What a Bargain!

About 99% of this blog has to do with home decor and crafts.  Today I am going to branch out to the lonely 1% and do a post having to do nothing with home decor or crafts, but still involves a bargain.

You've noticed that the name of my blog is Bargain Bound because I love a good bargain.

Have you heard of this store?

I visited the store in my town today and totally scored on some school clothes for my 7 year old daughter.  Now, let me say that with the weather we have here in Roseville (warm summers....actually warm until end of October) makes school-clothes shopping financially reasonable.  In all stores, almost all summer clothing is on some sort of sale, and many on clearance.  I always scoop up what I can find on sale and those clothes can be worn for at least the first 3 months of school.

Today I left with these outfits:

 top = $4.99 shorts = $3.99

dress = $4.99

shirt = $4.99 skirt w/shorts = $7.99

 shirt = $2.99 shorts = $6.99

 shirt = $2.99 skirt w/shorts = $4.99

Drum roll please.....

The total, with tax = $49.24

Hello....all of that for just under fifty bucks?  Now that's what I call a bargain!

 

  

Goodbye Red Wall

The best part about paint is that in a matter of hours, a room or accent wall can be transformed. 

We have had the wall above the fireplace a deep red for quite some time.  I have enjoyed having it such a rich color, but was ready for a change.  I wanted something brighter, crisper, cleaner-looking.  So many of the blogs I follow feature such bright "cool" colors that I like.  However, our entire home is full of "warm" colors and I am not about to change everything.

I pulled out my paint swatches and searched for a color that would go with our taupe-beige-tan surrounding walls.  I decided on a "butter" color...bright, clean-looking, and a color that would blend with the rest of our home.

In addition to the wall, I also painted our mantel.  If I was able to, I'd knock the entire thing out and put something with more flair and style, but not now.  Another day...another day.

The mantel was white.  I gave it a light sanding, primed it, and painted it dark brown.  It looks better in contrast to the butter color than a white mantel would have.

Here is a picture of what the wall/mantel looked like before painting it.

The ceiling in this room is vaulted and above the red wall is a plate rack that I display some silk flowers on.

 

Drum roll please....the "Butter" wall and brown mantel.  I also did a bit of rearranging with the decor on the mantel.  Obviously the owls don't pop out as much so I will be hunting for something to put there in place of them.

I replaced the flowers in the vases above the mirror with roses.

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...I had more time to complete projects around the house.

2.  I want...to find the perfect pair of white skinny jeans.

3.  I think...this season of "So You Think You Can Dance" is going to be a good one.

4.  I laugh...at the crazy running around our cat, Buzz, does.  He even plays "fetch."

5.  I appreciate...the patience of our daycare provider.

6.  I enjoy...sleeping in and having lazy summer mornings.

7.  I struggle...with getting things checked off my "To Do" list for the summer.

8.  I feel...sad that I won' be able to volunteer in my kids' classrooms this year since I will be going back to teaching full-time for the first time in 7 years.

9.  I recommend...this remix of "Call Me Maybe":  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XXKmtM6-oo.

10. I hope...my kids get along today so that I don't have to be the constant referee.

 

New Thrifty Finds

Today I went thrift shopping and boy has it been a LONG time since I've done that.  In fact, I had the whole day to myself...without my 2 kiddos.  I took advantage of an opening at my awesome home daycare that I use during the school year and enjoyed some alone time since school got out in early June. 

I thought I'd share a few of the finds I purchased today. 

The first was this glass jar and top.  It's funny because they don't really go together.  I think the lid is from something else, but they work together and for $1.50 you can't beat it.

The next item I found was this simple wooden crate...is it a crate?  I thought I could either stain it or paint it and this fall, fill it with some small (fake) red and green apples.  I can also envision flowers in it during the spring.  This, too, was around $1.00.

One of the pillows on my couch has colors in it that I am pulling from:  turquoise (muted), mustard, and dark red.  This piece caught my eye because it fell into the "mustard" category.  It was $2.00.

 

The above picture makes it look a bit darker than it actually is.  This picture is lighter and truer.

 

The last piece I purchased today was a candle holder.  I was pretty excited about this one being priced at $3.88.  It was hollering "SPRAY PAINT."  The colors are endless, but I will probably stick to something close to the natural color..maybe rubbed oil bronze at this point.  Some day though, when I want it for another place, I would love to spray paint it a vibrant color.

This is the truer color...in the natural light.

 

So there you have it--my thrifting for the day and all for under $10.00.  

Hopefully soon I can write another post about how I am utilizing all of the things I bought today.

Patriotic Pieces

I had a couple of pieces hanging around the house that could be used for 4th of July.  The first was this wooden flag I picked up last year for a couple of dollars at a Thrift Store.  I thought it would look nice hanging outside our front door.

I had some red acrylic paint, but picked up some white and blue along with some clear spray paint at Hobby Lobby.

 

After a couple of coats of acrylic paint and a couple coats of spray paint, it was all done.

The other thing I had around the house was this styrofoam star...don't know where it came from.

I was pretty much stumped as to what to do with it.  I stumbled across these pom-pom balls and thought they might work. I bought some red, white, and blue ones.

 

Now, I must admit the finished product is a bit cheesy...with all the puff balls.  Kind of reminds me of something a Grandma would have in her house.  However, when placed on the mantel with all of the other decorations  it doesn't look so bad.  

Summer Mantel

Last summer my husband helped me create an outside mantel.  You can read about that project here.  Since last year, the mantel has looked like this.

I was thinking it might be fun to switch things up a bit for summertime.  I gathered some things I already had and purchased some others.

Found these pinwheels at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents each.

The fish is also from Hobby Lobby and was 40% off the price shown.

 

You guessed it...sand from Hobby Lobby.

I had this "Vacation" sign from last year.

Jute...it always adds a cool touch.  I used some on a few mason jars.

 

 I found this printable online somewhere last year (can't remember where.)  I needed a new frame for it so I picked one up from Goodwill for 99 cents and spray painted it red.

Once everything was put together, here is what I came up with.

Next to the sign are a couple of my holders from my homemade candy buffet.  I filled one with shells and another with a lei.

The three mason jars have jute wrapped up on top and filled with the sand that I bought.

 

 I made this banner last year and used it indoors.  It's made of pre-cut letters and scrapbook paper.  I hole-punched the tops and used jute (again) to hang it.

Thursday Thoughts

Ten Thoughts This Thursday

1.  I wish...I had more time to develop pictures and put them in a scrapbook.

2.  I want...new carpet.

3. I think...So You Think You Can Dance is my favorite summer show.

4.  I laugh...at our new kitten (so playful.)

5.  I appreciate...the lovely smell of our blooming jasmine.

6.  I enjoy...redecorating our mantel.

7.  I struggle...with keeping our dinner menu low-carb and creative.

8.  I feel...relieved that it's summer vacation for the kids and me.

9.  I recommend...http://djreidiculous.com/reidiculous/ for some great remixes.