Retro Inspired Red Cedar Narrow Hairpin Table

Nick and I love all things nature. We also love almost all things retro. So it is only natural for the two to come together in our projects. Nick recently completed this beaut:

Nick picked this piece of wood for it's beauty and natural purple/red colors. He wanted to keep the shape of the wood in tact to add the element of growth. The hairpin legs were a natural choice in the process of making this table. He knew he wanted something retro inspired and that was the perfect fit.

This table is intended as a side table, a piece to accent your entryway or foyer, or lightweight desk.

It is a narrow table big enough for a notebook or laptop but not a full size computer. This is a piece that you will want to put just a few accent pieces on, because the wood grain itself is just too breathtaking.

You can see Nick's table in person at Cobb Antique Mall right now. He's asking $325 for it, but of course is open to any offers ;) 

The coloring is so striking to me! He is accepting commission requests right now! If there is a table, coffee table, side table design that you are interested in please email your requests, questions, possible ideas to chokalifestyle@gmail.com

Nick has been an active craftsman since he was young. He's managed to keep his creativity flowing despite a lot of challenges we've faced over the past few years. You would think being in the Metro-Atlanta area would make things easier for making things, but it's not as easy as it seems! Living in an apartment obviously is not a good environment for power tools and what not! So Nick rented out a storage unit and worked out of there last year. 

Where we currently live, he does have an outside area to work in but it's cold and definitely not always the most pleasant weather to work in! It always seems like he gets started on an awesome project, but the whole world wants to work against him. So I'm excited that he's been able to see this to it's completion! He's even more motivated now and it just goes to show if you have an idea you should follow through with it despite your circumstances. Those with limited resources are forced to be more creative because they only have a certain amount to work with and this makes people think outside of the box. You can learn so much from the journey alone and you end up growing from the entire process. If you have a project that you are working on, but feel like you are restricted in some way, attempt to complete the project to the best of your abilities. You may be surprised by the outcome!

The Cubicle Curator- Geek Edition #1

Currently, I work in a cubicle.
Many people work in cubicles.

Being in a cubicle is not necessarily something I've dreamed about doing. But, working in this cubicle will allow us to go where we want to go and will eventually allow the Choka Lifestyle brand to grow. I can change my cubicle to be inspiring and motivating. If you work in a cubicle you can do the same! The Cubicle Curator will show you how.

Today, the Cubicle Curator will show you how to being your transformation from a dismal drab cube to a geek's working paradise.

1. Star Wars Death Star Bluetooth Speaker - I've been coveting this baby since it came out. Need to listen to some tunes while you are tirelessly typing away in Excel? This Bluetooth Deathstar will not only pump out the jams but will make you feel like the Emperor of your cubicle.

2. Building Blocks Mug- Every person who occupies a cubicle in my office drinks coffee and/or tea. And I'm guessing if you work in front of a computer all day you are probably sipping on some caffeine through the day. I love this mug because you can make it into what ever you want. Extra building bricks not included!

3. Caffeinated Mints- Well of course, after you have your Lego coffee or tea you need to have some mints!  Keep these mints handy and you will be having visitors stop by your cubicle every half hour!

4. Batman Computer Sitter- Who better than to watch over your precious work cargo than Batman!

5. Game of Thrones Ice Letter Opener- I work in admin and spend hours each week opening mail! If I had this letter opener I would be even more excited to open the mail! And I would look cool doing it.

6. Vulcan Business Card Holder-  Your business will live long and prosper if you keep this on your desk!

7. JADS International Stan Lee Signature Cologne- Not exactly cubicle related. But you fellas, if you want to up your water cooler game with the ladies then this is the cologne for you. The Stan Lee Cologne will make you feel like a super hero in the office. And you can keep in your desk at your cubicle.You can find it on Amazon for a good deal!

8. Paint your own Dalek Bank- What are you going to do on your lunch break? And where are you going to put all that money you make from your job? Why not kill two birds with one stone and get this?! Paint your own Dalek and then put your money in your pretty new Dalek. Remember, ever CENT counts!

9. Insta-Sky Office Light Diffusers-  Turn your boring, drab office fluorescent lights into a beautiful starlit sky! Might want to get the boss' permission on this one first :)

What do you have in your cubicle? Submit your pictures of your creative cube to enter for a surprise Geeky Giveaway! 3 Ways to Enter:

1: Email your photos to choka4life@gmail.com
2: Tag @chokalifestyle  and #cubiclecurator on your Instagram photo of your fancy cubicle
3: Leave a link to your photo in the comments below and your email!

It's the weekend so you need to get busy on shopping to glam up your cubicle/office. Thankfully, Amazon offers 2-Day shipping and you can have your cube looking fab by next week! Until then, Happy Weekend!

The Burwell-Goss Home, Sparta, Georgia

Choka Lifestyle loves a good adventure. My cousin Cassie recently embarked on a huge adventure and we got to be there for the beginning of the journey! Cassie recently purchased the historic Burwell-Goss Home in Sparta, Georgia. There are definitely some areas that need improvement but the house has just the right amount of Southern charm and elegance that you would expect from a South Georgia historic house.

She will be restoring the house to all its glory, in due time of course! We helped a bit at the Meet and Greet on Sunday and then took a walk around downtown Sparta. If you don't know where Sparta, Georgia is....well it's ok, because I have grown up in Georgia and I didn't even know where it was. 

Here Cassie is with our Grandmama, showcasing her Lady's Parlour

That chandelier though!

Uncle Jesse (the bearded guy on the left) has been helping in the restoration part. Nick is in the background checking out the details of the exterior. And believe me there are many ornate details!

My favorite room was the Gentleman's Lounge. I love how the light floods in this room.

Our contribution were these floral arrangements :) 

Not too shabby!

I would like to relax in this claw foot garden tub!

Jesse found this along the foundation while clearing out some brush. It reads, "1907 - Built - 1908 By Eagleason Contractor Sparta, GA"

After a tour of the home, we relaxed on the front steps leading up to the home.

The downtown area of Sparta is very quaint and cute. The historic buildings have a lot of detail to them and many of them would be even more breathtaking if they were restored to their original beauty!

Of course, there is a Chinese Food restaurant in every town! This building did not disappoint. I love how they used the red and yellow together! 

I found the Traffic Control box. I'm in charge of the traffic now!

Even the historic Graves Barn had amazing details.

Right next to the barn was the Adams Family Home. I was just consistently amazed by the amount of effort that went into all of the details in the construction of these homes back in the day.

At the end of the day we found this pool, obviously unused for some time, that had a tree growing out of the bottom of it. Nature finds a way!

All in all it was a great day. Perfect weather as you can see from the pictures!  You may be wondering what there is to do in Sparta. Well, right now many people go down to that area for hunting, camping, and four wheeling type activities. There are a lot of historic homes with plenty of potential but many of the towns in those areas are suffering because there is not a lot of places for employment. The potential is there for these towns to be turned into historic gems and Cassie's adventure is helping make the community more beautiful! We will keep you updated on the status of this renovation and if you are ever in Sparta, be sure to drive by the Burwell-Goss Home!

Have A Merry Monday!

Mondays can be such a drag. Everyone comes into work- s l o w l y. The weekend high is fading away . We've all been there. You were just there a few hours ago. Counting down the minutes to 5 o'clock.

I'm tired of hating Mondays. Mondays should be about  new beginnings, they should cause a smile on your face as you reflect on the awesome weekend you had, they should make you giddy and excited for the week in front of you and all the possibilities that lie ahead. Choka Lifestyle loves Mondays. And we want you to have many Merry Mondays. Our Monday posts will include a brief weekend recap, some ideas to start your week off on the right foot, and also events and projects that we are looking forward to! 

Tonight on THE WEEKEND RECAP
You will get to hear about a delightfully HOT shower, a new appetizer to tantalize your taste buds, and a good book.


We shall start with the hot shower. 

Water heater was not working last week. And the water pressure in our apartment has always been a little lacking. Going a week without hot water is not that bad. I mean we've gone camping for longer than that so it's really no big deal. If I needed hot water I would just heat some up on the stove. I didn't realize though how much I enjoyed my hot showers. Saturday I got a nice hot shower at my aunt's house (we're house sitting for her), it was PERFECT!! And the water pressure- spot on. 

So basically my showers went from this:

To this:

Had my friend Ems over. We ate tuna sandwiches on croissants (you have to say it like a Frenchie) and I've been on a pomegranate kick so we tried this little appetizer out.  It was like a flavor explosion in my mouth!

All you need is 
- Goat Cheese
- Cucumbers
- Pomegranate Seeds
- Honey
- Cracked Pepper

So there's your healthy recipe for the week. Easy as getting those seeds out of the pomegranate. ;)


Just finished yet another book. Audio books have been my best friends lately since I've been doing so much driving from Duluth to Buford to Marietta to Woodstock and back to Duluth! Just finished this book (this one's for the ladies- I doubt many men will find this book interesting unless they are into fashion):

I loved Betty's personality and even though I'm not that into fashion- or rather- I don't know much of anything about fashion- I enjoyed the lavish stories of silks and other fanciful fabrics that I don't even know the names of. I'll do a more in depth review when I do a post next month about good fall/winter reads. Spoiler alert- this one is going on that list. 

Enough about my weekend. I want to hear about yours. What did you do? What should I do next? Please tell me in the comments!!

<Intermission>
Now on to our next segment:

My tips on Starting Your Monday, Your Week, and Your Month Out On The Right Foot:

- Don't panic
- You may not be able to control circumstances around you, but you can always control how you react to them. 
- Breathe deep
- Pick a couple of good mood stations on Spotify. There's some great morning stations for your ride to work, or chill stations to help you get over that hangover.
- Smile and Laugh- even if you have to force it. I love forcing myself to laugh. It makes me actually laugh and then I'm sure I drive past people as they think to themselves, "Look at that crazy girl laughing hysterically while driving in her car. She must be mad!"
- Wake up, Sit on the edge of the bed. Place your right foot on the floor first. You have successfully started out on the right foot.

On Our Next Episode:

Hopefully, we'll talk about some things we're looking forward to like.....starting our new jobs, living at a new/old place, and the notes people leave in my bathroom. Oh yeah, and the awesome teardrop camper that Nick and his bro are working on!  If you have any suggestions of topics that you would like discussed on this blog feel free to leave them below. Also, feel free to ask us random questions at any point in time. But most importantly, remember to have a Merry Monday and a happy rest of the week!!

{ Photos: Have A Merry Monday by Katie Orlando, Janet Leigh from Psycho, Retro Microphone Shower Head , Cucumber Appetizer by Emily Buchan/Katie Orlando, I'll Drink to That by Betty Halbreich,  Spongebob Squarepants photo Nickelodeon/text Katie Orlando, Photo of Betty Blythe/text Katie Orlando}

Weekend Adventures: Autrey Mill Nature Preserve

Wow. Two posts in one day!

I just really wanted to share our little outing today before the whirlwind work week sweeps me away.
First of all, I have been itching to go somewhere. Anywhere! While I would really love a nice long trip, we can't really afford that right now (see previous post) and we are being very conscious of our spending before the move. So any trips in the next two months are not happening unless they are in our own backyard.

I wanted to go to a place that I had never been before. I've lived in Metro-Atlanta for basically 22 years of my life (6 years were spent in Celebration, FL, but we'll save that for another day). I know the roads, the cities, the popular places. But this weekend I was really interested in the not so popular places or the ones you just don't hear about often. I know there are a good bit of historical mills in Georgia so that's what I started out searching for. And again because we were on such a tight budget, we could not travel very far away.

The first thing that popped up was Autrey Mill Nature Preserve and Heritage Center. It was maybe 5 miles from our current apartment i n Johns Creek. I had never been there before or even heard of it for that matter! So we went exploring!

We spent about 1 1/2 -2 hours there walking the trails, and taking pictures, feeding the ducks, and just enjoying the day. The trails are really nice. When you first start out you are met with this really friendly area. I thought these were so cool! More places should do this. Honestly, the trails were not that rough where you would actually need a hiking stick, but I still loved the idea!

We kept on walking the Forest Trail and eventually came across the Plains Tepee,  which is not the type of dwelling Native Americans had in this area but is used at the heritage center to educate and contrast against the mud and cob structures that were used in this area!

If you keep on walking you will come across the monkeys. Actually, when you look on the map you will see there is a landmark called "Monkeys" and the whole time we were walking I kept wondering "What is this Monkey thing??"  And your first reaction as you come up on them is, "What the heck are these things??" Well, they are monkeys. And they are there to remind you that just because you may not know what something is, that does not give you a reason to destroy it.

There are a couple of blinds that allow you to watch the wildlife (there are tons of birds and chipmunks) and today we were the only people there so it was very peaceful and serene. Apparently, Nick saw something terrifying though....

And if you keep on walking you will find other little goodies along the way but I don't want to spoil them all for you! On Sundays, the Visitor Center is closed but you can still walk up and feed the ducks and say hi to the cute bunnies.

 And you know me... I always can find the tropical vibes anywhere I go!

All in all the day was fun and we spent the remainder of the evening reading magazines at Barnes and Noble, but this little place filled my desire to see something new, and I want to go back when they are open to check out the Visitor Center and see the historical buildings. You should check it out if you have time! Here are some other pics from our visit there:

The Old Warsaw Church....I think I was getting hungry at this point...

deBray Chapel....

Green Country Store...

I peeked inside the window of the Green Country Store since it was closed today!

Just enjoying the greenery and walk ways they had. Everything was put together so nicely!

Looking forward to our next Adventure!

10 Signs That You Are Poor (Financially), But Rich In Life

Often times I find myself loathing the area that I live in. I feel like there is just way too much focus on attaining wealth, material things, and showing them off to friends. I feel like I kind of get suckered in every once in awhile. The glitz and glam can be blinding. For awhile, we were doing ok. But between losing multiple jobs and living above our means, things eventually got to a point where we had to take a serious look at how we were living our lives and adjust accordingly. 

For me, it's never been about the money. I work in order to live. You know- really LIVE! I appreciate what money can do- it allows you to travel, try things you've never done before, meet new people, do nice things for other people, etc. But I do not yearn for money so I can buy more STUFF.

This past month we pretty much hit the lowest of lows. And we just laughed through it. It got me thinking about how we have been through a lot in our first 5 years of marriage, and I was honestly expecting us to celebrate a lot more this year, but instead we've been working our butts off just to get by.  We both feel that even though we are poor financially, we've been able to experience a rich life! And I know there are others out there who have gone through the exact same ordeals!

1- You start making a game out of paying the bills. Like which one would we rather have this month? Hot water? Or power? Cell phone?

2- You wake up in the morning and are grateful for the things that you have, instead of being miserable because you cannot have some things! You can just walk down the street and enjoy your day, this day is your own, and nothing can ruin it. You can enjoy the time spent with your special someone (hubby, bff, pet, etc)

3- You have no gas in the car, you don't get paid until the next day. But it's the weekend and you want to do something. Invite your other poor friends over for potluck. Everybody's happy! 

4- You have no gas in the car. You have no money at all. But you have to get to work. You call up your parents/siblings/cousins/aunts/uncles/etc and they happily spot you the gas money not even expecting you to pay back.

5- Horrible week. Car broke down, lost your job, and you come home to a darker than usual house.  Woops must have forgotten to pay the power bill in that last bill game. Pull out all the candles in the house and have a romantic dinner in the candlelight and pretend like you're camping until the power comes back on. And you talk about how your future can only get brighter from there!

6- You get an extreme sense of giddiness when you walk into a thrift store and find something that was just made for you, purchase it and you still have money left over for a frozen coke from QT!!

7- You start looking healthier, not because you've been working out, but because you've quit going to fast food, and have been practicing eating until you are full rather than eating until you are overly stuffed!

8- You have your health, are able to take walks, ride your bike, and are content with these free things that allow you to enjoy the great outdoors!

9- You have power (for now)- and you take advantage of this luxury that nearly one-fifth of the global population is not experiencing, by making a meal for another family, reading up on your fave blogs on the internet, having friends over to play games, etc. 

10- You have worn the same clothes twice this WEEK, but you don't care, because they are clean and you are having a good time with friends and family!

Some of these we have personally experienced! Notice some common traits in this list? Optimistic, positive attitude, a sharing, caring attitude, not being anxious, keeping things simple, keeping family and friends close, and enjoying the experiences for what they are.

"If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos"

This year I have developed a curiosity for insects and small creatures of all kinds. My job is partially to blame as I am outdoors almost every day and in contact with the natural woods. It's nothing as awe-inspiring as safari type wildlife but I have grown fond of capturing the life around me. Here are some of my favorite captures of this past year:

All pics by me- iPhone only! (Except for the one of me holding the butterfly that one was captured by a friend)

Tell me which is your favorite!!