Sharing the Love

I have painted a few pieces lately to sell.  I was actually able to part with these ones...mostly because we could use the cash! ;)

I LOVE how these turned out.

Do you love, love, love it?

I remember when I was younger and would try something on in the dressing room.  (We all know that that can be a very unpleasant experience. There is no torture like swimsuit shopping. Enough said.) ANYWAY, I would ask my mom's opinion on whether we should get something or not and she would reply, "do you love, love, love it?! Then and only then was it deemed worthy to purchase if passed the "love X3" test.

I feel the same way now about my home.  I started a little venture on the side (you know, in my free time after being a full time mom) where I refinish furniture.  Turns out I love it a little too much.  The last piece I did was a buffet. ($20!) The previous owners had ripped the doors off the poor thing.  I fell in like with it and gave it a fun new pop of color.  Then I sanded the crap out of it (because I know things will get beat up anyway and I like the look. I think it adds charm. FYI-I am not into this glaze and stain everything as far as the eye can see look though. Now you know.) So, I got the buffet done and ready to sell.  And then I couldn't.  Because now, you guessed it, I love, love, love it.  So, out went my old computer desk and in came the buffet

. I actually love that it doesn't have doors.  It makes the perfect cubby for books or even baskets.  It passed the 3X love test.

Do you ever have something pictured in your head and just can't find it in the store?  For weeks I've been impatient after all the looking but not finding part of shopping.  We bought some faux leather couches that were pretty, but for many reasons just didn't work for us.  I had the perfect couch in my mind to replace them.  I would pair a linen sofa with a brown leather chair that we already owned and be good to go.  I found the sofa. It was everything I could ever want.  And only, um, $700 over my very modest budget.

I got to the point of tears after an entire day in another town shopping for furniture and finding nothing. Right before leaving to come home I remembered a sectional that was listed on craigslist.  The owner didn't get off work until 10 pm.  It was 8. We had tired and hungry kids with us.  We were already there though, so we waited til 10.  And we were rewarded big time.  The sectional was perfect for our other room, so we could swap out the other furniture to replace the "leather." So, at 11 at night, we found ourselves wrapping couches with tarps and tie downs for our trip home.

While trying to live frugally we seem to always do things the hard way. But we are always blessed with what we need and often, exactly what we want.

My new favorite score

The couches that were in the family room now at home in the living room

Our beautiful new sectional.  SO comfy. 

Tips

Do you ever read those "how to save $4,800 this year!" articles in magazines and roll your eyes or is that just me?! Some of the tips are so silly that I feel badly for those who don't already know them.  Or there are tips that don't apply to my lifestyle.  Like, "go 6 weeks between manicures instead of 4." "Buy only one coffee a day and make the rest at home." Etc, etc. I have 3 little ones to feed and clothe, no fake nails for this mom.

I thought of a few real life tips that have helped me and I would love to hear some of yours.

Tip #1: Anything you can do I can do better.  (I only had to say "better" for the sake of the old song, it should read, "Anything you can do I can do too.") Want to try something new but have no idea where to start?  You can find a tutorial on how to do ANYTHING online.  Last week, I decided I really wanted bangs.  So I watched several tutorials on youtube.  Then I got my scissors out and went to work.  So far, I have no regrets.

Tip #2: If you are like me and have an appreciation for expensive things on a dollar store budget, there is usually a way to get it cheaper.  One of my favorite things to do for artwork at home is to buy a calender (or steal my mom's the second it's January 1st! She buys beautiful ones. I have dairy themed ones that let me know when to breed a cow after she has a baby.) Anyway. I love using calenders to cut up and frame.  No one would ever guess it's a calender and you can actually afford some amazing art that way.

Tip #3: I've said it before and I will say it again. And again. And again. Look in unexpected places for things.  Check your local thrift stores, stop when you see a yard sale (I SLAM on the brakes, just fyi), frequent dollar stores-they get some pretty great name brand stuff some times. (And I just heard that they accept coupons. What?!) If you need something for a certain occasion and don't know if it's worth buying for one use, ask around, you'd be surprised at what people are willing to loan out and help with.

Saving money is a lot of hard work but can also be a lot of fun.

Board and Batten

Or is it just Board? Or just Batten? We did not use the sheets of plywood and put the mdf on our wall directly so we skipped a step.  But don't ask me which one, because I don't know.  What I do know is that I had a lot of fun doing this project.  And it only cost like $30 for all the mdf.  And if you live in a small town and ask for mdf, they will probably not know what you're talking about.  And, last but not least, I need to get myself a nail gun.  Talk about a power rush. ;)

Loving the orange walls.

I Heart My Home

It's a wonderful feeling to be looking at blogs and pinterest and the like and realize that where you live is your favorite place.  And what you already own is your favorite look.  And this is true too...

I am always pinning ideas about future projects or my "dream" home.  When, in reality, I really do LOVE my home. We have worked for 6 and a half years at making it our own.  Just yesterday I painted my hallway bright orange.  Don't judge me, it's more of a coral than a pumpkin color.  I LOVE it. (I just might have to get in the habit of wearing sunglasses in the house.)

I have wanted to make an upholstered headboard since forever. I look at the different shapes and tutorials and think, "I could totally do that."  And then I wish for a guest bedroom or a client or friend to make one for because I can't give up my headboard.  I brought home pieces of wood and told my sweet husband that I wanted a headboard.  And he made me one.  Then he patiently hung it for me.  When we upgraded to a king size bed, I couldn't let it go so I just spaced it out a little more and voila, it still worked.  So, the moral of this long post is that I love my headboard.  And my husband.

Ain't it perty? What do YOU love about your home?

Dumpster Diving

It is seen as a sad thing when a 3 year old knows what dumpster diving is.  Or that said 3 year old thinks that every time you slow down to flip a u-turn or just pull over that it's because there is great treasure on the side of the road.  "Are we dumpster diving?!" she screams from the back seat.  It could be seen as sad, I see it as awesome!  I'm sure that there will come a day when my thrifty (okay, cheap) ways will embarrass the crap outta my kids, but right now they think it's cool to find something that someone doesn't need and make it work for us.  Breath new life into it.  Or get it home, see why it was at the curb in the first place and toss it back out with the trash.  Either one.

I have found some great finds this way.  Like the baby swing that retails for $180 and was out with the trash because it needed, get this, BATTERIES.  But one of my favorite finds is a full size antique headboard and foot board.  The detail is amazing. There are posts and beautiful feet.  And we don't need a full size bed.  "But isn't it pretty? And why don't we add on to the house to make it fit somewhere.  We don't need a place to watch tv or live and move around, we NEED this bed assembled.  Pronto."  I am itching to make it work somewhere.  For now, it sits in my shed.  Safe from the next garbage truck to come along.

*Pictures to come*

For the love of Mirrors

I guess I have a thing for mirrors. I  didn't realize that I had so many until I walked around my house with this blog in mind.  There are a lot.  One in every room but the kitchen and our nursery.  Which, is bound to change when I see one I "have to have!" So, which is your favorite?

TJ Maxx-$11 on clearance. Was a horrid shade of green.

Yard sale find, $1. Was gold. Probably lost all value the day I sprayed it, but ain't it perty now?!

Kohls clearance

Target clearance. Was a rust color.  I think this would be awesome in a bright color too!

And these are just the cutesy ones.  There are 4 or 5 more, but these are the ones I love.  Like I said, I have a thing for mirrors. :)