Suzanne O’Connor’s Bargains LA

Lamp Quest

During our re-design of our home I wanted to brighten up our dining room with new lamp shades. I was able to find a bunch of cream silk chandelier shades at Lowe’s at Lamps Plus for $3-$6. But a pair of table lamp shades proved harder to do.

After shopping through dozens of websites and stores I finally decided I should look into either re-covering them or using different shaped shades all together.

Re-Purpose, Re-Claim and Recycle the Old

I hate to throw things away …. But I also hate to keep things I don’t need and have too much stuff.
Re-using and re-purposing the old is one of the best bargains around. Not only do you usually get higher quality goods but you’ll save money and keep stuff out of the landfill
Here are some ways we re-claimed and re-purposed stuff to save money.

Frugal Valentines Day Budget Gift Ideas

You don’t want to be cheap, but if your budget is non existent for Valentines Day, creativity is the name of the game to make someone feel extra special.
Here are some ideas to get ya going in the right direction for that very special someone…

Renovation Surprises

Here’s a good one….
Did I tell the one about the 1926 home whose garage had no foundation?
Our contractor found that that our garage was not level and had a floor water leak.  Looks like our garage had been sitting nicely on our lot for the last 84 years without a foundation! Yikes!

Caesar Stone Counter Tops

As our renovation saga continues ... the way we buy the best for less also continues!
We waited patiently a couple of days for the estimate of our new Caesar Stone counter tops.  During which I called a few other sources and got ballpark quotes of $2900-$3500 based on the measurements taken.

We braced ourselves and tried to come up with an alternative that made hubby and I as happy. Not much came to mind.

To Drive… or Not to Drive

Driving in Southern California is nothing less than a hassle.  Some areas of town suffer more than others with consistently heavier traffic making heading out to an off the beaten track bargain spot difficult.

I get it.  But if you want to save money… real money, ya gotta drive.

Our Renovation Saga Continues

OMG! The kitchen is just one series of repairs.

The recent dishwasher install meant we had to drill a hole to put in an air intake. This revealed that the wood under the kitchen counter wasn’t wood but was an old Formica counter top (laminate on press board). Further inspection revealed it was rotted away.

I’m an Organizing Fool

No doubt I made a fool out of myself at the Container Store yesterday. When I found a solution to an odd cabinet problem found in our 1926 home… I got stupid giddy. The dishwasher install took out my best kitchen drawers and a cabinet. Not one deep drawer left in the kitchen. No place for the dough roller, hand mixer or dish towels.

How Charter Cable Messed Up and T- Mobil Saved the Day

Setting up a new home isn’t easy. Especially if you run a business out of your home.
Our internet server in both locations is Charter Cable.  We ordered new service at the new house to start on the 11th and keep our old connection open through the end of January at our old house. Essentially two accounts open at the same time for a two week period.

Ikea Sunday

Sunday, Hubby, I and the kid stopped into Ikea to see if they had some options for our counter space problem in our new kitchen.

I hadn’t seen a zoo of people at Ikea like this since they first opened. Every room had hundreds of people milling through the rooms, on in-store computers and trying out every fixture, furnishing or doodad they could find.