D.I. finds

I had another successful find at D.I. today - skis for Bryson Jr.! And they were only $3....yippee! I am so excited to start collecting ski equipment so that next winter season we can be on the slopes more often and the kiddos can improve their skills.  Also, it's just a lot of fun to go skiing together!

Here are a few pictures of some other finds I have found at D.I. over the past few weeks...

Lamp: $2 - The lamp was found last week - I spied it across the room when I was there with the kiddos so I sent Madeleine to quickly lay claim on it.  I thought I'd need to replace the shade - but it matches the color in the arm chair perfectly, and the one bad spot that was on the shade is now facing the wall :)  Quick and easy (not to mention cheap!) solutions.  

National Geographics: Around $5 -  I needed some color that wasn't a main color in the room & I saw a post at http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/ about using the YELLOW in National Geographics.  I love that magazine & knew that it would be a hit to keep so that the kids could read it...especially Bryson Jr., he LOVES facts about, well anything.  I went through & found the titles that I thought looked most interesting for our family & that were in the best condition and walked out with almost a dozen National Geographics for $5.  This is far less than the "news stand" price, however I found it ironic that a few days later a BRAND NEW Nat'l Geographic showed up in our mail.  I forgot that I purchased a Groupon subscription for our family!  We will now have plenty to read!  

Wood "sunburst" decor:  I found a set of 3 for $2.  I thought I could use them (1st rule to thrifting is to be sure that you know exactly where or how you want to use something...otherwise you are just acquiring junk), and it turned out that I had the perfect spots in 3 areas around the living room.  I don't usually pick up knick-knacks that are just for decor purposes - but I ran out of our own memorable knick-knacks (ex. the elephant was a gift from my Grandpa & Grandma Miller after their trip to India.).  I decided that for $2 I could take them home, see if I like them and if they didn't work I could sell them at our upcoming yard sale.  I'm so glad that I saw them on the cart that had just been wheeled out and that I (nicely) staked my claim when the worker stepped away from the cart and the masses moved in :)  I've been to some D.I.'s where the mass moving in on the cart is crazy - this time it was very mellow, there was no one fighting over items and nothing got knocked off or out of the way...which has happened before!  

Black shelf w/hooks:  $2!  It needs to be touched up on the top part where the frame is hiding the lonely 'E' left over from the word Cafe.   I might try to find other letters and spell out 'HOME' - or I might just try to take off the E and paint over the spots in black.  It's a work in progress - but definitely worth the $2 I paid to work on it!    

Framed Picture:  $1 -  it says 'Embrace the Day' & is hand-stitched.  Really cute - about as folksy-art as I'll go, but I liked the simple lines of the frame & the saying goes perfect with my find of today...

Hanging Plaque:  50 cents - "Come what may and LOVE it" ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin. 

I have loved this quote since he first said it in conference about 4 years ago - it's become a mantra for me, and to embrace that means to accept all that is given and find a way to love it :)  It was a great find as my hanging Easter Eggs will be taken down in a few days and I was looking for something a little more permanent when the shelf isn't decorated for holidays.  I want to find 3 little black frames that I can put ribbon on and have hanging pictures of each of the kiddos as well.  

I found the following quote on Pinterest & found it summed up our home furnishings perfectly!  

The pictures were sub-par in this post, I'll try to take better pictures with "the other" camera (it's so handy to have one on the phone, but the quality is just lacking compared to the Nikon)...and post more updates on my finds.  I'll also post general pictures of the rooms as they are completed (which the living room is the closest room to being what I could refer to as "finished") - and give a run-down of all the great freebies, finds and deals that make each space our own...and full of great little memories in how we brought it home :)