A Silly Verse About Yard Selling

I walk up the lane and take in a wondrous vision. 
So many different things. I am on a mission!

I remind myself not to show my pleasure, 
but I'm jumping inside at the site of these treasures.

Slowly I gaze and wonder around some more. 
Oh look! Oh my! It's milk glass galore!

Another and another. I have found so many things
to fill my spirit. It's as if I had wings.

Walking away, I smile with satisfaction.
I MUST keep going. Its such an attraction. 

-Rachel Harvey

Finished Foyer (Almost)

So it has taken me quite a while to finish my foyer. Mostly because I don't like to paint walls. (It had an awful faux finish that made it look kinda dirty.) I've put it off till I couldn't stand it anymore! I do that quite often. NOW, It is painted and somewhat decorated. I say "somewhat" because I probably will add more once I find the perfect pieces, as in, the right shape, color, and size pieces.

Anyways, I am writing this post to tell you about a great website where you can print off high-quality nature paintings for free!

John James Audubon was an amazing artist who painted all kinds of birds in a very natural and eye-catching way. I just looove his style! All you have to do to print these great paintings to to subscribe to the email list. Easy peasy! Here is the link . . .  https://www.audubon.org/birds-of-america

I used two of his paintings in my foyer and I will probably use more around the house.

NOW on to the items I chose and their budget-friendly prices! I like to share the price of things I've found so you can see that it is so easy to decorate on a budget. Just be patient and keep searching. You WILL find great things you can use to decorate with! Everything in this foyer was under $12 each! Check out this list...

1. Picture frames - $7 each from Ikea
2. Vintage Sewing table - $10 (It got a fresh coat of paint too)
3. Refurbished Lamp - $12
4. Yard Sale Orchid(faux) - $2 
5. 1/2 off Wreath - $12
6. Yard sale rug - $3 (Threw it into the washer. Good as new.)
7. Coat Stand (not pictured) - $10
8. Bird Prints - Free
9. I got the basket and violin case at an estate sale. I don't remember the cost, but I know they weren't over $10.
10. Woven Bag - Had it for years and can't remember the cost. It was stored in a closet.

I accumulated all these things over 6 months or so. Patients and persistence is the key. I'll post more pics when it is completely finished. At least it is pleasing to look at, for now. 

Tip - That empty violin case hides the lamp cord and outlet. 

Replacing Cheap Door Knobs

New Vintage Knobs

After living in our new house for a few weeks we realized that the door knobs were cheap. Zach had to rig them up with some duck tape inside just so we can use them properly. WHAT A HASSLE!

We found the same door knobs online, which were about $17 a piece. Cheaply priced, cheaply made. Then we found the good quality ones that we need to fit the door properly. $70 BUCKS EACH! Zach kept telling me to buy one every month till they were all replaced, but I couldnt bring myself to do it. I am a cheapo and we need nine door knobs total. 9 x $70 = $630 JUST FOR DOOR KNOBS!

I waited and waited. I started getting stuck in the bathrooms and the boys rooms, because they were falling apart. Once when I got stuck in the bathroom, I had to unscrew the knob plate with my tweezers. At least my two boys (5 and 18 months) were with me and I didn't have to worry about their well-being. lol Wow. This is kinda funny as I am writing all of this down.

Anyways, Zach kept telling me to buy the $70 ones. "No!" I said, "You are just going to have to push that Buy button, cause I can't do it." Zach got on Ebay and started to look at vintage/antique knobs. We found two for $30 total! YAY! Zach installed them, and they are great! They work perfectly and look old. WIN WIN!

So all of our door knobs will be different, which gives our house just a little bit more personality.

The Perfect Estate Sale

My life-saver!

I just have to tell yall about the estate sale I went to today. It's hard to find a good one, but this one was excellent.

I had plenty of fruit snacks for Cayden, so he was set to just follow me around and eat his snack. As I walk in, I notice everything is well organized and priced. Almost immediately I find something. YAY! I am walking around with things in my hands trying to find a worker to ask if I can start a pile somewhere, when a worker approaches me. She says, "Let me help you," and then led me to the garage where they had shelves with a sign that said,"On hold." They had tons of shelves where you can place your finds and then go get more. GENIUS! I have never seen that before. It was great! So I kept going back and forth. Find something, go put it on the self...find...shelf. And Cayden just kept following me around while stuffing his mouth. lol. 

What a great experience! They have 50% off on Sunday, so I am definitely going back!

It's a Gamble!

When you think of "Estate Sale," you think of tons of stuff (goodies) that a family wants to get rid of, right? Well, that is what I think of.

So we went to this estate sale a couple of weeks ago. We drove thirty minutes to this sale. I was so excited! Eek! I almost left Zach and Cayden behind at the car to go find those sales inside. But I refrained, yet again. We all walked up to the garage. I took one look at a price tag on a jar, and I knew we aren't going to find much. Walking, I'm walking through. Yah, there is some great stuff, but the prices are outrageous! What are these people thinking! Of course the workers were hired to sell this stuff for the family. But come on! Don't you want to get rid of this stuff! hhh. We didn't buy a thing.

That's all I have to say.

Our Personal Collections

We finallyyyy got a curio cabinet for our personal collections. I'm the kind of person who will wait a long time until I find what I want at the right price. So I have been waiting a while for this curio. I found it on Craigslist and jumped on it. It is just perfect for us. YAY!

On the top shelf we showcase our vintage lighter collection. We don't smoke, but we just like lighters. Zach and I both collect them. On the second shelf is Zach's taxidermy collection. He likes the weird and unusual taxidermy. He is nuts. I will probably put my vintage compact collection on the third shelf. I just looove dainty compacts. I collect mostly Stratton compacts, which are the best in my book. I don't know why they don't make things like they used to. hhh.

Kangaroo and baby made from rabbit fur. Rockin' Duckling.

A few of my favorites.