I scored this gorgeous blazer for $4! Click here to view outfit details.

My absolute favorite part about the blazer is the triangular leather detail on either side of the pockets. A-dorable! Now I want to put leather triangles on all of my pockets.

So tell me, what have you found recently that you just can’t get enough of? Do share!

Then. . . Chris gained over 30lbs. It seemed like it was over night. I was sad to see his wardrobe go. This was about the time when I was pregnant with Felix, so I stole a few of his awesome too-small-for-mr-muscles sweaters & put them in my wardrobe. This sweater was perfect for sporting the baby bump. Now that I no longer have the bump, I just zipped along the sides with my sewing machine & took in the sweater about 3 inches on each side. Now I have a comfy, sort of ugly, sort of cool sweater to wear when it’s just a bit nippy in the studio. For practically free.

I’ve been avoiding thrift shops lately (no energy to do grocery shopping, let alone thrift), so I ask you. . . What have you scored on the cheap lately? Do you steal from your significant other’s closet? Share in the comments below!

• history: vintage, from a hotel in Idaho
• condition: fair, could use a light scrubbing & refinishing on the wood, but the springs are all intact as are all the upholstery tacks
• materials: wood frame upholstered with oil-coated fabric
• asking price: $35 each or $60 for the pair
• additional info: local pickup (Orem) & cash only

One of the most stressful parts of the wardrobe situation is that they’re hosting a winter whites party. Everyone is to wear white. AAAAHHH! I guess I could wear my wedding dress (If I can track it down), but that’s hardly appropriate. I bought a white dress from Asos, which is totally gorgeous, but I’m not entirely sure I want it in white. I ordered it in Peacock as well so I’ll decide which one to keep once the delivery arrives. If I decide I don’t want to go with the white dress, I’ve got some off white items: This shirt, this skirt and the above boots. The skirt isn’t really white, but it’s close enough. I guess.

I am excited about wearing the boots, though! I love these babies. I found them in Provo where thrift shopping is insane. Insane in a bad way. When I bought these boots I was wearing a vintage yellow jacket of mine & another girl in the store asked if I was planning on buying it.

“Excuse me? This is my jacket. I wore it in here.”

“Oh. Oh, my mistake. Sorry.”

In some cases it’s like day-after-thanksgiving shopping with ravenous sharks. Pretty darn hilarious. In any case, that makes this find even more miraculous. I didn’t have to fight anyone or rip them off anyone’s feet. They were just sitting on the shelf all by themselves in practically unworn condition for $8 (I’ve added scuffs & dirt since then). Did I mention thrift stores are more expensive where we’re living, too?!? Crazy.

Like I’ve mentioned before, It’s so hard to invest in Christmas decorations when you don’t know where you’ll be in the next year or you have little room for storage. Despite that, I found this adorable Martha Stewart table cloth at the thrift store a couple years ago for something like $2. I like that it’s not your typical red & green decor and it seems to go with the other two Christmas decorations we own, too.

Also, I just had to mention that I planted the above succulent arrangement a few months ago & never got around to posting about it. I had the base on hand for some time & got all of the succulents from Ikea. I LOVE IKEA. My mom would be so proud that this thing has survived not only four months, but four months & a move. Chris boxed up all of our plants a week before our actual move and a few of our plants haven’t quite recovered.

How are the holidays done around your house? Have you scored any vintage/thrifted Christmas details for your home? Share links in the comments! I’d love to see!

This last weekend was insane. I don’t believe I went to bed before 2 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday. There was just way too much to do & too little time to do it. Friday, as part of the Sewing Summit festivities, I led a group of ladies around downtown Salt Lake on a little thrift/vintage shopping excursion. Hands down I was the one that scored the most loot. I left a lot of fabulous stuff for everyone, but I found so many great things I just couldn’t help myself. It’s been a while since I’ve done a Thrifty & Chic feature, so I thought I’d do that today since I’m still trying to get on top of laundry, dishes, sleep, projects, etc.

I found these never-been-worn moccasin hush puppies for $23 at my favorite vintage shop: MisC. MisC isn’t like Goodwill or Salvation Army. The owner carefully curates her little shop keeping trends & seasons in mind.

I don’t shop there all the time, but when I’m looking for something different, specific & in near-perfect condition; I go there. Part of me was hesitant to buy these shoes because I’m used to finding deals for under $6, but come on! Where would I ever find a pair of shoes quite like these for even $23?

Have you found any good deals lately? Just recently my sister in thrifting, Laura, emailed me how she found an amazing modern wooden kitchen for $17. I won’t lie, I’m so incredibly jealous. Feel free to share links in the comments! I’d love to see what you’ve scored lately.

First of all, I HATE the color of our walls. Seriously, what genius picks out a slightly pinkish, yellowish off-white? It’s got to be either true white in my opinion or something completely different. In my dream home, I’d love to have glossy white everything. Okay, continuing on. . .

We upgraded our couch from our last place (the Urban Outfitters One). It was cute, but hardly comfortable as a living room/family room couch. I was 4 1/2 months pregnant at the time, so I was NOT going to tolerate an uncomfortable couch. THIS, my friends, was a huge splurge for us. It’s a Notuzzi limited edition, top-grain leather couch in mushroom. We thought about black, but ultimately the mushroom was a more interesting color. This was our Christmas present last year & we love it. It’s the perfect kind of soft leather so you’re not slipping around all over the place – it’s soft, cool & not sticky. The shape was something that took us a LONG time to find. How come it’s nearly impossible to find a leather couch with straight lines? I can’t stand the overstuffed look (sure it’s comfy), and I’m not into the rounded tight ’90s contemporary look that was the only other option.

After looking for a couch for over a month, it was between this one & Ikea’s Karlstad. This one was a little more expensive, but we liked the leather a lot more than the Ikea one. We bough it at Sofa Mart in Draper.

The TV was another splurge. Until last October we’d survived our entire marriage without a TV. We had a projector, which was perfect in our small 1 bedroom San Francisco apartment, but not very ideal for a little girl that wanted to watch her shows right now (it was a 5-10 minute process to set up the projector & get it going). Chris & I debated back and forth about what size TV we should get. He wanted a 60″, I wanted a 40″. We compromised at 55″. We got this 780p Plasma LG TV brand new (never been opened) for $500 off of craigslist. We saw it in stores for $1300.

Along with the TV, we needed a console. We didn’t want to spend an arm & a leg for it & we wanted it to fit our speakers neatly in there. Ideally I would’ve found a beautiful sideboard with cabinets that were the perfect dimensions, but that was out of our budget. We used the Tryde plans from knock-off-wood to make our own custom console. Chris built it, I stained it, all for just over $100. I’d love to add doors to the console to hide the cords & electronics, but that’s a project for another day. In the mean time, we’ve trained Penelope to avoid those electronics.

The rug we had at our previous place & inherited from my parents when they relocated to Charlotte. The coffee table we had previously, too. The coffee table previously had a chest that nested inside the frame. We found it was muffling the audio from the speakers so we picked up some wood planks & nested them in the chest’s place. This was the compromise between Chris shoving it to the wall (or tossing it out). Chris seriously questions the need for a coffee table. Am I the only one who needs one?

That modern chair you see in the background was from the thrift store & the pillow was hand made. Lamp was thrifted & DIYed.

Originally I stained the planks the same color as the console, but it was looking too dark & monotone for me. Also, Penelope had her way with the surface, so I sanded it down a bit to show more of the wood grain. I like it much better now.The natural wood grain is really pretty & has sort of an industrial look about it. I found these blocks at House 8810 & had to buy them for Penelope. They’re adorable toys & look fancy & fun on our coffee table.

The peace sign we’ve had for a while – we got at a white elephant exchange. The succulent I found at Lowe’s as well as the cork round. The Giraffe was a thrifty & chic find.

I found two of these matching stool table thingies at the thrift store. They had disgusting laminate on top, so I turned the wood over, sanded & painted a cheery orange. They’re really low profile & very minimal in our small living room. The bowl was found at a thrift store, too.

I love my Studio on Fire print! The above print is a father & son letterpress collaboration. It’s sweet & a steal at $30.

This is artwork done by me. The square frame and matte on the bottom were passed down from my great grandmother. It’s so old you can tell the glass was hand blown. This is our engagement photo – my mother-in-law shot for us & I cross processed. I love this picture.

The above drawing is a Sunday doodle of mine & the clock I found at a housewares swap several months ago.

These pieces are mine. I framed them in my framing class in college. The large frame was found at a thrift store.

The embroidered pillow cover I scored years ago at Ikea for 99¢, the fish scale pillow I made & the yellow ikat pillow I purchased from Moxie Mandie. The Ikea pillow is looking a bit worn, I plan on replacing it with another handmade pillow with a graphic print. I’ve got my eye on a few Ikea fabrics.

The shoe basket I scored at a thrift store, the pillow I made from Proud Mary fabric, the chair was scored at Ikea’s as is section & the lamp & curtain were also ikea. The mirror was scored at a thrift store.

This is the entry way; also part of our living room. The bench I scored a while ago at a thrift store (I still need to get it reupholstered) the shoes & jacket were thrifted & purses were either thrifted or won on giveaways. I spray painted the hooks white & the artwork is this year’s Seesaw designs letterpressed calendar.

Here are the totals (including the cost of things I had on hand before moving here):

• couch – $1400
• tv – $500
• console – $110
• coffee table – $45
• poang chair – $75
• arthur umanoff chair – $8
• pillows – $40
• tufted bench – $15
• artwork & frames – $150
• side tables – $4
• lamps – $30
• tchotchkes & plants – $50

Grand Total: $2427

Looking at this list makes me feel like I’ve spent a TON of money on this room, but a lot of these things we’ve collected over the last 5+ years. Mostly the artwork. Honestly if we were to have paid full price for everything, this would be a $4000+ room. Good artwork adds up so does good/unique furniture. I consider myself pretty proud of this space. I’m definitely proud to show this off as the first room people see. Well, besides the awful paint. I guess I should be thankful it’s not lavender or lime green.

Truly, I wish I could decorate my entire house from top to bottom with Jonathan Adler, but that’s not going to happen in the foreseeable future.  I have yet to discover my “money tree”. While out & about last Saturday I found this flat white ceramic giraffe staring me down at the thrift store. It was $3. I had to have it & I think it looks absolutely adorable on our coffee table next to the peace sign (which we got as a white elephant gift – but I love it!).

Have you found any good deals lately? My aunt scored some adorable red cowgirl boots for my cousin – the tassles just kill me! Ellen found a killer window for $10 – the top is just gorgeous. Holli found an adorable ’60s dress – those flowers! And Kalleen practically thrifted her kids’ entire back-to-school wardrobe – most outfits under $10! Please share links to your thrifty finds in the comments! Happy weekend.

Funny, while losing myself in Pinterest last night, I stumbled across some seychelles pinned by Joy. They look oh so similar. I do wish these babies had the dainty heel, but you won’t hear me complaining. I only paid 7% of what the Seychelles are going for.

Laura found Marimekko look-a-like pillow cases for $1.50, Abby found a Thomas the train set for $10, and Shaela found a hardbound Value Tale set for $8!

What great deals have you found lately? Please share in the comments below! (links welcome)

Ever since I found out I was having a boy, I’ve been on the look out for little handmade sweaters for Felix. My cousin-in-law has made a few for Felix, but can one ever have enough sweaters?!? No.

I don’t remember which DI I found this at, but I do remember squealing with delight upon finding it! Handmade sweaters are paI LOVE the color combination and the pattern on the edges. I’m almost 100% sure that this is handmade, there are no tags identifying that it’s not and you can see (if you look carefully) where the yarn starts & stops.

I scored this beauty for $2. Of course the baby was a little more than that. I love his smiley angry face. This little boy has me wrapped around his little fingers.

Have I mentioned that he’s a chunk? Yesterday I had to take Penelope to the doc’s office & we parked in the absolute worst place ever. I ended up carrying Felix in his carrier (nearly 30lbs combined) in one arm & Penelope (35 lbs) in the other for at least a quarter mile. Yeah, yeah, that’s notthat far, BUT I was in semi-uncomfortable wedges hauling 60lbs of kid through gravel! It was enough to get me swearing. I have arm bruises from Felix’s carrier to prove it.

SO, it’s been a while since we’ve done a Thrifty & Chic. What great deals have you scored lately? Please share (with links!) in the comments! ALSOif you’re lucky enough to be going to Sewing Summit in SLC this October, I’m heading up a special thrift shopping excursion for attendees. Come thrift shopping with me & score some sweet vintage/thrifty items from one-of-a-kind shops! Many of the stores we’ll be hitting up will be offering attendees exclusive discounts. HOT. You going?!?