Moving on to: Kitchen

Here's a purchase that makes me happy. I found this little stool at Target last Friday for $12.48, which I didn't think was too bad.  It was originally $49.99 (75% off).  In fact, all the items from the "2009 Design Event" were 75% off, but I didn't really see anything else I needed.  We've never had a stool at this little desk area in the kitchen and I've pretty much gotten used to it that way, but I think it does make more sense to have the seat there.  Anyway, I like that the stool is very light and flows well with the other colors already in the kitchen.

Foot board as head board...hmmm

In keeping with the home-improvement theme this week, here's a great idea for a cheapie headboard. I love this idea because it's so easy, super cheap, and makes a big difference in a room! At Nebraska Furniture Mart (and I would assume other furniture places), there's a discount area in the back room where they put all the mismatched, damaged, or discontinued furniture items.  For some reason they seem to always have a lot of foot boards without any matching headboards. Obviously there aren't too many people interested in just the foot boards. I picked up a nice looking one for only $5.00 and Ryan mounted it to the wall so that it looks like a head board. It did involve making some sort of bracket thing which I can't describe very well because I don't know how it works, but you get the idea.  I actually bought two foot boards and used one as head board and one as a foot board, but I decided I liked having only the head board better. What do you think?  It doesn't get much cheaper than this:)

I never knew I wanted

Last night Ryan and I went to Lowe's to return a few little things he had purchased for a project and didn't use. We wandered through the store a little and I remembered some door handles I had seen in a Tuesday Morning ad.  The ad had modern silver door handles for $9.99 which I thought was a great price-- and apparently I wasn't the only one.  I went there the day the sale started, two hours after they opened, and they had already sold out of all the silver handles.  So, I wanted to see how much door handles sell for regularly at Lowe's. And yes, that was a good deal. Apparently door handles are pretty expensive.  $30 was about the standard for hall and closet handles and handles with locks were even pricier-- many were over $100.  With the exception of the ones I found! I spotted a handful of Kwikset hall & closet satin nickel door handles ("Avalon" lever style) on clearance for $7.47 each.  Each set includes all the components you need. We snatched up six sets to updated our doors and Ryan got them all put in that night.  I think it's a subtle change that helps to make our older house seem more modern...and spending only $47.96 makes it even nicer:)

Kwikset Door handles:  Avalon Satin Nickel style

Retail price for 6:  $192.54;  my price for 6:  $47.96

Bonus: free samples

Click the links to enjoy some free samples!

• Free 10-day sample of Origins Night Health Bedtime Face Cream (while supplies last)
• Free sample of Starbucks coffee mailed to your home
• Free sample of CoverGirl Outlast Lip Stain when you text OUTLAST to 467467
• Free sample of Viva paper towels from Walmart
  

Attention: Free Stuff

Here's a deal everyone will enjoy:  the February Walgreens EasySaver items! If you have never experienced the EasySaver, now is the time to start. Go to any Walgreens and pick up the EasySaver booklet they have near the door. Then you just pick up all the items they have marked "Free after Rebate". There is a new booklet for each month. You do have to pay for the items yourself upfront, but after you submit your rebate, Walgreens will send you a check in the mail. Or, if you opt to have them send you a Walgreens gift card, you'll get the money back that you spent plus 10%. You can submit the rebate online now, too, which is very easy....Easy...Saver!

FREE products available at Walgreens in February:

-ThermaCare HeatWraps (for the neck)

-Fructis shampoo/conditioner or styling product (your choice)

-Zucol Coldcare cough drops (to shorten duration/severity of a cold)

-Walgreens Multi-purpose No Rub contact solution

-Revlon Age-Defying Foundation or concealer (both have a brush built-in the packaging)

-Revlon Creme Gloss lipstick

....All the products I got are worth $38.99!

Have you heard of this?

Have you heard of this cool website? If you've ever spent any time creating (low budget) ads/flyers/other promotional material or if you just like to make cards or labels, this is the site for you: http://www.sxc.hu/ It's just like the other royalty-free stock photography websites out there (istockphoto.com, bigstockphoto.com) except this one is free! There are tons of hi-res photos to choose from as well as some vector art. Downloading is easy and you can keep a 'lightbox' of images you like for future projects. You should pretty much be able to come up with an image for any project you're working on AND it won't be all pixel-ly. So get a jumpstart on Feburary 14th and head on over-- search for "hearts" to make your honey a Valentine's day card...how sweet:)