Fantastically Free Friday!!!!!

Ok it's been a year since my last post and lots has changed. 

Let's see where to begin...

We moved to a HUGE fixer farmhouse

on many acres in upstate NY

It was to be our dream house.

See the potential?

Ok look close.
We did...(not close enough)

Bought a horse...got some chickens...a crazy turkey...

Loved it!!

~then~

Found out our neighbor up the hill enjoyed crime

LOTS

Found out termites had eaten the support beams

YIKES

Found out the well water not exactly safe

P-U!

Found out our land contract was bogus

um...WHAT???

UN-loved it.

Cried lots.


~word to the wise~

Hire an attorney to read a land contract

BEFORE 

you sign a useless piece of paper
& get an inspection

~You will thank me~
We were far too trusting.
Our very big bad.
Bad. Bad. Bad.

I still miss that old house in so many ways.

But it wasn't ours.

Never would be.

That still hurts.

So...we decided to move to a home that was truly ours.

3000 miles away.

Sold my horse...I cried...lots (sob sob)

Gave my chickens to awesome neighbor.

Moved back to my the area of my birth (kinda).

~then~

Hubby gets a call from NY with huge job offer...

?????

So..

What is in our future? 

I dunno but it is an adventure and I hope it will all work out.

OK there it is...my sob story...

Let's move onto something fun!

I have been trying to find furnishings for 

cheap cheap cheap...

I sold most of what we owned to get back home.

So...I began the task of refurnishing...on a very tight budget.

Voila!!

This was one of the beautiful things I found on CL

~for free!!!!!!!~

After endless days of scouring CL 

and driving all over the planet

I now have:

  2 sofa sets,

  3 diningroom sets (2 to refinish & sell),

a very nice bunkbed set,

2 french provincial coffee table sets

3 french provincial dressers

a buffet used for our tv

a french provincial style desk

a gorgeous wooden old desk chair or castors,

an oak desk,

an adorable old ice cream parlor set

~free~

yes I am a thrifty mama

~freeeeeeee~

It's hard work finding a good bargain.

but oh so worth it!!! 

 (ignoring under table clutter)
Yes I need to revamp the French Provincial Table set...
but
it was free!!!!

 I know...one lamp looks taller than the other.

Not perfect yet.

I just moved in...

(2 months ago)

I love this sofa.

I love that it doesn't exactly match the other set.
I love it's cute little feet & carved trim detail.
I love that it was all free. I already owned the lamps and pictures.
(which need to be hung with a level)

Freeeeeeee!!!!
This makes up for moving away from our "dream" home.
Kinda.

Now if I could find another house that we could own... *sob sob*

We will... :)

.

 

~~Fantastically Free Friday!!~~

 When I saw her it was love at first sight....*sigh*....

She actually has a cool story 

so

even though you are tempted to just scroll through the pics

~you just gotta read this!~

I had her twin "sister" back home in BC and I bought her from a family member.

She was a much darker version and was in need of a refinishing~very badly!

I gave her up to a family since we were moving east,

plus her sound board was cracked 

so she kinda buzzed when I played certain keys

Anyways, I have been longing for her, I loved her style, her sound (she is an upright baby grand),

her grace~I loved this piano!! 

I was kicking myself for letting her go!

Well......

of all the crazy coincidences

I found her twin sister here in NY!!!!! 

What are the chances, really??

 She was refinished by someone already (still needs a bit on the front as you can see) 

she has all the same curves, sound, grace 

yup

I was beyond freaked out when I saw her on CL

get this......

for FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I may have screamed a little

ok a lot ;)

I was 2nd in line to get her so I prayed hard~really hard~begged, pleaded, 

cried in my pillow (I did, I'm such a woosie), 

I had knots in my stomach, I couldn't sleep,

I was sooooooo anxious while waiting to see if she would be taken

until

I got the call the next morning...it was meant to be...she was MINE!!!!!

I love the carved details in the legs, even though there are some imperfections due to age...

The detail of the harp above the foot pedals

 Her beautiful matching bench with the hand carved legs...ah she is a beauty!

She needs a tune up but she sounds so rich

it thrills my soul to play her!

I love her so much, I have to admit 

I got her home and gave her a big hug.

Seriously...I saw another piano, same manufacturer, 

(who I believe were in business in the late 1800's until 1940's sometime)

and they were asking $1600!! 

Maybe she isn't everyone's dream come true...but she is mine.

I'm linking up to The Shabby Nest to share this frugal find

and to see all the other great deals!

Don't you love happy endings?

Cynthia

Doh!!!!!!! Why didn't I BUY that??

See those cute little framed bells 

from Pottery Barn?

The ones framed all cute like with a hefty price tag? 

I think they run about $129 for all 3....

hmmmm...not fitting in with my "bargain" themed lifestyle...

Don't get me wrong,

I'd love to be able to throw down big moolah and snatch up every little trinket my heart so desired

but

that just ain't reality. Not in my world anyways.

Well...I was shopping this weekend at my local Open Door Mission Thrift Store 

(it is kinda small but has some good treasures)

anyways

I saw 2 of these exact bells in frames. 

Price....$5!!!!!!!!!!

I am screaming on the inside....ok on the outside too!!!

See how cute they look?

Why didn't I get them when I had the chance?? 

Somebody give me a cyber-bonk upside my silly head already!!

I am racing there as soon as the hubby gets in the door.

If I get them...I will be doing a happy dance home...in my car of course...with DMB playing in the background.

Wish me luck!!

Cynthia

Plain little Cinderella bed gets her princess slipper...

My sweet 4 year old daughter wanted a "princess bed".

Enter CL sweet find of the day...that's Craigslist to you people out there in bloggy land. I only discovered CL 2 years ago (I know how completely in the dark ages am I??)

Well, as you know, CL is a plethora of good bargains. 
And some really nasty stuff too. 
Like c'mon people...are you really going to sell that dog peed on, nasty, ripped, brown & orange tweed, looks like a tornado dropped it on your front porch couch for $100?? Well, whatever floats your boat!

I did, however, find this little antique spindle bed--with side rails--for $30. I even found a cute matching spindle side table for $5 (no pics sorry). It was boring, brown stain & poly finish peeling and chipped. Looked weathered after being in a storage shed for too many years.
But it did have the makings of a cute little girly bed...

I saw her cutie-pie potentail peeking out from beneath that weathered exterior...but she needed a makeover...so I whipped out my trusty trigger finger--thank God for the spray paint holder gripper thing--(bought at Wally World what a life saver) and I started spraying like a crazed woman gasping for air between blasts. 

Seriously, spray painting in a breeze outdoors can be a pain in the butt but I hadn't any room in the over stuffed garage!! 

It took some wood filler for the gaps in the wood grain, a face mask, some goggles, (for that wind induced over spray) 1 can of oil based spray primer and 3 cans of white gloss, sanding the bugs off between coats (darn gnats!!) but....

I

have 

unveiled 

a 

princess

bed!!

You should have seen her with her little sidekick spindle legged table (sorry, no pics *sniff*)
all cute and crisp white with a little vintage lamp,
chunky antique picture frame-turned tray, & cute porcelain bunny 
all bought for a mere $5 at a garage sale

Fit for a 4 year old princess :) I should have dressed her all up but she looked cute as is!

ok...one more look...

(ok you didn't notice she needed another coat of paint right?)

she got it post pics 

I have to admit, I did find another (even cuter!!) 4 poster bed for my daughter (for $20!!!) so I sold this set for $175...not a bad profit at all I must say!
I am looking forward to seeing all the other "before & afters"at the Metamorphosis Monday Blog party hosted by Between Naps On The Porch.
Enjoy! :) 

Cynthia

Sunday Snackers---Leftovers turned tasty Quesadilla

Got leftovers?? 

Well we do...we always do. Such is the life when you have 3 kids who eat like birds. So do I throw away the leftovers from their meals...heck no!! I recycle them. Oh I know that sounds a tad icky gross but it is not as bad as you might think. I get soooooo frustrated when we bring home the Colonel and his tasty fried chicken and the kids eat 1/2 of a piece and leave the rest!! 
Try to serve that 1/2 piece later in the day and you'd think you just put a dead mouse on their plate...."EWWWWWWW!!!! Who ate 1/2 this chicken leg Mom???"....um you did my little carnivore. *Sigh* Like I said, I hate to waste good moolah on perfectly good food....

So........

Enter the leftover chicken & cheese ranch style quesadilla

Yes...my cutting board is clean I just finished chopping up the Colonel's famous left-over chicken.

Slap (spread thinly) some Ranch dressing on one side of a soft tortilla. For you low carbers like me, use a cardboard, um low carb, flatbread...

add thinly sliced chicken, then add some grated cheese, if you can get some diced chives in there go for it!!

  Put another tortilla shell on the top and bake in oven at 375 degrees F for 10 mins. Let cool for 1 minute and then use a pizza cutting tool to cut into 4 wedges....serve with favorite side dish and some sour cream. I love tarragon with chicken so I added some to my sour cream. It is best if you let it chill in the sour cream for 1hr.

Serve.

Now sit back and hide your smug little smile as your children eat their leftovers and actually enjoy them.

Cynthia

Spring Vignette--you light up my life!

Spring is here!!

I think anyways...it was icy cold last night but I see buds on the trees and the recent time change made the days sooooooo much longer...so I am going with it!

Anyways, I miss spring flowers so I thought I'd post about a little vignette I put together in my kitchen over the summer. I love the use of light in dark corners & I especially love being able to throw in some wild flowers (plus my rooster--he worked with my discontinued gold Waverly toile curtain fabric--which I love).

Yes--I love toile--I probably always will--so sue me! I really don't care if it isn't the "in" thing right now--it is "my" thing and it makes me happy ;)
I admit I am not rooster crazy but being in the country--he fits right in. I had an ironstone platter which I used as a tray to keep the grouping together--ta-da!

A dark corner with a purpose.
Sorry no before picture. You can use your imagination...
super boring, useless, dark corner.


Now...a cute, bright, corner vignette.
Here it is again...

You my have noticed something (other than those wretched terra cotta countertops)...waiting...tick-tock tick-tock.....ok I'll give you a hint....NO cords. Admittedly, yes, they are in fact there but I have Adobe Photoshop...it is a handy piece of software. It erases many a faux pas so I can pretend there are no cords, only a cute spring vignette. Simple but effective.

Cynthia

The Best Things in Life are Free!!

Today I celebrate the first day of my life as a "blogger"...Ok the only person really excited about this is me...and maybe my long time friend from waaaaaaaaay back. She inspired me to do this (thanks Jen :0* kisses) and to be honest I need a place to download.

I am also doing this is to take a break now and then from my 3 beloved and half-naked-running-around-painting-the-walls-with-"washable" (argh!)-fingerpaints-and-screaming-yet-delightful children 

 Partners in crime those 2 girls of mine

Yeah baby! Welcome to my world...
I realize my house sounds like a zoo really it isn't so bad, I love 'em!! 
I just wanted an outlet to share my love of decorating. Deal hunting. Thrifting. Bargain chasing. Treasure (junk) collecting. You get the idea here.
If you think it is a sport--it is--and I take it as seriously as most men do football or hockey...get outta my way...I see a bargain!!!!!!!!!!!!


I love...really Lo-o-o-Ve...finding screamin', smokin', insanely great golly good bargains!!!
Like these cute little wall mounted curtain holders thingy-ma-whosits.

I think I paid $1.00 for them and they are darn cute and will look sooooo adorable holding back this toile fabric I bought for under $1.99 a yard.

It will be used to make some curtains for the girl's room.

 

My little grandma is the Queen of Thrift (miss you grandma *sniff* hope to come visit soon) and she is always finding amazing deals on things and re-creating someone's crapola into a thing of beauty. I guess I have her genes for thrifting!!


I also have a whole garage FULL of other people's crapola and I fully intend to turn every piece into something to be proud of...I know my husband is rooting for me here!

And you thought I was just kiddin' when I  said FULL...Ok point made...quickly move past this picture...it is a scary sight...


We recently moved to a great big (old) house in the countryside in NY and I must say I do love it out here! The rolling hills, the quaint villages, the pizza...the only thing driving me a tad batty is all the rooms I now need to decorate. ALL the rooms need to be done. Not one is even a bit ok...no not one!! Even the windows need a good cleaning (just pretend you didn't notice it in the pics) so I figure in my many hours of spare time (HA!) I will give them all a good scrub...um probably no! Anyways...I am the type of person that sees a room and all my gazillion projects completed and it hurts my head not to have it done, like right now!
I must have 5,012 projects all sitting on the back-burner (translated my garage) crying out for attention. But alas, they will all have to wait.


For now I have chosen to look around me and find little touches of simple beauty all given to us for free.
Free!!!!

We have an abundance of wild flowers here and I love their simplicity and their beauty. I used a tiny sundae cup & a vintage vase to bring them indoors...I think they smell as nice as they look!

Cynthia