Life Out Loud: April 2010

Non-buyer's Remorse

Gah, I hate buyer's remorse.

In fact, I hate it so deeply that I will often not buy ANYTHING for fear I may regret it later. I'm still not entirely over a bad lamp purchase in 2002.

And yet, the thrill of thrifting is always tempered by the risky business of letting something go. Of passing it on by.

Of letting someone else share the thrifty, frugal love.

Case in point: The feather bed.

The feather bed was a cardboard box stuffed full of feather stuffed comforter labeled "Queen Down Comforter, $5."

Well heck, $5 is a great price for a cardboard box! Let alone a queen size comforter that could easily retail for hundreds upon hundreds of dollars.

So I trucked that sucker right to the front of the church rummage sale where it was captive, intending to liberate it for my own home

Except that somewhere between my featherbed dreams and reality I started to second guess myself.

Feathers are not down, feathers are feather. This makes them poky. Not as in slow but as in they will cut you in your sleep if you are not careful. I know because I have a pillow like this. My very most favorite must-grab-in-case-of-fire pillow is older than your grandparents and mine - a regular WWII era pillow, and I do love it so. Still, I do know from a feather poke from time to time.

Worse, holding up the item at checkout a general consensus of three elderly helpers and I decreed that it was far closer to a double than a queen.

This, I decided, meant that the fates didn't want me to have it and I WALKED AWAY FROM A FIVE DOLLAR FEATHER COMFORTER.

Clearly, I am an idiot.

Of epic proportions.

Tonight, it eats at me. My comforter that wasn't. I sit here and scheme and dream of arriving at the rummage sale bright and early to find my comforter awaits.

On half-price day, no less.

Hey, a girl can dream ...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

When you disrespect an adult (anyone who is older than you), you have in return disrespected your parents. Kids today need to understand that the people older than them ARE WISER than them. Learn from them, don't disrespect them.

My addition:

That goes for people OUR age too. I can stand up for myself and be fairly confrontational (for lack of a better word) with almost anyone but the elderly are different. I don't like to see 40 year olds acting all impatient with their "elders" either. Yesterday I watched a woman my age get all huffy in the grocery store because an older gentleman wasn't checking out fast enough for her. Judging by his age I'd guess he was a was a WWII vet and judging by her age she'd done what? Survived disco and stirrup pants? Chill lady, you can wait a sec while he navigates the debit machine.

Paint it Black: Chalkboard Paint 101

The chalkboard paint project seems to be one that garners a fair amount of questioning as to the wit, wisdom, and wear-ability of the surface.

To whit:

Application: Easy. I ~~slapped~~, APPLIED two coats of black chalkboard paint over the previous white wall and achieved great coverage. Probably could have used a third coat but I'm lazy like that.

Once painted, the most painful part of the process was waiting 2-3 days to season the surface. This step just about killed Kassie via terminal impatience.

Seasoning is not a tasty addition of herbs to the chalk sauce. Oh no. Seasoning is rubbing every square inch of the paint with sticks of chalk and wiping it off prior to actually using it for creativity. This is when impatient little girls come in very, very handy.

Finally, use your chalkboard. In the month we have had it we have enjoyed art great and small and love notes from a variety of family members.

Love the look, love the ease of application, give it a five-star rating!

Peace out!

P.S. The paint shownis NOT the brand I used. The brand we used is widely available at a variety of home improvement and related retailers. The brand shown, however, is now available in a host of vibrant colors and would be wonderful for the less gothically minded among us.

Birthday Girl

On April 23, 1999 at 9:40 p.m. our lives were immeasurably blessed by the addition of one perfect baby girl.

Yesterday she turned eleven (trusty cat by her side!) and while she tells me she's quite the big girl now, a mama knows, she's still our baby yesterday, today, and every day.

We love you baby girl!

All the eye-rolling and fun I've been having poking fun at my fifty-cent acquisition of a framed portrait of Evel Knievel at a church rummage sale today (I wanted the frame) has turned out to be even funnier. Apparently I inadvertently and through no skill of my own purchased a framed and signed print by legendary branding artist, Mike Salisbury. Apparently one of the same sold for 185 in 2004. Sadly, it is now 2008 and the one person on earth who could truly appreciate a signed, framed print of Evel Knievel already has one.

Still, it's a nice frame.

Groovy Goods aka I fondue, do you?

70's-licious Awesomeness. (Thanks Michelle!) We are all hooked up for those poolside fondue parties now. (Note my VINTAGE Mint-in-bag "perfection" groovy daisies pillowcases.

It says they come unhemmed? What were they smokin'?

Technically 70's but I think it may just groove on in to the 80's Prom. I also have an A-mazing two piece men's velour track suit that would be quite fetching with a nice Richard Simmons headband and some aerobic shoes.The track suit isn't pictured because it didn't photograph well.

If I recall track suits had that same effect when worn.