labor day weekend

Darlene Morgan
8 hours ago
5 min read

Another new stage. The two older girls are gone and spending the weekend together- therefore it is just Clara and I.

On Saturday, Clara and I set out to purchase items for our new living room. And let me tell you - we kicked butt! We got such great deals and we were so proud of the thrifiting we did to save money.

It was genuiely awesome.

We began in the north part of town called NOTO, which stands for ... wait, what does it stand for? 🤔

We picked up some cool deals at an eclectic little shop that has both new and used items. She wasn't exactly thrilled with my white branches that have lights on them, but I told her to trust me - it'll work out.

Then to another shop in the area for some new items and even a super cute little wooden toy set for an adorable little boy in the family. IT IS SO CUTE! It is a little espresso set! LOL!

Then, she was hungry so off to a grocery store to grab her some sushi. I do not normally like sushi, but she told me this was the 'fake' kind with shrimp and avocado and it was delicious.

Then to another discount store, RJ's, where we really began to see the vision of our room.

We purchsed pillows there and I got packets of socks for a fundraiser activity we are working on with her volleyball team. I even spoke to the store manager about donating some other items and he was going to get back with me, but surely they can do something. This place is filled to the brim with items returned from Amazon or bunches of extra stuff from Target and such.

Off to the west side of town to God Store House - which is nothing but thrift and always busy, clean and organized. Plus they have a cool coffee shop that has these bomb homemade poptarts I love. The vision continued as we found more pillows and one exactly like RJ's that we wanted but it was 25 bucks there! Here .... $ 4.00! Let's go! And thinking about redoing the box (it's hard to explain what it is) but it sits in front of the fireplace. We removed the carpet that was nailed to it and we purchased a shower curtain - yes, I said a shower curtain, a nice white cotton one and nailed it to the box - just like you would a present. AND! Get this! Two table lamps! With shades and silver bases - each for only $8.00! Can you believe it? Lamps are not cheap these days - and we were high-five-ing it!

Onto TJ Maxx, where now we know exactly what we needed next. We wanted to use a table runner of the fireplace box to make it stand out (you'll see) but couldn't find anything. We did get a blanket and a candle.

Last but not least ... the place where I told Clara she was going to have to really keep me in check .... HOMEGOODS. UGH! Why did they have to put one in our town? But - thank God because we found the couch we wanted and wasn't even looking for that.

It just appeared like sitting there all alone center stage. It was perfect and on sale! We went there to find a large area rug and a big wicker basket to put blankets in. We also wanted a thin bar size table to set by the opening to the kitchen. But nothing. Still, we had a blast there creating Tik-Toks and having a debate session over which rug would be better for our room with two sales associates as our judges. It was so fun. We got to know Randi and Bradley who helped us and when we left they told Clara and I how much fun we were.

That made me feel so good as a mama!

Fun with my 16 year old? But I figured it out. She is the type that loves doing this kind of shopping with me so long as there is a mission and purpose. She is not one to just ... shop. GOOD! We don't need any random shopping going on. Must be frugal!

So at HomeGoods we got a couch, a rug - which when we got home we laughed so hard because it is way too small! It looked so much bigger in the store! We also got a cute olive green ottoman, wicker basket, another cover for the fireplace box. Yes, the white shower curtain will serve as a base but we will exchange the cover on it for the seasons.

When we went to load everything Randi told me to just back right up to the sliding doors since it was really raining.

I did this and as I opened the back of my Subaru to load things we all busted out laughing as it was filled to the brim with the lamps, pillows and such.

I try not to think too much about these times and just embrace them.

I am one to put so much thought into it all. Thinking about how good it felt that I found something that Clara and I enjoyed together, besides all the traveling to volleyball matches. Which is coming up and I cannot be more excited!

I could not have done all this without selling my half of the shop. I honestly think this is the first time I have purchased a brand new sofa, actually. NO DOGS OR CATS allowed on it! Bam!

We still have curtains to put up and a floor to clean and a few more furniture items to buy but we are well on our way to a 'new to us' living room, where when we get those moments to decompress, we can do so knowing we did all this ourselves.

I did tell you I installed stinking baseboards myself didn't I? I strongly dislike baseboards, but I did it!

We spend lots of time at home, especially in the winter and I am thankful for this little home. It is God-given.

While writing, I had to take some time to drink some coffee and eat a sandwich.

Back to work! Clara is currently practicing volleyball with another school teammate which makes me so happy!

The other two girls are together with their soccer playing boyfriends. They spent the evening together last night at the soccer game. That makes me happy too.

Okay, enough for now.

I shall return soon.

Love you all. More to update!

#thrifting #diary #journal #prayfirst #believeinyourself #momdaughterbonding

#thehereandnow #life #thinking #shiftingthoughts #singlemomlife #unmakingamess