Vanessa Moss

Thrifted Brunch Table

We had our neighbors for brunch over the weekend, so I used it as an excuse to pull out thrifted wares and style them!

My husband is the brunch chef in our house. He invited the neighbors to come at 12:00 pm. He *started* chopping the potatoes at 11:40 am.

🥴🥴🥴

It drove me temporarily insane but at least my table was cute.

Here’s the tablescape tour:

Candle holder – Lake Park Rust Market, Pink taper candle – Goodwill, Vintage Pyrex mixing bowl – Goodwill, Vintage dessert plates – Goodwill, Dinner plates – Goodwill, Paper napkins – a TJ Maxx impulse purchase

My husband propagates plants, so we always have jars of cuttings around the house and I usually have one or two as the centerpiece of our dining table. I found him this new propagation vessel at Goodwill this week!

I found the mixing bowl and plates at Goodwill on two separate occasions – they match perfectly!

Can’t have brunch without donuts! Pink serving plate – thrifted and gifted from my mother-in-law. Adorable stone plate (soon to hold bacon!) from Goodwill.

No vintage at the table for the kiddos, I’m afraid – non breakables only.

But they grabbed their donut holes from these cuties I picked up at Goodwill this week.

Water served from an IKEA jug found at Goodwill.

This week’s thrifted ‘fits & treasures round-up:

Dress – Printfresh, Source: Goodwill, Bracelets – Unknown, Source: The Nearly New Shop

Dress – Charlotte Kellogg Palm Beach , Source: The Nearly New Shop, Earrings – Unknown, Source: The Church Mouse

Tunic I used as a swim cover up (has pockets!) – J.Crew, Source: Goodwill

Adorable set, Source: Jupiter Medical Thrift

Some may be skeeved by a thrifted swimsuit, but I have my cleaning methods and own many! This one is Sanctuary, Source: Goodwill

Cute lil vase I’m using for baby girl’s toothbrush holder, hand painted, Source: Goodwill

Set of 4 Anthropologie bowls, Source: Goodwill

Set of six Queen’s salad plates, Source: Goodwill

Starfish drink stirrers, Source: Goodwill, Vintage basket, Source: The Cozy Cottage Lake Worth Beach

I used this adorable basket to store towels for post brunch pool hangs, Source: The Nearly New Shop

It was such a pleasure to share my thrifted finds with friends over food (say that 3x fast) – hope you enjoyed, too!

Crazy Shell Lady

My decorating style is not coastal. I don’t really know what it is, but beachy isn’t the vibe.

I do, however, love collecting shells, whether out in the wild or sourcing from thrift shops.

I style shells all over my house, so I need you to know that if you love shells like me, but don’t want a “beachy” aesthetic, you can still display your treasures!

I’ll probably share my shells in many posts, but let’s start with the entryway of my home.

Found this beauty at Goodwill! The plant pedestal is from Stone Button Studio.

Our entry table has…a lot goin’ on. But I’m not hating it, which might be a sign of aging. The older I get, the more hoard-y I get.

Please call me “maximalista” rather than hoarder, okay? Let me live in this fantasy.

Nothing compares to the endorphin rush that comes when finding a big, juicy shell in the wild, and I love displaying my big ones, but I also get really excited about the tiny, perfect babies I find, too.

I like to tuck those lil cuties in picture frames to display them; a corner morsel for the eye to land on.

Some of my shells are gifts from friends and family who find them on the beach or buy them at thrift shops for me, which is so sweet. I can remember where almost every shell is from – crazy shell lady for real.

You’ll also note an eclectic collection of books, reflective of the individuals who live in my home.

On my shelves and tables, I layer books, shells, and collected items from thrifting and travel. The little olive branch is from Greece!

My entry table has two glass top shelves, which I decorate in a “scrapbook style” (I made that up idk if that’s really a thing, but that’s the vibe). I apply the scrapbook vibes to lots of areas in my house, will share more in later posts! That heart box is from my childhood – I recently dug it out and shined it up.

This is a paint-by-numbers I did with my bestie, proudly displayed with beach treasures.

I recently learned that shells have always had value, and throughout history have been used as currency across the world.

Literal treasures, and I’ll always be obsessed.

This week’s thrifted ‘fits & treasures round-up (featuring baby girl!):

Shirt – J. Crew, Skirt – Universal Thread, Bag – Coach (brand new! $30) *Source: Goodwill*

Adorable sweater jacket – Kielo Dyson NY, *Source: Goodwill*

A close-up of the detail – knitted stars and wooden beads. Love this piece. Super comfy, too.

Shirt – Cynthia Rowley, *Source: Goodwill*

Adorable doll cradle, *Source: Goodwill*

Brand-new kilim pillow, *Source: Quantum House Thrift*

Two previously found pillows also thrifted from Quantum House Thrift & Trashe Vintage

Signed artwork “Goldberg”, *Source: Goodwill*

Angel baby making her thrifted fashion debut. Shorts from Goodwill.

Tee and skirt – hand-me-downs. (Message inaccurate – can confirm child is A LOT a bit sassy)

Thrifted Childhood Whimsy

When my boys were younger, I put so much effort into making their room special and cute. It had a foosball table, reading nook, glowy string lighting, bunk beds…a dream.

Now they are 16 and 18 and their room looks like trash. It also smells like trash. Well, booty, really. Teenage boys smell bad.

Thankfully, I had another kid, which gave me another chance to make a magical room.

My daughter’s room is my favorite space in the house. There’s no theme, just an eclectic collection of things I’ve picked up at my favorite thrift shops and items from my own childhood bedroom.

I love a kid’s room without a matchy-matchy, trendy aesthetic. I think when you pick items that you truly love and let your creativity flow, everything finds a way to fit in.

The birds are my favorite pieces in the room. *Source: Stone Button Studio*

Vintage baby doll buggy and pillows also from *Stone Button Studio.* This poor plant recently got a haircut and isn’t looking her best, but she’s on the mend!

My sons’ room now looks like a prison cell, but at least I have old photos to remind me of what once was, and a second chance at cute kid decor. And lots of febreeze.

This week’s thrifted treasures:

This 1880-1900 English chair that I found at Goodwill for $15!

$5 for this sweet shell box, *Source: Nearly New Thrift Shop*

Movie night outfit! T-shirt: Unknown, handmade *Source: Quantum House Thrift,* Bag: UNIQLO, *Source: Goodwill*

Dirty Wall Upgrade

We bought our house while it was being built and weren’t familiar with the term “builder grade,” which means your house has been finished with the cheapest appliances, fixtures, and paint possible.

We kept the builder grade white paint because we like white walls and didn’t realize it was literal powder.

We have three kids and a cat and the walls definitely tell that story.

The scrapes and toddler artwork start at the front door. 🙃

Since the paint is so cheap, we can’t clean off the scuffs, paw prints, crayon marks, and general mayhem. A wet rag will literally wipe the paint right off.

My walls are ugly, y’all.

Painting an entire house after everything is hung and furnished is a big project, so we’re starting with wall paper in small areas.

Area #1 — the kitchen island, where the teenage boys sit to do homework, eat, and kick the crap out of the wall.

The entire area was nearly black from their feet, so we covered it with this wallpaper, Vintage Herons from Spoonflower.

We had a Task Rabbit do this and realized afterward that he didn’t match the pattern up with each panel…I’m trying to decide if this bothers me.

Since we’re in the kitchen, I have a design question:

Do we style the top of the cabinets or no? Is that old fashioned?

If I were to style it, here’s the inspo:

Too cluttered? Unnecessary? Lmk what you think.

Thrifted outfits of the week:

New fave comfy dress for running errands – brand unknown, think it might be Costco honestly. *Source: Goodwill*

Character Flaw: I never iron. Dress – J.Jill, Purse – Dooney & Bourke, Shoes – Sam Edelman. *Source: Goodwill*

Comfy Cotton Gauze Dress – Unknown, *Source: Jupiter Medical Thrift* (photo taken in the Goodwill parking lot – lol)

Throwback! Scarf – unknown, Shirt – Express, Jeans – Levi’s. *Source: Goodwill*

Swift with the Arm Swipe

I live three miles away from the best Goodwill in town, and they know me there. Which really comes in handy when your toddler seeks to destroy.

You know how people in movies and TV shows get really upset and just take their arm and rake it across a table full of items?

And everything just crashes. I bet that feels so good. I, of course, feel the urge to do this (or flip a table Teresa Giudice-style) at least once a month, but I couldn’t do that because then I’d have to pick all that stuff on the floor up.

My mom and I happily preparing to enter our favorite store.

My toddler, though, who is me, but tiny and privileged in myriads of ways, goes for the arm swipe (or the hammer-throw most often) a lot.

And we’re at that stage where I’m like…should I do something about this that’s spicier than a time-out?

Anyway, the arm swipe and hammer-throw tendencies make Goodwill shopping a little dicey at times, so we mostly avoid the glassware shelves.

But a few weeks ago, I had given her a cookie immediately upon sitting her in the cart and figured that bought me at least 30 min of browsing the glassware shelves.

TODDLER ARMS ARE SWIFT.

How did she even snag that snow globe with a fist full of cookie?!

She gets the coordination and dexterity from her mama (I’m deft at snatching a bargain from a shelf or a hanger, guys!).

Luckily, they know me at Goodwill, so all was forgiven quickly and I even got a discount on a plant pot.

Here are some of my thrift finds from the past few weeks:

Pristine conch shell added to the collection

I have a hard time resisting miniature furniture these days. *Source: SoFlo Finds*

I also thrift lots of clothes and shoes – like this dress I wore for lunch with my girlies. $7 at Goodwill!

And this Kate Spade purse – also a Goodwill find! I can share more style thrifts if you want to see, lmk in the comments.

A snow globe hates to see my toddler coming.

Monstera Deliciosa, Chaos Gloriosa

Rabies. Roundworm. Salmonella. Giardiasis.

Racoons carry and transmit all of these things. I hadn’t heard of that last one, but it’s parasites found in contaminated water that, if come into contact with, can lead to major tummy rumbles.

One would not want one’s three-year-old getting giardiasis, would one?

I live in a cookie-cutter, concrete block, basic-b house with my family, and one way we’ve carved out an aesthetic that combats the millennial gray of things is by decorating with green, live plants in every room and on every possible surface. Plant hoarding, if you will.

My husband is the horticulturist and I’m the stylist. Which leads me to how I almost infected my precious toddler with a parasite or flu-like illness.

I’ve been needing a monstera. A big, juicy one for our living room. So, we went to the plant nursery up the street on a Saturday and I recorded cute vids of my daughter splashing in the display foundations while my husband went in search of the juiciest monstera he could find.

After my child had splashed around for damn near an hour, a store rep came up to gently whisper, “You might not want her playing in the fountains. The raccoons get in them at night. There’s a hose over there if you want to rinse her off.”

…Pardon moi?

Raccoon rivers in these here fountains, you say?

Rinse her off with a HOSE?

Lady, direct me to the nearest bathroom and your ANTIBIOTIC SOAP, please!

Ugh. I’m such a sketchy mom.

But the monstera looks LOVELY in our living room. Really brings the space to life.