Our Weekend Project!!!

Ever since I posted the blog about finding good deals, I've had several people email me about different things, so, just so you know, the blockbuster contest thing ended on Jan. 14th I think, so no more coupons/free stuff from that and the snapfish photo codes that you can get on Ebay have been very scarce lately...I don't know what happened, I think they kind of come and go depending on different promotions they're running...a good time to check for them is when you see the McDonals' Monopoly going on because a lot of people sell there free codes from that.

Anyways, while I'm on this subject again, I thought I'd write about my most recent favorite site....craigslist.com....I'd heard about it, but never really checked it out until now. I like checking the kutv.com clasifieds once in a while for stuff, but never find much and usually it's all stuff that is in Northern Utah, but craigslist has several areas in Utah to list under. I guess it depends on what you're looking for, but they have a lot of great categories and you can list any of your items for FREE too (that's what I've been doing...better than paying fees and shipping that you get from Ebay). They have real estate listings, jobs, rentals, pets, free stuff, and tons of household stuff for sale, etc. So, if you're looking for anything, or need to get rid of some stuff, take a look!

My latest great deal has been again, from Ebay....a fireplace mantel! I tried installing a cheap shelf that I got from a home builder's store above the outlining tile around my fireplace a few weeks ago and it was a nightmare and looked terrible, so we tore it down. So, we just ordered a fireplace mantel, custom built and everything for $275, and that included shipping and handling. We got it within 3 days and just stained it and put it up today and it is awesome! It might not sound like that great a deal, but we had a few local people give us estimates on custom mantels and they were crazy...like $1,000 and up. So, of course, I checked Ebay just to see what they had and was so excited to find so many options. So after a few trips to Lowes for the right tools, we did it! Here are the before and after pictures (the 'before' picture isn't the greatest, I took that picture for my RE agent, but it was all I had to show 'before'). What do you think? I'd say not bad for what we paid and then putting in a little work of our own. :) Once again, I love a good deal! So much satisfaction...haha!