One man's trash, this woman's treasure

Ever since I can remember, I have felt at home in a thrift store. I don’t know where this love of thrifting originates—we didn’t exactly have family outings to the Goodwill when I was young, nor do any of my siblings share this affinity for a thrift store. But somehow for me, the musty smell and possibility of donated treasures really gets me going.

I certainly acknowledge that there are some things that should probably NOT be purchased used; you know, the usual suspects: underclothing, sheets, bath towels, hats, & non-stick frying pans (do you honestly think your egg won't stick to that discarded pan?).

Lately I’ve been a sporadic thrifter—popping into my favorites here and there when I’m looking for a specific item. There are some pretty fabulous thrift stores around here, and recently I've been quite lucky (I would say luck is a big part of thrifting).

So I thought I'd share a few of my lucky finds:

Two practically new Dr. Seuss books (which became a gift for 1-year-old nephew Charlie Boy) Price: 69 cents each

Many know that I find a lot of my fabric at thrift stores--this picture doesn't do this piece justice, but it is a 2+ yard piece of heavy-duty red slipcover fabric that retails for $12.99/yd. Price: $1.49

Some people are grossed out by used shoes and there are definitely some out there that should have been donated straight to the trash can.

But these two pairs I found for James--they are barely worn and fairly pricey in the stores, well, more than $3/pair, which is expensive to an el cheapo like me.

And the best find of the week: glider/rocker for the baby's room. We were planning on buying one of these anyway because the rocker we have is way too large for the tiny room we have for the babe. The one I saw at Target was around $199, and this one, which will just need recovering, was at the Goodwill yesterday for $24.99. It didn't come with an ottoman, but the ottoman wouldn't have fit in the room anyway. I was so excited to find this one.(and this pic is taken in the back of the van because we can't really fit the chair in our in our small house until we first get rid of the other one. . .)

It will be a little project to make covers for the cushions, but now we can pick fabric that will match what has already been chosen and is busy being sewn into bedding.

If you're a thrifter too, you will appreciate these random finds. If you're not, maybe you want to become one now. Otherwise, you think I'm crazy and that's okay too.

Getting the room ready

The room we have for our babe is a pile of trash right now. The walls are mustard yellow, and it is full of mismatched, hand-me-down furniture, boxes of junk that should be in the attic, and papers, papers and more papers.

We have our work cut out for us to get it ready and pleasant, but since Jeff is home this week, I don't have to tackle it by myself. He's much better at these kinds of organizing projects anyway.

I would post a "before" picture, but it is such a mess right now I'm kind of embarrassed. So there will be a before picture taken, and it will be revealed when we have a great "after" shot to post right after it.

For now, I'll share this picture of the fabric I found for new crib bedding. The bedding we've had for the other boys is covered with teddy bears and after almost 6 years I am sick of looking at it. I don't know why I chose it in the first place. I hate teddy bears.

There is much to be done, but I am looking forward to the "final reveal". Didn't you know you were watching an episode of some decorating show on HGTV? Stay tuned. . .

Spring Break and 100th post

Yippee--it's spring break! I've mentioned before how much I love having a husband who is a teacher because of all the great vacations built into the work schedule. We're heading to Seattle for a few days to play with our boys before a little one comes along and makes traveling a bit more tricky.

Can you see how excited Owen is to get out of the Oregon rain? Except that we're just heading up north to more, uh, rain. Most of our planned activities are inside anyway and we're just happy to get out of town.

And. . . this just happens to be my 100th post. Not that big of a deal to anyone but me, but I can't really believe it. I do enjoy the creative outlet that this blog is for me, and appreciate anyone who takes a minute out of their life to read my ramblings.

It really is worth it

Back in July, before this little Fuller baby was conceived, I wrote about how time goes too fast when you're a mother. Recently watching my little sis, Emilee, celebrate her IVF miracle baby Charlie's first birthday reinforced that statement for me. The first year of your baby's life seems to go by especially quickly.

But I'd like to add a little statement to that original statement. My theory is that when you're waiting to be a mother, time cannot go by fast enough.

During the first pregnancy, you have no idea what to expect--you're nervous, anxious, delighted, stressed out, excited and just want to meet your firstborn child. During the next pregnancy(ies), you know a little more of what to expect, but you're still nervous, anxious, delighted, stressed out, excited and just want to meet this child that will be joining the family.

Have you ever met a pregnant woman who isn't counting down the days to the end of this miserable/awesome experience? Difficult pregnancy or not, she usually can't wait for it to be done. In contrast, meet a new mother (first-time or not) and she is often quick to wish her baby was younger than he/she is because, "they're growing up too fast." It's an interesting comparison, but one that makes perfect sense considering how amazing and wonderful babies are and how much better life is when they're out of the womb, living their lives and developing their personalities.

Now perhaps, just maybe, this theory only pertains to me. Am I the only prego who finds herself overjoyed at the end of each day, knowing that I can check off another day in this difficult journey? And if so, my poor children. Because it means that nine months of their lives have been spent with me wishing time would go faster instead of slow down. They're still growing up--I'm just not waxing nostalgic about it like I normally am.

But it's okay. They're getting another sibling out of the deal, and of course, we are so grateful.

Seriously, though, is it May yet?

**The shirt in the picture is made by flauntitmaternity and can be found here

Monday Fun Find #19

The credit for finding this shirt does not go to me, but to Toni Coward of makeitperfect patterns (remember this post about the wrap skirt? She's the amazing designer). She is also pregnant and found some fun maternity t-shirts and recently posted them on her blog. This one in particular caught my eye because the screenprinting is something I've been telling myself these many months. Stay tuned for more on that tomorrow. . .

**The shirt is made by discobelly, fun and fresh maternity tees. (wish the picture wasn't so pixelated, but it doesn't seem to be hurting their sales)

New Bags

Limabeanhome is finally getting some new merchandise. I have been in a sewing, photographing and listing funk, but as of today, there are four new bags and several on clearance. Out with the old, in with the new.

Here is my favorite of the four:

And more to come. . .

What?

I came across this bizarre thing on a blog I read occasionally (except that she was really using it and not making fun of it). I'm just making fun of it. If you're a cat lover, you might be offended that I'm making fun of it. But I consider myself a cat hater, so I think it's just plain crazy. And the hairless cat in this video kind of grosses me out.

How to toilet train your cat

It's kind of hilarious, really.

Easy Project

Here is a link to a fun, really easy project if you like to sew but think you don't know how, or if you're looking for a handmade gift that can be made in a very short amount of time.

It's a pocket tissue holder, and I was intrigued by this tutorial because I never have a tissue in my purse when I really need one. I always wish I had one of those little travel tissue packets but I hate the way they get so dirty and ripped inside of my purse. So I never carry them.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this tutorial is that it uses a small amount of fabric, so it's perfect for using up all the awesome scraps leftover after projects are finished.

I made a couple of these for gifts, so if you happen to be someone who receives one, just pretend you don't know how easy it was to make :-) Imagine that I slaved for hours to make you a handmade birthday gift.