Living on a Budget

I thought I would share some pictures of things we have done around our house in the last 18 months since we have lived here. I love looking at pictures and watching shows about interior design and I imagine if I had all the money in the world I would spend a lot of it on decorating, but since I'm in school and my husband is a teacher I have found ways to work around our small budget and try to create my own HGTV-type house. Here are some of our savings...

These first two pictures I have already posted on my Blog, but I just wanted to post them again to show some of the savings in this room.

Paint = free!

Flower arrangements = free! (Thanks Becky)

Couches = no cost after selling all the other stuff we bought with them

George Washington picture = $80 saved $520

Red curtains = free!

Dresser for TV (not shown) = $100

Floral Accent Chair (not shown) = free!

I sat down one day and figured out it only cost me about $300 to decorate and furnish my entire front room and although it's not exactly what I would pick, the price is well worth it.

The Boy's Room

Here are some of Gideon's Birthday presents that we got on clearance at Target saving us $40.

Palm leaves, bug night lights and bedding = $10 saved about $140

(I really wanted these palm leaves from Ikea but I didn't want to spend $15 each, then one day while I was walking a lady was selling them at her garage sale for $5 each. I told her I would buy them and she said okay, then told me I could have the leaves, the two sets of matching twin bedding, two twin headboards, the two bug night lights and some other stuff all for $10 if I would just take it home...I said OKAY and now I have matching bedding for my boys.)

Dresser = Wes's old dresser from before we were married (I love reusing things)

Kids love sac = free! (somone left it on the sidewalk outside with a big sign saying free, we picked it up on our way to church one Sunday...I love the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure)

Mirror and pictures = free!

Plant = $5 saved $20

Bamboo shade = $30 saved about $30

Bunk bed = $50 saved $175

Bamboo rug = $25 saved $75
Paint = $11

Guest Bath Before

Guest Bathroom Now and Our Savings

Mirror = free!

New door = $25 saved $60

Light fixture= $30, I didn't save anything on this, but it was definitely in my budget.

Candle holder on toilet = $0.50

Paint to update vanity instead of replacing it = $10 saved over $100 easy

New hardware for vanity = free! saved $10 - $20

Paint for walls = free! (not my favorite, but hey who can beat free)

New 18 inch tile = free! (Thanks James) saved about $75

New towel hanger = $15

Red shower curtain - $7 saved $7

Dining Room/Office Savings

Dining room curtains and rod = $90 saved about $200
(I could have saved another $30 if I knew how to sew...next time maybe.)

Collage on top of the desk = $3 saved $20

Dining room wall = $40 for everything, saved approximately $300

(The picture of Christ was free, they were going to through it away because the glass broke.)

Dining Room/Office Before

Dining Room/Office Now

Paint = $35 saved $20

Desk = $100 saved $300

Collage and table in the corner = free!

Table, benches and chairs = $250 saved $1250

Wood floors for entire house = $650 saved $900 (We bought them from Ikea when they were having a huge sale, long before we knew we were buying a house.)

Savings = $4200 +

I hope to have pictures of our new bedroom set soon. We first saw it at Oasis Bedrooms and I LOVED it! However it was WAY out of budget. I figured I would try to watch for something similar on Craigslist and to my surprise a week after we had gone into Oasis I found the exact bed for $300, saving us $1300 and then a few days after that someone else was selling the exact dresser and nightstands. I took some slight bargining, but I got the girl to agree on $700 for the dresser and nightstands saving me another $1300. Who knew being patient could have such EXCELLENT rewards!

Happily Ever After

So at the request of my sister Sarah, I have decided to update my blog. I have never been very good at journaling, except for when I was on my mission when I wrote every day, but now I have 3 kids to feed, bathe, read scriptures with, pray and put to bed- needless to say journaling has fallen to the bottom of my to do list. Yet when Sarah and I were talking a couple of days ago she reminded me that blogging is like a journal and that I should do it more often.
Often times I feel like I don't have much to say that is worth reading, but who knows, maybe it will be worth it to my kids later on in life. So here's what I have to say today. I'll start with part of a talk from President Utchdorf that he gave in May this year to the Young Women of the church.
He talks about the fairy tale stories we all grew up hearing as a child, in which we often hear the phrase, "once upon a time." He says, "Aren't those wonderful words to begin a story ? 'Once upon a time' promises something: a story of adventure and romance, a story of princes and princesses. It may include tales of courage, hope and everlasting love. In many of these stories, nice overcomes mean and good overcomes evil. But perhaps most of all, I love it when we turn to the last page and our eyes reach the final lines and we see the enchanting words, 'And they lived happily ever after.'"
Elder Utchdorf continues by saying, "Isn't that what we all desire: to be heroes and heroines of our own stories; to triumph over adversity; to experience life in all its beauty; and, in the end, live happily ever after?"
He then reminds us that we are daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us and has given us our own fairy tale. We have been given a "once upon a time" complete with adventure, trials, heartache and love. Yet the best part is the fact that we have the chance to truly live "happily ever after."
I love these words. I love the fact that this life does not end here. I love that although I am not perfect I can continue to perfect myself in hopes of one day spending eternity with those I love most. I can't think of anything greater than knowing that I am a princess and that I really can have a fairy tale ending.
I know that my Heavenly Father loves me SO much. I am reassured of this every time my husband lays his hands on my head to give me a blessing, every time I go to the temple and every time I get on my knees to pray. How grateful I am for this knowledge, because not only has it blessed and comforted me, it has also helped me to try harder to raise my kids with love and gentleness.
I guess that's about it for today. And yes Sarah- I will try to do better at keeping up with my "journaling", thanks for the reminder. :)

I was going to add a few family pictures from our summer trips and adventures, but blogger won't let me upload them right now so I will try doing it tomorrow.