A very good thrift week

Four days off means plenty of time to hit my favorite spots for shopping. I hit them pretty hard. Today I did really well. My pictures tell all. I found this plaid duvet for 6.99 and the cream ruffle pillow for 3.99. My other thrifted pillows matched it perfectly. Grey, orange, and teal are exactly what I had in mind for new bedding colors, it couldn't have worked out better.

Last night, I decided the fabric sitting in the closet, taunting me, needed to find a purpose. After a very easy garland tutorial... I have this fun fabric garland already hung up above our entertainment center.

Another highlight in my weekend was this find (sadly not thrifted). I can't keep these shoes off my feet. Even with our chilly weather, these shoes are making me so excited for spring time flats. I am in love with them, the color, the leopard, the everything.

Sorry to gloat but it was a really good day and I have to share some of these amazing deals. Here are some of my other great finds from this weekend.

Metal grate lampshade 1.99 (I had the lamp already it was .99 from the dig)

On friday I found this Ann Taylor Loft Coat for only 12.99 at Savers. My friend and I had a 30% off frequent shopper card that saved us some extra cash. I still can't get over the nude color or the great neckline. The belled sleeve is something I will have to get used to.
Here's my stuff from today. It was kind of incredible to find so many new things for my wardrobe in such great condition. Each piece cost me 3.99. Total, I spent 36 dollars (some items I left out because they didn't photograph very well). I ended up with 6 tops and 3 cardigans. I find it really hard to shop for new stuff when I can find the same brands for 3.99. These kinds of deals have made me a bargain shopper. My loot today included JCrew, Mossimo, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Kimchi & Blue, Worthington, and Merona.

Looking back a NYE's of the past.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Years! I am glad to see 2011 come to a close. Today at lunch, Brett and I talked about what our goals were for the new year. While I have never really taken New Years resolutions seriously, I was looking back on 2011 and I can see that I have room to make improvements in my life. Here's a short list of some of my personal goals and things I want to work on.

1. Drink more water, which means cokes you're out. This is a big one for me, but I am really going to try to stick to it. I have tried before but this time I'm in it for real.

2. Be content. Everyone that knows me well knows my love for thrifting. With that said, I can drag a lot of things home that we don't need. I want to continue to be aware of my purchasing and start SAVING.

3. Get moving. Either taking our bully on a walk or doing zumba a few times a week, I need to exercise more regularly. Brett and I are buying a Kinect for Xbox to get the dancing started.

4. Enjoy. I find my self stressed, frustrated, and overall unhappy at times when I should be enjoying those moments. I'm really going to work on this one.

5. Create. One of my biggest goals for 2012. My lack of online presence has been evident in this last year. My lack of motivation had squelched my creativity. I'm not really sure what I want to create, may it be a new business on etsy or to begin textile driven art again. I want to be a maker. A new sketch book from a dear friend will be filled by 2013.

Here are some of my favorite images from past new years eves...

*2011*

*2010*

*2009*

*2008*

*2007*

Home Updates!

My secret Santa, the very lovely Heather McCalla made me this amazing wood panel transfer of a pyrex image. It could not be more perfect for our kitchen thats filled to the brim with pyrex. I need to get the house picked up before I fly out this week. Feeling under the weather I haven't been doing much lately. Tonight though, I finally worked on our entertainment center. My tape on the stripes leaked a little but I wanted a more rustic look and once sanded I think those imperfections will be fine. This was a fun project to update a 7 dollar thrift find and the extra storage is such a bonus. Last time I was in Texas my mom and I found these heavy color blocked curtains. They had been hanging out in the closet for months and when I finally hung them up I wish I had done so sooner. Better get to packing, I leave for HOME in 4 days. YAY!

Ready for the Holiday

Today I finished picking up a few gifts and stuffing for my packages. The weather is getting colder I feel the snow coming. We are packing up boxes to mail our gifts back to Texas. I'm pretty excited about the presents for our nieces and nephews, lots of little goodies. Brett and I have been watching A Christmas Story tonight and wrapping things up with ribbons and bows (I plan on adding candy too)! It's a good night for enjoying hot chocolate and break and bake cookies, two of my weaknesses. Ava decided to join our Christmas movie watching and we got a couple of cute shots with her by our 4ft tree.

It looked just like christmas

There is a lot that makes me feel nostalgic around holidays, Christmas decor especially. I got down my box of Christmas decorations and Brett put my faux 4ft tree together, all the while I was humming "its looks just like christmas, but it wasn't christmas at all" by Low which probably my all time favorite holiday song. Looking through my ornaments made me terribly home sick. Each ornament I pulled out made me think of my mom, where we bought it together, or if it was a family one that had been pasted down to me. I will see my family in less than a month! So back to the tree and decor: my grandmother always has the best tree you can see her's from last year here. Since my tree is a shorty I'm stacking it up on some suitcase and I need to get one more tomorrow to give it a bit more height. At the dig today I scored this Burberry trench coat and I decided to use part of the lining for a tree skirt (don't worry it was stained on the outside and a very strange shape, I may make a poncho out of the rest of the material and put it to good use, what a find for $1)! I'm pretty happy with the holiday decor so far its starting to feel festive in here. I want to add a B for Brett to the garland above the TV and I may cover the letter in more plaid fabric from the trench. I'm in a garland making mood so this garland might multiply to accompany the pinecone garland that my mom send. So glad I finally got into the mood to decorate. My favorite holiday item is the glitter Bambi I got a few years back, it stays out year round. Happy holidays!

Turkey Day Prep

A growing collection

My pyrex collection has grown quite a bit since we moved to Madison. You can see what it looked like last year here. Over the last few months I have had some amazing luck and picked up quite a few pieces. Recently I bought my first bread loaf dish, picked up lots of needed lids for my existing collection and finished out some sets of casserole dishes. I need to take some good pictures for myself so that I don't buy doubles when thrifting. Yes, I have done this and it makes me laugh when I get home and realize I already have it. Many of my friends are really into pyrex collection too so I am happy to share with them if I bring home a duplicate. I'm part of the PYREX LOVE group on Flickr and can't wait to load some pictures after Thanksgiving of all my pieces in action. I am also really excited about the Fireking plater I got for my holiday ham! I also picked up a bowl that matches for cranberry sauce... I am going to have to have a really big garage sale when I leave here.

As for this week, I gave my self a little hair cut and now have some choppy bangs. (bangs for the first time in quite awhile) I also found this awesome little wood thing at thrift and repurposed it for my necklaces, for .60cents and a little spray paint I was very happy with the out come.

Happy Thrifting Friends!

This week and next

This week has felt like two weeks rolled into one, but I have had some fun adventures the last couple of days and have some good pics to share. I got two great burlap lampshades for the living room lamps, they feel very rustic and fall with their brown and tan plaid. On Wednesday afternoon a friend and I stopped by Bloom, this very cute bakery in Middleton that makes treats in small batches. I had a pumpkin rum cupcake with maple cream cheese frosting, yum. They even had cute teal ramekin cups for the water that came in a chilled re-useable glass soda bottle. Today I should be getting ready for a costume party but I was way too excited about a nail tutorial I saw over at cupcakes and cashmere and had to try it my self. The martha stewart glitter she suggests works perfect, I am so addicted I might have to buy the thirty dollar pack containing 12 colors. I know what Im getting my self for Christmas. Every time I look at those sparkly tips I smile.

A little bit of Fall

Fall is here in Madison, its crisp outside and pumpkins are popping up on everyones door steps. Meanwhile I am dreaming of our Thanksgiving menu and avoiding sewing slip covers I promised my self I would make already. Its fun to add a little fall decor to the house even if I don't have to much extra room for it. My mom♥ has sent me some really wonderful things in packages lately and you can see a few of these in our living room and kitchen table centerpieces. The fall Leaves B&B candle smells up the entire room without even being lit, a new little white owl tea light holder, giant acorn with walnut topper are all via mom, and of corse I had to add a little dear I had laying around, all of this setting on a woodgrain hexagon tray i picked up at savers for .99 cents! I think it really goes together nicely and gives a fun fall feel. In the kitchen I have a mini orange pyrex fridge dish with candy corn for snacking and a clear pedestal candle holder, along side my white faux pumpkin♥, all these little things sitting on a vintage printed napkin. Its fun to see all my thrifting treasures come together. I have never been a candy corn fan in the past but this year I think I might be a converted lover of the stuff. I cant stop eating it as I walk by the kitchen. eeep.

Wash and Fold

Finished the second pillowcase today. I am loving the way they turned out. 3 large loads of laundry later all our blankets are clean and now I need to get my self packed up for Texas! Whooh!