While Justin didn't find a lot of fabric that would be very useful to us, he did return with a bolt of organza which we will be cutting into panels for all of the windows in our house. I like the prospect of doing two layers for the windows. (I never claimed to have cheap taste!) We are looking at doing a top layer of some sort of thick(er) fabric and a bottom layer of organza.
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| Slate Blue Curtains |
Something like this awesome set of turquoise curtains found at World Market except with our white organza covering the little bit of window you still see. Speaking of turquoise, we are actually going to be using turquoise in our living/dining area! Justin wasn't able to find any awesome fabric at Ocho on sale, but they have had some in the past. We may have to go back this weekend to get the fabric at a per yard price rather than the cheaper per pound price (or we may just purchase these awesome panels from World Market that, in my opinion, are reasonably priced!). Justin did find a pink fabric and a cream fabric with leaves that we might could use for the curtains in our spare bedroom. We aren't quite sure which yet, since we haven't bought a bedspread for the room. For the master bedroom, we may just stick with the organza, because I'm not in love with our royal blue Anthropologie bedspread. I can't see us keeping it forever, and I don't intend on spending a lot of money on curtains that won't match our bedspread or look good in the bedroom years down the road.
Even though Justin and I were babysitting most of the weekend, we did find some time to go check out a few home improvement stores for ideas and to make a few purchases. We ended up returning home with some Martha Stewart curtain rods to encourage Justin to complete the curtain-making process prior to the arrival of our May guests.
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| Martha Stewart Living Egg Telescoping Curtain Rod Set |
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| DesignView Maple Providence Bamboo Roman Shade |
We also got a roman shade for our kitchen window. Right now the kitchen has some white shutters that always get splattered with food. (I think that is one of the downsides to marrying a cook.) Anyway, I thought it would be awesome to have a shade we could pull down when we wanted privacy and lift up when cooking. Justin isn't sure if he can secure the shade the way the window was made, but we bought it anyway, so that he could try.
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| Hemnes Dresser |
A trip to Ikea showed us that we were both interested in getting a Hemnes dresser for our spare bedroom. The roof slants and considering we already have a wardrobe in there, neither of us thought a tall dresser would be ideal for the space. Considering our wardrobe is the Birkeland, we considered the Birkeland dresser for a moment (so that the handles would match), but inevitably Justin and I both liked the structure of the Hemnes better. We've decided that while this month would be a bad month for making another purchase, when we buy it next month to finish the spare bedroom, we will buy the Birkeland spare knobs and dresser handles to complete the dresser's look and make both the Birkeland and Hemnes go together more seamlessly.
Our final stop this weekend was at a thrift shop in town called Last Chance. They donate their proceeds to the care and protection of animals, so you don't feel too badly about the money you spend there (or the donations you give). While we were initially just browsing for anything cheap that interested us, we found a full set of China. I began the process of buying this particular set before getting married when I ran across it at an estate sale. It was missing a bunch of pieces, but it was such a good deal that, despite not having the cash on me, I convinced my parents to pay for it (with me paying them back after a visit to the bank). Then they decided to finish purchasing the set for Justin and I for our wedding by paying astronomical prices for pieces at antique stores when really the china wasn't worth that much to me (or in general). After finally convincing them to save their money and quit buying crazy expensive dishes that weren't worth it, two years later... I found a complete set of that same china for a crazy price that I wasn't willing to pay. The caveat was that the store was having a sale this weekend where anything that had come to the store prior to February 1st was half off. At half off, Justin and I were willing to pay for a complete set of china.
We're actually pretty excited about this china. We currently have approximately 20 place settings, so our intention is to use it as normal day-to-day china. (Is there such a thing?) Knowing that we have so many place settings, we aren't very worried about it breaking. Plus, it will be fun to serve friends and family on fancy matching plates! :)
With new silverware, China, and placemats, I will have to set up a display to show you how our diningware is looking! :) Dinner party in our near future, yes?
