What's in a table?

So for the past year, I've been eating all of my meals either on the sofa or on the patio.  I could say that I was being ironically chic, the food blogger doesn't have a kitchen table.  But the plain truth is that I'm single and didn't really see the immediate need to purchase a dining room set. 

But along with insurance payments, car payments, and the less-pleasant accoutrements of adulthood, one's transition to maturity also involves a shift to more sophisticated entertaining.  You know, the kind where the table isn't used strictly for beer pong. 

My plan for the table all started about 6 months ago, when I noticed a picture of a refinished table on a design blog.  It had been transformed using a dark oak stain with white words stenciled on its surface.  It was creative and fun, while still conveying a necessary sense of style and whimsy.  Almost as if were saying "Hey so I'm supposed to be a grownup, but I don't always know how to act like one." I knew that I wanted something similar for my small dinning nook.

The trouble with my plan; I didn't have a table to refinish.  I spent months crawling through thrift stores, searching antique outlets, and frequenting yard sales without so much as a single possibility.

I finally found the table I was looking for tucked away in the back of a neighbors garage.  $70 later, it was mine.

I know it's not food related (exactly), but I had to share the before and after photos!

Before (note the spider webs near the closest leg)

After (minwax red mahogany stain with white stenciled letter)

After

Eat good food.  Drink good beer.  And above all, stay classy!