If I was a millionaire with a big, big house...

Today my dad and little brother, Seth, came to visit.  Dad wanted to go "junking" aka antique shopping.  So we started in Daphne, then drove to Foley, back to Daphne to Fairhop and finally home.  All along the way we stopped at any and all antique stores we saw.  At one inconspicuous store the size of a barn jampacked with furniture I found my dream dining room table.  I warn you, it's big.  And old.  So very, very old.  And so full of charm that it my heart just melted over it.  If I was a millionaire and had a big, big house with a dining room or even a very large open kitchen, dining, family area I would have been so tempted to buy it.  I truly fell head-over-heels in love with it.

It is solid wood.  Comes with 10 chairs.  The chairs are covered in ugly fabric, but they too are so sturdy and well-made.  Nothing a little big of reupholstering wouldn't fix.

Do you see the table legs?  They are attached with wooden pegs!  Doesn't that just make you want to swoon?  Yes, swoon.  I get all nostalgic looking at pieces of history like this.  Sigh.

In addition to the gorgeous table, this incredible set also came with this beautiful sideboard.  It too was made of all wood.  It was hard to get a good picture since the place was so cramped with furniture, but it is as long as the table and has the original skeleton keys!  Sigh. 

And finally the set came with this spectacular buffett.  Do you see that amazing ironwork and the iron hinges?  It also has the original skeleton keys!  Oh my, how my heart is going pitter-patter.  I think I may be in love.

The set was imported from Belgium and was built in the late 1700s.  My, oh my, how I adore it.  The proprietor of the store was willing to let the entire set (table, 10 chairs, buffett, and sideboard) go for the bargain price of $3,000.  That's what he was asking.  I'd bet he would have taken 2.  If I was a millionaire with a big, big house this would be my dream dining room set.  All I would have to do is figure out how to get it home - the table alone weighs a couple hundred pounds.  Of course, if I was a millionaire I could just hire someone to pick it up and deliver it to me... 

Most newer homes aren't even built with dining rooms any more so families don't buy dining room sets.  They today just don't use them.  They're too busy to eat meals together.  There's just something so sad about not eating big family meals together anymore.  And families used to pull out the nicest china when people got together or company came over.  Now we just break out the paper plates and Soho cups.  That's so sad to me.  But I want to be different.  I want our small family to spend quality time together over nice family meals.  And after Grace and Baby gets a little older, I'm going to start using our china for every Sunday meal and all the special occasions like Thanksgiving holidays and Christmas and even St. Patrick's Day.  At least that's what I would like to do...