Thrifty Princesses

A couple days ago, my coworker and I went thrifting on our lunch. She spotted this princess lamp and it was decided that Em had to have it. It was $15, and in perfect shape.

I finally got it cleaned up and in her room and surprise! the princesses' skirts light up into a nightlight. Fun! And Em is obsessed. You can bet I'm totally working this into an incentive to get this girl sleeping in her own bed at night, but that's a whole 'nother post.

A little side note, we're still very much into our Sunday princess ladydates; tonight is Pocahontas, which I've never seen. It's gonna be hard to top Jasmine though, the best princess. 

New Year Organizing & Decorating

We've only been home from Vegas for a few days and I've already got a bunch of stuff checked off my to-do list.  I'm a little antsy from being behind on my new year's resolutions because seriously, I live for new years - brand new starts, brand new goals, out with the old, in with the new - it makes my over-achieving heart sing with joy.  In my defense, there wasn't any way I was eating healthy or working out while in Sin City though. No way, no how.  So my new year officially started when we got home.

First up? My & Clay's bedroom.  We've lived in our house for over two years now and the master bedroom is almost exactly the same as it was when we moved in. We haven't changed the paint or the curtains or the closet, nothing.  We haven't put anything on the walls or bought new bedding, mainly because we still don't have a clear idea on how we want this room to be decorated and I hate to invest the time & planning only to change it when we decide it's time to officially tackle this room.

BUT I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.

So I started with the closet.

This is a picture taken the day we first viewed this house, before we even put an offer on it.  Up until a few days ago, the closet looked exactly the same only with, you know, our clothes hanging. 

The first thing I did was make two smaller shelves on the very top as opposed to one bigger one (where I used to store all my purses). Now I have two rows for my shoes, which previously were sitting on a basic shoe shelf and most of them had to be laid sideways because the heels made them bigger than the shelf space and this drove my OCD insane. Absolutely insane.

Next, Clay & I transformed the left side of the closet with only one hanging bar to match the right side that has two hanging bars.  This move alone gives us a whole nother (not a word, I know, don't care) 25% more closet space. 

Then we rearranged the middle shelving to make storage for a few of my regularly used purses, my jeans, his jeans, his sweatshirts and then his hats.

SO MUCH BETTER.

After the closet was done, I went to work getting the bedroom walls decorated.  I've been thrifting for mirrors and interesting frames for a while now, with the intention of creating a wall gallery in our bedroom. 

I built up a nice collection. 

I got them all cleaned and spray painted gold, and now they're hanging pretty above our bed.

I found this cute decorative bird cage and thought it would make the perfect earring holder.  Up until now I've had all my jewelry in a standing jewelry box that I've had forever.  Since I was 16 or something.  And I've always loved it (it was a gift from my mom) but it's not very... pretty.  All the pretty pieces are hidden inside of it.

But not anymore. In addition to displaying my earrings, I also hung some assorted knobs and hooks on the bedroom wall to hang my necklaces from.

And I have a lovely dessert stand on my dresser that now houses my bracelets.

It's amazing how much better this room feels with just these small changes.  In the next couple months, I'd like to buy new bedding, new curtains, find or make a headboard, and paint my dresser a vibrant gold color. 

I'm still on the fence about the wall color but after two years the lavender has grown on me.  I would like to paint an accent wall a rich eggplant purple to give it some eclectic flair, and then I think this room will be officially done. 

Adventures in Thrifting: A New Store!

Completely by accident, I stumbled on a new thrift store. It's amazing. Overflowing with quirky odds and vintage ends.  I found some perfect-condition stuffed Care Bears for the kiddos (they both adore all of the 80s cartoons), a Nine West hobo bag from 1997 (the year I graduated high school. Destiny.), and some vintage Butterfly Gold Pyrex nesting bowls from the 70's. Love! 

Oh, The Places We'll Go!

Remember the thrifted map I found a few months ago? I finally got it finished and hung! 

Adventures in Thrifting: The Rescue Heros Edition

My town has an annual city-wide rummage sale that I majorly look forward to. This year? I skipped Narls' soccer game so I could garage sale. Now before you get all judgey, know that I pretty much had to- his game was at 10:30am and that's prime thrifting time. Plus, I'll be mom of the year when I show you what I found for him.

Rescue Heroes! Don't know what they are? I didn't either, to be honest.

I just saw this huge Rubbermaid tub with $20 taped to it. $20 was mighty spendy; more than I planned on spending on toys for the kids, but these guys - and there are at least a dozen of them - are so fancy.  They talk and came with all their pieces, like helmets and flashlights and hoses and other accessories. Plus they're so dang big! Easy for young hands to grip and hard for young hands to lose.

Once I found out it included this huge... ship thing, and that big... plane thing, I was sold.  I paid my twenty and loaded it up in the back of the Edge.  Turns out that ship thing is an Aquatic Rescue Command Center which is actually quite pricey.  And the plane thing is a Camouflage Jet that retails for $60.  So yeah, $20 was a steal.  Seriously, this is why I love rummage sales.

I'm so glad I bought it because my boy was overjoyed.  He helped me clean the toys and then we spent the rest of this beautiful spring day in our backyard. 

Narls played with his Rescue Heroes...

 

And Em serenaded me.

Such a perfect day.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Ugly Doll Edition

Look who I found at a rummage sale last weekend.

Babo. For only 50cents.

He got a trip through the washer and dryer.

And now he's hanging with his homies in Narls' room.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Map Edition

I don't know if you know this or not, but last year I did a blog dedicated specifically to our first year as homeowners. That's where I mentioned how I'd like to decorate our family room with maps and globes.  So I was DEAD on the floor at Goodwill when I found this huge map for $9.99.  Seriously, it's a beast- about 4.5 feet wide and over 2 feet tall.

I bought it immediately. Obviously.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Little Golden Books Edition

I think one of the things I adore most about my children (and there are so so many things I adore about them) is how much they love to read.

So when I spotted these classic Little Golden Books at Goodwill for a quarter a piece, I grabbed them up immediately.

Narls and Em spent the whole evening looking through them and pointing out the cats and asking me what this word is and having me read them each book. Twice.

I particularly enjoyed the illustrations, like this oddly shaped man wearing a curious outfit...

 and the vintage content, like these boys playing cowboys complete with miniature hats and toy guns.

We ended the night by writing their names in a couple of the books.  Not a bad evening for only $1.50.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Fisher Price Edition

My brother and I had this exact record player when we were younger.

I have such sentimental feelings about this toy then I knew as soon as I saw it that I was buying it.  I did an actual squee when I got to the counter and found it was only $7.25. God bless you Goodwill and your half-off days.

Now my children are creating their own memories and this brings me a whole different kind of happiness.

Adventures in Thrifting: The Hello Kitty Edition

$5 for a brand new Hello Kitty clock? Um, hell yeah.

And it works! Win.