Monday, March 9, 2009

A new job!! (and more free-decorating)











First and foremost, we are thankful that hubby has found a new job and will start work at the end of the month. There's more of a commute than we would like, but the pay is good and in this economy (and with the competition from all the OTHERS in his field who have been laid off) we are grateful for it. The kids and I have most certainly enjoyed having him home and its been a wonderful experience for all of us. And now, with the job hunt out of the way, he can move from being a man on a mission to a man taking a well-needed rest. We will certainly miss him when he goes back to work!




Last week, hubby spent his time replacing siding on the house (we had to buy those materials, unfortunately it went to the category of "urgent home repair") and the little one and I spent time at a friends house. He played with the daughter while I helped my friend clean her garage, pack boxes and prepare her house for sale. I am always happy to help friends who need it, but in this case it was especially nice because when a person is moving, their "stuff" quickly becomes "junk" to them. No matter how much they loved it before, the thought of packing and moving it quickly turns them around. So at the end of the week, I hauled home that cute little stand that I put in my bathroom, a desk for my daughter's room, and lots of nice wooden storage crates. The storage crates inspired a pantry redo, and they are now labelled and organizing the pantry, with quite a few to spare for organizing the garage. The wicker stand inspired a bathroom "freedecorating" spree, which was much-needed. We have never done anything to decorate the bathroom, since I have never liked it. Its oddly-shaped and not quite functional, with little storage and a blue slate floor that completely clashes with the warm colors in the rest of the house. Well, once I put the stand in there, I was thrilled with the storage it opened up and the way it warmed up the room. I dug out some pretty metal sconces that I had found on clearance once and didn't know where to put, and I also added a garage-sale lamp, a rug not being used, a garage-sale plant and wall hanger and the extra hand towels from the half-bath. I am pleased with the result--it is now warm, functional and more in line with the rest of the house.

Spending time in my friends impeccably-decorated house really gave me a shopping itch. I appeased it by visiting some garage sales on Saturday morning. Wouldn't you know, the first sale I happened upon was that of an interior designer, clearly selling of the excesses of her trade. There were granite slabs, tumbled marble tile, tons of pictures and decorative items and paint. They happened to want far more for their stuff than any garage-salers are willing to pay ($300 for a picture? $100 for a globe?) but the paint was well-priced and we desperately needed some for our kitchen and breakfast room. . We were beginning to wonder if paint for the kitchen was going to fall into the "urgent home repair" category, but I kept giving it more time. Now, luckily, I found the perfect paint--a full $50 gallon of paint that I picked up for $7.00. Our kitchen is now painted and I am amazed at how perfect the color is. I also bought a large planter for our ficus tree in the living room for $15. That has cured my shopping itch for now, and we have a beautiful kitchen! I'll post pictures once we get everything put back in place.




2 comments:

Rachel said...

Congrats on your husband finding a job! That is awesome news! Also all the free decorating that you have done looks great!

Melanie said...

The redecorating turned out very nice and I'm glad your husband found a job too. :)