Toddler Stories – This is my hobby.

Basket my life, baby.

Living with a lot of people means you’re also living with clutter. It just builds up — even if you’re not a maximalist like me. 😉

My solution?

BASKETS

I might have a bit of a basket problem, tbh.

I’ve embraced that at this stage in my life, toys are part of the home aesthetic. I know that one day, I’ll look around and wish there were toys on the floor, so I accept it with my whole heart. Toy Basket Source: Stone Button Studio West Palm Beach, Mini Rattan Chair Source: SoFlo Finds Delray Beach

It started with my daughter’s toys. The two baskets I got for the living room quickly overflowed, though, which actually made things look more cluttered, imo (my solution for that further down).

Baby Girl’s Shoe Basket Source: Stone Button Studio West Palm Beach

This kid has a lot of toys but it isn’t entirely her mom and dad’s fault.

When you have a baby (especially one as cute as mine 😏) people start bringing toys every time they see you or visit, it just happens!

Anyway, back to baskets.

Magazine Holder Source: The Cozy Cottage Lake Worth Beach, Basket Source: Nearly New Thrift Shop West Palm Beach

I’m married to a recovering clutter bug.

You can track his movements throughout the house based on the trail of items left on counters and floors.

Until a few weeks ago his bedside table was…atrocious.

Upon it sat a mountain of the miscellaneous: remote controls, books, snacks, cups, glasses, etc. etc. etc.

My solution was this cute lil basket! Now, instead of me worrying about putting the items back constantly, they’re thrown in here so I don’t have to look at them!

It has honestly done wonders for my peace in our room.

I basket up toys, stuffies, piles of books the toddler pulls from at will, blankets…

I found this perfect toy chest at Goodwill to better store my toddler’s plethora of toys.

Love that I can just toss things in there willy nilly and close the lid. It’s also an extra seating option, and has wheels for easy moving!

Kinda wish I could put my LIFE in a basket, ugh, sounds so cozy.

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

Top, Max Studio London, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach

Dress, Ileen Girl, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach

Shirt, Unknown, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach, Bag Source: Thrifted & gifted from a friend

Baby girl in an adorable matching set from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Janie & Jack Top Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach

This lamp!!! Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach

Here it is in its new home. I love it so much.

Woven Grass Table Mats, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach

Had to do some rearranging to welcome in the new lamp. I think this vintage tulip lamp is better suited here anyway, it was getting lost in the plants in the old spot. Here, it will get the attention it deserves! Source: Jupiter Medical Thrift – the lamp still had the original shade, which was in rough shape, so I found this gorgeous alternative in the store same-day!

Woven mat under the lamp is from The Nearly New Thrift Shop West Palm Beach

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.