Present Idea: Get A Clear Head For $15

I recently celebrated my one year Anniversary of my first date with Boyfriend. It was a very special time for us and included going to my first professional football game, getting a dozen pink roses, a fancy dinner, fake Uggs, and a new dress! I'm a very spoiled girlfriend. As for Boyfriend, so far he has just gotten a card, kisses and an I.O.U. for a present. I had picked one out present tentatively but I decided I would have to show it to him first. As a rule we generally tell each other exactly what we want for presents - that way we don't waste money on something the other doesn't really want.

Boyfriend decided he wanted a wall mounted bottle opener as his anniversary gift. Very practical and necessary as we are forever losing our real bottle opener. Also we have yet to paint/decorate the kitchen in the new condo. Instead of just getting a plain boring one I picked out this lion's head from Pottery Barn - for $12.

I think it's pretty awesome but then again it's Boyfriend's kitchen (for now!) and I am loathe to make a design decision without his approval. Also we still haven't picked out a paint color though we are leaning towards the red family. Old Sallie's Niece would have just said "hey it's only twelve bucks, just buy it" and then decide but luckily I have restrained myself.

In the meanwhile I have become very fixated on decorating the condo. Boyfriend got to have all his fun with renovations and now it's time for some finishing touches. I want to get him some accent pieces - especially for the bedroom which has absolutely no decoration as of now. Look for some posts on DIY decoration soon as I've become one of those boring nesting types now.

In my online bargain hunting I did find the coolest thing and I can't decide if our decor would allow it but I wanted to share it nevertheless. It's a head made of recycled glass, awesome! And available at Pier One Imports for $15. I think it would look pretty cool in an office. Who doesn't need to clear their head sometimes?

What do you think of my design ideas - tacky or trendy?

Free Stuff Rules!

I feel a little remorseful still about my recent splurge but when I got home last night and the stuff was delivered into my apartment I was admitedly quite excited.

The TV (which I guess since I cancelled cable I didn't really need) also has a built in DVD player. This is pretty cool since I love sitting in bed and watching movies.

It looks pretty good on top of my FREE dresser. Yes, my bedroom is so small so not having a dresser for the past several weeks had made me such a slob.

My neighbor even left me a matching sidetable to the coffee table I bought, a power adapter, and a whole bag of canned goods! More was waiting outside the trash including a lovely bar stool I promptly rescued and brought to my kitchen and a shelf that now lives below the sink in my bathroom. All in all, I am pretty happy with the state of my apartment now.

I'm even going to make a little money today when I sell the coffee/espresso maker I never use to someone who responded to my craig's list ad!

Dumpster Diving and Impulse Buys

So last night my friend took me to drop off six bags of clothing at Goodwill that I pulled out of my closets. No, none of them were quite nice enough to sell to a consignment shop (they're pretty picky where I live). And yes, I did get a receipt.

I felt really good about getting rid of stuff as I have way too many clothes in my closet that I don't wear and also because getting my apartment in order is one of my current missions.

A major problem I've been having lately is there is not a lot of closet space and I just junked an old dresser that I had and most of my clothes are all stacked in piles on the floor. Pretty much everything in my apartment has been donated to me by friends or family. I've been looking high and low for a dresser to replace the one I had to throw out but alas the weather hasn't been warm enough for too many garage sales and the ones on Craig's List were too pricey.

When we got home I ran into my neighbor who just happened to be moving out. He said he was getting rid of stuff. Sweet, I think! After snagging some free picture frames, he asked me if I was interested in buying his coffee table and/or his small bedroom t.v.

It just so happens that I have never actually had a coffee table. I have a little table that I use as a coffee table but it's a bone of contention for me because it's not big enough for guests on either couch to access. It is small and has a chessboard on it so I mostly use it as a gaming table. I've wanted a coffee table for literally four years since I've moved in and have alternated between using one of those big tupperware containers, the chess table, and a pretty much broken end table and they have all been insufficient. My neighbor's coffee table is awesome!

It also happens that approximately one year ago I broke my bedroom t.v., one that I've had for eight years so it's not too sad but I like to lay in bed and watch a movie. Even though it's small they cost almost $200 to replace.

So long story short, I end up agreeing to buy both the t.v. AND the coffee table from my neighbor. I'm really not an impluse buyer and was already feeling sort of remorseful on my way to the ATM to get the money. Yes, I told myself, I have just enough money to cover this, BUT it's going to make the next 8 days difficult. But then again, getting my apartment in shape is pretty important to me as I've decided to renew the lease and since it's difficult to do any furniture/appliance shopping on my own, this seemed like a great deal.

AND THEN on the way back from the ATM, I got a message from above. A lovely discarded dresser only a block from my apartment. It is EXACTLY what I have been looking for for weeks! I lugged it inside all by myself and set it up in my room!

I was so excited that I stayed up half the night cleaning and sprucing up my apartment. So, I still feel a little guilty about spending the hundred dollars, I did make out pretty well all told last night. I think I'm going to relist some of my stuff on Craig's List to see if I can break even this week.