you know that feeling. the feeling of stepping foot back on your place, in your home after a long weekend of traveling.
it feels so good.
i left a hot mess & a tense ball of stress before thanksgiving. i came back ghandi (kidding) better – a little more relaxed & energized to check off that to do list.
y’all, let’s stop the small talk.
i hired a housekeeper because i haven’t really dusted in a year & i can’t do all the things.
my people, she comes today.
i feel like christmas is coming 24 days early. bless.
in other news, my gertrude made dress came in the mail! (!!!)
when i put on this dress, i feel like i could totally hang with the little house on the prairie gang.
“oh hey, i’m natalie. a real farm girl.”
cathi, the maker behind gertrude made, & i became dear friends through the process of making my dress. i picked out my fabric & told her all of my insecurities. example: can i please have bigger arm holes because my arms are huge?! (from lifting heavy weights, of course.)
she was there for it all. she’s my dress making fairy god friend.
& she just brought #dressinhappinessdaily to a whole new level.
sidenote: if you have a bigger chest & feel self-conscious/can’t find a dress that fits, cathi is your girl. y’all, i feel completely comfortable & covered in this dress. it’s a christmas miracle!
she is opening up her shop this thursday at 2pm (western australia time) with a ton of beautifully handmade dresses. check them out & ask santa for one of these beauties. add a bit of handmade happy to your wardrobe!
wishing you all the happiest monday, my dear friends.
may you drink copious amounts of coffee, snack on leftover thanksgiving goodies & celebrate the first day of december with a full heart!
love,
natalie
p.s. high five to my hubby for the farm girl model pictures!
in the true spirit of contentment & thanksgiving during this holiday season, i thought i would share with you a gift wrapping idea i pulled together from things i already had on hand.
i love vintage tins. i believe they tell a story a paper bag or wrapping paper never could. when i am at the thrift shop, i always scan the gift box & tin aisle closely, searching for a tin to bring home.
thrift shop tins are always under a buck & serve so many purposes.
especially during this season of gifting, vintage tins are perfect for baked goods to neighbors & they’re much more charming than the over-priced tins at the big box stores.
this past weekend i attended a baby shower for a dear friend & her little girl on the way. i shopped my thrift store a few weeks ahead of time, searching for gently-worn or new clothing to gift her.
…all for under $10!
i realize that perhaps our thrift shops have different price points, but the point remains the same: attempt to purchase secondhand this holiday season for your little’s (& grown-ups!) clothing & toys. you might just be surprised at what you’ll find!
… i can’t wait to share what i’ll be gifting from the thrift shop this holiday season!
instead of packing her clothes in a wrapped box, i folded each piece & wrapped it with pink twine. i filled up two tins with adorable clothing purchased for pennies.
i then searched my fabric stash for fun fabric to make into ribbon. during the holiday season, i love to purchase 1/2 yard of holiday fabric simply for making ribbon. it’s unique & much cheaper than store-bought, pre-made ribbon!
i crafted up a fun tag with a little bird sticker from my stash. i added some crepe paper, a gold clip & gifted it to the mama-to-be!
i hope you’ll search your thrift shop next time for vintage tins!
other ideas for re-usable gift wrapping options you can find at the thrift shop:
– beautiful woven baskets
– vintage lunch trays (add a fun little gift to each section of the tray!)
– vintage plates & saucers
– terra cotta pots (think outside the box! pots serve more purposes than just holding plants!)
– wooden crates & metal bins
– vintage jars in all shapes & sizes
love,
natalie
on thursday evening we packed our bags, grabbed our adventure jar (more on this soon!) & headed to eureka springs for a little soulcare trip (thanks, aunt roxie, for the gift certificiate!).
i thought it was about time i upped my #dressinhappinessdaily game for our little trip.
so naturally, i hit the thrift shop & purchased that little blingy purse number (the sak & still with tags for only $3!) &… a grey sweatshirt.
i stared at that sweatshirt among the racks of worn outs & beat ups for a good ten minutes. at that moment, i remembered shannan’s old man pj shirt; that baby was in my cart in less than a hot minute.
so perhaps this little up-cycled wardrobe post isn’t as bold & brave as shannan’s old man pajama shirt, but it was fun so i thought i’d share!
(i’m still laughing at myself for doing fashion posts…me?! really?!)
ladies, grab yo’self a sweatshirt from the thrift shop! this one was from the men’s section. gray with a printed number “54.” nothing special & purchased for just a couple of bucks.
it was way too tight around the neck so i cut off the collar. to cut off your collar like a total fashionista, simply use scissors or your rotary cutter & cut along the seam of the collar.
with an undershirt, it was bunching up at the bottom so in the name of fashion, i cut off the bottom seam, too. follow the existing seam of your sweatshirt & cut!
bam! now you’re in high fashion, ladies.
paired with a good pair of boots & a sexy husband, you can conquer anything!
rock that sweatshirt, girlfriend!
outfit details:
sweatshirt – thrifted, upcycled
denim collared shirt – thrifted
jeans – old navy
boots – frye (best purchase ever in all of ever)
purse – thrifted
necklace – noonday collection
earrings – fair treasure (get 20% off all orders over $25 with code “NATALIE20” at checkout! woo!)
who’s being bold today & rockin’ your high fashion sweatshirt?!
love,
natalie