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).

But first – mama needs a massage.

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.

The V-Day Crew!
yum yum yum

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
Sunnies 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!

Goodwill’s Got My Back

I’ve mentioned before that my daughter’s room is my favorite space in my house.

The entire room is collected whimsy.

The shelves and walls are full of thrifted, gifted, or passed down items. A major moment is the gallery wall above her dresser.

The largest piece here is a painting we bought on our baby moon in Jamaica. The artist added Elaine’s name in the corner, which is such a sweet touch.

I also have a framed photo of Elaine’s name written in script across beach sand.

This photo was created by my favorite shopkeeper, Inge, of Stone Button Studio. She texted it to me when she was unable to attend our baby shower.

Recently, the frame fell off the wall and cracked.

Just a few weeks later, I found the perfect replacement frame at Goodwill.

Now, I think it looks even better!

Goodwill’s always got this girlie’s back. 😉

>> Check out this post for an in-depth look at baby girl’s room decor.

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits:

I was able to put my Goodwill sweater finds to good use over the weekend we spent in Chicago.

Red cardigan and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach
Beaded belt and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach
Closer look at the beaded belt detail; the dress ins’t thrifted, it’s Anthropologie!
Baby’s pants are thrifted from Goodwill West Palm Beach and her top is thrifted and gifted from a friend
H&M Sweater, GAP jeans, and boots from Goodwill West Palm Beach
Seeing snow for the first time! Baby’s coat is consigned from Kid to Kid in Palm Beach Gardens.
Sweater from Goodwill West Palm Beach

A Thrifted Thanksgiving Table

I was thrilled to host Thanksgiving this year, not only because I love spending time with my family, but also because it gave me an excuse to create a holiday themed tablescape.

In recent years I’ve gotten more and more into tablescapes.

It’s another outlet for creativity, and I like pulling things from around my house to place down the middle of my dining table.

I’ve pulled framed photos, shells, and collected trinkets for my tables when hosting friends and family.

Lately, I’ve been feeling like almost anything goes for a tablescape.

You want bows? Butterflies? Bird houses? Tie and stick them onto candle holders or table runners and make it a thing!

(My husband was sure to tell me that placing miniature chairs down the middle is a little insane — I just love a miniature piece of furniture, okay?!)

This holiday, I’ve had a lot of fun thrifting specifically for my tablescapes.

Here, I’m sharing the details on where I sourced all the items for my Thanksgiving table.

  • Goblets – Goodwill West Palm Beach
  • Glasses – Home Goods (I store these separately / away from our daily use cabinets so nobody can break them, and only bring them out for guests)
  • Flatware – Passed down from my mother-in-law
  • Crystal candle holders – wedding gifts
  • Pink taper candles – Goodwill West Palm Beach
  • Beaded/wooden candle holder – Nearly New Thrift Shop West Palm Beach
  • Napkin rings – thrifted and gifted from a friend
  • Fall wreath – Goodwill West Palm Beach
  • Bronze candle holders – passed down from my mom
  • Dark blue dessert plates – Goodwill West Palm Beach
  • White & blue dessert plates – thrifted & gifted from my mother-in-law
  • Floral urn – Nearly New Shop West Palm Beach
  • Block print napkins – Etsy
  • White vessel thingy I used as a candle holder – thrifted & gifted from my mom
  • Glass cake stand I used as a candle holder – found at a garage sale years ago
  • Baby girl made this sweet centerpiece at school!
  • Teacup I used as a candle holder – thrifted & gifted from my mom
  • Dinner plates – fiestaware; I chose dark blue plates for our family’s everyday use because the color hides scratches and they look nicer longer!

It felt like a blessing to be able to make my table beautiful for friends and family to gather around — I hope your Thanksgiving was fab, too!

Last week’s thrifted ‘fits & highlights:

Easy breezy dress from Goodwill West Palm Beach
Sweater from Goodwill West Palm Beach
GAP shirt dress, linen pants, Target sandals from Goodwill West Palm Beach
I left this at Goodwill and kinda regret it!!!
Top from Goodwill West Palm Beach, Madewell jeans from Goodwill Boutique in Boca Raton
Cutie frog earrings from A Timeless Treasure West Palm Beach
Shells and rocks from Goodwill West Palm Beach styled in one of my plant pots
My dress from my swap brunch party!
Still screaming over this bag found at Goodwill West Palm Beach — the red and the bamboo handles!
Button up from my Denver Goodwill haul, MANGO bag from Goodwill West Palm Beach
I styled an area in my bedroom with shells, a basket, and design books from Goodwill West Palm Beach
This basket from Goodwill West Palm Beach is solving a clutter problem on my desk!

More Dining Room Upgrades

Since I found that amazing chair + ottoman set at Goodwill last week, I had to rearrange several chairs throughout the house, leading to more changes to the dining room.

That’s one of the fun things about thrifting — when you find new treasures, you have to make room for them, so you’re constantly reconfiguring your spaces and expressing creativity.

A chair that was up in our loft (found a few months ago at Goodwill, naturally), and a chair that I thrifted for our wedding in 2015, were relocated to the dining table to become host chairs (chairs at either end that are different in style from the rest).

Chair found at Goodwill a few months back. Pottery Barn pillow found at Furry Friends Thrift in Jupiter.
Chair thrifted in 2015 for my wedding (maybe Faith Farm?), Pillow thrifted from a vendor at the West Palm Beach Green Market several years ago.

I often see home designers set up matching host chairs, but I think this mismatched look jives with the rest of my eclectic style.

A dear childhood friend helped me source thrifted furniture then reupholster and paint them for cocktail hour vignettes at my wedding.

Last week at Goodwill, I found these wooden wall sconces (which I’ve been manifesting!!), and they’re now flanking the lattice backdrop in our dining room.

The taper candles are also from Goodwill.

I can’t wait to light these up and add more romantic lighting to our everyday dinners.

My final dining upgrade of the week are these clip-on rattan chandelier shades! This was an impulse purchase from Amazon that I’m obsessed with. It’s a subtle change that elevates the room and integrates with surrounding decor.

I chose a shape that matches our kitchen island pendant lights.

Evolving a space with thrifted treasures brings me so much joy and creates a home that feels collected and personal. You should drop into a thrift store this week to see what inspires you!

This milk glass vase is another wedding artifact that now sits on our kitchen bar! Given to me by my mom.

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

Office Outfit! Shirt, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach, Pants, J.Crew, Source: thrifted and gifted from a friend, Necklace, handmade from repurposed items, Source: Stone Button Studio Northwood Village
The shirt detail and necklace deserve a close-up.
Gym Outfit. Choose Kindness Tee, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach
Tank Top, Source: Secondhand from a friend, Skirt, UNIQLO, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach
Tunic, J.Crew, Linen Pants, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach
Vintage stoneware. Five dessert plates, one dinner plate, one serving plate, Source: Goodwill West Palm Beach