Little Green Tags

Ah, the sight of a massive markdown... it just makes your heart go pitter-patter, right?!

Lowe's is now officially on my top ten list of best places to score great deals. It's all about that little tent.

I've heard that you look like less of a clearance sale stalker if you hide behind a tree...

You know, the clearance tent. Most stores have some sort of a clearance section and all are usually great places to look for deals. The clearance section at Lowe's is a little different and it's all because of those little green tags.

What's the big deal about their green tags? Well, what I've found in the past few weekends is that the employees use those tags make up new prices. Unlike at most retail stores where price sheets come down from corporate, these final clearance prices are completely up to the employees.

My first experience watching them do the markdowns happened the weekend before last where an employee makred these drawer organizers down to $1 as I was looking at them. He said, "I think I'll make these $1, I'd like to get one too."

Luckily, I was able to catch another major markdown session this past Saturday where I bought a new light for my ceiling fan and four boxes of outdoor solar lights (I told you this place had big plans).

(That's $10 for a box of six solar lights!)

My suspicions that the employees make up the prices were confirmed on Sunday when I was back at Lowe’s again watching their clearance rug selection getting slashed down to $20 (sadly, I couldn’t find a reason to buy one).

Unless you happen to go to Lowe's as much as I do (I’ll talk about why I was there so much later this week), you'll probably have a hard time catching the clearances items as they're marked... so what good does this discovery do for you? Now you know the amount of power that the Lowe's employees (probably the managers) have over the pricing. This means that that the prices of clearance, damaged, and returned merchandise can probably be negotiated down further! Go out there and cite a few reasons why you think an item is unfairly priced... don't forget to suggest the price that you think is more appropriate. *cross your fingers that I'll be able to use this on a refrigerator!

Have you ever scored big in the Lowe's clearance section? Do you know of any other big box stores that give employees control over pricing?

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a note to bloggers...

Check to make sure that your comments are turned on!! I've come across several blogs recently that clearly invite comments, but do not have the comment feature turned on (in Blogger, settings--> comments). It would also be in your best interest to clearly post a contact email somewhere on your page so that readers with questions, comments, or advice can get in touch with you!

PS I'm playing around with my settings so don't worry if things seem a little wonky :).

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Fire Scare

Earlier this week, the power in half of my house went out. I called the electric company and they sent someone out that evening to check on the issue. After checking everything, the serviceman determined that I had some sort of wiring issue and needed to call an electrician.

Fast forward to the next day and two hours into the electrician's visit... THIS ended up being the issue:

From what I can understand, a wire had come lose (we're talking over 20-year-old wiring) and literally burnt out. You can see by the hole in the side of the switch, I was lucky that a big fire didn't start in my garage (where the culprit was found).

The side-by-side really shows the poor state my the old switch was in:

YIKES!

Needless to say, not having a fire was worth more than the $212 this emergency visit cost me! The electrician also recommended that my boyfriend spend some time this weekend switching out all of the old switches. Ha! Little did he know that Nate won't get near electricity. It looks like I'll have another nice little time consuming job on my hands. I'll be sure to let you know how swapping out all of the switches went for me.

Anyone else have any fire scares?
What are your big project plans for the weekend?

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Sppppring!

This was the 8th coldest winter in the history of Austin. I am sooooo ready to celebrate spring!

PS...
*light pink top, $20, Kohl's
*dark top ,$22, Kohl's
*necklace, $38, Urban Outfitters
*jacket, $25, F21
*dress, $20, Old Navy
*sandal, $12, Old Navy
*clutch/ wallet, $13, Target
*ring, $27, Target
*pant, $25, Old Navy
*skirt, $18, F21
*ballet flat, $20, Target
...grab it all for $240.

I'm obviously into girly florals and gold jewelry. What looks do you like for spring?

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Progress and Power Tools

Well, it has been a while since I showed you my dilemma with the sea of wood in the dining room...

(as you might remember: I liked each stain individually, but not as a group)

I enjoyed reading each and every bit of advice that you gave me and took my sweet time deciding which pieces would stay as-is, which I would paint, and which I would stain. Finally, I came up with a plan:

And this past weekend, while Nate was doing a little garden boxing,

I was having a little power tool action of my own:

Actually, at the exact moment he was using the circular saw, I was doing a little stripping stripping the finish off of the table.

Because the stripper wasn't a magic fix-all, I still had a lot of sanding to do!

I mean, A LOT of sanding! Okay, so Kate mentioned in every one of her refinishing posts that there was a lot of sanding involved... but wow!

Honestly, I didn't realize how much work would go into restaining the table, but I'm in it for the long haul now! With 90% of the work past me, I just have a little detail action on the curves to get through before it's staining time :). This baby is going dark!

Check out how far those pieces have come!

Oh, and the chairs haven't been left out of the madness! I've already started the process of making them a nice glossy white. The picture above only shows the primer... but with 15 minutes per chair x 6 chairs x 3 coats... I can tell this project is going to be a doozy as well!

Any last minute words of advice before I take the big staining plunge?  Also, where are your favorite fabric sources? I'm still on the hunt for the seat cushion's fabric.

PS I'll be linking up my progress with Serenity Now's  Progress Party (go check it out... it's not just a party for half-sanded tables!).

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Dirt Cheap?!

You asked for it! Here's a peek at my house:

I know, the exterior leaves a lot to be desired!!

We have big plans for this space though! Imagine a thick carpet of green grass, matching furniture, tree trimming, and a little color added here and there with flowers. Oh, and also imagine a garden box! It was Nate's big weekend project...

Here he is putting that Christmas gift (circular saw) to use again!

Lowe's did a good bit of the cutting for us... we had a 16-foot plank (of six inch pressure treated lumber) cut into 4-foot sections and two 12-foot planks cut into 6-foot sections.

Here you can see the extra inches left on the 4x4's so that they can support the box from inside the ground.

With the help of a carpenter's square and a flat surface, Nate created a perfect 4 ft x 6 ft box.

After setting the box into the pre-dug holes, Nate used a staple gun to secure the weedgaurd fabric to the base.

Okay, so maybe dirt is cheap... but soil is not! Filling this 4 ft x 6 ft space cost about $70! Nate tried to save a little by filling most of the box with the cheap(er) soil and topping it with the good stuff.

Budget Breakdown:

Soil (the cheap stuff)- $45 (estimate)

Soil (the good stuff)- $23 (est.)

Weedfree fabric- $13.33

Lumber- $26.96

Screws and tools- $0 (had on hand from other projects)

Seeds and plants- $20 (est.)

Total= $128.29

Before you ask: Yes, there is walking space between the side of the house and the garden box. Yes, that is the area of the yard with the most sunlight.

We're total gardening rookies over here so if you have any tips on gardening on the cheap, just let me know! Where do you find the best prices on soil and plants?

PS I worked on a big project of my own this weekend... come back tomorrow for the details. (hint: I got to play with power tools too!)

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