Women be shoppin!

OK. I know I said on Facebook that I'd have the "before & after" living room pictures up, but I decided to wait for the "after" pics until the couch cushions are recovered.  That should be done next week.  In the meantime, I thought I'd share with you some pieces we picked up to finish off the redesigned living room!  Most of them are for organizing, which we made a LOT more space for & the best piece we found was a new coffee table!  We also redesigned that to custom fit our needs & I'll share that whole process in the next post!

Here are our new treasures!

$5 - Grey Iron Griddle (Good Finds)

= Table Top Tray

I have a side table that has a wicker top.  The problem when setting a drink on the table is - it wobbles & ultimately spills (as everything in our house does).  The solution - table top tray!  I was looking for a metal one & I'm a sucker for anything grey and utilitarian so this small, sturdy griddle has been reinvented as a table top serving tray.

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$3 - Metal Soap Dish (Marshalls)

= Extra Key Holder

This 5" metal soap dish caught my eye because of the red lettering.  I'm trying to stay within my color scheme so it fit perfectly.  I needed something that closed & was kind of tricky to open so the little fingers around here couldn't get into it.  We're going to use it for all the "extra" keys we have to random locked things.  

$7.50 - Letter Organizer (Marshalls)

= Letter & Sunglass Organizer

Again, I love anything grey & I love leather, so this was a must have.  It's made to be a letter organizer, so I didn't really have to reinvent it!  Sometimes you have to save your imagination for other, more important projects.

$8 - Metal Goblet (Good Finds)

=  Stuff Catcher 

You've seen two items from "Good Finds".  It's my favorite home store in Tally.  It's a one-stop shop.  Perfect for us with our car of insanity. 
This is not just a goblet. This is something fit for the King of the house to place his most beloved treasures.  Translation - a place for Chris to put his crap.  We're both pretty good about hanging the keys when we get in the house, but it's way more fun to toss them in the bowl.  (Not in a 70's swinger kind of way).  I loved the metal & etching.  I didn't love the gold tone of it, but I'll be changing that... sounds like another post!

 $8 - Orange Mini-Case (Good Finds)

= Holder of Random Electronics

Ok, this was a SUPER find!  $8?  REALLY?  So, we see these older suitcases all over the place & they're always way overpriced.  This one is actually a mini-case (about 11" across), but it's perfect for what I need.  It's perfectly aged and I love the bring orange color (it's hard to see it in this picture).  It also closes and isn't super easy to open (again good for the little, sneaky fingers), so it's perfect for storing our extra cords, ipods, earphones, etc.  SCORE!

$10 - Grey Felt Basket (Marshalls) 

= Under Coffee Table Storage

Again, grey.  So, I used to think that always getting the same color of things would make a room boring.  I now understand that getting the same color, or different shades of the same color, for rooms is a GREAT thing.  It ties in all of your pieces & makes it look like you did it on PURPOSE.  Ah Ha!  A designed home?  Who knew?!
This basket is going under the new coffee table.  You are going to LOVE the new table & this basket has a super special job... just you wait!

$15 - Woven Wicker Runner (Marshalls)

= Space Definer & Dirt Collection 

This is a horrible picture of the new runner, sorry.  When I post about "after" shots I'll take better pictures.  This rug is actually really amazing.  It's woven & ties in perfectly with the new coffee table.  "The rug really tied the room together, man!" (Big Lebowski). And for $15?   Yes, please!

$16 - Glass Milk Holder (Good Finds)

= Holds the "Extra" Stuff  

OK, I've been secretly wanting one of these for YEARS, but never knew what to do with it.  I figured out what to do with it & when I put together the "After" post of the living room, you'll love it, too!  Of all of our purchases this was the splurge.  I realize it was only $16, but these old milk carriers are usually pricey (this one was originally $42), but was marked down to $18.  I was feeling guilty about spending $18 on an "old, metal rack" (as I was sure Chris would say) so, I asked the sales woman if there was a discount & she said "Sure!  How does 15% sound?".  Uhh, sounds good to me!  So, lesson re-learned...  Always ask for a discount! 

 $25 - White Mirror (Hobby Lobby)

= To See Oneself 

After a long day of shopping I had one more stop to make, JoAnns.  This was for fabric for the new coffee table, but apparently my luck for the day had run out.  So, I decided that since I had just dropped Chris & the kids off at home, and I was already in the car, that I'd run up to Hobby Lobby and see if the fabric I needed was there.  It wasn't, but this super cute mirror was.  It was the right size and it was 50% off.  I flinched a little at $25 still, but I was tired and I liked the mirror, so you can guess what I did...

$20 - Coffee Table (Good Finds)

= Uhh, Coffee Table

Then there was the coffee table.  We've been looking for the right coffee table for YEARS now & I'm so happy about this one that I can't even stand it.  Most of all I love the price.  I mean, $20?  I'm not going to go into details yet, but we planned on doing some work to the table & you'll see all about that in a future post.  In the end, the table cost us a mere $35.39.  Not too shabby.




Needless to say, we had a very successful shopping day.  When the couch is finished I'll post about it.  In the meantime, stay tuned for the re-design of the coffee table...