get your butts to the stores

because they are simply FLOODED with great awesome deals right now. I'll post all about mine from today later on :)

more frames and a clock

I just had to get back to that great 50% off sale at Target again. I eyed a set in there before but passed on it and have regretted it ever since. So today I picked up this great set of little silver frames for about $9.00. The original price is $19.99


I also picked up such a beautiful classic silver round clock for the guest room for a little less than $9.00. I can't find a picture of it online but it was a great find :)

I've been framed!

so check it out... Target has a lot of interesting frames right now for 50% off. There are some sort of weird ones out there but if you sort through it, some sort of neat ones too. Basically they could fit any style since there is such a wide variety.

I picked up this cute little one

it's really not this bright in person... it's really a very pretty green and I don't have a picture of weird old people attacking each other or anything like that in it (my dog, Miles, is actually gracing my frame).

like it? you can snag it yourself for $6.99.

outlet malls

I'm sure most of you guys know the joys of outlet malls. A great place to find a bargain and stock up a bit on a favorite that may be discontinuing. I headed out to our nearest outlet mall yesterday and picked up a few deals.

My first stop ALWAYS is the yankee candle outlet. You can always find a GREAT deal on big jar candles, many which are still selling for the big bucks in the regular store, votives, and if you're lucky, tarts. The tarts are a little hard to come by in your favorite latest greatest scents but if you dig a little you can still find a few things worth getting. But the best deal, in my opinion, is the tart burners. They discount great tart burners like crazy there. I picked up this one for a friend who loves beachy items


and a very pretty glass snowflake sort of one for me (can't find picture). They were 6 bucks a piece if you bought two.

I also love going to the bath and body works outlet. I can get great cheap wallflowers there and that's probably my favorite to pick up from there. I got one of those for a gift to give for about $5 (I believe they retail at about $12.50). I also picked up a large serving dish with a stand for about $16 for another gift.

You may be surprised at what you would find there, if you always thought it was for rejects and damaged goods.

a cheap vase-filler

it's that time of year. I don't know about you but I LOVE seasonal decorating. Especially for Christmas. I had an idea last year that I loved so much I am keeping this year but I wanted to share with all of you as well. It's my cheap vase filler.


can you tell what those are from the picture? they are silver jingle bells, snagged at Michaels for a few bucks. Very festive yet classy.

What do you think?

a few recent scores

I have a confession.

I have NOT been in the Christmas spirit yet. My hubby and I decorated a little bit a few days ago and I was just NOT into it. I don't know why, and I am sad about it. However, I discovered a little bit of Christmas cheer through some retail therapy. Yes, I know that's terrible and that Christmas is about MUCH more than just things, but it really lifted my spirits to be able to get a few little things to make my house closer to the Christmas look I wanted.

We went last night and Target had a large percentage of their Christmas stuff on sale. I was looking for a cute apothecary type jar to put some Hershey kisses in for my coffee table. I saw a small one in the home decor section for $19.99... yikes. So I wander over to the Christmas items and they have several beautiful items there. and low and behold, there is a beautiful apothecary jar that is MUCH larger than that other one sitting below the ornaments. It's a few bucks cheaper and larger so I figure what the heck. I'll get it. So that was one of the things I brought up with me and I was pleasantly surprised when it rang up on sale cheaper than the list price. I got that sucker for $16. I am pretty satisfied with that price. I know if I could have waited until after Christmas I probably could have gotten it cheaper IF I had been lucky enough to find it, but I really wanted it for this season.

They also have some really adorable photo frames for sale right now. Check out that section if you go too.

Next we headed to Marshalls who actually has some cute Christmas tree skirts. I scored a beautiful one for just under $20. I highly recommend going there if you're looking for Christmas decor because they had it in an ABUNDANCE! I could have stayed and looked around for a lot longer if I didn't have my yawning and hungry husband with me.

Last but not least, people, Pottery Barn is AFFORDABLE on something!!! sound the trumpets and take me home! In other words, it's shocking but good.

Some very lovely ladies tipped me off to a great deal on stockings. Right now you can score on these


The large ones are on sale for $10 each, and the small ones are on sale for $6 each. I heard something about free shipping as well but it looks like that may have disappeared today :( they have to spoil the fun, don't they? I even heard something about free personalization but I'm not sure how they got that or if it's still around. All things worth checking out though, wouldn't you say?

adorable etsy find

okay, we've talked etsy, have we not? yes, we have. A WONDERFUL place to find unique and custom gifts for Christmas without spending an arm and a leg. Now I hope she doesn't mind me whoring out her site but I'm sure she wont... but see that link over on the side there? for puffer progress? She has a recent post showing how she makes CUSTOM ornaments based on pictures of your pet. Personally, I think it is TOO CUTE for words and and at $15 a pop, you can afford that unique gift for that animal lover that you can't quite figure out what to get.


click here to go to her etsy store and buy one today!! (and one for me, please)

another weekend deal

okay okay... so a TRUE deals freak would have been out there on black friday at the crack of dawn saving hundreds of $$, right? Well to SAVE that much money, you have to have that much money to spend in the first place. And to be honest, it just wasn't worth giving up my sleeping time... because I really love my sleep. I did get out for some shopping that weekend though and I got a few fun little deals.

Old Navy had some sweet little sales and I BADLY needed some new pajama pants (one of my pairs was literally falling apart at the waist). I picked up a few pairs for a nice discount


I also picked up an adorable vibrant red wool pea coat for HALF PRICE. It doesn't get much better than that. According to their website, it seems some of these sales MAY still be going on so get your little hiney over there if you need some new clothes. Can't get out? no biggie.. the website is having decent sales right now too AND for right now they have free shipping if you add some piperlime shoes to your order. Admittedly, those shoes can be a bit pricey, but if you are needing some anyway, head on over to the final sale section and see if anything catches your fancy. Me? I'm a bit partial to these

storage joy

okay, I'm a bit of an organizational freak. I didn't used to be, and I'm not sure how I got this way, but it is what it is. I love having a place for everything, and everything in it's place. So when we got our Wii, of course we had a dozen or so accessories with no place to put them. I have been checking out this certain storage bin every single time we went to target.


I had snagged a small one when they clearanced those out for SUPER cheap to put dog toys in and have been loving that. This large one seemed to be there to stay though. Stubborn little fella NEVER gets clearanced out and never goes on sale. That is, until last weekend. Oh that special yellow "price cut" sticker was gloriously sticking out from under where they sat on the shelf. Of course I had to rush over and match every single number to the tag since I have been fooled by misplacements before (some target employees don't give a hoot and give me the price it was being falsely advertised for and some just shrug and say sorry). Anyway, it matched. It truly was on sale. I snatched it up for about $17. Not as cheap as I would have liked or if they had indeed been phasing it out of the store, but at this point I had been looking at it for SO long and this was the first sale I ever saw so I jumped. It fits so perfectly into our little piece of furniture in the living room that has these squares in it. It was made to be there. Now all of our fun little wii accessories have a convenient place to be stored all while being out of sight so I don't see the clutter. Happy camper? I'd say so.

But just you wait.. now that I bought it I bet they will be phasing it out of the store any day now. sigh. Oh well, that's the risk I took. I will have to force myself to just not look anymore so I don't torture myself.

need a new tv?

we sure do. Target has a great sale price on some Olevias right now, on sale over the recently dropped prices. We'll most likely be picking up one later this week. So if you're in the market, be sure to check it out.

time to jump!

just wanted to remind you that now is the time to start keeping your eyes out for clearance fall decor to stock up for next year or even incorporate into your thanksgiving decorating this year. I love picking up something great for really cheap at the end of a season and packing it up and forgetting about it. Then when I unpack it the next year it's like getting it twice, without have to pay twice. I have a lot of my current holiday decor from doing this.

I happen to know of a pretty fall wreath at Target on clearance right now

Attention Ladies:

how would you like a great deal on two Victoria's Secret bras and a pair of undies?

I recently caught wind of a great deal from Victoria's Secret. I was able to purchase two bras and a pair of panties for $17.99 total, including shipping and tax. Now THAT, my friends, is a good deal. Want to know how?

1. First add two of VS cotton bras in the 2 for $40 section
2. Then add 1 cotton panty for $7.50
3. Check out. Make sure to check the box that you have promo codes
4. Enter and apply these two coupon codes:

*FA813789 for $10 off any bra
*25PTY for $25 off any two full priced bras and a free cotton panty

It works! I did it myself. The panty has to be either white, black, or pink for the code to work. If it doesn't work, try going back and changing the color of the panty.

Hope you ladies enjoy this little deal!

oo, cute pillow!

anyone need a black and white pillow? I haven't seen this in store, but I found it on Target's website.


It's on clearance currently for $10.24. click here for more info.

deal alert

wandering around Target the other day, I found a ceramic horse sculpture that I knew was familiar. Ah yes, I've seen it in the home of the bloggers at This Young House (link to the left). You can see it in the first picture of this entry.


On their website is is currently listed for the clearance price of $10.49 but I saw it for $6 something in our local store. It doesn't really fit with my home but I thought maybe one of you could use it.

some more lamp love

so I sat down for a nice relaxing evening and grabbed my pottery barn catalog to flip through all of their overpriced stuff to see what I could copy for a lot cheaper when I came across their new lamps that they love so much they are on the first page of their lamp section, featured.

This is the Pottery Barn Hamilton table lamp

It bore a striking resemblance that I could not ignore to my pharmacy lamp that I had picked up from Target several months before.

my Target pharmacy lamp

personally, I'm actually a little more partial to the style of mine. The Pottery Barn Hamilton lamp currently retails at $139.00. I picked up mine for approximately $20! What a huge difference in price. The quality is spectacular and the design is beautiful. I totally win, Pottery Barn.

Now I am not finding my lamp on Target's website, but I do see it occasionally in store. So if you're hoping to snag one of your own, check out your nearest store. There is a similar one on Target's website at the moment but I don't like it as much and it's a little more expensive than mine.

check out my cute new dress

cute, huh? Looks like something you'd see at Ann Taylor Loft or somewhere like that. Well you might be just as surprised as I was to find out that this little number here is from Old Navy. wow! They sure have jumped up for those performance fleece days (did I just get the jingle stuck in your head?). The best part is the price. It was only $30. With all the sales they've had going on these days I dragged my husband to the store and announced he was my best friend for best friends weekend and I got 20% off of the already low price. I will reward said husband by wearing it tonight on our date night. Isn't he lucky? Okay, maybe I'm the lucky one for finding such a great deal in such an unexpected place. They have several other great styles out there right now too. Check 'em out!

we've gone up

so I posted before about how many subscribers we have, via google reader. Well here's an update. We are now up to 151 subscribers. WOW. Thanks for reading my crappy and not updated enough blog! I feel honored that people would actually want to read my little ramblings. So now here's some homework for YOU. Leave a comment here and let me know how you found my blog. I'd be very interested to see the responses! thanks guys!

Deal Alert!

I read on a friend's blog about http://www.handbagplanet.com. These bags are inspired by popular designer brands but can be purchased from $30-$80, which is MUCH closer to what I'm willing to pay for a handbag. They are launching a new site and in the meantime are giving away a free bag each hour. And you all KNOW there is no better than FREE! So head over there and sign up for your free handbag. Just don't sign up for the one I want, because you'd decrease my chances ;)

DIY, sucka!

okay I'm sorry.. I shouldn't have called you that. I take it back. I was feeling feisty.

Okay, lets take a moment to talk about DIY (do it yourself). It's become a huge thing and people who would never attempt things like this are suddenly drawn to the possibilities. Especially with sites around like Etsy where people can DIY their own little crafts and then sell it to people who STILL think they can't do it. Okay, in some cases, these things take actual and real talent that some people just don't have.

But the best thing about DIY is how much money you can save with it. When we first moved into our house we had VERY little furniture, and basically none of it matched. I found a GREAT bed for sale at JcPenney that was iron and black (and totally cheap as these things go). So then I needed some furniture to go with it. You have seen in a previous post about my great deal on a side table, but what I've never shown you is the rest of the furniture in the room. Most of it is DIY. We had aquired an old VERY outdated dresser from the hub's parents. Not only was it ugly, but it was not in the best condition. It had scratch marks and dents all over it. Still, there was potential. it was solid wood and had a great base foundation to work with. So feeling particularly handy and with the spirit of just embarking on home ownership upon us, we treked over to Lowes and bought a sander, paint, and then headed to Target for a cheap pack of knobs.

So we set to work, we sanded the crap out of it and then slathered it with primer and painted away. It took quite a few coats but was very do-able. Even for us inexperienced DIYers. When all was said and done and dry, we threw the knobs on and the dresser was transformed.

A picture is worth a thousand words so here is the process:

Before:

ewww!


in process:

starting to see it...

Don't we look like experienced DIYers here? Oh yeah.. so cool.


After:

see our brand new dresser?? Totally transformed, wouldn't you say?

Here's a close up for the knobs we got in a money-saving pack at Target:



While we were at it we had an old coffee table the color of blonde wood that just did NOT go with my style anymore. We had aquired it for free somewhere or another. We decided to turn it into a bench for the end of the bed so we sanded and painted that sucker as well. I don't have any pictures of that process but it wasn't much different.

And here's how our little DIY projects fit in with the rest of the room:

what do you think? pretty nice room for most of the furniture in there being free, wouldn't you say? All it cost was was a sander (which can be spendy but we plan on using it in the future as well.. if you are looking at just one project you may want to look into renting or borrowing) and paint and supplies. Much cheaper than brand new furniture.

Do you have any great DIY projects you'd like to share with me? e-mail me and share it!

lighting the way to great deals

So.. in my last post you may have noticed I also upgraded those lamps in the bedroom big time. I was on the prowl for some lamps for quite a while. I checked out everywhere, I was surprised with how much lamps cost these days! You can tell I haven't bought any in a long time....

anyway, I finally found some that came as a set at linens 'n things which helped with the cost a lot. Plus they were pretty much exactly what I was looking for! I was sold. Two large great looking lamps for a combined price of $49.99. I was game for that.


Turns out the bargain hunter inside me had so much more in mind for me. I got to the store and searched for them and only found two out of the box, on display. Turns out there were none in stock in the boxes. The wheels in my head began to turn and I found a sales associate and began negotiations. First I had to convince her to sell me the floor models. After slight coaxing that was sealed. Then I pressed my luck further, pointed out a few inconspicuous spots that I knew I could easily clean up when I got home and asked about a price reduction for it being the floor model. Bingo. 25% off. I then pressed my luck further and asked about using a coupon on top of that. No go on that one. 2 for 3 sure isn't bad though! So I got two lamps for about $37.50, or $18.75 per lamp.

So there is your tip of the day, folks. It doesn't hurt to negotiate. The worst they can do is say no. Try to get some bargaining chips first like finding small flaws that you don't mind living with or that can be fixed. When you find things like that you actually have room to talk and wont come off as someone who is just too cheap to pay what they are asking.

matching furniture is priceless

We knew we were taking a risk when we bought our bed from overstock by itself, without being in a set or knowing what we could match it to, but we couldn't resist the awesome price when there was a pottery barn version floating around for more than twice this one. (don't ask me how much we paid.. I don't even remember.. it was a good one though... and no, they no longer have it on there).

When I spotted some nightstands at Target I felt they had a very good chance of going with our bed. I'm usually way off on these hunches but I was hopeful. They were listed at $99.99 which isn't TOO bad as far as nightstands go. I still knew I could do better. I had missed out on a sale on them at one point so I waited it out, hoping it would come back around to the sale price. That day came and they were put on sale for $79.99 and I snagged two of them. So I saved $40 total on them. And YOU all know how I can stretch out $40, so that was a pretty big savings for me!

Anyway, check out my awesome reward for waiting it out:

Before, with crappy temporary nightstands:




and here we are after, with my new awesome nightstands:


as you can see, my worries were completely unfounded. It was a PERFECT match and they look like they belong together in a set. Now I just have to wait to pounce on some dressers ;)

whoops

I just realized I never told you guys where I got the pillow a few posts down. It's from JCPenny :)

96

WOW! so.. I just found out that this blog has 96 subscribers. 96. I'm kind of flabbergasted about that. That means I let 96 people down when I just up and stopped writing. Not that this blog is so cool and that everyone is just waiting with bated breath for me to write entries. But still, apparently people DO want to read stuff from it. Okay... well maybe that was the kick in the pants I needed. I am going to give an honest effort to stay on top of this blog and keep you all entertained! Just as long as you all keep reading :)

Deals alert

I wanted to let you all know that there is a sale going on at Michaels right now. They are celebrating the opening of their 1000th store so they have savings store wide. Notables are: most frames are on sale, a lot of scrapbooking supplies are on sale (they had some great paper storage sitting out front), and baskets are on sale. I love baskets. They are fun and help organize. You're sure to find SOMETHING you need or want there. They also have some really cheap but cute fall decor there if you want to get in a festive mood!

I'm a bad blogger

I really am. I'm sorry blog, I will try to dedicate a little more time and attention to you. I'm sorry readers, for not giving you fun things to read. Between this and my personal blog, my personal blog has been getting a LOT more love. It's not that I haven't found deals.. I have! and I will try my best to remember them all for you.

But for now, this is a little clothing edition for you!

I walked into Old Navy last night because I was in the area so I figured I'd drop in and see what they had to offer me. I've been waiting for them to get in a certain sweater in a certain color and certain size but no luck, once again. I did however find some gems in the clearance section. Sometimes they throw everything together that is clearance and to be honest, it's a little too much to sort through, even for the best bargain hunter. But it was neatly organized that night into sizes. I ended up finding a lounge top for sleeping in for $3.99


and some cute black capri lounge pants to go with it (no picture, sorry) for $6.99

I also picked up this fun sporty jacket for those casual fall days for $9.99


I've also had luck lately with getting some really cute shoes online at Old Navy. I ordered several things from Gap and Old Navy recently where they had a promotion going for free shipping if you order from two or more of their stores (gap, old navy, banana republic, and piperlime). If you didn't know, all of their websites have been combined into basically one, so your one shopping cart holds items from all four stores. So anyway, some great shoes I have picked up lately have been these

and these


I also got some adorable satiny more formal looking flats but it seems they are out now.


All of these shoes mentioned and shown I bought for $5.99 each. Not bad. Not bad at all.

When did my order for free shipping, I also picked up this bag for $12.99



one of my best tips for finding great deals on great clothing is to go to these sites and find the clearance section. There are so many more cool things floating around online in these sections than there are in the stores. And a lot of times you can snag a free shipping code as well.

well that's it for this entry. Let me know how you liked the clothing edition or if I should just stick to home decor :)

come on down, house guests.. we're ready for you!

that is, now that we got our last remaining piece of furniture for our guest room.

I had been keeping my eyes peeled for a side table to go in the guest bedroom. My requirements:

1. it had to be black

2. it has to be not hideous

3. it had to be cheap

that was it. You'd think it would have been easier than it was. Granted, I wasn't actively seeking it out.. just keeping it in mind while I was already out. There was a table that I thought was pretty decent at Target.. not first choice but not terrible.. especially for just a simple guest room table. That piece, however, was not the price I was willing to pay. So I watched and it went on sale... still wasn't willing to pay that much for something I didn't absolutely head to toe love. So when it got down to there being two left, and one was scratched up beyond recognition and the other was in pretty decent shape and both were marked down to $25 I decided it was time to make my move. So we got it and I think it's lovely in there. Check mark off of the "to buy for the house" list. ahhh.

the hubs knows a deal when he sees it

When I started doing some idea boards for people, I found some pillows I used in one of them... and oh man I fell in love with that pillow and wanted it all for my very own. I've been coveting it for a while... and I may have casually shown it to the hubby at some point. Well the other day he purchased it as a surprise for me. It was on a great sale and could not be passed up.

I got the green one. The sucker was originally $24.99, on sale for $11.99. Of course, if it were me I would have searched long and hard for a free shipping code, but that's okay... it was still a great sale! Guess I'm rubbing off on him, huh?

mail call!

I just saw that I had received an e-mail from a reader. She had seen my post on my desk and she wanted to share her own deal. She was able to use four 50% of coupons at Michaels on cubes just like the ones I used from Target on my desk. She got 4 of them for only $60! Way to go, Lauren! You paid less than me!

idea boards

so I've been kind of bored lately so I've been making idea boards for friends. Idea boards are things that you would like to buy to pull a room together. You can kind of see it all together and how it would look. The background color is the paint color I recommended. I incorporated things they already had or pieces the definitely wanted and worked around that, and of course, everything I picked was relatively cheap. In fact, most of it was from Target. So I thought I'd share these with you, and maybe you can get some inspiration for your own space.

This room is for someone's office. They already had dark desks and bookcases and that chair you see is something they already had that was to be incorporated. They also already had a futon but were shopping for a new mattress. Here's the breakdown:

futon- Target: $188.99 (but that includes the frame)
pillow- Target: $24.99 (don't worry, it's new.. it'll go down.)
curtains- Target: $17.99-$19.99
vase- Target: $holycrapnevermind... um.. I didn't notice the price on this before... it's really really really overprice so just... ignore that... i am a disgrace to this blog


this particular board is for a living room. None of this is pre-existing stuff but the person wanted something to do with travel but still have something warm and inviting and cozy. It was the first room you want into.

Chair- Target: $299.99
Artwork- Allposters.com: $9.99
Couch- Target: $399.99
Vase- Target: $29.99
Lamp- Target: $165.99 (ew, I don't like that price either.. for a LAMP)
Curtains- Target: $31.99-$32.99


one of my personal favorites. this is for a living room which is open to a kitchen. The hanging light in the left corner is the choice of the person who this board is for for the kitchen.. that was my inspiration for the rest of my design. So here we go:

Table Lamp- Target: $119.99
Curtains- Target: $29.99-$34.99
Couch- Target: $189.99-$319.99
Table- Target: $79.99
Vase- Target: $7.99 (that's what I'm talkin' about!!)
Art- Target: $79.99

okay, there are more but that's all I'm doing for now. To be continued...

it's the little things

so I went on a little Saturday trip to Target today (the hubbie was out of shampoo) and then I saw my favorite thing. A red clearance sticker. It was on something I had mentioned before that if I saw it on clearance, I would get it. It will be a great accent piece for spring and summer. It's a lantern pillar candle holder. They have three different sizes and I got the small one that is regularly $12.99 and on sale for $6.48. I snagged it immediately! It's resting on my mantle right now but will find it's permanent (at least for the spring/summer seasons) once we get down to organizing our dvds so they don't take up so much space. Anyway, here's a picture of it:


I'm on my way to a more care free airy summery living space, of course for less.

vase variety

If you are looking around for vases right now, Target has a ton of them on sale. Now that I have my flower garden, I've been trying to keep my eyes open for bud vases to put out a flower that may be snapped off the plant. I found a really cute teardrop glass bud vase for $1.49 last night so I snagged it up, and right now it is proudly displaying a gerbera daisy.

oh, also saw some pots and hammocks on sale for your outdoor needs. I BADLY want a hammock but unfortunately, that will have to wait. Hopefully I can still find a good deal though.

yes, I AM pathetic

I have been so terrible about updates here! I do have a valid excuse though.. I am on a spending freeze! I can't buy fun cheap things for a while :( Isn't that so sad? I remembered something I could write about though. Not too long ago my husband and I did a DIY desk for our office. Our inspiration? what else... Pottery Barn. This desk has been around for a while and I have been drooling over it from the very minute I saw it.

by the way, they have changed the picture for this desk about 4 times (at least) since they came out with it.

Anyway, it is sold in pieces and you can choose what you want. I wont give you a complete run-down of the prices (you can find that on their website), but lets just say that the SMALL corner desk top (desk top ALONE.. nothing to hold it up) is ON SALE for $219. Yikes.

JCPenney can always be counted on for a good pottery barn knock-off. Here's theirs:

It also comes in white, which I happen to prefer. Theirs is also sold as components and their corner desktop is on sale for $149 BUT they throw in a single leg ;) So if you can magically balance a desk on one leg, you wont have to buy any more of the components!

Alright.. onto the cool part. Here is my desk in my personal office (please keep in mind my office is FAR from finished and PLEASE ignore the mismatched chairs.. and yes, my office really IS orange):



Alright.. here is the run-down on our desk and the pricing.

the "legs" are cubes stacked on top of each other. They were purchased at Target but Michael's has some almost identical ones for SLIGHTLY more expensive. Ours were around the range of $25. Some were a few dollars less, some were a few dollars more so we're just going to say $25 each and make it easy. We purchased 8 of them.

The desk top was all made out of ONE large sheet of wood that cost us about $10. We had it cut at the store for us.

We purchased a long piece of wood and cut it up to make two legs for the corner part of the desk to support it there. That only cost about $2.

Then there was the paint. That was about $20.

Lastly were brackets because the longest part of the desktop is two pieces put together and then the short part was another piece. We needed to put them together to have it lay flat and stay together. That cost about $3.

so the run-down:

Cubes- $25 x 8 = $200
wood for desktop- $10
wood for legs- $2
paint- $20
brackets- $3
labor- free ;)

for a total approx. cost of:
$235

and that is for a HUGE desk that takes up an entire wall on one side and a large part of a second wall with tons of storage. For that, you can barely get one small part of a desktop at Pottery Barn.. IF it's on sale :)

So kids, what have we learned today? DIY, if you can do it (and trust me, everyone can do something like this.. it didn't take ANY carpentry skills) and you will save lots of $$ in the end.

large letters

so a big decorating trend these days have been using letters in your decor. I really liked that trend and picked myself up a B for my last name and display it on some floating shelves.

Here's a picture of my letter:


these letters are pretty elusive and hard to find now though. I mentioned before about shopping the end caps at Target and that's where this little guy came from. I can't remember the specific price I paid, but I want to say it was around the $5 range for this one. This was on final clearance. The only other place that you can find similar items right now that I've seen is (surprise surprise) pottery barn.


these letter range from $19-$24. However, there IS a great sale going on right now on them. They are currently $9.99-$14.99. Not a terrible price if you really want one, since they are becoming increasingly harder to find and are no longer available at Target.

I'd have to say that MOST of the things are purchase are on final clearance, and thus extremely hard to find. That makes it hard if you see something you really like on this blog, but there is a valuable lesson to learn in that. Be CONSTANTLY on the look for things you like, and then if you feel you wont die if you lose out, wait. Yes, you MAY miss out, but chances are you are going to get a really great deal.

dining chairs

I recently got a request to tell where I got my dining chairs from. Lucky for you, I was true to my frugal self (I get it from my dad) and they were also a great buy.

Here is a picture of my set:


Similar chairs can be found at pottery barn:


These chairs are $199, $269 if you want the arm chair.

Then I found this at JCPenney:


(don't worry, it comes in other colors) for $499.99 for the table ALONE (however it is currently on sale for $249.99) with the chairs being $129.99 (on sale currently for $79.99).

Now is the time for me to tell where mine came from and what I paid for it. Okay, first off, it came as a set. So no chairs sold separately, sorry. Secondly, the entire set was purchased for $150.00. Third, it came from... *drumroll*...


....


k-mart. Yes, K-MART. I could hardly believe it either. Before you snub your nose at k-mart, know that I've had this dining set for three years now, and it has held up BEAUTIFULLY. We still love it just as much as when we got it. It is somewhat on the small side, but it is PERFECT for our small dining space. So if you are looking, take a look at k-mart. My specific set isn't in stock any more, but there are some very similar sets there. The sets currently in stock are way less than the options above, but still slightly more than what I got it for. But hey, then I wouldn't have paid less than you ;)

Stainless steel trash can

simple human trashcans have been "in" for a while now. People love them. There are several great features of them, but the one that always appealed to me most was just how great they looked. I really wanted something that would look good and would be stainless steel to match my appliances in my kitchen since it had to sit out in the open because I didn't have any room in any cabinets in my kitchen.

The downside of these simple human trash cans is just how darn expensive they can be. This model:

retails for up to $179.99. Lets face it, not many of us are willing to shell that out for something designed to store your waste.

So wanting that look but not for that price, I set out looking for cheap alternatives. The answer came from my in-laws who said they saw some at Sam's Club. So Matt and I ran over to check it out the day we moved into our house and found a model we could live with. I think it fits in pretty nicely. Here's a picture of ours:


Now our trash can retailed for a little under $50. You tell me; is the difference worth paying so much extra? For me, it wasn't, and we love our trash can.

wine rack

alright, lets start with something I've gotten many questions and comments on.

This is my wall wine rack that stores bottles on top and glasses on the bottom


The most popular version of this item hails from Pottery Barn:


This pottery barn version retails $65.00 for each piece. My all in one piece is from Target, and it was about $10. This shelf, even at Target, usually costs more than that. However, whenever I am in Target I make sure to shop the end caps of the aisles. You can find all sorts of final clearance items there. That is where I found this shelf.

I found a similar option at Target online right now:

and this one retails currently for $44.99.

Next time you're in Target, make sure you shop the end caps of the aisle. They often wont have what you want/are looking for, but every so often you stumble upon an absolutely wonderful find.