the like. One day, Cait came home from work and was acting rather odd. I asked how her shift went, and she would not turn to look at me. It was February and she had on a heavy coat. As she turned to go to her room, I saw a little fuzzy head pop out of her jacket! "But Mom," she pleaded. "She was laying in a rain puddle next to the dumpster at work, I couldn't just leave her there" Of course, at this point we had not had a dog or cat in the house for over 2 years. So, we had no cat food, litter, litter pan, or any of the kitty "necessities" I also did not want to get attached to a stray cat that had not been checked out first. So I told Cait to take her up to the clinic and put her in the isolation room, and I would have one of the Doctors check her the next day. If she got a clean bill of health, and Cait purchased the basic cat necessities, we would keep her on a trial basis. The next day, Dr. Webster checked her over well, tested her for all the nasty kitty viruses that are out there, vaccinated her and gave us the thumbs up to take her home. We also discovered that she had a spay scar and was declawed! Sax has turned out to be the best cat we have ever had. She is very social and loves nothing better than laying in our lap or on our chest, attempting to con us into a nap! Turns out napping is the thing she does best, she is the QUEEN of naps! I have read that the average house cat spends 13-18 hours a day sleeping, I think she is trying to beat that average. 
This is her "pout pose" when I remove her from my lap to use the computer! DH says I bought the new sofa because it matched the cat - hey at least the hair doesn't show as badly!
This is Sax pretending not to be asleep - she's just "resting her eyes"
She likes to hide around the corner and pounce on your leg when you come through - she thinks you can't see her!
Staring out the window at her neighborhood boyfriend - Romeo, oh Romeo! She's not allowed outside, daddy is very protective, and remember, she's been declawed. Besides, we have some wicked mockingbirds in our yard! And please, please, please forgive the holy mess in this room - this is Cait's room (I promise you Barney purple was not my idea) and until we redo this room it has become a storage shed! Notice the unframed art on the chair? The glass table top leaning against the window? You should see the other side of the room, or no, maybe you shouldn't.
This is Sax saying so long, it was nice to visit, but she needs her beauty sleep! I hope you enjoyed meeting our little fur person. Please remember that stray and shelter pets need a home too, and they usually make the very best pets. It's almost as if they understand that you saved their lives, and the unconditional love and patience they offer is beyond compare!
