Tuesday, November 16, 2010

old lady chic

my name is laura and i am a value village addict.

every tuesday (while sophia is at preschool) i head to my local value village. tuesday is senior discount day! and wouldn't you know it my dad is also a vv-aholic. i get to use my dad's 30% off seniors discount... appropriate enough since i call my style old lady chic.

when i was in high school i was an avid vv shopper. mostly for clothes. i stopped my thrift store addiction for a long time. i forgot about how much i love it! nowadays i am all about the housewares and kids clothes. about 90% of sophia's clothes are from the vv boutique. look around my house and the majority of things you will see are from there. it's getting out of hand.

when you are on a strict budget life can be challenging. i always feel the need to create and craft and above all i love to decorate my space. two things that can be impossible when you can barely spend any money. should i even mention my other love? my love of shopping for sophia!!! going to the mall and cute stores just made my heart ache seeing all the pretty things and knowing i couldn't buy any of it. so very hard for a shopaholic like me!

the photo's i am posting below are not amazing feats of craftiness. in fact the pictures don't really do them justice. but i wanted to post them to show my sisters. when gina was here for a visit i got her started on a vv addiction. we had a lot of fun looking at things and thinking what we could do with them and how she could decorate her new home on a budget. sorry gina that you don't get dad's senior discount. i think you should befriend a senior in your area ;)


the before of all the frames and sconces i collected. not gonna lie i wasn't hating them gold but i love them white!

before of the mirror i scored

the before of the frames (on the chenille i found!)

after -  two of the frames!
 i really wanted a photo wall. all i did was print out the black and white pictures on regular paper, no cost.
the top frame in the right corner i made into a chalkboard from chalboard paper i had.

loving milk glass these days!  i have quite a few pieces of it. see? i told you i was old lady chic.

 milk glass flower pot/bookend ( i have another larger one on the other side of the books)

after - the sconces and the mirror. i love how they turned out

the flower curtians i got for sophia, LOVE them!

they make my old lady heart a flutter


 
cute little chairs i found

sophia really needed a bedskirt and voila i love it

one of my first household purchase from vv.

the coolest part? i found out that these exact cannnisters belonged to a lady i used to work with. she received them as a wedding gift in 1975. she had just recently dropped them off at the thrift store. true story!!


i had really been wanting curtains for our living room but couldn't afford any. chris jokingly said if i could find curtains for $10 i could get them. he was joking... but i took it as a challenge!!  i found the blue panel for $10 and the cream one for $8 so technically i was over the limit but i was close! my mom and i cut the two panels and sewed them together. easy peasy. i was lucky to find two curtains that had the same ring top so that made things very easy.
this room still needs some work. i also recently added an awesome white lamp i found at vv. i am loving my old lady rocker!! in fact i am sitting in it right now as i type :) the chair was one my mom had in her home that she let us use. it really cozies up the room. oh and the third frame is up there above the key rings.

and this is my next project!
sophia has been using this as her "kitchen" so i am going to cutesy it up by painting it and modpodging it up to look like a real kitchen for her. i am very excited to do it!



on a random tangent...i just want to say sorry to my blog. i have so many pictures, stories and goings on that i am just so behind on. i feel like i am so busy with everyday life and have no time for being on the computer. you have definitely become last on the rung of life. i guess that is ok though, priorities right? i have thought about shutting you down, but i just can't quit you! i am making no promises but once in a while when the stars align and all my everyday things are taken care of me and you will have some quality time.

8 comments:

Bethany Grace Martin said...

Laura, I love what you did with those frames! We are getting ready to move next month, and I have been wondering what to do with my new walls.... so what did you do to cover the gold?

Sara Brown said...

Truly inspiring Laura...I am so excited to VV with you...soon and very soon!

Becks said...

Hi Bethany! That is exciting that you will be moving! The frames were a plastic material so I used a primer(bullseye)first then painted them with a white interior house paint. I was able to use paints we already had on hand. I tried using a crackle finish but it didn't look right on such small surfaces so i painted over that and loved the look of just a smooth white finish. I hope this helps! Happy decorating!! :)

fionafae said...

I love what you did, it looks gorgeous!
To be honest I have always envied the amazing ability that you Peragallo ladies possess - to beautify your living spaces so much that they could be pictures out of a magazine. SRSLY!

BTW did you know that I was totally unfamiliar with the glories of Value Village until I went shopping with you and your sisters at the VV in "Burquitlam (that name has always made me laugh) Plaza" wayyy back when?! I think I was 13 or so!

We should go together one day. I haven't been in ages and I LOVE VV!

Gina Woods said...

Love it Laura! My frames are still gold, but I am itching to get to them! I am almost done painting the trim in my kitchen, and I feel I need to finish that first before I can move on.
But I did buy a yucky old bulletin board from VV and painted the frame, covered the cork board in a blue/gray Amy Butler linen and hot glued old buttons on push pins. I am using fun scrapbook paper as backing for grocery lists, preschool calendars and such. It is so fun!
I will start painting the fireplace this weekend I think and then to the frames!
Thanks for posting!
Gina

Allikaye's Mama said...

Woah! Jealous out here in COlorado! I have been looking frantically at our thrift stores for cool frame.mirrors like that! I love the way you framed them and painted them white! LOVE it!! And I can't believe all that cool stuff you got! Wow!

Anonymous said...

Girls after my own heart! I long to do these things you know! I am happy to read about the fun things you are doing. It all looks really good Laura and I'll see it for myself very soon. Maybe a VV trip for us while we're there? Aunt Sandy

amanda said...

dude!! those are sooo the frames i have been looking for!! you have totally inspired me - must get out this weekend and hit the thrift stores!!

oh how i heart you friend!!

LOVE all your little finds!!

xo