Garage Sale Season Has Begun!

This weekend turned out to be a picker's dream! Friday night my husband and I drove up to Highland Park, IL for their annual "Spring Clean-Up" to see if we could find anything sitting curb-side for the taking. The spring clean-up is an annual opportunity for the residents of Highland Park to put out their "big" items of trash (furniture, lumber, old carpeting, etc.)  out on the curb, and the cit would come around Saturday morning to pick it all up for free. This is not an advertised event... in fact- the city actually does not like having people like my husband and I driving around the neighborhood looking for items to garbage pick... but we still went anyways! This was my first time going, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. It wasn't all that exciting by the time my husband and I arrived on the streets at about 8:30pm. From the information I have gathered from other pickers like myself, the best time to go is during the day! Now I know for next year! :) Even though everything was pretty picked over, we still found two items that I was pretty excited about!

The first was this practically new baby bouncer! With Baby P. on the way, I'm always looking for a good deal on baby items. I'm thinking I might even leave this at Grandma's house for Baby P. to play with there. It is in perfect condition, and I just had to give it a good scrub down to make sure it is nice and clean.

The second item we picked up is this fabulous old headboard. I had absolutely no idea where I was going to put it, I knew it needed tons of work, but I could see the potential! I am pretty sure it's an antique three quarter size headboard. The notches where you attach the side rails look like the old kind from the 1860s. I only know this because we actually have a three quarter size bed in one of our guestrooms and it was a pain in the butt to find the side rails to put it all together! Since there was not a foot board to go with this, I'm not going to worry about finding side rails for the frame. If I end up using it as a headboard, I'll have to mount it to the wall. I definitely want to give it a good coat of paint (color undecided) and then we'll see if I find a spot for it! I could possibly turn it into a bench for the front door, but since it's such old wood I'm not convinced it will stand up to a ton of weight. Maybe I will just have to save it for Baby P... :)

Saturday and Sunday was the Village of Mount Prospect Garage Sale Weekend! I actually forgot about this lovely event, and was reminded of it Friday afternoon on my way home from work. I couldn't figure out why there were so many garage sales up and down the streets leading up to my house, and then it hit me! How could I forget!? I woke up bright and early the next two mornings and hit the sales! Of all the garage sales I went to, I only ended up spending three bucks on one item. This awesome dresser/buffet! Can you believe it! THREE DOLLARS! I had to take it home with me and re-purpose it. I was praying my husband wouldn't have a heart attack when he saw yet another piece of furniture in our garage.... thank goodness we have such a large garage! :) It looks absolutely gaudy, but I know once it gets a good coat of paint (possibly white, with gold handles) then it will look amazing! We have no where to put this piece, so this will have to go in the resell pile!

All in all, it was an awesome weekend! The weather was gorgeous, I got a nice tan in the process, and I am very pleased with the items I ended up with! I am so pumped that garage sale season has begun! Happy picking!

Antique Dresser Turned Changing Table

So my husband picked up this dresser for me off of Craigslist for my birthday last month. I knew I wanted an old antique dresser to turn in to Baby P's changing table, and most of the ones we looked at needed lots of work!  There were some scratches on the front drawers, and lots of water marks on the top- BUT I loved the lines and style of this dresser, and the storage is great!

It also seemed a little too dark for my liking, so I sanded the whole thing down. My original plan was to just sand down and re-stain the top of the dresser. I was going to paint the bottom half white, but once I sanded down the entire dresser, I started to like to look of it again all wood. I decided NOT to stain it again... instead, I put a clear satin protective coat all over it to make sure it was durable. Here is the end result! (minus the knobs... I need to put those back on)

However, now that it's finished, I'm still not 100% in love with it. I am STILL debating about painting the bottom half, but I'm not completely convinced! Here are a couple of ideas I saw... what do you guys think? All wood? Or painted bottom? Help! I can never make any decisions on my own.... ;)

Baby P.

Today was my 12 week check-up and hearing the heartbeat for the first time made this pregnancy so real! :) We still have 28 more weeks to go, but we can't wait to meet Baby P.! I've been taking weekly pictures of the "bump" that continues to grow, so here's a sneak peek!

Kane County Flea Market

Today a couple of girl friends and I took a trip out to the Kane County Fairgrounds for the monthly flea market! We had a VERY rainy day... but luckily for us there were a lot of vendors inside, and we ended up having a great time!

Here is one of my favorite displays from the day! I loved all of the vintage globes, vintage school supplies, and the fabulous "Irish Family Day" sign! An Irish girl loves her Irish heritage :)

There were a LOT of shabby chic displays throughout the flea market. I loved this old white-washed buffet. The lines on this piece are beautiful!

I came across this dining room table and fell in love with the idea of a chalkboard top! I think I might do this to a small children's table for the baby's room. What a cute idea! :) I didn't purchase anything this month at Kane County, but hopefully I find a treasure next time! The flea market really inspired and motivated me to finish all of the projects sitting in my garage.... I can't wait to show you all what I have in store!