Toddler Stories – This is my hobby.

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

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. 😉

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Linen Set from City Girl Consignment, Bag from Stone Button Studio

Sweater, Maxi Dress, and Tote from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Top and Linen Pants from Goodwill West Palm Beach

A Beary Unexpected V-Day Moment

Valentine’s Day is for lovers plus everyone else in my house.

Vince and I celebrated the holiday with a little staycation in Ft. Lauderdale but came home on Saturday night to take our baby girl out for a date (the boys were away celebrating their mom’s birthday).

We took her to the mall to pick out a new Build-A-Bear stuffie (her first Build-A-Bear is a red monkey — when you squeeze its hand, Vince’s voice says, “Happy first Valentine’s Day Elaine, I love you!”).

Baby E chose a beautiful, sparkly fairy bear and dressed her in a Rapunzel dress and tiara.

While filling out the bear’s birth certificate, we asked Elaine what to name it and she quickly yelled, “SALIVA!”

…….

“What was that, sweetie?”

Elaine smiled up at us and cupped her hand to her lips.

“SAAAALIVAAAA,” she stage whispered.

Saliva it is and shall ever be.

We all know how hard updating government documents can be — if this bear knows what’s best, she should accept her fate and introduce herself as “Sally” to those who don’t know her.

Anyway, as I was saying… Valentine’s Day is for everyone in my house, including the grandmas.

So I pulled together a little V-Day lunch for the family and naturally filled the table with thrifted finds, which I’m happy to tell you all about:

The weather was perfect, so we sat on our back patio for a lunch made of Buccan sandwiches, chips, and salads — all mouthwatering and highly recommended.

Earlier in the week, Elaine and I decorated construction paper hearts, which we stuck into a fun floral photo holder thingy I thrifted from Goodwill, and that served as our centerpiece.

Goodwill items included:
-The adorable heart taper candles
-Disposable napkins
-White dinner plates
-Floral placemats
-Amber goblets

I went to a luncheon last week and they were giving the centerpieces away at the end, so I salvaged and deconstructed one for the table.

The painted leaves are so cool, right? I stuck the roses and greenery in a crystal vase that was thrifted and gifted from my mother-in-law. She also gifted the pink serving platter I used for the sandwiches and the white tablecloth.

The heart straws and gift bags are from the dollar store! I love shopping there for holiday themed items.

It was a busy, sweet weekend!

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Anthropologie bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Earrings from Stone Button Studio

Top and MANGO tote bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Date night purse from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Kaftan/Swim Cover from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Baby’s sweet dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Things I left at Goodwill:

Picture a palm leaf sticking out of this — so coastal chic!

This shell lamp base had a different shade on top, but I found this other hand painted one and thought they looked cool together. I’m currently lamp rich, though, so had to leave this behind!

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.