Since being snowbirds means living in two places, I figured I would occasionally post nesting-type stuff about life in our little pink house in Tucson, Arizona.

In many ways the two cities and the two homes couldn’t seem more different. But it’s just as fun to think about what is the same. Both Madison and Tucson are small cities with vibrant downtowns and a strong University presence. In both homes you can see some of the philosophies we do our best to embrace: live smaller, buy less stuff, and when possible, surround yourself with unique and meaningful things. And we generally don’t like the idea of “trading up,” especially when it means getting rid of something perfectly functional.

I have a desk I bought on clearance at Pier1 back when we lived in Tempe, and while I like the size and shape and the thick glass top, the finish was feeling cheesy. So I had it powder coated by a guy I found on Craigslist, and I am loving the result.

The before shot shows the desk in my home office in our condo in Tempe. The after picture shows it in its current role in our bedroom where it is occasionally used as a desk but more often serves the purpose of a console table. So now it gets to be prettier after being powder coated in Columbia coating 6004 Green Blue (I know you were patiently awaiting that detail!), and it gets to be less cluttered since I no longer need to store all that office stuff at home.

The chair is one of a pair that was given to us by Andrew’s dad. Like our house in Madison, our house in Tucson is filled with a lot of family heirlooms. The result is mostly vintage, definitely eclectic. And now one of the “big box store” pieces in our house is one-of-a-kind, and that feels pretty cool.

And here is some gratuitous cat footage: