Put it in a jar.

I love our guest room, as I've said many times before and when I found a glass jar at a garage sale I thought of a sweet little extra touch I could add to the guest room using my large collection of hotel soaps that I've collected from various holidays.I peeled off all the labels and voila, a gorgeous jar full of soaps for the guests.

And let's be honest, what doesn't look better displayed in a pretty jar. I also found another even larger glass jar at the same garage sale and it became by cupcake case display...a pretty, bright addition to the kitchen for next to nothing ( and you can also check out my DIY pretty jars which were painted using white paint, cotton buds and spray paint). I love a little colour in the kitchen.

I've really had a thing for glass jars for a long time- even Maisy's food can't escape the glass jar storage treatment:)...someone is definitely due for a haircut...

What do you like to put in glass jars?

Lisa x

Clothes and cupcake catch up.

Often when I go to Adelaide I rush madly around trying to catch up with as many people as possible. I decided to simplify things a bit and invite a whole group of people round to mum's for a night of catching up. To make it a bit more of an entertaining night I made it a clothes swapping party. This was perfect since I've been madly decluttering all year and had a laundry hamper full of clothes seeking new homes.The main intention was for my beloved clothes that I just don't wear to find good new homes and to have a chance to see lots of people at once. Any great swapped clothes I got was just an added bonus. And since every party is better with food I also made it a cupcake decorating party. I asked guests to bring some of their favourite decorations to jazz up some cupcakes I made earlier in the day. I made 4 batches- vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and gluten free vanilla. Even though I'm not gluten free, they were actually my favourites.

I'm good at taking some snaps at the start but completely forgot to document the actually party process... it always means you're having a good time if you're too busy to stop and photograph the party. I used mum's collection of teacups for drinks and the cute patty pans were only $2 for 25 from cheap as chips. The beautiful flowers are courtesy of the lovely Libby. Then I bought some frosting in a can for fun and made chocolate and vanilla frosting. I love decorating cupcakes especially when you have pretty little fun things like these cute gingerbread men picked up from wheel and barrow and icing flowers.

For the clothes swapping part there was really nothing fancy about it. We poured out our bags in a big pile and proceeded to pick through all the items. It was hilarious remembering old clothes like a friend's velvet boob tube and seeing how our tastes have changed. Despite the funny memories I snagged a whole bunch of plain tshirts and cardigans which are brilliant considering my thrifty challenge and the fact that decent basics are scarce in op shops.

It was lovely to host friends and as I had this first big catch up in three years with Adelaide friends, I couldn't help but getting excited about the prospect of many more parties in our own home when we move back.

Have a lovely weekend

Lisa x

Garage sale goodies for the guest room.

The guest room is my favourite room in the whole house which is ironic as it is the room I spend the least amount of time in. It is my little room of thrifted finds where every single item in the room (excluding things inside the wardrobes) was not purchased  by me from a store. Some of it was gifts but the majority of it was garage sale finds. 

It is almost complete! This weekends garage sales helped me feel one step closer.

Let's start from the beginning shall we... 

The guest room used to look like this but one day I woke up and decided purple really wasn't my colour and the whole room needed a new colour scheme. The purple wall changed into a grey and white chevron wall and suddenly I felt inspired to really make the room something else. Everything is pretty much how I want it except for some very large spaces on two of the walls that really need some special artwork to complete the space.

I've been searching for a towel rack for ages as we have quite a small bathroom and it would be nice for guests to have somewhere to hang their towel. Today I found a little beauty for the lovely price of $2. Perfect! It's sturdy, in good condition and fits nicely into the room.

Once my thrifty challenge is complete I might consider buying some prettier towels to make the room even more inviting for guests.

I've also been on the lookout for some more cute quirky items for the room to give it even more character and found a few little fun pieces I couldn't walk past. I think these horse bookends are fabulous. I love the detailed carving and just how much more exciting bookends are when they're animal shapes. I've been eyeing off dog bookends at a shop in Adelaide for the past few months but for $1 compared to the $70 price tag on the doggy beauties, I'm pretty pleased with my horses!

I also can't walk past a cute bowl and this shell shaped beauty is great for storing soaps, mini shampoos and other useful items for guests to use.

I am aware that I am particularly blessed with finding lots of great items for cheap and often people ask how I find so much. I've done a post before on how to shop at garage sales which is where I find most things. However I think a lot of my success comes down to the fact I live in a little country town where people still have lots of stuff but not that many people go to garage sales. Of the people that go to garage sales, most have different taste to me. I follow some vintage shops facebook pages in Adelaide and they always post great vintage items for decent prices but I have seen almost all the items at one stage or another for about 1/8th of the price. I'll keep enjoying my little country 'shopping' while I can :)

 Have you found any exciting items lately while thrifting ?

Lisa x

The thrifty hostess.

I love to entertain. I feel so blessed to have our beautiful home and enough money to buy food and drinks and be generous with others. I'm always a big fan of having people over for lunch and dinner but I also can't help enjoying a cup of tea with a friend or a nice little cocktail/mocktail night. I am really thankful that after three years in our town I have a long list of people to call up and say come on over (it took a few years to really develop any closer friendships). We had people for dinner tues night, fri night and sat night so it's such a privileged to have a space to share with others (since we don't have many places to go out to in our town)

Anyway I got a thinking about setting up some areas for my tea love and a little bar cart, just to make having people over just that bit easier and fun.

The bar cart was a $3 find on a garage sale and most of the alcoholic drinks and glasses were gifts. The bottle of moet was an engagement present which I thought made a cute little vase. I purchased a few paper straws and won that fancy crystal decanter at a bridal expo. We don't use it that much but when we do I feel a little like I'm from an American sitcom where they have their bar cart- anyone else a bit of a boston legal fan?

The teapots and cups are housed on 2 dvd holders from ikea that we got shortly after we were married. They used to be filled with dvds but I decided to ditch the covers and house our collection in a folder for easy access. All the teapots and cups have been thrifted or given as gifts and it just makes a tea party a little more fun when drinking from a fancy little pot and cup.

Time for a cup of tea...

Lisa x

p.s I'm linking up with
Too Much Time On My Hands, Tutus and Tea Parties,Classy Clutter,Its Overflowing,Nifty Thrifty Things