Always. On. A. Budget.

When I say budget, I don't mean the budget that I was on in days gone by. I mean the budget that a family with three kids and one income are on. The budget that a family has after that one income covers school costs and book costs of two of those children. I could further elaborate but I'll spare you the details. ;)

Anyway, with that in mind here are some of my finds and cheap items that I thought I would share...
This is a little painting I ran upon while looking for a lovely frame in a thrift store. At first my eye saw the frame but I was quickly taken by the painting itself. I loved the picture so much that I'm keeping it just as it is, I think. Commitment issues - that's me. Anyway, the picture doesn't look like what I had intended to go into our bedroom but I really like it there. Something about that ripe and delicious melon seems so sensual to me. It could be because I'm a huge foodie and even though I've never actually tried a cantaloupe, when I look at that painting I can practically feel it squish between my teeth as the juice oozes onto my lips. Nothing is sexier than that. And after all, isn't that what decor is about - making your space yours... to your likes and not someone else's. I paid a whopping $5 for this! (sarcasm intended here)


Here is the next item on my list. It's not much but the color and texture appealed to me. I love the shades of the sea, from dark blue to light greens. I'm so taken by any color of the sea. I think in my former life I could have happily been a pirate. This was a meager .49 at the thrift shop and it works perfect on my make-up table. I've been needing a pretty to hold my make-up brushes and I think this really fits the bill.

Okay, tonight I will leave you with one other thing. This cost me all of $3. After this I'm off to enjoy another peanut butter swirl brownie... MMMM!
This isn't the gorgeous galvanized cake stand that we've probably all seen floating around on the web but this is the best I could do without feeling too guilty about dropping anymore money on yet another pretty. I'm sure my hubby appreciates that, especially after my window shopping trip to the furniture store ended in a sales ticket for a new mattress and sofa. I also admit to buying an electric fireplace and chair, all this in the past three weeks. Oh, the guilt! But this $2 silver tone pedestal and $1 silver tone pizza pan -guilt free! I threw on some candles, pumpkins and a crow that I already had and I came up with, what I think is, a loverly $2 centerpiece for the table.

Happy Decorating!