Try Again Tuesday (or Never Pay Retail Price!)

Thud, thud…THUD. What's that noise?? Oh, just me, falling off the blogging wagon. Again. But never fear, I'm climbing right back on. Here's the deal. I had a wonderful post all written out, ready for me to add some pics, a link or two and blam – I'd call it good. However, life came rushing by, jerking me by the collar as it went. And I got bogged down in the details. (If you know me in person, you're nodding your head right now, because seriously? I ALWAYS get bogged down in the details. I live my life in the details. <sigh>) I also have a few physical issues that sometimes prevent me from writing too frequently. They're acting up a bit at the moment, but I'm plugging through.

And. I'm back! And with a renewed passion. So, hold on tight, because we're in for a fun ride. 🙂 Here's what's up today…

So, what have I been up to? Why bargain shopping, of course! There’s nothing I love better that a good deal. You know exactly what I mean…your heart beats a little faster and a smile breaks out on your face. 😉

As some of you remember, we purchased a new home in September 2011. This is truly our dream home, with just a few blemishes. We bought it as a foreclosure, which is really the only reason we could even afford it. It was mis-listed (is that a word??) and as a result, had been reduced dramatically. Yup, I even bought my house on clearance! But, part of it being a foreclosure meant that certain items had been removed from the house. Now…I don’t really have strong feelings about this. I understand that having to leave one’s home would be traumatic. And seriously, it is your stuff you’re taking. But I also know some people take it WAY too far and vandalize their (former) homes. We were blessed in our situation. Even though the house was left unlocked for months (over a year), there was very little damage. The previous owner (or sometime in the unlocked time) had removed all the appliances. Including the water heater. And all the light fixtures. All of them. And, the weirdest thing – the sink/vanity top in my daughter’s/guest bath. I heard it was a designer sink type thing – would have loved to have seen it. So, why am I telling you all this? Well, we had/have some fixing up to do – on a shoestring budget. Or even less, like the tip of the shoestring budget. The sink, obviously had top priority – the girl had to be able to wash her hands. I obviously couldn’t wait for a sale or a deal to be had, which meant I just had to buy. We bought a lovely all-in-one deal from a local home improvement store and are happy with it.

Light fixtures? Well, I’m working on them a little at a time. I’m picky. I have specific tastes. Eclectic tastes. Which means I don’t know what I like until I see it. My husband and I always say I have Restoration Hardware taste on a thrift store budget. But the thrill is in the hunt!

You, my loyal blog readers, will be seeing some of my decorating attempts on this blog as well. Not overwhelmingly so. But a good find here and there as I find them will definitely appear.

This table? I am oh-so-happy with it! This came from that local furniture store that was moving. (They’ve moved now, so the great deals are gone, sadly.)

See that price tag?

Totally not in my budget. And even at the reduced price, it wasn’t in my budget. I spotted this lovely on my first trip to the store and fell in love! It was priced at $169, but the guy said he could let me have it for $135. <sigh> Still not in my price range. I even tried to get some friends to go buy it so it would have a loving home. We had a perfectly good coffee table that I really like! But this just called my name. So, I drooled over it and moved on. I made a few more trips to the store over the next week or two. They added new items (you’ll see those too!) and reduced items further. This little beauty went to $99. Hmm…still a little more than I wanted to pay. Then, I was taking my love back to work one day after lunch (we’re a one car family) and saw signs outside the shop announcing that it was “Final Days!” “Further Reductions!” Well, I couldn’t  just leave that alone! After dropping off my man, I stopped in. And oh….they had the table on it’s side, with a sign saying ‘loose leg’. YES! I asked about a stool (for my soon-to-be-revealed studio) and THIS table. $60. $60! Now, I had to carry the ‘loose leg’ out separately to be repaired at home. But $60?!? Sold!

<And absolute transparency? Yup, that's dust on the table in the pic. Do I wish it weren't there? Of course! But we have two indoor dogs and two kids in my house and we generate a bunch of dust on a daily basis. It's life…>

These wonderful orange-hued beauties? $25 for the set. I just adore them and they bring in a color I’m redoing the room in.

Speaking of good deals…Maya Road had their annual Springtime Warehouse Sale. I purchased a Priority box stuffed with goodies for over 73% off retail! I'll be sharing the goodies I received soon.

Another great deal I found? Dayspring was having a great clearance as well. I ordered these letters from their Redeemed clearance section. Regularly $49.99, on clearance for $19.99. Then I found a code to save an additional 30% off anything in the Redeemed Clearance section. That made the letters only $13.99! The next step is hanging them.

I kind of love letters on my walls. My absolutely favorite find? My husband’s father was a chiropractor who had to retire suddenly due to failing health. His family saved his sign from his office. !?! Which means we have our last name in professional signage. This makes me happy…

And REDEEMED? Oh yeah…I am.