An Affordable Summer: World Market

World Market Summer Inspiration by bzwillard on Polyvore

Aqua Bird Ceramic Drink Dispenser / Teal Soukra Salad Plate / Teal Ribbed Glass Lantern Candleholders / Bird Cups Saucers, Set of 4 / Warm Venice Paisley Adirondack Chair Pad / Housewarming / 4-Section Galvanized Caddy

Summer is here! Or at least its on its way. I appreciate Texas trying to hold onto this wonderful cooler weather for as long as possible, but I know it is inevitable that soon enough I will step out of my home and instantly begin pouring in sweat. Its coming, lets just all get ready for it!

So to help with this fate that is upon us lets start looking at the bright side. There are so many fun things that summer has to offer. Such as pool time, backyard parties with friends, possibility of a vacation, and lots of fun things from World Market. Randomly, I went online to see if there was anything remotely affordable to buy from World Market, and much to my surprise there is! Almost everything above, with the exception of the chair, ranges from $5 to just under $30. My top three favorite things are the blue drink dispenser, the vase, and the tea cup set with the bird on top. Pretty much crazy about everything though. Check out the drink carrier that would be perfect for my mason jars to tote out on a picnic. So fun! 

What are some fun things that you are thinking about buying to make the summer more enjoyable?

~Brit

The Reason Why

Oh Fall. You come & go so quickly. 

Seriously, how is it already Thanksgiving in a week?

This is just madness friends!

Fall is by far my most favorite time of the year.

I gush about how much I love fall (the way that most do over Christmas) and I annoy my friends. They've told me.. but it is just so wonderful. I can't help it.

Why the obsession with Fall? 

To be honest I wasn't quite sure until last night. I went to publish this post about all the reasons why I love fall & decorating the house for it. However, I just realized part of the reason is because that was the time of year when God breathed new life into my world. (read here)
This great love for Fall & changing of seasons started when my life changed suddenly & drastically over six years ago. My world was so wrecked, hopeless, ugly, and I felt unbelievable lost. I remember going for countless long runs in the park while leaves were falling down on the ground all around me as I ran to stay calm & to simply feel alive. Because I just felt so dead at that time. I remember taking deep breathes in and thinking, God just don't let go of me. Show me where to go. He did.

Somehow today, Fall is my favorite! Colorful leaves falling bring me joy. Cold air in my lungs feels incredible. Only the Lord could make all things new. 

All things beautiful. In time. His time.

Truly, I love this time of year. There is so much fresh air to be taken in & enjoyed.  There are leaves everywhere. Literally Noah & I can sit outside and it rains leaves nonstop all day long. It is beautiful. Life is changing. New seasons are coming. I'm so ready. Although this last month has been challenging. God has done so much in our hearts. I love how tonight he showed me why I love this time of year so much. I love that he reminds me that he knows every season before it comes to us.

He holds all of our dreams. inspiration. hope. he knows our hearts desires.

It is beautiful to know the Lord. To grow as we serve him.

I decided to be honest. 

Now you know why I really love fall so very much.

My Original Post.

The Other Reasons I Love Fall So Much:

one. my birthday is almost here.

two. fall tablescapes are just so pretty & effortless. 

three. my little boy loves pumpkins. 

even white ones that his momma has spray painted. 

So much so that he gives them hugs throughout the day.

four. fall garland makes me feel like I'm outside. 

even if it is fake leaves.

five. this FREE printable hangs so nice on the shelves with all my favorite books right now.

six. I love cornucopias & tiny pumpkins.

I hope you grow to love this time of year as much as I do.

What are the reasons you love this time of year?

Happy Thursday!

~Brit

Linking up to Pencilled Daydream, Holiday Link-Up, & The Fontenot Four today.

Thrifting For Toddlers

Obviously I love to thrift! But let me just say that I love to thrift for clothing for Noah. It is insane the deals you can get for toddler clothes in thrift shops. 

The outfit he is wearing was a total of 12.50! 

Most of the time, when we are out & about, Noah is dressed in button-ups just like his daddy. Johnny is known for wearing button-ups & pointy dress shoes, ha! So of course we tend to dress Noah similar. However nice name brand button-ups & dress pants for toddlers are outrageously priced & you will not catch me paying those prices for a toddler because it will be worn a few months & potential stained. The brands of the thrifted pieces Noah is wearing..

 After I put this little outfit together yesterday for Noah I got curious about the brands & how much each piece would have been if purchased new. American Apparel starts at $30 for a similar shirt. Gap dress pants new are $26 and the shoes at target were probably about $15 before clearance.  That is $71 if everything was purchased new. 

Now, this is why we thrift! Saves $ plus its fun & you can get so many more pieces for the same price. Would love to see your thrifted pictures! Hope you link-up & Grab a button.

Happy Friday!

~Brit

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A Link-Up Loving My Thrifted Home

Hey Friends! I'm so excited that it is Friday because it means that the Loving My Thrifted Home link-up is back today!  I enjoyed checking out your link-ups from last week & can't wait to see what everyone has to share this week. Last week I shared our DIY Shelves so this week I thought it would be fun to share the DIY Wall Gallery in the same room. This room has been a work in progress for the last two years & I'm loving seeing it come together. Before you get started on your wall gallery print off the pictures in the correct sizes to fit the frames. Grab a few prints to add to your gallery that are meaningful. I purchased a print from the Naptime Diaries Shop when she had a wonderful sale going on, found a few free printables on Pinterest, and then printed family snapshots off for the wall. 

DIY Wall Gallery for $25

Materials: 

Frames $7

Spray paint $4

Printed Pictures & Prints $14

(I used Walgreens photo center to print off my pictures. 

I waited for a 40% off sale on prints & grabbed the FREE print deals on 8x10's)

we hit up a thrift shop & bought all of our frames for $8

we grabbed a hanger & spray painted all the frames at once on the deck.

Noah & Johnny helping me arrange the frames

Snapping a picture as a reference really helps to make the hanging process go very quickly.

Grab a friend (I grabbed my hubby) to help hang all the framesOnce we started hanging them it took under 5 minutes to finish!

Almost done. Take a step back & review the arrangement. 

Make a few changes if you need to.

Thats all! Such an easy project that I regret dragging my feet on for so long. I had convinced myself that it was going to take forever to make a Wall Gallery that I would love. Not true. In all this project took me about 3 hours to search for frames, print off, spray paint, and arrange pictures. Not long at all. So happy we finally put together a collection of sweet memories for our home. I love sitting down on the couch to read & every now and then glancing up to see them. Do you have a wall gallery in your home?

If so, I'd love to see it! Link up your DIY projects, thrifting finds, recipes, and more below from your blog or facebook page. If you would like to co-host next weeks link-up let me know! Be sure to link back to These Happy Times.

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Feel free to grab a button.

Happy Friday!

~Brit

Loving My Thrifted Home - A Link Up

$20 DIY Shelves I shared on Craft Baby for a contest. A few months ago I won a $25 giftcard for a DIY project. 

Today I have a fun link-up to share with everyone. About 60% of our home is thrifted so I thought it would be fun to start a little series called, Loving My Thrifted Home. This is where I will share DIY's, Up-Cycling projects, vintage pieces that we have thrifted, and all kinds of things we are now enjoying in our home thanks to thrifting. I love thrifting because it is such a wonderful way to make your home unique and one that truly reflects the people living inside. 

Gradually, we have filled our home with lovely things that make our hearts happy over the last few years. When we first bought our home the house sat very empty. Like REALLY empty. We had an extremely tight budget so we started thrifting to decorate our home. This quickly turned into a love and I honestly now prefer thrifted & vintage items over new. However, I do 

love mixing old & new together. 

I didn't announce this link up until today, because I just decided to do it last night. HA! I had tossed the idea around in my head but last night I finally decided to do it. 

I would love for you to link up projects that you have repurposed, redone, and DIY'd to make them your own. Also I would really enjoy checking out all kinds of lovely thrifted finds that you have found & shared on your blog or Facebook page. If you are interested in co-hosting this link up let me know, I would love to have you! Email me at bzwillard@me.com

For this weeks Loving My Thrifted Home Project

I want to share our Barn wood Shelves in our sitting room.

Back in December we made two shelves out of barn wood we had left over from another project. Johnny cut the wood in the length desired, we sanded them both down a little but not enough to take away character, and then cleaned them ALOT because they were really dirty. We found these brackets at Lowes for $5 each & flipped them upside down to be wide enough for our wide shelves. Target had a coat rack that I loved & bought then TJ Max had clearance frames & owls that I loved. The rest of the decor was thrifted & I made the wreath to brighten up the shelves. The whole project, including decor cost about $50. Not too bad friends. 

The rest of the room. We still have lots of work to do in here but everything good is worth waiting for. In time.Plus $ doesn't grow on trees & we won't go in debt for it.

We love our little reading room. It has been such a blessing to sit in here with friends. As a family we love to listen to music from the record player (thrifted) in the room, play guitars, and sing. Mostly, I love to read in here!
I hope you will enjoy this series & would love for you to plan to link up on Fridays! Share home decor, furniture projects (little or big), or any lovely thrift store find! It doesn't have to be a recent post so feel free to link up one from a while back. Make sure to comment or email to let me know if you are interested in co-hosting Loving My Thrifted Home.
Happy Friday!
~Brit

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Link Up below & grab a button for 
Loving My Thrifted Home for your blog post or sidebar.