Bargain Shopping in Furniture Land

I am here today to tell what has been consuming my time. Besides work of course, which has been eating my lunch. But outside of work?? Furniture shopping! And in blogworld, it’s pretty much illegal to not spill the beans on good bargain finds. 

 

I bring to you, the Furniture Outlet Circuit in and around Austin, TX!

Pottery Barn Outlets - this outlet has a William Sonoma Section, A West Elm Section, and duh, a Pottery Barn section. Apparently they all are owned by the same company. What I love so much, is you can find plenty of current holiday items (ie. Ornaments, runners, pillows, candles, placemats) in the Pottery Barn section. It is not just a hodge podge of broken, offseason items. Which they have that too, but the cheaper in-season items lure me in every holiday season. Then, they have a great assortment furniture at great prices. It’s always scratched or dented somewhere, but if you are an easy going furniture shopper like myself, you can easily find a million pieces that will work out great for you! I always keep my eye out on the stuff I really like on the west elm and pottery barn website, that way I can spot the deals real quick. You can also call if you have an item in mind. My sister usually has her eye on things and calls frequently until they show up. Last year, I, well actually my sister, spotted the west elm rug I had been drooling over for about 700 dollars cheaper than retail. It was missing 4 tassles, but I did not care one hoot.

Now.. Restoration Hardware Outlet. First up, I would never ever buy anything full price in this store. It’s ungodly expensive. And I just refuse to walk in. But the outlet?? Totally Tessy approved. I scored these chairs for 174 - 25%, (about $141 each after tax). 

I have been on a dining chair hunt for ages, so you have no idea how excited I (and my sister, #1 furniture confidante) that we FINALLY pulled the trigger and bought these babies. Now where are the rest of the chairs you ask…perfect Segway

The JOSS and Main website / furniture auction thing is sending me the missing bench. You become a member (zero cost), and then you just search the deals. I’ve heard they are super slow to ship things, but if you have patience, who cares! Hopefully it be here in the next two weeks. The fact that it was less than half the price of the west elm bench I have had my eye on for a very, very long time helped me decide to just buy. I hope it gets in on time for our Annual Girls Christmas Party!

And last but not least,  a new place I added to this year’s list: Four Hands Furniture Outlet in North Austin. I liked these chairs, but couldn’t find 4 of the same kind. I also decided they might fit a true formal dining space unlike our big open room. Regardless, I really want to come back to look for bedroom furniture.

Now, for the rest of the week - I will scour black Friday deals. 

I am already a tired shopper ^^proof above^^ but I want to be prepared this year!

 

Stress + Christmas cards!

 Oh man bloggy friends. It's been a crazy week. I took a one day trip to Chicago to check out event space for one of my biggest events in January. Flew in, saw nine places, and flew out. I was spent to say the least. I've got a trade show, a one-day trip to Dallas and conference here in Houston all before Dec. 4th. Ahh!

pretty Chicago Fall

To say work stress is creeping in is an understatement. And it won't stop until mid-February. All of this is good, because I like to stay busy, but having Q4 and Q1 events hitting me simultaneously is eating my lunch. I haven't even had time to get holiday stress! Which, it's still a ways away before we dive into the crazy world of Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I'm trying to plan ahead a little bit so I can enjoy and not stress. 

So the real point of this post: I just bought our Christmas cards!! 

 

And I am in love!

 

Even cooler, I bought the cards today to catch the $25 off & free shipping promo on minted.com, and can just upload my pictures later. They just know the way to my heart by encouraging my procrastination. Just pick your design, pick the 'full proof' option, pay and voila. They send you a link where you can edit your picture, shipping options, addresses or even how many you want to order!

Matthew is a little bit Christmas card shy, but there was no way he was wiggling out of it this year. Since we have no kids or pets, the picture part is kind of a struggle. Oh, and we totally skipped the easiest Christmas card year of all - the one where you slap on a wedding picture and call it day - which would have been last year for us. Or the year you buy your first home - also last year, and we missed it. Whoopsie.

And too bad none of these pictures will work from our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. That's because auto timer and placing your camera on the counter is not a conducive strategy to snapping family portraits. Seriously, camera tripod is at the top of my list this year! 

Nevertheless, I found a design that I think is super cute that doesn't totally make me feel weird for sending out a picture of just Matt and I (sans kids or pets). And I'm really excited about it! Eek! The holidays are a coming!

Anybody else sending out Christmas cards for the first time? Where do you usually shop??