Cuckoo for Cuckoo Clocks!

It's true...I am smitten with these crazy clocks!

My aunt has had a cuckoo clock for as long as I can remember. When I was a child, she used to pick me up and hold me right next to the clock so I could get a better look at the little bird when he popped out to say "cuckoo!"

Now, I am 26 years old and still have a fondness for these unusual timepieces.

What's great is that they make more modernized versions, so that I can actually buy one to put in our contemporary apartment!

Unfortunately, I'm having trouble finding one that fits both our color scheme and our budget.

Here's a list of what I've found so far:

PascalTara Bay White Cuckoo - $200 - snowhome.co.uk

Green Cuckoo - $368 - anthropologie.com

Birdhouse Cuckoo - $86 - nybgshop.org

Infinity Cuckoo - $65 - lampsusa.com

Pink Cuckoo - $14 - wakeupfrankie.com

Utopia Wall Cuckoo - $48 - ambientweather.com

The pink cuckoo from wakeupfrankie.com is clearly our best bet, but I'm afraid my husband would throw me off the balcony if I put a bright pink clock on our living room wall. Do you think painting is an option? If not, does anyone where where I could find a contemporary cuckoo clock for less than $50? Ideas would be greatly appreciated! :)

Thrifty Goodness

I am a tiny bit obsessed with thrift stores. Back home in New York, we had the Open-door Mission and the Salvation Army. Here in Virginia, we have the DAV and Good Will. Between those 4 stores, I have found dozens of treasures that I have reused and repurposed over the years. In fact, most of the items I've found currently reside in our lovely little nest.

The fun of thrift-store shopping is seeing the possibilities in something that has been neglected and rejected. I love taking an item that has been discarded and transforming it into something beautiful and functional. Plus, it's great to spend almost no money to decorate our home!

Here are some things I've brought home from various thrift stores over the past few weeks:

This is my beautiful $5 chair! It's actually not very pretty in this picture, but I knew it had potential. I wanted something small that I could put in the corner of our Master Bedroom. I painted it last weekend and will be adding a homemade pillow soon. Stay tuned for updated pics!

This shiny black teapot was just $2. All it needed was some hot, soapy water and it was ready to reside on our stove.

I just love houndstooth! This is actually a floor-length skirt I purchased for $1.50. The possibilities are endless: pillow covers, valances, custom cushions. I can't wait to begin!

This 50 cent candle-holder was disgustingly dirty. I brought it home, cleaned it up, and will either put it in our Master Bath or on one of the new shelves in our Master Bedroom.

I'd been on the hunt for chunky candle-holders like these two beauties. I almost bought a mismatched pair for $6, but for some reason, I just couldn't do it. I'm glad I waited because I found these a few days later for just $1 each!

Did I mention that I love houndstooth?? This is actually a pair of incredibly soft pants that I purchased for $2.50. I have a feeling they are destined to become pillow covers.

I love discount frames! The most I've ever spent on thrift store frames is $2, and the least I've spent is 25 cents. These are going to be painted silver and filled with home-made monograms.

Well, I hope you've enjoyed your glimpse into my most recent thrift-store adventures!

Just the Beginning

I've decided to use this site as a way to share some of the projects I'm working on, as well as to find ideas from other bloggers about how to make the most of our newlywed apartment.

So, here are some snapshots of our home over the holidays...

Thanksgiving with new, wedding gift linens...
and old, hand-me-down furniture.

Our real, 8 foot tall Christmas tree...
crammed into our teeny, tiny living room.


I'll upload more pictures as we continue decorating our lovely little nest. :)