GLASS JUG TABLE LAMP

I love Pottery Barn, but unfortunately for me, they are a bit pricey. I was checking out the website over the weekend, www.potterybarn.com, and came across this lamp.

I love it, but I DO NOT love the price of $99.00. I was thinking... I bet I could make one of these myself and spend WAY LESS MONEY! And boy was I surprised when I cam across this DIY project on how to make just a thing, www.diyideas.com

It's a tad different, but pretty much the same concept. The good thing is, I found a clear jug at Hobby Lobby, the bad thing is it's a bit larger than what I want... So, I'm going to keep my eyes peeled and use that as my backup. Here are some tips from diyideas.com on creating this bad boy:

Simple and elegant, this is a great project for beginners and super speedy to boot. Secondhand stores are brimming with pretty bottles. Find a pretty translucent bottle and an appropriately sized shade to match. Use a bottle light adapter kit (available at most hardware stores) with a simple cork fitting. Voila! A new lamp without drilling even one hole.
Now, I'm assuming they are just letting the cord hang out the back?? I wouldn't want to do that, so therefor, I would drill a hole for the cord.

I'll Keep Ya Posted!

INSPECTION

The inspection on the new house went pretty good. There were minor problems, which we expected, but thankfully, nothing major. I'm glad everything is moving smoothly so far. $285.00 for peace of mind is money well spent.

1) Bottom panel from the storm door off the den is missing.
2) There is a hole in the sheetrock in the upstairs closet.
3) Settlement crack on the east side of the house needs to be sealed with a masonry caulk to prevent water intrusion.
4) The top two courses of bricks at the top of the chimney are detached and in danger of falling. We requested they remove the loose bricks and reseal the top of the chimney.
5) The downspout at the SW corner of the house is damanged and needs replaced.
6) We need to clear the mulch that they have in their flowerbeds at the front of the house, they are covering four foundation ventilation ports.
7) The bathtub drain pipe is leaking under the house. We requested that the new wood they installed on the bottom of the floor joists area be removed and repair the leak. After the leak is repaired, they need to make sure all damanged sub-floor is also replaced. Also, they need a licensed plumber to come out and fix the lead drain pipe under the toilet because it is leaking as well.
8) The 2nd electrical riser pipe is not secured to the house. Needs to be secured.
9) Three outlets need to be replaced. We need to have an electrician come out and fix the electrical problems in the detached garage.

Not too bad. We are requesting that the sellers fix the leaks and the chimney rocks. Other than that, I think we can handle the other repairs ourselves. I'm so relieved that there weren't any major problems. I hope the sellers fix the 3 problems we requested. Our Realtor is faxing over everything to them on Monday. Cross your fingers for us!!!

Garage Sale

I have to say that I completely believe in the power of advertising and that's not just because I work at the Newspaper. I put an ad in the paper, okay it was a really nice ad and had it start a few days in advance and WOW, it really worked. I have never had a garage sale on a Friday before, so I was a bit nervous about how it was going to turn out. I had the sale planned for Friday and Saturday and I no longer have to have one tomorrow!! People were coming over last night wanting to look at stuff, so I actually made money before the sale started! Not Too Bad! I had the sale scheduled to start at 8am, and I had people lined up in their cars at 7am. People get completely crazy about garage sales! I didn't even have time to put up the garage sale sign that my husband made for me or take any cool pictures for you to see.



Anyway, I sold all of my big stuff I wanted to get rid off and was left mostly with clothes, which I plan to take down to the consignment store tomorrow. Here is the aftermath...

So, the money I made went entirely to pay the guy who inspected the new house today. I'll save that blog for tomorrow! Easy Money... All Gone...

Tomorrow

I'm tired and the garage sale hasn't even started yet. I had 2 people actually stop by today after I got home from work and I was working out in the garage. I had the garage door only half up and people were talking to me under it! Therefore, I made $40.00 before my sale officially started. Not bad. I just hate it when people do that crap. I have a feeling it's going to be a long weekend. I HATE having garage sales, they are such a pain. My goal is to get rid of EVERYTHING. None of the bargaining, just take it! HA! Hopefully I can pocket a few bucks to put towards the new house. We'll see. Luckily for me, the Hubs is off work tomorrow and has agreed to help me with it! Saturday my friend Ashley will be coming over to hang out and help. Not looking forward to tomorrow. I'll let ya know how I do! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

DOWNSIZING

Since we are moving into the new house, eventually... I figured I would do some much needed downsizing. For one, we have very limited closet space in the new pad (the down side to Park Hill homes) so we are turning our TV Armoire into a wardrobe closet. I'm so excited about this project, and I can't wait to get started. Our TV Armoire is HUGE! It was one of the first big purchases we made many years ago and I absolutely love it. I don't think it will look good in the "den" area of the new place, especially since we bought our jumbo TV, so instead of selling it (I refused) or just storing it somewhere, we have decided to transform it to use as our closet in the master bedroom. It's big, beautiful and antique black. I will go more into this in another post.
We cleaned out our closet the other day and what we don't sell in the garage sale will be taken to the consignment shop. We both just have way too much crap everywhere. Well, those days are o-v-e-r!
So, right now I have this oscillating fan in our bedroom. I am one of those people that has to have a fan going when I sleep. Not only do I get extremely hot while I sleep, I also have to have the noise in the background. Well, I have noise, let me tell ya. This poor fan has been around for awhile. It's one of the kind that stands on the floor.. Well, the fan has been dropped, knocked over, kicked over, etc. that it sounds like a little bird is stuck in there twirping. Now, it's not a constant twirp, it comes and goes which makes it kind of odd... Anyway, the Hubs has been wanting to throw out this thing forever, but I won't let him. I seriously am surprised that he hasn't done so behind my back already. The thing is hideous. So, I have agreed to throw it away on one condition... that I can get one of these cool retro/vintage fans. I've even agreed to scale down the size and just get a desk fan. I found a few at Target that I love, but I'm waiting cause they cost $69.99. After doing some searching on the internet, I have found out that apparently, they all cost that much! Maybe, I'll get one from the Birthday Fairy! Hint Hint Brent...

These first two are from Target. They don't have the brushed nickel one on the website, so you'll just have to use your imagination.


This one is by Hunter, 10", white/nickel = $69.99, www.target.com


This one is by Hunter, 10" red/nickel = $69.99, www.target.com


This one I found on another website. Mink Air, 10", brushed nickel = $69.99, www.lampsplus.com

Flowers On My Brain!!!

I should have gotten an earlier start on dreaming of flowers, but hey, what can you do. Since the new crib has a sunroom, I've been dreaming of ways to decorate it and you can't go wrong with flowers. Day dreaming lead me to Google which is where I found these unique ideas (unique being the key word here on some). If you guys have any interesting or unique ideas you want to share with "everybody" (HA), let me know and I'll post them on here.


This boot has seen better days, if you ask me! Unique idea, but I don't think this is something I would try. You??


This is a cute idea if you had some land or something. Not real sure how this would look sitting out in my front yard!


Now this is amazing! Who would have ever thought to make a flower planter from their bra? Nice...


No Cash For Clunker Appliances Here! Turn that old broken down was tub into a flower planter! I wonder if someone could complain to the city on you for this? Hmmm...

That's All Folks!

Red, Red... Magazine Rack

I went back and forth on what color I wanted to paint the magazine rack that I purchased from the antique store here in Greenwood. At first I wanted blue and then red, then blue... I finally decided on red. I love red! and there is a bit of red in my couch pillows, so I think it will fit in nicely.

I can't wait to get everything arranged in the new house and post pictures! Hopefully, everything will "work" together once we get there. I guess you'll just have to stay tuned and find out!

We went to Wal-Mart earlier and I found this to make my own Garage Sale sign! Well, actually I'm going to have Brent do the wording cause he can make it look a lot better than I can!

So far the garage sale is still on! I don't have a ton of stuff, but hopefully I can get rid of the stuff I do have. I do not want to have to waste time packing it all up and trying to find something to do with it.

Movin' Right Along

We got the inspection scheduled for this Friday on the new house. I'm excited, but kind of nervous. I hope they don't find too many things wrong with the house! We are going with a different home inspector than who we used when we bought our house in Greenwood (he no longer does home inspections). I hope this guy is just as good! The seller has agreed to fix up to $250 of the things found. I'm sure there will be more than that, but we'll just have to pick and choose what to have fixed. I hope there isn't anything major! The sellers have also agreed to pay for us a 1 year home warranty, which eases my mind a little more. If anything messes up or quits within a year of us buying the house, it is replaced. I have a feeling the air conditioner will be one of the first things to bite the dust, it's pretty old.
Everything is moving right along! I hope it continues to do so without any "bumps". Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Mama, I'm Coming Home

Well, it's official. The Hubs and I are moving back to our old hood in Fort Smith, Park Hill. After several months of searching, we found a house we both really like on South S. After several offers/counter offers, we all agreed on a deal! I'm so excited and I just can't hide it. So, if everything goes smoothly, we will be in our new house around the beginning of October! Just think of all the new and exciting things I get to blog about in the upcoming months! Yippee!
I'm having a "Contribute to my down payment" garage sale next weekend! I think I might hit up my daddy-o to see if he wants to contribute anything to the sale to help out his daughter. I would like to get the money saved up all by ourselves and not have to borrow anything from our families. I'm tired of owing people money! It gets old after awhile! So, I thought a garage sale would be an easy way to rack up a few hundred buckaroos at least!


Here is a picture of the formal living room at the new house. I can't wait to get my hands on this room! Okay, I can't wait to get my hands on all of the rooms! HA! But, we have never had a formal living room before. I can't wait to start painting and buying curtains and start decorating! How exciting! And then I'll have my first BBQ or cocktail party! Aaaahhhh....

I Spy...

So, I'm doing a little "work shopping", okay, bored at work looking on the internet at things I would like to purchase or have purchased for me **Hint Hint: Birthday Coming Up** and I came across these things I thought were interesting enough to share with you guys!

Now first off, I ordered my Orla Kiely Pitcher today from the Target website and ended up spending the same amount on shipping that the actual Pitcher cost (now what kind of deal is that), but what could I do? The local Target here did not have any in stock and it would cost more in gas to drive to the Target in Fayetteville.

Now, I'm new to Orla Kiely, but I must say, that I like what I've seen so far and I look forward to seeing more in my crib!


Now, I found this lamp on the Pier1 website and I think I like it better than the green one I fell in love with first. It makes me want to rethink my whole decorating scheme or maybe I could get these for another room in my house. It's such a beautiful blue!


I LOVE these curtains and I have absolutely no idea where I would put them (dining room maybe?)


Wouldn't this pillow look adorable in those blue wicker chairs I've been eyeing from Lowe's? I think so! It makes me want to go buy them even more now and especially since the pillow is only $12.88 at Pier1!


Now, I'm having an "I can just kick myself" moment. When the Hubs and I were at the Bargains Galore on 64, we saw several of these type of soda crates. We decided that we wanted to buy them AFTER we left and couldn't remember where we saw them at! Lovely, huh? Anywho, have no fear, Pottery Barn is selling these bad boys for a whopping $15.00 a piece. I guess I'll have to catch them on the sale rack or find them at a garage sale or something. $15.00 a piece is a little too pricey for me.

Rain, Rain Go Away

It's raining and it has been raining pretty much since I have gotten up this morning. Unfortunately, I'm at work and I can't go back to bed. Today is going to be a long day. After work the Hubs and I are planning on going to my Realtors office to make an offer on the house on South "S". So, I'm pretty excited about that! Afterwards, I am meeting my friend Ashley for dinner, drinks and girl talk! It's been awhile and I'm really looking forward to it. Whenever I have plans, it always seems like my work day just drags by.
On another note, I am planning on having a garage sale next weekend to get rid off all the crap in my garage that we won't be taking with us when we move. Plus, any extra money we can put towards our down payment will be great! I'm really not looking forward to it, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

BUTTONS! BUTTONS!

Okay, so they are not real buttons, but they are called Billy Buttons aka Craspedia aka Woollyheads which are genus of daisies, and I LOVE THEM! I found the coolest Orla Kiely Pitcher on the Target website I plan on purchasing tomorrow that these would just look lovely in! and the best part of it all, the pitcher is on sale for $7.98!! I'm not real sure where to purchase these rad Billy Buttons, but I plan on searching everywhere this weekend. I've already located them online, but I would rather try to find them local if at all possible.

I would post a picture of the Orla Kiely Pitcher, but unfortunately I am unable to save the picture on this crazy Mac computer I'm using at work, so you will just have to take my word on it and see it when it arrives at my door...

Update

So, it's Tuesday and I thought I would finally show you the items I purchased over the weekend. Now keep in mind that two of these purchases came from an Antique store right here in Greenwood NOT Bargains Galore on 64. I just want to say that I hope those people who took the time to drag all of their stuff out to sell had a hell of a time taking it all back home. I thought the purpose of a "garage sale" was to get rid of the things you have sitting around the house and no longer need, but enough of that.


This is the item that I bought at Bargains Galore on 64. I'm not real sure what it is or what I will do with it. I thought of painting it obviously (not sure what color yet) and maybe putting some candles in it... I don't really know, but you'll be the first to know after I do! HA!! I only paid $3.00 and I got the 3rd degree from my husband because I didn't try to talk them down on the price. Obviously, I'm not a very good "Junker".


I found the magazine rack in an antique store in Greenwood and I paid like $9.00 for it. It's painted flat black which I do not like, so you know me, I will be painting this another color as well! **Notice all of the River Valley Real Estate and Home Magazines**



This stool I found in the same antique store for only $5.00. It's kind of haggard and in need of some serious TLC and that is where I come in. I plan on giving it a good sanding and painting and using it as a plant stand. It sure would look good out in a sunroom...

AND I thought I would share these cute pictures with you. I was on my way to my car this morning to go to work and I saw this sitting in my driveway. I just had to take a couple of pictures and place it in my garden. Unfortunately, the little "guy" didn't decide to make my garden his new home. The one thing I DO love about my house is you never know what you are going to find outside my house. I have came across so far: Lizards, the giant bat moth, the "lobster" that showed up in my driveway, the giant spider, the tree frog and baby birds. Who knows what else is out there. Just in case you can't tell from the crappy cell phone pictures, it is a baby turtle. I hope it puts a smile on your face like it did mine today.

Miles and Miles of Expensive Crap!

What a let down is all I can say about Bargains Galore on 64. I started out the day with full of hope and excitement, but all of that quickly ended. We started out in Alma and went as far as Altus. By then, we had enough of Bargains Galore on 64. Actually it should be called a bunch of crap that is priced way too high! I did find a few things I liked, but refused to pay the high prices. I only ended up coming home with 1 thing which I'll post a picture of tomorrow. So, I spent a whopping $3.00

After we got back to Fort Smith, I stopped at a few different stores and found a couple of things. So, all and all, I should have just stayed home, but then again we had a good time! Here are a few pictures I took of the chaos! I will post more tomorrow of what I came home with. Not sure what I'll do with it all, but you know me, I'll come up with something.




I did save the best for last! I found this bit of intelligence in the grand ol' town of Altus. I promise, you'll never see a "pattern" and not think of this and laugh ever again!

Here We Go...

Yes, it is 6:00 A.M.! I'm usually not up this early when I'm going to work! I am about to go and wake up the Hubs and head out to find some awesome loot at Bargains Galore on 64! First, I must head down to the Starbucks and get me some COFFEE! I'm so excited! I hope I find somethings. I will definitely post some pictures later. If I don't find anything, I'll post pictures of the mayhem that I will soon be in. Until then...

POOCHES!

I am completely borred at work, so I decided to browse the Do It Yoursel website, www.diyideas.com, and I came across these adorable ideas for dogs! Now, everyone knows that I am a big time animal lover and I have 3 gorgous doogers at home and these ideas would be awesome to do! Fred (my weenie dog) would look so rockin' in those doggie beds!


Lack the floor space for a pet bed in every room? No prob! Just make it mobile. Screw locking casters to an old wooden crate to create a bed that moves easily from room to room. A cushion or pillow inside makes it an ideal naptime spot for four-legged pals.


This handy pet bed closes up and stores away when it’s not in use. Attach wooden legs to the bottom of an old suitcase. Open it up, set a removable cushion inside, and see how much your pet will love these cuddle quarters. The pocket on the inside of the suitcase makes for perfect storage for your pet’s favorite toys and treats!


In a small home, floor space is a valuable commodity. Get your pet’s messy dishes off the floor by sinking food and water bowls into a two-seat bench. It’s a stylish spin on doggy dining, and it allows a comfortable feeding height for taller pets.


Want to bring out the princess in your pet? Transform a retro makeup case into a bed. Line it with a vintage gingham fabric and attach matching painted legs to the bottom. Best of all? This royal bed is road-trip-ready. Before a long weekend, pack up pet provisions and snap the case closed. You and your four-legged friend will be ready for adventure.


A metal livestock basin with spots of rust and plentiful dings can be returned to its hardworking past with a little TLC. With a little light sanding, a tack-cloth wipedown, and a coat of primer (formulated to treat metal and rust) the basin is prepared for its transformation. Two coats of paint for metal and a band of latex paint applied with an artist's paintbrush complete the recovery. Layers of 4-inch-thick foam, stacked to a height where this shepherd-collie can see out of the basin, pad the bottom. A bright pillow fits snuggly over the foam and adds a stylish (and comfortable) finishing touch.