Vote!

Hey everyone!  I'm taking a quick break from my vacation to let you know that my son's nursery is one of this month's finalists over at Project Nursery.  Voting has been going on since the 18th and I didn't realize that I was in the running until the 22nd and this is the first time I've been able to sit down and ask y'all to vote.  I have a pretty unambitious goal and that's to not finish last.  Right now that's where I am.  While I don't think I should win (there are way cuter nurseries), I definitely don't think I deserve to be dead last.  Help me out.  I only need a few more votes and I have until the 31st.  Thanks and click HERE!

15 Hours...

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that's how long I'm going to be in a car today....with a toddler.  Oh, how I wish we were traveling in a renovated airstream trailer like the one above.  It looks so comfy.

We're going to spend a week with my husband's family in Louisiana and it's actually supposed to be cooler there than in North Carolina, thank goodness.  I'm looking forward to some down time and fun with family.

I'll see y'all back here on August 1st.  Enjoy what's left of July!

Randomness

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1.  Isn't that a cute white kitchen?

2.  I will get my act together sometime soon, get into a routine and stop posting at odd times and skipping days (like yesterday).  You'd think that I wouldn't have a problem with all this "extra" time on my hands since I stopped teaching, but some how the hours just fill up and slip away.

3.  I still cannot find the shades I'm looking for or any that are similar for less than $5 each.  I'm about to get $25 from some things I'm selling on Craigslist and I really don't want to spend it all on little shades.  Any other tips on where I can find some are still very welcome.

4.  I'm offering free shipping and 20% off at my Etsy shop for Thrifty Abode readers.  Use the codes FREESHIP and THRIFTY.

Y'all have a fantastic Thursday.

Wanted: 3 Ugly Mini Lamp Shades

I know!  The lampshade pictured above is soooo ugly, but I'm planning on covering it with fabric.  The problem is that I can only find two of the five that I already own.  Those missing shades are the only thing holding up this little chandelier project now.  There were a lot more hold ups, but I'll spare you most of the boring details and just say that I've had to make two trips to Lowe's and a can of spray paint back-fired and then broke on me and I've been walking around with little black splatters all over me me for two days.

I've also spent more money than I had planned, but I haven't broken my rule and dipped into our checking account.  I spent $10 of my store credit at Jo Ann for a can of spray paint and fabric to cover the shades, and I sold a pair of candle holders and used that $10 to buy parts that I needed to hang the chandelier. 

I've spent $20 and I really don't want to spend another $25 on five new shades.  I'm afraid that during one of my organizing/purging frenzies, I threw out three of the mini lampshades.  I got them at Michael's years ago, but I checked yesterday and they didn't have them.  If you've seen these shades or shades that are very similar for about $5 a pop please let me know.  I'd love to only have to buy three instead of five if I absolutely can't find the ones that are missing.

I changed my mind...

...I'm going to try and make my builder grade chandy look a little more like this:

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I'm going to do shades with a neutral fabric instead of wicker.

Since I changed my mind at the last minute, I didn't get very far over the weekend.  I'm going to try and get it done today and have pics up by tonight or tomorrow morning.

Happy Monday!

p.s.  Have you seen this beautiful capiz pendant from Pottery Barn?  I hadn't until  I came across it while I was looking for the picture above.  Gorgeous!

Update: Store Credit to Spend!

I have some money to work with thanks to the return policy at JoAnn Fabrics!  I returned a no sew cornice board kit that I never used in the nursery.  I bought it almost a year ago and didn't have the receipt, but thank goodness they gave me store credit (a whopping $24).  Now I just have to figure out how to streeeeeetch that money.  They usually have some pretty good coupons, so I will definitely be using those. 

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I think my first project will involve spray painting.  We had a nice cold front move in the other day and it's no longer too hot or humid outside to do it. I'm going to try and get our builder-grade, nickel chandelier to look a little more like the one above.

Technically I'm breaking my own rules by not using money I earned from selling things on Craigslist, but oh well.  I've got such a tight budget now, I guess it doesn't matter where the money comes from as long as it's not our checking account or credit cards.

Maybe I'll have something to show off on Monday!

Y'all have a good weekend!

Marshall's Finds

I made a trip to Marshall's today to pick up a shower curtain liner (fun!), and just like the trip I made to T.J. Maxx about a month ago, I was amazed by the amount of stylish pieces they had.

Look at that chair ($99)!  There were two of them and they would look fantastic at the ends of a dining table.

This little wingback ($199) was too cute.  It was a little more pink and brighter in person and even though it's not a rocker, it would look so sweet in a girl's nursery.

This tufted beauty was only $250 and with the neutral upholstery it could go anywhere.

This grey and yellow ikat cube ottoman was on clearance for $29.  I looked up that fabric and it's $22/yard.

Mercury glass is not just for Christmas.  These lamps were $40 each.

These black pedestal tables were $59 and they'd be great in an entry or next to a sofa or bed.

I think if I wasn't on a complete spending freeze I would have taken that tufted chair and one of those pedestal  tables home with me.

Remember, inventory is different from store to store, but if you're in the market for something Marshall's is definitely worth a trip.

Beware....

....if you're planning on jumping on the book rack bandwagon like I did (inspired by this room), they could end up looking like this after a few tugs from a toddler.

Here's a reminder of what they looked like.

Look at them.  Nice and low so he can get books whenever he wants.  Little did I know that he would not lift up on the book to get it out, but rather pull it down. 

This is actually the third time he's broken one.  I thought that the wood glue from the last repair would hold, but the ledge broke along the other seem.  Time to get out the clamps and glue again!

Weekly Chore Schedule

Forgive me for my lack of projects and extremely short posts lately, but I'm still trying to get into a routine.  Being sick last week really threw me off.  I planned on having my house spotless by now.  The first floor is almost there, but the second and third floors look like something from an episode of Hoarders, so that's what I'll be working on for the next couple of days.

When I get my house clean, I plan to keep it that way.  When I was teaching and my husband was working in the evenings I had very little time to devote to chores that didn't absolutely need to be done.  Dishes and diapers had to be taken care of, but I didn't vacuum or scrub the showers as often as I should  have.  Most of that stuff was saved for the weekends and whatever didn't get finished was put off 'til the next weekend, or the next weekend, or the next weekend...... I have no excuses now. 

I'm gonna create a chore schedule and stick to it.  I thought about making my own printable, but I found this one and figured that there was no point in reinventing the wheel.

This printable comes from The Project Girl.  She has a lot of handy printables on her blog.

I just need to decide what chores I'm going to do on each day and I'll be on my way to a cleaner house!

Any other tips and secrets I need to know that'll help me keep my house straight?  I'd love to hear!

Productive Weekend (Kind Of)

Good Monday morning!  How was your weekend?  I spent my weekend recovering from my cold.  I didn't quite have the energy to get much cleaning done but I did have the energy to sit in front of a computer and open an Etsy shop!

I made the birth stats print for my son's room and decided to try my hand at making some more designs.  I don't have much in my shop yet, but I'll add more over time and even start doing some stationary like birth announcements and birthday invitations. 

Opening my Etsy shop took a lot of time.  Coming up with a name was the hardest part.  I came up with a few really cute names, but I was bummed to find out that they were already taken when I Googled them.  I ended up landing on Lanie&Lola because I like the way it sounds and it's unique.  No other significance than that.  Then I had to design the banner and list items.  All in all I spent about four hours at the computer.

I also began Phase I of  Zero Dollar Decorating and listed some items on Craigslist.  I haven't gotten any bites yet, but hopefully it won't be too long before I get a few items sold and I have some money in hand to get started on some projects.

In summary my house is still a disaster and I spent a ton of time in a chair staring at a computer screen.  I hope your weekend was a bit more exciting!

Sick Days

Well, my first days as a stay-at-home mommy have not quite been what I hoped they'd be.  The head cold that I mentioned in my last post turned into a full blown sinus infection, coughing fits, sore throat, achy neck mess.  I've spent every free minute on the couch for the past two days, so needless to say, I haven't gotten a single thing done.  I'm starting to feel better so maybe I'll get caught up this weekend.

Since I'm such a mess and my house is still such a mess, let's just look at some pretty pictures, OK?

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I think I have at hing for white and teal/turquoise. All of these are on my "For the Home" Pinterest board if you're interested.

Happy Friday!

Hi/Lo: Dutch Industrial Rolling Side tables

I'm still plodding along with my cleaning.  I have a horrible head cold that's slowing me down.  Until I have something to show for my work, here's a little challenge for you. 

I love the mix of old metal and wood, plus casters make anything cool.  My favorite is #3!  The source list is below and the answer is in the comments.

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Zero Dollar Decorating

First, thank you so much to those of you that offered encouraging words when I announced that I had resigned from teaching to spend more time with my son.  It certainly helps to know that there are plenty of others out there that have taken the same leap of faith and found that it was beyond worth it.

Second, Operation: Zero Dollar Decorating is about to commence.  As you have already read, I do plan to spend some money on decorating, but that money will not come out of our checking, savings, or be put on a credit card.  I will only spend cash that I can make by selling things on Craigslist.

That's the short version, here's a slightly more detailed breakdown of how I plan on doing things.

The first thing that I need to do is get this house clean!  I put off so many chores over the last few busy weeks and our house is a disaster.  While I'm getting things clean and organized, I'll also be pulling items that can be sold on Craigslist.  I have a bunch of accessories that no longer go with our living room since I changed up the color palette.  We also have plenty of items that haven't been used in years and it's time for them to find a new home and stop taking up space in my house. 

While I'm waiting for things to sell on Craigslist, I'm going to start on some projects that I already have the supplies for.  Here's a short list of the projects I can think of right now:
-paint the laundry room
-paint an old trunk for our bedroom
-paint the second floor hallway
-begin second floor hallway gallery wall
-make-over on builder grade chandelier for dining area

Looks like I have a lot of painting in my future.

Since it may take some time for me to get some cash in hand, you can expect a bit less decorating around here and a few more recipes and mood boards. 

Today I'm going to be cleaning like a mad woman!  Fun!  That's not sarcasm, by the way.  I'm genuinely happy to be cleaning my house rather than sitting through beginning of the school year work days.

Have a great Tuesday!

Happy 4th!

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I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday weekend and you're especially enjoying today!  When I posted on Friday I had completely forgotten that today was going to be the 4th of July, so the post that I promised, which will include my plan for spending as little money as possible will be postponed until tomorrow. 

See ya then!

Things are about to get a lot more thrifty around here...

....we've had a lot of changes going on over the last week.  I resigned from my teaching position on Wednesday in order to be a part-time stay at home mom!  I say part-time because I'm still going to need to work a  little bit, probably in a retail location.  Losing such a big chunk of our income is kind of scary, but I'm really looking forward to being at home with this little guy more often.

I'm also looking forward to seeing my husband more often.  For the past two years my husband and I have had opposite work schedules, I worked during the day and he went to work when I got home. He also didn't have weekends off.  This meant that we spent about 4 to 5 hours together 4 times a week.

These big changes mean I'm really going to have to live up to the word "thrifty" in the title of this blog.  I'm going to come up with a plan and share on Monday.

Happy Friday!