Per usual, we're delayed. I'm not sure why, but 3 weeks ago we were "definitely on schedule" to have sheetrock start this week. Well, now we're hoping insulation starts mid-week. We haven't seen the sheetrock delivery yet. Brick was supposed to start this week too, but haven't seen those deliveries either. So we took matters into our own hands to force the "progress" issue.
We went shopping!
Mom and I have gone Black Friday shopping for as long as I can remember being old enough to last all day. Last year was the exception. We were a bit crazy planning our big cross country move, plus it was the first year with 2 babies in the house... we were tired. :) We aren't the type to run over an old lady to get a parking spot or the type to get in an altercation over the last doorbuster on the shelf. It's usually about the hunt and the strategy and the tradition. After Thanksgiving dinner, we spread out the old fashioned flyers on the kitchen table and plan our attack! Black Friday kicks off the Christmas season for us. The adventure usually includes starbucks in a festive red cup, and "lunch" that we're starving for by 10am.
This year instead of Christmas shopping, we focused on buying ANYTHING for the new house that would be cheaper to buy now than closer to when we move in. You can't beat black friday prices for a new TV!
A lot of stuff we'll need to buy is heavily dependent on all the colors, decor etc that are just a twinkle in my eye at this point. ( See previous note about not even having sheetrock yet! ) For example, I usually start each room design with a single inspiration item, be it a shower curtain, or a light fixture, or bedding or whatever. If I haven't firmed up that first decision, it's so much harder to make other decisions. So it's a huge challenge, but I think we did really well, all things considered. There were a few items where I could have gotten a bargain but I just wasn't ready to pull the proverbial trigger. Would have loved to pick up towels for the guest room and master bath with black friday deals, but I just couldn't commit!
Here's the loot from Black Friday and the rest of the weekend:
1) 46" Samsung TV for our bedroom. Our last bedroom tv looks like it got dropkicked during the move! [$200 savings]
2) New everyday dishes - the really special ones from Anthropologie I've been stalking. These dishes were a raincheck birthday present as I really wanted them but also really didn't want to pay full price. I'm glad I waited, not only for the sale, but because I decided to mix and match plates with bowls/mugs to add some color and I'm smitten! Glenna dinner and side plates, Ayaka mug and bowl in 'Mint.' [$132 savings] The pictures don't do these little pretties justice. :)
3) New pots and pans ( I promised myself new pots and pans if I stuck with the healthy eating until Mothers day - yes, I'm running a bit behind on that reward ) Instead of buying a set as planned which has 2-3 small fry pans that I'd NEVER use, I bought open stock to get just the specialty pans I want! I got really pretty Cuisinart polished mirror finish stainless steel Chef Pro Classics. [$50 savings over buying a lame set, $100 savings on the specific items I purchased compared to MSRP]
These are a couple of my favorites!
4) Expedit Bookcase/Storage from Ikea - we had several of these in our last house and used them for storing the kids toys in bright colored storage cubes. They're great! However, the buyers of our house thought so too and negotiated them with the house. 50% off 1 day of the year on black friday, and boo-ya-ka, I stocked up! Thanks Ikea! [$80 savings]
5) Reciprocating saw and Pneumatic nail gun (brads) - Doorbusters at Lowes, and we need them for a house project currently ongoing. stay tuned! [$90 savings] I'll spare you the pics of our power tools. :)
6) 8x10 Indochine rug from ZGallerie for our new living room!! This was an unexpected purchase, but yay! [$140 savings]
I started to post a picture, but they have no detailed shots or real life shots, so I found a pic of something similar. I think the intent is a very modern looking rug, but seeing it in person reads very "snuggle up by a fire" to me, so I think it'll be the perfect eclectic rug for our living room!
7) I ordered my backsplash about a month ago, but if the topic is "savings" I can't neglect to mention the absolute steal I got on my Ann Sacks tile in a color so perfect I didn't even realize it existed and should be looking for it. :) [$500 savings v. MSRP, $1650 savings v. the hand glazed terracotta tile I nearly ordered the day before finding the perfect tile at Ann Sacks!]
As far as I know there are no pictures of my tile in my color and size, but we got the old fashioned 4x4 squares in cornflower blue which has a darker edge and has an awesome vintage feel. Similar AS tile from the same collection/color but obviously a different size:
8) I won't itemize the savings on each light, but I've saved a total of $1200 v. MSRP on the lighting I've bought so far. It's more like $2800 savings if I compare against the estimated budget based off our first round of selections for lighting. The big difference there is finding an amazing substitute for the chandelier in our dining room. We swapped in the Ballard 10 light Cosette instead of the aptly named "French Farmhouse" chandelier from Bevolo Gas & Electric. On top of it, ordered with a 15% coupon from Ballard. :) Same size and everything!
Here's a sampler platter of some of the other lighting selections so far. You'll have to guess what's going where! :) Still on the shopping list are ceiling fans for the master, office, game room and patio, as well as exterior lights, landscape lights, undercabinet lights for the kitchen, and all the un-fun stuff like closet lights, garage flourescents etc.
So the grand tally of savings is over $2400 conservatively, or $5200 if I compare against what I was planning to buy before I found the less expensive version! It was so much fun, and I love all our purchases, and I feel great about all the money we saved! and for what it's worth, i was just too anxious about getting my dishes at Anthro to drink my skinny peppermint mocha in its joyful red cup, and we were early enough to the Cheesecake factory to walk right up and get a table sans the wait!
I can't wait to get this stuff into the new house!!!!!!!! I'm traveling again next week, but I hope to come home to some progress at the house. If I do, you'll all be the first to know. :)
We went shopping!
Mom and I have gone Black Friday shopping for as long as I can remember being old enough to last all day. Last year was the exception. We were a bit crazy planning our big cross country move, plus it was the first year with 2 babies in the house... we were tired. :) We aren't the type to run over an old lady to get a parking spot or the type to get in an altercation over the last doorbuster on the shelf. It's usually about the hunt and the strategy and the tradition. After Thanksgiving dinner, we spread out the old fashioned flyers on the kitchen table and plan our attack! Black Friday kicks off the Christmas season for us. The adventure usually includes starbucks in a festive red cup, and "lunch" that we're starving for by 10am.
This year instead of Christmas shopping, we focused on buying ANYTHING for the new house that would be cheaper to buy now than closer to when we move in. You can't beat black friday prices for a new TV!
A lot of stuff we'll need to buy is heavily dependent on all the colors, decor etc that are just a twinkle in my eye at this point. ( See previous note about not even having sheetrock yet! ) For example, I usually start each room design with a single inspiration item, be it a shower curtain, or a light fixture, or bedding or whatever. If I haven't firmed up that first decision, it's so much harder to make other decisions. So it's a huge challenge, but I think we did really well, all things considered. There were a few items where I could have gotten a bargain but I just wasn't ready to pull the proverbial trigger. Would have loved to pick up towels for the guest room and master bath with black friday deals, but I just couldn't commit!
Here's the loot from Black Friday and the rest of the weekend:
1) 46" Samsung TV for our bedroom. Our last bedroom tv looks like it got dropkicked during the move! [$200 savings]
 |
| And this sealed the deal on vintage mint green as an accent color in the great room! |
3) New pots and pans ( I promised myself new pots and pans if I stuck with the healthy eating until Mothers day - yes, I'm running a bit behind on that reward ) Instead of buying a set as planned which has 2-3 small fry pans that I'd NEVER use, I bought open stock to get just the specialty pans I want! I got really pretty Cuisinart polished mirror finish stainless steel Chef Pro Classics. [$50 savings over buying a lame set, $100 savings on the specific items I purchased compared to MSRP]
These are a couple of my favorites!
 |
| This is my fav - 5.5 quart saute |
 |
| 3.5 quart with built-in strainer lid! |
 |
| 12 quart Multi-Pot - Doorbuster!!!! Holla!!! |
4) Expedit Bookcase/Storage from Ikea - we had several of these in our last house and used them for storing the kids toys in bright colored storage cubes. They're great! However, the buyers of our house thought so too and negotiated them with the house. 50% off 1 day of the year on black friday, and boo-ya-ka, I stocked up! Thanks Ikea! [$80 savings]
5) Reciprocating saw and Pneumatic nail gun (brads) - Doorbusters at Lowes, and we need them for a house project currently ongoing. stay tuned! [$90 savings] I'll spare you the pics of our power tools. :)
6) 8x10 Indochine rug from ZGallerie for our new living room!! This was an unexpected purchase, but yay! [$140 savings]
I started to post a picture, but they have no detailed shots or real life shots, so I found a pic of something similar. I think the intent is a very modern looking rug, but seeing it in person reads very "snuggle up by a fire" to me, so I think it'll be the perfect eclectic rug for our living room!
 |
| not ours, but similar! |
7) I ordered my backsplash about a month ago, but if the topic is "savings" I can't neglect to mention the absolute steal I got on my Ann Sacks tile in a color so perfect I didn't even realize it existed and should be looking for it. :) [$500 savings v. MSRP, $1650 savings v. the hand glazed terracotta tile I nearly ordered the day before finding the perfect tile at Ann Sacks!]
As far as I know there are no pictures of my tile in my color and size, but we got the old fashioned 4x4 squares in cornflower blue which has a darker edge and has an awesome vintage feel. Similar AS tile from the same collection/color but obviously a different size:
8) I won't itemize the savings on each light, but I've saved a total of $1200 v. MSRP on the lighting I've bought so far. It's more like $2800 savings if I compare against the estimated budget based off our first round of selections for lighting. The big difference there is finding an amazing substitute for the chandelier in our dining room. We swapped in the Ballard 10 light Cosette instead of the aptly named "French Farmhouse" chandelier from Bevolo Gas & Electric. On top of it, ordered with a 15% coupon from Ballard. :) Same size and everything!
 |
| Splurge from Bevolo |
 |
| Steal from Ballard Designs! Dare I say I like it better??? |
Here's a sampler platter of some of the other lighting selections so far. You'll have to guess what's going where! :) Still on the shopping list are ceiling fans for the master, office, game room and patio, as well as exterior lights, landscape lights, undercabinet lights for the kitchen, and all the un-fun stuff like closet lights, garage flourescents etc.
So the grand tally of savings is over $2400 conservatively, or $5200 if I compare against what I was planning to buy before I found the less expensive version! It was so much fun, and I love all our purchases, and I feel great about all the money we saved! and for what it's worth, i was just too anxious about getting my dishes at Anthro to drink my skinny peppermint mocha in its joyful red cup, and we were early enough to the Cheesecake factory to walk right up and get a table sans the wait!
I can't wait to get this stuff into the new house!!!!!!!! I'm traveling again next week, but I hope to come home to some progress at the house. If I do, you'll all be the first to know. :)
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