When buying things for your home, wardrobe, or for a celebration, how many of you pride yourselves in getting a good deal?
For me, I get a thrill out of finding something really beautiful or very practical when the price is cheap.
My purchasing mantra is: the closer to free the better.
I am not embarrassed or ashamed to shop at yard sales, Goodwill, resale shops, or flea markets... not at all! In fact, some of the best elements used in decorating our home or Amelia's birthday parties have come from these places.
And if you happen to see my car parked on the side of the road with me lugging something from the trash to my trunk, give me a honk and a wave. I will not be ashamed. And I hope you're not in a hurry because I will most likely call you over to show off my new, free treasure!
You may be thinking, that's not very sophisticated or parisienne or you may be thinking that's just what poor people say. Poor or rich, I'm of the opinion that whatever amount of money God gives to my family needs to be spent responsibly and keenly. (Besides, making a habit of shopping frugally makes it possible to splurge occasionally on those really high quality items (a nice winter coat, good parfum, etc.) that are so parisienne and worth the investment.)
So, in an effort to inspire all of you that a beautiful home, outfit, or celebration doesn't have to break the bank or go onto that devilish credit card, I am starting a new series on my blog:
100 Pretty Pennies: From Pennies to Panache with a Clever Eye and Thrifty Pocket.
So onto my first pretty penny item in our home: the chandelier in our masterbath.
vintage tole chandelier in shades of celery, white, pale aqua and pale yellow
The story behind this find:
I am probably the only college student you have ever heard of that had a booth in an antique mall-who spent her Saturday mornings visiting yardsales scavenging for goodies to resell.
I scored this unexpected treasure from a yardsale in our college town with the intention of selling it in our booth (I shared a booth with my college roommate and best friend, Lauren). The selfish side of me decided to keep it for myself, so I stored it away, neglected it, forgot about it. Years later, after I had graduated college, married, and renovated our masterbath, my husband dug it out of the shop and brought it into the house.
My jaw dropped at how perfect it was for our bathroom, and I just had to laugh.
I had completely forgotten about it, and it matched our bathroom perfectly! I'd love to say that I had been clever enough to design our bathroom around this chandelier, but I wasn't; it was a total accident, and really I must give credit to my husband for rediscovering it!
So, how much did I pay for this pretty vintage Italian tole chandelier???
200 pretty pennies~~~~~~~~~$2.00!!!
Worth about $300.00!!!
Definitely worth the Saturday morning hunt!
images by à la parisienne