Ok, Houston: share your Rita stories in the comments section.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Repurposing: A Coffee Table w/ Storage
For years we went without a coffee table. I just couldn't find one that fit the space and that looked good with the rest of our funky decor. I finally quit trying to find an actual table I liked, and instead stacked a few of the vintage suitcases I had sitting in the closet. These are the old square suitcases with flat sides, which work much better than the rounded ones. I can still find these in small town thrift stores for under $20. If you look in the urban vintage shops you will pay a lot more. I put a neat tray on the left side to add some interest. I like that they stack so nicely and can double for storage. The small one on top holds all our important documents - passports, immunization records, deed to the house, etc. In Houston it's important to have all of that stuff together and ready in case of a hurricane evacuation (ask any Houstonian their Hurricane Rita evacuation story). The blue one holds my scrapbooking materials. Yes, I scrapbook. I found some great old travel stickers at my favorite funky shop in Galveston, Hendley Market, which is on the Strand. The have everything from unique handmade soaps to squirrel pants. The stacked suitcases could also serve as end tables, in place of a chest at the foot of a bed, or even as a toy chest in a kids room. Here's how mine look:
Ok, Houston: share your Rita stories in the comments section.
Ok, Houston: share your Rita stories in the comments section.
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I was just sharing my Rita and Ike stories last night! Rita came right on the heels of Katrina, so, for the first time, even die hard Houstonians like myself who had lived through Alicia in the 80s decided to evacuate. Because I had worked with a local restaurant helping Katrina evacuees/refugees, I had a very real idea that we needed to know that anything we left behind we might never see again, so I filled both our cars with as much stuff as I could. Then I spent hours debating whether to move the rest to the top floor, in case we flooded, or the bottom floor, in case the roof was torn off. Removing anything that could become a projectile and kill someone was a huge undertaking...not only did the backyard have to be cleared (patio furniture sunk in the pool, dismantling the gazebo, moving the grill and potted plants to the garage), I also took down all artwork from the walls and packed up decoative objects. This took most of the day, so we didn't get on the road until about three pm. Two cars and two small children in tow, and we hit the freeway, only to sit in a parking lot. It took about three and a half hours to get from Pearland to Katy (normally a 30 minute trip) and I finally realized that two cars was ridiculous. Aftermany tries on jammed cell lines, I reached my husband and suggested we stop at a friend's in Katy and drop off one of the cars. We did, and decided that waiting around until about 2am and taking back roads to Austin might be smarter. He slept, while I consolidated our things to one car and waited in an hour long gas line to fill up. We hit the road and made it to Austin by 7am. About the time we were leaving Katy, the projected path of the hurricane had moved, and our Katy hosts had decided to evacuate as well. By the time they had loaded up and left, it was around 6am, and by then, the back roads were closed. They didn't arrive in Austin until 9pm. Five days in Austin because the news said Houston was not allowing anyone to return yet and we finally arrived home to an unpacking situation that rivaled moving. Whew. We decided to stay in town for Ike, and will probably stay in town for the next one!
ReplyDeleteWe sat in traffic with an infant for 5 hours and traveled less than 10 miles. We figured the risk of peril was greater to keep heading north, where gasoline was scarce, than it was to turn around. We went west to Lillian's and stayed with her. Needless to say Rita was a pfft of a hurricane. No damage whatsoever.
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