10 things to buy now that you'll keep forever

I got this week's Nest Newsletter and found a cool article listing the 10 items you should buy now that you'll keep forever. Below is the list, along with some of my comments and pictures!

1. The essential dining table

Here is a picture of our current dining room table. Jon bought this about 2 years ago on Craigslist for $70 not expecting to keep it for too long but we love it! It is originally from IKEA so how awesome is it that we bought it for half of the original (cheap!) price and already put together (if you've ever bought furniture from IKEA, you know what a hassle it is). When we moved, we talked about getting a new table with darker wood but once we moved it into our kitchen, we agreed that it looks great! We will most likely move up in size when we start popping out kiddos in a couple of years.

2. Your favorite chair

Ah my favorite chair! I think I have only sat in it about 2 times but I just smile each time I walk by. I found this chair at Ross at the beginning of my chair search (I wanted a fun club chair or wing back chair) but wanted to exhaust all of my options so I did not buy it right away. After looking at tons of thrift stores, antique shops and most of the TJ Maxx and Ross' around Austin, I said a little prayer and headed back to that Ross in hopes of finding the chair. I was psyched when it was still there so I brought my purchase to the register. I discovered a little scratch on the back leg of the chair (that would obviously be against the wall) and got 20% off of the chair bringing the total cost to a mere $80! Ernie doesn't have the guts to jump off furniture so he was a good model for my picture. 

3. Original artwork

I don't own any original artwork but I am on the hunt for a certain painting so please let me know if you find it! My grandmother, mom and now big sister each own the painting Grace by Enstrom and I am determined to find my own (I don't really wanna pay $150 to order it from the website just yet). My sister bought hers on Craigslist for $20 so I have been combing Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio's Craigslists for a few weeks. Here is a picture of the painting, keep an eye out for me!

4. A durable knife

I told Jon I wanted him to help me take some pics for my blog post and who would have ever thought he'd want to pose with the knives? My sweet, kind hearted, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly husband and his obsession with horror. We got a new set of knives for our wedding and are love love loving them! I would love to eventually own a few Cutco Knives (have you seen a demo?!) but am not ready to shell out hundreds just yet :-). We highly recommend our stainless steel Cuisinart Knives for chopping and prepping. The steak knives are sub par but luckily we have an off brand set we like.

5. Unbreakable dinnerware

75% of the time Jon and I eat on these lovely Target plastic plates. I am absolutely obsessed with our new dinnerware but plastic is just so light and easy!

6. Indestructible blender

Along with our knives, I highly recommend our new Cuisinart dual blender/food processor. I've used a blender about 5 times in my whole life but knew I wanted to have one for future use and have been dying to use a food processor. The food processor is fun and yummy way for Jon to make me drink protein shakes. The other day we added frozen strawberries, blackberries and raspberries, 2 scoops of vanilla Muscle Milk and some ice for an awesome post workout treat.

7. A well made rug

Originally I thought I wanted a nice big rug for our family room to cover up the berber carpet I am not a fan of (luckily it is the only room in the house that is carpet) but decided against it because I thought it would make the room feel smaller. With the occasional accident from Mr. Ernie, we are in no rush to buy a nice rug any time soon!

8. Heavy duty dutch oven

We don't currently own one and I don't think we ever will but can you guess what Jon suggested when I told him what #8 was? He said we should take a picture of him holding me under the covers...men...

9. A timeless headboard

I actually put all the pillows back on the bed just to take this picture. We make our bed everyday but only put on the 50 pillows when we know we are having company (the pillows cover about 60% of the bed!). I tried to showcase our Pottery Barn wrought iron headboard that I am so in love with. I bought it about a year and a half ago on Craigslist for $40 when headboards range from $300-$800 on PB.com!!! I just love sharing the sweet deals I get :-)

10. A classic lamp

How awesome is this lamp? For a cool $19.99, I snagged this beauty at Marshall's, the mecca of random finds! I wish I would have bought another one to make it a set but heck you can never find the same thing twice at Marshalls.

Have a great weekend!