toys

this week the boys and i went to the thrift store for a little entertainment one evening after dinner.  we came across a little barn that was in great condition for only $1.81.  i have been looking for a barn for noah to play with so i was excited that we had finally found one.  we brought it home, gave it a good cleaning, and changed out the batteries {when you open some of the gates it makes different animal sounds}  noah has been playing with it ever since. the barn didn’t come with any animals but luckily we already had some that went with a toy noah’s ark.

we also found this little toy vacuum.  it was only $1.81 too!  noah likes to clean when i do so now he can use his little vacuum while i am using our real vacuum.  unfortunately fortunately, we tried new batteries in the vacuum but the sound still didn’t work.  bummer, you know i love toys that make loud noise.

i would highly suggest checking out your local thrift stores for toys for your kiddos.  we have found some really fun things for noah and none of them have cost more than $3.

 

EDITED TO ADD: i saw the same Little People barn at Target this week brand new for $40!  looks like i did get a killer deal

thrift store finds

Do you ever have thrift store envy?  I unfortunately experienced it for the first time this week.

I was getting in line at Goodwill and the lady in front of me pulled a topiary out of her cart and put it up on the counter. I found myself thinking, “Darn it! I need that topiary. If only I had gotten to Goodwill ten minutes earlier and snatched up that topiary myself!!” I was hoping she might have a change of heart and decide not to get it at the last second but she didn’t. Oh well.

I did manage to find a few goodies though! On my last few trips to the thrift store I have been on the lookout for a cute tray to make a little vignette in my kitchen with.  I never found a wooden tray but I did come across this basket tray last week. I have never seen a basket tray before but I thought it was cute.  It was dark brown and a little dusty when I first spotted it but that didn’t deter me from snatching it off of the shelf.  I gave it the once over with some black paint as soon as I got it home and I like it even better now. Don’t you just love how spray paint can transform things?!? The tray sits in my hutch that is painted white so I like that black basket breaks up all the white I’ve got going on.

Right now my plan is to use this tray to put holiday decor on for each season.  At the moment I have my glass pumpkin jar on it which was also a Goodwill find. I added a black and white ribbon to it and a little candy corn went inside. And next to the jar is a new chalkbaord piece. The framed chalkboard I got on the same day I found my basket. The print inside the frame  was U-G-L-Y. Nothing a coat a chalkboard paint couldn’t fix. Have a I mentioned that I love chalkboard paint? I literally just painted right over the print and voila! a new framed chalkboard. I left the frame as is for now because I can’t decide what color I want to paint it. Any suggestions? I am not sure I am loving the dark green. It seems a little dark with the black chalkboard paint and the black basket. I thought about painting the chalkboard frame the same color as the goldish/bronze plates on my canisters but in a satin or matte finish.

Here is a picture of the other things on my kitchen hutch.

I thought about painting the chalkboard frame the same color as the goldish/bronze plates on my canisters but in a satin or matte finish.

Is it wrong that it bugs me that the candy corn in the jar clash with all the red in my kitchen?  Please feel free to laugh if that is about the silliest thing you have ever heard!

Edited:: I ended up painting the frame red to coordinate with the other red items in my kitchen {even though it clashes with candy corn!!} Although that really isn’t an issue since Hubs ate all the candy that was in my pumpkin jar

Here is the breakdown of how much my little “vignette” cost me:

Glass pumpkin jar $1.71

Framed print $1.51

Basket tray $1.51

**I already had the ribbon, black spray paint, and the chalkboard paint on hand.

saturday morning finds

Yesterday morning I snuck out of the house at 7:15 a.m. to hit up all the local garage sales with my friend Katie.  I have been wanting to go for a while but finally got the chance to go this weekend.

I got this set of small Christmas trees at the first sale we went to. I only paid $.75 for both of them!! I have been wanting a little tree for possibly my entry way and my kitchen. Now I can have one for both! I love that the trunks of the trees are wrapped in burlap.

My best steal of the day though was a framed mirror. I paid $9.00 for it which I didn’t think was bad considering it’s size. I probably could have paid less but the seller wasn’t there at the moment I was trying to strike up a deal. {it was a community type garage sale}

Here it is in it’s original state.

I LOVE IT!!. I have been finishing up a makeover of our master bedroom {more on that to come soon} and this mirror was just what I needed for one wall. I love it when things fall into place! The mirror was gray when I bought but it didn’t stay that color for long. I already put one coat of paint on it and it is drying as we speak.

I need to try to get out and go to garage sales more often. It definitely can be hit or miss but that is part of the adventure right? Thanks Katie for a fun morning!