bigger, better, cheaper

I've mentioned it somewhere back in the archives before, but when Matthew and I got married we opted out of a t.v. Instead, we saved up our five dollar bills until we could afford a quality projector. We've been projecting it straight up on our wall {for movies. we also got a clearplay which cleans up any movie that they have a filter for}, and even though that works, we knew that we didn't want to spend our whole marriage with a portion of the wall empty and dedicated to staying so.

Our projector holder :)

The empty wall space where we project

So, we've been on the lookout for a large projector screen. When we were at the flea market in Nashville, Matthew found one. He called me over. It was $25. It was a little dirty/dented. It wasn't really big. BUT, when you find something you've been looking for, it's sometimes hard to be rational about things like that.

The moral of the story is, "If you aren't sure, don't buy it." You will find something that is bigger, better, and cheaper.

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I noticed that one of our favorite thrift stores was open later than normal. Matthew was up for the quick walk in a "tornado" {we were supposed to have tornados yesterday, but as far as I know they never showed their faces here in Powell}, so we shuffled across the street in the pouring rain. The thrift store {where I got my new office chair} was under new management, way cleaner, and wayyyy cheaper. We looked around. I was sorting through the sheet section when I noticed a projector screen.

Matthew is way better at checking over things like that to make sure it is exactly what we are looking for. He pulled it out, and the new owner came over to tell us it was broken. Drat.

But Matthew tried anyways and fixed it. He's such a clever cleaver. She had been pulling at it upside down. Not only does it work, it is huge. Not only is it huge, the screen is very clean. While she went out to watch the lightning do its dance, Matthew and I talked about it. We wanted it. Now it depended on how much she wanted for it.

She came in, and we asked. She wanted two dollars. :) Perfect. Not only is it what we wanted, it also fits perfectly between the china cabinet and the wall for storage. We probably won't use it in this house, but I'm excited about the possibilities. I'm imagining bringing it outside to watch a movie on our back porch when the weather is perfect, or hanging it from the ceiling above the mantel and pulling it down when we want to enjoy a movie.

What have you found lately for cheaper than you thought you would?