I am Thankful for You!

 

You guys rock! Have I told you that? You inspire me every day. I may not always blog about all of the things that ya’ll get me to try, but trust me, I get outside my comfort zone a bit more everyday because of you.

It has been a year of ups and downs and that is okay, life is like that. I am just happy to be here today and I hope that I don’t burn the turkey tomorrow.

Holidays make me reflect on the past year, do they do that to you? They also make me focus on goals that I would like to achieve in the next year.

Last year, I didn’t have a dog.

In the next year I would like to teach him that he can’t eat my Crate & Barrel pillows or take rides in the UPS truck.

Yes, I like to keep things simple:)

Happy Thanksgiving

Let me Introduce You to My Frugal Family and her Giveaway!

 

     Heather has been a shining star in the Gather.com world that I a part of for the few years that I have been there. She is a great mom with tons of crafty & frugal ideas and projects. She is now pooling all of her rescources on her blog, My Frugal Family.

     She has a knack for turning her Dollar Store finds into something fabulous and fun as I am sure you will see.

     Right now, she is giving away arm warmers, a cool stuffed snake, and a fleece fun hat at her blog. Run on over there, enter, and don’t forget to tell her who sent ya’)

 

 

     Doesn’t that arm warmer make you feel toasty already?

                           Enter Here

Have U Been to a Storage Unit Auction?

     Thanks to Miss Mustard Seed’s 10 Secrets to Thrifting Success, I found an auction being held at a self storage place last week. (check out auctionzip.com for auctions in your area)

     I had never been to an auction like this before & I was a bit nervous, so I brought MurphyGrace. (okay, looking back, that was not the best plan that I have ever had)

     Let me just tell you right here and now, it was pretty sad. They open the unit, you get to look inside at all of the things that people thought were important enough to store for years, but now can’t pay for and think. “This is a person’s memories, their grandma’s hat, their child’s 1st grade class photo, that old TV that still works….” It was voyeuristic, creepy, and eye opening. 

     Murphy and I did make a friend that helped us learn the ropes. He also made the whole experience brighter by what he did. The first unit that went up for auction, my new friend, Dan, was the highest bidder. As we walked to the next unit up for auction, Dan told me that the unit was actually his X’s and she had fallen on hard times. He drove all the way up from Santa Monica and was happy to help her out and get her things back for her. What a nice guy.

     If you are curious, there were 3 units that sold for $325, $105, & $125. The two lower prices were smaller, 5 X 10 units.

     I don’t think that I will have the stomach to go to one again, but I am glad that I went and learned about the process and it never hurts to make a new friend.

     So, if you ever need your guitar or other stringed instrument repaired in the LA area, call Players Repairs at 323-375-7814 and ask for Dan Singer. One good deed  deserves another right?

Insert Fun & Captivating Title Here

 

I feel my creative juices flowing back in, but I still couldn’t manage a title….

On to the point of this post!

Itty Bitty Table, more like a display thingie for a whopping $1 from the Pacific Home Do-It Center.

 

Too really ugly gold candle sticks, a cute & tiny pewter mug and a nice cut glass carafe. Total?? $3

Lampshade $1, Ornaments 50 cents, a coffee carafe for when, notice I say when, ours breaks? Priceless at $1.

So we didn’t get this from the thrift store, but it was a great deal at PetSmart for $2.50. (When we bought him the ear wasn’t chewed yet)

MurphyGrace loves it. Now if I could just get him to stop throwing it around the house like a football, that would be really nice;)

Make sure you go and visit Leigh at Bloggaritaville and see all of the Thrifty Treasures that people have this week.

I Spray Painted a Brownie!

 

 

     No, I don’t mean that I painted one of those cute mini Girl Scouts. I was putting my Halloween stuff away the other day when I came across this in the trunk.

     This is a Brownie camera that was my grandfathers. I have many cameras that were his, but I am tired of displaying them. I am never going to sell them, because they were his, but I decided to snaz this one up a bit.

I taped and taped and taped. Then I sprayed it the new color that Art has decided he wants in our bedroom. (Yes, he has spoken up and now that means that I have to adapt)

So now, we have an avocado green Brownie! It still works, still makes me think of my grandfather and all that. It just is a cool, new, modernish looking thing to decorate with!

Have you ever painted something that deep down, you know was breaking all sorts of rules?

House Hunting is No Fun When You Need A Place.

     A month or so ago, one of my favorite hobbies was house hunting. I enjoyed reading the section in the paper on Saturdays and haunting Realtor.com, keeping an eye on what was available in our area and the prices as they went up and down.

     I could drive around our town and tell you the asking price on many of the homes, how long it had been on the market and if they had dropped the price lately. I liken my hobby to a guy that knows a lot of about cars that he will never own. You know that guy…the one that can tell you how many horsepower a Lamborghini has, but has never even seen one? That was me with homes.

     That has all changed now. The love is totally gone. Now that we need to move, I am finding nothing that I want and it is really frustrating. I have also lost my zest for decorating which is a darn shame if you ask me!

     It is hard to get excited about whipping the perfect something up to put on the wall when I don’t know how long it will be there or if it will fit the look of our new home.

     We are looking based on three scenarios, so you would think that we could find something. These are the ideas…

1. We find a new rental.
2. We buy a home on a modest budget that somehow we can qualify for even though banks hate me because I am self employed.
3. We eat crow and talk my parents into buying a nicer house, which we will then rent, maintain, rehab, etc. (and eventually buy from them)

     That is a lot of options, but there just aren’t many houses out there right now that fit our other criteria.

So, I am so sorry that I have been AWOL. I have just been in a royal funk.