The One That Got Away

Way back when I posted about my current dream home, well it sold and rightly so (asking price 100k, 5 bedrooms, 2,500 sq ft.). A couple of weeks ago while out in South Norfolk I drove down Rodgers Street to longingly gaze at it and lo and behold (I know I said lo, who says that?) the empty space/lot next to it had a house on it!

My 'love' is on the right.

The owners of the one that got away have done some improvements (like that new front door) that I really like but I can't get over the fact that there's another house next to it. I do not love that at all. One of the many things I liked about the house was the spaciousness next to it. I don't know if the lot was included with the house. Maybe the people who bought it were surprised by the new construction. If the lot was included I can see how the folks who bought it might have sold it for the obvious money-making opportunity but if it had been me I don't think I could have done it.

Before.

I really want a single family home (i.e. detached) and I don't mean but I can still lean out of my window and touch the house next door.

Well, at least now I'm not so sad about not getting the Rodgers house.

Dinner For Six?

Unbeknownst to you, I have been on the hunt for a new dining room table. Whether or not it's painted or not isn't the main concern, it has been size. I'm hoping for a classic rectangle or maybe an oval table that seats at least 6 people. Our current table only seats 4 and I'm hoping to have more room for when company calls. I've been stalking Craigslist but I haven't found anything I'm in lurve with. However....today I did find something I kinda dug and bonus for it's being reduced to $97.

I'm not so sure about the chairs but the table I think I could groove with... What do you think?

February... You Know the Drill

Well it happened again or not happened as the case may be. By that I mean home design projects. However there is one little project that was started and completed in February. Now if I could only get you some pictures.... There's every good chance that I might (unlike last time with that yard sale furniture). I have finally gotten a cell phone so pictures should happen on a more regular basis, at least once I figure out how to send them to facebook or picasa.

Since you know all too well how I tend to be regarding posting, I'll go ahead and spare you the suspense about my recent project. It was a little kids chair that has since purchase been painted and recovered and I must say that I am awful proud of my first recovering project. It was a really simple job, just pulling the fabric and stapling but I am pleased with the outcome. Pictures soon (fingers crossed)!

January: Came and Gone

I know, I know. Let me just say that things haven't really picked up but we're making it. So it still means not a whole lot going on in the house. *le sigh*

I did however run into this little side table at Goodwill recently. I don't foresee any changes happening to it as I dig the espresso color.

It's a Manhattan side table from Target that currently sells at $100 smackers. I snatched it up for $12.25! At the moment it's home is in my living room side tabling it up with a cane back chair that's placed at our picture window. I think it's future home may be our as-yet-undone guest bedroom.

My lovely mother has graciously purchased us new bedding from Wal-Mart (it's from the Better Homes & Garden line) including bedding for the above mentioned guest bedroom. Now the only thing missing is a ...BED! I know, crazy right? Bedding for a nonexistent bed, oh but it's loverly and I just had to have it.

That's it for now. Fingers crossed to find a guest bed soon (and to get another digital camera, I still haven't replaced my dearly departed Olympus Fe-340)

Church Yard Sale

It's been raining here pretty much all week so I figured I wouldn't be doing any yard sale-ing (plus we're supposed to have stopped for the rest of  the year), so imagine my surprise Saturday morning when the sky opened up and sunshine came down.

Since Kyle was comfy cozy in bed I decided to hit the road alone. And let me tell you it was completely...underwhelming. I went to at least 5 sales and found nothing. I decided to try one last spot and on my way there ran into a church yard sale.

I'd only ever been to one and it was a free sale and we got there late, so this was a new experience for me. I'd heard that church yard sales are especially good because there is load upon load for selection and prices are crazy low. This place did not disappoint on either front. They were however sorely in need of more tables. There were lots of boxes that weren't put out and I can only guess that it's because they didn't have more tables.

$1 for the whole bag

I'm sorry I don't have really have anything home-y to show you but I did manage to find a pair of (temporary) cafe curtains for the kitchen, plus a few cute teacups.

If only I needed a desk $25...

The Best Yard Sale Ever

I know that is a mighty, mighty claim but there's a reason I say it. Last Saturday we decided to keep at our new weekend activity and look for yard sales. After a few in town we decided to meet up with my sister-in-law, Katelynn since she said there were lots of signs for sales out her way in Portsmouth. Portsmouth did not disappoint. we went to one that was in the backyard of the home and what did they have but a good deal of furniture. Sadly this was at the end of our yard sale day and Kyle and I were down to 6 dollars. The amount of money we have never stops me from asking about price though and I asked about a solid looking (and sitting) cane back chair. Imagine my shock and surprise when I was told $5! The nice people running the sale told us that they hadn't had much business and that the things that didn't sell were being given to a thrift store. They even gave us a small suitcase full of things for Isaac.

Now this is where the awesome comes in...We had to leave and get our car so that we could get the chair (Kyle, Katelynn, Me and baby Emily already filled the car). On our way back Kyle mentions that if they're just giving things away maybe they'd give us something. Well he was righter than right! When we got back it was just the lady of the house there and she loaded us up on free (!) furniture. The haul....

• an armchair and ottoman
• a kitchen table
• 3 chairs (for the table)
• a secretary desk
• a long bench
• another armchair
• a small deck chair
• a small side table
• a round side table
• a dresser mirror

The craziest part is that we could have gotten even more! As it was we had to call in my mother to haul everything to our house. *Thanks bunches, Mama!!* I almost forgot to mention that Kyle's mother was called and she came out and got a armoire and  coffee table.

That woman (Carolyn) really blessed us and I hope we can bless someone else......but I still don't want to give Kate the bench (she wants it bad!). But you never know....:)

Also everything needs work, I'm talking sandpaper and coats of glossy white paint are in our future, but we're still extremely excited.

Wall of Plates

Before I let August go, I thought I'd let you in on another project. I'm planning on putting a collection of plates up on a wall of my kitchen. *Just realized I have no pictures of my painted but not completed kitchen.* I've been thrifting plated fpr the wall for a while now, but sadly the look isn't very cohesive. Right now the grouping just is not what I pictured. So it's back to the drawing board thrift store. I want to share the plated I've got so far though, some will probably stay, most likely the state plates.

I think the main problem with my collection is the overabundance of white and off white. I should probably carry a piece of inspiration with me when I'm out looking for plates. I want the wall something like this.

Dream Plate Wall

*I don't remember where this image is from. If you know please tell me so I can properly credit the source.

A Project! That Might Get Done...Soonish!

Good news: the move is done. Finished. No more living in limbo with some things in the the new place and some in the old. Bad news: moving is a beast and as such we are exhausted. Then there are the moving expenses, which have left me without project funds. The only project I'm currently trying to finish is painting a dresser. I plan on using it for a purpose other than holding clothes. Stalling my painting plans however is the act of finding a paint color. What I have in mind has yet to be found, hopefully a trip to Michael's, Home Depot or A.C. Moore will yield the color of my current dreams. The Hubs has started the process of redoing the dresser already, just a bit more sanding to go.

When One Thrift Store Closes...

The thrift store near by my apartment closed down two weeks ago and decided to give (yes, give) away their merchandise. Cue Happy Dance! They advertised on Craigslist and that leaded to a smallish grouping of people waiting outside for them to open.

Yes, it was a little bit of a mad house going in and "shopping" with a host of other people vying for the good stuff. There was a bit of everything. Books, furniture, clothing, kitchenwares, purses, TV's. I scored a Batman TV for the offspring and a small host of random goodies.

That's two candy dishes, oil lights and a gravy boat. The white candy dish was just too gorgeous to pass up. Imagine my surprise when I saw that same glass candy dish at the place were moving into the day after buying mine! [The townhouse we're moving into is currently occupied by a family friend, in case you were wondering how I knew such privileged decor accessory information.] I plan on using the gravy boat as a soup tureen since that what it looks like to me.

A wall candle sconce that will be painted....white? black? I'm still undecided.

A teak bowl from Thailand, I think. It'll probably house fruit in the kitchen or dining room. [Our new place will have a dining area that's not in the kitchen! Excitement!]

                                      

                                             A plate whose fate is yet to be determined.

Sadly, all my finds (there are a few more) are all wrapped and packed away. We're not going to be moved in for another 4 weeks. It feels like too long to wait.

The Month of May

Sorry, blog readers for another long stretch of no posts. There hasn't been much thrifting, decorating or projects going on in my life. The thrifting that I have done has been of the non-home variety.

What is going on however, is the opportunity for our little family to move into a much larger (and not much more costly) place. We're talking apartment to townhouse, two bedrooms to three, one bathroom to two and a half. We're also talking about moving to Virginia Beach from Chesapeake. That last little bit is the sad part. When I first moved to Virginia from Texas many, many moons ago, Virginia Beach was were we lived. These last 11 years though I have become a Chesapeake convert. All the friends I have I met while living here and I am sad to move 30 minutes away. It's just that this is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The coolest thing about the move is that we'd be moving into a house that I used to live in! It's the place I was living when I moved out to Chesapeake. Now though instead of living with my parents, I'll be with my husband and stepson. I never lived in the master bedroom before!

So, sorry for the month of May, but cross your fingers that this move happens and smoothly too.