Blue Chairs in Meadow

Did anyone watch the new Dirty Dancing movie?

It was on last night and I was going to turn it on and put on my stirrup pants and bright blue eye shadow and rat my perm and go all 1987 and remind myself why no one puts baby in the corner.

Except.

Except I literally was driving kids around and celebrating the end of a school year and wondering if I should cut bangs in my hair…

…and I forgot.

Kind of like I forgot that stirrup pants don’t really work for me.

So to celebrate all things Dirty Dancing and amazing thrift store finds and chair makeovers, I found this post in the archives.

Here’s to best friends everywhere. 🙂

How to distress wood

I’m married to my best friend.

He understands me and laughs with me and shops at Habitat for Humanity for chairs with me and has eyes that twinkle and when I ask him if we can move the chairs that were just painted into the middle of the back yard to photograph them….

….he doesn’t even bat an eye.

And when I dance around the yard with my camera and point to the sunlight streaming over the grass because it’s the golden hour and the light is perfect and get so excited because I probably won’t even have to edit the photos…

….he smiles and nods encouragingly.

Even though he has absolutely no idea what I’m talking about.

Because that’s what best friends do.

Last week we were in Tennessee on a mission.

I have a photo shoot coming up with an outdoor table setting and I had the table and the linens and the dishes and the platters and the napkins and the monogrammed cups ready to go.

All I needed were the chairs.

Blue and white pillow

I finally found these chairs at the Habitat for Humanity store for only $15 and the woven seats were in perfect condition, but the wood was a little rough and scratched and dented.  No worries.  A couple of coats of paint and a little distressing fixed everything.

The lighter blue chair is painted Sherwin-Williams Faded Flaxflower (seriously best paint color name ever) and the darker blue chair is painted Sherwin-Williams Inky Blue.

After we found the chairs, we headed to a restaurant to celebrate.

I was so excited and talking a mile a minute and describing in great detail the place settings and discussing if I should hang a woven twig chandelier over the table and how much I loved blue and white and asking him if he remembered our first apartment with the cutest blue and white dishes.

And he smiled and nodded.

Until.

Until they took us to the tiniest table known to man in the darkest corner of the restaurant wedged in next to the railing.

Then he frowned.

Chair with pillow

I told him it was okay.

I told him I liked tiny tables and it wasn’t too dark and we could make it work, as I whacked myself with my purse trying to get it to go over the back of the chair.

We sat there at the tiny table in the darkness for a few minutes and then when the waitress stopped by, he politely asked if we could move to a bigger table.

Blue Chairs

She smiled and said yes and led us to the best table in the house.

There was a window and space and a big tabletop and room for miles.

My purse even had its own chair.

And as we looked over the menu and started talking about what we were going to eat and did grill chicken cancel out a brownie for dessert, he looked across the table and grinned at me.

Then he paused and his eyes twinkled and he looked around and said with a satisfactory air, “This is so much better.  No one puts baby in the corner.”

Of course.  

Of course, he did.

Because that’s what best friends are for.

Chair shopping and knowing all the lines to your favorite movie. 🙂

just the two of us

PS  I love you best friend and I always will.

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Comments

  1. Image for Marisa Franca @ All Our Way Marisa Franca @ All Our Way

    Love that story and I'm a HUGE fan of the original Dirty Dancing movie. I've watched it a zillion time and when we run across it channel checking my Honey says in a resigned tone, "Do you want to watch it?" Of course, I do. I'm Baby swaying and dancing and leaping in the air. My rhythm is perfect and my feet are doing exactly what I want them to do. Except in real life my feet, hips, and arms just don't follow what my brain tell them to do. Not quite as bad as Elaine in Seinfeld but not graceful either. I'm a lost cause at Zumba too. *sigh* I can dream. Big Hugs!!

  2. Image for Trena Trena

    This is exactly my man. I didn't see the show either but I'm looking forward to seeing the musical next month here in town at the historic Tennessee Theatre with my other BFF. Have a great day.

  3. Image for kddomingue kddomingue

    OMG! You almost made me snort oatmeal and berries thru my nose, lol! I can see that your best friend is a keeper. Mine is too!

  4. Image for Lynn Mosher Lynn Mosher

    Always love those twinkling eyes! And that red lipstick! So fun and sweet! I started to watch the movie. Couldn't. No way in the world to improve or measure up. Didn't want to mar the image in my head of the real one! ;)

  5. Image for Kerri Kerri

    I am new to how a blog works, I love love love the pillows... Can I ask on here if you made them or purchased them? And how I could do the same?

  6. Image for mary mary

    Great story, great chairs, great colors, great husband! Re the movie... just like your chairs , why reproduce when the original is just right?

  7. Image for Carrie Carrie

    Wow...I mean wow...what a beautiful story...I don't think I will need to watch the movie because your story is so good. Thank you!!

  8. Image for Teresa @ LostMuleLodge.com Teresa @ LostMuleLodge.com

    You just melt my heart... I wish we could be neighbors - if we were neighbors I just know we would be enjoying life in harmony! I guess we kind of are through our blogging!! Great story and you really do have a fabulously wonderful man!!

  9. Image for Angela Angela

    I'm so glad you pulled this one from your archives! I missed this one, maybe it's from before I started following you? Love the story! ?

  10. Image for june june

    I love my best friend to pieces too:) I did watch last nights tv movie Dirty Dancing. It was good...but nothing tops the original. I will say I don't know if Breslin was the best cast for the lead. She is a good actress but just didn't seem to fit her kind of work.

  11. Image for Sue Sue

    I love, love, love this story!!! My husband is my best friend as well. I totally get it!!! You are the BEST storyteller EVER!!!

  12. Image for Karen from Illinois Karen from Illinois

    Hi ! Your love story brings tears to my eyes. My guy of 42 yrs. is my best friend, too. He has a different way of showing me he's here for the duration. When I relayed your story today he felt challenged to step up. Then made his usual funny face! So thanks for the love tap!! Love the chairs!!

  13. Image for Linda Linda

    Enjoy yor best friend, you never know how long he will be here with you. Lost my best friend when the Lord called him home after 44 years 4 months and 4 days of a wonderful friendship and marriage, And yes we always would say the lines to each other from favorite movies.

  14. Image for Celeste Celeste

    Rats! I watched re-runs last night! I wish I would have known about the Dirty Dancing re-make. I'm glad your hubby treats you so well and I glad I got a good'un too.

  15. Image for gina gina

    My favorite movie, too! That's why we are friends! Haven't seen the new one. Another favorite line, "I carried a watermelon."

  16. Image for Teresa Gonzales Teresa Gonzales

    What a keeper!!! I have one too and love the fact that yours knows the best line from Dirty Dancing! So perfect!!!!

  17. Image for Loryl Loryl

    I watched the remake and it was good in its own way. The guy who played Johnny could really dance. Nothing beats an original though. Loved hearing your story again.

  18. Image for Shirley Shirley

    I always think of Becky , a girl I used to work with when any one mentions "Dirty Dancing ". She came into work saying that she had rented the video of this film. It was the best film she had ever seen. And when it ended she rewound it and watched it all again. Funny thing was I knew she was going to say the last bit!!

  19. Image for Monica Monica

    Cute post. Loved the original Dirty Dancing, the music, the dancing, everything!! I made the mistake of watching the one last night, was not a fan. No one make a better Dirty Dancing!

  20. Image for Debra Matcovich Debra Matcovich

    You made me laugh envisioning getting hit in the face with your bag. I've been there. I was at a table so small that when the people that were going to sit at the next table squeezed by and took our utensils and drinks with them crashing on the floor. Lets say, we never went back to this restaurant. Not because it was small, the food wasn't good.

  21. Image for bj bj

    Awww, Kerri...he is adorable. and WHO would have the nerve to try stepping in Johnny and Baby's shoes...??? ...beats the heck outa me

  22. Image for Cherie Cherie

    Love your terrific sense of humor !!! So, did you like the new version of Dirty Dancing ? I recorded it but have not watched it yet. Somehow I'm having a bit of a hard time accepting Abagail Breslin as Baby. Hopefully she will surprise me.

  23. Image for Carol at Bluesky Kitchen Carol at Bluesky Kitchen

    I love Dirty Dancing ~ one of the all~time best dance movies ever. I recorded the new version and watched it over 2 days. It's good, but doesn't hold a candle to Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey and the original vibe and the fabulous dancing. Remember at the end of the movie and all the dancers come down the aisle to that fabulous beat and those dance steps? They didn't do that in the new version! I'd waited the entire movie to see that. My husband changes tables, too. And hotel rooms. And it's always better. And he's so proud of himself for getting us a better table and a better room. His eyes twinkle too, and he gets the cutest little smile. So worth getting a bad table to start.

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