Sunday, February 15, 2009

Housethrifty Housebeautiful

A white Superstore vase that lurks like a beautiful and frail ghost in the shadow of my enormous hulk of a TV:
A teal and chocolate Urban Barn serving dish cum door-drop plate for our keys and other sundries:
The cutest and most-most used serving dishes in our house, from Superstore, and just the right size for 2 types of pickles and some olives, or Bridge Mixture, Gummy Bears, and pretzels. Mmmm...a trifecta of yummy:
A leaf shaped beautiful plate bought at Superstore. Colour is a rich green and even though it's probably seasonal, I use it year-round for everything from votive candles to serving deviled eggs:
Not that I think that I am the purveyor of taste, or not that I have a bunch (any!) money to spend decorating my tiny apartment but I have been called a fabulous bargain basement shopper in not so many words on many occasions and I'd like to feel I do the very best with what I have so I'd like to share some of my houseware-shopping tips with you. If you have a Superstore (Extra Foods or any subsidiary that is lining the pockets of Gaylen Weston) in general area, you probably already know how great (and cheap) there stuff is. From black pants to Homo milk, I have spent hours in this store, combing for style and deals, neither of which hard to find. There housewares go on sale often and are ever changing with the seasons. Last summer I bought a beautiful set of patio dishes with matching serving bowls and placemats, all teal and white with a tasteful damask pattern on some. I must admit I originally bought the set to give as a wedding present but loved it so much (and housed it so long in my closet) I decided to give the happy couple a chunk of change and keep the set for myself. I have recently bought other great housewares from my local Superstore. After Thanksgiving I picked up a whimsical gourd-shaped gravy boat and matching pumpkin bowl in a luxurious burnt orange colour. Maybe they are only good for a small portion of the year but at the price I paid (both under $10), who cares? And I like to think they give a certain je ne cais quoi to their home on top of my kitchen cabinets. Other places to search for deals are the ever-obnoxious Costco (especailly at Christmas) where I picked up a great spice rack and an absolutely sexy wine decanter. Urban Barn has delicious reed diffusers in subtle scents of the sea and sandlewood (a far cry from the vanilla one I bought from WalMart that makes my hallway smell like a cupcake factory on the Goodship Lollipop). They also have a great sale section that often has opened stationary for cheap, mix and match linenes, scratch and dent items, and usually gorgeous decorative plates for around $15. And when worse comes to worst, there's always to the local Sally Anne to perk up your home's wardrobe. One man's trash is another man's treasure, right? And the world the way it is now, doesn't it make sense to recycle and save your pennies? We got a beautiful dresser from a shop in our town run by the Lion's Club and my husband and I can't stop looking at it and bragging to each other about the price (under $50), a small price to pay for the happiness and beauty it brings us. So in these thin days, don't sacrifice your fabulous. Happy Hunting! Roxanne

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