Thanks for your replies camlan & staceyann63! I also posted this on the decorating forum and people there, like you, thought it was a sewing/knitting cabinet or a Martha Washington sewing cabinet. In the little research I've done since it appears that the 2 drawer style I have was likely made in the 40's or 50's. It is dark wood stained to look like mahogany. I wish I knew a little more to really date it. It had a paper sticker on the bottom of the base but when we touched it, it disintegrated in our hands. I also love the slender legs and the general look of it. I was really surprised that no one else was looking at this piece-it seemed to be overlooked by most but then most of the auction go-ers were old guys looking for tools. When it came up for bid not one person bid & by the time the auctioneer said '$10'I was barely breathing, lol! When we got it, I did everything to hide my excitement but once we got it to the car, I was ecstatic! I think it works really well as a small bar-the side 'pockets' are tall enough to hold large bottles of wine & spirits and the top surface is just wide enough for a chic little collection of cocktails & carafes.

I skipped it this month too, I usually go to Barnes and Noble to check what's there. I like the most greens, especially the yellow-greens, so the cover wasn't so inviting. I miss Cottage Living, and Home and Garden, but I'm finding that the European magazines are inspiring. On the traditonal side there are Homes & Gardens, House & Garden, Living Etc., Period Living, Period Homes & Interiors, Campagne Decoration (French), and House & Home (Canadian), there is a special edition out right now of their before and afters. I like modern as well, and it seems like most of the foreign "Elle Decor" are very similar, but they do have different local slants to things, I just flip through each issue to pick which ones are more appealing that month. Inside Out is from Australia, and while it's edgy, and it feels more "California", it's usually very good. Belle is Italian, some months are great, I didn't pick it up this month. The British also have a few magazines that are more like Good Housekeeping, or the decorating magazines put out by Women's Day. Ideal Home is one, and House Beautiful is another. They give the product details right on the page. While European magazines are more expensive, they don't have a huge number of pages devoted to ads, I just select the magazines that I really want, and keep them. Even though I'd never afford to have something shipped over here, the patterns and colors are refreshing.

MSG is bad. And it has not been used for centuries anywhere. It was lab-developed in 1907. There are natural glutamates and there is monosodium glutamate. I started looking into it a while back because I do experience bad effects from eating it - especially in hot liquid form (Chinese restaurant soups, for example). Manufacturers are hiding it now - look for: "Monosodium glutamate is one of several forms of free glutamate used in foods. Free glutamate can also be present in a wide variety of other additives, including hydrolyzed vegetable proteins, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed yeast, yeast extract, soy extracts, and protein isolate, any one of which may appear as "spices" or "natural flavorings." The food additives disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are usually used along with with monosodium glutamate-containing ingredients, and provide a likely indicator of the presence of monosodium glutamate in a product [6]. For this reason, the FDA considers labels such as "No MSG" or "No Added MSG" to be misleading if the food contains ingredients that are sources of free glutamate, such as hydrolyzed protein.[6] In 1993, FDA proposed adding the phrase "(contains glutamate)" to the common or usual names of certain protein hydrolysates that contain substantial amounts of glutamate.[6] For example, if the proposal were adopted, hydrolyzed soy protein would have to be declared on food labels as "hydrolyzed soy protein (contains glutamate)."[citation needed]" It has been accepted and infused into our manufactured food processes for a long time, just as high-fructose corn syrup is prevalent now. Both the above are prevalent in commercial pet foods as well. They are both unnatural substances touted as natural (because they are made/isolated/tweaked from natural substances) and safe. You can find all kinds of info on it on the web now, so go for it. It's another reason not to eat processed foods if possible. And who knows what additive they'll lab-create next and how it will affect us.

Ree, I think that fabric is going to look just gorgeous in your cabinets. The problem with glass front cabs is everything inside has to look perfect all the time. But this is a wonderful and classy solution and the fabric you picked is a timeless classic beauty. Plus, if you get bored you can change it out, and you could even go for a summer and a winter look. I'm going to include a link at the bottom of this to my favorite topper patterns in case you'd like to use that fabric in a window topper nearby as well. A little eye candy for you! Craigslist is SO cool! It's just amazing what you can find there from junk so ugly it will make you laugh to precious pieces from the finest homes in your area. The good thing is they are ALL pickup, but they're within reasonable driving distance from you. Tip: Since there is no way to put it on a watch list like on eBay, when I see something I like, I open a 'notepad' and copy down the title, any pertinent facts, and the url there as I browse. Then I go back and look at the ones I liked, and compare. You could also do this with just a word doc. I've seen everything on Craigslist from new dog crates to to gorgeous antiques, chandeliers, draperies, paintings, you name it. Some of the prices are laughably high, but many are fabulous bargains. Look every day because it's first come, first serve. But also if something has been there a few days don't hesitate to ask if they still have it. Someone is selling 60 sq ft of Bellawood red oak flooring still in the box for $60 on mine right now!! And you saw the coffee table I got for $8? Sometimes folks just want stuff gone in a big hurry. I'm so excited about it I'm looking around here for what I can sell... so I can get better stuff. lol! Let us know what you find, k? This will be really fun. Yeah, I need to clean up my LR. The upholstery guy came and got my couch and chair today and it's a HUGE load off my shoulders. They'll come back next week. I've always got tons of stuff to do. I'm fine -- and soooo happy about my couch and chair! They will be structurally sound and done properly when they return and I can't wait to see them. Thanks for asking, hon. I've got to tell you I'm a little nervous about the furniture. It's Victorian camel back with the carved wood on the top. It's being upholstered in a deep tomato red mohair velvet -- $100/yard fabric I stole off eBay for only $300 to do both my couch and chair. But I keep thinking... I hope that couch doesn't look like a saloon hooker's couch from 'Bonanza' when it gets back! I get to go over to my son's house for Thanksgiving and it's just me and him. He cooks and I bring food too... and we sit in his theater and stuff our faces while watching a great movie in sweats. That beats the heck out of the big fat fancy dinners I had to fix all the time the kids were growing up, where I'd be so tired by the time I reached the table the trick was not to fall asleep face down in the mashed potatoes. Or the ones where we dread seeing certain relatives. :P I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving too! What are you going to do? Here is a link that might be useful: Click on GALLERY to see eye candy window toppers!