Thrifty-ness

A mid-week post...
Because I am going away on a mini-vac this weekend, I am posting early. Today I enjoyed a day off full of "Sara-time." It was just what I needed. In preparation for the day, I researched some second-hand stores that I wanted to check out or hadn't visited for awhile...you know, just to see what the prices were and what treasures were to be found.

First I went to Vespuccis...tried on a couple things but no luck. It has tons of designer labels at great prices. It is one of those stores you have to frequently shop to find the treasures.
Then I went to Heirloom Antiques...beautiful things at a good price but nothing caught my fancy.
Then I went to Value Village...the old stand by and I raked in the goodness.

Books, cloth napkins, trays, a bowl and a Liz Claiborne purse (not shown - oops! forgot to add it to the picture set-up)

Finally, I went to Cat's Eye Vintage. This store is so chaotic but I also happen to catch its closing (or moving - not sure) sale - "Stuff a bag for $20" deal.  I scored.

And to make the loot even more thrilling, I did not try anything on until I got home. There were no sizes in the clothes except the black blazer so I knew I was taking a chance. The velvet blazers fit perfectly. The vintage dresses just need a bit of alteration...the green one needs a little taken in on the sides and darts in the chest and the blue one needs to be hemmed. All for $20. The black velvet blazer was normally selling for $48. Here is a virtual high-five for that deal.

Oh, and I solved the blackboard paint issue with some ingenuity and conditioned the door so I could write on it. One more thing off my 101 things list!

And to help in my gardening pursuits this year, I found this lovely book at Chapters. I look forward to curling up and reading about the garden while I still wait for the snow to melt.

Learnings

Quick update on a few projects

1. Programmable thermostat - just "in time" for spring. I probably should have put this in as soon as I moved in but as they say hindsight is 20/20. Here's to saving money next winter.

Now, I can't take all the credit for the installation...Jake and I did this together and I must say we make a good team. I gathered the tools, killed the power and called the help line when necessary (thank you Honeywell customer service) while Jake did the unscrewing, rewiring and attaching.

2) Spring is coming (slowly). It is a bit of a quandary because I need to start planning for my garden except I don't know what is under the snow. But I know that I want to plant herbs so I have started basil and oregano inside.

 
And while I was in the planting mode, I picked up an aloe vera (always wanted one) and a pretty pink tropical plant. Just a little spring in my house while we wait for the snow to melt.

3) Chalkboard adventures - I always wanted a space for chalkboard doodling in my house. For the past few weeks, I have pondered painting my back door as the chosen space so today I tackled the project.
Problem 1: The paint was the consistency of porridge. No matter how much I stirred, I couldn't get all the chunks out of it. I added water to thin it out (which they suggest if you are painting in hot temperatures - which I was not). That worked somewhat.
Problem 2: I should have sanded first. Silly Sara!

So I am letting it dry. I will sand it down and then re-shake/mix the paint and try again.

Last week I didn't post as I was away for a good portion of the week at the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards in Edmonton - truly inspiring. As for next week, I will try to post on the updated picture hanging saga. My pictures are almost all up so stay tuned. But I am being swept away by Jake to an unknown destination next weekend so my post may be a little late.

Be my guest

So in light of my new bed, I needed to find a space for my old bed. Now I technically have a guest room in my basement although it still needs paint and a 'wee-bit" of finishing.  Here are the pics:

The bed

The room

The ad-lib furniture: the work-out bench/chaise & the drawer shelf & door hook

The entrance to the guest room...very colorful - for now

Also, to save money, Jake and I decided to empty his storage unit and store it in my basement and garage. It was a little un-nerving as I think I realized that I really am in a grown-up relationship now...but no blogging about that :-). So on Saturday, we went through our storage stuff and re-organized it too. We have quite the pile for a spring garage sale...I love organizing garage sales so stay tuned on that project.

To accomplish everything on my to-do list, I think I will need about 6 months off from work but with the paycheque still coming into my bank account. Each weekend there are great intentions to paint, fix, etc but the snowshoes are calling or groceries are needed or friends drop by to visit. At this rate, my 101 things will be done in 10001 days.