Gracious, where did Monday come from? As you know I joined a group of bloggers last summer for a thrifting expedition. I was inspired by Mr. Goodwill Hunting himself. Well, he's gone and inspired me again.
Take a look at how he changed this:
To This
Yeah I was fascinated too. Who knew that you could paint chairs? Well I didn't. So before you throw out your old chairs because they no longer match your decor, take a look here and see how he did it.
Hi Ladies
I had one busy and wonderful weekend. First things first. I went to the Raleigh I <3 Thrifting Party. My local party was organized by Courtney (The Joy of Decorating).
Photo courtesy of Brittany @ PrettyHandyGirl.com
That's Courtney on the right (I love that picture) and Carrie on the left. She had an itinerary of stores that I'd never visited, so I was definitely ready to get the party started. And as we all know, a party is nothing without its guests. I met a great bunch of bloggers that were great to hang out with. I even learned some great "blogging" information thru general conversations. My fellow party goers were Abi (Gadding Gal), Brittany (Pretty Handy Girl), Amy (Punctuation Wounds), Kristi (The Slipcover Girl), and Carrie (Carrie Loves and Sweet Faerie Designs), and Jay, our lone male party-goer.
Now, I pretty much kept my word. I tried to stay focused and not buy anything that I couldn't place. I saw tons of cool stuff and am still thinking about these bookends.
A little freshening up and these babies would be as good as new. I purchased a couple of books from Goodwill and spray paint from ReStore in Raleigh, but that's it. Isn't that always the way? I'm on the hunt for a side table, but couldn't find one that shook my bones.
I'd have to say, Abi was the thief of the day. The best buy was this wine opener purchased at ReTails Thrift Shop in Raleigh.
Photo courtesy of The Joy of Decorating
It looked like an antique wine opener for $7! It was a steal! We also went to an antique store that had a sweltering warehouse (don't they know that furniture need air too). They allowed you to refinish the furniture yourself or have them do it for you. Personally, I'd re-do it myself.
Here's an outside shot of the warehouse.
I have a friend who is looking for a unique bar. What do you think of this piece? I think that we could make this into a bar.
I had a wonderful day with the girls. I look forward to doing it again soon.
After my morning and afternoon of shopping, I came home, jumped in the shower and it was off to the goodbye party for one of our other favorite bloggers, Curly Nikki.
Shea Moisture sponsored a going away party for Curly Nikki at Mosaic Lounge in downtown Raleigh.
The-place-was-PACKED. I mean super packed. I saw a ton of hair styles, fashions, and friendly faces everywhere. There were conversations about products, styles, and I heard a ton of people saying "oh I love your hair" to each other. Shea Moisture gave away gift bags with a bar of body soap in it. I haven't used it yet. I'll let you know what I think when I do.
I really believe that the woman of the hour spoke to each and every person at the party, which was no small task. She looked great and I cant believe that she survived in those heels.
Once the back of my legs started sweating, I decided that it was time for me to bounce. I had a wonderful time and loved meeting her. I also enjoyed meeting so many natural ladies in one space. Here are some pictures from Curly Nikki's site. You can find some more on her facebook site.
The cherry on top of my weekend is that I finally got to see Tranformers. I know. I'm late. But really, they might as well ban this movie from cable. I mean, what's the point in seeing it in anything other than IMAX? I mean wow. The special effects were out of this world. And by special effects, I mean Josh Duhamel and Tyrese. Yum!
It's Earth Day! I think that you should plant something today. Start a compost. If nothing else, visit your local greenhouse, Home Depot, Lowes, or local garden center and buy a plant, herb, tree, or flower and see how long you can keep it alive. I'm famous for killing indoor plants, but I'm usually ok with outdoor vegetation. Go figure.
But forget what you heard, I know that capitalism has taken over every major holiday. And it's sad, but I'm not going to ignore a deal and i'm always going to pass them on to my friends.
Here are some deals that I found on Yahoo, ABC News, and Google.
There are also plenty of opportunities for Earth Day discounts. Here are few:
Cash for Appliances
Did you know that more than 70 percent of the energy used in homes powers appliances, refrigerators, heating, cooling and water heating?
To help families save on utility bills and conserve energy, each state has created a rebate program in which families can trade in old appliances for money to buy more efficient products. Several states have chosen to launch their programs on Earth Day. For details on your state's program, click HERE.
Hanes
If you can't spend Earth Day planting trees, let Hanes do it for you. If you buy three Hanes products, the Arbor Day Foundation will plant a tree. And you'll get a free Earth Day T-shirt in the process.
The offer is good through May 1. Visit the promotion's website for more information
Pottery Barn Kids
At 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. today, Pottery Barn Kids is celebrating Earth Day with giveaways, story time and other activities
I am a huge fan of weaves and wigs. Always have been, always will be. I am not currently wearing them, but I still support those that do. What I do not understand is why certain hair companies make weave wearers spokespeople. You can't convince me to color my hair with Feria by showing me Beyonce'. If I want blond weave, I'll just buy blond weave. I'll go and get a blond lace front.
Now put her on a bag of weave or a lace front ad, then we'll talk. Putting Queen Latifah on a make-up ad was a good idea. She looks great in make up and it's never really overdone. It would also be a good place for Mary J, her make-up is always on point.
You'd have a better chance of selling me a relaxer with the little girl on the front of the PCJ or Just for Me box. Wait is THAT even their real hair? Oh the times.
Deals
We try to keep you healthy. We really do. But Dairy Queen is offering a Buy One Blizzard, Get the second for 25 cents. It's thru April 25th. Here's the coupon. If you take like 3 friends and you all split 2 blizzards, it's not that bad right? Ok, i'm living in a fantasy world. I don't care. I'm taking one friend and i'm going to get one and there's nothing that you can do about it. I'll regret it tomorrow.
Lets Hear It For The Boys!!!
Ok, have you ever been so extremely proud of people that you don't even know that you could just burst out in tears. Alright, maybe not, but I almost did when I read this article. The long and short of it is that at a high school where only 4 percent of the current senior class read at grade level when they were freshmen, the entire senior class has now been accepted to college. Many of these kids were from some of the city's roughest and poorest neighborhoods. That is phenomenal for any senior class. Much less for the senior class of an all male, all african-american, public school. Excuse me. Let me type that in capital letters, just in case you missed it. 100% OF THE SENIOR CLASS OF AN ALL MALE, ALL AFRICAN-AMERICAN, PUBLIC SCHOOL, IN CHICAGO ILLINOIS GOT ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE. WOW!!! They deserve to be celebrated and exemplified by all races and genders.
I heard it noted earlier (sorry I forgot where) that they didn't lower their standards when the administration noticed that many of the students performed below grade-level, they rose the students up. They didn't make the student's settle for less. They had the students achieve more. And now when you factor in what many of them have to go through to even have to get to school, they have overcome more than their counter-parts. They required longer school days and more english credits.
I think that even as adults, we should pay attention. This should be a lesson that we should pass on to our children, nieces, nephews and cousins, even if the school system doesn't. Each of these boys are assigned college counselors from day one. Can we make it a point to do this within our own families? School administrations don't rule our roost. We do. If school requires kids to read one book a week, why can't parents require an additional. A lot of districts are lowering standards. Let's raise them back up at home. I don't have any kids, so it's hard to offer advice, but this certainly provides inspiration.
At one of the assemblies, Jay-Z's "Every Day A Star Is Born, Clap For Em', Clap For Em, Clap For Em, Clap For Em, Hey" blazed from the speakers. How True. How True.
Get it boys! Congratulations! Let's Clap For Em'
Please Read and Pass it on.
My Find
I've been on the hunt for a gaudy, 1980's cognac decanter forever. I felt like goldilocks. Each one that I found was either too light, too streamlined, or not sitcom/soap opera enough. I wanted a real 1980's George Jefferson/Dynasty crystal cut heavy decanter.
I've combed Home Goods, Marshall's, TJ Maxx, CB2, Pier 1, Crate and Barrel, Red Envelope, the list just goes on and on. I found one on Ebay, but wasn't willing to pay over $100 for it. That was just asking too much. I didn't want it that bad.
Alas, I didn't give up the hunt. The good thing about stores like Marshalls, Homegoods, and TJ Maxx is that their inventory changes so often. You have to constantly visit. Last night, I wasn't even looking and I past this little gem. It was like I was on an episode of Falcon Crest.
Sorry, that the pictures are a little blurry. Camera phone photos at it's finest.
I fell in love with the crystal cut and weight. Oh and the $20 price tag.
I think that i'll write them off on my taxes as a security system. I'll take a drink and hit a burglar on the head with it. I think that I'll tie a nice satin ribbon around the neck with a label so that I can remember what cognac I have in the decanter. After a few drinks and after some time, I tend to forget :) I may come up with another system. We'll see.
Women are as complex as men proclaim but from that complexity come the most beautiful things. From the technique of the smoky eye, to the perfect lip, to having nothing to wear, to a never ending range of emotions, women are bold, sensitive, sweet and sour.
The spirit and intent of this blog is to offer and share with women around the world insight into our vast complexities – whether beautiful or scarred.
