Bedroom Progress

Four months and we’re still settling in. We bought some nice wooden side tables from someone off of Gumtree (the Australian equivalent of Craigslist). I’m still looking for lamps as the overhead light is too much for nighttime reading. No bed frame yet either, just the mattress directly on the carpet. I still have that huge blanket I crocheted while living in Baltimore.

 

 

On the weekends we like to wander around the city and find places that are new to us. Usually that includes a local bar with good brews on tap. A few weeks ago while out and about I found some European size pillow shams while checking out a thrift store. So naturally the search was on for some inserts. I finally found some that were on sale for the Queen’s Birthday holiday. They’re goose feather.

 

Didn’t think I would ever buy feather pillows, but they’re supposed to last a lot longer than the poly fill stuff and hold shape better. There’s times I would much rather buy something that’s a bit more expensive and going to last a lot longer than buy something that will go into a landfill in 6 months.

 

These shams were a lucky find. Simple with a nice texture and pattern.

 

 

So far so good. The new pillows add some firmness and are great for reading in bed. I will say that right out of the bag they do have that typical feather smell. (Same smell as a down filled sleeping bag or puffy coats.) It’s just slightly noticeable. This is the first time we’ve used pillows of this size and type so I’ll post an update in a few months about how they’re holding up. If anyone if Australia wants to buy some of these pillow inserts I bought them online here and they’re still on sale as I post this.

Do people in Australia wear down filled puffy coats? I used to own one when we lived in Philadelphia where the winter was cold, snowy and windy.  It was nice and warm until it got ripped apart.  I swear that crochet ripple blanket will last until I’m at least 50 and maybe longer. It’s huge and should fit a king size bed. Took forever to make. Apparently I didn’t blog about it? Anyhow it’s on Ravelry here if you’re interested in seeing my notes on it. 

My balcony and flowers.

All those containers from the thrift store are being put to good use on my balcony. As flower pots. I planted directly in them (no holes were drilled for drainage so I can re-purpose them later).

The flowers seem to be fine and actually thriving. I’m surprised really. I thought they’d be dead by now.

Another thrift store score.

I needed another container, so back to the thrift store I went. And found this.

It’s quite red. As in Xmas red. But it has potential.

So I busted out the yellow spray paint.

The first coat looks not so good.

It’s getting better…

This was the second coat. It’s starting to look a tiny bit better

And after several more coats (and drying overnight)…

Several coats later and after drying overnight it looks great.

Such an improvement! I will say that it’s not perfect. But, I like the burst of color. It adds a nice pop to our balcony.

Next up, what I did with all this stuff (although I’m pretty sure you can guess).

 

 

 

 

 

Thrift Store Score

Sometimes with the thrift store it’s hit or miss. This time it was a hit. Here’s what I got.

Cork board for $2.60.

Ceramic bowl for $2.60.

Ceramic mixing bowl with handle for $2.60.

Two metal containers. The smaller one was $2.60, the larger one was $4.60.

All together for a grand total of $15.00

$15.00 for two colorful ceramic bowls, two metal containers and a cork board. I have plans for these. Stay tuned for an update post later this week.