❈Sac Thrift Chick❈

Bicycle! Bicycle! Bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle ... I want to ride my bike! I rode my bicycle past your window last night ...  Queen and The Dollyrots (covering Melanie) run through my head a lot lately. I recently started riding a bike again after a good 20 year absence. It all started with a 2016 family vacation in Lake Tahoe. We rented a home that came with bike use. Although all of the loaner bikes were big for me, and I had very possible just broken my toe, I joined my stepfather and husband for a ride around the private lake community. To my surprise, that old saying rang true. I never forgot how to ride. I peddled and balanced like a pro. I did have tingling and pain in my old lady hands, but otherwise, the ride was pretty easy. I thought I might like to do this bike thing again, but I wasn't going to rush out and buy a bike. The next summer while browsing Craigslist, I came across an ad for free bikes. One of the bikes was a Huffy Cranbrook beach cru...

I'm the kind of gal that decorates for all the holidays and all the seasons. And in my opinion, one of the best ways to transition from winter decor to Valentine's Day decor and from Valentine's Day to Easter decor and so on through the year is with the changes to the entryway decor. My problem, however, was that I didn't actually have an entryway table, and I wasn't going to spend money on one. Until I could find an entryway table (or something to upcycle into one) for free, I used TV trays for my entryway table. My entryway wall is so small -- about 18 inches deep and 44 inches wide -- that two TV trays filled the space nicely, but I wanted something sturdier and with shelves. After much Craigslist hunting, I finally found a free solution that would actually fit my small entryway space: a TV entertainment center in a mid-century modern style. When I picked it up (less than 10 minutes from my house, score!), it was an ugly brown and had a cheap backing. I...

Decorating my kitchen has been a challenge. Just about every inch of wall space under the cabinets is filled with small appliances and kitchen doohickeys, leaving no room for adornment. Opposite the cramped counters lies one big, uneven wall with outlets right in the middle. When this house was first built, that wall had cupboards and counters, so it made sense to have outlets there. But when everything was gutted from the wall to create a dining space, the outlets remained. And not only are the two outlets smack in the middle of this blank space, but they are not even level with each other. Staring at the wall is a bit of a trip because from the ceiling line to the outlets, everything is just a bit askew. Since those outlets are the only sources of power on that side of the kitchen, the outlets are actually used quite a lot, so covering them up is not an option. When I first decorated that wall, I pinned up three red Ikea mirrors my mom had given me. I was never really crazy abo...

Oh new Macys sofa, how I love thee. Let me count thy ways.  Comfort is your name with cushions so thick and full. You brighten up the room, adding contrast to the red, black, white and grey. Pet hair barely shows on your light Tiffany Blue shade. And when it's time to remove the hair, a quick vacuum or sticky roll does the trick. Your pillows stay in place with Velcro so strong the dog can never climb atop. Your smaller arms bring more nap space to sprawl across your smooth, micro-suede seats. And even though you arrived with spots and dirt, I didn't mind the scrubbing work. Best of all, you cost just $40 and I sold my old, worn, pet-hair covered sofa for the same.  Like this? You might also like: Craigslist Furniture: Family Room Update.  Mid-Century Craigslist Scores

My obsessive need to match everything and have decor look just right is a blessing and a curse. I have a sharp eye for color and can detect slight variations in shades most people cannot. I excel at buying second-hand furniture and clothes because I can quickly spot imperfections in products, and I'm also able to easily diagnose how much work it would take to fix said flaws. For these reasons, I'm able to help others decorate, select furniture and clothes. But I also go a little nutso when things in my own home don't coordinate, are off balance or are otherwise just not right. A picture askew can cause me anxiety. I spend days rearranging ornaments on the Christmas tree. So imagine how I've felt having a cheap, brown cabinet in my red, black, white, tan and silver family room. When we moved in nearly two years ago, the cabinet was supposed to be a temporary solution to our smaller kitchen. We used the cabinet to hold the pantry food that didn't fit in the kitc...

When it comes to acquiring new furniture for the house, I have two rules I almost always follow. The new piece has to be free or under $11. Otherwise, I have to sell something I already have to pay for the new piece. And then it still has to be a stellar deal. For example: When I wanted a different chair in the family room , I sold our rocking chair (picked up for free, 5 minutes away) for $35 and bought this cushy, zebra print chair for $20. Because I'm diligent about following my self-imposed rules, I sometimes wait a bit to get what I want, especially since I'm picky and obsessive-compulsive about matching. Lately, I've been frustrated using with my hope chest as a coffee table in the living room . We use baskets and decorative boxes to hold all our stuff, but those storage containers take up a lot of space atop the chest. That's space where our feet and cups like to go. And even with the top of the chest cleared, we still have limited to spac...

My kitchen is not my favorite room in the house. It's outdated. Honey-oak cabinets aren't my preference. And I could really do without the old, blue countertops. I haven't done a lot of decor-wise to the kitchen, but I have added my mark here and there. Before we moved in, I planned where everything would go (hello, obsessive compulsive personality!) and realized right away we needed two things: a pot rack and a rectangular table. As much as I love Gramma's round/oval table, I needed a table that could sit flush with the wall to maximize the limited space. 

I refer to my back porch as my outdoor oasis, not because it's the most beautiful or detailed, but simply because the furniture is comfortable and the atmosphere is peaceful. It's where I go to unwind, relax and read. And now thanks to a recent project to turn a futon into a porch couch, I have the ultimate reading and napping spot. Last year, I wrote about getting rid of my busted up outdoor furniture, updating the salvageable and buying a futon to to use as my new outdoor couch . Shortly after I painted the $20 queen-size, solid-wood futon with outdoor white paint, I got busy getting ready for my move and never updated with the final result. I love it.

The family room is where the music happens. It's where marathon hours of video games are played. It's really more my husband's room. I mainly use it to watch Jeopardy because it's easier to get ABC reception in that room. Sometimes I play Jeopardy on Playstation, too. This room has had the most transformations in the 7 months we've lived here. First, it was the video game and Netflix room, back when we had the most massive beast of an old-school TV you've ever seen. When my brother moved in, we sold most of the furniture in the room, gave away The Beast and moved in my office furniture. About a month later, our other roommate moved out, and I got my office back. Without The Beast taking up a quarter of the room, furnishing the family room was pretty simple.

Since we moved into my childhood home on Halloween, I've been busy furnishing, decorating and then re-furnishing and re-decorating as we replaced the old with the new-to-us. I made about $1,000 selling furniture and random items in the move, but have only invested a very small portion of that into the new house. I am finally getting to the point where the house is just about done. I love many things about this house, and having a living room and a family room is at the top of that list. Growing up in this house in 90s, the living room was the formal room. A floral sofa, matching wingback chair, curio cabinet filled with mom's collectibles, a beautiful old piano and lace curtains filled the space. Entering that front room, you wouldn't even know two kids lived there. You wouldn't see a teenager parked in front of the TV, video game controller in hand, soda bottles scattered around him. That mess was hidden in the family room. And while I don't have a tee...

When my husband proposed, I instantly knew my wedding theme: fairy tale. When I went to execute that theme, I found a lot of ideas for Disney-themed weddings, but fewer ideas for fairy tale weddings without Mickie, Minnie or Cinderella stamped on the decorations. For my theme, I incorporated bits from Disney, but nothing was officially Disney, which kept the costs down and – in my mind, at least – kept the day a bit more classy and less cheesy. 5 Fairy Tale Theme Wedding Tips Set the Fairy Tale Theme and the Formality of the Occasion with Invitations. We kept the theme going with our reception cards, which began "Be our guest. Join us for dinner and dancing ..." Make a Statement with Fairy Tale Centerpieces. For my Beauty and the Beast enchanted rose centerpieces, we used plastic cake domes. My florist removed the bottoms and suspended each rose with fishing wire and a dollop of hot glue. After the wedding, I recouped some of the cost b...

For her first baby, my best friend Nicki requested a co-ed baby shower to include her and her husband's friends and family. To keep costs low, my co-host and I planned a backyard, potluck book themed baby shower.  Invitations DIY cardstock invitations set the baby shower book theme with a simple request that guests sign a favorite book instead of a card.    Food Guests pitched in with potluck dishes of all kinds. We coordinated the food when guests R.S.V.P.ed. Cake The Very Hungry Caterpillar fed a group hungry for sweets. The cake was a great focal point, and simple to create: 23 frosted cupcakes for the body and and one round cake for the head. With black licorice, the caterpillar sprouted legs and antenna.  A sheet cake decorated as the title page from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" provided extra servings and really added to the baby shower book theme. Decorations  If you look closely, you can see the White Rab...

To say we are fans of Halloween would be an understatement. We think about Halloween for months in advance. Our creepy house decorations have made little kids afraid to approach our door. We revel in putting together costumes from thrift store finds and crafty creativity. We win costume contests ... a lot. And we do so on tiny budgets. Sometimes we plan a month in advance, and sometimes the costumes are literally a day-of surprise. Halloween Through the Years 2005 1950s Prom Zombies for Trash Film Orgy's Zombie Prom Cost: Under $10 for zombie makeup and a white shirt from a thrift store.  My costume is a one-of-a-kind '50s prom dress with a shirt underneath for warmth.  2006 Flava Flav and his Flavor of Love Winner  Cost: $5 for my clock from Target. The rest we had. We used dog chains for necklaces. The big hat is actually a Goofy hat from Disneyland. Aaron's jacket and my dress were thrifted. 2007 Sam and Joon from "Benny ...

Lying on my patio couch with a good book and an Otter Pop is one of my favorite ways to spend a summer evening. My patio couch was a killer CL steal five years ago: $50 for the couch, two chairs and a glass-top coffee table -- and it was a gift. The cushion covers my not be my style, but the cushions themselves are oh-so-comfortable. Each year the set has become more and more weathered. This past summer, my husband thought standing on the arm of the couch to reach something up high was a good idea.  It was not. And since we are moving, I agreed to let go of my beloved couch (and one of the chairs) if I could find a replacement.  A used full-size patio couch is not easy to come by, and especially not for anywhere near what we paid for my entire set! After much CL disappointment, an idea occurred to me: A futon. I already had great cushions; I just needed a frame. The futon needed to be a queen, solid wood, and it needed to be super cheap. I browsed CL...