a table, fit for the gosselin kids

...and Jon, Kate, her bodyguard, and that babysitter who told her off.  Hahahaha!  Ok, where were we...

It's here!  It's finally here!  Our table arrived last Friday and it is ginormous!  We went shopping for a dining room set a few weeks ago and we both agreed on this one.  It normally sits 8, and it can be extended to accomodate 4 more - that is a total of 12 people sitting comfortably at its full potential!  We could probably squeeze in 14 people easily if we wanted to.

This is all 122 inches of it with both leafs attached on either side.  It's a beast!  We won't be able to put two head chairs, but we can definitely seat 12 people across.  Technically, we can move the table horizontally since our formal living and dining are connected, but this is not exactly the lightest table, so I think we're going to avoid having to move it if we can help it.  

At first, we weren't so sure how we felt about these cables at the bottom of the table, but now we kind of like it.  It adds to the rustic look and feel of it.  I have no idea why it's really there.  For extra support maybe?

The ends of the the table slides out (as shown above) where you place the leafs in and are secured by latches underneath.

This is after Paul removed both leafs.  Then you just slide the two ends back in place, and it looks like this:

It looks like one whole piece!  Now it's about 86 inches long and fits 8 people.  This is how we're going to keep it on a regular basis, and we'll just add the two leafs when we have big gatherings.  We have to find a home for them somewhere until they're needed.  

And yes, we are aware that the light fixture is not centered.  We'll take care of that eventually.

We're so excited about this table!  We'll share many meals here for years (and generations) to come.  It's perfect for the holidays, and it came just in time for Thanksgiving next week!  I can't wait to dress it up with a table runner and a center piece!  I may have to make my way to World Market and buy Miss Paisley's set. 

And in case you haven't noticed, we don't have the chairs yet.  We ordered 6 chairs, but unfortunately they won't be delivered until the end of the month.  So we'll have to borrow the chairs from our breakfast nook that we inherited from Paul's parents for our Thanksgiving dinner.  I'm planning on buying two head chairs, but I want to wait until we get the other chairs in so I know what size chairs to get.  This dining set actually comes with a bench.  They seem to be pretty popular these days.  Now, I'm considering getting it so we can use it for the entryway.  Then, when we do need to fit 12+ people, we'll have that extra seating handy. 

By the way, we bought this set from Weir's Furniture (sorry folks, they're only in the Dallas area).  We bought our bedroom set there too.  They have a lot of very traditional pieces, but they do have some modern, clean line pieces as well, depending on what they have in store.  It's a little pricier than some furniture stores, but the quality is excellent and you can be sure that it will last a long time. 

We have other additions, and I can't wait to share them with you!