Craigslist Coffee Table

How many of you shop on Craigslist? 

If you don't, then I urge you to go and check it out. It is seriously one of the best sources for buying and selling, especially when it comes to furniture. We have now bought three pieces for our apartment from Craigslist, and so far each has been a pretty good experience. We bought a wine cabinet that I mentioned in this post right after we got married, as well as Eric's desk in his office, and on Tuesday Eric picked up our new coffee table! 

Tadaaa!!!! I am super pleased with it. It is from the Granas series at IKEA and even though they no longer carry the coffee table, you can still get a regular table that sits two or four people. 

What I love about this coffee table are the clean lines of the black frame, the beautiful glass top that makes the whole piece seem lighter, as well as the shelf on the bottom to help store our ever growing book collection. I think originally you could buy this in the store for around $170, and we were able to snag it for $65...WINNING!!! 

Another view of our little living room. I told Eric to smile...but you know how that goes. I realized after posting this picture that we have made a lot of changes to our apartment since the last time I wrote about it...like around six months ago. I may have to do a little house tour  in the near future :) 
So chalk another one up for Craigslist for helping us get a little bit closer to completing our grown up space! 

And for those of you who have never shopped on Craigslist here are a few tips: 
1.  Always look for a picture of the item you'd like to buy. If it doesn't already come with one, contact the seller and ask if you can have one sent to you. You wouldn't buy a piece of clothing without seeing or trying it on first would you? 

2.  Same rules apply for the dimensions of your piece. How awful would it be to pick up your new cabinet and it won't even fit through your front door! 

3. Look past a rough exterior, a new coat of paint can do miracles. 

4. It's always worth a little haggling with the price. If the listing price is $70, tell them you're on a strict budget of $50 and who knows? Maybe they'll let you have it for $55 or even lower! 

5. There are new postings every day. If you really really love a piece but it's too expensive, keep an eye on it, if it doesn't sell fast enough the seller may lower the price. Or if you have an item in mind you're looking for, just keep checking the site. Something is bound to come up eventually that you will fall in love with. 

6. BE SAFE! You may think that meeting the guy who is selling the pink floral rug is completely harmless, but in the end you're still going to a strangers house. Call a buddy, bring a friend, just let someone else know where you're going. 


So go! Go! Go and see the wonders that wait for you in the magical world of CRAIGSLIST!!! 

Let the House Hunt Begin

After renting for almost the past 6 years, putting up with roommates, limited fridge space, mess that isn't ours, and having to deal with noise and other unpleasant sounds, I can say with full confidence that we are READY TO BUY!

I just LOVE saying that out loud. 

Of course making that decision is just the first step towards the very long journey that will lead us to our first house, but it is a start. We've also become addicted to Realtor.com and the Realtor.com App. It is so cool! You can pull up the area you want to find a house, draw a circle on the screen of where you're looking, and It'll pull up all of the listings within your circle. They also provide a lot of pictures and details for each listing. 

I could gaze at pictures of houses all day. Every house we look at could be our potential dream home! 

There is one house in particular that we have our eye on, but of course It'll be a few months until we're going to see it. It's cute, unique, and within our price range. The things I'm most interested in are what it looks like, where it's located, and how many rooms and bathrooms there are. 

So my questions for you are:

What are some important points to ask about when buying your first home? 

Is there something you wished you had asked before you bought?
What are some unique things to look for/check in older homes?

I'm so excited to start this process. My new obsession has been looking at home improvement and D.I.Y sites. Especially  Young House Love. These guys are amazing, they're a young couple with a daughter who have completely transformed their home. They're not professionals and they are super honest when it comes to their mistakes and what they did to correct them. I think I could watch their video tutorials and look at project pictures for hours. I've asked for their book for my birthday. :) 

Any help or suggestions you can give us will be greatly appreciated. Being a virgin buyer is a scary thing, but we are excited to take the leap into home ownership!!