A Happy Cheapskate!

Does anybody remember the song "Second Hand Rose"? It was an old Barbara Streisand song that I LOVED as a little girl. I have a now-somewhat-hidden drama gene that was in full bloom as I'd sing that song at the top of my lungs and strut my stuff. (Mind you, I was always Townsperson #27 in the high school musicals, but I didn't care. It was enough to stand on the stage under the lights and sing my heart out!)

Well, I am living out the Second Hand Rose thing this week. My bedroom is nearly complete thanks to Craig's List. I've been remiss in posting pics of the room, because I wasn't really happy about it yet. Today we hit the jackpot on Craig's List again, and I'm happy to share some of the lessons we've learned as we've worked on this room. I'm not an expert decorator by any stretch of the imagination, but I like what we've ended up with. If you're like me and decorating on a shoestring, I'm going to post a few tips this week.

1. Don't be afraid to buy second hand.

Our experiences with Craig's List have been truly wonderful. Here's a picture of the chest that we got at about 10% of the retail price. It was brand new, too! Someone had bought 2 at an auction and was just tired of having the extra in their garage.

We were excited to get a great piece again today. We had been shopping for large, framed mirrors for quite a while to go over the bed. The wall color is quite dark, and we needed to capture some light and bounce it around. All of the mirrors that we looked at that were the right size were $250 and up. We got this one for less than half, and I love it!!

My one warning about buying and selling online is to heed the warnings about scams. We've actually had people try to buy from us using some of the tactics that I read about. Scammers are out there, and our world can be scary. Have fun shopping but be careful as you do.

Shari Braendel, our resident Proverbs 31 fashion expert, says to never buy something on sale that you wouldn't buy at full price. You have to love it! I think that's true on Craig's List, too, which brings me to my second point.

2. Be willing to be patient.

We've lived in our house for 4 1/2 years with an undecorated bedroom. Over a year ago, I found the comforter set and LOVED it. It was a little bit of a splurge but came with all the pillows, so I couldn't resist. It's been our inspiration, and I am glad we did it even though we had to wait on some other things. Finding the other pieces has been a long process because I'm so cheap. I watched and waited as the price of the chest came down. The mirror is just what I was looking for, but I waited for a couple of months and looked online every night. We got the accent table beside the chair at Target. The finish was damaged, but I fixed yesterday with a brown Sharpie! The chair was a Christmas gift from my parents after I drooled over it on a shopping trip with my mom.

I've got a couple more tips, but I'm going to enjoy my new cozy room. I'll post on Wed with a few more pictures and the reality of a partially finished project.

Janet, my sister-friend, even though I've posted, I still want you to make a visit to Holly Springs soon!