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In her words:
Lauren
has inspired me so much with this little blog of hers, that I’ve
gotten back into my love of frugal treasure hunting,
repurposing and handmade gift-making with a renewed passion. I’ve
been wanting to jump into the blog world for quite some time since I
am a graphic
designer and also a mom: (lots of stuff to write about, be inspired by, etc). But alas, life
gets the best of me and I’d rather be busy playing with my kids and
making things. I have so many projects in my head right now. I can
barely think because all I want to do is go cut some fabric and start
sewing! It’s literally killing me to sit here, knowing that I have
brand-new fabric downstairs waiting for me to start planning with.
Anyway, I told Lauren that thrifting with kids was a whole new
ballgame and thought that sharing my experience might be fun for
others to read about.
Last
week I had the itch, so I decided to stop by my local Goodwill
(conveniently right next door to our Vons grocery store) before going
grocery shopping. At noon. Before feeding the children. Genius idea
#1. Then I got sucked into the New Arrivals rack and found tons of
brand name, new clothing and decided to try some things on. Genius
idea #2. I asked if I could take the kids into the changing room in
the cart with me and the clerk said sure (14 year old boy who has no
clue), and dangit, they put a flag on the cart so no one will TAKE
CARTS in the dressing room. So I took the baby out of the carrier and
the 3 yr old out of the cart and entered the dressing room. Genius
idea #3. Mind you, it’s about 12:45 at this point and we haven’t
eaten or done our grocery shopping yet.....ughhh. I’m getting tired
just thinking about that trip! I ripped through the clothes all while
yanking my 1 yr old back under the very high doors and making the 3
yr old stand up after peeking at the next door neighbor and asking
loudly why someone was in the room next to us, all while constantly
apologizing to the neighbors. Tired yet? I sure was!
Despite
the craziness of hunting with kids, I managed to come away with a
Forever 21 hoodie, a Target tanktop, a Banana Republic sweater top, a
comfy new jersey knit dress, a gorgeous lacy blouse, a Lauren Conrad
t-shirt, and these BEAUTIFUL gems:
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| Tray and gold dish were each only 99 cents! EEK! Jar is for my sis-in-law for Christmas, hope she doesn’t read this. But only if I’m willing to give it up! |
My
favorite aisle is always the kitchen/housewares section. People walk
right past these treasures thinking they’re dated or too beat up
and completely miss the beauty in them. I’m going to hang the tray
on the wall near my kitchen to tie into another piece of artwork with
similar colors. I was planning on using the gold dish for rings in
the bathroom, but it found a new home as you’ll see below.
Well,
the itch wasn’t thoroughly scratched, because the very next day I
had already planned a treasure-hunting trip with my good friend
Danielle, who also has a love for all things worn, peeling and rusty.
We somehow escaped our houses and children for an entire afternoon
alone together (thank you hubbies!!) and just went from shop to shop
exploring. That’s when I found a huge collection of old Reader’s
Digest short story compilations from the 60’s with GORGEOUS covers,
full-color interiors and beautiful illustrations. I was in love, and
I got 26 books for, wait for it, $3.25!!!! They were marked as 25
cents each and I found them on the 50% off table!
It made my day, my
week, my month!
 |
Some of the beautiful books I picked up for a steal.
I actually only bought 10 and then was so sad about leaving their friends behind, I headed back (with children) for 16 more and made the store clerk carry them out ha! |
I
was so inspired by my finds that I finally had purpose for my drab
living room built-in that had been sitting half-empty for 2.5 years
since we bought the house and moved in. It has been a thorn in my
side forever and I finally had enough treasures to fill all those
daunting shelves. Filling shelves is LAST on the priority list when
you have 2 small children and are self-employed and working from
home. But I did it! It took probably 3 hrs on a Sunday afternoon, but
I did it and boy am I proud of myself and can’t stop staring at my
creative masterpiece!
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Even the sconces were $2 from a garage sale!
The huge rustic U was from Ross for $3 on clearance.
The only letter they had and it’s our last name, booya!
Disclaimer, the baby was NOT a thrift store purchase! ;)
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Frame:
Flea market, $2.
Bird: hardware store(?!), $1.
Gold dish: thrift
store, 99 cents.
Books: library sale, $5.
|
I
knew something was missing, so I stole an Ikea lamp from my office
and added it later in the evening, and it was just what the space
needed. Now I sit under it’s warm light while chilling with the
hubby and working on new projects after the kiddos are down each
night. It was light I desperately needed to be able to see my needle
and thread.
I
truly hope this post inspires someone else out there who’s feeling
frozen by lack of time, resources, etc. because all of these shelves
were filled with thrift store, garage sale and Ross finds from over
the years. And that’s the biggest part, it took me a few years to
feel like I had the right stuff to fill these shelves and finally
call this project complete. Or maybe just complete for now. Anyway,
it has already inspired me to make new pillows for the couch (hence
the fabric taunting me downstairs!) Maybe I’ll send an update when
those are done. But with my kiddos, that could be next Spring!
Noelle Uzzi is a wife, momma to two awesome little girls, and designer extraordinaire! She spends most of her days wiping butts and taking names on the Central Coast of California, also known as the Happiest Place in America {according to Oprah}. You can follow her creative work at www.uzzicreative.com.
