My find of the week.

Well, I actually found it earlier this summer, so this is a bit of a retroactive post.

One of my rules is: only buy things that make you HAPPY/that you LOVE.

One of my other rules is: if you find something you LOVE (and its cheap), snatch it up then and there, even if you weren't out shopping for it at that moment. Don't pass it up, because finding it when you are looking for it is unlikely.

So, I was following these rules this summer when, in Boston, I walked to a tiny yard sale with my dad and spotted this white pedestal table with green birds on the top. Upon receiving the price ($5), I knew it had to be mine, and I knew just where to put it.

Turns out that it works perfectly with this white lamp purchased at St. Vincent De Paul in Austin last year for $3 -- purchased as part of my campaign at the time to buy only light colored furniture because I was living in a cave-like dwelling with dark wooden ceilings. Happily, my new living space is light and airy, and these light accents fit in just right.

I'd been using another small rectangular table (from Room Service in Austin, purchased for $7) for this lamp between two chairs. It was a little too large for the space, so I'd been keeping an eye out for something else. The rectangular table now works great as a coffee table. I'm still thinking about painting it... That will be a post to come.

So, that's it. My find of the week. My cute, bird top table that makes me happy.

PS: Just so you know, everything else in the picture is second hand: the basket for magazines came from Goodwill ($1), the pink saucer on the table was my grandma's (priceless), and the coasters in the saucer belonged to one of my best friends/roommates of yore, Jo Jo (also priceless).

What this is all about.

This is my first blog.

The inspiration: I get frustrated when I see people spending lots of money on new furniture and home decor. Why? Because I truly believe that everything we need to make our homes look and feel stylish and comfortable, we can find at one of the following locations: garage sales, yard sales, thrift stores, vintage shops, on craigslist, or on the street. I really don't believe there is ever a reason to spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on furniture. Use that money to go traveling or to eat really good food! I promise, with a bit of creativity, time, and occasional paint, you can design for a LOT less, and sometimes for nothing at all.

I owe a lot of my ideas to my parents, who, as professional opera singers raising a daughter in NYC, furnished our apartment with tables, chairs, beds, and shelves found on the street ("one person's trash is other's treasure"), and did creative refurbishing all the time -- my dad often made our hanging lamps out of upside down baskets and collanders. So now, I've started to do this myself -- not the lamp part, per se, but I'd say 85 percent of my home is second or third hand, and I often see things on the street and say, "oooh, with a little cleaning up and paint, that would be GREAT as a coffee table...."

This is my project: For the next year, anything that I use to decorate my home will be second-hand and re-used. Each week I'll post about an item I've found, and send pictures and descriptions of how I'll use it. If I find something that I can't use, but I think could/should be used by someone, I will photograph it and send details about where to find it and how I'd use it!

This project is part of my commitment to leave a smaller footprint on the planet. I am commiting now NOT to buy anything new with which to furnish or decorate my house for a year. This is a challenge, but not a difficult one for me.

Decorating is one of my creative outlets, and I look forward to sharing this process with you, whoever you are. I hope you will find my ideas helpful and I encourage you to send me ideas that you have too!

Til next time.