Fun Bags: Fave Finds and Go-To Spots!

Y'all know me.  I've professed my love of granny things.  I love lace and wicker and vintage and ruffles and eyelets and floral prints.  I love all things old lady.  I've recently indulged in my obsession with funky bags and many of them have an old lady appeal.  I guess you could say I cleaned out my closet before the move.  I parted with a lot of my bags because I wasn't carrying them.  In the new area, I've found several thrift and antique shops; I've even explored neighboring towns.

While in an antique shop, I spotted a cigar purse.  It was cute but it was pricey.  I left it and proceeded on my thrift shopping journey.  Then, on the same day but in a different spot, I found one with a price I couldn't pass up!

$3.98?!  Goodwill for the win!  I was smitten.  It was pretty.  It was unique.

Wait.  Is that a cat??  With a hat... and a tie?  With rhinestones? Yep, it was also old lady.

BUT that bamboo handle with that fabulous coloring on the box... the original price tag from the artist.. I had to have it.  Before I purchased, I convinced myself and my shopping buddy that I would wear it.

Islanders, I wore it and I wore it well.

Christmas Tree Decor On A Budget

I love Dollar Tree.  Islanders, you know how I love Dollar Tree.  Oh, and speaking of trees (because... well, get it?)...

I shared details of our fabulous Christmas tree yesterday.  I mentioned that it came with clear LED bulbs on it and, while they are beautiful, it had an electrical issue:

Considering the value, it was an easy fix and actually, the person who donated it already had white lights strung on the middle portion so, SCORE!  I know I've already said it but -- like, for real y'all -- we had nothing for the tree besides our 14 family ornaments.  Well, almost nothing.  While shopping at Goodwill, I stumbled upon a section for Christmas villages.  There were several tiny homes on display and my inner granny got the best of me.  I bought five of the tiny buildings and I decided this was the year to finally have a beautiful village under my tree.  I shared how I've always wanted a village on my Instagram story (@tmkeese). OMG!  Are you following me?  Seriously, it's behind-the-scenes access to all things Fabulous Island.  Check daily for some really cool things like deals, tips, crafts, and sneak peeks.  It's different from the blog because it's an in-depth look at thrift findings with price comparisons and more.  I digress.  Anyhoo, with the naked tree standing and plugged in, I pulled out the village and placed it under the tree.

That was all I had and the budget (have you moved?  It's so expensive!) was next to nothing.  I didn't have hundreds of dollars to spend on an over-the-top tree.  I don't think I would even if I had it to spare.  I just wanted something beautiful.

I headed to Michael's.  I found gold tree picks and a few ornaments.  The tree picks were priced at $5.99 with an additional 40% off, making them only $3.60/each.  Large rolls of the wired ribbon for trees and wreaths were on sale and would cost about $7 after the discount.  I was excited to leave with 4 picks and 4 rolls of ribbon... that is, until I saw the checkout line.  It was frikkin' ridiculously long!  I left with nothing.  I walked across the parking lot to Dollar Tree.  It was a GREAT day!

I found ornaments of all sizes but I really loved the extra large ones.  There were a variety of finishes in gold, red and silver.  I decided I was going for a metallic (primarily gold) tree.

The reindeer photographed above was tabletop decor but I bought two for our tree.

 

The Merry Christmas sign was large enough to make a statement and looks great in the front center of our tree.  The best deal of that day was the tree picks.  Ones very similar to the ones I almost purchased from Michael's were sold at Dollar Tree for 2/$1!  I got two kinds, the glitter fruit pick and the gold bird tree pick

Also, while on a trip to my local Goodwill Outlet, I found several goodies and, because they're sold by the pound, I got a large bag of stuff for $1.30.

Included in that price was the roll of pearls and trim.  I believe it is made for clothing but I saw it and thought it would work perfectly on our tree!

You can see both in the following photo.  They just add a touch of whimsy and class.

They also compliment these ornaments on the tree perfectly (from that same Goodwill Outlet bag):

With the ornaments on the tree, the last piece was the star.  I know for a fact the Pier1 Imports star that I had was packed and supposed to arrive to the new place.  I know I wouldn't give it away because I paid a pretty penny for it.  It was beautiful.  It was, however, gone... nowhere to be found.  I headed to TJMaxx, I'd hoped to find the perfect star but to no avail.

I found a star in my box from the rustic mom tree of 2013. 

I spray painted it gold and added glitter.

Every year, the man has one job.  I buy the decor.  I determine the look.  I allow the kid to place the family ornaments on the tree.  He has one job: to put the star on top.

Every year.  1 job.

Every year.  Crooked star.

Every year, we have a main tree and Munch has a tree in her room.  It is always a lot of fun pulling her tree together and this year, her tree is pretty amazing.  See you tomorrow with the deets and a tutorial.

Lowe's: A Seasonal Sale of a Lifetime.

A few weeks ago, I shared a Wordless Wednesday post.  It was a post with a story you'd probably never guess to be true but I'm here to share that it is, in fact, totally true!  It really happened.

One Sunday afternoon, I received a phone call from Mrs. Lucy.  She called to tell me there was a major light fixture sale happening!  She mentioned a fabulous chandelier that was priced at - wait for it - $25!

I was excited.  I made plans to go.  I had plans that needed new lights... clients who need some amazing light fixtures to change their spaces without drastically impacting their budget.  I decided we'd go the next day.  So, the next day, during my lunch break, I headed to Lowe's.

I decided on two fixtures.  They would cost a total of *like* fifty bucks.  Fifty bucks?!

Of course, with our LOL moments and inside jokes, we made a friendwho was also checking out the clearance fixtures.  As we passed by, she mentioned to me that the manager was selling all clearance lights at 90% off the lowest price.  Islanders, that means our $25 lights were $2.50!  Wait, what?!

You see the caption on the image; the image is foreshadowing some of my recent projects and the natural progression of services I offer.  We will talk more about it.  Just keep that in mind when you see our carts in the next photos:

Don't judge... well, I know you wouldn't.  I am, however, pretty sure the people who saw me on the road definitely judged me and my car.

Would you believe we grabbed almost all of the fixtures from the area?  Our total was $126.

Our savings was $11,070! 

Crazy, right?!  I know.  Sale of a lifetime.  I know.  More to come!

WW: MAJOR Sales Like This Never Happen!

Wordless Wednesday

A Fifth Grade Photo Shoot

Islanders!  Yesterday was a sneak peek into the things the 10th birthday and fifth grade have recently brought into our lives.

Yep, that was my kid.  4 years old.  Heading into Kindergarten.  Natural mohawk and a smile.  I remember when Munchface first asked to have her hair straightened.  It was before she walked out of the bathroom at Ms. Sandra's for her fourth birthday party.  We put her hair into ponytails and she felt it was SO long that it was time to make it straight.

  

You see those pony tails.  They were barely hanging there but... they were there.  On that day (more than six years ago now), before we left the bathroom for Munch to greet her party guests, I told Munch she could get her pony tails straightened when she turned ten years old.  At that moment, Munch started the countdown until she'd have 'big girl' straight hair.  Islanders, this past Sunday (September 4th), it happened.

Yep.  She got her hair straightened for the first time.  I know.  I can't believe it either.  She tried to play it cool but every now and then, this happened: