thirfted goodies: melamine

After the dress photo shoot we came inside and had a tea party. I've been collecting vintage melamine dishware as I plan to make or buy the Little Miss a play kitchen soon. She is starting to really get into pretend play which often involves pretending to drink or eat out of any object that resembles a dish, saying, "Nummy!" and then giving me a taste. So I think a play kitchen is just the thing we need around here.

Melamine is perfect because she can't break it, the design and colors are beautiful (I just realized they match her dress perfectly), and you can find them pretty easily at the thrift store for $0.50 a piece. I think I will get some utensils and pots and pans from Ikea but I'm not sure where to get the food. Do you have any play food you love? I would appreciate some suggestions!

Thanks and have a lovely weekend!

p.s. the giveaway winner will be announced on Sunday so go leave a comment quick!

skirt turned dress

I spotted this skirt at the thrift store and was hoping it would fit me, but when I pulled it off the rack it turned out to be more than a little mini. But I loved the colors and the print enough to buy it for the Little Miss and see what I could do.

Turns out I didn't have to do much to transform it into a dress. All I did was cut out a strip in the back where there wasn't any elastic at the waist, sewed it back up, and used the strip of fabric to make straps.

Then I hand stitched these doilies on the pockets for a little something extra.

And here is the back view.

I love how it turned out. I would totally wear this myself!

giveaway at little miss heirlooms

Feeling lucky? Head over to Little Miss Heirlooms and enter a chance to win $50 to spend in my shop! Feel free to pass the word along. I hope you win.

weekend snapshot

Over the weekend we finished the garden boxes and planted our little seedlings. I am hoping they like their new home and will really begin to stretch their leaves and see what they can do. We also played at the park and I started a summer dress for the Little Miss refashioned from a skirt. I'll show you when I'm done. What were you up too?

our toy story

This week we had an adventure. But first, I need to introduce you to Lyevka (li-yev-kah), the Little Miss' best and softest friend. Husband speaks Russian so he has dubbed all of her stuffed animals with Russian names - it means little lion. She calls him Kevka and sleeps with him every night and is starting to want to take him everywhere. So on our thrifting trip this week I let her carry him inside hoping that if she was hugging him it would keep her seated and content in the cart.

Fast forward to a few hours later when we are home and it is time for her nap and I can't find Lyevka anywhere... and then it hits me that the last time I saw him was as we were walking into the thrift store that morning. I cannot begin to tell you how sick I felt at the thought that I had lost him! Our poor little lion was left behind. I didn't say anything to the Little Miss because she will sleep with other stuffed animals, so I laid her down and then commenced panicking. I called the thrift store and they said I would have to come in and search for the lion myself, but I knew I couldn't get there for a few more hours so thoughts of someone buying my little girl's favorite playmate plagued me.


This is the part where you are probably thinking, what's the big deal? And I might have said the same thing until this happened. After I hung up the phone with the thrift store I started sobbing - the kind of sobbing that takes you by surprise because you don't really know why it is affecting you so much. But since I knew that Lyevka was a big part of my little girl's world then he was a big part of mine too. Not to mention I felt horrible and knew it was my fault for forgetting we had brought him.

When Husband got home from work we set out on a rescue mission. We drove out to the thrift store and I basically laid down on the floor to see if she had dropped him - no luck. I checked the top of every rack - no luck. I walked down the toy aisle and didn't see him - I was beginning to get worried. I decided to look down every aisle while Husband and the Little Miss gave the toy aisle a more thorough look. I walked down several aisles when all of a sudden the Little Miss came running around a corner yelling, "Mommy, mommy! Kevka!" with the biggest smile on her face. It was a moment I never want to forget. And then I almost started crying with relief. Turns out he was patiently waiting for us on the bottom shelf of the toy aisle half hidden by other toys.

I have learned my lesson well - Lyevka will never come shopping with us ever again!

shop update: creatures big + small

Another shop update for you!

the post in which i lament...

...the fact that I do not own a house and therefore have no room for certain amazing finds. First, let me start by saying that the shop tour on Decor 8 featuring Brass Razoo is giving me all kinds of inspiration. I am definitely filing this away to return to when I have more space to fill (and will keep the small things in mind for now).





With that said, there is a definite downside to thrifting and this week I am suffering from it. It goes something like this - you stumble upon an unexpected amazing find that you don't really need (or in my case you don't really need it or have room for it) but you know that it's a one-of-a-kind! You can't go back in a month or a year when you have the perfect spot for it. It will be long gone and you'll only be left with the memory of that perfect chair, or couch, or dresser that no other finds will ever live up too. Dramatic, right? I know. Let's just say if you want the perfect vintage couch that looks like it was never sat in and still has the original matching pillows go to the DI in AF. And whoever got that mid-century chair I passed up because I couldn't think of a place to put it, you're welcome. Sigh...

At least I am not becoming a hoarder.


Photos by Amber Fischer