Thrifty Thursday: Ebay vs. the Thrift Shop

I've been looking for a brass floor lamp for my son's room.

I found this one on Ebay:

It's almost identical to this one I bought him last week at a Thrift Shop

with one major difference...

The one on Ebay carries a price tag of $442.  

(No, I did not forget to put in a decimal.)

The one I bought from the Thrift Shop only set me back $9.99!

 That's a lot of money leftover to find even more Thrift Shop treasures.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Running Is for Evading Alien Abductions

It's Friday, people!

Normally I would be super excited about impending weekend frivolity and getting to sleep late.

But no.

My husband has entered himself in a "Fun Run" for tomorrow morning.

Which means I have to get up at the crack of 

'You've GOT to be freaking kidding me!'

On a Saturday.

Running for fun is something that is so foreign to me.

It's like saying, "I'm doing taxes for fun."

The purpose of running is to get somewhere quickly.

Or to get away from something quickly.

Like aliens.

Which brings me to these two photos I took over the past two days that are obviously evidence of alien abductions:

Two different places.

Two different pairs.

The is no other logical explanation other than aliens abducting people right out of their shoes!

The first pair I came across in the Lowes parking lot.

It was a pair of little girl's sandals.

The second pair was in my neighborhood on the sidewalk.

They were Nike running shoes that looked fairly new-ish.

Obviously the little girl wearing the sandals didn't stand a chance (no pun intended) against aliens.

I mean...you can't run in sandals.

POOF!

But whoever was wearing the Nikes could have at least made a concerted effort to get away.

They're RUNNING shoes for crying out loud!

It's like they were standing there waiting for the light to change and

POOF!

But then I started thinking...

whoever was wearing those Nikes had probably been running for some time because they were training for a Fun Run so they paused to catch their breath in order to make the trek back home and, sensing the fatigue-induced pause, the aliens seized the opportunity to

POOF!

Which is entirely why I do not 'run for fun.'

I'm saving my energy so that if more aliens start abducting people right out of their shoes, maybe I'll be able to outrun them.

Have a fantastic alien abduction free weekend everyone!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Overalls and a Ditch Cow

Apparently overalls are 'trending' now.

 

I have ZERO plans to buy overalls.

Mostly because of this:

Striped overalls?

Check.

Blue eyeshadow?

Check.

Poofy hair with a hair bow?

Check check!

In 1987 I rocked these overalls like a total boss, as you can clearly witness by the above photos.

My friends and I also sometimes rocked them like this:

Belted.

Rolled up.

Pure awesomeness.

Don't think for a moment that adding high heels entitles you to wear overalls on a runway.

Or anywhere in public outside the home you are currently painting.

Or the farm you are plowing.

Because those are really the only acceptable times overalls can be worn.

Unless you're a pregnant hillbilly man.

Drinking a margarita.

And smiling.

 Since we're on the subject of hillbillies and such...

On Monday I spent the day at Lake Whitney which is deep in the heart of a place in Texas where it's perfectly acceptable to wear overalls outside the house.

Because there's a lot of farmland.

And roadkill.

Mostly it's your typical garden variety roadkill like skunks, possums, armadillos, and some deer thrown in occasionally, too, which are really gross because they are large.

Those usually end up in ditches on the side of the road waiting for someone official to pick them up.

Because it's illegal to take a deer you hit with your car even if it's dead.

Anyway, I'm driving to Lake Whitney when all of a sudden I see an animal in the ditch on the side of the road.

AND IT WAS A FREAKING COW!

like this one only it was upside down!

I have lived in Texas my entire life and have passed probably a million bazillion farms with cows and have never in my entire life seen a dead cow in a ditch!

Ever.

So then I started wondering how they were going to get that thing out of the ditch because it was enormous!

And then I also started thinking that his owner was probably going to be really upset because that's a lot of steak and hamburgers.

Someone really should have told that cow to MOOOOOOVE!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Narrowing Down Colleges

A recent dinner conversation between my oldest daughter, who has begun the process of narrowing down colleges where she wants her first round of SAT scores sent, and me...

Me: "So, out of the handful of colleges you are sending scores sent to, which one has the best dorm rooms?"  

Daughter: "I don't know.  I didn't really look at that."

Me: (feeling slightly disappointed) "I thought maybe you had checked that part out online already.  Obviously I don't think that should be your criteria for choosing, of course."

Daughter:  "Oh, of course not.  That would be really stupid and completely shallow."

Me: "So what sort of criteria did you use to decide where to send your scores?"

Daughter: "I picked the ones with the best-dressed students on their brochures and website.  But I also factor in how I would look in their school colors."

source

 Well played, my snarky little fashionista!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Versatility In Decorating

Usually when I buy something for my home, I find that it will work in just about any room even if it's not the room I specifically purchased the item for.

I don't necessarily do this on purpose but I think because most of the rooms in my home are a style specific to my tastes, much of my decor is interchangeable and can be used in just about all of the other rooms.

Last week I shared a tour of my son's room as it currently looks.

 

But I started thinking more about how easily it will adapt as he gets older and his tastes change.

I thought I'd have fun changing things up using items from other rooms around my house to show you how easily this room can take on a whole new look!

PRESTO CHANGE-O

(yeah, I know...the magic word thing is pretty stupid-o)

 

 

 

 

 

Cool, huh?

Let's see the BEFORE and AFTER one more time:

BEFORE

AFTER

I went through my house and pulled things from almost every room to use for this demonstration.

The rug is from my oldest daughter's room, while the decorative pillows, blanket, guitar and amp along with some artwork are from my younger daughter's room.

I also pulled a chair and lamp from the living room and some accessories from my office.

This was just a staged example of what I COULD do with the room.

If I were really going to change things I would have also painted the dresser (black maybe) and added some nice brass pulls,etc. 

What about at your house?

Do you buy furniture and accessories that can be used in various rooms?

Or do you buy items with one specific room or area in mind?

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

 

 

 

Gettin' Figgy With It

The other night I was sitting on the sofa next to my husband staring towards the sliding glass door in our living room that leads to the backyard.

I had been quiet for several minutes (a rarity for me), obviously deep in thought about something.

My husband, taking notice of this odd occurrence, and thinking I am upset about something,

(and probably worried it was something he did like not using a coaster or something really horrific like that) 

is the first to break the silence.

Sean:  "Is everything okay? You look like you're in serious thought over there."

Me:  "I was just thinking that I really need a fig leaf tree near that chair over there."

Sean:  "You're really weird."

Me:  "I know."

I don't know if it's the shiny, deep green color or the funky squiggly leaf edges that make them resemble something out of The Lorax that tickles my fancy but I can't stop thinking about fiddle fig leaf trees lately!

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Johnathan Adler

Elle Decor

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Elle Decor

Anyone have any knowledge or experience with these guys?

How much care do they require?
How often do you water yours?
Do you feed it?
Do they tolerate dust well?
(This last question is quite important if it's going to be living in my house!)

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Thrifty Thursday: $5 Art Wall

I'm a lying liar who lies lies.

Because this art wall was more like $4 plus tax, not $5!

Just before Easter weekend I was working on my son's room and realized he needed a place to hang/display some photos, drawings, and other bits & pieces.

I already had a cork bulletin board but it wasn't very big and I had some concerns about his commitment to keeping thumbtacks off the floor and out of our dog's mouths.

(Our younger dog still tries to eat EVERYTHING and I'm tired of cleaning up pieces of chewed toys and socks she has eaten and barfed up!  The idea of thumbtacks being eaten and barfed up was enough to make me come up with a better solution.)

I have a bit of an obsession with thrift shops and typically stop into a local one once a week to see what sort of treasures I might unearth.

When I came across a pile of clipboards for .99 cents each, I recalled saving these pictures a while back and decided this was exactly what I wanted for his room!

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original source unknown

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I bought 4 of them and used small cup hooks I already had to hang them above his dresser which is the largest wall in this small room.
(You can see the entire room tour posted here.)

I decided a couple of days later that I wanted a few more to make it a bit more substantial and allow for more art and trinkets to be displayed.  

Sadly, they were all gone by then.

But, lucky for me, I can buy them new at Office Depot for about $2 each so if I really wanted a couple more, it won't break the bank!

 À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Room Tour: An Eclectic Boy's Room

I love getting a little glimpse into how other people live and decorate, 

don't you?

Sometimes when we are driving through a neighborhood at night I tell my husband to drive slowly in case someone has their blinds open so I can peek inside and see what their decor looks like.

He thinks it's kind of creepy that I do that...

but he drives slowly anyway.

And in case you live in my area,
consider yourself warned.

Today I'm bringing you a tour of my son's tween room so that you don't have to drive by my house at night and look through the blinds to see it.

Since my son is only 11 he really doesn't give a rat's butt about what his room looks like.

If I left the decorating to him, his room would look like someone vomited Saturday morning cartoons all over the place.

And there would be dead stuff on every surface 

(he's an avid fossil collector but we often end up with actual animal bones and teeth, too.) 

I'm all for letting kids decide some things but letting an 11 year old boy decorate his own room would be like letting your car mechanic perform heart surgery on you.
It's just plain stoopid.

But I do think kids should have some say in what their room looks like.
So, when we started working on this room I said,
"Hey, do you like gray paint?"
He said, "Yes."

The way I see it, he had a role in the decorating of his own room.

(I also let him have Spongebob sheets on his bed, too, because I'm not a complete animal!)

His room is currently very much an eclectic mix which is very much a statement about his personality.

We have a little bit of mid-century modern mixed with more traditional elements but had to throw in plenty of rustic and natural pieces to reflect who he is.

My son also wanted something industrial.

The fact that he actually used the word 'industrial' was enough for me to want to make that happen!
 

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this is not a finished room.

There are plans for a side table, some additional/replacement lighting, and most likely a new rug.

But since those items require a greater monetary commitment, I wanted to see where the room was going before choosing those pieces.
 

Without further delay I give you...

Stone's Room

What I love about this room is that, even though it currently is a 'tween room with toys and stuffed animals and kid stuff, it is mostly neutral and color is added with only a couple of really inexpensive accessories like the rug and the colorful afghan so it can easily adapt for a teenager with some very simple changes. 

 

 Hope you enjoyed the tour!

I want to tell you more about where I found some of the items in this room so if you're curious to know more check back soon.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney