Thrifting – This is my hobby.

Four Ways to Survive a Heat Wave in France

We just returned from two magical weeks in the South of France — a bucket list trip that was worth every drop of summer sweat.

If you want to go to France during a record busting heat wave, here’s what you do:

Pick seaside towns to explore. You’re going to be sweaty all day every day, so it’s essential to break it up with time in the water.

We visited:

Menton: ADORABLE and quaint, nice people, good food, wonderful boutique and market shopping, gorgeous beaches — couldn’t recommend more.

Saint-Tropez: upscale, lots of attractive people walking around with main character energy and beautiful clothes, yachts…what you’d expect.

Sainte-Maxime: good shopping, family friendly, not too stuffy.

Cassis: FAVE! You can take boat rides to view the calanques and swim — absolutely stunning; Great food and super walkable.

2. Maybe rent a car? We didn’t and took the train along the South of France. It was hot. It was stinky. It was a lot with a toddler and luggage.

The train honestly wouldn’t have been so bad if not for the heat. We did experience two annoying delays, but overall it was a cheap and efficient way to get around.

Renting a car would have provided more flexiblity and comfort, though.

3. Wear light dresses and skirts. I was advised by a well traveled friend to avoid athleisure, as tempting as it may be, for this trip. It makes you stick out as a tourist which could make you a target for pickpocketing in the larger cities.

I sweated my booty off in my dresses and skirts, but looked kinda chic doing it?

Many times, I was approached by a french person addressing me in french, which made me feel like I didn’t look like an obvious American.

Unfortunately, I only speak english and a few spanish vocabulary words. *le sigh*

4. Eat gelato. And drink rosé. We did these things daily and it felt GREAT.

Rosé occasionally substituted with a limoncello spritz

This was one of the best trips of my life. France lives up to the hype! I came home inspired by the architecture, tile work, landscaping, and styling in every boutique hotel, airbnb, and restaurant we visited (I’d love to do a Styled in France show, can you imagine?!).

Thinking I’ll crack open some rosé this weekend to keep the vibes alive. 😉

Thrifted Outfits Lately

T-shirt, sunglasses, and cargo pants from Goodwill West Palm Beach

RL button up from The Coastal Consignment Boutique in West Palm Beach

Top from Goodwill Boca Raton; Skirt from Goodwill West Palm Beach

A Pink House to Match the Color of Her Nails

I met Renee, the owner of this week’s Styled in South Florida home, in a Goodwill aisle — how perfect is that?!

I believe we met in the shoe aisle to be exact, because I usually have my daughter with me when I’m thrifting and she always wants to try on the sparkly stilettos during our shopping trips.

We can unpack Elaine’s life as a showgirl in a future post.

I’m sure Renee paused to smile and laugh at my silly girl, and we struck up conversation, as thrift sisters often do in the wild.

There’s a camaraderie in thrifting — any fellow thrifter knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Renee had a lot of pink in her shopping cart, which prompted her to share that she was collecting more decor items for her pink-themed home, which she lists on Airbnb.

So, of course, I was intrigued.

How pink is this pink themed home, I wondered.

I soon learned that she painted the entire house to match her favorite nail polish color.

Obsessed with that. What a diva.

She invited me to come film her space for my new show (I had, of course, immediately pitched her) — a generous diva!

When I pulled up to her house to film, I was greeted by Renee in a pink Lilly Pulitzer outfit and her three dogs, all of whom accompanied us on the entire tour — one in her arms as she shared about her life as the owner of an interior design firm, shop owner in Northwood, world traveler, mother, and more.

My uncontrollable thrift habit has really dropped unexpected blessings into my life.

The kitchen pendants came with the house and aren’t Renee’s preference — she will eventually replace them with something more aligned with the tropical theme established throughout the house.

Renee found this gorgeous piece on the side of the road and rehabbed it.

The brown leather couch came with the house — it wasn’t Renee’s first choice for the space, but she has made it work by tying in the lighter colors she prefers and balancing it all with more dark, statement pieces.

Renee thrifts her pillow collections from Goodwill.

The bedroom upstairs has a French West Indies influence.

The back yard is the crown jewel of the property — a true tropical oasis.

What a treat it was to get to know Renee, to share about her home that she’s poured so much heart into and now shares with guests from around the world, and to meet her poodle Winston, the calmest and most distinguished boy I’ve ever seen in a lei.

One unexpected conversation in a Goodwill aisle turned into a fabulous home tour. I hope you’ll enjoy getting to know Renee — and her unforgettable pink paradise—as much as I did. Watch the full tour below or on YouTube.

Inside a Lake Worth Beach Jewel Box of Art, Color, and Thrifted Finds

Some of the best pieces in Liz Schoettel’s Lake Worth Beach home were found at Goodwill or on the side of the road.

Liz and her family discovered the cozy, artsy, coastal town of Lake Worth Beach during the pandemic, when they were looking to escape the Chicago suburbs to sunny South Florida and discovered almost everywhere else was booked up.

This town wasn’t their first choice but quickly became one of their favorite places in the world.

They rented a house on M street and completely fell in love with the community — the neighborly feel, proximity to the water, delicious food, and iconic Lake Worth Beach cottages.

Liz was bidding on houses on their flight back home.

She wound up making offers on at least 20 homes, flying back and forth from Chicago only to lose out again and again before finding her current house in a stunning historic neighborhood.

The yard was overgrown, the fences were falling down, the a/c and roof needed replacing, and the property just hadn’t been loved in a long time.

Liz and her friend Alicia, a former coworker from her retail days in New York, collaborated on redesigning and styling the house into the beautiful jewel box it is today.

They drove a truck around to different thrift stores and on Facebook Marketplace runs — sometimes finding pieces on the side of the road.

Liz refurbished and repainted, giving each piece new life and creating high end designs with materials that were anything but.

The house has become so beloved by Liz’s entire family that her daughter chose to get married in Florida and wedding festivities were hosted in the backyard.

Artifacts from that special day can be found throughout the house, many created by Liz (did I mention she’s an artist?) — the watercolor guest list hangs in a bedroom, a massive painted flamingo in the garage, and little pink touches here and there were all part of the celebration.

This Lake Worth Beach house tells several stories: of Liz and Alicia’s friendship, of a daughter’s wedding, and of an escape from daily life in Chicago to a tropical dream.

I love that this home represents Liz’s journey from knowing nothing about my community to becoming a Lake Worth Beach resident. It’s a place where friendships have deepened, family milestones are celebrated, and new roots are planted.

There are many more stories for that house to come.

Introducing Styled in South Florida Home Tours

Having this platform to express my creativity through writing sparked a desire for me to create something new.

In the chaos of modern living, I’ve found the most peace and self-care in my hobbies of thrifting, decorating, and admiring home design content.

So, I decided to create Styled in South Florida Home Tours, a YouTube series inspired by the same elements that drive the This is My Hobby blog – documenting style, spaces, and the personality behind creative, inspiring home design.

So far, I’ve filmed a five episode season, which I’ll launch this Sunday, June 7th — Eeee! I can’t believe it!

Each episode opens the doors to one of my stylish South Florida neighbors, who leads the viewer through the thoughtfully curated spaces in their house, highlighting design choices, style hacks, and sourcing details.

This is wholesome, feel-good, inspirational content for your screen.

An easy 15-minute watch on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and your favorite home design magazine.

A look inside that cute house you pass on your evening walk and wonder about.

I hope you’ll subscribe to the channel and tune in!

Styled in South Florida Home Tours: Season 1 Dates

June 7 – Tour a Colorful Coastal Home in Hypoluxo, Florida
June 14 – Inside a Collected Lake Worth Beach Home Full of Creativity and Charm
June 21 – Inside a Stylish Lantana, Florida Apartment Filled with Thrifted Finds
June 28 – Inside a Stunning South Florida Pool Cabana Designed by a Professional Organizer
July 5 – Tour a Pink Lilly Pulitzer-Inspired Home in West Palm Beach, Florida

Here on the blog, I’ll share behind-the-scenes content on each episode weekly, including images of the spaces and more about the home owners.

I hope you’ll subscribe, watch, and enjoy! Thank you for allowing me to share this with you.

xoxo Vanessa

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

I wore a romper sourced from City Girl Consignment for my first birthday celebration with my bestie.

We went to The Modern Rose in Delray Beach for breakfast – delish and the owner came over with a slice of cake and a rose – so special! Afterward we went on a thrift shopping spree.

Tank, pants and sunnies all sourced from Goodwill for continued birthday celebrations with the family.

Vince planned a thrift tour for me – isn’t this amazing?!

But first, brunch! I got a birthday serenade with cinnamon rolls at Berry Fresh Cafe.

I layered this Goodwill top over a maxi dress also sourced from Goodwill

Love throwing on this super comfy maxi from Goodwill WPB

Make it Beautiful

Making every day moments feel beautiful brings me a lot of joy, and it’s no wonder because science is proving the mental health benefits of aesthetics.

During my day job, I’ve become familiar with the concept of neuroaesthetics — the neuroscience of beauty.

This research shows that when people view something they find beautiful, reward pathways are activated in the brain.

Memorial Day weekend poolside spread with my thrifted bamboo tray and snack plates from TJ Maxx.

Meaning the beauty you witness makes you feel good and prompts you to continue seeking out that feeling.

The science is backing up something kinda obvious when you think about Martha Stewart’s decades-long success.

So, making every day, small moments in your life beautiful is something worth doing — it makes you feel good in a brain nourishing way.

We’ll eat outside a ton this summer now that we have our fan on the lanai.

Saturday’s al fresco meal with thrifted bowls and a centerpiece from Trader Joe’s.

This weekend, I decided to make a visit with our cousin beautiful by bringing out a few collected items to enhance a simple snack spread.

Candle holders and blue dessert plates from Goodwill, Vintage floral plate from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach, Gorgeous table runner handmade from Stone Button Studio in Northwood, Pink serving platter thrifted and gifted from my MIL

I can’t get over these napkins from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach.

I loved pulling it together, which was a brain reward, but then our cousin noticed the beauty and the effort to create the moment, which brought its own reward.

Double. Doozie.

Slowing down enough to make small moments beautiful has big benefits — and brings a lot of joy, in my (and also science’s) humble opinion.

Baby girl worn out from her entertaining duties

We visited our Airbnb with new thrifted decor pieces over the weekend, and I think the place is looking a lot better.

>> Visit my previous post to see how the space looked before.

First stop – pick up the truck from Home Depot

One of the bedrooms with the trunk thrifted from Goodwill for added storage and a wall hanging I’ve had for years from Stone Button Studio in Northwood.

We found the new couch on Facebook Marketplace, and it brightens and airs out the space. We’ve been told we need to reconfigure the placement and swap the chair and couch. We also need to move the rug further under the furniture (and potentially add a new rug?).

My mom thrifted this table from Goodwill and it was in our guest room for a while. Now it’s a sturdy side table and I’ve added a basket to hold the remotes and some new artwork from Goodwill.

I’d love to replace the coffee table — keeping my eyes peeled in the shops! I found all the couch pillows at Goodwill.

I’d also like a few new lamps for all the rooms in the house.

This little bedroom table had an ugly canvas basket on the bottom shelf so I replaced it with a thrifted basket. We’ll continue to make incremental updates as I source things.

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Tank top, pants, and tote from Goodwill West Palm Beach

That New Build Charm

Our cookie cutter 2020 home has all the amenities of modern living — a garage, a laundry room, and ample closet space.

All things we didn’t have in our first home, which was full of historic charm but had little convenience.

When we chose to leave our first family home, I was initially devastated to sacrifice the charm, but quickly grew accustomed to not having roof leaks, rats in the attic (a horrific chapter of my life), roots growing through old pipes, etc. etc. etc.

New build homes have their own version of charm — the charm of a lifestyle devoid of constant home repair.

At least, not major ones. *raps knuckles against forhead*

As new build home owners, we quickly learned of the term “builder grade” and its true meaning when the appliances that came with the house started falling apart, along with the cabinets.

So, we’ve found ourselves in a state of constant cabinet repair. Which is not as big of a deal as rats in the attic, so it’s okay.

This last repair round, we decided to finally add knobs to our cabinets!

I have no explanation for why we didn’t have knobs for six years. This is a safe space, I know you’d never dream of judging me.

For someone who cares deeply about design and aesthetics, I was oddly pretty hands off with the knob choosing. Vince wanted knobs that could be delivered next-day, which limited our options, so I picked out of a set of Amazon links he provided and I think they look great!

While we were at it, we installed a fan on the lanai (fancy word for porch) and added shelves to the boys’ room due to our increasing number of house plants that need surfaces to live on.

I shall not provide photos of the boys’ room — you’re welcome.

The knobs might be six years late, but they’re an example of how incremental tweaks over time make a house a home.

While I still miss the charm and character of our first home, I certainly do not miss squeaks that echo in the night or the scrabble of taloned paws overhead.

For now, I’ll happily take my builder grade cabinets, Amazon knobs, and structurally sound roof, and I’ll layer the charm on with my thrifted wares.

Speaking of thrifted wares, I finally styled some of my finds around the house last weekend:

I found the small pressed flower art on top at Goodwill recently; I’ve had the butterfly pressed flower art for several years and found it at American Thrift in West Palm Beach

I purchased this crocheted garland from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach and layered it over a garland purchased at World Market in our loft.

I hung this sconce from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach in our entryway and placed beach treasures on it.

Everything in my entryway is thrifted – the antique chair, pillow, table, and lamp

These shells and sea fan remind me of beach days in the Bahamas.

Another sconce from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach, now holding more beach treasures and resting underneath a gorgeous needlepoint piece I found at a garage sale in West Palm Beach

Last Week’s Thrifted ‘Fits

Dress secondhand from a friend, sunglasses from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Top from Goodwill Denver, Tote from Goodwill West Palm Beach

The Thrifted Party Idea that Stole the Show

The crowd faves at my daughter’s birthday party were Goodwill finds.

As you might have gathered by now, my baby girl is a princess. She wasn’t really given a choice – my husband had it decided long before she was born.

The moment she arrived he stuck a bow on her head – perfectly coordinated with her outfit, of course.

As she grew and became more aware, she leaned right into the princess role with ease and it was reflected in her clothes, accessories, and attitude.

She dresses the part as often as possible and has drawers stuffed full of princess dresses – some passed down from her older cousin, but most found during my thrifting trips to Goodwill.

Elaine’s birthday party wasn’t princess themed, but of course we knew she’d want to wear one of her dresses for the occasion.

We rented out The Schoolhouse Children’s Museum for the party and invited all her preschool classmates.

I decided to bring our collection of thrifted princess gowns, tiaras, and a vase of little wands (also found at Goodwill) so other girlies could be princesses too if they wanted.

We found this gorgeous Belle dress at Goodwill in West Palm Beach

As the kids arrived, before exploring the museum (which is a dream, by the way, Palm Beach County parents — run to take your kiddos if you haven’t been!), they immediately beelined straight to the rack of princess dresses.

It was a blast to watch how much joy this brought to the party — and it was such a simple add-on.

I thrifted the vase of wands and the basket holding the tiaras – don’t tell Elaine I gave most of the wands away to her friends!

When it came time to sing the happy birthday song, in true princess fashion, Elaine interrupted the festivities to announce to the room that she did not want anyone taking the wands home and they all needed to end up back in the vase. lol.

That’s our girl!

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Bag and sunnies from two different Goodwill stores in West Palm Beach; Chintz necklace by Sarah Bray Bermuda

Dress from Poshmark, Kate Spade bag from Goodwill Palm Beach Gardens

Shirt made from a vintage tablecloth; found at the Rust Market in Lake Park; Elaine’s little skort is from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Shirt from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Jeans from Goodwill Boca Raton

Dress and belt from Goodwill West Palm Beach

A Very Vibey Guest Bedroom

I re-styled my guest room and in a word it’s giving: vibes.

My mom stays in this room several months out of the year, so she has collected most of these pieces.

I don’t know where this came from — is it Gen Z terminology? My algorithm? — but now I just say, “vibes” in response to most things.

I say it so often that Vince asked me to stop.

Rude.

Sadly for Vince, this verbal tick is here to stay and now a core part of my personality *shrug*.

So, as I was saying — the room is v, v vibey and (naturally) full of thrifted finds. Here’s how it’s laid out:

My mom lives in this room several months out of the year, and there’s only one small closet, so coming up with storage solutions for her stuff has been tricky.

She found this gorgeous dresser at The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach last month which has been a total game changer. It’s just missing a handle on the top drawer, so she’s on the hunt!

My mom was worried this piece would crowd the space, but placing it against the wall near the head of the bed has actually made the room feel less crowded to me.

We have more than 60 house plants at this point, so we’re in a phase of coming up with creative ways to place them and make sure they’re getting enough light.

This little macrame hanging shelf does the trick in this room.

I love styling with books and stack them everywhere, much like our house plants. Mom’s old yearbooks and a few others are leaning against the chair in the corner here.

Mom found this chair and pillow at separate thrift shops. The chair previously lived at The Breakers Palm Beach.

Baskets are utilized as clothing hampers and extra storage.

The artwork was gifted to my mom from our neighbor in Columbia, Missouri. We have lots of this artist’s pieces throughout our home.

The tassel pillow is from a local thrift market and the crochet throw is from The Cozy Cottage in Lake Worth Beach.

My mom almost got rid of this little dresser because she thought it would be too heavy in the space across from the other larger dresser she found.

I convinced her to keep it for more storage (it now holds her purses) and also because I’m obsessed with it. The stud detailing and color is perfection — we found this piece at Quantum House Thrift in Jupiter.

The basket tray keeps tabletop items tidy and is sourced from Goodwill, the mirror is from Stone Button Studio in Northwood, and the matching pair of lamps is from The Nearly New Thrift Shop in West Palm Beach. They originally came with old fashioned lampshades so I replaced them with these modern gray ones I found at Home Goods years ago.

My favorite thing in this room is the macrame hat organizer I gifted to my mom for her birthday last year. It’s so practical but also feels like art.

I love the use of trays to organize surfaces. Mom found this tray at a local garage sale and I styled various thrifted and gifted items inside. The gorgeous shell box next to it is from Stone Button Studio.

This room is the only one in the house with so much gray. I tend to stay away from “millennial gray” but the cool tones in this room feel refreshing rather than bland.

Let me know if you want to come visit, the room is ready for ya. 😉

In other news, I wore a $15.99 Goodwill gown to a Gala over the weekend and truly felt like a million bucks.

My super comfy shoes are also from Goodwill.

I fear this is the type of dress you can only wear once, which kills me because it’s perfection.

I forgot to snag a photo of the back — it’s sheer!!

The only good full length photo I got of the dress. Here we are with our handsome cousins!

I found this gown a few weeks ago while shopping with my mom and remember telling her, “When am I ever going to wear something like this?!” I debated over it and decided the price was too good not to take it.

Who would have thought a last minute gala would plop onto my calendar?!

Goodwill comes through in all life’s moments, friends. Have I turned you into a thrifter yet??

Last week’s thrfited ‘fits:

Dress and Bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach

An Airbnb Refresh

Vince and I purchased our first home in 2017 — a tiny, historic Spanish Mission style house with a cottage behind it.

We had our two boys and lived on top of each other but absolutely loved that little house.

Vince used the Florida room as his office, we knocked out a closet to put in a stackable washer and dryer (a lot of old FL homes don’t have laundry hookups indoor or in the main house), and I filled each space with thrifted finds.

So many sweet memories in our first home as a family.

Had so much fun styling and sharing with my friends.

Love, love, love this piece and will never get rid of it.

The hardest thing about living in this house was that our headboard was right against the boys’ bathroom, so they were constantly waking us up!

I had a blast making style choices for the boys’ room.

Was obsessed with this bird chandelier we ordered on Etsy but had to eventually dismantle because of our cats.

We filled the cottage with thrifted finds.

We moved to our current home just as the pandemic started — it couldn’t have been better timing. I can’t imagine us weathering lock down and virtual learning on top of each other in that small space.

Our new house is much bigger, but it’s a cookie cutter new build, so we sacrificed the historic charm of our first house for modern comforts as our family grew.

It was fun and special to watch our new house being built.

We did keep our first place, though, and now rent out both the main house and cottage.

With my hectic schedule, I hardly drive by the house and haven’t been inside in over a year, maybe longer. With all the amazing thrift finds I’ve come across recently and left behind, Vince asked me to consider snagging some and saving them for an airbnb decor revamp.

The current styling of the airbnb is much more modern, neutral and less eclectic than my house — it needs to appeal to broader tastes — so my challenge is finding ways to update decor that fit within as specific palate.

I went out over the weekend and came away with some starting points:

At Goodwill, I found four matching pillows to brighten up the couch, a basket that can be used on the kitchen counter or maybe living room coffee table, some artwork for the kitchen, and a woven trunk.

I’m thinking the woven trunk would be good to double as a table and extra storage in the secondary bedroom of the main house.

We are in desperate need of a new couch (maybe leather this time around?), so I’ll be visiting the Nearly New Shop in West Palm Beach weekly to see if I can find the perfect piece.

What do you think? I’m open to all suggestions for sprucing up the place. I’ll share styling details here as I go!

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Shirt thrifted and passed on from a friend, Madewell jeans (my fave) from a Goodwill Boutique in Boca

Passion Baby Turns Four

My baby girl turned four over the weekend and, though I’ve never considered it before, I’m starting to wonder about the meaning of her star sign.

The world of horoscopes has always been beyond me, and I honestly didn’t know where she fell on the zodiac chart until strangers began to inform me.

Elaine is an Aries, a sign associated with traits like boldness, ambition, energy, confidence, and natural leadership.

Apparently a tendency toward firey anger is associated as well.

All traits are extremely spot-on for my little girl.

In fact, when she was born we used to refer to her as “passion baby” because she often became overwhelmingly passionate and insistent on having her way, far before she could even speak.

If she didn’t get her way, she would dramatically throw herself backward, sometimes nearly out of our arms and sometimes hitting her head, which did not stop her from continuing to throw herself in rage, to our dismay.

Vince says we can all find things in each star sign that apply to us and doesn’t give it an ounce of credibility, but I’m wondering if I should start paying attention to astrology.

To celebrate Elaine’s brithday, we took the Brightline to the Aventura Mall with her besties / our neighbors to visit Bluey’s Backyard.

In preparation for the Brightline ride, I took her to the Dollar Store to pick out a few activities to entertain her and her friends, and as we perused the coloring books, this little book popped out at me — coincidence???

There were no other star sign books on the shelves.

How crazy is that?!

Anyway, if you have any insights on Aries, let me know. We’re currently in a screaming phase so, holding on tight as we ride that not-as-fun-as-the-Brightline train.

I think I’ll google some tips for Gemini moms raising Aires daughters as I white knuckle this speedrail. 😉