this month's Good JuJu Treasures...

Since I started this blog, I have been blabbing on and on about Good Ju Ju. Well, it is the first Friday of the month, therefore today was Date Day for Steven and I. We made our pilgrimage for Danny Edwards BBQ for lunch and shopping at Good Ju Ju.

I managed to snag a couple cute things for my kitchen. I am still procrastinating on a couple items there. I figure if they are there next month, it's kismet and I should buy them.

Today I got:

These sweet little lanterns are handmade. The small one was $2.50 and the larger one $3.50.

This little pink breadbox works great - the door slides up and down like new. I am not wild about the decal someone added. I will see if I can get that off and maybe stencil BREAD on it or something.

This pink locker was actually from the Bonner Springs Goodwill. But at $10, if we don't repaint if for the boys' room, Steven can use it in the basement.

P.S. Update - Just today, Apartment Therapy added a post on Good Ju Ju. Word is spreading!

treasure hunt! and someone explain pottery barn to me!

Such a productive weekend here at the Cottage of Stone...

This was the first Friday of the month, so it was our Date Day at Good Ju Ju. Steven picked up an old metal kitchen cabinet for the basement. I got an old enamel pitcher and bucket just perfect for planting:

Remember the Juncus I blogged about? Here he is in a sweet little pitcher.

Here is the old bucket. It already had a drain hole added there, just under the handle there.

That night, we hit the Auto Swap Meet in Lawrence, KS. We did score some cool stuff for my "Project Mom-Mobile" - which is my old Rambler wagon that actually will haul some serious butt when it is done... Anyway... As we were getting ready to leave, we spotted 2 old trunks. We cannot resist trunks, even though we have 3 already. The guy sold them to us 2 for $25. Score! One was painted green, the other still gorgeous and unpainted (and even had the old package trays inside). I knew right away what to do with the green one. (The other one is in storage and will probably be a toy box when we finish up the kids' rooms.)

Here is the green trunk, ready for painting.

Altogether now... The trunk was painted heirloom white. I picked up a pink hydrangea to pot in the old bucket. The rhododendron in the blue pot is looking a little sad. He was getting too much water in the yard, so I replaced him with a Twist & Shout Hydrangea and put him in one of the pots from my milksugar etsy shop.

I think what I love about old trunks is the detailing. The hardware is always so pretty.


Oh, here is just a snippet of the new rug for the porch. It really brightens up the space. I am happy with it for now (since it was $20). Eventually, I'd like to get something else that didn't include yellow/orange.

OK... so a little more about trunks. I have been collecting them awhile now and always manage to snag them on a good deal. Good JuJu usually has several, but for the most part, they paint theirs up and I like them left au natural. I have noticed in Pottery Barn that trunks must be making a comeback. Only theirs sell for OMFG prices.

So I ask you... why would someone buy a new trunk (which IMO, has no character) for over a $1,000 when you can get an antique one for under $100? I like looking at the PB catalog for ideas.. but cripes, people... I guess someone people just need to spend the big bucks to feel like they got something of value.

Vintagey white ruffled shower curtain bargain-hunting...

OK, so I could totally make my own knock-off shower curtain... But with Bowie's 2nd birthday rapidly approaching, I have too many home projects to wrap up. I can't spare the time to sew something I could actually buy pretty cheaply. yet, I just can't see myself spending big bucks on something that could possibly get grimy...

I was on the hunt for a white shower curtain, with a slightly feminine, vintage feel. Here is what I came up with!


I am ordering the "Ruffles Shower Curtain" from Target. It is only available online, but at $30 - it is a steal compared to the ones I am about to show you. I love the few little ruffles thrown in. It reminds me of some old apron you would find at a flea market. Other websites list this as a Joseph Abboud Ruffles curtain... I guess it depends on where you shop.

The next one is the White Devil shower curtain by India Rose. (White Devil? Really??) This one is by India Rose. Anthropologie has one called Cloud & Spectrum that is exactly the same but with pastel edging on the ruffles. $100 for these curtains.



This one is by Ann Gish and has a very similar to the Target one, although arguably higher quality. You can get it at Horchow for $212, plus shipping.

Here is another India Rose curtain... this time pin-tucked. $96 for this one.

This one is called the Can Can by Main Street Bedding. It's $249.

kitchen hardware on the cheap

my new-t0-me hardware for less than $20 for the room

You may remember from my dream kitchen post that I want to someday have black bin pulls and icebox latches. Until now, I was living with these ugly brass and porcelin things. I can not even describe how ugly they are. The knobs aren't so bad, but the pulls? Little porcelin circles that have a brass wire pull connecting them. Gross!! But I don't want to plunk down a couple hundred bucks on new hardware when I still have the same cheap cabinets.

There is a store in Lawrence, KS called Habitat Restore. Basically, things are donated to the store that they pull from old houses or are extra materials on job sites. For 25 cents a knob and 50 cents a pull, I found these:

Which, after primer and a few coats of gloss black paint, became this:

So for less than $20, I got a room full of new-to-me hardware that looks like this:

Puck's picks for a frugal living room

I was surfing around the 'net a bit and found a wallpaper I love. (Not that I am a wallpaper fan... actually, I believe the people who owned this house before me may just have in fact been the anti-christ do to their use of wallpaper which took me hours to steam off the walls)... but I digress...

I quickly did a search and found a few pieces to go with this wallpaper and since they are so affordable, I thought I would share! The wallpaper is actually shiny, you just can't tell from this picture.

Arthouse Wallcoverings, Lily Motif in Duck Egg

Ceana Chairs in Mocha, $419 for the pair at Target

Taupe leather loveseat, $499 at bizchair

Franklin side table in black, $119, at linensource

So what would you pair with this? Rug? Trunk for a coffee table? Linens and sheers?

The Bargain-ista! Kitchen Finds

I spent my morning cutting in the edges of the kitchen - boy what fun that is! So I am rewarding myself now with a little bit of internet time. I have been looking around for accessories to emphasize the color story of my kitchen, and found some different choices in all price ranges. I thought I would share some examples of "steals and splurges" for similar items. Enjoy!

I am stocking my kitchen with these white "Nantucket" dishes (left) from World Market... they are very similar to the "Emma" collection (right) at Pottery Barn, at a fraction of the cost!

I love my pink pie plate (left) by Typhoon "Vintage Kitchen." It is high quality, yet for the price of the Emile Henry (right), I could also get the matching loaf pan!

I am looking at several rugs for the kitchen... since I love Amy Butler fabric, I was excited to find a few options that had a similar feel. (Left) a bargain at $50 from Target. (Note: this is from my camera phone so it is very zoomed-in!) (Right) Rug from Warm Biscuit at $200. Another note... I discovered today that Target has a whole new line of pink and green kitchen stuff... maybe my idea isn't so wacky!

Bamboo Roman Shades at Kmart? Yep. (Left) All sizes around $10. (Right) nearly 6 times as much at JC Penney.