My Dumb Brother's Four Elements of Tranquility

As a kid, my room was always a mess. I was a "collector" of all things: stickers, teddy bears, fun pens, friendship bracelets, Mickey Mouse memorabilia, badge-a-mint badges... you name it. I'm pretty sure my stuff multiplied while I was at school, and I never liked living in my space. I didn't know how to control it.

My older brother, on the other hand, had about four prized possessions.

What's in My Minimalish Closet

WARNING - this post over-utilizes parenthesis. 

Grammar junkies should proceed with caution!

I read a lot of minimalist blogs, books, and other various articles. It seems listing ones clothing is a popular trend, so I'm hoping onboard.

You can tell a lot about a person's life by the clothing in their closet - church clothes? executive suits? lots of exercise wear? lumberjack flannels? etc, etc... Last year, I took two intercontinental trips - one to South America and one to West Africa. I learned that everything I really need to survive will fit in my backpack. Aside from overseas trips though, I do normally keep a few more items in my closet. I've gone through phases of cleaning it out and then adding a few items back in, but in general, this is what I keep:

Five Reasons to Go Minimalish

A few weeks ago, Naomi Kendall who blogs over at The Minimal List, asked a question on Twitter.. something about where did you start with minimalism? I responded to her question and said that I started with small spaces..  a spice cabinet, a closet, the space under my sink, and my desk (not all at the same time). It's just enough motivation to keep me going.

This sparked a conversation (as much as you can in 140 characters or less at a time) about the goal of Minimalism. Do I just want less stuff or is there a different plan?

I came up with a few quick reasons to go Minimialish:

1. I have said this before, I have pack-rat tendencies. What can I say? I'm a sentimental fool (which is why I still have two sets of Grandma's dishes secretly stashed in my attic). Minimalism helps me keep a handle on things. It makes me think about everything that comes into my house - I'm constantly asking myself if I really need this much stuff!

One Minimalish Room

In my heart, I really want to be a Minimalist, but I watch too much HGTV, so I'm content to be Minimalish when it comes to my home. After almost a year, we have one room that I could call done, although there are two changes I still want to make.

When we first moved in, it truly was a minimalist space. No window treatments, no headboard, and my nightstand was actually two stacked file boxes (with way too much stuff in them!) That ginkgo light fixture is probably my favorite thing in our house. 

Here is today. Almost DONE! 

DIY Nightstands From An Art Deco Vanity

Disclaimer #1: This is not a unique idea. It is inspired by Mandy at Sugar Bee Crafts, only she used a desk and it required a lot more steps!

Disclaimer #2: As much as I like to think I'm crafty, I'm more of an idea girl. Luckily, my husband is pretty handy when it comes to implementing my brilliant ideas! 

So anyway, I've been looking for the perfect nightstands for our Minimalish Bedroom. I love Mid Century Modern furniture, but it's not so practical in the year 2012 and the age of the California King mattress. If I was a trendy interior designer, I'd insert some guide to scale when it comes to furniture.. but a designer, I am not. I'm just a girl engineer. I just know what I like and what I think looks good. I know that 23" tall night stands would be dwarfed by our big 'ol comfy bed.

Last Wednesday, I picked up this little gem at Precious Cargo in Fayetteville, AR for about $140.

A little sweat from moving the carseats to the front and putting the back seat down, and it fit in my car! My little VW Golf is like a Transformer! It's an around-town-grocery-getter, long trip gas saver (44 mpg!!) and a TRUCK.

Five Things I Won't Give Up for Minimalism

Inspired by Julie Rains on Wise Bread and Fabulously Broke in the City's "Ten Things I Won't Give Up to Save Money"... here are five things I won't give up to go Minimalist:

1. My Skinny Jeans. I have one pair of jeans that are the perfect color, the perfect length, the perfect cut... just not the perfect size (anymore). Although I have outgrown them, I cling to the hope that one day, my thighs will shrivel up. Probably not this week though since I just chased my spinach salad with a handful of nacho chips and a chocolate chip cookie.

Hope for tomorrow

2. Books. I'm committed to slimming down my library, but something about books - the smell, the texture, the promise of wisdom, I don't know, just something - makes a house feel more like a home. My Inspired Reading page catalogs the ones I've deemed most worthy of sticking around for this season of life.

The Promise of Wisdom

3. Kids' stuff. My journey is just that. It's my journey. As a family, we try to keep a handle on the sheer volume, but kids need to play. I won't deprive Tiny & the Tot of toys, games, board books, and art supplies until it all becomes overwhelming to them. Meanwhile, I'll be in the corner sobbing if I have to sort the balls from the dolls one more time today. When did I become OCD about anything, let alone toys!?!?

Organized for now, Minimalized later.

4. Heirlooms. I've gone from hoarding every item that ever belonged to my grandmother to treasuring a few that remind me the most of who she was. I have her barely-bound Bible, her tiny gold ring, and two sets of her best dishes. My girls will likely trash the Bible and bury me with the ring, but the dishes will serve their children and grandchildren for years to come.

Every Bible should be so well loved

5. Junky old furniture. When we reduced our clothing inventory, our dressers and armoire moved to the donate/sell/give away section of the garage. The rest of our furniture got repurposed. Instead of a trampoline, we have an old futon. The inherited swivel rocker serves as a playroom climber and a ratty Craigslist rug makes for a softer landing on the basement floor.

The futon trampoline / snack trap

I debated on adding a #6. My sewing machine, fabric, and card-making supplies currently occupy the closet of shame under the stairs. That's my "decide later" pile. Will they make the next "Five Things I Won't Give Up for Minimalism" list or will they be on a future "25 Things I Traded for Open Spaces" post? I don't know yet. My artsy Tot appreciates scissors and glue sticks, but I'm praying she will prefer a open, spacious reading nook filled with the promise of wisdom.

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Five Essentials For a Minimalist Mama

From Cluttered to Inspiring in 30 Minutes

I frequent this spot in our new house... well, I did.... Then it turned into a junk mail collection station. 

A quick 30 minutes took it from 

CLUTTERED:

TO INSPIRED:

Next task: file my "to be filed" pile.

That basket you see under the desk is my sorry attempt to hide all the techie ugliness. I need something with a cover and a hole, but our modem and router need some regular attention (reset constantly), so I need easy access to power cords. I really despise that beast of a printer, but occasional use means it gets a prominent place on my desk until the wireless printer fairy blesses me with one that can be stowed in the back of the coat closet.

The cup is a stein from my dad's collection. The lamp is a remnant of my husband's bachelorhood... the birds hold my current reads and the chair doubles as a living room accent chair. For the true minimalist, I share the details of the pencil holder: one black pen, one blue pen, one pencil, one Bible highlighter and one black sharpie (for writing names on sippy cups).

As a procrastinator, I'm now officially out of excuses not to catch up on my writing assignments... the to-be-filed pile can wait.

Do you have a picture of your favorite place? If you are a writer, what places inspire you to write?

What is Minimalish

My Minimalish Living Room

I read a post recently about a successful thirty year old that quit a six figure career to join the minimalist movement. He writes a compelling story of a guy that left a high stress career to pursue his dream of being a writer. At first I was impressed, then I realized I pretty much did the same thing. Granted, I didn't make a six figure salary, but hey, I live in Arkansas, not California. My five-figure salary was probably somewhat equivalent. I didn't pursue a dream job; I went for my dream lifestyle. I became a real-life Stay At Home Mom. 

With the exception of our mortgage, we paid off all our debt right before I made my grand exit from the rat race. After carefully punching the calculator to figure out if we could support a family on one salary, we knew we would have to consciencly watch our wallet to make it work. That's where minimalism started for me.... it grew from there.

I'm a pack-rat by nature, but I despise the look clutter creates in a space. The visual and emotional weight of "stuff" wasn't inspiring to me during the baby blues stage of new mommy-hood, so the ongoing quest a more minimalist decor ensued. Being at home all day everyday meant I needed to create a home I enjoyed. Two years later, we added another baby to the mix and decided to move to a more kid-friendly community. I read every online article about staging a house for quick sale and the result was a minimally decorated home where I longed to spend time. This was just the encouragement I needed to continue down the road to minimalism. 

Living as a family of four (two of which have almost enough toys to charter a slow boat from China) in a 900 square foot duplex with small closets showed us it doesn't take much to survive ~ not even in the American culture of extreme consumerism. I learned the value of open space every time I tripped over the dining room table en route to the kitchen sink. 

Since then, we've moved into our "long term" house. While I still love the look of open space, I also love the warmth (and convenience) of purposely placed throw pillows and a coordinating blanket "styled" over the arm of the sofa. During the last 18 or so months, purposely living with less has forced me to consider purchases more carefully. Now we have space to buy & store the mega pack of paper towels from our "Club store" but I choose not to. I've found that having a surplus means I use more. I'm sure it's some scientific marketing tactic. 

Our family isn't completely ready for the extreme Minimalist "movement" just yet. We still splurge occasionally, but we have a better grasp on our spending habits. We don't drive new cars, we don't swap out the decor of home for every holiday, and we don't have special shoes for every outfit and we don’t have every nook and cranny of our home stuffed with stuff. 

No, I'm not a minimalist, but I am Minimalish. ~ Plain & Simple As That


Check out My Page: Minimalish for more posts on this topic

How Things Can Make a House a Home

We have enjoyed being in our house-of-few-possessions for almost 2 weeks. Today, we commenced war on the storage unit. We brought home all the things a minimalist would give away, but we refuse to let go: my grandma's dishes, his grandma's quilts, my mom's Hummel collection.

The quilts occupy three big plastic totes in the attic. The dishes are in line to be washed and neatly placed on the built-in shelves. The Hummels have been packed and returned to their pedestals in the previously-vacant curio cabinet.

Simple is good; and a minimalist lifestyle makes for a very clean, contemporary house. But some things trigger memories - good memories - and those things have a rightful place in a home. And this house is just that... a home. Our home. Finally. ~ Plain & Simple As That

Moving Day - Take 1 (Plan B)

As I stand here, writing this post.. yes stand.. all the chairs have been moved already.. I get more and more excited for my new home. I've been disappointed in a few things that weren't exactly as I expected, but I am reminded that we are moving to a home that is made up of 1000s of manmade pieces that have to fit together. It's not going to be perfect and I need to have a realistic expectation. That being said, our builder takes all my diva requests into consideration and his doing everything he can to make it perfect. Through this process of building, he has become a friend for sure.

So, yesterday was Moving Day #1. Due to weather delays (who could predict two FEET of snow in Arkansas), we had to wait past our closing date to start moving, so we didn't have the leisurely 10 days we had hoped for. This is forcing a slight change of strategy, but we are still culling as we pack and move. Instead of just cramming packed boxes into the house, we are moving everything to the garage and organizing into two piles: keep and sell. This strategy is giving us three passes to evaluate each item we decide to keep:

• Packing: Before something goes in a box, it has to pass a certain criteria "do we need it? does it fit? will we ever use it? do I even want this anymore?"
• Unloading: After being in a box for a while, my heart sometimes changes. Or, in the case of our  big leather couch, it didn't fit in the basement play room, so it has been relegated to the "sell" pile along with the matching chair and ottoman. I'm a bit sad about that, but will get over it now that I can justify some new furniture.
• Unpacking and Reloading: As we move from the garage to the house, we will have yet another opportunity to sift through the remnant and decide if we want to keep it. 

I have to admit my sickness here: I love movingI love how clean everything feels in a blank space.  There's no better time to organize every nook and cranny of a home. Random piles of paper got sorted this week. The outgrown clothes in the kids' closets transfered to the donate/sell pile. Dark corners of the deep freezer and even the bottom of the garage are rediscovered. Okay, okay, so maybe a little bit of my love for moving is because I get to supervise and tell men where to put things. Anyway you dice it, I still think it's fun.. or maybe it's just a sickness.

Adios Duplex Alley! ~ Plain & Simple as That

Tell me your moving tips, I'd love to hear them.. or share some garage sale tips. Looks like I have one coming up soon!

Unscheduled Vacation

I didn't mean to take a week of vacation. Sometimes life happens.

Thursday was my birthday ~ all day I was thinking I should do a post entitled, "Gifts for Minimalist: What to get someone that doesn't want anything."
Friday, we closed on our house. I'm hoping to have some good packing tips from that one.
Saturday, I spent the day with some amazing teenagers. You can see a cool picture here.
Sunday was jam packed too.. and then the week started on me again.

We are trying to move into our house by Thursday this week, and I'm hoping things settle down soon so I can get back to one of my true joys ~ writing.

My next few posts will be more about things I keep than things I discard because although I love the idea of living with less, there are some things that I can't let go. ~ Plain & Simple As That

A Tale of a Spice Cabinet Decluttered

T-2 weeks until we move. 

Again. 

Two moves in one year lends itself to some awesome stuff-cleansing. We have three weeks be out of our duplex, so I'm packing more intentionally than every before. Today's focus. The elusive...

Spice Cabinet. 

Okay, mine wasn't really that bad.
 (Image courtesy of Collin Anderson on flickr)

I must have discarded all my duplicates during the last move; I noticed I'm down to one small jar of cinnamon. I distinctly remembering having up to four at one point. The extra seasoning salts are gone too. 

*insert a little self pat on back here*

Not so fast. There is more work to do.

Today, I took a look at the Spice Cabinet with different eyes ~ eyes that could read expiration dates.  Anything that expired prior to the fall of the Economy in America.... Gone.   

Starting with... the "gourmet" Dill Weed in the glass jar. I'm sure I paid at least $6 for it.  The plastic safety seal was still intact, but it expired shortly after Pope John Paul II. Rather than feel the guilt of a dumb purchase every time I open the spice cabinet, I sprinkled it in with Tiny's nasty diapers and left it to stew until friday when the trash man comes.  

8 Tips To Simplify Your Morning Routine - Ladies' Edition

Normally, Sunday mornings are a buzz at our house. Getting Tiny, the Tot and myself all out of bed, dressed, and fed in time to get to church before the music starts is nothing short of a miracle from God. I have finally accepted the truth. I need a morning routine. A simple one. So, I've been collecting notes from my husband (an official morning person) and my Facebook page:

1. Consider a coordinating wardrobe. I have a friend that mostly mixes black, white, and gray with her colorful accessories. I look sick in white and baby snot shows up too easily on black. My pallet is more brown/tan/beige/cream, with navy and red mixed in. Check out The Project 333 to see one approach to a streamlined wardrobe. Note to self: Must remember to stop even looking at black shoes.

2. Choose dual purpose make-up. I love my MaryKay tinted moisturizer. It saves me a step, it's the perfect amount of color, and my face hasn't been this clear since I was 10. I'm also a big fan of Burt's Bees tinted lip balm in Watermelon. It's the perfect color for this pasty white girl with the added benefit of keeping away the winter chaps!  

Contents of my makeup bag: 

Tweezers, Mary Kay tinted moisturizer, Mary Kay Mineral powder/brush, 

2 Mary Kay eye-liners (I have one too many), brow brush, shadow brush, 

3 pony tail holders, 3 hair pins, Clinique blush, 

Neutrogena eye shadow (it's old. I know. Don't judge), Burt's Bees tinted lip balm, 

Cover Girl Water Resistant Black Mascara.

That's it. (.. and I know I need to wash my brushes.  Don't look so close, and quit judging.)

3. Grow your hair out. Short hair is super cute ~ especially for those of you with the perfectly sculpted face. God must have been in a hurry and just skipped all the extra little pinches ~ the cute nose, the high cheek bones, the long neck, etc. He just wadded up some clay in a ball, stuck it on top and called it good enough. 

It's okay. 

I'm not bitter. 

alas... I digress... back to my point. 

Long hair. It's much easier to go with a ponytail or a scarf when you're in a hurry than to have hair you absolutely must style. 

4. Pick easy-to-wear jewelry that can be casual or dressy. Pasty white girls look even more ghostly in silver, so I wear either small gold hoops or diamond studs. Both work perfectly fine with jeans & a t-shirt, or my fancy smancy "Christmas Casual" outfit. I love Nashelle's custom jewelry for moms, and this mini pendant ~ super simple yet elegant.  Bonus: this is the kind of necklace you never have to take off or match to an outfit.   

Square Plate plus yogurt & a banana = Square meal.

5.  Eat the same breakfast everyday. Shhhhh, don't tell the FDA. I'm sure it isn't the most healthy thing to do, but you can make up your fruits, veggies, etc at your other meals. Besides, unless you live somewhere along the Mediterranean, you probably don't live by the perfect diet anyway.  At our house, Tiny & the Tot get oatmeal or yogurt and a piece of fruit.  I eat cereal.  Everyday.  Occasionally, I buy a different kind for variety.  If you're a protein girl, keep some hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for an on-the-go breakfast.  

6.  Invest in an insulated mug. Those stops to visit your morning barista really add up both in $$ and time.  Make your morning tea (or coffee if you are a sinner like that) at home.  If you are a coffee drinker, follow my aunt's tip and set the coffee maker ahead of time.  Although, my friend, the microbiologist, encourages you to clean your coffee maker, or else...  WARNING:  Don't click that link if you are easily grossed out!  

... you clicked it, didn't you?  

I warned you. 

Sinner. 

Now maybe you'll drink tea.  

Again, I digress... 

7. Last tip. Create a night-time routine: 

• pre-make your lunch (and the kids' lunches if you are dropping them off), 
• make sure your purse, diaper bag, and/or laptop bag are decluttered and repacked. 
• set out clothes for yourself and the kids so there's no early morning decision-making pressure
• Put your cell phone on the charger in a dedicated spot near your keys and purse/wallet.

8. Okay, one more. Make a check list for everything you need to have in hand before leave the house so you don't second guess yourself or have to come back for a forgotten item.  

Follow these ideas to shave a few minutes off your morning routine, take away the stress of making a lot of decisions while you're still groggy, and keep the kids from experiencing the trauma of the unknown.  ~ It's really Plain & Simple As That.

What makes morning easier at your house?

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Jump Start Your Journey

How I Made Money from My Unwanted Stuff

Ah... I did it!  I offloaded a bunch of baby stuff, and a few other unloved items that had been piling up.  I used to have an annual garage sale, but after figuring out it was more valuable to donate my clutter, I became an annual donator instead.  To understand how your donation turns into cash for you, read this post.  Remember, anytime you donate goods worth more than $500, you have to document it.  I'm hoping my list and photos are good enough.   I'll talk to the tax guy on Tuesday and let you know how it goes.

After cross referencing my list with the Salvation Army Valuation Guide (When using the guide, be sure to select the right geographic region), I'm estimating I should be able to deduct at least $900.  Our tax bracket dictates how much of that comes back to us in the form of a tax return.  I probably won't actually claim that much, but I have the documentation for it and pictures for it just incase.  Here's an itemized list of everything I donated today:

Clutter that Breeds

I have always been a master of keeping small spaces tidy, especially small, hidden spaces.  My junior high locker was purged at least weekly and kept incredibly neat.  It seems like I'm constantly checking Tiny's diaper bag and keeping it organized.  My super-cute-little-pencil-case-that-easily-jumps-from-diaper-bag-to-mama-purse is always clutter free.  Even my closet is relatively neat.  It's the vast expanses that throw me for a loop.

On the vast expanse of dining room table:  Junk mail, bills, and what-do-I-do-with-this-one papers seem to intermingle.  Then they breed like the gadzillion stray cats under Grandpa's porch until I don't know which ones to destroy and which to file.  Hence my "need to file" file pile.

My car (since having children): The car used to be a small space that was cleaned out frequently, but now I always have my hands full of baby when I come in the door.   I don't bring in the bits of straw wrappers, the tiny little socks (why won't she just keep them on???), the fuel receipts and random toys.  Tonight, I noticed Tiny's Gloworm on the floor board.  I'm pretty sure he's got Farmer Jed to keep him company and they have plenty of stale Cheerios and a flat Diet Coke to snack on if they decide to throw a party.

More Christmas Design without Decorator's Remorse

If you are like me, you greet December 26th with a to-do list every year.  Topping the list: take down, pack and store all the Christmas Decor.  It makes me regret dragging everything out of the attic in the first place!  This year, I'm determined to create a festive space that won't taunt me after all the excitement is done ~ and I want to do so without spending a fortune. Here are a few more inexpensive-disposable/consumable-yet-eco-friendly ways to decorate: 

The Hunt for Dingy-Duplex Christmas Decor 2010

Nothing gets me into the spirit of Christmas like giving, but decorating sure helps!  We have some decorations we love ~ like our collection of Lenox Snowflakes; however, when we sold our house and moved to a temporary home, we sent our rarely used items packing and chose to only live with the "essentials."  Christmas trees, lights, and ornaments missed the cut.  It's not worth disrupting the delicately balanced storage unit to unearth them, but we still want to honor the season by creating a festive space.  Thus, the Hunt for Dingy-Duplex Christmas Decor.  

The Plain & Simple Criteria:

1. Budget-friendly (and by that, I mean mostly free)
2. Disposable and/or Consumable yet Eco-friendly (My least favourite thing about decorations is packing them up and storing them after Christmas.  They usually hang around taunting me until mid January.  How awesome would it be if decorations disappeared after December 25?)
3. Non-chokeable

Here are a few of the ideas I've come up with so far (And yes, they are just ideas.  That's my role in this family ~ I'm "Planning" and my husband is "Execution"):

It's Not the Principle of the Matter, It's the Interest That Counts

If there's one thing I remember from college, it's the power of compounded interest.  One class in particular was all about different software that Industrial Engineers would be expected to know.  Our professor took advantage of the speadsheet lessons to teach some valuable life-lessons, such as: the advantage of making one extra mortgage payment a year, starting to save for retirement one year early, or even putting 1% more in a 401K savings plan every year.  When it comes to compounding, over the long term, even unnoticeable amounts of pocket-change count.

Industrially Engineered Lifespace Design

Somewhere on the career scale, between Burger Flipper and Rocket Scientist, you'll find the Industrial Engineers.  We function on logic, which means we struggle to understand why the rest of you do the things you do the way you do them.  As engineers, we're supposed to be creative, although, I'm convinced engineering school sucked most of the creativity out of me. I dredged my way though the seven deadly engineering sciences.  Electricity used to be magical, but now, I understand how it works... okay, not really.  It was purely my professor's pity and the help of a few friends that got me through Circuits, but the point is, it's no longer magic.  I know there's a logical reason why it works. 


Not surprising, the courses that actually intrigued me were the subjects directly related to Industrial Engineering: process flow, manufacturing processes, production planning, materials management, and workplace design... and those are the places I still get to be creative.  You usually think of an industrial engineer as a manager.. what? you don't?  well you should, just ask any of my industrial engineer friends!  The skills are transferable to most any field, and I've been blessed to use my IE skills managing my home *and* designing a house for our family.  For an IE, "Home" isn't just "where the heart is."  No, Home is the workplace of the family, and it deserves a simple, creative, industrial, yet inspired design.  For this IE-turned-SAHM, Home is a lifespace.. a myriad of places: 

• It's our favorite restaurant where we prepare meals (working from the stove & refrigerator on the left to the dining room table on the right).  ....and then do dishes (working from the dining room table back to the sink/dishwasher and then the cabinet).  
• Each night, Home becomes a spa where we bathe babies in a tub without shower doors to maneuver around or a potty to climb over.  
• One day, we will again set up our Home as The Potty Training Boot Camp.  The vinyl floored playroom adjacent to the laundry room and a bathroom will be perfect when Tiny is ready.  
• EIGHT closets, uber-easy-to-access attic space, and a crawlspace make our home our storage unit.  Hopefully, all the "overflow" stuff we don't want to admit we hoard will be easily hidden away, if not, it'll be given away!
• For us, Home is a happening-hangout for hosting holiday events and spontaneous get-togethers with family and friends ~ in the great room or the oversize porch away from the plastic toys, cartoons, and mystery stickiness of the basement.
• Home is a place to rest & a place to play ... with Tiny & the Tot, play equals NOISE, so while one is in the basement-level playroom, the other can sleep in her relatively quiet bedroom on the second floor. 
• For any mom, Home is a place to do laundry.  Constantly.  I'll have a room to sort it and leave it sorted until it's done (Someone please tell me it eventually gets done.)
• My kitchen has an integrated desk, just big enough for a MacBook, a printer, and an 8" file drawer (Yes, an 8" file drawer... and lots of shelves for MY file system, aka, File-by-Pile!) because Home is also the office.
• All the bedrooms are on the sunset side of the house because on Saturday mornings, Home is a five star luxury hotel ~ perfect for sleeping in.
• Most importantly, Home is our sanctuary with plenty of little places to get away from the rest of the family.  I love them dearly, but, well, you know.  

Okay, so it might not be perfectly engineered, but we are pretty excited about the "lifespace" designed dwelling for our family.  Perfect for working on rest, relaxation, and reconnection.  This house is full of function with just enough form to reflect our family's personality.  And, I can't wait to move in ~ Plain & Simple As That.

Treasure Hunt Find

When it comes to style, I'm a true plain Jane.  I like my old jeans, my husband's old t-shirts, and a pair of flip flops... when it comes to my house, I'm mostly into simplistic, but can't help but feel comforted by a bit of vintage whimsy.  


While my fancy friends swarm the mall for the latest fall trends in home fashion, I like to go treasure hunting on Craigslist or garage sales and flea markets.  Spray-paintable frames for the girls' artwork, unusual tchotchkes, and lately ~ vintage furniture that can be reupholstered and/or refinished usually top my wishlist.  Today, I discovered "Out of the Box" err.. something like that, in Rogers, AR.  It's a new flea market in an converted nursing home.  I found a real diamond in the rough.  For six bucks, I got this:

Urban Outfitters sells this one for $148.00


Now that's a deal! ~ It's Plain & Simple as That