I love craigslist; not only can you save perfectly good items from the dumpster (yay going green) , but you can save some serious cash. Tuesday's are normally for my thrift store finds, but I found this AWESOME table on craigslist, and couldn't resist posting. My current press board table wasn't going to survive move number four in April, so I was really excited when I found this sturdy birch piece. The new table did have some problems (mainly scratches from the previous owner's cat), but for 50 bucks it was hard to pass up. Now, I have no clue about repairing furniture, but those claw marks had to go. After a quick internet search I discovered my 3 options

1. Completely strip the item then re-stain or replace the veneer
2. Prime and Paint the whole item
3. Use "Restore-A-Finish", Markers, and Woody putty to correct flaws.

The coffee table's original color matched my currently living room set perfectly, so I opted for choice # 3. Using #0000 steel wool and dark walnut "Restore-a-Finish" I lightly buffed out 95% of the tables blemishes. The one remaining scratch was colored in with a dark walnut stain pen. Below are the "before" and "after" pictures of the table just using "Restore-a-Finish"





Table after all corrections were made (click to enlarge).







Table ........................ $50.00
Restore-a-Finish ....... $9.00
Stain Pen ....................$5.00

Total cost of new table $64.00

After purchasing this table I was able to sell my old wobbly coffee table on craigslist for 20 bucks so I really only spent $44.00, and prevented two items from getting trashed.

Military Balls = the bane of my existence. For those not married to the Army (or serving), a Military ball, is kinda like prom, but way stricter.

Civilian Women's attire should be.....
- A formal gown (knee to floor length)
- Tasteful

Real helpful right? Basically your dress shouldn't look like something you'd wear to prom (e.g. lots of fake rhinestones, glitter, reviling cutouts, neon colored ect), nor should it be a huge 6 hoop ball gown. The dress is suppose to classy, elegant, and not too flashy. After going online and getting a general idea of the type of dress I wanted I started my search.

Now here's a tip about thrifting, that I live by. Make a list of items that you need or know you will need sometime soon; carry this list with you at all times, so every time you go thrifting you can remember to be on the look out for those items. For example I keep the following list on my phone.

- Large picture Frames (18 x 24 or larger)
- Formal dress for Mil Bal
- Drinking Glasses
- Wicker Baskets (for the rabbits)
- Small patio table
- Chair suitable for outdoors

Important note, don't expect to find all the items on your list all at once; you'll end up being disappointed. Also don't let the list limit what items or sections you browse, it should serve more as a reminder then a grocery list.

After 3 months of checking, I finally found this awesome size 4 "After Six" dress. This gown in a bridal shop normally goes for about 250ish. I paid 10 dollars for it, and it fits perfectly :)