Prepping for Guests...

In addition to washing the guest linens and all that fun stuff, its nice to have a little extra touch for overnight guests. I've always seen the cute little "in case you forgot" baskets, but I thought it would cost a lot of money, money I just didn't want to spend when we don't have a lot of overnight guests. Well when I started couponing, and getting a lot of items for free, I realized it doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I took this little tin bin I had laying around, threw in a washrag that matches the room, and added body lotion and body wash that was given to me, and face wash and anti-perspirent that I got for free. Since our guest bath doubles as the kids bath, this won't stay in place all the time, but my mother in law is on her way up, and I hope that she notices and appreciates the gesture.

Fall decor on a budget

First of all see my new shelves? My friend Jennifer saw them at Target on clearance- 75% off! She thought they matched the airy, beachy feel I'm going for in the living room- so she picked a couple up for me. I love them! After a recent living room shuffle, my cute white side table was pushed into a corner, not shining like I wanted it to- so once we got the shelves together, I just turned it sideways slid it between the two and now its a gem once again.
Now onto the purpose of the post- fall decor. My most important tip is the same as it is with regular decorating- ask around! I'm sure all of us have at least one friend or family member who decorates to the hilt every year. These friends usually have such a large collection that they don't put everything out, or throw things out that they no longer want. These items can be huge for you. You will notice the little pumpkins scattered around- they are gifts from Donna, Jen's mom. In fact, since my box of fall decorations is missing, most of my fall decor is from Donna.
With the exception of a few things I have picked up on the cheap. One of which is the plate/charger the vase is sitting on in the middle. Simple deep orange plate, Target clearance for 24 cents.

Jennifer recently changed work locations, and the two glass vases on the ends she had at her former office, she brought them home where they sat, and I decided to utilize them for a while. I bought some fall candles at Target, scattered some leaves and more pumpkins, and pretty is as pretty does. When she needs them back, I can replace them for a couple bucks at Wal Mart.
Few more touches here and there- many more not pictured, and fall has fallen on my home. Its all so cozy and warm.

I'm contemplating decorating for Christmas earlier than normal this year. I normally have an afternoon/evening of decorating the day after Thanksgiving, but this year our anniversary is the day after, and it happens to be our 10th. Plus I got a new tree and I'm OH so excited to decorate here. With our high ceilings, staircase etc. Its going to be gorgeous!

Bad bad blogger-

I know I know, I have been MIA way to long. School starting, along with cars breaking down, and illness haven't left much room for crafting or bargain shopping.
However, today I wanted to bring you something a little different. I have started coupon shopping! I have gotten some great deals so far, but still felt I was missing out on a lot because I was less than organized.
So I sat down today and organized. I moved my coupons from the small 1" binder to a much larger, and much easier to navigate 2" (maybe 2.5") While I was doing that I tossed the expired coupons, and opened up my spreadsheet maker. I made a spreadsheet of all my coupons, broke down by category, making sure to include the expiration date. The number in parenthesis is the number of identical coupons I have.
Hopefully, this will make it much easier for me when I read about a great deal on one of the many blogs I follow, I can just scan the spreadsheet to see if I have the coupon in question, same for going through weekly ads.

In addition I added a spiral notebook to the front of my coupon binder to jot down great deals I read about, grocery lists etc. So we'll see how well being this organized works for me. I'll be making a shopping trip Friday, so if I do exceptionally well, I'll be sure to post it here. Once I get batteries for the camera I'll post pics of my binder. For now, here's a small glimpse at my coupon data base. Ignore all the typos and misspelled words- I decided not to be a perfectionist about it, if I know what I'm referring to, then that's what matters. :) Oh, and you can click it to make it bigger.

Plate Wall Expanded

My Plate wall has grown so much so quickly lately. I found a couple plates at goodwill that I liked. Then yesterday Jennifer came across a post on Craigslist, a lady was selling 4 plates that already had the hangers on them. She also had a tea pot that was so unique its pretty. Jennifer asked me to email the lady and ask her if she would take $5 for all the plates and $5 for the teapot. She agreed, we met at wal mart and she told me that these things had belonged to her grandmother. I think the lady was 55 or so, Jen says 60. Regardless, for these things to belong to her grandmother you know they are old! The plates have H&C stamped on them and from what we can tell they could date back as early as 1915. Each of the four is different, but they match if that makes sense. I love them! Now my goal is to find a few more large plates, that have COLOR on them. White is sort of overtaking the wall which is not what I orginally intended.

One Last Peek....

Here's my work area. There are still several things on the list to be done- new mousepad, or I'll cover the current one using the tutorial Centsational Girl posted. I still have some of the fabric left that I used on the footstools. I also need to find some way to contain the mass of cords behind the desk that peek out. but this is where I spend my computer time. I have my essentials, a bottle of Vitamin water and my phone. I'm still loving my red desk. It makes me happy to sit here.
Here is the white side table all decked out. The candleholder was made over- I can't remember if I posted it or not. but it used to be gold. I'm trying to find the perfect candle to adorn it. The planter that I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby (for $2) holds our remote controls, and a couple pens so when I get some ideas I can jot them right in the appropriate journal. The top one, damask, is my household idea book. It holds paint chips, and its where I've jotted my ideas and supply list. The bottom journal has Santa on it, and its where I keep my gift list ideas for everyone in my family.
And here's the book case in its new home. The wall plaques I got at Family Dollar for $1.20 each. The standing sea shell plaque was $1.20 at Hobby Lobby. The tart warmer was a gift from Jennifer- I've had it several months.
So there you have it, a few of my favorite areas of the living room. I can't wait for the day when I can reveal the whole room. I still have a lot to do first. But it will be worth the wait. Promise!

Master Bedroom Part 2

Here's our bed. Our old comforter is covered with the duvet to match the new theme. The headboard? An old freecycle grab. It matched our old bedding perfectly- but now I have some great plans for it- you will have to stay tuned to see.

Small wall by the closet. I would lay in bed at night and stare at this wall, big enough to put something on, but small enough to pose a challenge. So I put the medium size shelf from the 3 set shelf mentioned yesterday, added the two grey IKEA mirrors Jennifer gave me, and the other two votives from the IKEA set that she gave me as well.
Above the bed we have the black and white canvas I won in an online giveaway. Thats a pic of hubby an I a couple summers ago.

Master Bedroom Part 1

This is my dressing area. Certainly in progress- the dresser will be refinished soon.
I'm also looking for a nice little chair or bench for under the shelf and mirror.
This is the other half of my dressing area- the mirror hanging on the wall? Part of my dumpster diving experience! I'm almost certain I will be painting it.
So for the breakdown- The stone plaque- Family Dollar- $2 (was a gift from Jennifer), black shelf is part of a set of 3 from Target, clearance for $5, Candle Votives- IKEA (another gift from Jennifer- she's redecorating her room and moving away from the black and white theme so I'm benefiting from that), Mirror- Fallas, $3, Fleur De Lis wall hook 25 cents at a flea market.


And a close up of the mirror. I love the detail, and think its a perfect addition to my dressing area. Being as I'm on the short side, I have it hung at the perfect height that it serves as a full length mirror for me.
So again- this is a work in progress- I'm posting all the rooms as a "before" so once I get them all where I want them, you and I will be able to flash back to how they looked before. Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2.

Sorry for being a bad blogger- its been crazy few days.