The columns look dated in the before, I think the after is nice. The front needs more work but I don't think they are saying "We are done the front yard/porch!" They are just showing how they re-did the columns, which look fine to me.
Really? Ours are pretty crap quality - they are super scratched up and they are always getting wiggly and needing to be tightened. For the money, they are fine and they do look really nice, but if I was buying new chairs again I would just spend the extra money and get better quality ones that would last for 20 years.
i think i've said this before, but i love your dining chairs. i have the same table, but it came without chairs and i've been looking for something decent for 2 years. no dice. i'm at the point where i'm willing to just buy (or make) a whole new set so it all matches.
the table was a blonde oak table I re-finished. The chairs are from Ikea - the liatorp I think.
We refinished a kitchen table and it looks beautiful, and I took a $5 frame from a garage sale and had mirror cut to fit and hung it over our piano. A few weeks before that we refinished a dresser for DD's room, and I made a mobile and the dreaded "name" art for over Emma's crib this week too.
And new living room curtains are in the mail from Pottery Barn! Things are looking pretty good around here!
So I am doing a cleanse this weekend - I am not a dr oz fan but a friend said that she has never had more energy after doing his 3 day cleanse so I am doing that. It's basically tons of veggies and fruit in smoothies all day long, and green tea. After the weekend I hope that this will give me the boost I need to stop craving sugar all the time and give my body a reset.
I have the same puzzles in my daycare! The musical instrument one was in my "toy" closet, and fell. During the night randomly it kept going off and I would wake up to the sound of a xylophone playing old macdonald had a farm.
And for a rave, I love the Mrs. Meyers lemon verbena scented all purpose cleaner. I bought it at Target when I visited the USA this summer and it's less than half gone. A little goes a long way, I make up an all purpose spray and I fill my mop with it too. My whole house smells like lemon after I mop, but not in a fake chemically way - like fresh lemon. LOVE IT. I had a housecleaner while I was pregnant and she really liked it too - I hope Target in Canada carries this brand because I'd love to try some other scents and more products.
Rant: John Frieda shampoo and conditioner. I bought it a few years ago and didn't like it, and a few weeks ago it was on sale so I grabbed a silver one - either the anti frizz one or a hydrating one i forget.
It sucks. My hair was not detangled at all, it was like a rats nest. I had to use so much and condition my hair twice every shower to be able to get a comb through.
I just found Dove conditioner in a huge bottle at Costco for 8.99 and so far I like it. Not amazing, but a super great price. So nice to have conditioner that works again.
I am usually really cheap when it comes to decor because knockoffs are usually just fine. But I can never find cheap curtains, at least not patterned ones. I use cheap white Ikea ones for some rooms that look fine, but patterned ones are harder. Plus I like my living room curtains to have some weight, so they hang nice ya know? I know I will probably have them for the next 5 years or more so it it totally worth it, it's just not the best time to be doing it.
My living room looks so unfinished right now, I can't wait to finally make it look like a home in there. I keep justifying it because we host a bible study ever week and we are now the official house for all the family get togethers too, so we are hosting a lot and I am embarrassed of my living room.
We're totally brokedy ass broke, but I used some of my tax return to buy new curtains for the living room. We have lived here a year and a half, with no curtains because I couldn't find any I liked that were affordable and not paper thin crap.
I finally found some at Pottery Barn that were on sale so I could actually afford them! Still a lot of money - it was $300 for all the panels I needed, with shipping and duty and taxes. I better freaking love them!
I am feeling guilty because I should not be spending money on extras right now, but I wanted to treat myself to something - I am back to work and feeling a bit sorry for myself, plus I have been browsing for about a year for curtains and these are the first ones I have found that I deemed affordable and I usually love PB quality so I think it will be worth it.
Now I have to wait to shell out the money for the massive curtain rod I will need
Junk stores and antique shops are rare around here. When we visited the USA I was amazed at how easy it was to find things like blue mason jars and stoneware, milkglass, old scales, old burlap and flour sacks, etc. It just doesn't exist around here in mass quantities.
That being said, how much is too much to pay for an old wooden crate, like the wooden soda crates and fruit crates? I have never seen one around here - a local lady was banging some together out of scrap wood and spray painting logos on them and i have one of those, but I'd really like to own a "real" one. I found one in a cute little shop today -- the lady goes down into the States actually and buys up tons of stuff and brings it back to sell, and this was the only one she brought up. She is asking $20 for it which I thought was a bit much. But on the other hand, I could not come across one for years . . .I've looked forever and never found one.
-Anyone is welcome to participate. There is no sign up, no membership, no secret handshake.
-There is no competition. No voting will be done, no prizes, no winners. The purpose is to be motivated and kept accountable to get things done, and have some fun!
- You are welcome to take the theme and get creative with it, but I don't think anyone will have to look very hard to find something! Think about re-arranging a shelf or a bookcase, finally hanging up that artwork that has been gathering dust. Decorating the house for spring, or figuring out how to style your coffee table.
-Remember to take photos of your before and afters. At the end of the month we will do another thread where everyone can share what they accomplished! Again, just for fun - no winners or losers.
-Add the badge to your siggie for the month, directions will be posted below by Emo
If you need some inspiration, check out these links
I already shared my dresser re-do in the original challenge post, and you can also see it here
We are also about halfway through re-doing a kitchen table we bought on Craigslist. It was well used when we got it but it looks great now! I will post when it is finished.
What are your favorite things to buy from there?? I am not sure yet if Target here will carry all the things they do in the USA because a lot of things are not available in Canada...but maybe Target will bring them in?? Things like Mrs. Meyers cleaners I have never seen in Canada. Sounds stupid but when I visited the USA I bought cans of chipotle chilis in adobo sauce from Target because they don't seem to have those in Canada either.
But hopefully we will get most if not all of the cool stuff you guys do!
How are the clothes for quality - especially the women's? Any of their "up and up" brand house products that you love better than the brand name versions?
My neighbors across the street went all out for Christmas. They stuck giant plastic candy canes all along the front of their house in their flowerbeds and they are still there. It is soo annoying to look at, I am so tempted to go pull them up and lay them on their porch but they are nice neighbors so I don't want to offend!
We have another neighbor down the street who wants his yard to be melted off and dry ---understandable. But he shovels off his yard onto the street....the street is covered in snow and huge chunks of ice in front of his house. It's kinda rude. We have to swerve around it for a day or two until it melts and he does it again.