Good Buy: Galvanized Bowls

As I've mentioned probably a gajillion times by now, I love getting good deals. It make my heart happy and fills me with pure joy, but I realized it makes me even happier to tell people about my awesome deals, which is why I decided to share them with you fine folks.

The two stores I score the best deals at are Kohl's and Sears. I don't know how it happened, but I randomly started receiving $10 off coupons in the mail for Kohl's. The great thing is that the minimum purchase is $10 before tax. And with Sears, I signed up for their Shop Your Way program, which is a free program where you earn points for every purchase you make. They email offers fairly regularly, although I tend to just use the deals where the minimum purchase is low. JC Penny also mails out $10 off a $10 or more purchase coupons, but those tend to be a bit more sporadic.

So, moving on to the Good Buy, I received a $10 off coupon from Kohl's a few weeks ago and couldn't wait to go shopping (they usually mail it several days before it's valid). I usually hit up the jewelry section first, but I didn't find anything there, so I moved onto the home section. I've really been into galvanized metal lately, so I was super excited when I found some galvanized metal strap bowls.

Would you guys believe the original price was $29.99?? Maybe I'm just stingy, but I thought that seemed a little steep. And for reference, the bowls measure 12.25" wide by 4.5" high. Fortunately for me, they were half off at $14.99, plus, I had the $10 off coupon. On top of that, they were having 10% off 'Save the Tax' sale, so with tax, the final price was $4.85. My mom told me I could have her coupon, so I went back to get the second one the next day. They were understaffed and lines were long, so on top of the sale, coupon, and extra 10% off, they were also taking an extra 15% off for the long wait, so I got the second bowl for $4.11. So, what should have cost $60 before tax, ended up costing $8.96 after tax!

I'm thinking these would look great on the dining room table, filled with mini pumpkins and little bits of chartreuse moss. You just might be seeing some pics of that in a month or two =)

What great deals have you found recently?

Printable Owls

Who is ready for Fall? *Raises hand* Unfortunately, the 90+ degree weather is still going strong in Sacramento, with no signs of letting up. But whenever I get sad by the thought that Fall doesn't really start here until mid November, I head over to Michael's and look at the Fall aisles. That makes me happy.

I have this irrational idea that if I start working on Fall crafts, the cool weather and changing leaves will come, so I decided to make some owl printables to share with you guys. I left them plain so they can be used as coloring pages for kids (and adults too - I don't judge). You could even cut the pieces out to use as patterns, trace them onto patterned paper, then assemble it all for some cute Fall decorations. Then you could use real buttons for the eyes. Cute!

Please Note: These are copyrighted images and are intended for personal, non-commercial use only.

http://lilluna.com/link-party-palooza-105/

Dream Closet

I was recently browsing Compass, a real estate platform based in NY, and it got me thinking about what's important to me as far as closet space. I don't have expensive taste. In fact, I love a good bargain. While some people would love to have a tv in their closet, I would rather watch tv on a comfy sofa. Many women would probably drool at the sight of a two story closet with space for hundreds of pairs of shoes that are organized by color, but you can usually find me in a pair of flip flops...or tennies...or boots, if I'm feeling fancy. The one thing that I do have an issue with is accessories.

As I said, I love a good bargain, which usually involves necklaces (many of which I've gotten for FREE or a few dollars. Score!), scarves, purses, and sunglasses, so my dream closet would have to have plenty o' storage for those things. Rather than having everything tucked away in drawers and bins, I decided to have things displayed on hooks. That way, it's easy to see everything at once.

When I was trying to come up with a style for my closet, I thought it would only make sense to match my beachy bedroom decor. I used some of my necklaces (below) as the color inspiration.

The blue and green necklace was one of the first necklaces I ever bought. It reminded me of the ocean and I just had to have it. Although I've never been much of a fan of the color coral, I loved that that necklace looked like coral (as in the ocean coral =) ) and I snagged it for just a few dollars.

I threw together a mood board of some of the elements of my dream closet. The walls would be a green grasscloth wallpaper. I just love the textural element of grasscloth and the color was perfect. I brought in some wardrobes for practical storage purposes, but also used some baskets and a wicker trunk for pretty storage. The driftwood mirror was a must because I love the texture and raw look of it, and set it above a bluish green dresser. The coral lamps were perfect for bringing in the coral color, while adding a touch of whimsy. I had to add an ottoman because, well, picking out outfits and accessorizing said outfits can be downright exhausting. The rug pulls together the bluish green and the coral with just a bit more whimsy (hello, giant sand dollar). And last, but not least, the capiz shell chandy. I've always been a fan of mixing and matching (rustic with refined, traditional with contemporary, etc.), so I love having this elegant chandelier paired with the rustic mirror and textured coral lamps. And really, I think every closet, big or small, deserves a chandelier.

I whipped up a little floor plan view of my closet to give a feel for the space. You walk in some double doors and the entry is flanked by 9' of wardrobe on either side. Beyond that is the ottoman (aka the being-a-female-and-trying-to-look-good-is-exhausting-so-I'll-just-take-a-break-right-here ottoman), and then the dresser.

And of course I had to throw in an elevation to show my glorious wall of hooks. Does anyone else get super excited to see their accessories all out in the open?

All in all, I would say my dream closet is fairly simple. No bells and whistles or anything extravagant. The only thing out of the ordinary that I would want is my own secret vault of candy. I thought I was the only one guilty of going in my closet to eat candy and not have to share with my son, but I've learned by talking to other moms that this is more common than you would think =) So tell me, what would you want in your dream closet?