In Love of Craigslist's "Free" Section

We all know it: Craigslist is awesome. I'm sure there are people who use it to make a good amount of money or sell really expensive things, but I pretty much just use it to sell stuff for cheap, to drool over local puppies and kitties (and pet monkeys), and to get free stuff. I've been combing the free listings obsessively lately. 

Since moving, my brain is constantly updating and revising my list of future house projects, and while I realize that things like adding a patio and a chicken house and a pantry and an office and another bedroom are best done slowly over time, I want them to all be done RIGHT NOW. 

One of the larger future projects we want to do is a sizable paver patio and walkway (with fire pit) in the backyard. Ignorant me was like, "pavers are probably super cheap, duh." This turned out to be an enormous lie. Since we are in no rush to spend hours a day laying pavers out in the height of Florida's summer sun, my plan is to slowly collect free pavers from craigslist until we have enough to cover the entire area. Then I will fashion a glorious mosaic from the array of variously sized pavers, and we will install the whole patio in the Florida Winter.

Two problems: 
1. I am awful at math.
2. Apparently pavers do not have a standardized thickness.

In true Emily style, I have decided to ignore both of these issues until I have enough pavers and I want to kill myself due to my enormous oversight of the thickness problem. I will also probably start laying the pavers and then realize that my calculations were totally botched and that I in fact do not have enough pavers, and then I will cry. So get excited for THAT blog post, coming to you this Winter!

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The paver collection is going quite well, and if my terrible math skills have any merit at all, I am already halfway to the needed amount. YES!

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While checking out the ol' Craigslist, I also grabbed this table for free.

Before

I know, right? Super ugly. Another DIY-er had rattlecanned the chairs in a weird, textured brown paint, and I am not a fan of glass-top tables. But I wanted a table for outside, and it was free, and it was metal. After getting creative with some old fence wood, spray paint, and outdoor fabric, things took a delightful turn in the right direction.

After

The whole project cost $20 for outdoor fabric and spray paint, and the rest of the supplies were all freebies. I may add some edging around the top and do a resin pour so that the tabletop is totally flat and sealed while preserving the look of the old wood. Craigslist FTW!

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A few other projects have been complete as well: the kitchen is all decorated and beautiful, but I keep forgetting to take photos during the daytime! I will post some soon, I promise.

My fingers have been aching to get back to doing some serious artwork, and so this news is the most exciting for me: The shed that will soon be my epic art studio now has electricity! My bestie Linden's boyfriend Eric came out and performed electrician magic while Dave and I marveled at his wizard-like powers. Now all we have to do is put in a window, AC unit, insulation, drywall, some shelving...and then I will be able to unpack all my favorite things and get back to painting.

Before

Now with Electricity!