All Day Thrift Marathon

 

It’s not very often that I get to go on an all day thrifting/shopping spree (ok, more like never!) so when my mom called me up and said she was in the “shopping mood” and ready to find some new things for her house, I was totally on board! I mean really, how could I pass up shopping and thrifting with someone else’s money? Not to mention some quality time with my mom!

To me, the best kind of shopping trip and the one’s where I usually find the most fabulous treasure’s are the ones where there is absolutely no agenda, and this was exactly our plan … to have no plan. Does that make any sense?

My mom knew she wanted to redo their great room, but didn’t have any specific idea of what she wanted other than to lighten and freshen it up and to have it done in a few days (it was a surprise for my Dad and she wanted it to be done before he got back in town!) So we shopped and shopped … and shopped some more. We shopped at thrift stores, at discount stores, at retail stores, we even found a free hutch on the side of the road during all this (that right there was a sign of good things to come). Believe me when I say we shopped like I have never shopped before. It was so much fun to find things along the way and have the room come together piece by piece. You would think we were gitty little school girls whenever we found something awesome!

As we the day went on, we would drive back to my house and unload, only to fill the truck back up and come unload again and again! Here is how my garage looked after a day of shopping. And this didn’t even include all of the linins and accessories that were piling up too!

 

 

 

We found this old shoe shiners stand (at least that’s what we think it is) for only $30 at the DI. We fell in love and had to have it! It will be perfect with a new top as a TV stand … I can’t wait to get started on it!

 

After all the shopping was done, it was time for the overhaul! It took a lot of work and it was a super late night, but it was so worth it! I love how it turned out … check back later this week for the reveal!

What a Little Spray Paint Can Do!

Do you see these beauties? Well they are a couple of my recent fab thrift finds.

 

 

The shelf is some sort of home made shelf … not sure what it was used for, but I knew for six bucks I was taking it home. And who doesn’t need a framed puzzle ;)?!? Okay maybe not the puzzle, but I thought the frame was a great size and had so many possibilities. I was envisioning a message board, or using it to frame a poster sized sports shot of one of the boys, or maybe as part of a fabulously large collage wall. The possibilities were endless so I snatched it up as well.

After a few weeks of them collecting dust in my basement, I decided on using them in Mason’s room. He used to share a room in the basement with Griffin but as he is getting older we felt like he could use a space of his own, so we did a swap with little brother Dax. I repainted the room to give it more of a big kid feel but haven’t got around to doing much else to personalize it. His room is in desperate need of wall décor and these two fit the bill.

Remember last week when I said I was off to do a little spray painting? (Sorry I didn’t get it up sooner … life happens!)

Well, here’s how they turned out.

 

Sooo much better in my opinion! The shelf is going to be used to display all of M’s ever growing trophy collection  and I’m still undecided on the frame. But already with just a little spray paint I am inspired to finish up his room. More on M’s room in another post (It’s one of my favorites in the house!)

What have you transformed with a little spray paint lately? Anything good?

To Thrift or Not to Thrift

I must say that it has only been in the last few years that I have discovered the joy of thrifting. Not only have I discovered it, but I dare say I have become an addict. Is there such a thing as a thrift addict? If you say no, then I dare you to come take a peek in my basement! It is quickly filling up with my finds, and boy oh boy do I have plans!  I am amazed at the things I find. And even more amazed once they have been cleaned, polished and transformed.

Now don’t get me wrong, there is definitely a lot of junk, crap, and just plain old garbage hanging around the thrift stores … but if you take the time to dig (and let’s face it, digging is much easier when you are kid free), there is treasure to be found. And heck, who doesn’t love a good treasure hunt? I know I do! On occasion, I even get lucky and stumble upon something fab without so much as lifting a finger. (LOVE that!)

So after all this thrift talk, I think it’s only fair that I show you one of my finds.

This pretty lady was sitting with my name on it and because of the bad paint job it also had a pretty price tag. You may not be able to tell just how bad the paint job is, but trust me when I say it’s bad. It’s like someone painted it with an old dried up brush … you know the ones that you’re just to lazy to really clean out after using. Anyway, it’s bad!

But it’s solid wood, very sturdy, and I liked the spindly legs, so I ran over and laid on it until the nice man tagged it for me. Ha. No, but really I bought it and haven’t looked back. It’s since been stripped of it’s beauty and is awaiting a little magic!

 

So I guess the question should not be . . .

To Thrift or not to Thrift?

 

but,

 

When to thrift?

or

Why NOT thrift?