Laundry Room Sneak Peek .....

Here is a sneak peek of the Laundry room re-do.... I am working on it this week ....before was just a white plain room - nothing fancy. I did the walls pink and the dots chocolate brown - for FREE! More on where to get FREE paint in a bit.... the Uppercase Living thing I have had since 04/08!! Bought at some party I got invited to (my sister's) and just threw it in the basement!

I still want to get a cabinet above the washer and dryer and paint it chocolate brown too and then I sketched out a shelving unit with a built in hamper I want hubby to build me ....still begging! LOL It will house some of my girly knick knacks. I need a rug and mistreatment for the window too...

Lots to do!!! :)

The Kids New Bath! :)

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! I am in a thrifting funk I guess - I haven't been to Goodwill quarter day in weeks and the last couple weeks the garage sales I went to were - BLAH! Just junk - nothing I was excited about!





So part of me blogging was the accountability in getting some stuff done here! (and the FABULOUS ideas from other bloggers!!!)





I just re-did the kids bath and thought I'd share with ya all! PLUS Kelly is doing a Show Us Where You Live BATH Linky Party!



I think it's CUTE! I am such a novice blogger though I didn't take any "BEFORE" shots! But picture a standard builder type bath - fake wood cabinet, toilet, tub/shower, white walls and yucky vanity with those lightbulb lights poking out! Nothing special believe me!!! ;)





Even though we live in Iowa we are from FL (well hubby and the kids - I was born and raised in IA!) ...my kids LOVE the beach, water, ocean and such so I tried to incorporate that in their bath but not make it too baby-ish since they are 11, 8 and 5. Here is the "after" .....





I did the walls two colors of blue in a stripe pattern but the darker stripe bled into the lighter one so hubby had a BRILLIANT idea and went to the auto parts store and got some silver pinstriping tape and we outlined the stripe in that - I LOVE it! :) The mirror I had - it was goldish so I painted white (we ripped out stupid ugly vanity), got the new light at the home improvement store for about $20.














This is the "new" vanity! I wish I could get a new counter as I hate the white with tan swirly that I have going on now but hopefully it isn't too noticable with the changes! I would like to eventually get a new faucet - something a little nicer but this one works even though it's not so pretty! The vanity was that oak "look" - I sanded it and primed it and painted white. The fixtures were brass - HATE! - so I sanded them and spray painted blue and then took a nail and dipped it in white to polka dot them - hope it holds up to the kids!!! My neighbor gave me some spray polycrylic so I have put a couple coats of that on! The surfboard and the other stickers are just wall stickers I found months ago on sale at Target - 4 sheets of them for $2.38 on clearance!!! Love those red stickers!!! ;)







This is the wall across from vanity and toilet... the fish shelf came from Goodwill - $3.38 and those are some of the Target wall stickers I got in that pack. I had the white towels - since 4 hooks though I think I need another white one or maybe some light blue?? Will check out the Target sales soon!!!

This is the back of door and wall by the sink area ....I got the fish pictures for 50 cents each at a garage sale! There were 3 - one is on the shelf and the stickers on the door were again from that Target pack! I painted the door white too - LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! I want to do the WHOLE house that way - everything now is that medium oak color and I think I really like the white more!

This is the shelf above the toilet - my WONDERFUL hubby made it!!! I wanted something big and couldn't find it so he threw it together from scrape wood and trim he had and I painted white... I had most of the decorations in boxes in my basement still from the move - the Lilo and Stitch snowglobe is from Disney, there is a Partylite tealight sandcastle house and then a bunch of shells - the only thing I bought was the fish picture - it is one from the 3 I got at a garage sale for 50 cents each!!

The shower curtain! I guess it's not pulled over right since you can see the tub but I guess it works out ;) You can see two rods - what I did was buy a plastic clear curtain from Dollar General and hung it inside the tub and then did my FIRST mistreatment I am still trying to decide if it's "done" ...maybe I need fringe? Maybe a ribbon trim?? I don't know....it was SUPER easy though and I LOVE how it looks! So much bettter than a cheapo store bought curtain! The silver plays off the pinstripe on the wall between the blues :)

So that's the kids bath! My first project DONE! Now on to more.....it's raining today so am thinking of doing my laundry room - I have some ideas in mind! Thanks to ALL the bloggers out there for sharing all your FAB ideas - it has totally inspired me! (hubby threatens to unplug my internet though since I now have a project list a MILE long! LOL)

Happy Saturday!!!!!

Weekend Finds!

Saturday two neighboring towns had town wide garage sales - hubby and the kids got up early to go with me! Unfortunately it was super windy and like 40 degrees out so not as much fun as I thought we'd have! I didn't find a ton - the kids got some books, Sara some play horses and other assorted "junk" that I didn't photograph ;)

I am participating for the FIRST TIME in two Mr. Linky parties!!! Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is having a Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show! Also Rhoda at Southern Hospitality is having a Monday Treasures party!

So here is what I scored on Saturday!

I got this Iced Crystal Trio (from Partylite) for 25 cents for the whole thing! (candles included - LOL) I had one before but it got broke in the move - it was like $30 maybe? It does look pretty lit - just had to dig out these yucky candles and wash and good as new! Have to decide where to put it .......bedroom? bath? living room? hhhmmm......

At the library of one town we went to they had a book sale - paperbacks 10 cents each and hard covers 25 cents! I LOVE to read - especially when we go to the lake while the kids are splashing around! I got some great reads - some "chick lit" too which I LOVE to read in the summer! (Does anyone else do that? In the winter I tend to get into heavier fiction and classics but come warm weather I love those light, fun Chick Lit reads!!!)

So I got -

* Life Love & Other Mysteries by Point of Grace (their story)
* Silhouettes in Cross Stitch - I love the look of those - add to my to do list!
* The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage
* Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
* Size 14 is not Fat Either by Meg Cabot
* At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
* Any Place I Hang My Hat by Susan Isaacs
* Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes
* Save Karyn by Karyn Bosnak
* Bitter is the New Black by Jen Lancaster
* Organizing Plain and Simple (need to work on this!!!)

I found these Old Navy shoes - so cute and NEW for $1, the Old Navy ruffle T for $1 - which I LOVE since it's a longer T and this adorable Lia Sophia bracelet - still in the package for $1!!

a close up of the bracelet - it's like a garnet stone with "gold" trim and you can see in this pic some detailing of the shoes!

Since this post is part of Jen's Frugal Fashionista Fashion Show I thought I'd share some STEALS I got earlier in the week at the Goodwill - my Goodwill does a QUARTER day once a week! That's right - every Tues a certain color tag is just 25 cents!!!! LOVE IT!!!

I LOVE these skirts!!! They are A line and light and airy- great for summer! The multi blue one is from Old Navy, the teal and brown is Speechless (seen that brand just not sure where) and the brown one is from Kohl's.

These pants were also a QUARTER!!! The tan capris are Gap, the long denim shorts are Gap too and the purple-y capris (love the cuff!) are Apt 9 which is Kohl's.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this top.....yes, a QUARTER! It's Worthington from JCPenny - it's silver and the top part has black stones and sparkley ones - I can picture it with skinny long black shorts (like the knee length ones) and some kitten heel open toe type sandals.....very cute for a summer dinner right???

My best deal - how about FREE???? At my garage sale my friend Cathi brought some stuff - I LOVED these wedge sandals for summer - they were NEW - she wore once for about an hour! We traded - she took some Partylite candle holders I was selling and I got the shoes! :)

Can't wait to see everyone else's Frugal Fashions!!!! :)

Designer Names - Discount Prices!!!

Garage sales here are going on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays - sometimes Wednesday evenings and Sundays too! So hard to be good!!! I love a good sale! I tend to want to check them ALL out!

Here is what I scored Thursday and Friday - this weekend I didn't find much stuff for the house - LOTS though for ME ;) Lucky for me I had a garage sale already and cleaned out right?

I got all 3 of these Lia Sophia necklaces - NEW with tags and in the boxes on Friday for $10!!! I have been invited to a few of those parties and while I think the jewelry is pretty I have a hard time paying $40, $50 or MORE for fashion pieces! I as SOOOO excited though to find these! I think the blues will be great for summer!



On Thursday a neighbor up the street was having a sale. Being a good neighbor I had to go up right? LOL I got these two purses - they look like brand new! (see good thing I cleared out at my sale!) And I had some extra $$$ since I did my sale so I felt it was OK to splurge! The purple on is Dooney and Burke and was only $15! The Brown and cream colored one is a Beijo - it was $30 but I know it's a pricey bag and it looked BRAND NEW! I was VERY excited!

I also got these two cute summer tops for $1 each.....the one on the right is from the Gap. I thought they'd be adorable with some cute capris and little heels this summer!

So what Frugalicious finds did you score this week?? I love to hear it! :)

more fun to attend than host

So I disappeared on here for awhile! SORRY!!! I had my own garage sale! I think they are more fun to GO TO than host! LOL It took me over a week to get ready, then had the sale for two days and then the clean up after ......whew! We sold close to $1500!!! I made about $900 - my sister, mom, friend and neighbor all had stuff in the sale too.



Now that I am done with that want to get out SHOPPING! Tomorrow is a near by town's TOWN garage sale - can't wait!!! Hope I find some good treasures!



Plus I have a LIST of projects I want to do here - I LOVE reading everyone's blogs and getting such GREAT ideas! I just have to prioritize them and get a list going so I can fit it all in!!! ;)

I LOVE this Wall Art I am thinking in the living room would be SUPER cute!

I am also TOTALLY redoing my garage door My neighborhood is JUST like that - every house looks the same! I think I am doing this (on the list!)

I also HAVE to do my counters I showed my neighbors and we ALL want to do that!!!

I also have a desk and dresser in my garage to re do and I want to paint our room and the kids too! The never ending to do list! LOL (with each blog I read it gets LONGER! haha!)

Hope you all can get out and garage sale tomorrow - at least here there are LOTS - should be a GREAT day!!!

do you FREECYCLE?

Do you "freecycle"? Freecycle groups are all over the US... find one here to check them out! Freecycle is all about recycling and repurposing items to keep them out of the landfill and the best part......everything is FREE!!!



After reading blogs and getting inspired to finish some rooms here and get my butt decorating I found these two pieces - I am VERY anxious to try some of the painting techniques I read about!! I have BIG hopes for these two freebies!!!



The desk is real wood with a laminate top - which is coming up. Thinking of pulling it off and adding something else - I thought the shape was great for one of the boys' rooms. And the dresser - my hubby said he doesn't think he is seen anything so ugly and seriously thinks I need to be committed for dragging this home! But it is real wood too - I have a plan......stay tuned for the AFTER photos!!!!

Better than Christmas (almost!) ~ Garage Sale Season IS HERE!!!

I love garage sale season!!!! What is more "frugalicious" than buying FABULOUS things for pennies on the dollar?? I love the thrill of finding an amazing deal! My hubby though thinks WHY do you want to go buy other people's "junk".....One man's junk is another's treasure right? Here are the treasure's I found on Friday on my first outing of the season!


These 3 pink buckets were $1.50 for all! The inside is dirty and chipping a bit but the outside is perfect! I was wondering if I can somehow hot glue fabric inside? Maybe leave pink for storage in my daughter's room?? Or paint? I saw some cute ones someone did in white with red polka dots for their kitchen! ADORABLE!! If I can't get fabric inside of them maybe I'll just plant in them?? Who knows.....

The mine and yours hooks were $1 for both!! They are heavy too! I was thinking for either my hubby and my closet or our bath - great for robes!!! Can't decide if I want to leave them black or spray paint white??

This pretty dish was only 50 cents! Have no idea where I'll use it yet! ;)

All of these white pieces were a QUARTER each!!! I am starting to collect white things - an idea I got on many blogs!!! Going to cluster them together on a shelf! I love the little pedastal dish and the vase with the little bumps - I thought they were interesting vs. just plain white things - good to add some with a little texture I think!

How cute are these bunnies!!! This Easter I realized I don't have enough bunny things!!! (hubby would say I have enough - I say I don't have as many as I want! LOL) The chubby one was $1 and the one in the car was more - I splurged at $5 - but I LOVE him! Now I have to wait a WHOLE YEAR to put him out!!!

And my FIND for the day ......a Beijo purse!!! This was atleast $100 to $129 brand new!!! If you are not familiar with them they are a home party company and sell these cute purses that are made out of this shiny material ....almost like a patent leather maybe is the best to describe it. They tend to get scratched or scuffed. This one was a scuffed BAD - had white scuffs all over the front and back.....I tried to take some pics but due to the shine I kept getting a reflection - hope you can still see it. This is before:

And this is AFTER! After I got it home and used Turtle Car Wax on it!!! I had heard or read somewhere that someone kept her purses scuff free and looking new with car wax .....like I said this purse is pricey new -but marked at the sale for ONLY $3!!! Two other people put it down due to the scuffs!!! I got them all out! :) Took it to church this weekend and got MANY compliments!!!

Can't wait til this week to see what I can find!!!!! My sisters now want me to find them a purse like mine!

What is this Frugalicious?

So what is this FRUGALICIOUS? Why am I blogging?



Well I don't know why I am blogging! LOL It just seems FUN! I accidently found some cool blogs and they inspired me to #1 start fixing up my house! and #2 to blog and share!!!



My first inspiration was The Nester ~ I think everyone I read follows The Nester! She is my decorating idol right now! She has inspired me in many ways - I just LOVE "It Doesn't Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful" When I read that it was a "lightbulb moment". So here I am!

I also really like Jen at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam I enjoyed reading all her marvelous fashion finds at garage sales and thrift stores!!! Who would have guessed? She looks GREAT in those pics!!!

I have shopped thrift and consignment stores for YEARS! I LOVE it!!! I majored in Fashion Merchandising in college (ions ago! lol) and even though I have been a stay at home mom for almost 12 years now I refuse to be one of "those" moms - the frumpy ones with sweats, PJ bottoms or "mom" jeans that look like they have just given up! I want to be stylish and fashionable! Since being a stay at home mom the budget is always tight with one income and I can always think of something the kids need vs. me so shopping consignment was always a way to stay cute on a budget! The consignment stores then turned to thrift stores and even garage sales! I love finding a deal!!!

Now for some reason I never really shopped those places for the house! We have lived in our current house for over TWO years now and I still have many rooms not done, not painted and basically looking like crap! Why? Because I was always waiting for that "extra" money!!! But I realized that was DUMB!!! I want my kids to have a nice house and I want a nice house - one that is comfortable, cute, homey and a reflection of me and my family. So why not take this thrifting habit to the next level?

This blog is all about me and my thrifting ways!!! Maybe you'll learn something or maybe I can inspire you like other bloggers inspired me or maybe you'll just send me your tips and tricks!!! Whatever the reason you are here WELCOME and enjoy!!!!

I will be all over from recipes to clothing to home decor!!! I am just loving that suddenly FRUGAL is IN!!!!! So grab some tea or coffee or wine and stay for a bit! I will be sharing all kinds of things - I love it when I score a $150 purse for $3 or find a piece of furniture that no one wants that I can paint, faux finish and be creative with! My sisters tend to roll their eyes at me so I am so HAPPY you are here so I can share it all with you!!!! Frugalicious is all about those finds!!! Those things you spend pennies for that look like you spent a hundred dollars on!!! Like I said I have those Gucci tastes....just a Goodwill budget!!!!

Til next time.......