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Fun Friday- Bargains!

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So, on the first Fun Friday of the new year I thought I’d write about some fun bargains I’ve picked up fairly recently.

First up is this fabulous lamp-

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IMG_1231I thought I’d show it from a couple of different angles. If you look closely enough you might be able to make out an image of me in my pj’s taking the photo. Ahem.

I should back up for a bit of back story. The weekend of Trav’s birthday we (all of the Buttons including Daisy and Amanda’s boyfriend, Daniel) headed to Birmingham to have a late Christmas with my parents and also to make sure they were okay since my dad had been in the hospital and my mom was sick. It was kind of a lot to deal with. And putting a birthday party, Christmas and hospital stay in the same sentence is weird but we’d already planned the party. Anyway, after we’d established that everything was okay and were heading back home, I asked my mom if she had any end tables that she didn’t want anymore. Which she did and was kind enough to give to me. I’m not posting pictures of that yet because I haven’t decided how to refinish it. For now it holds this lovely lamp- which was quite the bargain.

A couple of weeks ago I decided that a shopping trip with my girls was exactly what we needed. We planned to go to Target (x2 since there are 2 in town), the mall, Pier One (for me since the girls hate that store), and TJ Maxx. I’m not sure at what point we ran out of steam but it was before we’d hit the mall. Chloe and I were tired but my little powder keg of energy (Halle) still wanted her mall trip. I appeased her by offering to go to American Signature Furniture instead- it’s one of her favorite places. As we looked all over the store, and I do mean *all over*, I noticed that there were quite a bit of items with 75% off tags. I didn’t pay much attention to any of it because I didn’t plan on buying anything. A little later the most gorgeous sunset I’ve seen in a while caught my eye. I gasped and pointed it out to the girls and we walked over to the window for a closer look- and I stood right next to a beautiful, mercury glass lamp that had a 75% off tag on it. I looked at the price tag and even though I hate math I knew that 75% off of $100 is $25- SOLD! I’m not sure if American Signature is still having that clearance sale but if your in the market for lamps or accessories you might want to check it out.

The moral of the story here is that one should always take time to appreciate a sunset.

Next up is a fabulous quilt-

IMG_1007I found this a while ago, maybe in autumn? I was shopping at Target and happened upon a clearance end cap where this lovely quilt was marked down from $79.99 to $23.98! It’s king size and we have a queen size bed but we’ve used a king size comforter for a few years and it’s been just what we needed for sleeping harmony- since Travis tends to hog the covers.  It also solved the problem we have every winter where our room looks like we’re a couple of poor college students huddled under whatever old comforter we drag out of the closet. This keeps us nice and toasty since I put it under our current comforter and it keeps me cool when the weather is warmer since I can take the comforter off the bed and not be embarrassed about it.

As an added bonus the girls love it too.

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January is bargain season, happy hunting!

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My sweet, Halle, has been sick for the last couple of days so we’ve been stuck in the house. We’ve been running here and there first thing in the morning for a few weeks and I really like it because it makes our days run more smoothly. It makes it difficult to blog but the time I’m investing in my kids is priceless. Since we’re stuck in the house though I thought that I’d share some of my favorites from around the web today. You can find all of my favorites by following The Button Casa on Pinterest.

I like this built-in eating area. I’ve always envisioned one for our house since we’ve got a small kitchen. I thought it would be nice to have the benches and use them for storing linens and things. Mine would be less modern, more cottagey and I’d replace the map with some fun art but I like the concept.

Houzz.com

And for the gardening geek in me…a carryall for garden tools using an vintage milk bottle carrier. Seriously, if I ever find one of these things for a reasonable price I will be one happy camper.

Along the lines of simple and brilliant ideas, I present the toilet paper/twine holder.

BHG.com

Twine is one of things that we have “somewhere”. You know that vague “somewhere” that means you’ll never find it again so you just buy more. Yeah, that’s how we roll. Ahem.

I found these chalkboard labels at The Messy Roost and I just love them! I’m thinking of using something like this to label food for a dinner party.

I’m also loving this pretty ottoman. I bought an ottoman for $2 at a garage sale many moons ago that is in need of some serious love. I don’t usually sew but I think I could get away with just stapling the fabric and reusing the liner that’s already in the ottoman because it’s in fine shape.  A fabric like the one covering this one would be fabulous.

BHG.com

I’m also feeling the love for these pretty blue chairs.

Houzz.com

And I love this mudroom. Apparently, the homeowners turned a little used entryway into a makeshift mudroom.

BHG.com

I love the idea of a mudroom especially since we get so much rain and some snow in the fall and winter. The kitchen floor gets *so* gross.  I’ll just have to chalk it up to my “someday” dream file since there’s definitely no room for it here.

I hope you enjoyed my little post of things I love.

Have a great day!

Amy

 

 

 

A Mini Makeover

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When Amanda got home from college a few weeks ago I was so excited! We hadn’t seen her in more than two months which is the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing her in her whole life- and I don’t really like it. We prepared for her arrival by moving Chloe and Halle back into the same room and gave Amanda her old room back. But I wasn’t prepared for how.much.stuff. she has. I mean, she’s the host of RAW TV and she has the shoes to prove it! This little rancher is just not able to hold the amount of things that 3 adults and 2 kids have. So we purged. And I was a bit of a wreck. I have handled the lack of space pretty well and when confronted with the question (always from Travis), “Where are we going to put it?” my answer is always, “I’ll find a place.” And I have to say that I’m pretty good at it. Now, the place I find for said item might drive Travis crazy and he might move it somewhere else (ahem) but a place is always found.

Except this time. Apparently I’m only good at finding spots for one thing at a time. Like the drink dispenser I *had* to have for Mother’s Day.

When I’m trying to find a space for just one thing it’s easy. At the very worst I can just get rid of something that I’m not using anymore. This time though we had a truck load of things to find a spot for. Plus we couldn’t continue to use one dresser for Chloe and Halle. That was possible when we first moved in and Chloe was 5 and Halle wasn’t quite 2 yet. They’ve gotten bigger and so have their clothes so their room was just awful. Trav’s solution was to give Chloe the dresser he’d been using which made her very, very happy. Me? Not so much. It meant that Trav’s clothes were in piles and shoved in plastic bins. That was the time that I broke down and sobbed on his shoulder…at 1 am.

We’d put off making any type of furniture purchase because we couldn’t really agree on what we wanted. We finally decided to repurpose the armoire that had been housing the TV in the living room and use it in our room for Trav’s clothes- for a couple of reasons. First of all, it wasn’t meant to be a TV cabinet so the doors didn’t retract in and you couldn’t see the TV from some seating spots in the living room. In fact, we’d taken the doors off at Thanksgiving when Shane and Angie and the kids stayed with us and never put them back because it was easier to watch TV. Secondly, the armoire matches the rest of our bedroom furniture and while I don’t like the finish, it at least brings some cohesiveness to the bedroom. It also gave Travis a lot more space for his clothes than he had originally.

Then each of us had to give a little. I wanted a fancy piece of furniture that would hold up for the long haul so we wouldn’t be looking for another media cabinet in a couple of years. Travis wanted something more modern that would eventually hold a flat screen (we don’t have one now). After I measured the armoire and how it fit in the room I realized that what we really needed would be less than 50 inches wide and put my furniture piece out of the running. The one Travis wanted didn’t have enough storage and I didn’t want to have to store the metal bracket that came with it until we get a flat screen. So we headed off to Target to see if there was something suitable that would also not break the bank.

First we saw a traditional-ish console with two drawers and an espresso finish.

I’m typically a fan of the espresso finish but since we have a chocolate brown sofa, a brown dog crate, a brown-ish chair, and the walls are beige I just wasn’t feelin’ it. The drawers didn’t seem strong enough to store much of anything and we had to have room for all of this…

Yes, we still have VHS tapes. Why? It’s mostly because if I got rid of those tapes it would be like throwing Amanda’s childhood in the trash can. I’m weirdly sentimental like that. Plus some of them are really good movies that I like having and don’t want to replace right now. Swiss Family Robinson, Alice in Wonderland (Disney), Toy Story…you get the idea.

The next one was too black…

These were too black and too much glass (we didn’t want any glass because of the kids and Daisy)…

Too traditional…

This little cabinet was fabulous though and I’d love to find a place for it… it’s not for a TV though. Bummer.

Finally we chose this…it’s the only one I didn’t get a picture of (hangs head in shame).

We chose it because we already have a mission style side table in the living room so the finishes look nice together plus it has sliding doors instead of drawers and the storage space is larger. There’s no glass and it will accommodate a flat screen in the future.

I do have pictures of the assembly process though.

Aren’t they cute?

Travis is calling out the parts list to Chloe who keeps track of all of the nuts, bolts, doodads, thingamajigs, and whatsits. The assembly was pretty easy and I was happy that a lot of the cabinet is actually wood rather than completely particle board. Not bad for $139.

Stay tuned because next we paint…

What’s Your Style?

A few days ago I was thinking about my personal style and I wondered if it had a name. I thought that maybe I’m transitional but after I looked it up and found a few photos, I don’t think so. So far all the pictures look too elegant and I’m only really elegant when I’m wearing a little black dress and heels. Other than that I’m a klutz that likes to be comfortable.  I also figure that since Halle and I have started running a fever today, it’s a good time to fill you up with quizzes…you know, so you won’t notice that I’m not writing that much. Drat! I’ve given my secret away.

It must be the fever.

The first quiz I took I found at BHG. I liked it the most even though I had trouble answering the first question:

QUESTION 1 :

Which flower arrangement would look best on your coffee table?

Rose
Hydrangea
Red Tulips

I don’t just like flowers, I love flowers and I especially love all of these flowers. I love all of the arrangements and picked tulips because I guess I was loving the pop of red just a bit more than the others. I’d put the hydrangeas in the bedroom and the roses in the kitchen.

My result was…drumroll…..

Polished Casual

You love to mix and match your favorites from several styles, so Polished Casual is the best way to describe your look. Crisp, fresh, and always comfortable, this approach anchors itself in neutral, subtle hues and furniture that isn’t fussy but isn’t slouchy either. Pair your clean-lined sofa with a dark leather wing chair or a weathered metal table—anything goes, but simplicity is key.
I think they got it right. “They” being a computer program. You can take the quiz here.
I took a few other quizzes, all in the interest of blog research, of course, and the next result is a hoot. It’s from HGTV and you can take it here. My result?

HGTV- Your style is Asian Zen

Clean, natural and serene with pops of red. Perfect for creating a peaceful atmosphere. Asian and Feng Shui work in my home.

If you’ve ever been to my house you’d know this couldn’t be farther off. Most of my house is blue and although I like red, I don’t know the first thing about Feng Shui. Although the clean, natural and serene sounds nice.

Lastly, I went to Ethan Allen (quiz here):

my signature lifestyle is

elegance

We’ve analyzed your selections – your Signature Lifestyle is Elegance. Elegance is the essence of timeless sophistication. A seamless composition of quintessentially classic design elements, reinterpreted through streamlined scale and shape. Luxurious yet beautifully livable. A cosmopolitan mix of clean woods paired with chic, enduring fabrics.

Ummm, I don’t think so. I mean, that hat, yikes!

It’s all in good fun and to be completely truthful, I took two more (!) quizzes and then my brain felt all mushy, I didn’t care what my style was and I wanted to live in a tent for a while.

Totally kidding about that tent thing…it’s cold outside.

Have fun and let me know your results in the comments.

A Vintage(ish) Tablescape

Wowie-Zowie, what a Sunday! Our church has been doing a “Family Sunday Dinner” on the first Sunday of every month for a while. It’s a good, old-fashioned, everybody-bring-a-dish type thing. For this past Sunday someone had beaten me to the “bring a salad” option (I’m looking at *you*, Cassandra) so I volunteered to bring spaghetti for the gluten free table. I made the sauce the night before and started cooking the pasta around 8am. Then we had church, lunch, grocery store and cleaning like mad because we’d invited friends over for the game. I didn’t really clean, I cooked. We had hot wings and curly fries and cookie balls on the menu. None of that is terribly difficult to make but the timing is tough and I didn’t realize how long it takes to fry french fries…forever! I made them with a curly fry maker that my Mom, Brother and I bought for my Dad years ago for Father’s Day and my Mom gave it to me a few years back. I had a ton of fun cooking it all and entertaining (I really love it all) but it was an all day affair. I even decorated for the Super Bowl.

Kidding…

This is about the extent of my Valentine’s Day decorating but I do have a super-yummy Valentine’s Day dessert in mind, gluten free of course. You might recognize these roses from my last post. My sweet hubby made a stop for me at Costco to pick up something, I think it was a loaf of bread, and came home with two dozen of these beautiful roses for me too. Swoon. I already had the scones in mind for a post but I wanted a really pretty tablescape too and put almost effort into that as I did to the scones so that’s what we’re talking about today.

In case you’ve forgotten it looked like this…

I’ve written about the vintage canning jar and while it wasn’t exactly a bargain it was worth it because I love it so much (find that post here). This is what I always intended to use it for regardless of the “kraut canning” advice. Yuck! The table cover (?), cloth (?), I’m not sure what it is exactly,  is one of several things I bought at a garage sale in the fall. It was at a friend’s house and there was a box of antique linens for 25 cents a piece. Hooray! I absolutely love this and another one that I bought but haven’t photographed yet.

I love the stitch work…

It’s also in perfect condition. I don’t know anything about the design or stitches but if anyone does I’d love to hear about it.

I think I love it all so much because it’s not just antique or just vintage but is a nice mix of some really pretty pieces that I have mixed in with a few things from Target’s white aisle and a pretty coffee mug that I bought on clearance for $2 for a pack of four at TJ Maxx. It’s simple and pretty and is a mix of some of my very favorite things.

I was talking with a friend last night and she mentioned how I always have to do everything perfectly. I promise, I don’t really. I mentioned that she makes beautiful, handmade cards and she replied, “That’s just fun”. Well, for me, putting flowers into a vintage canning jar and making things a little bit prettier is just fun.