Shopping: Sara Style.

I love shopping. It used to be for clothes or shoes. But I haven't really done that in months. Instead, whenever I get a chance to shop...I go for my home. And more often than not, I go to antique stores first.

Antique stores are amazing. I almost always score awesome finds. It just takes time and patience. It may look like junk, but you just have to look closely. I look at individual things that catch my eye.  But then I imagine it in a different environment.  Maybe grouped with same colored objects on a shelf. Or a small nook on the wall that has been empty since we moved into our home.

There is nothing like finding the cutest decoration and then seeing an amazing price. Some sellers, just want to turn a huge profit and hike up the price. I always bargain with a price. I very rarely go with the price tag when I pay. I felt silly at first. But when I got two 1960s end tables for $35 total; I never cared again. Some stores I frequent so often that I know if a product has been there awhile. I use that knowledge for bargaining too.

Here are some treasures that I have found.

 This cart was $15. I just added some cute contact paper to the shelves.

 $5 for a working thermometer.

 Books! Tons of books!

 I bought two matching orange office chairs for $5 each. (Seems like $5 is the magic number.)

 This "Nuts" tray was 50% off $5.

 This lamp was $12. I painted it "chrome" and added navy pom poms to hide some ugly trim.

Just added this family of owls. Still deciding where to hang them!

Be Our Guest.

Guest Bedroom #1 is finally done. Just in time for Mark's parents to visit. I gave it a little makeover with things we had around the house.

Anyone who wants to visit, feel free. Arizona is amazing this time of the year!

 

Last but not least...some Disney inspiration.

OH. IO.

We flew into Ohio this past weekend to surprise my mom for her birthday later this month. I am so relieved that it went well. And that the surprise was not ruined!! This was Mark's first time to Ohio. I was so excited to have him out there. And was even more excited about the weather. While we were eating dinner the first night, we had a nice surprise!

 

We took Mark around to see Ohio. We will need to go back soon so that we can see more!

 

  
The party was a success! It was great to see family and friends. Mom had no idea and almost had a heart attack! I didn't get any pictures of the actual party, my bad. But I miss quaint little Ohio already.

Mark got to meet my Grandma Barbara. She loved him right away...as most people do.

 

Just Call Me Jelly, 'Cause I'm on a Roll.

I have been busy around the house making curtains. It has been a slow process, as I am teaching myself to sew. And I have only had a sewing machine for a couple of months. There have been many late nights. Many times I thought I would have a permanent hunchback. And many almost curse words.

But...I have made curtains for three more windows. So relieved to be almost done with the house.

First, the guest bedroom.

My brother cam into town for Christmas, and I wanted to have these done first. I finished them the day he got here.

I needed to take a better picture. I just peeked in there, and let's just say the room is not "camera ready."

Next, the Dining Room. The biggest challenge with these was managing all the fabric. A little scared to sew my Family Room curtains (my next project). That window is even bigger. I still need to adjust the rings and steam the curtains on these.

This shelf is just here for the Christmas season. We put the tree in the corner of the Family Room where the shelf normally resides.

Last, I made a curtain for the entry way. I thought this would be the easiest one to make. Nope!! I made so  many mistakes for some reason. But it turned out ok. Don't look too closely.

Cheers to 6 Months!

Yesterday was our 6 month anniversary. Yes, you can celebrate 6 months. Especially, if it is the best six months you have ever had. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I found my best friend. And I got to marry him. And he is super cute.

We celebrated by going to meet with our insurance agent. Whoop whoop. But afterwards, we had a quiet night at our house. I made yummy cookies. It has been in the 60s here in Arizona, but I am kinda pretending that it is in the 30s. Hence the hot chocolate and the hot apple cider we drank.

Wall o' Pictures.

I've been wanting to do a collage of pictures for awhile. We have a big ol' blank wall in our Family Room that is screaming for attention. I have been collecting pictures, frames, and other doo-dah's for the past couple of months. We were finally able to finish it this week.

I laid out all the pictures. Without frames. Once I added the frames, the layout changed completely.

When I had everything framed, I laid them all out on a big piece of paper that we had leftover from painting the house. I traced each frame on the paper. Then we taped the paper to the wall.

Mark then held up each frame to mark where the nail would need to go. We just use toothpaste for that part.

Then, we tore down the paper once all the nails were in place. This was the scariest part. There were just a bunch of random looking nails on the walls. I may have panicked a little.

But the final product turned out great. There are a couple of cheap-o frames that will be replaced soon. Overall, though it gives our home much more homeyness. I am really happy with it. !

Currently on My Playlist.

I am a strong supporter of no Christmas "stuff" before Thanksgiving. Decoration, gifts, music, etc. However, this song is getting me ready for Christmas. It's from Zooey Deschanel's band. I love it.


She & Him: "The Christmas Waltz."