Saturday, August 8, 2009

A shopaholic I am not

But you probably wouldn't know it by the last few blog posts I've had. ha! Seriously, I'm not much of a shopper. But I am a thrifter, and I think there's a big difference! :) I'm frugal and like a good bargain. Who doesn't?! Besides that, it's not necessarily the "things" that make me happy. I enjoy the process. I love scouring obscure places or piles of junk for some sweet treasure. If I don't find one, that's ok. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

This last week, hub's band was in the studio in Ft. Worth recording a new album. On Wednesday I went with him, and after spending a little while in the studio, we hit the town. We spent some time doing some fun things (more about that another day), but we took the opportunity to hit up the Ft. Worth thrift stores!

Hubs found some really cool pearl snap shirts and vintage coats that he can wear to his gigs. We also found this vintage Samsonite suit case. It was only $5! He thought it would be a good case for a snare drum. Which it is, because those suitcases are nearly indestructible. When we got it home, I thought it might be too small for a snare drum, but it was a perfect fit. I think it's very retro and cool!



This time of year seems to be good for finding holiday items on the cheap. I guess people are cleaning out their closets and getting rid of stuff, not realizing they'll probably kick themselves come holiday time, wishing they'd kept everything!

I found a cute metal halloween cat, and a cute metal sleigh that I can think of a gazillion ways to use.





The little silver tray came from the Goodwill ($2) and I bought it with a specific project in mind (no, not a chalkboard project that is all the rage right now...you'll see!). The little cone shaped basket came from an antique mall in Ft. Worth. It was something like $.50.



At that same antique mall I found a metal wall basket, which I've been on the lookout for quite a while. But I never wanted to pay the high prices. This one was under $10. It's black with an ugly gold tone, but I've already taken care of that with a little black paint.



While in the antique mall, I saw a lady trying to move a big piece of furniture. She wasn't having much luck. There were several people, including some strong men, that walked right past her without offering to help. So I did. Turns out, she's a dealer at the store and was moving it from one of her booths to another. She was so thankful that she offered to give me some candles from one of her booths. I told her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted. She ended up giving me about 7 or 8 yummy cinnamon candles (my favorite!). While talking with her, I learned that she just went through chemo for breast cancer, had back surgery last year, and is about to have hip surgery. I told her whenever I burned the candles I'd think of her and say a prayer that she has good health. Very sweet lady!



Yesterday I went to a local antique mall to just walk around and look for ideas. I found a few things on sale: a cute little heart ornament for my valentine tree, some halloween mask floral picks for my halloween tree, a cute little felt halloween pillow and a metal "believe" sign for Christmas. In total I think I spent less than $7.





Here's my fave purchase. I saw this huge glass jar that just spoke to me. It's so funky and squatty and I needed it. And, I think it was only $10. I mean really, could you have passed that up? I'm not sure if I'll put it on top of one of the armoires or maybe on top of the cabinets in the kitchen. I think this sucker weighs about 50lbs. Not really, probably only 40. ha



It's almost bigger than Cissy!



I found these two gorgeous red silk pillows at a garage sale for $2/each. That same night, I saw some similar, if not identical, at Target for $18/each. *pats self on the back for finding such a good bargain* ;) (again with the puke yellow walls? I don't know why that keeps happening in my pictures!)



In an effort to get out of the house today (I finished my housework yesterday and wanted something to do), I went to our downtown courthouse square to look for inspiration. The little shops always have such great displays and are spilling over with ideas. And I found a couple of little things I couldn't leave behind because they were such a good price. One antique store is going out of business (the building was bought by a church and is being turned into a coffee house...never mind there are already THREE coffee houses on the square! I hate that all of the antique stores are being run out!) and everything was on sale. I got this plain window for $6 (I have a project in mind for it) and a "big bag of Christmas garland" for $5!! That alone made my day. If you know me, you know I *love* decorating for Christmas, and this bag of garland would have probably cost a TON brand new. I think the dealer used it for display purposes during the holidays. You can't really tell from the picture, but that bag is filled to the max with garland...tons of it.





The little nest on an old rusty spring is new (funky, I love it!), as is the metal saucer. The cloche is not.





I can't believe it's almost the middle of August. This year has flown by. I think school starts up in a couple of weeks, because hubs said parents are calling him to get their kids back into drum lessons again. It's hotter than the surface of the sun outside, too. Seriously, it's suffocating. The A/C in my Xterra seems to have gone caplooey. Well, it's still blowing air, but it's warm air. So hopefully hubs will have that fixed sometime this week. I need to get out in the yard to clean up some flower beds, but honestly, the heat is wearing me out. I can't exactly weed beds at 3am when it's finally cooled down to a frosty 90 degrees outside! Anything interesting going on with you this week? Before we know it, it will be time to pull out all of our fall decorations and start planting mums!

I'll be linking up with Rhoda at Southern Hospitality when she gets her "thrifty finds" post up later in the weekend. If you have anything to share, be sure to stop by her blog!



Here's the link...Join the fun on the Southern Hospitality blog! We're sharing our garage sale and thrifty finds!

24 comments:

Ally's Corner said...

Wow you really did find some good things.
I love the little nest on an old rusty spring. Can't wait to see what you do to the window. That is a huge glass jar very nice, in the stores that would have cost a lot of money. I love seeing what you find. Have a great Sunday.
Ally

Unknown said...

Wow, great finds! I love being frugal, too. I loved how you helped the lady move her furniture piece; that was very kind of you. Put a smile in my heart knowing there's someone willing to help out a stranger like that. Have a good Sunday!

Nancy

Leah said...

GREAT finds. :) I have a busy week planned after being gone all last week! :) See ya soon

Unknown said...

I love all of your finds and your star burst look so good. My grandparents have a clock thats in their living room similar to the one in the picture

Sunny said...

Wowzers! You were on the prowl for goodies! My faves: the squatty jar and the window. Love them!

ChesterAndDonkey said...

You got some great stuff! Love that you used your pup as a measuring device! :)

Carmen said...

I love that jar!!!!

Cheap&Sweet: Life on the scales said...

Great finds!! I wish I could find such cute things.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

Wow, some great finds and the little spring with the birdsnest is wonderful...

Becky

Sweeney Family said...

looking through your site I really enjoy all the stuff you find and how you put it together. Since moving overseas we have lived a much simpler life so I am trying to be more purposeful in my buys to make them count.

Amy @ Keep'n The SunnySide said...

WOW.. you found some amazing items! I can't believe how huge that jar is. When first seeing it on the table it looked much smaller! Cool window... I love old windows!!

★Carol★ said...

You sure found alot of great things! Love that little nest on a spring! What a cute idea.And that jar is amazing! I thought it was small until I saw the picture of it with your cute doggie....WOW! Love it, and I love the story of how you helped that poor lady. It was sweet of you!

Lindsey said...

WOW! Amazing finds!!

Reid said...

That huge jar is to die for! Love it! Great deal on the red pillows!

Manuela@A Cultivated Nest said...

Great finds! That glass jar is so cool! I saw your comment at Ally's about CVSing! It is a science! Money Saving Mom has lots of info on how to do it. I haven't tried doing it yet but people swear they save tons of money!

Manuela

Carrie said...

I love your "Believe" sign! And the coil nest is very cute and funky!

Can't wait to see what you do with that silver tray...

brokeintrovert said...

You have a lot of great finds. I love the halloween cat.

Sharon said...

Great finds!!! I lived in Dallas once....just happened to be the summer of 1998 when it was literally 100+ degrees for over 30 days and rarely got below 100 degrees by 10pm! Loved the city...not fond of that heat! Keep Cool!!

Unknown said...

Love your goodies but I really love your headboard! Beautiful!!!

Anonymous said...

GREAT finds. I also can't believe its the middle of August already.

I have made friends but it's still hard {very hard} finding that connection/bond, ya know? It hard to find girlfriends that you just click with. I have some great friends but they are friendships that have grown over many years..... have I ever shared how I met these girls here in Cali?

This weekend was actually interesting because none of us are super close so I learned a lot about all of their character/persoanlities.

How are you? How was your weekend? How are your puppies? What is going on in the career department? Hope you are doing GREAT!!!!

PS i wanted to thank you so much for coming over to my blog last week and helping me with gift ideas! xo.

Kammy said...

Oh no, not a shopaholic.....yet.....I see you are catching the disease....sorry, I got it too !
Love what you found - that sled caught my eye the most !
Kammy

Buzzings of a Queen Bee! said...

Girl, you found some great bargains! I am seriously impressed! And it feels so good to know you got a good price on the stuff too. :)
Carrie

Shauna said...

You found some really great stuff!

Anonymous said...

OMG! I love, love, love that springy-nest thingie! Freakin' AWESOME!