So I went to starbucks...

I realized late last night that I have a large group of readers from the East Coast (who knew), that are possibly being affected by Hurricane Sandy. Please know, I am praying and sending lots of love your way. Please be safe and stay warm!

The other morning I ran into Target only to stop at Starbucks..yeah, right. You see, Target is my kryptonite when it comes to home decor. Literally I will go in for dog food and pita bread, and somehow leave having spent $150 on pillows...and sometimes I don't even remember going in. Because of this, since we started our new budget I've been avoiding it, with the exception of our monthly shopping trip (this is where we buy dog food, toilet paper, and some of our groceries). Anyways, I went in only to get a coffee but then remembered that I hadn't even gotten to see the new Nate Berkus line yet...oh the horror...I found his line, yet there was maybe 4 things left on an end-cap, and nothing that I was absolutely head over heels for (except for maybe these, but I've seen them EVERYWHERE in the blog world)...sad face. So from there I wondered to the clearance aisle...uh oh...In the end, I'm quite proud, I left only with a gilded vase and one other item (it's a gift for a reader so I can't share it yet) and only spent $12. Anyways back to my pretty gilded vase, it's this one:

On a sidenote, doesn't it remind you of a bee?

The best part: it was $5.00 on sale....the worst part, the top of the vase was an off white/cream color that had no place in my home. I considered putting it back, but come on folks it was $5 and look at the beautiful gold bottom...yum..Enter my favorite tool...spray paint and you get this:

And to answer a question I get a lot, yes sometimes I feel bad about painting something I just bought brand new. In this case, however, I don't. It was only $5.00, there was about 20 of them on the shelf so it is not  unique in any way, and I didn't take away from the part of the vase I loved (the gilded bottom). And now I have a vase I love, that will fit in my home for only $5 (I already had the spray paint).

So there you have it, a not super exciting upgrade, but what are you going to do...How about you guys? Any great clearance finds lately? Have you guys seen the new Nate Berkus collection yet? Swoon. I loved what I saw, I just wish there was way more of it.
Stay tuned tomorrow for another bookcase update! That's right people, 4 posts this week...booyah...