Summer Fun

I'm terrible at updating and I do apologize! Until I get better at it a way to follow me and get an update on almost everything is by Instagram!

adnapq

:)

I have still been keeping up with little crafts here and there. Such as this little RED chair I found at Goodwill. It got ruined by someone(DRSP) who was spray painting a fan blade. Sprayed it a pretty metallic silver using Valspar! <3

Found a coat rack I had made for my boyfriend's nephew last year as well!

With inspiration from Pinterest, I spray painted more bottles but this time for more than just decor. My boyfriend's mother has quite the jewelry collection and will use these for her watches/bracelets!

One of my biggest projects has been a hidden kitty litter box for my two M&Ms (Macee & Monroe). I used an old entryway storage bench that I found at Goodwill a couple years ago. Used a jigsaw to cut a hole in the side and now they are just living the luxury! ;) I'm also able to easily clean it by lifting the lid! I do however need to get a smaller litter box though because I struggle a bit pulling it out due to the width.

Another gift for my boyfriend's mother. Giant jewelry board. I messed it up on the bottom because I spaced the fact that the webbing spray came out so fast. Hopefully she'll still like it!

Aside from making my own letters I came across some I previously had and sprayed them some pertttyyy colors for a friend.

Found this gem of a light at a garage sale earlier this spring for $15! Finally got the guys to install it :)

This is the picture of how the living/dining room was when I first purchased the house last year.

And this is how it is currently :)

I found the table at an online garage sale for $40, the area rug for $8, and the sectional sofa for FREE!

Score :)

Thanks to the lovely ice storm we had here in April earlier this year we finally got to finish the privacy fence in the corner!

Also got around to removing the giant "dog pool" the previous owners had in for their 4 dogs.

Then the guys had some fun with it :)

That's all the picture updates for now! More to come next week :)

Influenster!

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Goodbye ghosts, hello turkeys.

Halloween has come and gone and soon it will be Thanksgiving...than Christmas...than Heather's Birthday hint hint ;)


Anyway. Update in pictures! Not much craft wise but Im slowly getting stuff done!

Our Halloween party went pretty smoothly. This is me(eskimo) and my sexy hamburgler!

Finally got around to dragging the desk inside and getting started on it!

It WAS supposed to go into our bedroom but I made other plans for it....

Does that chest look familiar? ;)

It works good to store the toys for when the girls come over!

Now I just need to get some purty knobs for the front.

Cleaned and organized this weekend! It is Wednesday now and surprisingly its still looking good!

 

I'll finish off with some pictures of the Halloween decorations...

House Update!

It's been almost 4 months since we closed on the house and moved everything in....
Crazy isn't it?

Everything I had wanted to be done....ha...yeah I forgot I work 40hrs a week and have a life. I'm like 60% done with things I wanted to do.

Rooms that have been painted:
Living
Dining
Kitchen
Johns room
Stairway wall
Our WIC

Things that have been painted:
Kitchen cabinets
Stair railing

Other misc things:
Bathroom floor got replaced by my oh so lovely boyfriend, kudos to him.
Still have yet to do the kitchen floor :( But that's okay because I'll do better in the long run if I wait until after the Halloween bash and maybe make it a winter project?

Band practice!

All three of them...passed out..

MY OH MY what a mess ;)

Pan of the backyard.

 Time to bug bomb!

In case I forgot to mention....there will be a lot of pictures since there is time to make up!

Turned out pretty good! Still have to get around to putting the red knobs on the drawers....

Put some stickayyy paper in the dawers...

Oh this was so much fun. I can add it to my category of fun along with wallpaper! (see below)

But the results are AMAZINGGGGG.

Yeah....3 layers of wallpaper......

This has since been painted, picture to come soon!

Painted the kitchen walls a nice chocolate brown. Big thanks to Cody for helping :)

Then we were trying to decide which floor looks best....

Found a whole thing of tiles at the ReStore for $8. Hello backsplash!

Once again, I can not stress how but I LOVE wallpaper.

*crickets*

Yeah....

But its turning out pretty good. Have to finish spray painting below the chair rail white and put up white trim on the ceiling.

I realize there's quite a few more things that have been completed that I need pictures of.

I'll try to remember to take them tonight and then hopefully have them up tomorrow! :)

xoxo hj

My Guide to Thrifting.

The nation is in debt.

You are in debt.

Pretty much everyone is in debt and will be for a good portion of living...

Okay so minus the times when mania sets in and I go on a little spree....I do most of my shopping secondhand. Whether this being Craigslist, Ebay, and most importantly...thrift stores! I'm also a tad bit of a clearance freak.

I'm still baffled when I meet people who really have no insight on thrifting. Did you know that some things you can get for a better deals at a different thrift store? This is one thing I have noticed over the years...so let me attempt to break it down for you.

Sioux Falls has a handful of secondhand shops.

 -Goodwill

-Savers

-Y-buys

-Salvation Army

-St Vincent Depaul

I'm not a big fan of cosignments...for example theres a gift/antique place on 10th and Bahnson. I've been there maybe a handful of times. And although I have previously found good deals at Plato's Closet I rarely go there anymore.

BEST PLACE FOR....

*Furniture?
Goodwill-Yes, a wide variety of good deals from end tables to dressers. They are clearly marked and usually in decent shape.

Savers-No. This place went down hill a couple of years ago because they started jacking up prices. Most are not in the best condition for what theyre asking for anyway.

Y-buys-Maybe. Unless its a 50% off day or you get lucky I really havent seen any good deals. My boyfriend on the other hand claims he has seen some. I have however noticed they are in pretty good shape.

Salvation Army-Yes. Good prices and good condition.

St Vincent Depaul-Sometimes. There has been times where I can find really good deals and then see them trying to sell a coffee table for $50.



*Work Clothes?
Goodwill-Yes. Mainly because all of their shirts, pants, etc are all priced same according to their categories.

Savers-Possibly. If you want to overpay when you're thrifting go for it.

Y-buys-Sometimes. Pricing is an issue sometimes.

Salvation Army-Yes. Cheap prices, but condition isnt always the greatest. That isnt really a big concern if your clothes are going to get dirty.

St Vincent Depaul-YES YES YES. Hands down best place to get clothes you dont have to worry about ruining! Men's shirts are $1. Self explanatory.



*Good Clothes?
Goodwill-Yes. About a year or two ago they followed in Saver's footsteps and started arranging by sizes. I personally find most of my clothes here.

Savers-No. Correct me if Im wrong but I think they stopped doing their special where they would have a certain color tag 50% off. All of their brand names are jacked up. However, if you're celebrating homecoming week or a little contest in the office, this is a good place because they organize by color last time I checked.

Y-buys-Yes. This is where I found my senior prom dress for $10. Clothes are in good condition and organized by size.

Salvation Army-Sometimes. Prices are good, but the clothes arent in the best condition.

St Vincent Depaul-Possibly. I havent explored here for good clothes mainly because its not open on the weekends and its on the other side of town.



Misc
(Hardware pieces, lamps, nuts and bolts type stuff)
Goodwill-Yes. I really like their "junk" bin. Its just full of stuff that doesnt have a specific area to go. Ive found some nice curtain hold backs before.

Savers-No. Again...overpriced most of the time.

Y-buys-Yes. Good pricing but a small selection.

Salvation Army-Yes. I have found tools here and lighting.

St Vincent Depaul-Yes. Decent selection size and good prices.



*Toys
Goodwill-Yes. Good selection with good prices.

Savers-No. Overpriced.

Y-buys-Possibly. They have a very small selection of toys, havent really seen too much with pricing.

Salvation Army-Maybe. Small selection but good pricing.

St Vincent Depaul-Maybe. Again, small selection but good pricing.



*Linens
Goodwill-Yes. Pricing is great because all sheets are the same price...same with comforters, etc. Organized and usually in good condition.

Savers-No. Overpriced.

Y-buys-Yes. In the past couple of months I have noticed they have been doing better at pricing. Large selection.

Salvation Army-Sometimes. Okay pricing and small selection.

St Vincent Depaul-Yes. Just like GW they have flat rate pricing. Decent size selection and it is pretty organized.



Decor
All of the above rate about the same in this category.

***

Please make sure to clean the areas marked with an *

Hard toys: Bleach and water solution. Let air dry.

Linens: Wash in hot water. If item is delicate then dry clean. If it is also smaller you can put it in a bag and freeze it for 24 hours. This will kill any dust mites and bed bugs.

Stuffed animals: Freeze in a bag for 24 hours.

Clothes: Wash as directed.

Furniture: Spray with lysol. If you have a covered porch and its cold enough outside...leave it for 24 hrs covered in plastic. Renting a carpet cleaner and using the hose attachment never hurts either.

What's Missing?

Personally I do not buy undergarments such as bras, underwear, boxes, etc. second hand. I also rarely buy electronics(cd players, phones, etc). But, to each their own!

TIPS

Monday mornings are the best time to thrift because usually churches or organizitions have dropped stuff off on Sunday night. Also the weekends are pratically the only time to go through and figure out what crap you're giving away ;)

Bring all forms of payment. Some places only accept cash or check(Salvation Army). While others cannot take checks but can do cash and cards.(most of the above).

Be prepared to stay a bit. Its addicting. Plus it can take awhile to go through the whole store! I can easily throw away a whole hour lunch in Goodwill.

Hopefully this post has given some people an insight into the great world of thrifting!

Salvation

Okay def been a minute since I have made a new post.

Went through a lot of last minute hurdles and trust me there were alot of tears! But yesterday @ 10AM I officially signed my life away and became a homeowner :)

Everything is moved in....just not unpacked :)

Danny seemed to be dealing with the change okay, but he still rode with me when I was bringing boxes to and from the old to new and little shopping trips. DISCLAIMER: Since it was 90+ degrees this weekend, DONT WORRY, I left him in the car and simply used my auto start to keep it running with the AC blasting while I still had my keys.

First project I HAD to get done was the kitchen cabinets. Started them on Monday afternoon after running around doing errands and setting up utilities. Got far enough to where I need to move to the fronts of the cabinets and then I went grocery shopping. We literally had milk, mayo, cheese, and beer of course in our fridge.

So off to Hy-Vee I went...and came back with much more than expected.....

All in all it was only $220!

I am just happy with the fact that we have AC now...especially considering we have a heat advisory until Friday night!

Whales

Screw the whales! SAVE THE GREEN!

Frugal can be sexy, right? ;)

Figured I should probably type everything up on here to be more organized and to share with whomever is creeping this blog!
Im hoping in 2 years to have my credit cards all paid off. Less if possible!

1. Keeping the temp set at 74 in the summer when we are home and 79 when we are at work or sleeping. Also staying at 69 when we are home in the winter and 63 when we are doing the latter.

2. Washing clothes in cold water. AS long as there are no stains. Also looking into checking out soap nuts, google it.

3. Putting a bucket or designing a system to catch all of the extra wasted water from showering. Plus getting a water saving showerhead. I had also made note of turning down the water heater a couple of notches. I'll have to mess around with that at the new house.

4. Another way to re-use water is a rain barrel! This would also help keep water from flooding into the basement. We can then use it to fill Danny's doggie pond for the summer and hopefully my future herb garden!(if I dont kill it)

5. Ive been reading that the fridge and freezer work more efficiently if they are full. Also heard that you want to push everything together so its not trying to freeze each thing individually and using more energy. Opposite for the fridge is to space everything out. Hmmmmm

6. Cut the dryer sheets in half!

7. Make bulk foods and freeze. We already freeze the bread we get for sandwich lunches but never thought of making a shart ton of muffins and freezing them now did ya?

8. Cheap meals include....Spaghetti, pizza(not the healthiest), hamburgers, hamburger helper, mac & cheese, hot dogs, and pizza dogs!

9. If I could get all of the boys to unplug their TVs in theyre not using them that would be amazing...but since they cant even set out the trash for pickup....doubt it :(

10. We've got a razor, I can cut their hair! But they dare not touch mine. I usually find coupons or deals for my haircuts.

11. Already dont have cable(NETFLIX FTW) or a landline.

12. I already do most of my shopping at Goodwill and I have yet to see any of the boys go shopping, except for Ron's trip to Platos Closet woot woot!

13. We cant cut down to one car being in a roommate situation trying to live as a half assed family but I can consolidate my trips! Especially how we will be slightly out of town now. Doing stuff on my way to work, after work before coming home, etc.

14. I try REALLY hard to remember my eco-friendly grocery bags. But when I do forget I re-use the plastic ones for the small cans around the house and the paper ones for taking cookies off the hot pan(soaks up some of the butter) and for transporting recyclables outside to the big container!

15. Soon I'll be buying the TP, paper towels, detergent, dish soap, etc in bulk so that should save!

16. Already planning on investing in CFL lights for the new house.

17. I woke up late and had a hair appointment this past weekend so I missed the farmers market but I did spy that the one at Kohls on Tuesdays is until 6pm! I get off at 5pm so just enough time left for me to browse and hopefully buy!

18. www.freebirthdaystuff.com ! I just signed up and my birthday isnt until January so someone cough, my mother, cough should sign up ;)

19. Clinique. As the time goes by Im becoming a firm believer. I used to buy $10 foundation and need to replenish in a 3 months or so. I bought my first foundation and powder set for $45 November 2011. It helps with my redness, covers everything amazingly without leaving my face feeling greasy by the end of the day. I still have 75% of the powder left but Im thinking by the end of July I'll need to get a new bottle of foundation. But thats 9 months! Plus only part of my original purchase so only spending $25. Besides. I feel fancy.

;) jk

20. Buy things off season. We move in 10 days or so. Its the middle of summer and instead of going out and buying all the usual yard tools, Im going to attempt to borrow for the rest of summer than get my own when they start clearancing! I try to do the same with Christmas stuff but this past year I just DGAF. Total opposite with food though. Plus off season fruit usually tastes bleh!

21. In relation to the beauty product #19...I never buy my perfumes full priced. I actually wait until Victoria Secret's SEMI ANNUAL(which is going on now until Sunday if I am correct) and stock up on all the travel sized bottles that are 75% off. Still have some I havent even used that I bought last time so if I do happen to ACCIDENTLY walk into the mall I'll be just grabbing some of the more recent scents.

22. By the way...go check your bathroom closet. Or your makeup drawer. Or maybe under the sink? How many times have you bought a new shampoo or body wash then used it 3 times and moved on? Yeah I have a WHOLE bunch, most of it being lotions! I still have one from high school! Ive vowed to use all of them up before I left myself get anymore.

23. I cannot stress it enough but here it is again... RESTORE! Habitat for Humanity! I already got one of the boy's room's paint purchased. Two gallons for $5 each. Not to mention their lighting selection that Ive been drooling over but not sure if Im replacing any in the new house. Saving some mucho dinero!

24. Light blocking curtains, or curtains just in general. Our AC is broken in the current house we are renting. Even with the 98 degrees it gets outside, we havent had it anymore that 87 inside. All by keeping doors, windows, and blinds closed.

25. Switch your bank account to a GOOD bank! Once Im out of escrow, aka keys in hand, Im opening a savings and checking at Voyage FCU. Their savings yields 4% interest rate, and absolutely NO fees on that or their checkings. I'll start out slowly by putting the emergency house fund in the savings account then treating that new checking account like a savings so I have money built up in there and can start moving this over from Wells Tardo. I mean...Wells Fargo :D

26. Putting all your change in a jar is a good way to save! Unless you're like me and you walk by it and see a new pair of shoes instead of nickles, dimes, and quarters that have built up. Paint the jar, block the view, easy fix!

27. Make a shopping list for groceries and stick to it. Ive got it figured out almost to the bone how much bread, meat, milk etc we use in a week! So I go and pick up that stuff and only that stuff.

28. Drink more water. Your health benefits from it too! We have a large Brita in the fridge so its easy to grab it and pour a glass of ice cold water.

29. Maintain your car! Huh? You're probably wondering why Im telling you to spend money when Im listing ways to save money. Installing a clean air filter, getting your oil changed, installing new spark plugs, and putting some of that carb/fuel cleaner in your gas tank occasionally really affects your MPG! So less you spend at the pumps. Need proof? I had a 2001 Chevy Impala I bought from a friend getting 22 mpg. When I did all of the above to it, I was getting 32 mpg. Then a semi pulled out in front of me, RIP Stella... :(

30. I have a problem with impulsive buying. Swear to god its not an excuse, but I am bipolar. Never had it this bad until I developed bipolar disorder. I also shop my emotions away(same with eating but thats another topic). If anyone has a solution to this...please share :)

31. Clean your appliances. Like a GOOD clean. Wipe off any dust, clean out the lint trap, dust off the coils behind the fridge. They use less energy if they dont have to work as hard to bypass the dirt to get it!

32. Don't tell anyone how much you have in your savings account. When it comes down to the Vegas trip your girlfriends want you to go on, you cant afford it. If they know you have $2000 in your savings theyre going to try to convince/guilt you into dipping into that.

Thats all that comes to mind. Maybe more tomorrow? :P