What's new in the world of thrift shopping?
Well here are just a few finds from last week. 

  This ceramic faux bois platter, I looove. It's originally from Crate & Barrel 

but I found it at the Goodwill for less than 3 bucks.  A Faux bois design that's ON a platter? It's pretty much my dream find. Of course I'll say that about the next thing but for today it is. 

Again with the candlesticks.
 I can't help it. Aged brass is my favorite 

and they come in so handy for all kinds of tablescapes and decorating.
Primarily they just sit in a smaller group
on the credenza though. (They number around 20 I think overall?)
I should pare them down but in due time. I can't be rushed into that process.
The large one on the left, I bought in Hot Springs, Ark last year for about $5.00.
But the other two are the most recent at $2.47 and $1.00

I like it when the candle melts and drips all over. It can always clean up. Nothing is that precious around here.

 I don't really need another vintage blue jar but the color is so great and I can't pass them up when I find them so inexpensively. If for nothing else I can use them as vases. A keystone jar has eluded me but I found one and since I live in the Keystone state...well it's kind of a keeper. The other one I found is an Atlas jar with a presto lid (on the far right) I love it when they keep their lids on ;)

 

I always wonder about their ages. If you do too, here's a handy tool found I on Minnestrista 
that gives the date and distinguishing features of the jars.

A handy guide, isn't it?

We'll see what I stumble upon this weekend. Happy hunting!


Linking to:
 Chic on A Shoestring | I heart Naptime | 
Flourishing at Home | The Dedicated House

Intelligent Domestications

Friday Finds: Goodwill Outlet, the Hunger Games of thrift shopping

Do you have a Goodwill Outlet near you? It's the craziest thing I've seen and I am absolutely hooked.

It's a semi-large building with big blue containers of stuff that you just have to dig your way through. All of the bins are separated in basically two departments: one side for clothes and the other for everything else. You pay by the pound which is usually really low. Mine is .59 cents a pound for clothes and glass but I don't bother with clothes. I head straight for the other side, digging into the dishes and household bins. (Update* I went there today and the price is going up to $1.19 lb)

Let me just tell you that people are not careful about tossing dishes when they dig. I've had to duck a few times when people get a little feisty. Not kidding. When a new bin is brought out people run to it and the workers have to tell everyone to move out of the way. Some days it's hit or miss on the finds but this day was definitely a hit and not as busy as usual.

Now for the finds:

I had this Robinson Ransbottom canister in my cart and a woman came up to me and said she had the lid to it so she brought it to me. I found two pitchers at a yard sale once and put them in the shop so when I saw the canister I knew it was from the same collection. The company began in 1856 and merged to become Robinson Ransbottom in 1920. They closed in 2005 so it's a good time to hunt down the older pottery pieces. Interest in it is gaining. It's well made and the farmhouse utilitarian look is certainly in demand. Be on the lookout for it!

Another favorite was the vintage glass candlestick. I have a collection of candlesticks which I tend to pare down every now and then. I also got the silver one there as well.

I loved finding this vintage paperweight. Any type of ephemera is right up my alley.

Another silver pitcher? Why not? I put this one in the shop.

How about a vintage ironstone platter? I tend to collect those as well, along with cutting boards. The one I found (top) has more crazing and discoloration than the others but I never mind that. It's a heavy 16" platter in the Loop and Line pattern, with no chips or cracks.

J.F. stands for Jacob Furnival and Co. and he produced Earthenware and Ironstone from 1845-1870 in Cobridge, Staffordshire, England. I always love to see markings.

I also found a bunch of mismatched china, some old goblets and a small silver trophy cup. Another person handed me an item, a glass heart candy dish (not pictured) with a large hobnail rim. For the life of me I can't remember the pattern name. She told me that she was married in 1953 and got a 16 piece set (that the candy dish was a part of) as a wedding gift. Regrettably she got rid of it. I told her she should keep the dish but she insisted I have it. Nice, right?

And in all my total was $12.61. 

A quick snap of the outlet

Have a good day!

Love, 

L

Linking to

French Country Cottage | Clairejustine

What about Co. |  Chic on a Shoestring

Tidy Mom |  Shabby Art Boutique

The Girl Creative | My Sweet Things

The power of handwritten words

Upon opening the little box which contains one of my most prized possessions given to me from my mom 8 years ago, I saw her little handwritten 'happy birthday' note that she tucked into it. I felt so connected to her at that moment. I've written about that before, how something so simple as seeing her handwriting has buoyed me up in the times I have really missed her.

I was reading an essay, This Living Hand, by Edmund Morris, a writer best known for his presidential biographies.  His eloquent words resonated with me and perfectly described my feelings:

"Why, in the age of voice mail, is script still the preferred style for messages of great intimacy? Because it is both direct and enduring. Spoken words, whether recorded at long distance or whispered across an inch of pillow, may have greater impact, but they evaporate at once, like splashes of acetone. Handwritten words mean more the more they are read, and time only increases their first force."

Via

Four years ago I issued a challenge to do a little more correspondence by way of the written note. Sadly, I haven't been as good about it as I once was so I am issuing another challenge, to myself, mainly. It's time to take pen to paper and write little affirmations ( a lá stuart smalley anyone?) of jobs well done or just to let one know they're on my mind. Time to spread a little cheer and help out the post office, no? But really though, who doesn't like a note?
If you'd like to join me, remember your note cards don't need to be fancy or expensive. I quite like the dollar aisle at various stores myself. Even a 3x5 note card will do. Besides, it's the genuine sentiment that will be of most value.

Have a good day,
~L

True to my thrifting side, I found a stack of note cards for mere pennies at the thrift shop and the dollar aisle at Micheal's, (which are the black chalkboard cards.) The rose postcard is actually a folded set of nine. I like to pick up plenty of cards to have on hand so I can act upon the prompting to get a card out to someone. When I figure I can "get to it tomorrow," I don't always. This will help to keep me ready.



Linking to

Fine Craft Guild | The Casual Craftlete | I Should be Mopping the Floor | Sugarbee Crafts
Three Kids and a Fish | My Pinterventures | Coastal Charm | Flamingo Toes | VMG206 |
My Girlish Whims | The Happy Housie | View from the Fridge

Friday Finds - reprising my weekly post

Despite the fact that flea markets and thrift stores are overpriced here, I was able to find a few things that left me feeling pretty good about my purchases. Even though we probably won't be living here very long, we don't want the house to look like squatters live here. So the first thing we purchased was a great, down-filled sofa off Craigslist and then found this massive clock at a church yard sale.

This cute little mid-century stool was a great buy. It just needs new fabric to give it a burst of life and a little Minwax stain pen for touch ups on the wood.

I found a large glass coffee table at a 2nd hand shop. The top is so large and heavy that it's still in the back of my car waiting for Jon to help me lift it. I'm painting the base to freshen it up with a new line of chalk paint. It's always nice to see what new products are out. We've used 3 different brands in the shop, and honestly, the only difference in them are price and array of colors.

Just the base

The leather side chair was a great find as well from another thrift store which may receive a coat of light gray paint. I haven't decided. Not everything needs to be painted but this may be a little too dull, especially with the yellow leather and the fact that we're drowning in brown.

And last but not least, I picked up this window from a flea market. I paid more than I wanted but liked the detail on it. I'm planning on a light white wash to marry the different types of wood but will still allow the natural wood to show.

So that is the round up this week. There are more but mainly just decorative items which don't need any rehab, thank goodness. So for all pieces, including the couch, we only spent $240.00. Not a bad start to furnish the living room.

Have a great 4th of July weekend to the USA and a great weekend the world over! :)

Love,
L




Linking up at Shabby Nest

The New Mrs. Adventures

 View from the Fridge

 Funky Junk Interiors

 Fine Craft Guild

Thoughts from Alice

DIY Showoff

The Casual Craftlete

The Happy Housie

Facebook thrift

Tis the season for flea markets and garage sales. If you've only read a couple of posts on this blog you know I am always up for antiquing and thrifting.

Recently I joined a group on Facebook that buys and sells household goods and antique or vintage items. It's great because you can sell exactly what you're asking for or close to it rather than completely giving it away at a garage sale.The best part is that there are also people looking out for what other members of the group want.

Just the other day I put out a call for vintage thermoses and within minutes I had a few people giving me leads. When I met the seller she said she hadn't even thought about listing them but then saw my post and remembered she had one that was exactly as I described. It made me really happy; how those little things fall into place.

So this week I put up a few items and had a good return on investment or ROI. They were: an old Kraft cheese box, a 1950's butter dish, vintage Pyrex and a globe. These items were literally sitting on a shelf in the closet. It was so much easier and quicker than Craigslist. So if you want a decent return or are looking for something in particular, find yourself a local group on Facebook and have fun!

*The pictures were taken with my phone which explains the quality. They sold so quickly I didn't even bother taking a picture with my real camera. ; )

Operation Brighten Up

I decided it was high time to lighten and brighten my surroundings. I have a few steps to this process but step one was the easiest:  just to add a few new pillows for the couch. I couldn't find anything local that satisfied my need for bold, high contrast patterns so I headed straight for the thrift shop, a brand new one in the area, and came back with a couple of stretchy tops. They're perfect for sewing a couple of pillow covers myself; made even better by the fact that they're stripes.

I had to hide them from Charley because she usually jacks my stash of clothes that I want to use for fabrics. I almost feel bad about not letting her see these. 

Friday Finds

The weather has been so beautiful the last couple days. I am anxious to get digging in the yard and get the garden going. The rain quickly brought the grass up and just as I made one pass with the lawnmower, it died so Jon is going to work on it tonight. We're the only one on our block with an unmowed lawn...sad face.

So since I couldn't get to mowing, Trae and I took a walk today and stumbled upon the first yard sale of the season. Among other things, I found an old book about a horse named Flip.

I loved the illustrations and thought it would be good to blow up a page for Blair's new room since she asked for a horse picture. We are rearranging bedrooms right now to make more room for everyone. Blair will finally get her own room.

Her requests are all over the place so we'll have to narrow them down but I thought an overscale print would be fun. She brought home a One Direction poster from the book fair so that has to go somewhere too...7 year-olds.

An teen's article on thrifting and a throwback picture.

 

High school newspapers have come a long way since I was in school. They are filled with well-written and insightful, current topics that are important to teens. I always like reading the paper when my kids bring it home because of that.

 

My daughter showed me her recent article on thrift shopping and I was really impressed with her work, and also that she gave props to her old mom! I like how she points out that in 2011, 4.2 million people were served through the Goodwill. Donations and purchases help their mission. It really is a win-win situation.

 

When the song, "I'm gonna pop some tags" came out, Charley said, "Now everyone's asking me for my thrift shop sources! Before they couldn't believe where I got my stuff." She has a knack for scoring vintage clothes. One of my girls' favorite thing to do is raid my stash of 80's concert t-shirts.

Think George Michael's 'Faith' Tour 1989! Yup.

 

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And for a throwback picture, here's Jon and me at 17. I'm wearing my mom's 1950's dress and Jon is wearing the sweater I bought him for Christmas. After searching the mall for the right dress and not finding anything I liked, my mom suggested I try on one of her dresses. This was a party dress that my mom had her bridesmaids wear. She bought one for herself as well.

 

On the back is an attached train and the way the fabric folds over the dress at the waist it creates kind of a pocket. You can kind of see it in the picture. I remember slow dancing with my friend Shane this night and he said, "I like your dress. It keeps my hands warm!" Funny the things we remember. I also remember getting my wisdom teeth out just a few days before the dance so my face was still swollen. Uhg, the timing!

 

Nice small school, budget backdrop by the way, and hair styles...but the dress, it was awesome. 

 

When I sold off much of my mom's personal belongings, a movie set designer/photographer came and bought some furniture and asked if I had dresses but I couldn't part with them. I let him have a few hats instead because I hope the dresses make it back to a dance some day.

 

I'm so glad the weekend is here, aren't you? Have a great one!

 

xo

Laura

Painter's tape zig zag vase - a quick DIY

For our anniversary in 2011, we spent a weekend in DC and went to a Mexican restaurant at the Washingtonian center in Rockville. There I saw over sized zigzag (or chevron) striped pottery and wanted some of my own. Some were shaped like ginger jars and some were 4 feet tall floor vases. Ever since then I was on the lookout for large vases to spray paint. Nate Berkus came out with some last year for Target but I missed out on them.

So a while ago I found this blue green vase at the thrift shop for around 4 dollars and knew it would be great for my diy project. The color is perfect for Spring so I didn't want to alter that and commit to painting over it but I still had to have my stripes.

The solution was to spray paint Blue painter's tape and use that for the stripes as opposed to painting the vase. I unrolled a few feet of tape and stuck the end to a post on the deck while holding the rest of the roll and spraying what I had unraveled. It took about 15 seconds. By the time I walked back up the stairs to the house, the tape was dry.

I had already used the plain painter's tape to make the design on the vase so I just put the spray painted tape right over it and trimmed where it needed. It looked too thick that way so I took off the tape I used as the guide underneath and put the gold tape back in place. Because it's low tack, it was forgiving and easy to use. It's not perfect but it's temporary and I can add more rows, change the thickness of the tape and its color.

Now I'm on the hunt for more so I can do a grouping and am thinking up ways to use spray painted tape.

And until I find a more suitable place for it, I'll just let it glam up the tv.

Have a great day!

xo

Laura

The Shabby Nest
Liz Marie
Chic on a shoestring decorating
Skip to my Lou
Keeping it simple
Coffee Beans and bobby pins

Friday Finds - a little kitchen collection under $5

This round up of Friday Finds is all kitchen related. It just so happened that way. I don't usually set out to have a theme but I like it when it all relates anyway.

While I was waiting for one of the kids to come out of a meeting, I went across the street to the Goodwill and found this Orla Kiely canister which now holds my teas. I remember when these came out at Target and wished I had gotten the 3 piece set before they sold out. 97 cents was worth the wait. Even Jon thought it was cool.

Later that day I spotted an estate sale. You should never pass those up. Estate sales are usually way better than yard sales. There were a lot of things there but nothing that was of much interest to me; basically lots of collections of things I don't collect. But I did spy a folded up wooden piece. When I unfolded it, I realized it was a trivet. Love those unusual finds. They sold it to me for $1.00 and they gave Trae a Hershey's keychain. We both came away happy.

A while back as I was walking through my favorite antique mall I found this two-tiered tray and didn't hesitate. A faux bois pattern in matte gold for $3.00?? It was practically shouting my name. I bought some paper doilies and cut them to fit so it stays food-safe because who knows what type of finish is on it. I have to do some baking this weekend so it'll be full of desserts... for a minute or two.

 

 

Have a happy weekend!

xo

Laura

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shabby Nest

Finding Fabulous

House of Rose



Vintage baby scale & photo



 

I don't think I ever put up this little cutie's picture. Did I?

I found this sweet baby scale at an antique shop and had to have it. I'm a little picky with props in photos but this one I loved. It was the first one I had seen with an attached basket so I bought it in hopes I could take somebody's picture in it.

Baby Andie to the rescue!

She was the best little baby, letting us mold and flop her around.
The double chin kills me. I wish they were as cute when you get older.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Friday Finds and a week of Randoms

Good intentions to get a bunch of stuff done went down the drain when...

I received a call just as I was about to bite into my chicken Roburrito and was asked to speak in church this Sunday. So all week I have only been thinking, researching and writing about the subject I have been asked to tackle. I have to start this process right away because it seems that all of the thoughts in my head don't formulate and flow the way I'd like until it's crunch time. So today is crunch time. I've been practicing my talk while I am standing at the sink doing the dishes or folding clothes and then something new will come to me so I have to add, omit and re-work the whole topic. It'll come together somehow.

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Speaking of Roburritos, we have found a new favorite. They have about 20 sauces to choose from to put on your burrito. Oh yum.

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Reese took 3rd place in his division at the Pinewood Derby. He was so happy about that. We were very happy for him.

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The flu bug barely touched us, knock on wood. Charley and Reese were out for one day only. Trae had a fever for 4 days but that was it. Blair and Belén have escaped it so far. Time will tell.

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I went to a fun baby shower for a girl at church. I am lucky to have so many great women to be friends with and look up to. I've been lucky in every place that I have lived because there have always been these amazing women to know in each place.

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After the shower, a friend took me to a yarn shop and I saw the most beautiful yarn. I had no idea there were so many different weights and styles. So now I think I have to learn to knit. Afterwards we went to my favorite antique mall and I found myself an old, round wooden frame. I put it up but it looks a little drab so I see some Rub N Buff is in its future. The carving needs some highlights.

As we were cooking dinner the other night, one of the stove top burners caught on fire. I looked to see if there was something burning underneath that had fallen below but soon realized, nope, those were just flames shooting out. I was going to try to turn off the burner when sparks started flying. It seriously shot up sparks like one of those cones you light off on the 4th of July, so I had to run back. Everytime I thought it was done, I went to the stove and the sparks would fly again. Jon laughed at me flailing about. I think I lost a few lashes. The burner let out a big "pop!" and then it died. What a way to go though - in all sparks and glory! We were planning on getting a new stove anyway so the timing is good.

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My toes and hands are constantly cold.

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Oh yeah, I did manage to get to one thing - details later but me likey so far.

Have a good weekend!

 

xo

Laura

At home and Friday Finds next week

It's been 5 days since I've been staying home full-time and I must say, the break has been nice. It probably won't be this way for long but for now it's good to not have to run-off anywhere and concentrate on getting a bunch of things done around the house. It's really hard for me to cram all the chores on a Saturday when I'd rather be playing, which is what we'll be doing this weekend. I love to hit the road and go on short excursions. Who doesn't?

And since blogger is throwing a tantrum, face-down and is not letting me upload any new photos, I'll save my Friday Finds and this little makeover for next week.

Until then, have a happy weekend!

Friday Finds {Christmas style}

It's been a while since I posted any Friday Finds. It's actually been a while since I've been out on my scavenger hunts at all. I sure do miss them. Last week while I was out looking for ugly sweaters for a friend's party, I ran across this footed bowl. It was just $1.50. I loved the Jade green and thought it was perfect for holding some of my old Christmas ornaments since the glass jar I usually use crashed to the ground last year.

I also picked up this pine cone wreath for a dollar but thought it was too drab and tired but really well constructed. It actually looks better in the picture than it really was.

I needed it to be a bit more festive so nothing a little spray paint and highlighting some details can't fix! You know I love acorns...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My most favorite find was a faux bois tiered serving platter but I haven't taken a picture of it yet. Believe me when I say it's super cute and at $3.00 a steal.

 

It's good to do a little thrifting every now and then, don't you think?

 

Have a great day.