Craigslist, You Have My Heart.

Ok, so maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but I really do love Craigslist! Granted, I've only bought off of it once, but it was a big purchase and an even bigger bargain. When Deric and I got married, we received all kinds of gadgets and fun house things off our registry thanks to wonderful friends and family, but we soon realized that we had NO furniture. Seriously, nothing. (Unless you count Deric's two futons, but I don't..) This was a problem, seeing as we were soon moving into our own house and didn't even have a bed or kitchen table. So, Craigslist to the rescue! I checked Craigslist at least once a day for what felt like months and finally found a set of couches that wasn't floral, lumpy, sagging, overpriced, or stored in someone's garage (I cringe just thinking about what critters might move from the garage to a couch..).

(This isn't even one of the worst!)

The night I found our couches, it was about 10pm and Deric and I had been watching tv when I decided to browse through Craigslist one more time. Lo and behold, a listing had just been put up advertising two couches for $350! I immediately zoomed in on the pictures and tried to judge if the couches were in good condition. I was already praying quick prayers that this wouldn't be a scam, the couches would really be in good condition when I saw them in person, we wouldn't get ripped off, etc. I showed Deric the pictures, but he wasn't too excited (he hates spending lots of money). I was kind of bummed, so I exited the listing and went back to browsing. Then I found an ad for a kitchen table (from Target, no less!) for $100 and realized that the table was listed by the same people who listed the couches! I freaked and sent them an email to tell them we were interested, then quickly talked Deric into purchasing them and promised him I would try to negotiate with the sellers.

So, long story I'll try to shorten: After at least ten emails between me and the seller that night, we negotiated the price for the table and chairs: $350 for ALL of it! Yep, that's a free kitchen table and chairs.  Bright and early the next morning, Deric and I hitched a trailer to his truck and off we went about an hour north. Thankfully, when we got to the seller's house, everything was clean and in good condition. As Deric and the guy were moving everything to the trailer, the lady said she would see if there was anything else she wanted to get rid of. She came out with two end tables and four floor lamps, thrown in for free! I was so pumped (and so was Deric, at this point). Alright, story finished. Thanks for waiting so patiently-- here are the pictures!

 Notice the white walls? I do everytime I walk through that room:) We're currently hunting for a tan/beige paint to use. I'm slightly scared that I'll pick a color that doesn't work well with the couches (they've got a little green in 'em) and end up hating it. But anything is better than white to me!

 Ah, beautiful. Especially because they were so cheap!

The paint we used in the kitchen was a mistinted can we found at Lowe's for $5. Now that we've got the brown walls next to the brown table, we're looking for a different color in here as well. But I'm holding out for another mistint :) Cheap paint to go with a cheap table! 

So that's our Craigslist story. I'm so thankful we didn't get scammed because I've heard that happens fairly often. But God blessed our efforts to save money! Let's hope he continues to bless us, since we're on the hunt for a bed. Yep, we're sleeping on...you guessed it, the futons :)