I want to hug my fridge

Hey hey! How was your weekend? We had a wonderful time in southern Indiana in a cabin with my family – we had such a blast!! Indiana in the fall is my very favorite place to be! Well, it’s my favorite place to be any time of the year, but you get it. :)

Well, it’s been a month since our fridge died on us and caused water damage in the kitchen. We’ve since gotten the island installed and put back together, and a couple of weeks ago we got our new fridge.

And it’s beautiful. I mean it people:

Excuse the plywood. :)

Wait…hold on.

It’s more like this:

For reals. We had to wait two weeks for it, since it was out of stock, but it was worth the wait! I knew I wanted the French-door style refrigerator and it does not disappoint. When we went shopping, there were a ton to choose from, and at first I was looking at the counter-depth versions like we had before.

But then I saw this one. Hearts were fluttering out of it, even in the store. ;)

(Duh. I thought I had mentioned the brand! It’s a Kenmore Elite – you can find out the deets here.)

The basic measurements of this one are the same – but the space inside can’t be beat. It’s got 31 cubic feet of space inside. That means 31 cubic feet of AWESOMENESS:

And when you open the doors, there’s singing. I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from, but it happens.

Wait, maybe coming from my head. Whatever.

It’s HUGE. Part of the reason it holds so much is that the ice maker is in the door:

It makes the cutest ice too. Really. Our old ice was long, these are square-shaped. It really doesn’t take much to make me happy.

It’s got the basics:

And some fun stuff like extra deep door storage:

The bottom drawer inside is my very favorite thing. It’s wide and huge and it is great for flat, wide stuff. And you can open one of the doors or both – which I think is brilliant. So often we’re just grabbing milk or whatever, and I like that we can still just open one door if needed.

The only difference in size is that it isn’t counter-depth, which means it comes out further than the counter. It sticks out about four more inches than the old fridge. We kept the old fridge in place and moved it out for a few days to make sure we wouldn’t mind it.

We didn’t. :)

And we have the same issue with this one that we had with the old one – the right door doesn’t open all the way:

There’s nothing we can do about that, so I’m not bothered by it. (We’re used to it anyway.) And actually, because this fridge sticks out a bit further than the old one, the door opens more than before.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that ALL of the drawers (even the long bottom one) still pull out completely, even when the doors don’t. SMART.

Our old fridge was a side by side, and it always drove me crazy. I felt like the older refrigerator we had long ago (like, eight years ago) was more spacious. We couldn’t fit much at all in our freezer in the old one, and it especially bugged me that we couldn’t buy frozen pizzas.

I know, my life is rough. ;)

But what really sold me on this one were the THREE drawers in the freezer:

Most French-door styles have two freezer drawers and this extra one totally sold me. Now our meat has it’s own drawer. Love that! And the meat is happy too. I’m guessing. ;)

You’ll notice the freezer and fridge aren’t full – it’s because we’re slowly refilling it all. I had no idea how much food we had in our fridge (that went bad) and how much it would cost to replace it all. It’s crazy! The insurance company will cover some of it, but not all, from what I understand.

The insurance claim did not cover the new refrigerator, which is about the only thing they aren’t covering.

Many of you have asked how I keep our stainless so clean, and I’ve tried just about everything. The best I’ve found is my Shaklee basic cleaner:

It’s all I use on the fridge anymore!

So far the only thing that has slightly bothered me about this new style is that there’s not much room for all that stuff we used to keep in the door – you have to keep it out in the open part of the fridge. This isn’t a big deal because there’s SO much space, but I like having that separate spot for all that little stuff. It’s the organizer in me. ;)

But it’s not a big deal all, at least to me. Overall, I’m LOVING it so far.

And I think we’ll finally see some progress on our floors this week – I’m meeting with the flooring guy to work on stains tomorrow. We’re going the finished on-site route, for reasons I’ll explain soon!

So, do you have this new style? Love your side by side? Traditional freezer on top? (I liked it more than the side by side!) It makes me wonder what they’ll come up with next – but I think this is the best design yet!

 

P.S. I need to get my fall mantel going, because our first fall linky party is this Tuesday over at Layla’s place! Get your fireplaces and mantels ready!!

Vintage treasures

Hey hey! I hope your weekend was GREAT! I felt like we were moving constantly but didn’t accomplish much – ever feel like that?

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with my friend Myra from My Blessed Life – her family was in town and we took advantage of the chance to spend an afternoon together!

At first I suggested we go shopping at HomeGoods, but then I remembered one of my very favorite spots in Indy:

Midland Arts and Antiques is a glorious spot for any shopper/thrifter/DIYer. Two massive floors of antique and vintage goodies. It’s ahhhmazing. I knew Myra would love it too!

Some trips I only find a couple things, some I find so many I can’t decide what I’m going to get. This was one of those trips! Here’s some of my favorites!

This aqua chip and dip bowl was gorgeous:

I’m still kicking myself for not getting it! But alas, I had run out of hands. ;)

I LOVED this huge bell:

I got a smaller version at HomeGoods a few months ago and this one was HUGE!

I’m still kicking myself for not getting it. ;)

The Bub wanted me to show you the choo choo:

He’s crazy about trains! :)

I was nuts for this mirror:

It was awesome – it was a concave antiqued mirror and the frame was so. cool. But it was already sold – DRATS.

Such a tease.

This one had us both salivating:

It was HUGE – we thought it would be a fantastic kitchen island! (In a HUGE kitchen.)

So here’s what I filled my hands with – an old, rusty in all the right places watering can:

It works great – no leaks!

The Bub loved this phone:

And I am slightly offended that it’s considered antique, or even vintage. I used those phones, hellooo. ;)

It works too! We all get a kick out of it.

I loved this platter:

It was only $6, and the tag said it was made in Italy:

I still can’t tell if it was made in Italy or made by someone named Jaly. ;)

I found a big honkin’ wide mouth Ball jar:

It was only $6 – I’ve never seen a Ball jar that big!

It makes a perfect vase:

Sunflowers – they scream it’s late summer and fall is coming soon!! LOVE.

They have had a TON of these amber jars for months now:

Both Myra and I were thinking up ideas because they were such a beautiful color and only $2 each!

I ended up getting three, and so far one is a vase:

And I filled one with sand and plopped a tea light inside:

It will look a whole lot better with dry sand. Nice.

It was hot as HADES in Midland that day – geesh. But we had such a great time! We just needed a shopping cart (or two).

See? Hot mess. Myra, of course, looked as beautiful as always. It’s like she doesn’t sweat! :)

You can see some of Myra’s treasures here! Love you girl!

What would you do with my finds? How about the amber jars? Found any fun antique finds lately? Want to go to Midland with me? ;) Do tell!

Love for The Ridge

Well helloooo! I’m writing to you tonight from our new SUPER comfy, super soft, just-the-right-size sectional. :) Couldn’t be more pleased with it, really. And I swear this is the last time I’ll mention it till I show you. ;) Soon!!

Every once and awhile I find a store and I feel like I didn’t share it it with you I’d be committing some kind of thrifty shopping find. So share I do. This one just took me awhile. :)

I discovered Garden Ridge a few years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Ours is a good 30 minutes away, so I only get over there a couple of times a year. But I do my best to get over in the spring/summer every year because of the variety they carry.

Their outdoor selection (and prices) are hard to match! They have an crazy good selection of cushions:

It’s really insane. They used to have an incredible selection of outdoor pillows too, but I didn’t see many this time. I’m sure they’ve mostly sold out already. (Cause it’s JUNE you know.)

They had a great selection of outdoor benches and chairs this time:

  

I thought that trellis design was super cute. I got a couple of steel end tables for the deck that I’ll show you soon.

I have wanted a hammock FOREVER. I tell hubby every year I want one for Mother’s Day, and we just never get to it. I have always wanted to hang it between two trees in our backyard, but we’d have to clear away a lot of brush to get it set up.

I came across the hammocks (for $30!!) at The Ridge and couldn’t resist:

They had the rope hammocks, and then the rainbow version and a blue and white stripe that I loved.

I had to go with the color though:

Ignore the flip flop tan. And that this is not a flattering angle for the legs. :)

This thing is HEAVEN. Seriously, I could lie in there all day. Instead of dealing with the trees, I just got a stand while I was there, and it took about five minutes to put the whole thing together.

I’m so excited about my pretty hammock. :)

They have a TON of home decor too – I loved this large drum shade:

Isn’t that so fun?

It would perfect to for a DIY drum shade pendant or for updating your ceiling fan:

:) Wouldn’t it look FAB?

I loved these bookcases too:

I think the smaller one was $80? Maybe not, I wish I could remember!

They reminded me of this Ballard Designs version:

You’d save a good $500 easy. :)

I got all of our kitchen chairs from Garden Ridge about three years ago, and they’ve held up pretty darn well. They were all buy one get one half off.

These are the bar stools I have at our island, (ours were black):

I cut down the legs a bit, covered the seats and then painted them white last month:

LOVE!

Garden Ridge has a great selection of rugs too:

Not only area rugs, but a ton of kitchen rugs, welcome mats – everything!

But wait till you get a load of this…the pillow selection is like nothing I’ve ever seen:

HA! Told you! And this is one of THREE aisles. :)

Craaaayzay!

I love that they have smaller and larger sizes – usually about $10 and $20 respectively. I thought these were super cute:

 

I couldn’t resist a large and a small in this design:

Now I just have to decide where to put them – they go perfectly in the playroom and the living room!

Of course Garden Ridge has some…uh, questionable stuff too:

 

Although if I had a ton of storage space, I would so get a couple of those knights as Halloween decorations! :)

So, have you been? Got anything good? I wouldn’t say their quality is spectacular, but we’ve had good luck with the items we’ve purchased over the years. For the price, it’s a great deal. 

I love hearing about new thrifty places to shop…got any good ones?

**I’m not getting paid to tell you about Garden Ridge. They have no idea who Thrifty Decor Chick is (unfortunately). ;) I just like it so I tell ya!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Stuff I like

Hey all! Thanks so much for the all the sweet comments on the board and batten in the office! I haven’t touched it since I finished – my shoulders still cry out for mercy every time I step in the room. :)

Every once in a while, I’ll find a new little doodad or product, and if I like it, I’ll think – “This (insert cool thing here) is so nifty, I need to tell my Squeezies about it!”

I think about you often, I do. ;)

But one little cool doodad does not make a post, so I thought I would show you a few of them all at once. Some of these we’ve been using for years, some just a few weeks.

First up, some super saahhhweet organization from my pal, your pal, everybody’s pal -- IKEA. I picked up these on a recent trip and love LOVE them:

They hold your iron on the wall, all tucked away nice and organized. I know, it’s the little things. It doesn’t take much. I’m easy to please. I told you, IKEA makes me happy. :)

I think they were $3.99 each. The mini ironing board (for shirt sleeves) I hung with a Command hook (love those too).

I got two holders for our two irons – one is for hubby’s work clothes, and one for my drapery projects. I use hemming tape and there were some unfortunate hemming-tape-residue-on-the-work-pants incidents. So now we have his and hers irons. His is the manly dark one, mine is the dainty light one. So cute.

And did you notice the little cord holders? Um, that put me over the edge happy, cause you know cords give me the heebs.

Next up, a knock your head against the wall cause I WHY didn’t I think of this, the Zip-It:

Oh my glorious, this thing ROCKS. I love this little $2 jobbie – you just put it down your drain and pull up. All the nasty comes up with it. You’ll thank me for not showing you – I’ll let you experience that for yourself.

I found it forever ago, and I’m never going back to the nasty chemicals to unclog our drains. I have this thing about Drano. It freaks me OUT. Every time I’d use it, I’d turn on all the fans, open every window, close the doors behind me, and leave the house for three days.

A little bit of an exaggeration, but not much. :) I don’t remember where I got our Zip It, but I’ve seen them at Target, and you can find out more at their website here. (If you have a weak stomach, do not watch the video on their site. For reals.)

A couple of years ago, we found the BEST, fluffiest, softest, more absorbent towels EVER. And we found them at Meijer of all places.

I am gaga over these towels:

I kid you not, I adore them. They are hands down the best towels we’ve ever owned. We’ve spent good money on much more expensive brands and these beat them in price, quality and comfort any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

They’re called New Heritage, and I believe the large towel is $9.99:

I’m not kidding you – they are luscious. I’ve washed them meeellions of times and they hold up amazingly well. They’re softer than the day we bought them, they don’t snag, and they get you dry.

We love them so much, we got rid of all of our older towels and only use these now. They come in about seven colors I think, but no white, which is kind of a bummer.

The last of my cool stuff is for the kitchen. I found these oven mitts at Crate and Barrel last year:

I got my first one with a gift card (they are $9.99), and loved it so much I went back for another. Eventually I got rid of all of my other oven mitts, they are that great. They’re grippy enough that they hold on tight to pans, they wash so easily (I rinse them or put them in the dishwasher) and they take up so little storage space.

Speaking of silicone (this stuff is amazing, eh?) I found this little strainer ($5.99 I think?) at TJMaxx last summer:

Doesn’t look like a strainer huh?

BOOM:

It pops out. I don’t know why, but this thing gets me all giddy. Ingenious.

This one is pretty small, and it still hold a good amount:

It washes so easily, and takes up a sliver of storage space in the drawer. I’m on the lookout for slightly larger versions as well.

I guess they make storage containers like this too now. The brilliance out there astounds me. Again, WHY doesn’t my brain think of this stuff? Don’t you love how you see something like this and you’re all DUH…but you would never think of it?

At least my head doesn’t. :)

So there. you. go. My favorites doodads of late. Nuggets of awesome. Good stuff. Stuff I like. Anything you’ve found lately that you love? Trinkets, tools, stuff that works? I love hearing about things that work and hold up for moms and families.

P.S. I’m not getting paid by any of these companies, I just like their stuff. So I share. Cause they rock.

P.P.S. If you can find the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos in a picture above, you get a gold star.