Frugal Fri...er, Saturday

I've been feeling a little uninspired for Frugal Friday lately - it's hard to feel frugal when you see dollar signs racking up above the heads of your construction crew. Tom participated in a 5k run this morning, so Clara and I hit a few nearby yard sales while he ran. As I mentioned before, I've been thinking a lot about the fixtures and finishes for the second bathroom. Pretty, affordable, and appropriate is apparently hard to come by in a new light fixture. I found several options and wasn't crazy about the prices, but I would have ponied up the dough anyway. These were the contenders, just to give you an idea of what I was going for:

Didn't like the chrome, and it was probably too mod for the house anyway. Sparkly and pretty, though.
$80.36

Top contender because of its price. Simple but appropriate.
$41.17

Probably my favorite aesthetically, but the most expensive and therefore least likely.

$96.76

As luck would have it, the second garage sale of the morning had a light fixture that I scooped up for $4. Of course it's used and not exactly like any of the options that I posted above, but I'm happy with the purchase.


I'll have to see how it looks in the space before I do anything to it, but I'll probably tone down the brighter brass with a little Rub n Buff. So the Frugal Friday tip (I know it took long enough for me to get to it) is to be flexible. Even if something isn't an exact replica of what you have in mind, it can still be great and save you money in the process! (And I bet you thought the tip would be to go to garage sales!)

Deal of the Day

If you look at home or design magazines even occasionally, you've probably seen these ceramic garden stools at least once or twice.

They're pretty versatile and can be used as a side table if space is tight, as a seat in your shower if you lack a built-in, or of course, as a cute addition to your garden.

And if you've ever looked for them, I'm sure you know about the ceramic garden stools available at Big Lots for the bargain price of $20. But did you know that their lawn and garden decor is now on clearance for 30% off? That brings this item to a mere $14, compared to $87 or even $170 online!

But of course I didn't even pay that much for it. Big Lots had a "Friends & Family" event that entitled shoppers to an additional 20% off their entire purchase, even clearance items. So I was able to snag a white one (they also have blue and red) for only $11.20! Score!

Deal of the day, part 1

A trip to the local Goodwill the other day yielded my best thrifty find yet. For a mere $20, I scored an 8'x10' seagrass rug in near-perfect condition.

It's still a little bumpy from being rolled up, bent in half, and stuffed in the backseat of the car, but it'll smooth out soon. I'm not crazy about the red border, but it can be easily covered at a later time when "magazine-worthy" is the goal instead of "marginally habitable."

Mitered corners. Please excuse the grossness of the floor. Despite its appearance, it's actually relatively clean. Refinishing them is on the "eventually" portion of the to-do list.