I love buying secondhand

I love buying secondhand. Not only do you save money, you prolong the life of an object!

On Friday, I dropped by Mignonne -- a boutique that specializes in giving old furniture facelifts -- especially with bold paint jobs. I picked up a newly painted table in metallic silver for $40 (as-is). I didn't mind its condition because I plan to use it as our cake table, which will be onstage with me and Guitar Fred -- no one will see that the back is missing except for us. Here's the table, including a bouquet from Gorgeous and Green and two bluebirds and a nest I picked up as potential cake toppers (yes, I bought a vintage bride and groom but I'm still attached to the bird motif).

Today, my friend, Brittany, and I met up to do a little party planning. We dropped by one of my favorite places for bargains -- the Center for Creative Reuse in Oakland, CA -- and scored some pretty fantastic deals on photo booth props. We got a lime green "Irish" wig still in the package, 100 sheets of black scrapbook paper, dowels (for our black paper mustaches), Mardi Gras beads, vinyl carnival posters, plastic cowboy hats, a large frame, and goggles for $8 including tax.

If you're planning on making liqueur favors, run over to the Center now! They have petite glass bottles with cork stoppers for $1.00 each (or 25 for $18.00). They'd be fantastic for Meyer Lemon limoncello di crema, or an herb infused olive oil.