Stressing out furniture (and then re-staining)

I've had this piece of furniture since my ex boyfriend's lady friend gave it to me to keep my stereo on top of it. They had laid a piece of drywall as a top. My son painted the top and in the move to Oklahoma I threw it out (it was leaving drywall wherever we went). It laid in storage for a couple of years since we had a small house and no where to put it. When we got it to Oklahoma it sat outside on my back porch until now. Our living room has sort of this color...more turquoise blue than green so I decided to rub out some of the green and make it less drastic. The previous owner obviously painted it (she did a good job- and then spackled it with little black flakes of paint). Like I said the paint job actually was quite nice but it just didn't jive with the house. So...here I go again, to destroy yet another good piece of furniture...or in my case, make it better! :) 

I hand sanded the entire piece and went with the grain. I used a fine grain sandpaper and just lightly sanded. Give the chance for the wood to show through. The more you sand, the more your stain will be able to take hold. 

Next I wiped down the entire piece with a cloth, removing all the junk left behind from sanding. 

I used a cloth and applied the stain. In this case it was my favorite Minwax in Golden Oak. This can was almost to the bottom...I have finally finished the can and need to restock! It went such a long way. I was able to stain my bed frame, desk, pallet shelves, tp holder, my pallet bookcase (in a later post). :)  

I really liked the way it turned out.

I then had to construct a top out of? You guessed it pallets and reclaimed wood...like I would ever stray from free anything. Plus I just am in love with pallet projects. 

I cut them and fit them on to cover the top.

I then sanded them down. 

I stained them with my favorite stain. I used a paintbrush. I have found that with pallet wood, it just absorbs super quick. These boards were in the sun and warm so it was a breeze, the dried fast. 

The finished project. Uneven top (love it) and my stressed out piece.

Not too bad under the TV. We had placed the TV there so...that's where it will stay. I have thought about hiding the cord through the wall but that's on my to do list. 

Another great shot of the new piece.

Also why I was staining outside I noticed a beautiful red flower! My bulbs that I brought from Colorado made the trip and I planted them (a bunch of em) around a lot of trees. This was my first bloomer!

An up close of the inside.

I suddenly have a BUNCH of these guys around that look different than than the other daffodils. Are they the same? Let me know below!