I Found the Spirit of Christmas Folks & all it Cost me was $7.50

Here she is. The tree we weren't going to get. The beauty that we always say we don't "need" because we won't be here for Christmas. Man oh man, may I tell you what a difference a tree makes? Dean found trees at The Home Depot for $7.50. We just couldn't pass that deal up. It was such a treat. Dean took Sloan & he let her pick it out. She did an awesome job. We are going to decorate tonight. It's beginning to "feel" a lot like Christmas. Yes it finally is.

Holiday Humbug

I am really having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year. What is my deal? Is there anyone else who is dealing with this dilemma? Where are you Christmas & why can't I find you?

*Image found here

The ol' Swaparooni

Can you tell we love to read? I still need to paint the house bookshelf & add curtains to the windows. I will save this project for a warm weather day.

So I apologize for all the pictures of mass chaos. The room seriously looks like a bomb went off. I still wanted to share the "room swap" that we did with our girls. We have a two bedroom home. Dean and I pretty much just sleep and get dressed in our room so it made sense to us to move the girls into the master bedroom and us into the smaller room. Can I tell you how much I love sleeping in a room with no children? Its nice. Dean and I can talk again before we go to sleep and we don't have to worry about waking up a baby. It's also nice when we kiss and stuff, uhm uhm, that there is no longer a little head popping up yelling, MOMMA! Yes this room swap is nice.

I still need two toy chests. I am going to sketch up my ideas in the hopes that Dean will oblige my creative request. A normal size toy chest wouldn't work. The girls need more of a toy chest/window seat to store all of the stuffed animals and dolls in. A second one is needed to store all the toys. Three girls, three age groups, 8 years of toys, you do the math. This is the reason I tell people my girls really don't need anything. They can hardly play with all the toys that they have. I have however gone through their toys and donated what is no longer played with & we are very good about buying things to go along with the "sets" of toys they already have. 

Our new room is small, but cozy. I will admit even when I was a little girl I never dreamed of vest giant rooms with lots of space to put things. No I always played that I lived in small spaces with cozy walls and comfy tiny rooms. Thankfully for me. Ever since I moved from home I have lived in smaller circumstances. Even though it would be nice to have one more bedroom & a laundry room, I would never want a huge giant house.
I still have a lot of things to do in our new room. I found a paint color I would love to paint the walls, a pottery barn color. But we have a ton of unused paint in the garage so I will work with what we have. I can't wait to hang some of the artwork that I have had in storage and I really can't wait to post the "after" pictures. In the mean time I am sure to have a good time working with my newest blank canvas.

Speaking of Giveaways................

Zana over at Sitting Pretty Studio is hosting a most wonderful giveaway. She will give one lucky person a hand painted one of a kind portrait of their pup/pet/woodland critter. I love her beautiful watercolor portraits. They are reminiscent of a more innocent time. Run on over and check out her lovely giveaway. Don't forget to leave a comment and pass the word along on your own blog. 

Thrift Store Finds & the big Switcharoo

My little calf with a cheerful woodland creature. $3. I put this little cutie in the girls room. You can't see it, but it is sitting on my set of hand embroidered napkins with matching place mats. They are in mint condition and I got them all for less than $4. 

I couldn't believe I found this. It was almost too much. Look at the cuteness here. Yes that is the original "Sears" tag on the vintage coat I bought for Aris. It was a little over $3, but well worth it. It is still new, never worn and I love that cute little tassel on the hood. Any ideas on how old this jacket is? I am guessing from the print and zipper and pattern on the fabric::late 60's early 70's. Do any of you know?

This is my find of the night. $6. Vintage, so freaky its cute, elephant cookie jar. It is hard to find these in good condition. I have been looking for a cookie jar for a while now & I was so happy to give this little guy a home. My friend that I was shopping with, lets just say she had a good laugh. I get a little silly when it comes to thrift stores. I forgot how much fun they are. I used to go all the time before I had kids and even when Sloan was little. I love to buy unique and vintage items. It's fun to look for that one piece you just have to have. My yard sale/thrift store/antique store rules to shop::I only buy things I love. Period. Why would I want to fill my house with more junk I am just going to get rid of in a few months or a year. I try to find things I am going to enjoy indefinitely. I am also a little picky, I won't buy anything if its damaged, or stained. You can always find things you love that are in good condition. Sometimes you might have to wait, and look. Then the "find" is all the more sweet.

So what's going on here? A little sneak peak? A before? Where's the after? Well those will be coming soon. As soon as my little ones stop coughing, sniffeling, sneezing & throwing up. It could take a while folks. Until then.........happy hunting for all your hidden thrift store treasures.