Thanks Dad! A fantastic gift for me!

I got a surprise call from my dad at work the other day.  At first, I was a little worried as he rarely calls me, especially not in the middle of the day, at work, on my work number....

Thankfully, all was well and he actually wanted to know if I wanted this:

Oh sorry, not the gigantic mess in my garage... look PAST that.  The bf was suppossed to clean that just like he was suppossed to tear down the patio.... but I digress.

What I am talking about is that large tarped thing that kinda looks like a small tarped car.

It is actually a  10 x 8 garden shed.  I had mentioned we would be buying one next summer and when the box for this one arrived completely destroyed, Home Depot ( the company he delivers for), dad snatched it up for me!

The only catch is that it is obviously NOT in a box.  Plus, they cannot guarantee that all the parts are there.  But dad says that even if we have to purchase something for it, it will be a heck of a lot cheaper than anything we could buy.

I just took a look at the owners manual, and while it is not really the style we were looking for, we are definitely gonna see how it works for us next summer!

I mean, we fully intended to get started on assembling it, and then we finally got snow today.  :(

Hard to complain though since we usually get it around the middle of October.....

Unfortunately, it now means we definitely are NOT parking in the garage this winter!

What cheap or free items have you scored lately....

Garage Sale!

I've been super busy at work lately which is why I haven't been around.  I've mentioned before that I work for a homebuilder, and while we try to sell our showhomes fully furnished, sometimes the homeowner chooses to forgo the furniture.  Needless to say, we had a lot of stuff kicking around in our warehouse.

Since we needed the space, the boss decided to hold a litle garage sale to get rid everything.  I was appointed in charge, which I don't mind doing, so I have been up to my eyeballs in dust and random home goodies the last little while.

While the designer gave me a ton of brand new stuff to add to the sale, there is of course a lot of older stuff.  However, I was able to find a few diamonds in the rough.

The first thing we got was the cute little Ikea table for the porch that I showed you at Halloween:

I've really liked these silver floral art pieces for quite some time now so they were the next thing to come with me when our designer decided she was willing to part with them.  Cory's not the biggest fan but I don't care.  I have one hanging in the front entrance currently and while I am not entirely sure I love it, I think it's nice to get something new in there.

Next up were these candle holders that I've had my eye on for about a year.  I like their shabby chic-esque vibe.  Again, not entirely sure where they'll go, but I think they will definitely make their way to our deck next summer when we have people over.

This sweet vase was the perfect color, I just couldn't pass it up.  I think it would look best in a reall amazingly style bookcase.... if only I had one.  woop woop!

The largest piece we got was this Ikea bookcase.  I really love pieces with cubbies, but this one has a more "furniture" vibe than the usual expedit case which we also have.  I am thinking it will most likely go into our basement when we get that under way.

I have my eye on a few other pieces including a pair of silk toss cushions with feather inserts, some cute little blue pots, some great (in package) curtain panels and a gorgeous custom made mirror.

Depending on how things sell tomorrow, I might snag a few more things.  I will keep you posted on that AND for info on where things end up. 

The latest < ahref="http://restorationhardware.com">Restoration Hardware Gift Catalogue's (and Baby) arrived this week.  I was beyong excited at some of the stuff inside, and of course the sale prices.

Here's a few things I am pretty sure we'll be picking up:

These luxury plush throws are right up our allet.  We'll most likely be grabbing 'em in silver sage and ivory which will look even better when we get around to finding a new (grey) sofa.

I like this fur throw in lynx and also the arctic fox one as well.  But I'd have to see it in person as sometimes these faux fur ones loose too much fur or are itchy.

I really need me some flameless candles. I love the look of candlelight, but I go through a lot.  The one-time cost of these would definitely pay off.  Plus, these are indoor/outdoor which I am sooo excited about.  Now, I just need to find some great outdoor lanterns!

I want two of these.  One for Phoenix.  One for me.  Great for warmish fall days when you don't wanna wear a coat.

Phoenix definitely needs his own monogrammed bathrobe.  This is for sure on my wishlist for him.

Now, here are some items I am DREAMING about:

I'd love to be able to afford to spoil Phoenix with this gorgeous pedal plane for Christmas!

I dream of this fixture in my stairwell.... sigh!

and I would take one of these anywhere in the house.   You can bet that as soon as I have a bigger house, I am gonna try and get this somewhere!