Thrifty Thursday

I was going to take a break from Thrifty Thursday for the summer, but I found the deal of the century this week, so I must share.  Look what I found when I walked in to the thrift store on Tuesday.

There are a couple minor scratches on the bench, one missing knob and it needs to be tuned, 

but overall it is in great condition.  Now, guess what I paid for it?  

Wait for it, wait for it......

$75!!!!!!  It was actually $85 and the lady who worked there said "Hold on, I bet we can take a little off."  I said, "Um, okay".  Meanwhile I'm about to do the happy dance right there in the middle of the store.  She comes back and says "How about $75?"  A stranger was standing at the counter and said "If you don't buy it, I'm going to."  Of course I immediately pay for it and run out of the store beaming from ear to ear.  We still have to have it moved to our house, but my kids are really excited.  

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Not so Thrifty Thursday

Didn't get to do any thrifting this week, but a few weeks ago I went to a garage sale in the back of an antique store I love to frequent.  After I purchased a $12 lamp for my little sis out back, I made my way inside to drool over the good stuff.  I snapped a few pictures of some items that caught my eye.

Love, love, love the brass detail on this bar cart. 

If I had a place for it, it would have come home with me. 

This trunk would be perfect as a nightstand between my boys' beds.  

I can't recall the price, but it I know it was over my budget.  

Being a Kentucky girl, horse prints always appeal to me.  These were $55 each, not too bad.  

Vintage suitcases are all the rage.  These would look great in our guest room next to the bed. 

One was $55 and one was $45. 

I have the perfect spot for one of these mid century modern lamps  

Just need to wait until my boys are old enough so that they don't try to hang from it.  

The bicycle bookends would be great in my boys' room too.  I might have to go back for these.

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Thrifty Thursday

Since school is out in two days (not that I'm counting down or anything), I thought I would take advantage of my one day a week alone and go thrifting on Tuesday.  I found a few things.

Starting with my favorite:

I scored this original artwork for $25.  I passed it up at first because of the price tag, but I just couldn't leave it there.  I'm working on adding more original art to our home.  Doesn't have to be a famous painting or a high price piece of art, just something that speaks to me.  

And this painting does just that!

 My next find was this beautiful copper bowl.  A real steal at $3.00.  I love the tarnished look of it.  

The flowers are from my yard, but I got the cute little blue vase for $3.00.  Love the twine detail.  

I bought this next item for two reasons:
1) it was $1.00
2) to remind me to practice patience with my children during summer break

Too bad I didn't find a black and white striped shirt and a whistle. I have a feeling that's what I'll really be needing as I attempt to play referee for the next ten weeks.

That's all folks!  Not sure how much thrifting I'll be doing over the summer.  One of my least favorite things to do, besides laundry, cleaning and cooking, is to take my children shopping with me.  I'll keep up with Thrifty Thursday, just might not be showcasing my own thrifty finds.

Oh and on another, completely off the subject, topic, did you watch Oprah today?  I've always been an Oprah fan and cried my eyes out tonight when I watched the finale.  I was trying to explain to my daughter that I've been watching Oprah since I was her age.  She was trying to comfort me and kept saying, "Oh, I feel so bad for you."  Meanwhile, she was crying because she's going to miss her third grade teacher.  I'm so thankful to have a little girl!  Love those boys too, but they were sword fighting around us while we were having our emotional breakdowns.

I am linking to:
Pink Postcard

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Lumbar Pillows

Recently a friend of mine gave me a few yards of fabric.  She has an issue with fabric just like I do.  She thought it would go great in our casual living room since it is very similar to the fabric I used on these wingback chairs. 

It's a wool herringbone and very similar in color the the wool on the chairs.  

I have seen lumbar pillows popping up everyone and I really wanted to add one to each of the love seats in our casual living room. I was inspired by the following images. 

via Apartment Therapy 

via Apartment Therapy 

via Southern Living 

via The Little Green Notebook

And here they are......

I still need to add a little more stuffing and stitch the bottoms closed.  I would have really liked to add piping, but I'm just not there yet.  My mom is in town this weekend and if we get a chance,

I would like to take little sewing lesson from her. 

Since I am so fickle when it comes to decor and fabric, I'm pleased with the outcome and the price tag ($0).  Like I said, the fabric was given to me and I had plenty of stuffing on hand.  If I change my mind about them in a few months, I won't feel bad.  For now, I'm loving them.

Completely off the subject of lumbar pillows:
We had a strange start to our weekend.  My parents came in town to watch the kiddos while my husband and I went away on Saturday to celebrate his birthday.  They brought along my 9 year old nephew and my 6 year old niece.  On Friday night, I suddenly woke up around 2:30 a.m.  I noticed quite a few lights on so I got up to check things out.  I heard water running in my boys' bathroom and when I went in there, the tub was running and was full of scalding hot water.  I immediately panicked and yelled for my husband.  We went to check on the kids and they were all sound asleep.  Apparently, my nephew and niece have a habit of sleep walking and one of them must have wanted to take a bath in the middle of the night.  Thank goodness he or she didn't actually get in the tub since the water was scalding hot.  I had a really hard time going back to sleep that night for fear that one of them would get up again.  The next morning, neither one of them had any recollection of this.  Scary!

I am linking to:

Savvy Southern Style
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Shabby Nest
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple

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Thrifty Thursday

I thought I would show you a few lamps I have picked up at thrift stores and antique stores recently.  Lighting is so important in a room and I love the ambiance a lighted lamp gives a room.  Overheard lights are often times a little too harsh for me (especially when not on a dimmer switch).

Funny story, a few years ago, my parents built a new house and we were visiting them over Thanksgiving weekend.  We were all sitting around the table playing cards and the light from the chandelier was so bright, my husband and I got out a box of sun visors and passed them out to everyone at the table to wear.  There may have been a few drinks involved and, of course, we thought it was hilarious.  Not sure my parents thought it was that funny! Needless to say, my father added a dimmer switch to the chandelier as soon as we left.

Wow, I really got off track from Thrifty Thursday.

Here's the first lamp. I bought this one at a Goodwill for $8.00 (including the shade).  I bought it right before I started blogging, so I did't take a before picture.  It was yellow glass.  I knew I wouldn't leave it yellow, but I loved the size, the shape and the shade.  I first tried painting the inside of the glass, didn't work so well.  Next up was spray paint.  I had some red on hand so I gave it a coat of red.  It was a little too bright so I sprayed on a light layer of black.

I like the modern vibe it brings to our casual living room.  

The next lamp came from the local St. Vincent DePaul thrift store.  I paid a whopping a $20.00 for this one .  A tad expensive for thrift store standards, but well worth it.  I saw it one day and walked on by. For some reason, I couldn't get the darn thing out of my head.  A week later, I went back thinking surely someone had snagged it up by then.  Fortunately for me, no one else saw the beauty in this lamp.

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  It has a lovely antique brass bass.  

This lamp is in our family room. 

The last one was purchased at an antique store where my parents live.  I think I paid $12.00 for it.

I love this little vintage find.  It also resides in our casual living room.   

The first place I normally go when I walk in a thrift store is the lamp section.  I'll just add lamps to my list of "issues".  I've already blogged about lamps here, here, and here.

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Thrifty Thursday

Back by popular demand, Thrifty Thursday.  Well, not really popular demand.  No one really demanded it and I can't verify that the first Thrifty Thursday was popular, but I thought it was fun, so here goes. 

First, let me preface by letting you know that sick kids prevented me from getting out much this week. However, I was able to sneak out one morning while my sweet husband stayed home with our little patient.  

I found this black beauty for only $10!  Not even on sale, how about that.  Of course, I plan on painting it some fun color.  It works perfectly in our mudroom storing our cell phones, I-pods, library books to return, my camera and sunglasses.  I'm sure plenty of other random things will end up there by the end of the week.  Nonetheless, it's great storage.  

It is taking the place of this table, which happens to belong to my sister-in-law.  She was loaning it to me while they had their house on the market.  It worked great there, but we really needed something with more storage.

I was pretty excited to stumble upon this treasure.

For the past two weeks, my friend and I have worked out with a trainer.  Last week, we worked on legs and I couldn't walk for three days.  This week, we worked on arms and I can't seem to straighten my arms because they hurt so badly.  Once I can, I'll get busy painting this piece. No pain, no gain, right!

I am linking to:
The Shabby Chic Cottage

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Thrifty Thursday

I am introducing a new weekly feature, Thrifty Thursday.  Thrifting is somewhat of a hobby of mine.  I love scouring junk stores, thrift stores and antiques stores.  I normally only buy things I love or  I can use.  I see furniture all the time that I would love to buy and restore, but I really don't have room for any more furniture in my house right now.  So, I try to stick to small stuff.  Here are the treasures I found this week.

I picked up this stainless steel lamp this week for $8.00.  My seven year old and the lamp that used to sit on this desk had a little run in a few weeks ago.  Let's just say, the lamp ended up in the trash.  This lamp works much better on the desk and it provides more light.

Speaking of thrifty finds, I found this cute little desk and chair at an outdoor antique show last fall for just $15.00.  It's a great place for the kids to sit down and color or do homework.

My next find is this little metal caddy.  I can think of so many uses for this treasure.  

1) gathering supplies for a lunch with my girlfriends (wow, four plates and about twenty five straws, guess we better plan on having a few fruity cocktails)

2) organizing the gardening tools

3) displaying a few potted flowers

4) keeping the kids' art supplies in order

Seriously, I could go on and on.  It was definitely worth every bit of $6.00. 

I bought this painting for $3.00 and I love the colors.  It is hanging in our living room.  I'm sure it's not some valuable piece of art and is probably worth all of $3.00, but I immediately fell in love with it.     

What about you? Are you a fan of hunting for thrifty treasures?  

I am linking to:

Coastal Charm

Southern Hospitality

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