"I do not claim that I can tell a story as it ought to be told. I only claim to know how a story ought to be told." -Mark Twain









6.26.2011

Concrete Thinking......

When we bought this house, there were two huge (blank and empty) concrete squares that sat on each side of the front sidewalk. Clearly, it was meant for big urns (well...clearly in my eyes anyway! pumpkins in the fall....a small evergreen at Christmas...etc.....)
I found the exact urns I wanted.
They were big enough to make a statement
and simple enough to please my taste.
They were at Lowe's...
and they were $70 (and some change)
a piece.
Well, when you move there are lots of expenses.
And two concrete (beautiful) urns
for $140 (and some change)...
was just not in my budget.

 Enter K-Mart. Yep, you read it right. K to the Mart. They had the exact same urns I coveted at Lowe's...only their urns were ...................plastic. So, what is a girl to do?
Whine about it....or take action? 
 You already know the answer! I took action!!!  I bought two of the big size...for $10 a piece. For real. I bought three of the smaller size for (get this...) $6 a piece. So, I invested $38 in urns (plastic!!!)...and had five of them. I put two of the small ones flanking the front door, and put a small one by the back door. Then I took the big ones and put them where they were supposed to be! Right in the middle of the large concrete squares!!
 BUT...and you know there is always a but!!  I had to buy the natural color (plastic) urns at K-Mart, as they were out of the black ones I wanted. (The urns come in two pieces, by the way, the top part and the base disconnect.)(P.S. That is Abe trying to get in the picture. He is my helper (!!!) each day.)
 So, to solve the problem, I simply bought some black spray paint that is specially formulated for plastic. And I sprayed the urns. Took all of about 10 minutes. Maybe. I might have spent one or two of those minutes petting Abe. I bought the spray paint at Wal-Mart (not to get your Mart's confused). But K-Mart probably had the paint too.
 Here are the urns side-by-side so you can see the size difference. Sweet.
And then to make the deal even sweeter, I knew I wanted ferns in my urns (say that three times).
I just did.
So, I went to Lowe's (the place of the expensive concrete urns)...
and
they had their ferns
on sale.
The two huge ferns that
are stand-up-straight-ferns
in the front big pots...
They were $6 a piece.
The three smaller ferns that are
by the front and back doors...
they were $1.98 a piece.
They were the hanging fern type, but I just
cut off
the hanging stuff and sat them in
my
fake-concrete urns.
Even though I am an English teacher .....(the dots are my tribute to Emily Dickinson)
I'll do the math for you...
5 urns = $38.00
5 ferns = $18.00 (I rounded those small ones up!)
"Hello, Welcome to my new house.....= priceless!"
Oh yea, I already had the flags!

One more little tidbit that has very little to do with my urns...
My great-aunt Gertrude was heavily "courted" by Mr. Kress.
That would be Mr. K-r-e-s-s of the "K" in K to the Mart.
My mother said that she and her cousins would spend good parts of the summer
at my Aunt Gertie's in Cherokee, N.C.
Mr. Kress would send out boxes of toys and other goodies for the cousins.
Great way to win over a woman's heart....make her nieces and nephews happy!!
I guess this went on for several years. Sadly tho (in my eyes) my Aunt Gertie
never married ...to Mr. Kress or anyone.
Dangit, Aunt Gertie!!

I'm linking this to Metamorphosis Monday with Susan and

15 comments:

  1. Those look great. I'll have to check out Lowe's and see if mine has the ferns on sale. I already have two, but for that price you can never have too many ferns.

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  2. Anonymous6/26/2011

    Haha, I got the same urns at "K to the Mart" last summer! Looks good

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  3. Your urns look fantastic! Smart girl!

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  4. Anonymous6/26/2011

    You are the smartest and most thrifty one! Your urns looks gorgeous and the ferns are so pretty. So glad to know you did this on a budget and made your urns look like a million!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  5. They look awesome and they really dress up the front of your house. I love your flag bunting too, great look!

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  6. The urns look great on your yard. They do not look plastic at all, well done! And love the ferns too :)

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  7. They look wonderful, and I did the giggle at "Don't want you to confuse your Marts."

    So funny.

    Thrifty AND pretty. You can't miss.

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  8. You got the same look for a MUCH better price! Way to go! Linda

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  9. Oh my gosh!
    I have the same black plastic urns from KMart and they are wonderful.
    Mine just need a coat of paint-
    so I am now off to buy the paint you recommended.

    What a great post- I linked to Rhoda's party and I am a new follower.

    Laura
    White Spray Paint

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  10. These look fantastic! You got a lot of bang for the buck...they make quite the statement.
    hugs ~lynne~

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  11. Ferns in my urns. Great line. :)

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  12. Your house is so charming and has great curb appeal! The awesome urns and ferns really enhance! And what a bargain...now you are speaking my language! :)

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  13. Spray paint is a girl's best friend I always say:)

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  14. I've been eye-balling those urns at my Kmart too!!

    They look fantastic on your blocks (which I also think clearly were meant for urns too)! You have a beautiful porch. It just screams rocking away the day with sweet tea served up in mason jars. :)

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  15. Anonymous7/01/2011

    Those look beautiful! This past spring I spray painted two big square planter boxes I had and loooved the end result! The miracles of spray paint!!

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