How could anyone let this mid-century modern gem get away for $112?

Well, I let it get away, but I wasn't happy about it. The finish needed a little work, but it's an American of Martinsville piece! So beautifully constructed: dovetail joints, solid walnut...and the bones of the piece were excellent condition. It's a shame people pay three times as much for crappy particle board furniture when something like this is available for a few hours of elbow grease.

I have no place to put this. Still, I would have purchased it anyway if only I had a van and two strong guys to carry it. With a tiny bit of work, I could have turned it into a gem and sold it for a huge profit. (I love refinishing furniture. Housework, not so much.) Sigh.

My "not new" leather chair and my "new" feral cat. Sigh.

Finally was able to coordinate getting my sister's van and my son's muscles together to go check out a leather chair I saw on craigslist. It was not cheap ($250), but it seemed like it would be perfect (emphasis on "seem").

Nice people, but the "flawless" chair had a major scratch smack dab in the middle of the seat. Still, I had made so much effort to coordinate the pickup, I bought it anyway (with a $25 discount for the scratch, which, in my opinion was not enough...I'll post about that later). When we got the chair home, the husband determined I hadn't shoveled a wide enough path (our snow is still shoulder high, a shovel's width is all I opted for this year, and that nearly killed me) for he and the offspring to get the chair in the front door (likely the only door it will fit), so the chair is staying in the garage overnight.

Sooo...the problem is, a cat moved into our garage last night! We couldn't get it out, so I left the garage door open about a foot on the bottom so the thing wouldn't be trapped. Again today, kitty doesn't want to budge. Even my dog barking at her half the day hasn't phased her (she has plenty of spots to hide). The dog sure is enjoying the entertainment, the neighbors probably not so much.

I am worried the cat will use the chair as a scratching post or toilet. I have it covered, as you can see, but I am still worried. Tonight I am building a little cabin for kitty: plastic storage bin with lid askew, 2 liter bottle of hot water wrapped in a towel, blankie and an open can of tuna in front of the whole shebang. Hopefully this will lure kitty away so I can close the garage and protect my chair. Things never seem to be easy. The first time I have a cat in the garage and the first time I have a leather chair in the garage...and it all happens the same week.

I could not find a "not new" kitchen rug.

Well, I promised I would reveal any "new" purchases and this rug is one of the few. I have been searching for "not new" kitchen rugs for a couple weeks and really couldn't wait any longer. The offspring can be very clumsy. His "dropsies" have cracked three of my porcelain floor tiles. I need some cushioning on the spots he is most likely to drop. I couldn't find any used scatter rugs that came close to being the right size/shape/color (I am still looking for more as I have ugly unsuitable rugs in place in two spots right now), so I purchased this rug on clearance (only $5 off, bringing it to $20) at TJ Maxx. I would have preferred a prettier one, but I didn't have time to waste as I had nothing for this spot.

The good news is, while used rug shopping, I've found that you can get decent area rugs suitable for a living room second hand, so when (if?) I get a wood floor, I can get a nice "not new" rug.

Gaaah! My lack of math skills cost me at the estate sale.

The offspring has always wanted to airbrush paintings and t-shirts. Airbrushes and compressors are pricey, but their popularity is waning quickly. When I saw the estate sale I was at had two air compressors, I felt I'd be safe waiting for the second day of the sale, when things would go half price. That also gave me a chance to research the choices, so I knew exactly what I wanted when I went back.

Both compressors and all the accessories were still there the second day, so I picked up what I wanted and asked if they would take $100 for the lot, which they did. But. I had added incorrectly! I ended up just getting the box of jars for "free"...which I thought they should have thrown in no matter what. I wanted to knock another 20% off the 1/2 off cost since that's what I figured was fair price for equipment that was not in demand, and may or may not last very long. But, I added wrong in my head. I hate me!

Worse yet, there was a third day of the sale when things were 75% off! Gaaaahhh! I paid sooo much more than I should have. Still not sure if the third day was added on at the last minute or if I somehow messed up and didn't notice there was going to be a third day. I'm not going to look it up. I couldn't stand to know if it was me messing up. On the bright side, the offspring is thrilled to have some airbrushing equipment.

3 estate sales and all I got was a thingamajig.

Is it better when you come up empty-handed at an estate sale...or when you spend (and save) a lot of money? Difficult to decide. There's a lot to be said for not spending money, but I hate wasting my time and effort. Fortunately, the sales I went to were close to where I had to be, so not much gas was wasted. And they were in ESTATES, so it was fun to see how the 1% live. (Though, unfortuntately, they made everyone take off their shoes and the entryway was sopping wet. Ugh!) I did see a wheelbarrow for $13, but when I asked to borrow my sister's van to pick it up, she said she had a wheelbarrow I could borrow...so I saved the $13. I will only need it for a week or so when I set up my new vegetable garden in the spring, so that works out perfectly. As for the doohicky (or is it a whosit?), I think that will come in handy when (if?) I install my engineered hardwood floor, as I know you are supposed to cut the shoe moldings with a coping saw rather than a miter cut...we'll see how that works out.

12 bean soup with ham and kale...meals for pennies

Can't get a much heartier soup than beans and ham and it is mighty affordable, too. Especially when made with dried beans. Though, I suppose if you add the cost of Beano...

I made a ton after Christmas as hams were on sale (they have great, extremely affordable spiral cut hams at Aldi's and after the holidays, they are often reduced further...usually $5 off). I go for their top-price holiday ham (usually under $2 a lb. and comparable to the $6 a lb. ham at a 'regular' grocery store) and it's still a bargain. Couldn't really taste the difference between Aldi's and the expensive leftover ham my sister gave (expensive to her...free to me). I made gallons of soup and divided it into two different batches to season differently so we wouldn't get too bored. Most of it went into the freezer to be brought out bit by bit. I used a curry mix in one half and the other was "plain." The carrots and maybe some of the onions were from my garden. With Spring coming, we're finishing up the last of it as we'll be in the mood for something lighter (the chicken veggie soup I made the other day will be more fitting).

$3.25 earrings felt like a splurge.

Sometimes, it's all about a mood pick-me-up. These are definitely not in style, but they are extremely sparkly (which I could not capture). And I could afford the splurge, so rewarding myself was worth it. Especially if it will help me resist larger $ purchases. Hard to believe this came from an estate sale at a McMansion. I soaked the posts in hyrdrogen peroxide and am a happy camper.