30 Days of Turning 30 Recap

It's not easy celebrating a birthday for a whole month.  I think it falls under the category of "too much of a good thing."  I do, however, think it was good for me and Tommie to push ourselves to get out more, keep track of local events, try new things, and to be more conscious of how we spend our days--before we're so old we can't remember anymore.

It's no surprise that a lot of what we do involves eating.  At least half of our 30 posts included some kind of food.  It's also promising to see that the majority of things we did cost little to no money--even some of the events we attended were free.  There are a lot of cool free things to do around Durham if you look.  Our most expensive days were spent at big events like a concert and the state fair.  

I'm sad October is over, but we can't force ourselves to have fun forever--it's tiring.  This was good practice for the upcoming months when we have a couple weeks around the holidays to do fun things with guests, and now we know a little bit more about the place we live.

Guest Room

We had our first long-term house guests for Thanksgiving.  Tommie's parents drove down from Boston and arrived in Durham in time for dinner.  (They drive like typical commuters, while my parents don't believe in using the passing lane and would have taken double the time.)

The guest room has been a work in progress since we moved, but it's finally sanctioned as a decent place to stay.

It has our old wicker double bed that we draped with a new large blue quilt we got for sale at the outlets for $50.  Updated thrift store lamps provide lighting, and a sage green refurbished dresser from Craigslist gives some drawer and surface space.  I'm sticking to natural tones like tan, blue, green, and white in here.

I also put one of our bookshelves in the room because I like the idea of people being able to thumb through books before bed or if they get bored.  I used to like snooping through other people's libraries.

Having a house with an extra room is nice so that we can host visitors.  It's also scary having a house with an extra room so that we can host visitors.  I love my family and encourage friends to visit...in small increments  :)

Booger Table Makeover

I'm not sure where the time is going, but it's going. Before it gets too cold to sand and paint outside, I've been trying to finish up some DIY projects, like redoing this $50 drop-leaf dining table we Craigslisted from a woman we are pretty sure was on drugs (more reason to Craigslist in two's). 

It was used as a kid's drawing table and had marker smudges and, I think, boogers stuck to it. First, I gave it a light sanding, and primed the dark green legs. 

I knew I wanted to paint some portion of the table orange after being inspired by these refurbished orange tables on Pinterest:

Found here

Found here

I had some leftover pumpkin-colored sample paint which I used for the legs, and gave the top a crisp white coating for contrast.

After a couple coats of polyurethane on top and some wax finish on the legs, I think it's ready to host meals just in time for Tommie's parents to visit us during Thanksgiving week.

Before

After

The once dark dining nook when we first moved here is looking a lot brighter.

Roaming Around Raleigh

It became fall this weekend in North Carolina. There's a noticeable chill in the air and more leaves are falling. It seemed like a good time to venture to the State Farmer's Market in Raleigh, which is full of pumpkins, apples, and other autumnal goods.

It's really an understatement to call the this place a farmer's market...it's open seven days a week and has everything from gardening supplies, to produce, to baked goods, and even shops. We treated ourselves to homemade pumpkin pie fudge and fried seafood at the on-site restaurant.

There were apples to taste, cider to sip, and colorful dahlias to admire. I picked out a few to put on the mantel for my birthday. It might be because I'm an October birthday, but I do love this season. 

On our way home we took a walk around downtown Raleigh and stumbled on the free Museum of Natural Sciences. We only had time to check out the three-story Nature Research Center featuring a theater, critters, fossils, and research labs. Did I mention it's all FREE? A fact that instantly made it ten times more exciting to me. 

In fact, a free museum and a giant full-time farmer's market made the whole trip to Raleigh better than we imagined.

Conference Table Makeover

Tommie's office space at new job recently changed and one of his tasks was to help makeover the room, which, of course, turned into me also helping with the room makeover. Luckily, Tommie and I both like us some HGTV real-life action.

The new office space, which was the old computer lab inside a Durham private school, is shared by four staff members. Among other new items, Tommie chose these L-shape desks from Office Depot for each corner of the room.

The group also wanted a conference table in the middle of the room where they could converge. With a small budget in mind, Tommie and his boss found this dated dinging room table at the Habitat for Humanity Store in Durham for $75, along with the black chairs you will see in the "after" photos for $3 a pop.

The table had some knicks and other eye-sores but it had sturdy bones and plenty of space. So, the boys bought the table and told me to fix it, woman. Not really, they asked me politely what I could do with it and I made something up like I usually do.

Since the organization is a young, education-based non-profit, we went for a bold change, incorporating the group's colors (blue and white) with part of their logo (the "U").

Like most DIY projects I start, I had no idea what I was doing. After giving the wood and laminate surface a little sanding down, we coated it with Zinsser Cover Stain Primer which I read worked on laminate.

Then we applied a really good Valspar semi-gloss white paint to the base and the legs, even painting over the rusted brass "details." The top got a few coats of Olympia's premium semi-gloss, low VOC paint in Brilliant Blue. 

The logo was created by first tracing the outline of a trash can lid to get an even circle, then putting tiny pieces of painter's tape around it. I also used painter's tape to create the "U" inside the circle.

After applying three layers over consecutive weeks, the finished product got a couple light coats of Briwax clear finishing wax to make it seal and shine.

The U isn't perfectly even, and the surface of the table shows some bumps and imperfections, but we'll just call those "marks of character" and enjoy the end result as it is--bright, fresh, and vibrant.

Around the House

Now that we have unpacked most of the boxes, the fun part of finding new furniture and decorating begins.

Here are a few things we've done around the house so far:

Sand and stain the outdoor chairs that were already here...

Put together our TV stand from World Market (we also ordered a new couch to come in a couple weeks)...

Spray paint and decorate (this mirror is from Target--I made it yellow!)...

Turn the dining room into an office (we have yet to hang up any art)...

Buy a lamp and a table to refinish from sketchy people on Craigslist...

DIY Decor: Fanned Paper Wheels

On our way through the mall the other day, I couldn't help but notice a window display (I think at the GAP), that involved a wall covered in fanned wheels made from magazines. I liked the modern, recycled, Asian-inspired look of the display and mentally noted that I would try making them myself for funky and free wall art.

When we got home I took an old, colorful Crate & Barrel store circular and got to work. When Tommie asked what I was doing, I said, "I'm making a window display," but I think he tuned me out because he seems surprised when he found them hanging on our bedroom wall.

The project is simple and goes back to elementary craft skills of making paper fans--it's just a lot of folding back and forth until you have enough "fans" to make a complete circle. I then wove a piece of thread through the bottom of each fan and used double-sided tape to seal the wheel. I hung them up with a tack.

A full "display" would look even better but I suppose it's not necessary for one's bedroom. A circular like Crate & Barrel worked well because it was a good size (8x10) and had a lot of colorful images in it. The big wheel is made of full pages, while the small one is pages cut in half. The best part is that its free and recyclable.

Winning Money for Buying Used Paper Lanterns

Best news I have received in a while...I won $100 for sharing my story about how I scored a bunch of cheap paper lanterns from Recycled Bride! 

Recycled Bride is an online wedding marketplace for searching and getting great deals on used and new items for ones wedding. It's kind of like the "Craigslist" of wedding items--no wonder I like it.

Winning stories and other comments can be viewed on Recycled Bride's blog here.  I included a photo our reception venue decorated with the lanterns. 

I knew my obsession with lanterns would pay off someday!

The Nice Thing About Paint

The nice thing about paint is that it's easy and inexpensive to repaint if you change your mind--good thing for a Libra who changes her mind a lot.

I bought this unfinished cupboard from Craigslist for something like $25. My first paint job was bright and bold. It didn't matter that it didn't match anything because I kept it in the front hallway to store canned foods.

Then I brought it into the living room during Christmas last year for extra surface space and it stayed inside. The red and turquoise tones were a bit rambunctious for our living room and the small wooden knobs on the cabinets bugged me.

So, I decided to repaint the interior face a more subdued tan and sage green. When painting furniture, Behr's 8 FL OZ sample jars are a good route to go; costing less than $3.00, they provide plenty of paint for the job and you can choose any Behr paint color.

The green came out lighter than I wanted, but it's growing on me especially with the new brass knobs in place. My color snob husband isn't a fan of the three-color scheme, so I'm entertaining the thought of replacing the light tan with the light green, making it only two colors. After all, it's just a little paint.

Holiday Shopping on a Budget

There are plenty of ways to save on holiday gifts for family and friends without getting trampled in a Wal-Mart. But first, you have to come to terms with the fact that being thrifty isn't going to be easy--it requires time, creativity, and a certain "game" mentality, but getting a good deal is also satisfying and fun.

I'm making it my personal goal to keep credit card statements at an all-time low this December. Here are some tips I'm using to save money this season.

1. Make gifts. I have a long way to go before I'm cranking out handmade presents for everyone, but I am planing to make a beach glass pendant necklace for my grandmother and homemade doggie treats for the family dogs. If you don't have time or skills for DIY but like the concept, talented artists and crafters on Etsy offer unique handmade gifts.

2. Sell stuff to get stuff. All it takes is a little "winter cleaning" to get some extra cash in your pocket for the holidays. By selling things on sites like Craigslist and Ebay, you can get instant cash or have money deposited into your PayPal account, which you can then use to purchase gifts for others. It won't make you big bucks, but it will help offset what you spend. 

3. Use gift cards and credit card points to purchase presents. This prevents you from dipping into new money to pay for gifts.
 
4. Search, then search some more. If I know what I plan to get someone, I search online for the lowest price (excluding the aforementioned evil empire Wal-Mart). This includes doing Google searches, but also looking on sites like Ebay. Free shipping usually factors into the final decision.

5. Always try a coupon code. One of my favorite resources is RetailMeNot. It is always worth the extra minute it takes to see if there is a discount code for any online retailer. On occasion, I have even had luck just typing in a presumed discount code, such as "FREESHIPPING." 

6. Black Friday without the lines. A lot of places are catching on to offering Black Friday deals online for those of us who avoid crowds. I've found some particularly good deals for Maya at Petco.com on Black Friday, and this year I intend to search for other enticing cyber sales.