Frugal Find: Outdoor Patio Furniture

As I've said before, I love a good deal as much as the next girl, especially when I've been patiently waiting to make a purchase. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a super-affordable patio set to aid in the much-needed makeover of my back porch. I've looked a bit online to see what catches my eye, but I haven't done any serious shopping... hoping to find something used, or on sale in an end-of-the-season clearance. In my online searches, I've liked this Maldives patio set from World Market:

So you can imagine my delight when, on my 2nd lap around World Market a couple days ago, I found a few left-over pieces on a super-duper clearance tucked behind a display.

They were 50% off for basic end-of-the-season clearance. A great deal, right? Well, this particular set was an additional 25% off because the manufacturer forgot to put the outdoor sealant on it. Well, that's easy! I can take care of that! A patio set at 75% off? Yippee! Imagine my glee when they told me I could ALSO use my 15% off coupon on top of the 75% off. That's a total of 90% off! So I stocked up!

One of these:

Two of these:

And a table:

At a price tag of under $100 for all 4 pieces, I couldn't be happier! The clerk who checked me out was aghast at the deal I'd found.

Let the back porch makeover commence!

Master Bath Sneak Peak

You may remember that we had to replace our entire waste line recently, just before Baby M was born. As a part of that process, we had to tear out the master bath, which really was ok, because it needed to be re-done.

BEFORE:

It just wasn't necessarily in our budget for this year - we were hoping to wait a little while. But we didn't have a choice! So we asked Justin's dad to "help" us put the bathroom back together after the plumber had fixed the waste line (read: spend all your free time & energy for several months doing all the work on your own - that's what happened after Baby M came - we were no help!). We're so very thankful for him! I truly couldn't ask for a better father-in-law. He's been working so hard on this project, coming by most evenings, after his long work-days as a PT. And of course there have been set-backs and complications at every corner! But now it's almost completely done! Here's a peak at some of the progress.

DURING DEMO:

It was a pretty serious demo project. It allllll came out - lathe & plaster walls, moldy shower tiles & old wood-framed window in the shower (yes, wood window... in the shower...) , the entire floor, sink, tub, toilet... I'm a little concerned about what my husband & father-in-law inhaled during this phase. Yuck!

DURING RECONSTRUCTION:

A friend thought I was painting the walls purple... nope! That's the color of the drywall.
This glass cabinet was a frugal find at Bud's Warehouse - "home improvement thrift store." GREAT place!

The walls are painted now with Behr's Rocky Mountain Sky -
a soothing shade of greenish blue.

Glass tile accent in the shower.

The mosaic tile floors might be my favorite part! They give a vintage feel, which I wanted, to match our 100 year-old house.

Now I get to start on the fun part - accessorizing, decorating & making it a functional space! In fact, my husband is giving me the gift of a couple hours to myself this afternoon, and I'm going shopping for a vanity mirror!

"Pick Your Plum"

Have you seen this website yet?

Pick Your Plum

It's my new favorite "daily deal" site. I think daily deal websites are ingenious. They prey off the consumer's desire for a bargain, while creating a sense of urgency. And then they show you a tally of how many other people have already bought the 'deal', hence telling you in yet another way that you just MUST have this product... service... whatever. I know how this works, but I'm still such a sucker!

Pick Your Plum is all super fun crafting supplies at a serious bargain. And I love that their deals are often just a couple dollars! Another way to suck me right in.

Here are a few of my finds:

Magnets made from vintage door knobs.
This was a crafted item more than a crafting item, really.

Peel & stick chalkboard vinyl to create a days of the week menu board. I'm thinking of putting these on a magnetic board to go on our fridge:

Pattern & tutorial for these super cute pear & apple pincushions from The Idea Room. Could you figure out how to make these on your own? Probably. But is it worth $2 to save the time & energy? For me, yes! Time is everything when you have little ones at home.

So go ahead, pick your plum, and get some stuff to inspire your next project! I'll be right there with you, picking away.

Frugal Find: Kid's Clothes

Shopping is one of my weaknesses. I love searching for that perfect item amidst the sea of choices. But what I love even more than shopping is finding an incredible bargain. Sometimes I have to stop myself from buying something I don't need or want, just because it's a good deal! But one way I take care of my family is by saving us money. So I put my love of bargain hunting to good use.

Here's my most recent find: Whenever I'm in Target, I cruise quickly through the kid's clothes, and check out the clearance racks. I buy things my boys will need when they're a good deal, rather than when we need them. For example, my boys need t-shirts for this summer, so I've been on the hunt for them. BabyGap has great clearance racks, so I headed there first a few weeks ago. But the t-shirts were still $8-$10 on clearance! So I resisted. A couple days ago, while cruising through Target, I found a stash of t-shirts for $1.12! So I stocked up. I got my toddler a couple for this summer (they're already in the wear & wash rotation - so no pics here!), and then I planned ahead:

Cute matching T's for my boys - they'll fit next summer!

A 2-piece sweater/pants set with cute details for $4.24! Emerson will be able to wear this in a year or so...

And this T for M to wear this summer was just too cute to pass up for $1.12!

Where do you find affordable kid's clothing? Any tips to share?