Girl Gone Goodwilling

Why not start this post off with a cute picture? :)

Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed your holidays with family and friends!

We're now back to real life once again. After 10 days off - Ben has hit the road (not literally) and is now back to the long commute to work. We enjoyed having him home and all to ourselves so it's quite a switch to have him vanished all of the sudden. Landon has been saying "Papa...Papa...Papa..." all day today and he doesn't quite understand where he disappeared to. So we are trying to keep occupied so we don't notice it as much!

Maybe some packing could be good considering we're moving in March...
But there's lots of time for that right???  (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh)
Oh the procrastination begins - story of our lives;)

Speaking of procrastination : I have a few projects that I've been working on since the summer that still are not complete. But I know I'll get there eventually. I'm a Goodwill gal. I love searching for bargains and "little treasures." Over the months I've found some pretty great stuff and thought I'd share some of the findings with you. I definitely wouldn't consider myself an expert when it comes to refinishing things - but I like to give it a whirl anyway! For Landon we always used the ANTILOP Ikea highchair and got the tray for the top that comes separately. It was super cheap and very durable which we loved! It was awesome to wipe up any messes and spills too without dealing with a cloth highchair that always needs to be washed. But even though we purchased our Ikea highchair, I've always been on the lookout for an antique wooden one that I can refinish into something trendy with a more modern touch.

I hit the jackpot when I found this highchair at our local Goodwill for 10 bucks. Can you believe that??? Underneath the tray it has metal brackets that you can slide out to remove the tray. I have a vision of this chair being a bright fun color to stand out in any kitchen. After finding these pictures online - I was inspired!

Once it's sanded, primed, and painted it will have a completely new look. 

I can't wait to get started on this project. I still haven't decided what color it'll end up yet...That's always the hard part for me. But I will make a separate post on this so you can see the finished product!

I love big frames with dramatic detailing. That's why I was drawn to this one that I used to make the cork board in our kitchen.

My next goodwill find was this picture frame that I purchased for $4.00. I always seem to browse past the frame sections of second hand stores to see if anything catches my eye. I noticed this frame with a wicker border affect. I think it has something special to it.

Of course my first thought when I looked at this picture was "Hmm, no wonder someone dropped this off at Goodwill - Yikes!"

But I know I can do something with this. I'm leaning towards a jewellery holder this time. Some cork board in the center with some elegant fabric over it and cute pins to hold the necklaces in place. I've got some work cut out for me...

This cookie jar is my little treasure. Can a cookie jar be that out of the ordinary? You bet it can. For years I was looking for an old fashioned (round) cookie car with a cork top lid. I would always look at Target or Canadian Tire and never have much luck. They all either had glass or plastic lids.

 I was walking quickly through (you guessed it) my local Goodwill store to the checkout - completely frazzled - I was sick of trying on a cart full of clothes and coming up empty handed. I walked by in a hurry and I saw it out of the corner of my eye. My cookie jar! I grabbed it off the shelf so fast I think a few people gave me some funny looking stares - or was that when I was actually hugging it? Hmm I can't quite remember. 

I have nightmares about my children (or myself  my husband) breaking it one day. So as weird as it sounds I'm always on the lookout for another one as a backup. Haha. 

I really wouldn't say I'm a hard person to please...this $5.00 cookie jar made me the happiest short freckled brunette girl alive!

This was a find for our sweet little boy. It is honestly the cutest book ever and I love reading it together. If you ever see this book when you're out and about you shouldn't think twice about getting it. I'd say it's a must have for any children's bookshelf!

And if the price is right - well that's an even better reason to pick it up! Gotta love thrift stores. 

Landon calls it the "RaRa book". When translated from toddler talk that actually means "Rabbit Book". 

I'm still trying to decide if finding this dresser was a score or a curse. When I first bought this dresser at Goodwill for $15 in the summer I had huge plans for it...

Well the summer has been long gone for awhile now and I still have not yet fully completed this project. So I need to start using my evenings wiser and get to work on it again. 

The sanding and the priming I got done pretty quickly. 

Thank you Landon for being such a good napper!

I was actually thinking about keeping it white since it looks so purdy!

Even with just a fresh coat of primer I think it looks so much fresher! I picked out 2 paint colors for it but once I started painting it I noticed the 1 color wasn't exactly what I thought it would be and I just wasn't completely happy with the way it turned out. So I ended up ditching that plan and went a different route. 

It still needs a final coat (which I will hopefully get around to finishing up soon) and once it's complete I will post pictures of the finished dresser! Goodwill is so fun. You really can find some unique treasures - and for such great deals! 

Does anyone else have a treasure they've found at a thrift store? Feel free to share it with us! 

Have a great night everyone!

S