A few weekends ago, we had a garage sale.

One of the things my mom brought up to sell was an old picture that had hung in the stairway of their house for probably 18 years or so.

It’s cute, yes, but no longer matches the hallway (they redid that area of the house when I was in high school) and it hasn’t been on the wall for several years.

I had some sentimental attachment to it, because I will always remember it hanging on the stairs in our house, but it’s also not something I really wanted to hang up here. My sister had similar feelings, and since none of us wanted it, it got to stay in the sale.

But no one bought it.

So instead of donating it to Goodwill, I figured I’d try to switch it up and at least save part of if. The frame was in good condition, and it was nice and sturdy so I knew I could use it.

I happened to have a plastic, cheapo frame on a print of the same size in our bedroom.

The kind with the plastic edges that slide over the print and meet up in the corner. Or rather they meet up in theory. In reality, it always looks like this:

The frame from my mom was brass, but that’s nothing a little spray paint can’t fix.

For now, I’m just using the (newly-black) frame, but I kept the picture in the back of the frame in case I ever want it for something. And, since I know it’s in there, it still feels a little special, as if it’s living on in some way.

Weird?

Anyway, now the frame is hanging in our bedroom, but it may get switched out to the hallway when we ever get around to finishing our master bedroom, as far as wall decor goes.

Now I need my mom to get rid of a small square frame that’s the right size for the one on the left. Incidentally, I now notice its uneven corners even more.

 

But the newly-painted black metal frame is looking good!

And one-for-two is better than none-for-two, right?

This was a super quick update that solved two problems (the frame in my living room that had been there since the garage sale and the frame on the wall that needed upgrading. Although now I have a frame in my basement waiting for the next garage sale.

Have you done any quick updates lately? Any little weekend projects? Ever saved something your parents were getting rid of for sentimental reasons? Tell us about it!