Thrifted Joy

I tried my dainty hands at making bug spray for the first time - easy peasy and I can't believe all these years I have struggled with "I don't know what to put on my kids but I don't want them being chewed on." It really is a problem. Mosquitoes will always be there, and unfortunately most ways to keep them off involve a lovely concoction of chemicals that can seep right into the skin...then absorbed into the bloodstream ( just being real here...it's something to think about.) Who knew that witch hazel and a few essential oils are such a deterrent to the insect world? I used lemon grass, cedar oil and citronella in mine....

Shake it all together and you've got something pretty special with a twist of satisfaction. It's kind of pretty isn't it?

Luckily it doesn't scare off the bugs we want to keep...

Ladybugs are my favorite even though I've been known to swoon over a grasshopper or two - and I can chase down an earthworm with the best of them. Don't get me started on roly polys ...

While I was doing something as complicated as mixing a few ingredients together - the handsome husband was taking on the minor chore of redoing our dining room. He had finished the table with the before mentioned clearance stain - the color turned out a little darker then we expected but we like it. I think over time it may lighten just a bit.
Here is a before picture with our mix matched chairs...

I wanted to find some metal farmhouse chairs to go with the table or some bright white wood ones - unfortunately the metal chairs that are so popular right now are ,like, 100 bucks a chair. I personally didn't feel right about spending that much - especially since we would need four of them. You could feed a small village in Africa for that much - bear with me, it's just the way my brain works.
 We went to Ikea and loved some of their sturdy white ones but the 50 dollar per chair still didn't really make our hearts sing. Then the thrifty man of mine goes thrift store hunting and comes back with these THREE dollar ,amazingly NON rickety chairs that could probably hold five people without feeling over burdened - they are strong people. A few cans of spray paint and our hearts were not only singing ,our feet were dancing, the money part of our brain cha-chinging - our index fingers cramping (have you ever spray painted that many things at one time?) 

The "reveal" is coming in a moment - but first, I have to show some of our other thrifty finds and craftiness. 

The man also found me this beautiful set of bowls for $2.48 - they still had the original stickers on them. I'm thinking they were an unappreciated gift to someone that doesn't know the VALUE and BEAUTY of the common wood bowl. It's okay Cherry (yes, I name most of my belongings...) - the Corley Family will love you for a very long time. I'm seeing lots of movie and popcorn nights with Cherry in the center of things. 

There's something special about eating out of wood - makes me feel a bit primal...and I love the way colors "pop." This little carved heart bowl has been my all time favorite summer purchase. 

Brady has been making himself his own jerseys...with matching facial hair. Hobby Lobby has plain t shirts for kids in the 2-3 dollar range - there's something about decorating a shirt that kids love. Brady prefers to make very specific designs with fabric markers while the other littles generally go the  90's puff paint  route. As they say in the south "whatever blows your dress up" - just be creative! That's what summers are for right? 

Here's my little 1 hour project from this morning - I'm trying to cheaply add a little bit of love to me and the man's room. I haven't been able to get a hold of the photographer from our wedding to order prints for our wall (I could only afford an album at the time of our wedding.) So, I'm...gasp...taking apart our album and framing some of those prints. I feel like it brings me a lot more joy to see us on the wall then hidden in a 15 pound BOXED album under our bed. 

Thank you for sticking with me...

Here is the reveal. 

Zac used some scrap wood in the shed and an idea of off Pinterest to build a bench for one side of the table. The kids LOVE sitting on the bench, and I enjoy being officially rustic chic.

I just love it - the man amazes me with what what he can do - self taught.

The dining room looks so bright and cheery now - I will credit my husband with the whole thing (except choosing the chair color...that was all yours truly.) So, all in all, here's the breakdown :

Found table and original chair set at the Goodwill Outlet for 40 dollars

We kept the table and sold the 6 chairs for 60 dollars

So that's...in the green 20 bucks.

Bought four chairs for 3 dollars each and a can of dark stain for 5 bucks.

Still in the green 3 dollars.

Bought 15 dollars worth of spray paint.

So, if we also add the original cost of the scrap wood and how much we used - we got our entire dining room set for 20 dollars. Moral of the story - used is awesome and a little elbow grease mixed with a pinch of patience pays off.  Thrift stores and craigslist have become dear to our hearts and lifelong friends. 

It's such a blessing that there are small things in this world that can bring us so much joy - from heart bowls and eyeliner beards, essential oils and crisp white. It's all a blessing isn't it? 

What's bring you joy today? 

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” 
― Oscar Wilde

Second Hand Treasures Saturday

Before I begin this post I would like to make one thing perfectly clear , not all of these thrifted treasures are from just one shopping spree. I would never buy out a thrift store...no not me (ahem.) No, seriously though, these items are all from the last month and I share them because... 

a. the feeling of paying pennies for gorgeous items feel like robbery (yet you get away with it)

b. buying items USED when you can saves lots of cha ching $$$$$

c. I have very eclectic taste so thrift stores serve me well

d. it's just plain fun to show deals and steals (and I don't really have anyone to share them with in person...besides my, errrr...little family - and that just doesn't do.)

Steal number one - a lovely pine desk (i think originally from Ikea.) I love it in this space in our bedroom, right under the window where I have lots of light. I have set one half of our room up so that I can have a quiet place to send kids when they are doing workbooks (our little boys are rather loud and there is NO way possible to concentrate on ANYTHING when they are running circles and diving off the couch. Our little bedroom space has served us well these last two weeks. ) I think the desk was 10 bucks and that chair I got at a yard sale for five dollars last year - it has an awesome yellow green velvet seat - pretty sure it's from the 70's. I can do yoga in this room and look at my peaceful white orchid, study and write at my modern Ikea desk while sitting in my flower child chair. Perfection.

I found this little framed piece of art this afternoon - it's signed by the artist from Norway and the back still had the sheet of paper that tells about the city (Bergen) and this one particular building called the Bryggen and a tram system that went my it - I guess the Bryggen at one point was one of the most complex wooden buildings in the world.  Love the frame, love the mat, love the colors. 

LOVE. IT. SO. MUCH. 

We didn't go to a beach this summer ...therefor a bag of shells so we can pretend we did. Trinity was in heaven feeling all of the textures and running her fingers over the pastel shells. Perhaps I can find a little kids craft for them?

I found the perfect basket to go in our little reading nook. I confess, I have a basket fetish - the more the better in my book. Baskets just scream of gypsy weavers sitting by a dirt road perfecting their art...or a time long ago when a young girl would head out for the orchards, a basket on her hip and a bonnet on her head, eager to collect  a quart of apples for her baking day. Yes, I just love me some baskets. 

This one in particular is very heavy duty and has two perfect handles on either side - we have named it "Our Library Basket " (catchy isn't it? Almost as original as naming your bird Sweetie.)

Now don't laugh - I found this man's coat and it was a size small so I decided it would work for me. I don't have a lined coat for these Colorado winters and have decided that it's going to be a MUST to find a good one this year. This denim one will do the trick for awhile. 

Found this little gorgeous red number for my gingerbread girl (check out her tan!) 

...a rocky horse for Finn - several people watching me come out of the thrift store were green with envy...I guess rocking horses are high in demand these days? One man stopped me and says "found yourself a little rocking horse did ya?" I told him (obviously) "why yes I did, isn't he cute?" The man says back " he sure is and seems to be in good condition." I told him that I thought it was in perfect condition and went on my way ...realizing later that I probably could have sold it to him for a profit if I had wanted to. Next time...maybe next time. 

For my Tristan...a pair of under armour cleats...

...and some fireman boots. As long as a boy has some shoes to play soccer in and some boots to fight fire you're set in our family. 

If you would like to play along on Second Hand Treasures Saturday post on your blog, link back to me and let me know! I would love to ooh and ahh over your steals. 

Feeling Thankful ... 

Alyssa Spring

FOF

I'm a few days late with my FOF post - my apologies. 

I finished my two week "no grocery store stops" successfully. My husband gets paid bi weekly so I made a goal to grocery shop on his pay days, then also put money on a gift card to pay for fuel for the next two weeks. I'm happy to report...we made it the two weeks with only one ice cream run (we simply couldn't help it... it was raining and we needed gelato and waffle cones) and we actually still had a third of our set aside fuel money left over! 

Last Thursday I scoured the internet for coupons and sales flyers, made up my two week menu plan (I make a list of meal ideas...and am flexible on which day I make which meals) and then took the stores with my envelopes of papers. When I go to the store I most definitely look like a "woman on a mission" (or a completely crazed person.)

Other ways I saved and spent this past week...

~ lined dried our clothes on all of the sunny days

~ ordered Zac's Father's Day using a coupon code

~ printed out my blog from January of this year until the beginning of May using a coupon code (I've been wanting to do this for awhile but have always been overwhelmed by the cost ... I decided that if I break my blog down into 6 month increments then I can make a way to afford it. I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to save precious memories for my children.)

~ Trinity finally had enough allowance saved to buy her first "amazon wishlist item." We have started giving our kids a small allowance each week so that they can learn to give and to save. I helped Trinity find something that she would like to save for...and she has worked extra hard the last 7 weeks to save up. I was proud of her accomplishing that goal!

~ we helped a family with a small grocery item purchase, donated our used stuff at the church thrift store and then also purchased some books and some children's clothes there (100% of our church's thrift store purchases go towards helping widows and orphans and is ran completely by volunteers. We LOVE knowing that we can donate our belongings to a really awesome cause. It's just a simple way to give when our wallets are rather empty.)

~ we stayed home almost all week and made crafts with what we had on hand

~ used a red box rental code for a free movie night

~ I ordered some supplements for the boys to try .... they were rather pricey but I found a way to get free shipping on them and also use my Citi points to help pay for them. This was one of those iffy things where I felt a little guilty about buying it from a cheaper source rather than the distributor. I had to pray about it honestly because I wanted to do the honest thing...but also what was good for our family. I love to support local businesses and try to buy handmade as often as possible...but this was one of those times I really needed to save as much as possible. I feel comfortable with our decision (I talked to Zac about it probably more than he would have liked haha.) I hope that the supplements will work well for our little dudes along with their gluten free diet. 

~ I included picnic foods in my grocery list for the next two weeks so that I would have easy lunches to pack if we are going out...that way we aren't tempted to stop off places for a bite to eat

~ Found Trinity her backpack for her "one day a week" of school next year... I got it 50% off and thankfully it has no "character" on the front so she should be able to use it for years 

~ uploaded some free children's apps

~ printed off free homeschool worksheets

That's how I did .... I also forgot to mention that Zac had the opportunity to work a lot of overtime this last week so God provided for our savings account. When he works overtime it is kind of hard on our family but I try to just tell the kids "daddy is a hard worker and we pray that God will provide for us and extra work is one way He does that!" The littles are being real champs about it. 

To link up to FOF go to  Rebecca's Blog ....it's a lovely place. :) I guess this is her last FOF post...I'm not sure if I will continue or not.