Look at What I Found Today

Look at What I Found Today

Hello lovely people, hope you are all still there - its been a busy couple of weeks - no excuse though really!

Well today has been a fabulous day all round.  It started with Grandparents Day at School - the kids really look forward to this every year - there chance to show nanny and poppy what they do - unfortunately 3 of our grandparents had doctors appointments so it was up to my dad and myself to share ourselves, it was so wonderful to see so many grandparents there.  We really are so lucky at our School - such a fabulous little community.

After then sorting out the Book Week Costume (note to self don't leave it to the last minute next time) I decided to head down the Southern Outlet (with windows down and music blaring) to visit Lifeline Chosen Pieces - and gee aren't I glad I did!  The difference with Lifeline is that they are paid employees as opposed to volunteers at most of the others.  They take a lot of pride in what they put out and at the sorting depot in town they generally despatch their designer and high end pieces to Kingston first.  Take a look at what set my heart a racing today!!!

This divine little One Red Fly dress is from Summer 2010.  I absolutely loved it then but at $130 couldn't realise justify it - I think you will agree it is $10 well spent today - and did I mention it looks brand spankers!

I picked us this gorgeous Gorman camisole for myself for $8.  I am thinking I will wear it with a touch of neon underneath.  You can check out Gorman here

I got this Mimco scarf for Miss 7 which she loves - looks like she is going to follow in mums footsteps - my favourite accessory!  If you are not familiar with Mimco check them out here fab statement accessories and not to mention gorgeous shoes.

I couldn't go past these cute little daisy studs for $2.

When I stopped in Sandy Bay this afternoon I also popped in to Pink and picked up these 3 snake bracelets for $12 total - I am loving the pink & gold combo.  Kiss Life wrap bracelet is by Sass & Bide.

I also made a visit to my favourite childrens store Forget Me Not in the quest to find some bathers for the girls before we head away.  Unfortunately new season stock has not dropped yet but I did manage to find Miss 4 a pair from last season that I knew she would love- floral & ruffles!!  I actually didn't realise Jets by Jessike Allen did childrens as well, cannot wait to see what they offer for Summer 2012/13.

This afternoon I also decided to get hubby an early Fathers Day present (and added bonus I can use it too).  We have both been wanting a Garmin for a while now so today on a whim I decided to get it for him, and those that know me know that I love to give presents straight away-I am hopeless at waiting (yes I know J you are nodding your head at me!).  The Running Edge really do know their stuff and the lovely guy also gave me the name of a site that hubby might like - Strava, it is a running and cycling GPS tracker, you can track all your runs and rides, set personal records and beat your friends' times. Enter virtual competitions, climb the leaderboards, create and join clubs.  Sounds like a great motivational site also.

Today really was a simple but simply wonderful day.  I realise how blessed and lucky I am.  With that in mind I decided to start again discussing as a family what we are grateful for - we did this about 6 months ago but didn't carry on with it.  I know Miss 7 gets the concept but unsure of Miss 4 - her reply was "I am grateful for daddy doing pop offs"  Miss 4 I'm not!! And on that note see you soon.

Mel xx

Our Rough Diamond!

As some of you lovely followers would know we recently bought an investment property.  From the very first inspection I got excited as I could see how much potential this place has and it has always been a dream of mine to renovate a property (I know some of you who have already done this will tell me I am crazzzzzy!).  Anyway at this stage it is just some fairly minor cosmetic changes we need to make in order to get it ready for our tenants.  I thought I would share with you our beautiful mess as it is at the moment with doors off, walls stripped, curtains down and basically crap everywhere as we wait for our garage sale.

 The view!!!

 Work in progress bedroom 2- basically just requires a coat of paint and carpet cleaned

 Bathroom - plans are to remove the carpet, paint (obviously) and tiles around the vanity

 Hallway, again a repaint and carpet clean

Our biggest challenge - at this stage we are not going to put in a new kitchen so just doing a few tweeks, remove some shelving, changing the oven configuration, new flooring and of course a paint job!

 Dining/family room - this part of the house is in good condition, basically just needs a fresh coat of paint and the carpet cleaned

 This room is magic when the sun is shining -  hence why it has an automatic shutter-will get very hot in summer!

 Large living/lounge room - again just a fresh coat of paint and removing those hideous light fittings off the wall!

 Great backyard for kids (and future renovations - we can already visualise this space)

 View from the master bedroom-lovely waking up to that each day.

Hopefully the painting will start in the next week or so - the kitchen will be all white and the rest of the house will have white ceilings with Dulux Pebble Bay walls.

While we are on the home front my favourite online mag is out - you can view Adore Home Magazine here I love looking at magazines online but in my view they can never replace traditional magazines!

Have a lovely Tuesday
Mel xx

My Personal Guide to Op Shopping!

One of the most common questions I get asked about op shopping is "how do you find all these fabulous things" so I thought I would share with you my own guide to how I op shop.

• Before you start the most important thing is to open your mind and leave any snobbery or pretence at the door, op shops are not like they used to be and it has become very fashionable to op shop.
• I personally am a label shopper and flick through the racks looking firstly at the label-I generally look for designer labels (yep all those mag reading days have served me well - I call it research).  If I see a label I like then that is when I generally have a good look at the piece-you can imagine my excitement when I stumble upon a Sass & Bide label, and I do!
• Inspect really carefully any pieces before buying - yes I have been caught out on this one a few times.  I am really fortunate that my mum is a brilliant sewer,  so missing buttons, hems down I know she can fix these easily.  Stains can be tricky also - grease and oil stains are really hard to get out so I generally leave these pieces.  Remember to check zips also - these can be really expensive to get fixed-so no matter how much of a bargain it is, it won't be if you need to have it professionally repaired.
• Be sure to check out those accessory bins - I have picked up some amazing designer bags and scarves.  Be sure to smell handbags-if they smell musty or of cigarette smoke then leave them where they are - no amount of airing will fix these.
• Give yourself plenty of time - there are bargains to be had but it does take time and patience. Don't feel disappointed if you come away with nothing, this happens to me alot - I think this makes the times when you do score a fab find that much sweeter.  The old thrill of the hunt!!
• Don't limit yourself to just clothing, check out homewares/books and toys - most op shops have a huge bookcase full of books.  I  have found some gorgeous vintage homewares - I love the character they add to my home.
• Make sure you wash all items before wearing - I also add a little disinifectant to the wash as well.
• Finally if you find a favourite shop and visit regularly - get to know the volunteers, if you are looking for something in particular they can keep an eye out for it for you.  You will also notice if you visit regularly which days they put out new stock - some stores will tell you which days if you are lucky.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVE FUN - its just stuff!!!

I hope that helps.  If any of you have your own tips be sure to share-I strongly believe the more we share the more it comes back to us!

Goodnight
Mel xx