It’s party day! The spring weather couldn’t be more perfect here but I know some of you got SNOW this morning – and for that, I send my condolences.


For my little Under $10 Under 1 Hour project today, I made a little inspiration board.
My church publishes a magazine for youth called the New Era – it’s also online. I love to read it and every month they have the best inspirational posters and cards:
Click here for the directions I posted for the wheat grass. I took these pictures last year to help me figure out the ideal time to plant. I would say 1 1/2--2 weeks before you want it.
Happy planting and planning!
I have been trying to come up with a good solution for LEGO storage. My boys love them, but there are SO many darn little pieces, a pain to put away, a step on them in the middle of the night in your bare feet and you feel like breathing destructive, incinerating dragon breath every last one.
But I love them because they aren’t tv, the ipad, or technology. Girls and boys love them. They use their brains and imaginations to create and for that reason alone we are still friends.
When this baby showed up for $10 on our local online classifieds late one night (like Craigslist, but here they call it ksl classifieds)
I screamed and texted as fast as my little fingers could telling her I could bring cash and come first thing in the morning and made it sound like I was as harmless and kind as a mom could be so that she would trust coming to her house. (do you do that when you are trying to score something on Craigslist?) And I got it!! It seemed like a perfect thing to organize and corral all of those LEGOS.
A whole new world was opened to me when reader Caroline tipped me off to a great resource: used and returned items on Amazon. They are usually brand new or the box has been opened and you can get some steals! And I thought I knew Amazon in and out!
She said in the comments of this post: “Our dining room light was originally over $500 when I found it (and thought I can't live without this light!), but I was able to find a returned one on amazon for around $150. Such a steal!”
So, I kept my eyes peeled for items we still needed needed to purchase. For the master bedroom, I was looking at 2 oval Moen mirrors – they were $65 at home improvement stores and on Amazon. But if you look below you can find “used” ones which for the ones I wanted, meant the box was damaged but the product was fine. Many times, it means the product was returned.
When the boxes came, the mirrors were fine, and were packed inside another larger box with cushion and I was completely happy.
It may take some searching and patience, especially if you want more than one, but it could pay off! Just another little money saving trick to tuck in your home shopping belt --
Happy Pi Day! Here are some good finds from the week:
* I love, love, loved Sara’s road to fitness story. Maybe because I know she loves to eat (hello, food blogger!) – perhaps there is hope for girls like me!
Here are a few tricks I’ve learned about finding some deals on lighting. I first saw this fixture (#4 in yesterday’s post!) in a lighting store and fell in love: the size, the classic but contemporary lines and feeling, AND it came in a hanging lantern style as well for the front porch. But the price was hefty at $230 each. So, I began searching.
** Updated: many of these are out of stock but we have an updated outdoor lighting post here **
Hello, friends! We have talked about pendant lights here, and sconces here, don’t you think it’s about time to talk about outdoor lighting??
As you can see, I love lantern styles, so I rounded up 10 of my favorites under $100 – most are about $50. I think they are just the finishing touch to the outside that say, “my owners care about me enough to pick out pretty lights – and I look expensive, but you’ll never know how much I really cost…well, unless you go look it up online.”
1. Barrie $52
2. Jamestowne $78
3. Parsons Field $99
4. Sutton 4 Light $100 (you can go smaller for less money)
5. Sea Gull $83
6. Brayden $55
7. Harbor $70
8. Transitional $56 OR see this 2 pack for $35!!
9. Castle Creek $40
10. Satin Black Motion $35
Which is your favorite? Or leave a link to one that you love.
I finally picked one out for our new home – do you want to guess which one? I’ll let you know in the comments tomorrow – I need to do a house update post, it’s moving right along!
this front door from Southern Living – yum.
easy wall art with shoe boxes + fabric
I oould not find the original source for this, only on houzz…anyone??
I have talked about a favorite paint website, colorcharts.org that is no longer in service. I was so sad when I couldn’t go there any longer to match colors from one brand to another. I have found something else though, almost as good! I have no relationship with them, I was just thrilled to find it and share it with you:
It’s called Color-swatches.com and here an example of how it works:
Since Farrow & Ball is based in England, I’m not going to have a store near me. So, I can go to color-swatches.com and go to their search feature. (under Our Services) and then type whatever paint brand I love into the “convert to another brand” section:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons