disappeared?

i'm still here. but since the last time i was on here we have bought a house and i've been struggling to keep my head above water in the land of purchases for the house. a giant learning curve for this girl. in case any of you would be in the same boat as me someday (aka. you know nothing about where to buy anything for a house!), here are a few tips i've learned over the past month....

1. the furniture & appliance outlet in oshkosh (1205 S. Washburn St.) -- is out of this world. we bought all of our appliances there. they were new (one had a small scratch)...and we paid anywhere from 30%-60% of the full value for them. ca-ching.

2. craig needs to be your friend for life. craigslist is amazing. we discovered craig years back and used him a lot when we remodeled our bathroom last year. and he's still serving us well. today we bought a complete leather living room set (over $5K new) for 20% of the value. almost perfect condition, 4 years old. yes, we are VERY thankful for craig. (if you haven't heard of craigslist, it's just a free online classifieds site.)

ooh, and a quick hint. in order to beat out the other crazies of the world who live their lives on craigslist...create an igoogle home page for yourself and put craigslist on it. you can even format it to keep your specific searches on there. every time you load your home page, you'll get an update of the latest items available on craiglist. it will give you a chance to compete with the others. remember, respond quickly to any listing you're interested in. and if you really want it, try offering MORE than what they ask for...b/c any really good listing usually has multiple responders.

3. habitat for humanity has a habitat re-store in appleton that i'm told i need to visit. i guess people donate various items from their homes (correct me if i'm wrong) and you can buy them at amazing prices. it's located on 3000 E. College Ave. Appleton & the phone number is 920-830-8400.

4. if you like darling things for your kids' rooms, but hate to pay the price (like me!)-- swing by the land of nod outlet in naperville, illinois, if you're ever in the chicago area. or check out their online "nods & ends" outlet. i've bought unique items there for great deals...my best was a cute lampshade for $6!

i've learned more, but i don't want to bore you. if you have any suggestions for this girl, feel free to pass them on. i'll keep you up to date on what i learn along the way. and there will be a lot to learn. because we have a lot to fix & replace. our enormous gem of a home was treated poorly by its previous owners. our demolition day is jan. 30. there is much to be ripped out & much to be scrubbed. more house updates to come...