This is for cost-conscious kindred kittens whose brains are also tickled by ridiculous humor and unstoppable hope. You know who you are. You’re quite aware the latest beauty potion or decor find likely won’t change your life. Will it even simplify it? You know there’s far too much disposable everything. You won’t be one more content consumer implusively clicking buy because you understand algorithms reward you with dopamine treats just like rats in a cage and count on you to grow more impulsive, your attention span shrinking with your bank account.
One-Off Humor & Frugal Finds Under $30
This post contains affiliate links which I hope you will use since they won’t cost you a penny extra yet may earn this blog a small commission.
Psst. These are under $60, not under 30, but maybe one of these items I added to our snowbird home in AZ will work for you too. Read the post HERE.
A No Makeup Look
Remember that Mary Tyler Moore spinoff Rhoda? Did you love Rhoda and the relationship of Rhoda and Brenda as I did? I recall an episode where she lamented about spending a half hour every day to look “more natural.” As true and as truly ridiculous today!
For a couple days, RMS stuff is all 20% off. The products are little but last a lonnnggg time. About RMS Beauty Eye Polish: With a soothing, nourishing natural oil base, this concentrated, light-reflective eye color creates a look that’s new and flattering, even to dry or aging eyes. The jar is glass. The plastic cap is 100% PCR, and the outer carton is made of 80% post consumer recycled paper, forestry certified, made with windpower. Yay!
It works for me because I’m too lazy to take much time with a bunch of steps to create an eye look or search for the proper makeup brush for “professional” application. I like using my fingers, but if you are a brush type, this one is reasonable:
Clever Storage for Kitchens and Beyond
This looks industrial farmhouse at first blush. But even if your style is far from farmhouse, there may be a place to offer organization.
Wouldn’t it work well on the side of a kitchen work table or cart to hold a dishtowel? Inside a bath vanity door? In the laundry room?
I have GOT to get back on track with a healthier, post-holiday diet! How about you?
This Christmas there was less Danish Butter Cookie heritage than Italian Lasagne and American g-free Tollhouse. Time for meal prepping, green juice and protein smoothies.
This time of year, I typically organize my closet and always have need for these:
Post-Holiday Subtle Wintry Decor
No Christmas tree to tuck away in the basement this year since we were away. When do you clear the holiday trappings from sight? This ribbon strikes me as a luxe yet affordable embellishment that would be pretty to see even after the holidays.
January’s Hardworking Tools
I love the new year’s nudge to create more order at home. These little scrubbers and pleasant citrus-scented cleansers are always at hands reach.
Sometimes in a home lacking storage, every inch of space, including vertical space, must be considered.
If you could see my post-holiday purse bulging with its month’s worth of receipts! When we happen to be renovating a house and making daily trips to hardware stores?
I am slow to change. I shove them in my wee crossbody bag and grow embarrassed any time I must conduct an exhume my ID!
So Very Hygge It Hurts
I have a weakness for apothecary everything suggestive of warmth and ambience. Just seeing them close at hand is a comfort.
The striker on the jar keeps it all very convenient.
So many of you kittens love your battery-operated candles. I want messy drippy unscented real ones or bitty fairy lights when the windows turn black at night.
Lights That Only Appear Recessed
If you have a less than lovely light in a hall, closet, or other space and need a quick changeout, these may wow you. Maybe you’re like me and can’t live with builder-grade ceiling boob lights yet take months to agonize over a simple light fixture choice.
These are canless but look recessed. We have installed our fair share of recessed lights, and CANS CAN BE THE DEVIL. While I couldn’t locate the exact brand we bought in 2021, these are the same variety and look identical.
Need minimal utilitarian lights that are nearly invisible, informal, and tasteful in vintage homes and cottages? We still love using these bulkheads for a variety of purposes:
Inexpensive Sustainable Everyday Essentials
Sustainable materials, organic, and good looking? Yes, please.
Another one of those sustainable ideas. Paper towels seem innocent, but when you begin to learn about deforestation…not so much.
Re-usable everyday things can be kinder to the earth, and pretty stripes easily refresh a bath.
These look great on the table even after summer, and as a minimalist, they provide a bit of layering with a natural fiber.
Giggles for Pinning and Grinning
They Only Seem Expensive
Love these for wooden spoons, kitchen shears, and even a potted plant.
Still Referencing After Decades!
I can’t say enough lovely words about Patricia Wells, her beautiful food, and the way this book continues to keep giving.
Order Means One Less Headache
I am more of an UGG, Nike Free, and Ilse Jacobsen flip flops person than a fancy shoe girl, but it always feels good to line them in a row.
Some of my shoes get organized in a lovely way in a custom closet we created a couple of years ago:
Multi-Potentialed Paper
Each year I call January the month for contact paper hacks…it continues.
Reflections & Random New Year Musing
Just where I am, I now feel less comfy with many of the whimsical quotes shared for years. Not because of political correctness or cultural changes but because I myself have changed.
I don’t need to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I no longer aspire to become a glass of champagne. Things can go sideways with champagne. I want to transcend comparisons and thirsty hustling. Let me simply BE.
Hustling is exhausting. I have never been a people pleaser, but like everyone, I long to belong and feel cherished.
With 60-year young eyes, I’m less attracted to ideas to help me become palatable. Liberation is dangerous for good reason! Women and men and cats and dogs evolving in consciousness and accepting themselves for who they are as they grow? Whew!
If I can become more intentional, that’s a good start. Nothing big needs to get built in a single day.
Last year, I mentioned “resting into self-compassion, slow, and simple” quite often? This shift continues to call.
Simple Sipping
Remember sipping coffee or tea without passively scrolling? It’s just a little step in the direction of less media consumption.
Lovely Quiet Things
I’m allergic to nail polish and haven’t had a pedicure since pre-pandemic. These are swell.
Tissue Cozy
In case you were wondering, I adore them STILL! (Slipcovered everything is the most underrated domestic joy. #onesiesforeverything)
It was a 10-hour physical challenge, yet I still love this little simple French script stencil – find details HERE.
PIN THIS POST for future reference!
Mood boards for those who aren’t holiday broke and googling acorn recipes…
FREE Content! Inspiration from a Celebrity Home Tour!
No thrifty surprises await within this luxurious Hollywood AD home tour, yet YOU MUST WATCH and delight as you notice herringbone wood floors, a green kitchen, the moodiest sexy bath, and ooh la la gardens.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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