Dean Park Annual Garage Sale

Garage sale Sundays!! Okay, just kidding - but I do have a big juicy post for today! Yesterday was the Annual Dean Park Garage Sale. Hubby and I hit it bright and early with our friends Cory, Julie and her daughter. It was not only a blast, but by far the most productive 'deal hunting' day I have ever had.

Above are a few of my awesome deals - I got all the frames above for $2 total! Lamp cost from left to right was: free, $1, $2 and $2. Score. I of course have big plans for all of these. Most of the frames I will be painting white and using for a photo collage wall in the dining room. The lamp shades will all have to go, since they are obviously hideous, and all lamps will be painted a different colour.

Above is my free lamp that I found at the end of the day. Hideous? Yes. Salvageable? Yes. Probably. Richard has his doubts, but knows better than to get between his wife and a can of spray paint. I have a feeling this will not only be beautiful when I'm done with it, but one of my favorite items. Time will tell.

Above: another hideous item - but I know it will be perfect with a little (a lot) of elbow grease. And for $10 for a bar cart - I don't mind splurging a few hours.

And now, for the deal of my life: the cane chair of my dreams. It is exactly what I have been on the hunt for to go in our bedroom. At one garage sale yesterday, a lady was sitting on it while she was selling her items. On a whim, I just asked her if it was for sale, thinking if it was anything under $100 it was a steal. "Oh yep! $10." What? "I'LL TAKE IT" I yelled louder than I'd like to admit.

And it's in perfect shape!! Even the upholstery is a nice colour! This chair is worth $300-500 in rough shape - so at $10 this was a no brainer.

And now a side shot...

Ouu, and one of that lovely leg..

Okay, fine, I'm done.

Not pictured are a scrapbook paper box for free, 4 large metal planters for $10 total. Also, a bunch of 'boy things' that don't really fit in the whole design blog category, although Hubby assures me they were amazing deals (chainsaw for $20, two free weed whackers, $2 tool box, to name a few). And that's not even including the free basketball hoop and $5 hockey net that Cory scored. The boys had just as much luck as the girls.

And lastly, a photo of me. Wait, no - 'The $2 Lamp Diva'. Yes, I like that. Cheers!

Our Dining Room

I'm a big fan of 'before and after's. But, since I feel like we are never quite done renovating and decorating a room, I prefer to use the phrase 'before and progress'.

The dining room reno started one New Years day, when I (thinking I was being very sly finding a loophole to Richard's renovation clause) torn off the trim and started the drywall mudding process to get rid of that hideous wall texture (bleck!) After mudding, and sanding, and painting, and trimming came.... wait for it.... the house flood.

So,... some drying out of the house, new flooring, then... wait for it... mudding, and sanding, and painting, and trimming. No wonder we're getting so good at it.

Although I still want to recover the chairs in a pretty light blue fabric, toss in a Persian rug, and maybe paint the buffet and hutch - here is my 'progress'

Recap of some 'expenses' :

- buffet and hutch (FREE! Burnt to a crisp, and I sanded and refinished it)

- dining table (FREE! Second hand from Rich's Dad)

- two floral prints (Prints: 3 for $15 at Ikea, Frames: $8 for a set of two)

- set of 5 chairs ($100 for set on UsedVictoria - score!)

- drapes ($100 for the set from Fabricland)

- bar table (FREE! Just had to sand and refinish..)

Cheers!!

As many of you know, once I get an idea in my head, I will insist on making it happen. Remember that stupid chrome reindeer I am still on the hunt for? Jennie has almost unfriended me over it, even though I think she secretly enjoys watching me hunt for it like a frantic wolverine in the Christmas section of HomeSense.

That being said, I've been thinking a lot lately about the perfect bar. Now don't get me wrong here, I actually rarely drink. Honest. But when I do, it is usually one of those 'oh look, she's baking a cake again' or 'hide your opened beers, the 'beer-naber' is at it again' moments. But this post is less about the last time Krista and I insisted on visiting the park at 2am, and more about why I thought personalized glasses would be so chic.

Somehow I got the idea to have a set of 4 monogrammed glasses, but could not seem to find any that I liked that were even close to what I consider reasonably priced. So, I did the next best thing.
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I went out to my nearest big box store (coughcoughwalmartcough) and purchased a set of glasses for $4.99 - then I took them to a friend that does engraving (whom I assumed must owe me a favour). I figured out what I wanted, and added a nice thick boarder to surround the 'M'

And voila! Cheers all!!