How to Thrift, Find and Scavenge

junk at flea market

Today I’m going to share my top 10 (sometimes) dirty secrets to thrifting, finding and scavenging! I’ve been shopping at thrift stores since middle school, so I’ve been at the game for over half of my life. And I learned from the best– my two, crazy aunts who would even buy their food from what they liked to call the “Scratch and Dent” and the “Day-Old Bread Store.”

1. Keep a running list of what you want or need. Going into a thrift store, yard sale or flea market without a solid idea of what you want can lead to unnecessary purchases and buyer’s remorse. I can easily get overwhelmed in a junk shop, so I keep a list of things I’m looking for in Evernote, that way I can easily refer back to it.

2. Before you even go out to the thrift stores, flea markets or yard sales, look around your house. Do you really need this item? Can you re-purpose something you already have? Can you take a few items to the thrift store to donate before you buy something else? I highly recommend doing an inventory of what you already own before bringing in new items to your house.

3. Ask your relatives if they are trying to get rid of anything. I can’t tell you how many great finds I’ve found in my relatives’ basements and attics. They are usually happy to give it away and you’ll be getting a piece with family history.

4. Find out when your local thrift stores restock their items. Generally they restock during the week, so try to shop then, instead of on the weekend when items will be picked over.

5. When it comes to flea markets and yard sales, the early bird gets the worm. Seriously. Every time I’ve sold at a flea market, someone has bought stuff out of my car before I even have time to unload it. Those people can be ruthless. And you should be too if you want to get the highest quality items. Find out when the flea market opens and get there before opening time. By the time noon rolls around most things will be picked over and vendors will be ready to pack up.

6. If you aren’t a visionary, bring an honest and visionary friend with you to shop. I love shopping at antique malls and thrift stores with George because he can see through the dirt. He knows if something is fixable or just plain junk. I also really admire the thrifting skills of my friend, Candra. She is a total fashonista and has the keen ability to find key wardrobe pieces in piles of junk.

7. Ask yourself this question: is the piece easily fixable? I have a terrible habit of biting off more than I can chew and I’ve done this with far too many thrifted things. I now like to ask myself if I could fix it in a weekend. If I can’t, I don’t buy it. If I can, I make an attainable (S.M.A.R.T.) plan for fixing it.

8. Outsource the “fixing!“ 9 times out of 10 a thrifted blouse that you take to the tailor will be cheaper and will fit you better than buying a new blouse at the local mall. It’s more environmentally friendly too!

9. Use alternative sources of thrifting, such as Craigslist and Facebook’s Marketplace. Being tech-savvy in “junk” culture gives you a great advantage over all those old ladies at the thrift store! Just remember to bring a friend with you to pick up the items. Safety first!

10. And the most important rule of all is to have fun! If you are finding that you feel overwhelmed by all the stuff, take a break, get some coffee and relax. Then, take a look at your list and if you feel up to it, get back out there. Junking should be fun, not stressful!

Do you have any other tips to add? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

love,
melanie

 

Happy Birthday, George!

Photo by Richard Israel Photography.

Photo by Richard Israel Photography.

Today is my love’s birthday. I love this dude more now than I did a year ago. We’ve been through so much in the past year and I couldn’t be prouder of you, George! You are patient, kind, handsome and so, so talented!

Happy Birthday, Georgie! I hope the next year is even happier than the last!

If you want to wish George a “Happy Birthday” follow him on Instagram or check out his website.

love your wife,
melanie

Why It’s OK to Give Up… Sometimes

Me looking very tired in my motorcycle gear.

Me looking very tired in my motorcycle gear.

This past weekend I attended my first motorcycle class. I was nervous and excited, but to be honest, I didn’t have much time to think about it. I’ve had an insane week.

Prior to going into any new situation, I like to prepare myself– mentally and physically. (Amy Cuddy has an amazing TED talk about body language and confidence.) But this time, it just didn’t happen. I went into the class unprepared.

I’ve been wanting to learn to ride a motorcycle for a while. And when the college I work at started offering classes, I jumped at the chance– just like I usually jump at every chance and opportunity that comes my way.

But jumping at every opportunity has its disadvantages. George and I had a long talk last night about how we spread ourselves too thin. We were taught at a young age to go for every opportunity because it might not come our way again. We were also taught the art of perseverance and to never, ever, under any circumstance give up.

The older I get, the more I think I need to stop jumping at every little opportunity that passes by. I also am beginning to think that sometimes it just might be ok to give up. I was feeling disheartened, unenthusiastic and worn out by the end of my motorcycle class on Saturday. I was dreading attending class on the following day.

I had several people try to convince me that I shouldn’t “give up” and that I should “push through.” But at the end of the day on Saturday, I wasn’t having fun anymore. So I listened to my body and my instincts and I quit the class. It is the first thing I can remember ever consciously quitting.

Yesterday I let myself sleep in and relax all day with George. And it felt good. Really good. I experienced a little twinge of guilt when my alarm went off in the morning, but I hit the ignore button and kept on sleeping. Because that was what I needed at that moment.

I will attempt to learn how to ride a motorcycle again. But next time I’m doing it at my own speed. When that next opportunity or project rolls around, I am going to think twice and remember that sometimes it is ok to quit things that aren’t important.

Have you ever been a “quitter?”

love,
melanie

Dark Chocolate, Salted, Caramel Rice Krispies

rice_krispiesCan you all tell this month has been kicking my butt? Easy projects have been key lately. Lucky for you (and me) this recipe is super easy!

I wanted to make Rice Krispies for a work luncheon, but I had to do something a little different. So, I thought, why not substitute caramel for the marshmallows?! Then I got real crazy and added sea salt and chocolate– my favorite combo.

Ingredients:
3 cups of Rice Krispies
1 package (14 oz.) of caramels
2 tablespoons of butter
5 squares of dark chocolate (or enough to drizzle on top)
2 pinches of sea salt

Directions:
Melt butter in a double boiler* over low heat. Add caramels and stir until candy has completely melted together. Add Rice Krispies to the caramel one cup at a time. Stir quickly! Take off the heat and spread into a greased pan.

Break chocolate into little pieces and melt in either a double boiler or a microwave. Drizzle onto the Rice Krispies. Sprinkle sea salt on top.

*If you don’t have a double boiler (I don’t) you can always place a slightly larger pot on top of a smaller pot of water to create the effect.

rice krispies with carmel and dark chocolateGeorge said it reminded him of a grown-up version of a Star Crunch. I take that a huge compliment.

love,
melanie

Easy Before and After: Snow Boots

Boots_BeforeI know spring is on the way and I live in the south, but snow boots were a total necessity this year. For a couple of months, it seemed like I needed these boots every weekend. Normally, I don’t need snow boots, so I have a hard time justifying buying a pair of cute, new boots. I’ve actually had these boots since middle school!

I love the recent trend of colored laces, so I decided to do an easy, upgrade on my boots by replacing the old, worn laces with bright, pink neon laces.

boots_afterUpgrade! Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am!

Do you have David Bowie songs stuck in your head yet? Have you completed any SUPER easy DIYs lately?

love,
melanie

 

Before and After: Cedar Chest

 

before3before

Most of the things that live in our house are either thrifted, handmade or gifts. Rarely do George and I buy any home goods full price. We both grew up on the low end of a middle class households. When I was little, my mom made all of my clothes and George grew up in the country (’nuff said), so the DIY attitude has been engrained in us.
before2We thrifted the chest above to use for George’s t-shirts. He has amassed quite the collection since he began working for a clothing company– one of the perks! We knew that Lane Cedar Chests are good quality, but the finish was in bad shape. We thought it might be fun to paint the chest instead of staining the wood. I really liked the bones of this piece, just not the surface. So, instead we sanded it down, primed it and painted it. (We didn’t paint the inside, of course. Cedar smells too good!)

We decided to highlight the different panels of the chest by using a different color. I love the color combination of grey and yellow. Although, I did make poor George go to the paint store multiple times to get the right shade of grey. Grey is such a hard color to get right!

After!Here’s the after shot! TA-DA! It’s amazing what a little paint can do.

Do you have any Before and After Projects to share? Show ’em to me in the comments!

love,
melanie

Saffron Lemonade

Saffron lemonade

Have you ever heard of saffron lemonade? This idea blew my mind in the best way. This drink came about while I was watching the Cooking Channel and running on the treadmill at the gym. I should be embarrassed, but I’m not. No shame in my game.

Mo Rocca was on and cooking with two adorable, little Indian women. I absolutely love the flavors of Indian cooking, so I was enthralled. Before the ladies began cooking, they served Mo saffron lemonade. My head nearly exploded. I quickly typed it onto the notes on my phone and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.

Saffron lemonade recipe

I googled their recipe, (which has now been removed from their site! Boo!), but I modified their original recipe a bit since I try to watch my sugar intake. If you don’t need to watch your sugar intake, feel free to up the sugar to 1/2 a cup.

Saffron Lemonade Recipe

Makes 16 oz.

Ingredients for Saffron Lemonade

  • 5-6 lemons
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 2 pinches of saffron
  • 1 cup of cold water
  • A handful of ice

Squeeze the lemons, add the sugar, water and saffron, then add a handful of ice and shake. The longer you let the saffron steep in the lemonade, the stronger the flavor will be. I let mine steep about an hour and it turned a gorgeous orange color.

If you need to make this in advance, this could be refrigerated in the fridge overnight. I haven’t tried it but, I’d love to see how that flavor would develop overnight.

Recipe for saffron lemonade

The flavor kind of reminded me of kombucha, but less tart. Saffron lemonade is the perfect spring drink! This would also be the perfect base for a cocktail or mocktail too.

For another spring drink, I recommend a Peach Mint Julep!

love,
melanie

Clay Beads Necklace

DSC_1002

Monday was my mom’s birthday. Happy birthday again, Mama! Since she was coming into town to visit us, I wanted to give her something extra special. My mom loves jewelry, so I decided to make a necklace for her birthday gift.

This was by far the most intense and time-consuming craft I’ve done so far. I usually stick with projects that take 5 minutes so I don’t get frustrated and give up. But since this was for my mom, I wanted to try something a little more difficult.

Supplies needed:

  1. Rolling Pin
  2. Polymer clay
  3. Parchment paper
  4. Chain
  5. Clasp
  6. Split-rings
  7. Pliers
  8. Paintbrush or a tool to make a small hole in the clay. (I thought the small screwdriver (pictured) would work. It did not.)
  9. Small cookie cutters or a tool to make a shape. (I used an empty beer bottle.)
  10. Exacto knife
  11. Optional: clear spray paint

DSC_0994Step 1: Roll out your clay. Try to make it approximately 1/8 of an inch thick.

DSC_0995Step 2: Punch out the shape of your beads. This is easiest to achieve with small cookie cutters or a tool, like the top of a beer bottle, but you could cut your shape out with an Exacto knife if you are good at free-handing shapes.

DSC_0996Step 3: Touch up the edges of your newly-made beads by cutting away stray bits of clay with an Exacto knife.

DSC_0998Step 4: Carefully punch out small holes in your beads using a tool, such as a thin paintbrush end. I cracked several of my beads during this process. Be patient and make more beads than you think you will need for a necklace.

Step 5: Bake your beads on a piece of parchment paper according to the clay manufacturer’s directions.

Step 6: (Optional) After beads are done baking and cool, spray with clear spray paint. This will give your beads a glossy look.

DSC_1012Step 7: Pry open the split-rings and slip through the holes in the beads.

Step 8: Determine where on the chain you want the beads to be placed. I skipped this step at first and started placing the beads on randomly. The necklace didn’t look very pretty with random beads everywhere. I would have saved myself a lot of time if I had put the chain on and determined exactly where on the chain I wanted the beads to be placed. I would have also saved more time if I had made sure I was placing each bead on face-down, so when the necklace was worn, the beads would lay flat and face-up.

DSC_1015Step 9: Slip the split-ring through the links in the chain and using the pliers, carefully close the split-rings.

Step 10: Using the pliers, attach the clasp onto the end of the necklace.

And voila! You have a beautiful, stylish, one-of-a-kind necklace to keep or give as a gift!

love,
melanie

Breakfast Pizza

Pizza with an egg on top!
Pizza with an egg on top!

It’s no surprise that breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. My first date with George was actually to iHop. On the weekdays, we usually don’t have enough time to make an elaborate breakfast, but on the weekends, we go all out. This weekend we wanted to try something different.

We are also obsessed with pizza. (Who isn’t?!) George and I would eat pizza every night of the week if we could. So we decided to combine two of out favorite things: pizza and breakfast!

We made this breakfast pizza from a store-bought, gluten-free crust. We topped it with pizza sauce, cheese, pre-cooked sausage and uncooked eggs, then baked according to the directions written on the crust. It tasted amazing! And as George and I like to say, “Put it on the menu!”

How have you reinvented your standard meals? Let me know in the comments!

love,
melanie

Bed and Breakfast

DSC_1034 DSC_1036 DSC_1037 DSC_1040Can you see me?!
DSC_1047Old fireplaces are so gorgeous. The tile alone has me dreaming of owning a historic home.
DSC_1053

DSC_1055This weekend my parents came to visit. It was my mom’s birthday, so it was extra special. My parents stayed at a local bed and breakfast, The Packhouse Inn— both Ronald Reagan and Dolly Parton stayed there! My dad complained about how cold the house was, but it was a truly beautiful home.

On Sunday morning, we were able to eat breakfast with my parents and tour the home. I adore old houses. I’d love to own an old home, one day. New houses just don’t seem to have the details of old homes.

What did you all do this weekend?

love,
melanie