It Didn't Cost a Dime!

Hi there!

Before I share what didn't cost a dime, I HAVE to share the picture of the egg wreath my friend Heidi was inspired to create after seeing mine. I LOVE the multi-colored shreds she used. Heidi doesn't have a blog and I hope she doesn't mind my sharing. We've become good buddies as we sit and watch our kids take swim lessons. Unfortunately, I was late signing up for the current session and the class was full, so we are taking an imposed break from swim lessons for this session. But, I've already signed them up for the next session, starting in April.

Here's the wreath Heidi made with help from her sweet daughter, Annabelle. Doesn't it look fabulous?!

Thanks for sharing this with me, Heidi. I'm tickled you were inspired to create one for yourself. 

Well, I guess, technically, showing that wreath didn't cost me a dime either, so it fits with my blog post today, right? LOL

This past week, I got the bright idea to look for a piece of furniture to put into the girls' room. I haven't worked too much at decorating in there, mainly because it's usually a pit (they have way too much stuff crammed in there). But, seeing as we are on Spring Break this week, I'm going to try to rectify that. They've had one of these units you see here, with the open bins for toys (I've pulled it out of their room). For months now I've wanted them to go through the bins and take out stuff they no longer use. I wanted to replace it with a piece of furniture with closed storage, (maybe an armoire?) and looked for something at the thrift stores this weekend. I only saw one thing I thought might work, but it would be $99. Not a ton of money, but more than I wanted to spend. As I was taking a shower yesterday morning, I must have had the idea lurking in the back of my brain and I got the bright idea to shift around some furniture in the house.

This desk has been sitting in the corner of our entry way for years. It was mine as a young girl. My parents bought it as an unfinished piece and my dad and I worked together to sand it down and stain it. I used this as my homework station in my room for years! Anyway, I thought it would work in the space where the bins used to be. I quickly finished up the shower so I could grab a tape measure and check. Yep, it would fit!  Next up I had to empty it of all the junk that had accumulated in it. I haven't used it as a desk since we moved here in 1996, but I sure have stuffed it with junk. LOL And I discovered that mice have enjoyed making a mess in the drawers. Ewwwwww! I got all the junk out and put into boxes until I can go through and sort it out. Here you see it in the space in the girls' room. To say they are thrilled is an understatement. They still need to go through the bins and all, but the weather was gorgeous yesterday (with the forecast for snow later today and tomorrow) so I insisted they go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Now, the space in the corner didn't look right without the desk. I thought, I could probably find one of those long skinny tables at the thrift store, you know, the kind that people use behind a sofa. And the girls and I set off to the thrift store to see what we could find. No luck, but my brain must have been working overtime because I remembered a bookshelf we have in our "big" room that wasn't being used very effectively. So....I emptied that and pulled it into the entry way. I put it where our bench has been for years. I just shifted the bench to the wall where the desk used to sit.

You can see the corner where the desk used to be, as I haven't moved my Sarah picture yet. Here's the bench in its new location. That bear you see was owned by my grandmother who recently passed away. She would win stuffed animals playing bingo at the nursing facility where she lived. My dad sent the girls a box of the animals. I snagged this cute bear for me as a remembrance of Grandma.

And here's what I put where the bench used to be:

I'm just thrilled with how it looks! I pulled some of my recent thrift store finds  to set on the shelves for now. I even found some treasures in the desk I moved, like the two Easter ceramic pieces. I picked up a third larger egg holder and just found the glittery egg at Michaels. I found more doilies and linens in one of the drawers. (It's been literally years since I opened one of the drawers, she says, hanging her head in shame). Those need to be washed and will hopefully be usable.

Anyway, I've not been real big on moving furniture in the house, mainly because I don't really know what would look good. But, this...this I really am glad I thought of. And I just wanted to share! (and I really should take off some of the price stickers on the glass pieces, huh?) Even Steve thought it was pretty clever (high praise indeed from him, since he usually rolls his eyes at some of my ideas).

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a terrific Tuesday!