We knew we weren’t likely to find $1 cabinets again (like we did for the office built-ins) but we couldn’t resist checking out the Habitat For Humanity ReStore for the four cabinets that we need to create the peninsula and build in the microwave/fridge (we’re able to reuse the 36″ cabinet that used to live where the stove now sits, so that saved us some major money). The good news is that we found three out of the four we needed! And only spent $90 total.
Yup, we got a corner base cabinet for the peninsula for $50 and two upper cabinets (one for over the fridge and one slightly taller one for over the microwave) for $19 each. And just for reference, to buy those cabinets new from Home Depot or Lowe’s (in the stock, off-the-shelf department) they would have been $219, $96, and $89 respectively (for a grand total of $404). So we saved $314 by going secondhand. Which made complete sense since we’d be scrapping the doors anyway.
The issue with the doors? They don’t match our existing ones (nothing that we hunted down both new or secondhand did since our doors are 30 years old). But to get the solid oak cabinet frames for that price is a steal and once they’re all painted white with new or retrofitted matching doors (from other existing cabinets that we’re not using), no one would ever guess they hailed from the ReStore.
We could only fit two of the three into our trunk. But thankfully they’ll hold items for seven days at our ReStore, so we just came back for the giant corner cabinet with a bigger car borrowed from John’s sister a few days later.
Now they’re all at home, but not in their places yet (the carport and our sunroom are the holding area for lots of old cabinets and doors that we have removed and new ones that we’ll be switching in).
And yes, the sunroom looks especially crazy and smells like wood. Could be worse (wood isn’t that bad of a smell, actually). Hopefully in the next few days we’ll be back to share our freshly built-in fridge.
But wait- it’s Halloween. Did you really think we’d let you go without sharing the kiddos in costume? Meet Mrs. Monkey & Mr. Banana:
Clara liked doing her best monkey impression (saying “ooh ooh ah ah” and waving her arms) while Burger slinked around looking beyond embarrassed. The second we popped on the “hat” part of his banana, he just slumped down and half-closed his eyes as if to say “this is not ok.” We freed the poor guy from his yellow prison within a few minutes of this photoshoot though. And gave the boy a bone. Actually his monkey friend handed one over. She’s a very generous chimp indeed.
And Clara’s cousin Emanuel (seen here turning two) even got in on the fun. He was a ferocious lion who requested candy corn throughout the photoshoot. Hilarious.
Of course the banana + monkey thing might not be as cute as one especially cute combo from last year…
Hope you all have a very happy halloween! Oh and what were you guys up to this weekend? Any cabinet hunting or candy corn binging goin’ on?
Psst- Check out our pumpkin patch adventures (including a family moon bounce and corn bin adventure) here.
melody says
Those costumes are so cute!
Tabitha says
This post has me ITCHING to go to my local Restore (which is conviently located a few miles from my office, haha). I’ve yet to go, I know… the HORROR! But I hope to have a few trips under my belt here soon.
I’m still LOL’ing at the picture of Burger taking Clara for a walk. He looks like he’s pulling her to safety, away from the monkey madness! Will you TorT in your neighborhood, or does your community offer something special? Our Courthouse closes down to vehicles and the antique shops and little stores offer candy and gifts to the kids. It’s such a great time, without the fear of house hopping.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll just ring a few bells around our block and mostly give out candy at home (Burger and Clara love when the doorbell rings!).
xo,
s
Helen says
Oh man. I die.
I’m holding my own personal costume competition tonight. The cutest kid gets a GIANT Hershey chocolate bar (I can’t wait to see the look in their little eyes as they think “JACKPOT!”). Clara and Burger win remotely hands down!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha. I wish you could see how excited Burger would be about that prize. So sad that chocolate and dogs don’t mix because he’s obsessed with it. Oh well, bones will have to do.
xo,
s
Ann says
Awesome job finding second hand cabinets. I’ll be interested to see how you handle the refacing, if you change it up. We have some 80s oak cabinets I’m not a fan of.
Clara and Burger look beyond cute!
Gabbi says
So adorable…OMG…I love your costume choices! :)
Sara T. says
Ahhhh! My 5 1/2 month old and ChiShi (Chihuahua-Shihtzu mix) are going to be a monkey and banana for Halloween too! I love it!!
Katrina says
Our little Tinkerbell got to enjoy our local parents association Halloween party before returning to the house to hunker down in the snow. We lost a couple of trees (an old apple tree and also my favorite tree in the whole yard) as well as have numerous misshapen trees and bushes remaining. We can’t even get to the back of our property to check out the two trees that are leaning. We spent all day yesterday cleaning up the mess as best we could without power tools (thank goodness for wonderful neighbors – everyone pitched in and helped each other out). Unfortunately, that took away my Pinterest Challenge time. Any chance that I can use the Tinkerbell costume (initially inspired by Pinterest) even though it was finished the same day you issued the challenge?
YoungHouseLove says
Of course! Sounds like the perfect backup project. So sorry about losing those trees:(
xo,
s
Katrina says
Yeah!
Thanks for the sympathy on the trees. We had talked about thinning out the landscaping this summer. Guess Mother Nature helped us out selecting which ones needed to go. I have never been so sore as I am today after the clean up project yesterday. I kept thinking about your recap of the hurricane as we cleaned it up. Funny how YHL has infiltrated many of our home DIY thoughts!
BTW – great job finding cabinets. I’m really excited to see how you make them all cohesive.
Monica says
Awww….I love the monkey with her banana!!!!!!! And looking forward to seeing what you do with your new finds. Happy Halloween! :)
Casey Ballard says
Clara and Burger look too cute. We’re planning that same get up for our two little ones and our 60 lb. Lab/Shepherd mix, who has the exact same costume as Burger, but in the XL size. I say “we’re planning” because thus far our just-turned-two-year-old daughter has refused to put her monkey costume on. Our 5 month-old son doesn’t seem to have a problem with his, though. Ha, ha! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that our daughter will change her mind by tonight, because I want some cute pictures like yours. Happy Halloween!
Brooke @ sweats & sweets says
AH! I love the costumes! Such a cute idea!
Julie @SavvyEats says
Aww, I love the little curly monkey tail!
Kelly says
Man! Your little girl just keeps getting cuter and cuter!
I dress my dog up as a cow for halloween every year. He’s a little Shih Poo and doesnt mind his outfit too much.
Cheers!
Carrie says
What kind of candy are you giving out? Sticking with organic stuff, like Annie’s gummies? Love the costumes :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haven’t picked it up yet! Not sure what we’ll find! Annie’s stuff is always delicious though! Better get it figured out soon before the doorbell starts ringing!
xo,
s
Kimberley says
I love the costumes- super cute! BUT my question is really around the cabinet doors? How are you going to replace them? Where do you plan on finding doors to match your current doors? Maybe I’m jumping the gun and need to be patient for a future post? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
We’re hoping to cut down and reuse doors from the upper cabinets that we’ll be removing to make room for open shelving and tile to the ceiling. We also have located a local cabinet maker who can make us new doors that will perfectly match the old ones if our cutting down method doesn’t work.
xo,
s
Jessica says
I don’t get it, those doors look like they match your existing doors already. Not in the colour but you’re painting them all anyway. Is it just me or are they really different looking in person?
Super cute costumes, btw! Poor Burger. Dogs are so funny in their embarrassment of crazy clothes.
YoungHouseLove says
They’re thicker. The issue is that our doors have a different edge (they’re sort of half sunken, so raised doors next to our existing doors would stick out too much). It’s super complicated to explain, but since our doors were custom made to half-sink into the cabinet opening, they appear thinner. Here’s hoping we can figure something out and explain it all as we go!
xo,
s
Tara says
I am obsessed with the monkey/banana costumes! They are so cute!
Dawn says
Goodness gracious they are soooo cute! I actually woke up this morning excited to read yours post today with their costumes…you all never disappoint! Also, great buy on the cabinets. I love how everything is turning out so far.
Heidi P. says
So cute. Love the pictures of Clara walking Burger and her sitting with her cousin.
Yet again amazed with your thrifty cleverness. Question though – how do you tell if a thrifted piece of furniture is solid wood? (Is that a dumb question?…)
YoungHouseLove says
Just open the doors or drawers and feel it. Look for signs of veneer or laminate (you can usually see that they’re a thin covering from the side). Also picking it up helps (if it’s super solid and dense it can feel heavier than something made of fiber-board). I just stare at joints where things meet and try to figure out what’s going on!
xo,
s
Jadie says
HOW CUTE! Oh my gosh, last year my daughter wore that burger costume from Old Navy. I wanted my (at the time) newborn son to be a hot dog, but couldn’t find a costume, no time to DIY…But then! I found a dog one at Target that worked perfectly on his back, haha! Since we carried him around while trick-or-treating, it worked out perfectly. This year they are Princess Leia and Yoda. May the force bring Clara lots of candy this year :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw such cute costume ideas!
xo,
s
Chaucea says
Those two sure have ape-peel! x-D *giggle-snork*
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahaha, pun-tastic!
xo,
s
Krista says
we have the same monkey. I scored it for $6 at Old Navy!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- nice! I think ours was $9 with a coupon a while back. We had to do some advanced planning for Burger’s role as the banana (those costumes always sell out in his size first- I guess big dogs refuse to dress up – haha).
xo,
s
Donna Jean says
so adorable! gotta love the old navy costumes; my 16 1/2 mo son is going as the dragon from there. and he was the cheeseburger last year, too! i absolutely love the picture of clara walking burger – he’s such a good big brother to put up with it all!
happy halloween!!
Erica says
So much fun! I love love love it!
Pam says
Your dog is a saint. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- he so is.
xo,
s
Donna Stack says
Love the costumes pics! So adorable! My girls are a matching pair this year-salt and pepper shakers.
You guys rock, love your blog!
Tina @ heatherandtina.com says
Those costumes are fantastic. I’m not sure how you got that one on Burger. I found a lost Chihuahua last week(and was able to get him back to his owners). They are fast, slippery little guys… it took over an hour to catch him.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that is so sweet of you! Thanks a million from the “parent” of a chihuahua for saving another little one who was out there lost! We’d be beside ourselves if we ever lost Burger!
xo,
s
Jessica @ The Desert Abode says
Cutest costumes ever!
We spent the weekend making “spooktacular” Halloween treats for two parties and two office potlucks. I spent so much time in the kitchen yesterday that it felt like Thanksgiving or something! Tonight we are giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. Should be fun!
Lindsay says
Our 2 1/2 year old has the exact same monkey costume this year! So adorable! Happy Halloween! :)
Lisa says
That’s great that you were able to find what you wanted at ReStore once again! We are in the process of painting our 30 year old cabinets white. We actually found matching cabinets at ReStore to add some uppers. I can’t wait to finish to take the “after” photo. And I’m loving watching all of your kitchen progress (and everything else, too, of course)!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh would love to see your after pics!
xo,
s
Laura B says
Love the monkey costume. My two year old is a monkey this year too!
Taylor says
I’m not sure if we can post links on comments but we dressed our dog up in the same costume for Halloween and she hated it, probably as much as burger did! We took a really funny video of how she reacted, she decided she was NOT going to move unless we took it off! Here is Lulu as a banana!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- too funny! We love links so feel free to post away!
xo,
s
Alyssa says
How funny is this….my son Dallas (who you may or may not know by now shares the EXACT same bday as Clara) was the EXACT same monkey as Clara for Halloween!! Old navy outlet was where we picked ours up months ago on the cheap!! Small word? So sweet:)
YoungHouseLove says
So funny! Love it! Happy Halloween to Dallas!
xo,
s
Kathryn says
Nice deal! And your “kids” are so cute! And one thing i noticed…Clara is an open hand thumb sucker! Its so cute! Those are rare you know ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- yes! And she’s mostly a leftie thumb sucker, which makes my dad so excited that she might be a leftie like him.
xo,
s
Susan (Between Naps on the Porch) says
Sooooooo cute! Great score on the cabinets!
Mike Grant says
Great deal on the cabinets. If you need to repair or build new face frames, I just bought and used the Kreg pocket hole jig and it is so easy and the results are very professional. I used it to make two new doors for a media cabinet. Good luck with the kitchen, you guys’s always do an incredible job. Great costumes.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear it! John’s worried things would somehow get wonky if he tried to jig the doors.
xo,
s
Tania says
Omg! Clara sucking her thumb in that costume is beyond cute! They look awesome!! Hope you had a great Halloween!
Ashley says
I love reading your blog. The pictures of your daughter are so cute and your home repairs inspire me to live in a beautiful space and learn to DIY as well. Thanks. Keep doing what you do.
Mary Ellen says
Clara and Burger are so cute! That is the best costume Ive seen this year!!
Heather says
That is so adorable!
My sweet dog Matty was a banana last year. I LOVE that costume!
Hilary says
Oh my gosh. They are so cute…and the thumb sucking pic–awwww!
The cabinets are going to be an awesome transformation. I am getting excited for the white cabs!!
Jillian (MOSS Floral) says
You guys cRaCk me uP!! LOVE the monkey & banana combo…the dream team :)
Emma says
Our basset hound wore the same banana costume! She looked so cute (just like Burger) but she wouldn’t keep the little hat on! Clara is an adorable monkey!
tincy says
This is just too cute! I love the monkey and banana costume … ADORBS!
Rebecca says
Love the costumes! My dog, Pepper, had the same banana costume as Burger. My little guy (4 months old), went as a dinosaur. Not matching, but still cute:)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s still very cute!
xo,
s
Mona Alicia says
I just completely oohed and aahed over that first monkey/banana picture, how adorable are your kids!?
Melissa says
My son was a monkey too this year and he’s just about 3 weeks younger than Clara. Monkeys are the best costume!
Siona says
That is the single most cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. End of story! S xx
Leigh-Anne says
My daughter had the same costume! I saw it at Old Navy and was planning on buying it. I was driving home one day and saw a yeard sale on the side of the road with the same costume (worn only once of course) at a yard sale for $1! It was destiny!
YoungHouseLove says
Awesome score!
xo,
s
Sherry from BC says
Clara is adorable and so is Burger though I get that he didn’t enjoy it. Can you tell me how you figured out what exactly how to match mismatched cabinets. I am assuming you measure what you already have and then use similar sizes to fill out your plan and then go searching for those sizes? or is there some arcane mystery to it? I am thinking of redoing my laundry area in the basement with second hand cabinets as then I could have real wood. If you are starting from scratch, I guess sizes don’t matter as much but was wondering how to work it out. PS….I read your blog when I have insomnia, then I get all steamed up to do something at some ungodly hour.
YoungHouseLove says
Our existing cabinet doors are so custom that it’s not possible to search for them (they’re half-sunk into the cabinet opening, so anything as wide as them is usually not sunk at all, so they would sit forward an inch or so more so things would look all wonky). This means we’ll either have to retrofit some extra upper cabinets that we’ll have to spare once we add open shelving (by somehow cutting them down and regluing or screwing them together in a new size to work) or hire a local cabinet maker to create some matching doors for us so it all looks seamless. If you don’t have the half-sunk issue that we have (which we would bet 99% of people don’t – haha – lucky us!) you can just write down all of your door sizes and try to find/order new ones that match! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Alicia says
I LOVE THE COSTUMES!!! Where did y’all find them?
YoungHouseLove says
Banana was from Target and monkey was from Old Navy. Hope it helps!
xo,
s