Friday, May 30, 2008

One woman's trash...

The day after K's preschool program we moved to a different apartment in the same complex (3 bedrooms feels SO much bigger than 2!!). Everything is the same for our address, but add 32 to the house number. :) Joseph was in the midst of pre- and early finals, so the timing wasn't great, but it all worked out. I have WONDERFUL and AMAZING neighbors and friends and family who helped so much - we moved all the kitchen/shelving/closets on Friday, then all the big stuff the next day. It was our 8th move in the almost 7 years of our marriage. Ugh! :)

A few weeks before the move, the city in which we live had their big Spring-cleaning-large-item-pick-up day -- my friend Heidi and I lovingly refer to this event as 'Bulky Trash.' The garbage company goes through half of the city, alternating every other year, and you can dump whatever you want on the curb, and they pick it up early Saturday morning. So Friday night, the race is on to find the best trash. :) We find all kinds of stuff -- tables, chairs, dressers, baby gear (plenty of strollers!), bikes, etc.

This year we found an enormous frame, about 7 feet long, still in it's packaging. No back or glass or anything, just the frame itself. Heidi kept it in her garage for me till after we moved, and then it was time to figure out what to do with it! So I skimmed through all my pictures (the family shot is from Jared and Deb's camera, and the temple picture came from Mindy -- thanks!!!), took the kids out for a mini-photo shoot ("Hey, kids, get some clothes on, I need a picture of the two of you where you're clean and don't have a bucket on your heads"), and did a little photoshop editing. I bought hardboard at Home Depot to mount the pictures on, got a little creative with hanging hardware, and one woman's trash became another woman's treasure. :)

I think my kids are cute. And I like my trashy decor. :)

11 comments:

Bonnie said...

How beautiful! I can't wait to come and see it in a few weeks!

Dave said...

Beautiful find Tara. How did you end up hanging it? We have a big mirror to hang, but I'm sure that the holes won't line up with the studs...

Rachel said...

Love it! I see you got a new couch (well, in the 4 years since I've been to your house)...no more velour 70's flowers! It looks so homey:)

heather said...

I love your home ... can you come out and decorate mine? Pretty please? And no, it's not just an excuse to see your beautiful face. :) Love you!

Missy said...

I absolutely LOVE that frame!! That's even better than a yard sale cuz it's free!! SCORE!

Andrea said...

I love it. I always like seeing what project you are working on. I can't wait to see the babies room.

Jessica said...

Your wall looks amazing! Even better in real life--I'm so glad I have such talented friends that I can copy someday:) Bulky Trash Rocks!

Angela said...

Wow! What a great find!! Your new home looks great! Show us more!

Mindy said...

That looks so great! And yes, your kids are very cute! :) Well done - and I love the L on the wall next to the trashy frame. :)

Jill said...

Hello!
I am Lisa's friend! She told me about your frame, so I had to check it out. AWESOME. you scored big time on that one. Beautiful pictures!!!!!!
Your family is adorable.

Kate Diamond said...

Very gorgeous! Be forewarned: the ache to visit you is getting stronger. And I have a job now, so it's actually possible...

And I think we might have the same couch. Down to the maroon accent pillows that didn't come with it. I'm a little disturbed, actually. :)