Kitchen Planning

Hopefully, soon, very soon, we'll be ripping out our hideous kitchen and starting over.  It's not *that* bad, really, but it's a pretty unworkable space and 2 people trying to cook at the same time is pretty much a nightmare.

So, we're saving pennies and planning.  Here's where I am right now:

I scored this gently used Five Star range from CL - gas cooktop and electric oven with a built in griddle. It's insanely heavy - I dread the day it's got to come up the stairs; it's currently chilling in our carport cleverly disguised with an old sheet.

Digging this Glacier White granite. I think it's also called River White. It has little flecks of red, which look like natural garnets. I like Silestone, too, but it's going to be out of the budget.

Source: gorgeousshinythings.blogspot.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

I was leaning towards a light grey or white cabinet, but these navy lowers are so sharp! I wonder if I would tire of them easily?

Source: centsationalgirl.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

I want mostly open shelving uppers, which will be a lighter color or natural wood. I think that will balance the rich navy lowers nicely.  I may shave a few pennies off by trying some kind of IKEA shelving options here.  I can hear my husband groaning across town at this DIY idea.

Coral Skinny Jeans

Can I say that these $30 colored skinny jeans from JC Penney rock? Soft, stretchy, lightweight and fit my fuller lower half well.

JCP's having a bit of a moment. I'm liking their new look, branding and products.  There's still a lotta fug in there, for sure, but some great, affordable pieces, too.

Yard Sale Score

A house down the street was having a "downsizing sale" this morning so we swung by on our way to another tag sale.

This rug was rolled up with a sticker that said "free with any purchase". Music to my cheap little ears! I bought a beat up mid-century dresser for $30 that I intend to rehab (photos to come) so this rug came home with us for FREE!

The seller kept pointing out that it's worn. I was like, lady, worn is IN! Anthropologie would be selling this for $500.

Paint it Black

I finally finished painting my campaign dresser.  It's a cheapo laminate deal, not real wood so I primed it first and then painted with high gloss black. 

I'm thinking of polishing up the brass fittings a bit and then calling it done. Such an improvement, no?

Deal Alert

Though Jan17th this 8 x 10 jute rug is $199 plus an additional 15% off at PotteryBarn.com.  Not a bad price! I think it ends up being about $232 out the door, including the (annoying) shipping surcharge. 

I ordered it after searching CL for one for months.  They just don't come up here in Raleigh at all!  So I bit the bullet and ordered and it'll going in the dining room when it arrives.

The Parrots of CASA HV

Last week I talked about a great source for frameable prints - oversize calendars! The Taschen parrot 2010 is awesome and less than $6 on Amazon. Not kidding! It's printed on heavy, textured stock and is even perfed so you can tear off the calendar-y parts easily.

Here are my results:

The print's a bit of an awkward size - 13.5" x 16" so I went with a 16" x 20" floating frame from Target. No custom frame or mat required!

Hanging below is a framed piece of gift wrap (the flat sheets hanging on racks) from Paper Source. I've been hanging onto for years. It's a vintage map of Paris in an IKEA frame. I have another snippet of the same map hanging in the bedroom.


I'm 3 hours away from an IKEA, my usual source for affordable frames. But Target has some excellent options, too. Why pay more?

Deal of the Century

If you like bird decor like me purchase this parrot calendar post haste. Excellent for slicing, dicing and framing! 12 gorgeous birds for less than $6.

Mine arrived today and I'll be on the hunt for frames this weekend.

Now a break from our regularly scheduled programming...

This blog isn't really about fashion, but it is about DEALS and this may be one of my happiest deals yet! I found this cute vintage sheath at a thrift store in Garner this weekend. It fits like a glove! And I have a hard time finding vintage that fits given my ample bum. It's a Twiggy brand dress -- I wonder if that refers to the model Twiggy?

Dwell @ Joann

Joann has some great and not so great fabrics. Their 50% off fabric sale is going on right now so I hopped over to check out their selection. I have a chair to recover so I am in the market for some home decor fabric.

I was pleased to learn they carry some DwellStudio for Robert Allen fabrics, which are an oasis of modernity in a sea of toile, plaid and fugly florals. Here are my picks:




I picked up 3 yards of the green scroll for a window treatment project I am plotting.

I hear tell of some amazing outlets up in the Burlington area and down near Charlotte where upholstery can be had for $3/yard. I will have to get out there to check things out shortly.

Seated

My thrift score for the week from Dorcas. This charming little chair reminds me of something that might be pulled up to a vanity or in a boudoir. Not sure what a boudoir even is but this strikes me as the right little piece of furniture. It's covered in a strange 50's or 60's neutral with metallic flecks that has seen better days, for sure. For $8, I figured it would be worth recovering. It will be nice in the small guest room.

Living

I snagged a new sofa from the ole CL over the weekend. My heart was set on white but with a sneaky beagle and a sloppy me, it probably would not have ended well. I found this basic, steel gray piece in excellent condition. The simple lines will help it last throughout my many decorating moods (hopefully).

The living room will need to be painted again, it's going to Behr Oyster. I need it to coordinate with what's going on in the dining room. Boring, yes, but again a basic backdrop to build upon.

HomeGoods visit

There's been lots of love for HomeGoods out in blog land lately and I have to admit I am addict as well. I have 2 nearby so I can get my fix pretty easily. There is some great stuff to be had and the clearance aisles can be awesome, if you hit it right. I stopped by this week before my scout leaders meeting and caught a couple of cute things:

$20-$40 nesting tables with bamboo legs.

$299 mirrored bureau. I would put it in my dining room.

Pattered baskets would be colorful clutter catchers. Didn't catch the price on these.

As with all things in life, there's a dirty underbelly. On to the bad:

The shape of these chairs are perfectly fin, but the fabric is straight out of a Red Roof Inn circa 1992.

Sarah Palin's book. Blargh. Gotta hand it to her, though, she's a good lookin' grandma.

Of course, I grabbed a couple of items I'll show off a little later.

Lighting

A pair of these great sconces from Z Gallerie made their way into our house (how did that happen?) today. I saw them first on YoungHouseLove and then found out they were on clearance for $12. For around $30 including shipping, I thought they would be a sweet addition to the dining room.

Overstock Rugs

Overstock has a huge selection of rugs in all sizes. Some are fug but I thought these were all nice and could work for the dining room. I moved a sisal rug I had in there into the guest bedroom to disguise some stains created by a certain, ahem, beagle. Now I need something that will hide dirt and wear well.

You can't beat the shipping prices.

Never Pay Retail

Found one of these Petrie chairs on Craigslist...hopefully it's still available, it would be perfect for the master BR corner here:

My ceramic pup!

Inspired by the kids over at YoungHouseLove, I set out to see if I could find me a doggy statuette. One of my favorite places to buy afforable accessories is Marshalls, specifically the clearance area. Sure, lots of the stuff is fug or broken but often they mark down really good stuff. Probably because they have a bunch of the same item. There were at least 2 of these bad boys at my local store marked down to $15 from $25.

Our owl collection lives in the china cabinet in the dining room, too. Our house is very heavily decorated in animal decor. We have a wall of dog paintings in the living room, bird prints in the office, ceramic squirrels and our owls. They fill the top shelf here and are starting to pour out in to other areas of the house, too.

The perfect coffee table!

My dream coffee table for the living room. It's only $300 from Bassett but strangely they won't ship to NC so I'll have to hoof it over to the store and see if it's in stock. In any case, I'm still holding out for a thrift store find to walk into my life but this might be worth it.

Found via the fabu new-to-me blog, Brooklyn Limestone.