This is Not a Fancy Post

It's not about a fancy place, after all. But the concept is just all around good, so I guess I can hold off being fancy for once.

I tried to make a light fixture for my office. It turned out very cute and very impractical, so I've been thinking about replacing it for a while. But I'm super picky, and frankly, not willing to spend a ton. Turns out those two traits are very difficult to work around.

I've seen lots of pictures of old school chandeliers re-painted to look kind-of funky and updated. There are several places online where you can find those, but if someone else has already done the re-painting, they start around $100. If you'll recall, I am a tight-wad. So even that amount is more than I want to spend.

But Michael, genius husband that he is, reminded me about ReStore.

It's kinda like Goodwill for building supplies. They accept donations of new or barely used building/home materials and then sell them at way (and I mean, like, WAY) discounted prices.

Now, for the most part they really don't have a regular inventory! So there is no telling if they will have what you need or not. But I always think it's worth checking, especially for projects like the light fixture since I'm not entirely sure I can make it work and don't want to spend a huge wad on something that will ultimately be scrapped.

They do pretty much always have some light fixtures, though. At first I didn't think they had anything that would work for my project, but Michael has a knack for picking out really ugly things that become kind-of awesome with some imagination. (Come to think of it, I had a pretty terrible hair cut when he met me!!)

So when he picked this one out:

  

I thought, "Yikes! Let's get it!" At $5, it was worth the risk. I'm gonna paint it a light turquoise and hang it in my office. (And by that I totally mean Michael's gonna hang it in my office!)  I can feel the doubt radiating from y'all's computer screens, and believe me, I am not 100% sold, but I'll let you know how it turns out! 

I did at least tell him no on this one: 

Boys. 

Some of the other stuff they had on Saturday: 

Doors. 

Cabinetry. They also had assembled ones.

$6 machetes, included in this post at Michael's insistance. 

And $3 bobble head dogs. Cause who hasn't been looking for a bobble head dog? But you're too late on those. I bought up the whole inventory. 

But I saved the best and "Local-est" part of ReStore for last, which even with the very small amount of journalism training I have, I know I shouldn't do. Important stuff first...bobble head dogs last. That's the rule. Oh well! Next time! 

The whole point of ReStore is to raise money for Austin's Habitat for Humanity. You can read all about it on their website, but after 20 years in existence, they donate more than $500,000 each year to Austin's Habitat homeownership programs. So not only did I (hopefully) score something awesome for $5, I also donated to someone's dream of having their own house. Hm. I feel like I could've been more generous when I write it out like that! 

This was also apparently the first store of its kind. Habitat programs all over the country have now emulated the concept with their own ReStore retail centers. Kinda cool. 

So even though it may not be very fancy, it can be kind-of awesome and certainly gives Austinites a chance to help out their neighbors. (And make them your actual neighbors!)

Jenni