Saved from the DUMPSTER!

I have a feeling that my sisters might stop driving with me.

Every time we're driving, and I see a pile of junk stuff by the curb, I have to stop.  And dig through.  And usually, put the best stuff in my car.  :)

Last night was no exception.

Annie and I had driven up to the store and on the way back, found a heap of wood and old kitchen cabinets.  BUT, in the midst of it all was this table:

I knew I had to have it (even though it meant that Annie had to ride the remaining way home in Maddie's carseat because the table only fit up in the passenger seat; she's such a good sport!).  

After cleaning, sanding, primer, and spraying this morning...

She's a beautiful piece of furniture!

This pretty lady is solid wood and quite hefty!  I tried to carry her into our living room for pictures, but my back was screaming and I had to settle on the family room.

I'll list her on Craigslist and hope that she sells!

I get such a rush finding free furniture!  I also have two nightstands that need a lot a love, but I'll need my sweet hubby's help for those.

Linked up at: Between Naps on the Porch, Mod Vintage Life, c.r.a.f.t., Skip to My Lou

New Family Room!

What a busy weekend we've had!  We kicked it off with a 6 family yard sale at our house on Saturday morning.  So much fun.  Made money, hung out with friends, and sat in the sun.  :)

Late Saturday morning, we had new carpet installed in our back room!  My dad set it all up for us and it was such a gift.  Our whole house has the original hardwood floors, but since the family room was an addition, it's carpeted.

And even though we'd put in new carpet 4 years ago, it was looking shabby.

But of course, you can't put in new carpet and not paint, right?!

At least that's what I told Mike.  :)

Here are some befores:

 One green wall...

 and three brown.

Light carpet (that had become super stained, despite Mike's steam cleaning).

Here it was yesterday morning:

And here it is this morning:

 Love!

This was such a "design on a dime" project.

New carpet, new Ikea rug (thank you Ikea Family card for saving me $30!), new paint, new room!

 This would not have happened without my patient husband and my incredibly supportive and helpful friend Rachel.  Seriously.  She stayed over all day to help see this project through and help us get it done!!

The walls got a fresh coat of griege paint (a gray-beige combo) and it's light and clean.

All the furniture was moved back, including the kids' bookcase

and behind-the-sectional play area.

 Grayson seems slightly confused by the change.  :)

But we just love it.

I'm so happy with how it turned out and feel like we have a brand new room!

Thank you Dad, Rachel, and Mike!!

Goodwill Lamp

So not only am I hacking Pottery Barn with this lamp re-do, I'm also copying my friend Rachel, who had the idea first.  She bought a pair of lamps similar to these.  I teased her for buying such hideous things (hers had teddy bears inside!), she showed me links to her inspiration, and I knew.  I. had. to. have. some.

Fortunately, there was another larger set at the same Goodwill and you better believe I woke Grayson up early from his nap so we could head over and snag them (though I'm not sure there was a HUGE demand on them!).

I bought two of them.  I photographed one.  They were... painfully ugly.

Filled with moss, ribbon, and plants (??), they were a sight to be seen.

But, after getting a good clean out (like seriously, I was afraid there were live organisms living in there), spray and wipe down...

 They are beautiful glass lamps!

My sister saw them in my trunk yesterday (the before version) and thought I'd lost my mind.

Mike unloaded them and thought I'd lost my mind when he saw that I'd paid $8 for each one.

 Hopefully I was able to prove them wrong!

 I'd bought these shades on clearance at Target, oh, a year ago and they never had a home.

Well they do now, and in my opinion, they're perfect!

So for $16 (since I had the brushed nickel spray paint and shades), I have two beautiful, Pottery Barn-esque lamps!

*Linked up at Wayward Weekend!

Curbside Dresser Turned Ombre

I am SO excited about this dresser for two reasons:

1.  It was FREE.  Seriously.  I found it on the curb and not only did the homeowner said I could have it, he loaded it in my car for me!

2.  It turned out EXACTLY like my vision.

Here's what it was:

And, after sanding, some primer, and pots of gray in varying shades...

Here it is now:

A super cool ombre dresser!

Mike did ALL of the work on this little guy and I'm so in love (with the painter AND the dresser).  :)

I hinted that maybe we should keep it for Grayson's room, but I know we should try and sell it.

So, this totally hip guy is going on Craigslist and hopefully then to a good home!

People ask how I find free furniture and it's really not terribly hard.  Tell any family and friends that you're interested in refinishing furniture and have them keep their eyes open.  We've found cribs, headboards, dressers, and mirrors!

I'm linking up over at:
a beach cottage

blue cricket design

very merry vintage style:  share the love wednesday 

savvy southern style: wow us wednesday! 

diy by design

{primp} 

domestically speaking: power of paint party

someday crafts: whatever goes! 

 restore interiors 

Nighstands Restored

These little guys were the companion pieces to the Re-Store dresser that Rachel and I purchased a few months ago.

We finally got around to working on them and they turned out SO good!

Here's the before:

And... the after:

(It's so fun to stage pieces in our front room!  Mike, you did an excellent job with the board and batten!)

 Didn't they turn out great?!

I  listed them on Craigslist in the evening and by the next evening, they were sold and picked up!

 They were sprayed Granite and the hardware got cleaned and sprayed white.

Such a fun project!

{Another} Re-Store Dresser

I know I just posted about a dresser re-do last week, but I have to post this one, too!

This piece was bought at Re-Store and needed some serious restoring!

Mike and his friend Aaron worked for HOURS on this guy.  His top needed some TLC and the boys did such a great job bringing him back to life.  After lots of sanding, puttying, primer, and spray paint, he was done!

Here's the before:

and the after:

Beautiful, isn't it?!

 This guy has already been listed on Craigslist, so hopefully he'll go to a good home soon!

Lots and lots of storage opportunities in this one!!

**Linking up at Shine Your Light: January Before Party and Today's Creative Blog and Coastal Charm and Type A and My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and Primitive and Proper and Elizabeth and Co. and A Bowl Full of Lemons**

Habitat Dresser Re-Do

My friend Rachel (over at Suite Revival) and I picked up this piece a few months ago at Habitat for Humanity's Re-Store.

She was pretty yellowed and had been long neglected, but we loved the scrolly detail on top and saw the potential that she had.

After lots of sanding, primer, and paint, we think she turned out just gorgeous!

She looks so pretty in my front room but... her stay was brief.

She sold on Craigslist and should be picked up this weekend.

Mike sealed it and we lined the drawers in a pretty black and white damask pattern.

It was super fun to breathe new life into an older piece!

**Linking up at Shine Your Light: January Before Party and Today's Creative Blog and Creative Charm and Type A and My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and Elizabeth and Co. and A Bowl Full of Lemons**

Our Hall Closet (aka: My Office)

Last year, we decided it was time to attack the hall closet because it was slowly attacking us.

It was so. so. bad.

Half the battle was unloading the disaster of scrapbooks, coats, puzzle pieces, and other items that gave me heartburn just looking at.  I blogged about the process of demolition and restoration and was thrilled with the resulting wire shelves and boxed supplies.

What we created was a functional, clean, and very accessible home office space for me.  Since I'm half of Time for Tots, it's far more important to have space for materials, rather than space to house lost jackets and junk (which need to be in their correct place anyway).

But recently, I was needing more.  It was time to purge some old supplies, condense, reorganize, and breathe a little life into a little space where I spend a fair amount of time!

So after a little bit of work...

It's good again! 

Just looking at the "after" picture brings about a sense of serenity!  Next time Grayson is fighting a nap and I'm wanting to rip my fingernails off (he has the tendency to fight naps hard), I think I'll just visualize the "after" photo and all the stress will melt away.  :)

I'd love to give you a tour of my closet-office-warehouse.  :)

All of my scrapbook paper is sorted and labeled in Rubbermaid drawers.

All our family photos have been organized in THESE great photo storage containers.  Each box is labeled and anytime I print pictures (because I do print pictures because someday I will get back to scrapbooking!), they get sorted in the smaller containers and labeled.

And then, if I never actually do get back to scrapbooking, I'll be able to send my kids off into the real world with a briefcase of photos, chronicling their childhood.  It's win-win.  :)

We hung an Ikea rod and then swung cheap cups, which hold my stashes of tiny animals, seashells, and miniatures (they're all for learning kits; I don't have some weird thing with collecting tiny things just for the sake of it!  Though tiny kangaroos and panda bears are adorable...).

Hanging up work from two of my favorite artists, Suzy Ultman and Maddie (as in, my child) brightens up the space and makes me smile.

(Oh, and see that light switch?  Having recessed lighting in here is uh-mazing.)

So, did you know that there's this new thing called Ikea Family Rewards (or something like that)?

Not only do your kiddos get to spend an extra 30 minutes in Smaaland if you're a member (which would be reward enough!), you get inside deals on selected merchandise.

For example, this storage cart (which I assembled... and then reassembled when I realized I'd done it inside-out) was a reward deal for only $9!

I also bought a couple plastic dividers from Ikea (which fit perfectly, of course) to house my hefty supply of beads, erasers, and magnetic letters).

A ceramic serving dish from Big Lots holds my freshly sharpened pencils, pens, and Sharpies.  A little dish my mom got from thrifting holds my paper clips.

Open baskets help me see how my stock is and what I need to stock up on.

These Ikea boxes are super sturdy and do a great job of housing everything from extra kit materials to my sewing supplies to scrap paper.

But, my favorite part is that little thing to the left of the box.

Electricity!

Our friend (the same one that hung my Re-Store lamp re-do) ran a surge of electricity (technical term?) in here so that my printer and laminator can be hooked up.  We print wirelessly (best. thing. ever.), and it is so nice to have all our printing needs tucked away behind a door!

It really is amazing how great it feels to have a space so organized and streamlined.

It's also Maddie's pretend spaceship so clearly, it's important for it be a clean part of our home!  :)

Thanks for taking the warehouse-office-closet tour!

**Linked to A Bowl Full of Lemons**

Spirit of the Season

It's almost Christmas and something has been nagging at my little Maddie.  It's really been bothering her and because of a recent change of circumstances (that I WILL blog about at some point!),  I didn't think I'd be able to please her.

She wanted to buy everyone in our family presents.  She wanted to buy a gift for her Nana, Papa, Grandma, aunties and uncle.

I tried making handmade ornaments and gifts with her, but she really, really wanted to pick out something special for each person.  And truthfully, this year, we just can't afford it.

And then I read about The Dollar Tree and I knew we were set.

 We sat down and made a list of the people she loves and wanted to buy something for.  There were nine people (well, one of those was Nana and Papa's dog, haha!) so we counted out ten $1 bills and had a brief lesson on sales tax.  Ha!

Then, we left Grayson with Daddy and headed out on our special Christmas mission.  :)

She sat in the cart, pen in hand, waiting to cross off names when that person's special gift was found.

 Honestly, it was one of the most special experiences I've ever had with her.  

She talked about each person, and what she thought they might like.  "Papa likes baseball and coffee, so let's look for something like that, " and, "Nana loves picture frames and pretty things so I want to find something like that," filled our time.  She swapped out gifts occasionally, finding things that the recipient might like better ("Grandma actually has a candle so I want to get her this instead.").

It wasn't about the money or what each present cost.  It wasn't about getting them lots of gifts or buying just to buy. 

It was truly and whole-heartedly about the spirit of giving.  Each present was so carefully selected by our sweet 4 year old and she was (and still is!) so thrilled.  Together, we wrapped each one and she's asked ever since how many days until she can give them to her family.

This season has definitely been a different one for us.  At one point, I was ready to scratch the whole holiday, but then you have moments like these and you know you're on the right path.