FURNISHINGS

So here we are back in the States.  We are renting a two-bedroom apartment while we figure out where we'll settle down.  It felt like we're newly married, having to start from scratch with furnishings.  Good thing it was the start of garage sale season.  We knew it would not be hard to find "stuff" at little to no cost.  Now the fun begins.  One Saturday morning we were driving around and turned, by mistake on MacVicar Ct., and lo and behold, we saw Matt and Karen Davis having a garage sale.  So we stopped and chatted for a while and before we knew it we were loading the truck with small kitchen necessities.  Matt Davis, bless his heart, told us we can have this and that and those as a housewarming gift from them.  We offered to pay him for all the stuff but he refused.  Then Karen gave me her old rice cooker and added a steamer and a blender and other stuff from the garage sale table saying they are hauling them anyway to God's Storehouse the next day so "you might as well take them" Karen told me so they don't have to haul a lot.  Well, that was a good start!

I budgeted under $1,000.00 for furnishings, let's see if it's doable.  

We moved into the apartment on a Thursday and the next day Pat texted me wanting to know if I would be interested to buy a small dining table with four chairs he saw at a garage sale. It was for $30.00 and it is now in our dining area. I also picked up a metal chair in the same garage sale where the small dining table and chairs came from.

We slept on the floor, padded with a two inch foam, for several nights while we waited for Amazon to deliver our memory foam mattresses.  JJ's mattress came first and then ours came four days later.  These mattresses come in a rectangular box, rolled and vacuum packed.  Once you unpack it it kind of "grow" before your eyes.  We paid $260 for both JJ's and ours.  I bought JJ's headboard from TRM for $7 while I found ours from the Marketplace for $30.00.  We're on the ball.

Unboxing the mattress:

Watch it grow before your eyes:

....and VOILA! we have a bed...

We have one occasional chair in our living room given to JJ by Mom and Dad which is a good start.  We bought a smaller flat screen TV at Best Buy for $240 and found a stand at the Marketplace for $25.  One day Pat messaged me about a couch at Goodwill Store for $50.00.  JJ and I went and looked at it and bought it.  That afternoon, we chanced upon a black six-drawer dresser by MacVicar street.  I got out of the car and asked the owner who happened to be puttering in his garage if I could have it.  Of course he said yes, so we got that and it is now in JJ's bedroom.  The only problem with it is the top drawer pull which is an easy fix.

The wall clock is a clearance from Hobby Lobby and I found the TV stand at The Marketplace:

Lynette, Michael's sister gave us back Grandma Hamme's lingerie chest so we have that in our bedroom plus a chest of drawers that I found, once again, at the Marketplace for $30.00.  It also came with one matching night stand which I am using as my printer stand, and the drawers are perfect for office supplies.  Michael and I found a microwave stand at a church garage sale for $10.00, table lamp for $3.00, and oscillating fan for $5.00.  I also found the oldest vacuum cleaner I've known for $1.00 which still works, heck if I can use this one until we find a house then why not?

Well, how old do you think this vacuum cleaner is?  I could probably sell this on eBay as a vintage, LOL!

On several garage sale haunts I snagged another lamp for Mike's bedside for $5, a small girly lamp for $3 for my side of the bed, a metal plant stand for $6, a torch lamp for $7.  We visited Owl's Nest Antique Store and I found a $30 end table that matches the microwave stand - the microwave was from Mom and Dad's RV which they gave to us.  At the TRM North I found a nice lamp with a very pretty shade that complements the end table. I paid $15 for it.

It looks like I'm finally done......but the walls are bare. I needed a couple of picture frames for our family portrait which I found at Gordman's on clearance.  I also picked up a rustic wall hanging that would go with the frames -  $48.00 total.  And here it is:

Michael bought a sound system for $50 at a garage sale which works great.  It's got surround sound which we can't really use yet since we are on the third floor and the people who live below our unit let us know that it is loud by banging on our floor - which would be their ceiling :).  One weekend we watched Star Wars and we were enjoying the musical scoring and that's when it happened.  Ooops!..sorry.  Sometimes you just forget that you live in a place where there are people living below you and beside you.

I found a mid-century bookshelf from Owl's Nest South for $68.00 and my biggest splurge so far is the Pulaski lighted curio cabinet that I found at Owl's Nest North which I thought I could only dream of having.  The curio was priced at $400.00.  Then one day I found out everything in that booth is 40%.  I needed a display cabinet to put some of my 30- year collections that went and came back with us from the Philippines.

I think I'm done with furnishing our apartment.  We got everything we need to make it feel like home and yes, it does feel like home now that we can see the things that we hold dear, instead of them being in boxes.

Michael misses his recliner and one day we found a perfect one for him at God's Storehouse.  And how he loves it!

So, you ask, did I stay within my $1,000.00 budget?  Well - no.  I went $226.00 over budget...hmmm maybe next time I'll do better.

As always, thank you for following.  I apologize it took me so long to get this blog done.  I learned when you try to work on a project on a budget you have to learn to wait and be patient and not be in a hurry to get the things you need.

Thank you all...God bless and we love all of you!