Cat Eyes, a Mirror, and Dresses

Eyeliner has never been my forté, but after reading Natalie's post on her cat-eye crush, I could not resist trying the latest trend. My eyes are rather deep set, so liner always annoyingly leaves smudges above my lids ad doesn't seem to stand out. Also, somehow, by the end of the night, my eye liner seems to disappear. Most likely because it rubs off on my eyelids as I blink and what not. After a recommendation from my sister-in-law Morgan to use cream eye liner with a brush, my eye lining problems have become less and less. Morgan always has stunningly done up eyes, and I've always wanted to try her lined look (but never have due to my smudging/liner disappearing problems). Cream eyeliner has proved, for me, to be the easiest to apply, and the most long lasting--especially when paired with an eyelid primer. So with brush, eyeliner in a jar, and primer, I gave the cat eye look a go when I went out for a glass of wine last night with my girlfriends. 

Guest Post: Confessions of a Thrifting Momma

photo source 1/ 2

Thrift store hunts may be a daunting endeavor to some, and an even bigger scare when thinking about thrifting with children in tow. To encourage you to brave the thrift store treasure hunt, my friend Noelle is here to share her experience and attest that it is not the impossible {even as a mom with two little ones}! 

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:

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!

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! ;)

  Frame: Flea market, $2. 

  Bird: hardware store(?!), $1. 

  Gold dish: thrift store, 99 cents.

  Books: library sale, $5.

 Books: thrift store, 12.5 cents each. 

 Vintage Golden book: thrift store, $1. 

 Glass jars: garage sale, 3 for $1 

 (gave one away and now regretting it, I’m a hoarder) 

 Bird: gift from my mom who knows me :)

  Books: library sale, $7. 

  Potpurri: Big Lots, $2.

I can’t stand throwing away beautiful cards 

so I just decided to tuck this one into an 
empty frame and it perfectly ties in the 

mint color on the book binding, I love it!
Frame: Flea market, $3. 
Letters box: library sale, $5. 
Mirror: Ross, $20 (pricey for me!) 
Book: thrift store, 12.5 cents.
Bird candle holder: gift from my momma again!

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.

Treasury Edition No. 2: Budvase, reflection, entryways, and dumpster dives.

This is a new series added to the blog, with the original treasury idea inspired by Etsy (where items of a similar theme would be put together for a mini collection of sorts). This is a collection of frugal finds, home design, affordable style, and other splendid bits and pieces from readers like you. If you missed the first treasury, meander over here. Enjoy!

My blue ceramic treasure: This Dutch Delft budvase I found at a consignment store that was going out of business. Originally it was a gift for my Grandma, and now it holds a handful of flowers in my home. It cost $5 and was made in Holland.

Natalie is one of those women who has classy style in her bones. And she is amazing at navigating the wide world of Craigslist. Lucky for us, she is sharing a few of her most recent frugal finds. Natalie found the oval mirror at the Goodwill for only $5. She painted the frame gold to spruce it up a bit. It adds some splendid character to her basement guest room. Next, the dresser was a furniture piece from Natalie's parents. After the piece was hidden down in her basement, Natalie decided to give it new life. With some sanding (oh how we all love this part of refurbishing), white paint, and a new spot in her entryway, this repurposed dresser looks so put together. To accent the design, Natalie painted the lamp shade black. I love this look! (If only I had more photos to show you her entire living room. It is black, white, and classy perfection.) Lastly, this is by no means a new one for the record books, searching for treasure by literally diving, yes, into a dumpster. But, when you get something great like this pedastool side table, completely free? Cannot beat that. Let's dumpster dive more often, shall we? Just wash up properly afterwards and sanitize the bajeebies out of it.

Treasuries are made possible by you! If you would like to be a part of the next collection, email me or read more about guest postings here. 

How to make your mirrors sherbet, celery, and nautical.

 Two weeks ago I set out to paint some mirrors. The large one turned out like this and is now happily displayed above a cute little secretaries desk in our living room, adding a pop of color. The smaller Ikea mirrors went into hiding for awhile after being painted....

These mirrors were initially painted to be put up like this, one solid color, BEHR orange sherbet. After they sat in our second bedroom (that is serving as a large storage closet at the moment) for almost 2 weeks, I decided they needed some sprucing up. Since I did not jump to get them up on the wall as soon as the last coat of paint dried, I knew they needed something more.  I was not completely sold on the all orange sherbet look. They felt a little 1980s beach house. I had been drawn to some orange and green color combos when browsing images, and I decided what I needed to do to the mirrors. Add in some green to the sherbet orange. 

 thelennoxx.com

Photo found on Pinterest

Mark English Architects

Orange sherbet and celery sprig nautical stripe? Exactly what I was thinking!

I went with a sample size of BEHR celery sprig for $2.94 at Home Depot.

I got out my blue painter's tape, alternated spacing out 1", 2", and 3" stripesI had a level handy to make sure everything was straight and evenly spaced, but honestly it was relatively easy to eye the spacing and do it ad lib. I also needed to add picture hanging hardware on the backs. Then I was ready to get painting.

Two coats later, and an hour of drying time, then the tape came off. The sprucing up went very well, don't you agree? An easy way to add some interest in my bathroom, and in no time at all.

Somebody was so excited about how the mirrors turned out that she had to roll around and play with her ball, unable to contain herself and longer. If you don't remember from before what the bare walls in our bathroom looked like, you can see here (although, bare walls pretty much all look the same, don't they.)

What's collecting dust and stored at of sight at your house that could use a little makeover? I'd love for you to share your projects with me. Ready, set, repurpose.