Recent fun buys

I have had an unusual amount of time alone the last couple of weeks. When I am alone, my favorite thing to do is walk through the flea market. That usually means stopping by the bank before hand, withdrawing $10 or sometimes $20, and seeing what I can come home with. I really enjoy the challenge, cause I'm weird like that.

From my favorite flea market in North Carolina, I got an owl garden statue. She sits in my kitchen and I LOVE every mossy inch of her, especially for the fall time. She costs somewhere around $15, I think.

This week there were two occasions where the kids were all invited to play together for the afternoon with friends. As a result, I had two 3-hour chunks of time alone. Yesterday I went to my favorite local antique market and found this double tier metal basket for the kitchen. It was on sale for $20. I think it was a good buy because it is heavy and big.

And lastly, my very favorite purchase. I saw these little wonders at a friend's house. The windows in the front of our house do not have screens. It has always bothered me in the fall and spring because I can only open the back windows for fresh air. (In fact, the windows were painted shut!) These awesome screens are for just this problem! They pull open and fit in the window snugly, then you just close the window down on the top. If you have weather stripping on the bottom of the windows, there will be no gaps at all. Even if you don't, the gaps are small and wouldn't be a problem in cooler weather when bugs aren't around. We bought two of these screens for $6 each at Home Depot. LOVE them!! **Warning: Picture below from our bedroom contains cat-clawed curtains, peeled window paint from prying open painted-shut windows, and an outdoor window box with wilted flowers. I should obviously be spending my free time around here instead of browsing the markets!