Garages are Beautiful

Garage saleing makes me happy, 'cuz I'm Cheap with a capital C!

I can't see paying $14.95 for jeans to cover my 6-year-old's tiny tush, when I can get the same pair for one buck (slightly worn, but still in great shape). Today, I paid $1 for a fun curtain rod (big old metal bees on each end--perfect for my laundry room), and the adorable sheers with flowers only set me back another two clams. I've been smoothie-less since my blender died two weeks ago, but thanks to the $3 beauty I found this morning, I can again smoothie to my hearts content.

I won't bore you with every item I snagged today, but this has become the way I shop for most of the clothing and housewares needed around here. Each sale I visit becomes it's own little treasure hunt and snagging a great deal on a needed item brings a smile to my face in addition to doing happy-dance-worthy things to my budget.

Do you garage sale? Why or why not?

I'm not a decorator, but I love my new light!

My home is not impressively decorated. I'm cheap and although I enjoy looking at beautiful homes, magazines about decorating and decorating blogs, I don't usually implement any of the ideas that I see.

As a result, I don't love my home. Let me clarify. I love it because it's where the people I adore the most hang out and because I can relax here. But I don't love the way it looks and it doesn't reflect my personality (except the disorganization--that's me to a T!) It's time to branch out and fall in love with my home.

This blog is one of my favs. In the past, one of my biggest roadblocks to home decorating is that I know it won't be perfect and so I don't even start. The Nester's philosophy of decorating is "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful." I'm starting to embrace that concept and it's so freeing!

I went garage saleing with a good friend last Saturday and found a light fixture that I fell in love with. It was super cheap (nine bucks), but has no glass. I decided that nine dollars was worth the risk of having it sit in the basement if I never bothered to buy the glass.

However, I didn't put it in the basement after I brought it home. I left it on the floor of the dining area. Hubders (who didn't even like the light) put it up yesterday! (Thanks sweetheart!) I LOVE it!!! It's not perfect, incomplete as it is, but it's beautiful!

This is my old fixture (actually this one is just like it and hangs over my stairs--nice, huh?). It's shiny and tired looking and only gives off 180 watts of light.

Here's the new one. It's distressed and has character. It's big and fab! It gives off soooo much more light than our old one. My dining area is so flooded with light as I type this that the kitchen lights are rendered unnecessary. Imperfect, but puts the old fixture to shame!

(Tangent: This picture shows two of my favorite things in my home, the chocolate donut clock, which I found at a junk shop. It's cheap and covered in naugahyde and I have to keep re-hot gluing in spots, but I LOVE it! The other, the $20 mirror I found at walmart one day. Also notice our nook for the entertainment center we've yet to build. Believe it or not, what you see is a HUGE improvement. Until last week it had a small tv stand, a side table and a small coffee table all lined up in the nook for our media needs.)

I don't know how long it will take me to find the right glass. I need eight of them, and I won't spend an arm and a leg, so this could take a while. But, in the meantime, I'm so excited over the beauty of my light that who cares if you can see the white part you screw the bulb into? It's such an improvement that I'm happy to live just like this for a while!

One more shot, a close up, just 'cuz I can, and it makes me happy! (if you click on the picture you can make it full size and truly see the beauty of my $9 light!)

Who can say no to a bargain like this?

For twenty-two year I've had one of these.

It's been great and together we've made mountains of bread and cookies and other such things. It's been the work horse of my kitchen. But the lid is now broken, the blender's destroyed (I melted the pitcher), and although the motor still runs fine, it's just not the mixer it once was.

For a long time now I've been looking at these.

But, I'm cheap and since my mixer still runs I haven't been willing to fork out the required moola to bring one home.

Friday I was here.

I had a "30% off your entire purchase coupon" and my sis and I were cruising the store hitting the clearance section in every department, seeing what kind of bargains we could find.

And I saw it. No box -- I throw those away anyway; no user manual -- I know how to find those on-line; dirt cheap and that coupon in my pocket for an extra bonus! I called Hubders and told him I was considering spending more than I originally planned. He told me to go for it. Sis concurred that I'd be nuts not to snatch it up. I paid significantly less than half the lowest online price I've found for this model.

I enjoy things so much more when I get a bargain!