Recent Thrifty Finds

As you know, I love shopping thrift stores, Craigslist & most recently consignment stores to find really good deals. I've bought dressers, a piano bench mirrors and vases all from one of the above spots. One of the fun things about thrifting is find an old piece that's already perfect just needs a new home or a piece just in a need for a little love (paint/primer/sweat & tears/new hardware etc) My latest finds have me super happy, and even better I actually needed what I bought. I'm all about need over want. 

Anyways I've been wanting & needing a kettle for my Kitchen forever, I like the stove top kettles but I adore the electric ones so much more. We have an electric one at my 9-5 and I love using it to boil water for tea, oatmeal and ice tea. I spotted a Bella Electric Tea Kettle at Target that I loved! Super pretty & stylish, its the tea kettle that makes you want to consume more tea! But I couldn't bring myself to splurge and spend $49.99 on it, nope couldn't do it. 



Fast forward to my recent stop at Goodwill, I like shopping this Goodwill whenever I'm in the area because they get clearance items directly from Target!! I was looking for some vintage Pryex, when I spotted the Exact Bella Electric Tea Kettle from Target, for only $24.99! I asked the Goodwill associate if I could open the box and plug it in and make sure it works, he said no problem and also confirmed it was brand new. I plugged it and it turned on! I was still a little unsure of buying in case it wouldn't boil water, but the return policy is within 7 days. When I got home I made sure it worked and it did. Boiled water super fast! Its super cute & heavy!




Its one of those kitchen items 'you can leave out' because it looks decorative & not like counter clutter, lol. I plan on storing the 'hot plate' in a drawer when not in use. Man I love that tea kettle. 

My next thrifty find happened a few days ago. On Saturday Hasani & I stopped into our local Salvation Army, I was tempted by the 40% off sign out front on furniture. I fell head over heals for a pair of vintage mid century style end tables. I loved the sexy legs and I also liked the lamps sitting on top. My husband however wasn't feeling the tables, and so it reminds me compromise is important in design and holding out for something you both like is key. Even though it can suck! I snapped this pictured while in the store and shared it on Instagram, follow me here


We left the store, but I kept thinking about those blue lamps. I knew they would look amazing in our bedroom and I reminded myself we could always spray paint them! After grabbing a coffee and returning to the store I bought them! To be honest I was a little bummed they weren't included in the sale, but they were in prefect condition and super duper heavy & a classic shape. Even without being on sale, they where a steal only $8.00 bucks each. 


As I was walking to our car I looked down at the wood base and saw a nameplate that read 'Lauren.' I thought to myself those couldn't be Ralph Lauren, there's no way. When I got home I did a 'Google search' and discovered they were in fact Ralph Lauren lamps! 



I really love the pretty amazing detailed crackled finish on the lamps, its perfection. 




Now, I'm not sure if the lamps are vintage or just a few years old to be honest, but since I was curious I popped on to RalphLauren.com to look at their current lamps. I found two similar in style body shape and lamp shade and was blown away (by the prices) The Camille Porcelain lamp retails on the website for $540.00. The Camille has a very similar profile as my Salvation army lamps & the same thick wood base. 


The Madeline Porcelain lamp is also similar in shape to my find and retails for a whopping $1,620.00 per lamp. My friends, I only paid $16.00 for both lamps!! Can you believe I was annoyed that I paid $16.00 for two lamps in perfect condition with lamp shades, what the heck was I thinking? lol I  knew the lamps I was buying were very good quality super heavy and in amazing condition, but being a thrifty girl, I never mind if I can save even more. 


It's crazy, in the past couple of months this is my second major lighting score. Remember those lovely 98% sure they are Robert Abbey lamps I bought at a local consignment store? Yeah, I thought that was my score of the year, I guess not. I'm officially calling the amazing find my deal of the year! 

Oh, my new nick name is the lamp whisperer, lol. Since buying these beautiful lamps on Saturday I've already starting to pulling together ideas for our bedroom and will be ordering fabric swatches very soon, I have no intention of painting over their pretty blue crackle finish. We had a little blue in a bedroom before and I'm looking forward to adding this pretty shade in our bedroom. 

Have you found any amazing thrifty deals lately? I'd love to hear more about your score! 

Our Kitchen Progress & New Layout

Hi Everyone, I meant to post our kitchen progress last week, but to be honest I was a little down last week. I'm just over our timeline getting pushed back to do delays beyond my control, and I know we are so close to wrapping this up an moving home. It just sucks. I try and remind myself that's when the real fun will begin, enjoying our home once again and working on lots of DIY projects and of course decorating & gardening. Now back to our kitchen progress & new layout. I mentioned before we changed the layout of our kitchen from an L Shape with no real spot for our fridge to U shape kitchen.

Old Kitchen Layout

Before our kitchen had a ton of wasted space, with the bump out in the kitchen that took precious cabinet space. Our wall where the fridge 'floated' was also a waste of space, before the fire we were in the midst of our kitchen redo, learning to make things work for the better. Even though our old kitchen layout presented us with problems, I liked several things about our old kitchen: Ceiling height cabinets, Solid Wood, Window above kitchen sink and all the potential.  



New Kitchen Layout

Here's our new kitchen layout, its a much better use of our small kitchen space. As you may remember my plans was / is to create our mini dream kitchen on a budget with one splurge, everything else budget friendly. 



Mini Dream Kitchen Details
  • Cabinets that go all the way to the ceiling
  • White Cabinets 
  • Mixture of Glass & Solid Wood Cabinet Doors 
  • Lots of 'Pantry' Storage 
  • Floating shelves 
  • Large bank of drawers for baking & cooking supplies  
  • Fridge with the 'Built-in' Look 
  • Subway tile 
  • Light Counters (preferably Quartz) 
  • Deep Under mount Stainless Steal Sink 
  • Storage space above fridge that's easy to reach  
Now that I've shared our new kitchen layout, lets look back at how much our kitchen has evolved over the past four years since buying our house. Not to long after moving in our home. Read more about the updates we had completed prior to the fire here



Our new counters installed a week or two before the fire, we loved them! In the background you can also spot our newly purchased oven range, we got to enjoy a handful of times. 


Our kitchen completely gutted down to the studs a few months ago, read more here



Now here's a sneak peak at our kitchen! I'm in love with every aspect of our kitchen, my heart started beating fast when I walked in. I'm so happy to have a kitchen I love and cannot wait to start baking and cooking and making our kitchen the heart our our little home again. As a reminder the door to the right leads out to our new laundry room / mudroom addition and is a french door that will let lots of light in. The upper cabinet next to the door will have glass uppers! I promise to share more pictures very soon. 




Our kitchen counters will be installed on Wednesday, then the tile will be installed and it will really start to feel like a kitchen! Our kitchen, still so much to do, but I loving all the progress. It's pretty dramatic so far, huh. 

What do you think so far?