Frugal Friday

Since I have been working on this chair rescue anyway,... I decided it would be the perfect entry for today's linky party over at the Shabby Nest.

I bought my husband a new computer chair for Valentines day (romantic I know) because his old one was in a bit of disrepair. Actually that is an understatement.

Then of course my wheels started turning and I couldn't bring myself to throw the old one out when I just knew it could easily be turned into something just the right amount of tacky, clown-esq, and eccentric for my side of the office. After all,...it sure would be nice to get rid of that folding chair.

I spent $4.00 on clearance fabric at Walmart. I got really creative with batting and tape to reshape parts of the chair that were gone!!?? Then I covered it in that 'ragamuffin' style that has been floating around in the idea-o-sphere. I am quite pleased with the results. How nice to have a 'real' chair on my side of the office!!

The Piano

I apologize that I have been the absentee blogger this week. I am hosting a double baby shower for two of my dearest friends on Saturday, and I wanted to get the house ready. You know those lists that you formulate over time of things that you want to get done, but just don't seem to get around to until you have that little push? Well, this was that little push. This week I have

shampooed the carpets

painted the stairwell (With the hubby's help. It goes up to our second story and has one of those ridiculous two story high open areas. I was just so sure he was going to fall off of the ladder. Thankfully, he didn't.)

cleaned like crazy

made party favors

used dry erasers to remove my daughters artwork from the walls

etc, etc, etc,... I am exhausted

In the midst of all of this my hubby refinished our piano, so this week 'Favorite Spots Friday' is being pre-empted by my utter excitement for my new FAVORITE piece of furniture Friday.

We purchased this piano from a friend when she was moving. We payed $100- for it. We knew it was a big fixer upper, but I had a vision that I could not shake. (I am really glad that my man humors me so, because he does such beautiful work.)

It started out not the prettiest color with lots of worn spots and muck on it, and a broken, really homely book stand. He sanded the tar out of it, and it took him forever! (The cute man worked his cute hiney off.)

Then he used 3 coats of stain on it, and two coats of clear semi-gloss.

All the while I got to go shopping. I know, it sounds so unfair and decadent, but I was a woman on a mission so it really was work. ;) I knew exactly what I wanted for the book stand,...I just had to find it. Finally (do you hear the angels singing?), there it was. The art pieces were a little dinged up, so I got them on major clearance.

The right width for a book stand required me to buy two. :) Then we finished it off with a couple of knobs that I had saved for a special occasion.

I JUST LOVE IT!! I have been staring at it for a few hours now. THANK YOU LOVEY!!! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!! OH, another surface to decorate.........GLEE!!

I have been BOO'ed, and Random home Rantings...

I have been "Boo'ed" by the darling Mrs.B!! The Blogging Boo works like this... Go to as many friends as you want and tell them they've been "Boo-ed". Have them link back to your blog to pick up their Halloween Treat (the cute picture), and tell them to "Boo" their friends. Then, put the picture in your side bar so everyone knows that you've already been "Boo-ed" and to send the pic to someone else.

Ready,.... set,.... BOO!

Sorry, lots of really blurry pics today.
I was semi productive today. I made a trip to Home Depot to pick up construction gloves, flashlights, and 'Museum putty' for my earthquake kits. (Feeling a little bit of 'dooms day' paranoia lately. I suppose it's good for me because it forces me into action.) Is is sad when the highlight of your kids day is a ride in a shopping cart? Although it was a very cool shopping cart. The only problem with being productive is that a trip to Home Depot always leaves me with decisions. We are going to paint our stairwell from the first story to the second story just to clean it up and brighten it up. So, do I just go with a creamy neutral like these, or do I want more color like the rest of my house? I am sooo open for suggestions.

I did find a cute knob for only a few dollars, which made me smile, and I will tell you why. I acquired this 2nd hand dresser about 8 years ago. I liked it because the drawers were shallow and perfect to store flat canvases, watercolor paper, paints, and brushes. It was ugly white laminate junk, and it was peeling. I took a utility knife and eventually got all of the laminate off. (This is when the husbands 'utility/ exacto knife ban' came into effect, because I suffered numerous injuries...battle wounds :)! ) I wood burned a design into the raw particle board and painted it with watered down acrylic. I have had it all these years and dubbed it my crazy art dresser. So back to the knob...I have a plethora of mismatched knobs on this dresser, which is one of my favorite things about it. Through the years my tastes have changed and some of the knobs have really taken a beating so I am always on the look out for replacements. In a time of extreme economic crisis, how does one justify spending unheard of dollar amounts on a knob??










(these literally ranged in price from $10.78-$34.50)

WOWZERS!! I know...you don't justify it. I loved them all,...I wanted them all,...but lets be prudent right? Which is why I was excited to find one I was pleased with for $2-ish . What fun would I have if my knob hunt were over anyway??!