Garage sale Jackpot! (nat)

On our recent trip home I told my mom the one thing I really wanted to do was check out some garage sales. They live in a really nice area and everyone seems to give nice stuff away practically free. So after just a few hours on two different days I was ecstatic with everything I was bringing home!!! Even if it meant strapping things to the roof and getting bad gas mileage on the drive home-- it was worth it! There is really nothing I love more than getting an incredible deal on something I love. Ahhhhh

So--- here's my favorite!!! I got this Pottery Barn Kids Twin Quilt with matching sham. In great condition for 8 dollars!! 8! It matches the boys decor perfect already and will be awesome when Blake gets moved to a twin.

For anyone wondering how good of a deal that is... Here is a Pottery Barn Kids Firetruck Quilt currently for sale (even discounted at this price)... for....... 159.99! and... I think mine is cuter :)

On to my next favorite find.... can we say double jogging stroller for 15 bucks! I almost bought a different one for 30 but decided to shop around--- found this one which was even better and steers awesome for 15. I'll admit after the purchase I realized a few parts were broken but nothing I couldn't fix with a little duct tape once we got home. I've already been on like 5 walks with the kids and even took them to Walmart and back. Perfect for the summertime!

My sister and I both fell in love with these cute little vintage inspired signs. Since I already scored some sweet stuff I said she had first dibs. So she originally bought them for a buck each but then after being the wonderful sister she is... she let me take them home instead because she knew how much I really wanted them. And yes, yes, I know we probably shouldn't have gotten the Iced Tea one but you have to decorate in 3's! What else was I supposed to do?!

Another great snatch.... a radio flyer trike for 5 bucks!! Seriously? Why are these so dang expensive in the stores? That is why I've never gotten one before, my poor neglected child. At almost all the stores right now they retail for 49.99, not a price I wanted to pay but now Carson is thrilled to finally have a "bike" Everyday after he'd wake up and beg to ride his bike. Now we just need to get him the real deal... training wheels and all.

And the last post-worthy purchase.. clothes!!! I was on a hunt for fall clothes for the boys and holy cow I went to the right lady--- she had bags of 4T stuff, all name brand from either Childrens Place, or Gap. So between her and one other stop I got 9 shirts, 1 sweater vest, 3 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of cords, 2 PJ sets, and a pair of winter boots for....................
10 dollars. Phew! It seems like I go broke every time the seasons change and I have to buy the kids clothes so its nice to know I got so much stuff for less than the price of one pair of jeans. Yahoo!

It's amazing we actually fit everything back into the car to make the trek home, whatever it was so worth it. Maybe its a good thing the garage sales here are lame or I would have way too much stuff!

Modern Cottage Master Bedroom

I decided a long time ago that keeping up a regular blog wasn't where I wanted to allot a good portion of my time, but over the years I have still had fun updating our home and wanted to have an official place to document it. So over the coming weeks I will post our house room by room. So here we go... I decided for Christmas that the main thing I wanted was to finally put my stamp on our master bedroom. We've been here about three and a half years and this was one of the very last places to get any sort of personal touch. It was more of the close the door and don't let anyone see the hodge podge of left over furniture and decor from every where else. 

It sat like this for probably a year

Then we finally tackled paint, crown molding, a ceiling fan, and making an actual bed

Then I dressed it up with an inexpensive DIY and some odds and ends from around the house. It never made it much further than this. It had the cottage feel I've always loved but still didn't ever feel finished or "me" just felt like I pulled a bunch of leftovers from around the house :)

When I decided to tackle our bedroom I REALLY struggled trying to pin down my style. I think Pinterest totally warped my natural knack for design and what I know I like. It tore me in a million different directions because all of a sudden I liked everything and had no idea where to start. Do I like modern? Industrial? Cottage? Vintage? Retro? Traditional? Craftsman? Ahhhh! I looked at SO many pictures and over analyzed til I about drove myself mad. Then one day I decided, FORGET PINTEREST! I stopped looking at pictures and went back to my roots... what do I like? What makes me swoon, feel at home, what was I drawn to before pinterest ever came along. And what do ya know... things started to come together. 

Here's what I LOVE..

-WHITE

-Cottage/Coastal

-A touch of vintage/retro/mid-century

-The THRILL of being thrifty!

Most of the fun about decor for me is being thrifty. I think there are only about 5 things in our entire bedroom that I bought from a regular store. Almost everything else was either free, thrifted, or made by us. LOVE that. It drives me crazy when designers claim to be "thrifty" and then say they had a budget of 5 grand or something for a single room. When I say thrifty I mean... an entire room for under 300 bucks. I believe ANYONE can have a beautiful home, just have to have an eye for design and know a good deal when you see one. 

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AHHHH, that's me! 

Bed: made by us via Anna White- most expensive thing in the room

Vintage Botanicals: Free! ok 5 bucks of printing via PoppyTalk 

Bedding: Shams and Quilted Coverlet were 10 dollars at a garage sale last summer

 Nightstands: Old filing cabinets-14 bucks for the pair- Thrifted via Savers

Grey Pillow: Home Goods- LOVE!

Lamps and Vase: Ikea that I already had

Botanical Notebooks: Target

Wire Basket: Thrifted @ DI

Flowers: Michael's 50% off

Ampersand: Hobby Lobby 40% off

We have added some sort of custom molding to almost every room in the house. This room was screaming for a focal point and planked walls are all the craze, but work perfectly with the overall feel for the room so we did it! And I LOVE!

Mid-Century Dresser: Thrifted via DI for $40- A steal of a deal we found years ago

Mirrors: DIY with leftover crown molding

Books: Thrifted via DI

Branches: My parents yard :)

Sunburst mirror: Way old trend but still love. DIY that I made a few years ago. I intended on painting it out until I saw it finished, I loved the natural wood tones and kept it as is. 

Dresser: My childhood dresser growing up, changed out the knobs a few years back

Wood Planter: Thirfted a few years ago, turned upside and backwards here. 

Plants and white planters are from Ikea

We wanted a little reading area so a few years ago I found this chair at DI for five bucks! It had great bones and looked so similar to our bed with the wood slats. It was oak and had forest green cushions, but nothing a little white paint and an Ikea sheet can't tackle!

I wanted a little area to display mementos and have fun styling over the years. We had some pine left over from making our bed so we just painted them out and added some brackets from Ikea. 

Two maps: Free from a neighbor- I picked out the two states where we've lived the longest

Chalk Board: From Home Goods with some DIY chalkboard art

Daily Calendar: Gift from a friend

Journal: DIY

Jewelry dish: Thifted from DI

This dresser is one of the very first projects we ever did. We spray painted it white in a church parking lot about 9 years ago! It was Paul's grandma's and came to us painted alternating colors of white and mustard yellow. A few years ago we changed out the knobs with some vintage knobs for less than ten bucks!

Books: Thrifted from DI

Plant/Planter: Ikea

Letter: Hobby Lobby

I'm sure in 5 more years I'll look back at these pictures and think to myself- What an amateur! But for now, I love it. I love knowing that every little thing has a different story but together they make a place that I love!

*Coming up... Boys shared bedroom and little girl nursery

Bedroom Details: Rustic Touch

 Next up, I wanted to add a little personal touch and I remembered I had a piece of barn wood I got at an antique shop several months before. It was $6 and I intended on using it for something else, but that didn't happen, so I thought--- I'll use it now!

All it took was some white acrylic paint, a few stamps sets, some memories, and a little creativity 

I just thought through things that are special to us-- kids, where we got married, first date, cute sayings, places we've lived, favorite vacations etc.

 

Now it is above our bed- not sure I love it there, but now it's too meaningful- I have to hang it somewhere! 

All the stuff above the bed I had, just pulled from around the house- but the white vase was $1 at a garage sale, the duvet set was $30 online (i can tell u where if ur interested)- I still want a white quilted coverlet to mix and match the bedding a bit more, & I made the pillow covers

 

Kitchen decor on a budget (nat)

Still loving the striped wall but it needed something--- nothing too busy b/c the stripes do enough but something- trying to stay on our new budget is depressing, but makes things more fun and challenging too so here's the solution for now!

My sister and I got these awesome little signs on our garage sale escapades last spring. I haven't done anything with them yet.. just waiting for the right place and we moved and yada yada so... I finally dug them out again to put them to use! I decided I better veto the Iced Tea one :) so that left the other two- they looked blah and unfinished just as they were on the wall so I took a simple matted IKEA frame that I won at Bunco- (Thanks Linds) framed the pic... and tada- instant art for the kitchen for 2 bucks! It's looking a little lonely though so I either need to get lucky at Bunco again or head to IKEA for the 50th time to give this pic a friend--- hmm might be awhile, but for now- I like it!

Then onto the 3 white doors in a row--- what to do, went to a cute little craft show and tada! perfect cheap solution! vinyl lettering for 3 bucks! OK... i have to admit I don't really love all the vinyl lettering craziness that is out there- all the same quotes we see everywhere and some of it is all a bit cheesy. BUT i do think if done tactfully- vinyl lettering is super cute. If you don't over do it or really search for a quote that means something to you then its great. So anyway- I liked the font on this one a lot, its totally simple, inexpensive, and breaks up the space and fit the door perfectly. Yahoo!

Just ignore all the messy stuff on the counter! ...and the fact that i am still in debate about where the clock should hang-- i am thinking 6 inches lower? yeah, probably!