Idea Stores

Posted on March 15, 2013 by April

Absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve really missed blogging these past couple of weeks, and I haven’t even been all that busy. Just lazy I suppose, at work there is not much time to blog, plus I really don’t know how ethical it is to use company time to do such things. Then when home time comes around, all I want to do is sit on the couch and attempt to watch TV, but instead I wake up 2 hours later to find the local news filling my head with current headlines. Let’s just say I’m tired.

But a couple of weeks ago I was able to drag myself off the couch, and visit a couple of my favorite “idea” stores. You know those kinds of stores where the merchandise is too pricey (at least for this cheapskate) to actually purchase anything, but instead steal their ideas and buy something similar at your favorite thrift or discount store.

Well, Potty Barn and Anthropologie are my idea stores. And here’s what I found:

I really don’t know what I like best about Anthropologie, the gorgeous smells or scrumptuous eye candy.

I love this table, I don’t know if it was truly old, but those wheels are awesome.

These quilts had me at, “Hey, I’m 100% cotton!” My favorite is the white ruffled one second from the bottom.

Have I mentioned all the eye candy that Anthropologie has to offer?

I loved this corner gallery. It might look odd in a main living area, but perhaps it would work in a bedroom?

And these weird little glass balls. I thought they were a light fixture at first, but I still like them. They bring a little shine into a space.

Aren’t these bright lamps the coolest?

Oh, and they had owls!

Lots of owls…

And not just owls, they also offered weenie dogs that would hold letters for you. I thought about buying this for my sister, but alas, $30 was too steep for my tight little wallet.

This chair is so cute, I could see one of my thrifted chairs getting this treatment.

All I need now is a cute euro pillow. And some time away from the couch.

After indulging in all the eye candy that Anthropologie offered it was time to see what Pottery Barn had in store for me.

I love their table settings at the Barn of Pottery. They’re a little too busy for my everyday life, but still fun to gaze upon. I did however, get some ideas for my own Easter table.

A bunny holding colorful plates anyone?

How about a cheese dome displaying pretty Easter eggs?

Or cute bunny napkins?

I also noticed a trend in both stores:

Colored and textured glassware. Which I’m completely on board with, evidenced by my favorite colorful glasses purchases from one of my favorite thrift stores. You can read more about those here.

Normally, when visiting my idea stores, I just come away with ideas. But this time, I actually purchased something. My very first purchase from Anthropologie. It was like a little present to me and from me.

All wrapped up with pretty tape! But what lay beyond that pretty tape?

Why, a yummy candle. I can’t remember what flavor it is, but I snatched it from the clearance section for $15. Now, every time I light my gifted to me candle, I pretend I’m walking around one of my favorite idea stores. Of course, then I wake up and realize I just fell asleep on the couch again.

Thrifting Thursday: Shopping

Posted on August 24, 2012 by April

Happy Friday Eve everyone!!!! And you all know what the eve of Friday brings us right? Yep, it’s time for our weekly installment of Thrifting Thursday!! I’ve been trying to cut back on the ~~hoarding~~ thrifting, but that doesn’t mean I’ve cut back on window shopping.

So, this week you’ll see some interesting finds I’ve found meandering around a few local thrift stores.

First up, is our local Humane Society Store Re:Tail (don’t you just love the little pun there?)

Who doesn’t love a Super Mom cup? Though, it’s not the most stylish piece it’s still pretty cute, especially if you have or are a super mom!

Speaking of mom’s, everytime I see a little chicken I think of my mother’s poultry riddled kitchen. This creamer caught my eye and I immediately thought of mom. Although, I don’t know that she would use a chicken creamer, besides, wouldn’t it be weird having milk come out of bird?

This amber colored glassware was cute, it would be really cute on a fall themed table.

Don’t ya just love these iridescent amber colored stemware? It would really fancy up a fall table, or any table for that matter.

They had four of these lights, they were huuuge. The lights hung down from the ceiling a good 6 ft, and were about 12 in in diameter. Much too big for my little casa. But they would look awesome in a larger home, perhaps in a kitchen with a vaulted ceiling?

I loved the legs on this coffee table, as well as, the two toned treatment. You wouldn’t have to use it as a coffee table, just reinforce this guy and he could be used in a mud room or a foyer as a bench.

Then we headed over to Savers, which sadly is located where the neighborhood grocery store used to be. Honestly, I would rather have the grocery store, what can I say my stomach speaks louder than my love of old stuff.

Alright, so I’m not doing so well at not buying those sweet little treasures I’ve been spying. I couldn’t leave this guy, he was too cute, and he was local! If you can’t read what’s inscribed on his chest, it’s “Sandia Crest Altitude 10, 668 Feet” and “Albuquerque NM”. His perch reads:

Kitchen Prayer

Bless my little kitchen Lord

And those who enter in

May they find naught

But joy and peace

And happiness there in

Amen

My House

My house is small

No mansion for a millionare

But there is room for love

And there is room for friends

That’s all I care

He was 4.99, a little steep, but the hoarder in me couldn’t leave him behind.

Well, I better get this up before we get too far away from Thrifting Thursday as my clock reads 10 after midnight!! EEK!

Have you seen anything interesting in a thrift store recently? Bought anything really awesome?

Or did you have to wait outside while everyone else had all the fun?

Don’t worry, they weren’t out there for very long, and got to go to the park afterwards. I love that the weather is cooling down, we can bring the girls with us now. They enjoy looking pathetic while waiting.

Shopping Saturday

Posted on October 18, 2010 by April

Yeah, I know it’s actually Monday. But I want to share with you the treasures I found during my Saturday shopping trip. Plus it gives me a good excuse to re-live the shopping high and take my mind off of the fact that it’s Monday!

Well, all that shopping made everyone so tired, we definitely shopped till we dropped. Even Annie Dog partook in the dropping!

Anyhoo, Saturday I went shopping as I frequently do on weekends. Just ask my debit card. The poor thing has burn marks from being swiped so often! Well, this weekend was no different from any other, but I ended up scoring some awesome treasures. First up, a pretty vase I found at Hobby Lobby:

I probably should have removed the stickers from the apples before shooting this picture, but I guess that’s just keepin’ it real! Actually, I ended up with two of these pretty vases, and will probably use them as center pieces in an upcoming event. By the way this event I am referring to is my wedding. Calling it an event seems to be a lot less stress inducing than calling it a wedding! So, after the “event”, I can use these pretty vases for so many different uses. At Christmas time I can put some pretty glass balls in them, at Valentines Day something pretty pink and red, at Easter time some sweet looking wooden eggs. The possibilities are endless.

And then we went to Big Lots. That’s where I spent the most, but I found the coolest little treasures!

These little candles are about the size of a shot glass, from what I’ve heard. I don’t have any personal experience with a shot glass. But, these candles came a dozen to a pack for $7 bucks. You can’t beat that, less than a buck a pop! And here they are all lit up:

And here’s Annie giving me the evil eye for taking pictures of candles instead of her:

Then we have my Corelle Hearthstone plates. I loved them because they had a nice heavy weight to them and they were yellow! I just couldn’t pass them up, especially at $3 a plate! I picked up 4 of them, so, for a grand total of $12 I now have some pretty plates to set out for my fall meals. Aren’t they the perfect color for it?! They are yellow on top and black on the bottom. The yellow keeps them cheery enough to use on a summer table too.

I usually do a lot of window shopping during my weekend treasure hunting trips, but this week I just couldn’t resist. Don’t you think these treasures were worthy of residing in casa de yellow?