frugal friday - estate sale decorating

we love estate sales, and have had a lot of luck with great finds lately. here's the big one...
isn't she lovely?! we had an ikea ektorp couch that was great, but we needed more seating. jed loved the back support of the ektorp, and wasn't liking anything else. please excuse the ugly rug. it belongs to our landlord and she makes us keep it to "protect the floors". u.g.l.y. you ain't got no alibi...
at an estate sale in a ritzy neighborhood, we found this bigger 2x2 ikea ektorp sleeper & storage couch. it is $1200 new, and the people bought it one year ago. they had an extra brand new cover for it worth $200. they wanted $800. we bought it for $600. cash works. we loaded that sucker in the back of the truck, stuck the wicker set up front, and rolled through the ritzy part of town like the beverly hillbillies. it's ok, i'm from arkansas.
we called a friend to help us move the couches, and he bought our old one on the spot for $300. so, we basically got my dream couch for $300. amazing!
what is your favorite estate sale/thrift store/flea market find? what would you love to find? now i just need some new throw pillows...

a wicker rescue

we hit the jackpot at estate sales this weekend! here is another one of our finds, a wicker set for $15. it was struggling, but still had a lot of potential. we came to the rescue.
jed scraped off a lot of the old paint with a wire brush, and then we hosed them off and scrubbed them clean.

here is the cleaned up version.

jackson wanted to help, but then needed rest. he has a hard life.

we wanted to brighten up our front porch, so we used bright yellow krylon for outdoor furniture.

here is the finished product, on our porch. it took forever, and my wrists still hurt. i learned a lot about spray paint, and it was way more difficult than i thought it would be.

in the end, i think it was worth it. now we have a bright and lovely place to sit and watch the world go by.

have you taken on any projects lately that were way work than you thought they would be?

i am honored to tell you that i was featured by the wonderful folks at


i'm entering this post in a contest over at CSI:



this week i'm linking to:
outdoor wednesday

celebrating 2 years of wedded bliss!

our wedding was my favorite day, so i'm giving you a glimpse of where we were 2 years ago today. we were married at the fields of blackberry cove in weaverville, nc, surrounded by the blue ridge mountains. there was a 90% chance of rain at 2 pm when our ceremony was scheduled. we went for it anyway. my bff nick ran the show, and it wouldn't have happened without him. we loved every bit of our wedding. here's to st least 63 more years of wedded bliss!

jud and jed waiting as i walked down the world's longest aisle.

my daddy walking me down the world's longest aisle.

samuel, the ringbearer, took a tumble on the walk down the aisle, but got up and kept going.

sweet samuel with the groomsmen.

i laughed throughout the ceremony, and jed cried. happy tears of course. i am an inappropriate giggler, so that explains the laughing.

sweet sydney had program duty. thanks again leslie, for making our programs.

the eby family

my freshmen girls (campaigner) bible study group served as my flower girls. they were awesome!

i love my bridesmaids!

the short family

chew & sam

our centerpieces. thanks nick!

the only picture of just me that i like from the day.

my mama

lu & me

the boys

the girls

our first communion together.

our first kiss as a married couple.

we walked back down the aisle to "ring of fire" by johnny cash.

we made everyone pose at the end.

we kept the top and ate it last year on our 1st anniversary. we had to move it, frozen, across the country. i bought the topper on etsy.

everyone loves a cupcake tower. the icing to cake ratio is so much better.

our reception had a county fair theme with an ice cream bar by marble slab and...
handmade snowcones!

fresh popped popcorn!

we danced to "beautiful day" by patti griffin.

jed's signature move to "shout".

we had the best day. nick was just glad it was all over. he worked so hard.

esteban, lu, & chew blowing bubbles to see us off.

the end... and the beginning.