What I Learned This Week: How to Shop a Yard Sale

It all started with this post.

In an effort to "spruce up" my front porch entryway, I went on a mission to find some wicker seating.

But, I'm cheap.

So, inspired by the likes of her and her, I started looking for front porch wicker in other places, which eventually led me to a yard sale.

Now, I'd never really been to a yard sale. I always figured it was someone else's junk -- why would I want to buy that? But, turns out that a wicker settee was being advertised as part of a local upcoming sale.

I went. I bought the settee for $15 (which I've since repainted and re-cushioned -- it looks awesome). And my eyes were opened.

You can uncover quite a few "treasures" at yard sales.

I'm in the process of re-doing the shelves in my great room. I needed some decorative accessories, and I've found a handful for literally pennies. It's kind of like a big ol' treasure hunt.

And, it's kind of addictive.

Even though I'm a yard sale neophyte, I have learned a thing or two over the past few weeks that might be helpful for the yard sale beginner.

1. Don't drive around looking for signs. Unless you want to waste a lot of time. The best way to find out about yard sales in your area is to check out the classified section of your local paper and also Craig's list.

2. The early bird gets the worm. The old adage holds true. While it doesn't leave you a lot of room for price negotiation, it does guarantee the best selection.

3. Yard sale shopping is NOT like mall shopping. When you see something at the mall that you're not completely sure you're going to buy, you can walk away and think about it. I learned the hard way that that is not the approach you want to take at a yard sale.

I saw two beautiful decorative wall accessories, but I wasn't sure where I would put them. I walked away to "think about it." And, you guessed it. When I came back five minutes later they were gone. Since then, I've thought of, oh, 50 million places I could have hung those.

If you see an item that you may be interested in, pick it up and hold onto it until you make your final decision.

4. Bring small bills. Particularly if you're into price negotiation (which, honestly, I'm not). But, if you're going to negotiate someone down from $10 to $6, don't go ahead and pay the $6 with a $10 bill. That's just tacky.

I'm sure there are some more experienced yard sale shoppers out there. What are your best tips?

And, to find out what other people have learned this week, be sure to head over to Musings of a Housewife!

Lacura Skincare: Fountain of Youth at a Bargain Price

I always figured I’d be the kind of woman who would happily embrace the aging process.

You know, the type who insists “age is just a number” and who celebrates every single laugh line as the sign of a life well lived.

But then, I hit my 30s.

That was when Father Time began marching across my face in the form of age spots, fine lines and laugh lines that stick around long after I stop smiling.

And I’ve got to admit, it kind of freaked me out. (read more at Chic Critique)

Spring Wardrobe Essential: The White Button-Down Shirt

Read any list of the “must-have” pieces every woman should have in her wardrobe and you’ll always find the white button-down shirt near the top.

But until recently, I never owned one.

The reason for this is two-fold.

First, I have young children. Wearing a crisp, white shirt is akin to wearing a sandwich board that screams, “Please, use me as your human hand towel for the day.”

Secondly, I’ve always considered buying a white shirt (and wearing one, for that matter), well…kind of boring. It’s so much more fun to buy a trendy peasant top or a spring sweater in a candy-colored hue. White shirt? Dull in comparison.

But a couple weeks ago, I finally picked one up. (read more at Chic Critique)

WFMW Backwards Edition: Laundry Staining

I was so excited to learn that this week's edition of Works for Me Wednesday is the "backwards edition," where I ask y'all for help with a problem.

Because I desperately need help with this little laundry issue I'm having.

Every now and then, I'll pull some clothes out of the wash only to discover they have blue stains on them.

The stains are impossible to remove. Nothing I've tried (even my beloved Carbona Color Run Remover) has touched them. I'm pretty confident the stains are not the result of another piece of clothing "running" because I don't think a color run would spot stain like that.

At first, I thought it was the laundry detergent. So, I switched to a clear-colored liquid detergent and made a point to add the detergent only after all the clothing was completely submerged in water (so the detergent wouldn't hit dry clothing and spot stain). But, that hasn't fixed the problem.

I'm completely stumped -- and a little irritated. It always seems my favorite items of clothing -- or even worse, my daughter's school uniform -- fall victim to the blue spots.

Does anyone know what is going on here and how I can stop it from happening?

Thanks in advance for trying to help a sista out.

And, after you solve my little issue -- be sure and head over to We are THAT Family and check out the dilemmas other people are having this Wednesday. They need some input from smart peeps like you! :)

The Dogwood Tree

Hard to believe just a few short weeks ago a freak storm system blanketed our backyard in white fluffy snow:



Now, the tree branches are covered in white again.



Only this time, the white is of the springtime variety:





There's nothing quite as beautiful as when the dogwoods bloom in Georgia. They bloom around Easter each year, which always makes me think of the following story. It's a great visual reminder of all we celebrate this time of year.

The Legend Of The Dogwood Tree

As a child I heard this tale.

Long ago during the days that Jesus

was here on earth in the form of man

there were many dogwood trees.

The dogwood was comparable in

size to the oak tree and other

monarchs of the forest. Because of its

firmness and strength it was

selected as the timber for the cross,

but to be put to such a cruel use

greatly distressed the tree.

Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle

pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it:

"Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings,

never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough

to be used as a cross. Henceforth it will be slender,

bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the

form of a cross two long and two short petals.

In the center of the outer edge of each petal

there will be nail prints brown with rust and stained with red

and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns,

and all who see this will remember."

~ Author Unknown

Designer Duds for a Song

Every year my husband and I attend a black tie charity gala. And every year I find myself asking the same agonizing question:

“What am I going to wear?”

I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before — I’m cheap. It causes me great physical pain and emotional anguish to drop $200 on a cocktail dress I’ll only wear — at best — a handful of times. And, with the economic situation being what it is, it was pretty much a given I’d spend zippo on a new frock this year.

But, turns out, I did snag a new dress for the gala. It was a black, long-sleeved number that hit right about the knee and had a great plunging neckline. I love its versatility — I easily dressed it up for this event, but can also wear it more casually on a day-to-day basis.

Here, see for yourself. This is my husband and I before heading to the gala:



So…wanna know where I got it? Wanna know how much I spent?

Okay. Lean in a little.

Closer.

Seriously — this is top secret. (read more at Chic Critique)

$200 Bathroom Makeover

It's the big reveal.

I mentioned last week that I've been hard at work redecorating my master bathroom on a shoestring -- $200 to be exact. So, it's time to share some before and afters. Here's the view before I started the redo:



And after:



One of the main components of the "redo" involved adding some fabric to the room. Normally, I'd try to find some remnant fabric, but I absolutely fell in love with a fabric shower curtain from Kohl's. I managed to get it on sale and proceeded to get the most mileage out of it that I could.

First, I made a "skirt" for under the vanity. I ended up sewing it, as it involved the kind of sewing I tend to be fairly decent at -- straight lines.

Here's what it looked like before:



And after:

Isn't that candle centerpiece on top cool? I picked that up on sale at Kohl's, too.

Next, I took part of the shower curtain and did a "mistreatment" on the window:

The weird thing about our house is that we have a ton of switches and outlets. A ton. There are some light switches that I still have no clue what they turn on. Anyway, we had a very odd grouping of outlets on the facing wall when you walked into the bathroom. I'm not sure if you can see so well in this picture. They're above the obnoxious looking radio and half camouflaged by the calendar my husband stuck up there.



My mom had the great idea of taking some shower curtain and making a hanging tapestry to hide the outlets. (Again, just my kind of project -- straight sewing lines.) I also got rid of the super-cheap shelving unit and moved in a wicker piece that I had in my daughter's room. And, remember those cheap pictures I made? You can see them in the next couple shots, as well:





I also made some other "cheap" artwork by taking a Japanese fan that my father-in-law acquired on a trip around the world years ago. The fan was sitting on a shelf in my great room, but was kind of lost up there. I got a shadowbox frame for 50% off at Hobby Lobby ($17) and pinned the fan open inside:



Here is a picture of the unfinished bathroom shelving unit:



And, a few shelves later:

The great thing about these shelves is that I managed to fill them by pretty much "shopping the house." I bought the bamboo boxes on the bottom shelf (clearance $8.99 each). Other than that, everything else was something I already had. The shelves aren't perfect -- but they'll do for now.

On the opposite side of the tub, I had this odd little alcove. Here's what it looked like before:

(That's the baby tub sitting inside the big garden tub, btw. Klassy, no?)

I shopped the house for a few accessories to replace the weird towel basket below and replaced the flowers in the hanging basket with some faux foilage I also had laying around:



Three supa-fab new bathroom rugs finished it off.

Here's the final cost breakdown:

(3) Bathroom rugs @ $20 each
(1) Bathroom centerpiece @ $30
(1) Shower curtain @ $35.90
(2) Bamboo boxes @ $8.99 each
(1) Shadowbox frame @ $17
(2) Framed art prints @ $3.50 each
(1) Wooden dowel for hanging tapestry @ $1
(1) Pressure rod for vanity skirt @ $10
(4) New shelves for unit $32
(1) piece of faux greenery @ $2.50
(1) Turquoise vase @ $10.49

GRAND TOTAL: $223.87

Even though I went a little over budget, I realized I could totally transform a room for a lot less than I would have thought possible. Which really, is quite a revelation for me.

So that's what I learned this week (actually, what I learned over the last few weeks). To see what everyone else learned, head on over to Jo-Lynne's place for the What I Learned This Week carnival!