Friday, July 1, 2011

NEW APARTMENT SWAG

Summer time usually means endless craft and project time at our apartment. It also means that I have the time to look for good deals and change everything at the apartment!


This is my newest addition to our home...I'm in love with it
My beautiful NEW table was less than $200.00, that's as much as a USED table like this would have cost, I love sales and coupons!

It's a counter height table! Joel and I decided to stick it out at our apartment until May (when we move to HOUSTON!). This decision meant that we needed to create more space in the apartment, which lead to us getting rid of my BEAUTIFUL dinning room table, newly upholstered chairs, and my gorgeous china hutch. I was so sad to see it go, but we kept it in the family, so I can still go visit! We decided on this table because it was smaller and would give us more room in our dinning area. We have used that room to create a "pantry" under the counter, which allowed me to free up some cabinet space. When we got our new table, I really wanted to get a rug, to help better define the space. I've been trying NOT to buy things like rugs, since we're moving in a few months, and I have no clue what our house will look like or what decor I will want to use. I was doing fine until I stumbled upon this 
I know that it's simple, but I love it. I got this 60x84 rug for thirty dollars, meaning that even if we only use it for the next nine months, I'm paying roughly $3.33 to use it per month, not too bad! BUT I did buy gray for a certain reason and have plans for it when we move,but that's another story.

As I've stated in previous posts, and as most of you know, we're young and "just starting out". We also like having money, and don't believe in debt. I take pride in how beautiful our apartment is and how thrifty I've been in filling it and decorating it. This new table is the second piece of new furniture that we've bought. Being as obsessed as I am, I wanted our table to stay nice and new. So I began the search for place mats, since it is a rather small table a tablecloth would have been too overpowering. I was really disappointed with what I found. I love for my home to look nice, but I simply cannot justify spending $8-10 on a single place mat. Joel and me had decided to try and find ones we liked for under $5 a pop. Even then, I was having a hard time finding something that I liked, visually & texturally, and that would flow with our apartment. After searching stores, and scouring the internet, I finally found what I had been looking for. Not only did it meet all of my requirements, but these place mats were on final clearance markdown....I payed 19 cents for each one!
The best 19 cents I've ever spent!

I decided to use my leftover place mat budget for more table swag. I was able to get  the following with the money I saved. 
Nice ivory satin napkin for my new place mats!

This gorgeous pin-tuck table runner!







I was also able to get something for the bedroom.

This will go on my long dresser, and replace the one that I have there currently. Placing a table runner on a long dresser, gives you a pop of color and a little more style.
Needless to say I was glad that I waited and didn't settle for place mats that I didn't love. And I am so happy with the swag that I was able to get with the leftover place mat budget!

Our kitchen also got some new swag, thanks to giveaways! These kitchen towels, are made by Branch Handmade. The images are screen printed on white cotton flour sacks, so they are HUGE.
With Joel's obsession with bikes, I just had to get these.

I LOVE these owl towels, and know that I will love them even more in the fall!

This set of birdcage towels looks wonderful in our little kitchen!

If you've been around my family you know that we have an inside joke about Giraffes, I couldn't pass these up!

I love giveaways! Giveaways are a great way to spruce up your decor for free. Granted you have to win, but entering them is easy, and well worth the reward.

I feel like by now I've probably driven your crazy with all of this swag, so I'm going to go work on some more things for the apartment!




 

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