artwork – This is my hobby.

A typical Saturday morning routine in the Moss house includes a stop by Dixie Hwy Donuts for an apple fritter the size of your head and half-a-dozen assorted treats.

I was assigned the task of pick-up last Saturday, and after securing the package, was dutifully driving back home when a bright green garage sale sign caught my eye.

I can’t go, I thought to myself. The donuts might melt in the car and my family is hungry.

But…I could just swing by for a few minutes. Pop around a bit and then head home — yeah!

My poor, sweet family.

No regrets, though, obviously (at least for me). I pulled up to the best garage sale I’ve seen in recent memory and left with several treasures:

Can you believe I snagged this gorgeous needlepoint art for $10?!

I love this so much! Instantly hung in our living room.

Another vintage needlepoint for $10. This one is for Elaine’s bedroom. It reminds me of our carousel rides at the Palm Beach Zoo and on cruises we take.

I found this vintage rattan lampshade and placed it on our bar lamp, which I sourced from Goodwill last year.

Y’all know how I feel about shells. This statement necklace is quite a statement indeed and I can’t wait to style it with an outfit.

Another fun necklace with a pressed flower pendant.

Garage sales are always fun to visit but let’s be honest, they’re usually full of junk.

This sale was truly impeccable, so I had to chat up the seller to find out how she curated so many beautiful things and was not surprised to learn that she used to own a boutique in Northwood.

We exchanged numbers and she’s going to hit me up the next time she has a sale — hell yeah!

In closing: the donuts didn’t melt, everybody at home forgave me for the detour, and I had my apple fritter and ate it too. 😉

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

Comfy dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach

Sadly, the sleeve of this dress ripped, so this was my last wearing of it — found at Goodwill West Palm Beach

Dress and bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach. Vintage chintz charm necklace by Sarah Bray Bermuda.

This massive shell ring isn’t thrifted but I’m obsessed with it — found it in Gaudeloupe.

Top and Bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach. Pants thrifted and gifted from a friend.

Love this vintage vase pendant that I found at a Trashe Vintage rummage sale. My pink ring is from the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.

I’m a big fan of the gallery wall, and have several in my home. I’ve always liked using them in a non-traditional way (traditional being matching frames hung in a perfectly symmetrical grouping).

A traditional gallery wall in our home featuring images from our favorite vacation.

I like thinking of my gallery moments as wall scrapbooks. I mix and match frame styles, include photos next to artwork, and hang objects like baskets and hats.

If someone writes me a cute note, or I leave a wedding with a polaroid keepsake, I’ll tuck these pieces into the edges of frames.

My gallery walls are constantly changing as I bring in new pieces from my thrift adventures, like puzzles that are never finished.

One of my favorite galleries is the one above my desk/office space in our primary bedroom.

It includes a floral painting found years ago at Stitches and Rust (the owner now operates a shop called Trashé Vintage), and a painting given to me by my mother.

The artist’s granddaughter was my mother’s neighbor in Missouri, and gave this piece, along with another large collection, to my mom for free, as long as she promised to keep them safe.

The post office gave us a copy of Elaine’s passport photo, so I tucked it in the floral painting’s frame, along with a tiny image of my boys that was leftover from some prints I made to go into a locket for my mother-in-law.

Now that my mom lives seasonally with us in Florida, we’re keeping all the art on our walls.

I’ve hung a hat from Stone Button Studio in Northwood Village, a little stained glass and shell mirror purchased at the Northwood Holiday Home Tours market in 2024, a basket I’ve just added to the collection this weekend (purchased at The Rust Market in Lake Park), and my favorite piece of all — framed hand written notes from my mother.

My mom wrote these notes to me when I was two years old. I had done a couple of cute/sweet things, so she jotted them down as memories and added little love notes in too.

A polaroid from Vince and Elaine’s first daddy daughter dance, and a tiny envelope with “Vanessa and Vince” written on it and a cute little butterfly

To this day, I can’t read the notes without crying. Even before becoming a mother myself, they brought tears to my eyes.

I love those notes so much that when my parents asked what I wanted for my college graduation gift, I just asked to have them matted and framed.

My mom couldn’t believe it — frame her slanted writing and spelling errors?!

Hell yeah! That’s what I love about it. The busy, working mom of a toddler taking a few minutes to jot down a moment she wanted to hold onto. A piece of life with her family she wanted to keep from fading. A quick little love story for later.

I love having moments like that on my walls.