Fab Finds Friday: January 1-11th

I don't know about you, but with this new year came a newfound urge to purge my home of my unwanted stuff. (Maybe it's also the fact that we're moving in May and I don't want to make the move any more difficult by dragging along junk).  I've made a donation to Goodwill each week that I've stopped by there.

It looks like others are having that same urge, because I'm finding so many treasures at my thrift shops! I'm sharing what I unearthed during the first two weeks of 2013.

First up, this awesome microscope slide set for $4.99. There are 12 slides per box (none were missing, yay!) in fun categories: tiny creatures, plants, organs of insects, and animals.

Here's a glimpse of some of the slides:

I think they're much too pretty and cool to stay in the box, so I have a DIY project up my sleeve...

I also found this pretty little etched glass candle holder. I like the subtle floral detailing and the brass sides. It's sort of terrarium-esque. I'm crediting this $2.99 buy to my mom & dad since I used a Christmas gift card from them to buy it :)

I also found this little gold tree hanging out in the candle section. Initially I thought I'd paint it (maybe even something bold like emerald and teal--I want more of those accents around the house--which might make it look a bit like coral. But I might also just leave it natural. Brass and gold accents are kind of growing on me. 

I also grabbed this pair of milk glass vases, mostly because they were only $0.25 each! They already look great clustered with my growing collection.

This next one is a little whimsical. I just couldn't resist this little Volkswagen bus toy when I saw it for $0.99 because it reminds me of the little VW van on How I Met Your Mother.

I also snapped up this pretty little plate when it was half off. I'd admired it for weeks and decided it will look great in an eclectic gallery wall I have in mind for our new place. The gold detailing is quite pretty.

On my way out of Goodwill on one particularly fruitful shopping trip, I spied a bunch of my favorite cork-topped glass jars. A few were damaged so I skipped on them, but still ended up with these pretties. The smaller ones (two of which came with extra cork toppers) were $0.99 each, while the big guy was $1.99. I will probably use these as additional spice storage once we have a bigger pantry. These are also from my parents via that gift card :)

Also on my gift card shopping spree, I found a trio of chunky wooden candlesticks for $1.49 each:

I also found two more pieces for that eclectic gallery wall I mentioned earlier--one is a small 5x7 painting which I snatched for $0.99:

And the other is this old-timey looking print of "The Black Crow," which is an antiques shop! I thought it was cute and liked that it gives a nod to one of my favorite pastimes: shopping for vintage goodies :) Plus the frame is in good condition! It was $2.99.

Anyone else finding any goodies in 2013? Do tell!

Snapshots

This year, Ryan and I decided to pool our Christmas money and purchase a DSLR camera and some lenses. We've both been experimenting with the settings and are definitely still newbies, but here are a few of my favorite photos I've taken so far. Clearly I enjoy macro shots, haha. Enjoy!

13.

To most people, 13 is an unlucky number. But it's always been one of my favorites. In fact, I got married on Friday the 13th, so obviously I'm not superstitious about the number--quite to the contrary, it's a cherished number to me.

So I'm taking it as a good omen that this is 2013. I think it'll be great. In fact, I'm pledging to make it awesome. Here are thirteen things I plan to do to make that awesomeness come to fruition.

1. Soak up our last few months in Montana. With Ryan's graduation in May, we only have a little more time here. We want to do some hiking and more exploring. Once the weather's warmer, expect me to be outside a lot more!

{photo by Kristine Paulsen Photography}

2. Get a good job in my field. I absolutely LOVE my job here in Missoula (I work at a preschool and I love the children, their parents, and all my coworkers!), but when we head back to KC I hope to get a job in marketing writing, editing, or publishing.

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3. Write more--meaning stories, and also here on the blog! I had a good run going for a while last year, but lost my footing this summer because we were so busy, and with my full time job this fall it's been hard to keep up, too! I don't know if I'll be able to get back to 3-4 posts a week, but am sure going to try to!

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4. Work on my photography skills, since the hubs and I bit the bullet and bought a camera with our Christmas money. I'm excited to start playing with it!

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5. Start cleaning messes soon after making them. Now that I have a 7:30-3:30 job, things around the house have kinda fallen to the wayside...and it's a bummer having to clean stuff up on the weekend, then dirty it again, then clean it again, etc...I just want to get better about keeping my projects in check so they don't clutter up things! But on the bright side, the biggest culprit (the dishes--our dishwasher doesn't work well) has been conquered by Dawn Power Clean! Best soap ever. For real. Also, I have been on a major cleaning/decluttering/donating kick lately and we've gotten rid of a LOT. I have many organizing posts to come!

 Remember my terrible closet? NEVER AGAIN.

 6. Continue following our budget and saving. I've gotten a lot thriftier than I've been in the past, which is great! I don't want to fall off of that wagon, though, so I'm keeping this in mind as a goal.

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7. Really launch my business with my sister. As I mentioned briefly here, we're starting an event rental and styling company. We've done a lot of work so far in terms of compiling, photographing, and organizing our inventory, but have more work to do on our website, marketing, and all the legal/business-y mumbo jumbo (securing permits, writing client contracts, etc.) I would love for us to do a bridal show this summer!

8. Follow through with more of the projects I take on. On the docket--our wedding scrapbook, some Montana string art, and a painting. I'll share details when they're all done :) I'm hoping to add a lot more to my DIY portfolio this year!

9. Try out some new recipes in the kitchen! Thanks to Pinterest I've tried some in 2012 (and really enjoyed a few), but I want to keep expanding my repertoire. This includes adding some more healthy items to our favorite recipes list.

10. Allow myself time to do nothing. Sometimes (usually on the weekends) I find myself feeling lazy if I'm not accomplishing something every hour--which is kinda silly. This is a time in my life when I should be allowed some unproductive moments. So I'll try not to feel bad if every moment isn't dedicated to checking off an item from my to-do list.

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11. Travel somewhere new. I would love to road trip to Chicago, Nashville, or Louisville with my fam!

12. Kinda like #1--I want to explore Kansas City more once we move back there. Eat a few more local places, go to some of the museums, see what festivals or events are in town, go to live theatre more often. I love the farmer's markets and vintage fairs in Missoula, so I want to continue going to things like that when we're back in the Midwest! And it'll be fun to do so with family and friends.

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13. This is a little one, but I made a perpetual calendar last year similar to this one, and it's really easy to fall behind on writing on it! I need to be better about keeping up with it.

So there you have it. Have you made any resolutions for 2013?