I'm here, I promise.

I received a Facebook message at the beginning of the month.  I won't say who it's from, but this is what it said:

"When are you going to update your blog? I love reading about the things you find. You have inspired us to go out and do it as a family. My 4 year old has found himself a cars step stool and match box cars. I picked up my husband a like new golf bag the other day (he was thrilled). Anyways just wanted to say thanks!! "

When I read this I felt so blessed to have inspired someone with my crazy hippie shenanigans, but at the same time I felt guilty because I'm letting people down now. So let me give a brief explanation to my recent (and hopefully soon to be ended) absence.

I'm alive, I swear. Within the past couple weeks my life has gone from simple to EXTREMELY busy. Within one week I started two college classes, got a job working weekends at my favorite place, and my husband broke his foot. The next week I was offered a job teaching dance at the local youth center and was asked to volunteer my choreography services to a local youth cheerleading squad. That means that Mondays are the only evenings I am home.  Cherry on top: I'm running a 5k on the 26th (I may not be alive after that).

I think several times a day about blogging, I have sooo many ideas in my head just waiting to hit the web. Whenever a spare second comes around though, I notice how messy the house is or I'm just too exhausted to even keep my eyes open.

Don't get me wrong though, everything that has come into my life recently (besides hubby's broken foot) has been wonderful, I'm just still trying to figure out how to balance everything since my life has been so low-key for so long. I have a good chunk of time free tomorrow morning, so I will do my best to get SOMETHING up. Thanks for your patience and encouragement, it is greatly appreciated!

Again soon,
Barbie

PS. I recently had a conversation with my good friend Elisabeth about how we hate blog posts without pictures, they are so boring. So here is a picture :)

I want to lounge under this tree with apple cider and a good book.

Long time no blog.

So it's been awhile since I last blog. I blame A) my three week trip to Nebraska to visit family and B) my laziness (since I've been back for a couple weeks now). I've never been good at routine; I've never been able to journal for more than a week, I don't remember to take my multi-vitamins every day, and apparently I can't blog consistently either. But now is better than never right?

Like I previously mentioned, I spent most of July and early August in the midwest visiting family. It was just me and my Sweetpea visiting, giving Daddy a little break. We drove (well, I drove) the two day trip. Seems horrible, but Aliyah is a good passenger since she's been driving literally across the country since she was an infant. I just stocked up on Red Bull and sang Dixie Chicks the whole way. Our visit was long overdue so I expected to stay awhile, although things got a little lengthier with the complication of my sister getting an appendectomy. RIP Bailey's appendix. Overall it was a wonderful trip.

I want to share with you what my sister and I did (before losing her appendix) for my mom during my visit. We are super proud of our work, and I'm super proud of how thrifty we were ;) This is what my mom's kitchen looked like before:

To be fair, that's how it was when we moved in over 10 years ago, so you can't blame my mom. It was just all wrong though, from the bunnies on the wallpaper to the bunnies stenciled along the top. The dark cabinets looked dated and were generally in need of maintenance. The kitchen doesn't have a built-in dishwasher, so there was a rolling one that you hooked up to the faucet. It never got used though, so Craigslist found it a new home (and we got more money in our budget). The general plan of attack was to just freshen everything up.

About four days and alot of blood, sweat, and tears later, this was the finished result!

We removed the wallpaper, primed, and painted with a lovely, warm color called "Toffee Crunch". RIP blue bunnies! We also removed all the cabinets so they could be cleaned, the hinges got a good dose of WD-40, and we put new knobs and drawer pulls on.  After all that diry work was done we had alot of fun doing the decorating. The new curtains, the blue sign that says "Live Simply" and some new dishtowels and oven mitts came from Big Lots. (They were having a special 20% off sale so we got the towels cheaper than we would have at the Dollar Tree - how often does THAT happen?!)

This shelf was just on the other side of this dividing wall. We moved it into the kitchen and antiqued it with a little white paint and some sandpaper.  The artwork up above is from the Dollar Tree and the decorative blue balls were from Big Lots. You may be wondering why I'm telling you where everything came from; I am proud of the bargains I find and love to share them. I'm that person who, when you compliment an article of clothing, immediately tells you it was on sale/clearance/had a coupon/whatever. But I digress... The jar of seashells were collected by my grandfather while he served in the Pacific in WWII, and the schoolbell belonged to my grandmother. Most of the dished/knick knacks were pulled from the back of cabinets. The photos of Aliyah were taken by my good friend Elisabeth at ElisabethCS, frames from the Dollar Tree.

You may have noticed the blue breadbox in the before pictures, we gave that a coat of white spray paint and then painted the front with chalkboard paint. We thought it would be useful for shopping lists or notes or for wonderful artwork by a three year old ;)

I made customizable recycling containers with some spray paint, a homemade stencil, and some more chalkboard paint. Great way to reuse a kitty litter container!

I'm really proud of the cabinet fixtures. It was a small change that really made a big impact in the end. I adore the little bird art too, which of course came from the Dollar Tree :)

All these items were hiding in a cupboard, but I think they are a really good addition to the whole asthetic. I also want to mention how much the new wall color reinvigorates the (realllllly outdated) linoleum counters.

And this little detail is possibly my favorite part. The first person to figure out how it came to be wins 1,000 Friendship Dollars!

Alright, that concludes this HGTV-like entry. I promise to blog again soon as I've been super crafty lately....

Wordless Wednesday

For the Kids in America (woahohoh!)

 Things have been busy around here. We are visiting family this weekend and, since I hate coming home after a trip to a dirty house, I've been cleaning like crazy the past couple days. I've only gotten a few treasures the past couple weeks, but I thought I'd share a little collection of kid-friendly findings.

I already posted about the awesome booster seat that Aliyah now has, but here are a few toys and things that I've come across in my DD "career":

- A Little Tykes wheelbarrow (donated)
- A small boys bike with training wheels (donated)
- Various children's chairs and stools  (I use to elevated potted plants on my porch)
- A Spongebob outdoor table and chair (used for a bit then donated)
- A Step 2 baby swing shaped like a dolphin (still up for grabs!)
- A Disney Princess playhut. Was missing the pastic poles but my neighbor was kind enough to rig it with some bamboo he had on hand. (definite keep)

There may be more that I can't think of right now. Alot of it was found before I started taking pictures for the blog. But I know of at least a two to get a smile out of my finds....

Happy Weekend!

This week has been a long one and I'm glad the weekend is here. Thought I'd share another treasure today...a treasure chest!

Found this wicker chest about a month ago. It was a little frayed, but some repairs with some Crazy Glue were an easy remedy. I love the idea of chests, they can hold all kinds of treasures, from family heirlooms to magazines haha. And there is something very romantic about this one, the little bit of damage it has gives it a lot of character. I instantly fell in love with the bird engraved on the latch. I wonder what the previous owners used it for?  It currently holds magazines in our living room, but I'm sure I'll find a more honorable duty in the future :)

-Barbie

Pictures of Me Booty!

Here's some photos of my previously mentioned treasures + last night's find: a huge rolling suitcase.

I've decided that I really don't need the coat since I have one that is similar, so it will be donated along with the other things, including the suitcase. If you are local and want anything I haven't claimed please let me know, I love to find homes for things!

Barbie

I just have to laugh.

A little background on my "dumpster diving": I'm not actually hopping into a dumpster and scouring through knee deep garbage searching for things. The main place I get my treasures is from our neighborhood dumpster area. We have a community trash compactor (stupid idea, it is very inefficient and stinky) and next to the compactor is a little area designated for bulk items such as couches, tables, chairs, etc. However, people put anything and everything they want in there. I also occasionally pick things up off the curb if I happen to drive by.

Now, don't think that I have a garage full of junk. I don't actually keep everything that I find, a lot of it I give to other people whom I know could get use out of it, or I simply donate stuff to thrift shops so it can get a second chance at life.

I just can't let it end up in a landfill, it's such a waste. Whenever the big trucks come around that pick up the bulk items I make myself not look. Otherwise I get very upset seeing wonderful items (including VERY nice furniture) being sent to their death. I know, I'm weird, but everyone has their quirks. I just know that somewhere out there is a family in need of another dresser, a child who wishes for a bike, but for whatever reason they don't have the means to acquire these things.

Before I start to ramble on and on let me list the treasures I found this evening:

Things I'll keep:
- A really funky, Asian looking, paper lantern thing. Totally functional and very zen, perfect for my "studio" (more on that later).
- An awesome Simply Vera : Vera Wang purse, in black. Perfect condition.
- A Jones New York coat, size 4 (it was meant to be). Looks a lot like this one, but it only has 4 buttons. Has pet hair of some sort on it, so I'll probably get it dry cleaned.
- Bloch girls leather ballet shoes. Size 10 1/2, so I still have some time until Aliyah fits in them (she has notoriously small feet), but perfect condition.
- An old canvas print. It's ugly, but slap some gesso on it and I have a free canvas ;)
- Three push pins, because they are always handy lol.

Things I'll take to a thrift shop:
- An unopened package of water wings. We aren't allowed to use them at our community pool.
- Two really nice lampshades, seemed to have barely been used, but they aren't my style.
- A Safety First children's car shade.

Things I'll donate to a shelter or vet:
- Perfect condition cat scratching thing, even has a little poofy ball thingy to play with. Meow!
- Two throw pillows and two very luxurious Nautica towels. I'm sure some poor pup will find them comfy.

Things I haven't figured out what to do with yet:
- Foreign currency. Yup, someone literally threw money away. I mean, I know it's not really usable until you exchange it, but seriously? It's not alot: 3£ 55p, 1 piso, and 10 euro-cents. Why the different currency, we can only wonder.
- A My Little Pony puzzle. My Sweet Pea is currently a MLP fanatic, but she's not ready for a 24 piece puzzle yet. It's in fair condition, haven't decided to hang onto it or donate.

So a good haul today. It just blows my mind that people would throw things like this away. Most of these things are in pristine condition, and some weren't cheap. That purse for example, is still in stores and sells for $70! (yes, i know it's on sale right now, but that's not the point)  I don't know about you, but I'd have a hard time throwing out $70. I want to think that they hope someone will come along and pick them up, but most people think dumpster diving is "icky" or beneath them, and most aren't checking everyday for goodies like yours truly. Plus, the area is open to the elements so things can easily get ruined by rain. My only conclusion is that people are ignorant and lazy. Don't get me wrong, I know there are some things that really are at the end of their life, but so many aren't.

Sigh. It's always bittersweet to find spectacular treasures, so I just have to take it in stride and laugh.

I'd love to hear about any treasures you may have found, so keep an eye out!

Barbie, Dumpster Diver Extraordinaire

P.S - I'll add pictures tomorrow :)