Thrift store score

I love a cozy quilt, don't you? Even better, a vintage handmade quilt. These are fairly expensive and aren't easy to come by unless you happen upon one at an antique store.

A few months back I was checking out a thrift store and saw this quilt. It has a beautiful star design and is in really good shape, minus the "age stains" that you see, which I should be able to remove. No matter, it was worth the $20 I spent on it (talked down from $35, which would have been a steal anyway)! It's entirely hand stitched. I just love it.

Latest thrift store/garage sale deals

Hubs and I have started a little tradition. We'll get up early on Friday morning, grab a coffee and chai tea latte and hit the garage sales. I used to always wonder why people had garage sales on Fridays, because I figured most people were working. Now that I'm on "forced vacation," I see the beauty of a Friday garage sale. We can get in there early and have first pick of all of the goodies before the working folk have a chance on Saturday! ;)

A few months back I'd found a chandelier at a thrift store for the kitchen. I've been really needing a new one for the dining room since it has the ugly builder chandelier up there..you know, that ugly faux brass number. This past Friday I found one! It was the last sale we stopped at for the morning. This lady had an awesome Pottery Barn chandelier that I knew would be perfect...not too fussy, very simple and straight-forward. She was asking $25, which you know, is a great deal for a PB chandelier (or any chandelier, really). Since we'd been to other sales that morning, we only had $21 left in cash. She took it. Yay!



I may or may not change the shades. I'll have to see what I think once it's hung up. They are currently a beige fabric. The chandelier also has removable crystals. I don't think I'll leave them on year-round, because my style is more casual, but I'll definitely put them on during the holidays. Do you think they'd look too fussy year-round?



That same day, I found the perfect little lamp to go on my foyer table. I've been having such a hard time finding something short enough. I have a grouping of black and white photos on that wall, and every lamp I tried covered up some of the photos. It's very cute as-is, but it's a little too country for my style. I'm planning on painting it silver and putting a dark red or black shade on it.



Yesterday I went to the Salvation Army thrift store. They always have nice things, and the store is very organized and clean. Wednesdays are half-price clothing days, but they also had half-price shoes. I scored this pair of adorable chocolate brown suede-like wedge boots. They looked brand new to me. I'm just afraid that come next fall when it's boot season again, wedges will be out of style. I hope not!



I have also been on the hunt for a basket or tray for my foyer table for a long time now. I just haven't found anything that I liked enough. Until yesterday. I found this little gem at the Salvation Army as well. The handles are wrought iron and it's nice solid wood. How cool is this?! I just need to clean it up and it's ready to go. I can't believe someone donated this. I could think of a zillion places to put it in my house! I guess some people don't have a vision. Or maybe they just have too much stuff. All I know is that their loss is my gain. :)



Hubs won't be able to join me tomorrow, but I think I'll still hit the Friday sales. Who knows what treasures are out there this week!

Thrifty Thursday

More thrift store love....

A great wicker chair I found at a thrift store in Austin a few weeks ago. $10! It's hanging out in the guest room for now. May stay there permanently. (My paint really does not look like a baby poop yellow in real life! Swear!)



A chandelier I found yesterday for $15. Wasn't sure if it would look ok since our kitchen table has wicker and black iron accents, but I figured it would be fine since we have silver/stainless accents throughout the kitchen (your thoughts on the mix of black and silver? I see it on HGTV shows and it seems to work ok).

It sure beats the ugly ceiling fan the previous owners had up there!



Not a thrift store find, but since we put up the new chandelier, Hubs and I bought a new pendant light tonight to go over the sink. It just had the ugly builder-grade brass fixture with ugly plain globe. I hated it. I've been wanting a pendant light. Hubs picked out this new one. Wasn't my first choice, but I like it.





And just for grins...we took Cissy to the dog park today...

Hello lover...

A few days back I went to the thrift store. I needed to get out of the house. I was going a bit stir crazy.

And be still my heart.

I found these great new sassy pair of kicks!



I fell in love instantly with these boots. A beautiful distressed red, perfect for boot-scooting when I go to Hub's gigs. They are Nine West...not as quality as my Luccheses, but cute nonetheless. And I love the color combo. I can see these paired with a denim skirt or jeans, a tank top and this cute little red vintage purse I got from Etsy last year. :)

I have never been one who enjoys shopping for clothes. I'm short, and unfortunately, I'm also short-waisted, so it's always difficult for me to find clothes that I feel look good on me. Everything is made for people who are tall and have long torsos. But shoes...now that's another story! I can always find shoes to fit. That's probably why, at last count, I have over 100 pairs.

I think panties are the same way, don't you? If you can't find a cute outfit, you can always find a cute pair of panties (I have lots of those, too).

In other news, I received the dreaded "rejection" email from the job I interviewed for about a month ago. It really would have been perfect. I have many years of experience doing everything they required the candidate to do. I guess that is why it feels so insulting to get the "we are impressed with your resume, but are looking for someone who's talents match our needs more...blah blah" email. Sure, I know it's the standard, stock rejection letter that they send out to everyone, but it still is bothersome when I know my skills were exactly (and maybe more) of what they were wanting.

Thrifty Thursday and an award

I must show you my latest thrift store goodies!

I love dishes, especially old ones...Fiesta, Pyrex, anything pretty or eye-catching. This may seem strange to you since the kitchen is not my friend. I think maybe in my mind, neat old dishes make me think of a cozy home.

So when I saw these cuties on Shannon's blog, I knew I had to get my greedy little paws on them.

Actually, truth be told, I already had one of these. I can't remember if my mother bought it for me, or if I bought it. I never knew what its intended use was supposed to be. So for years, I had it on one of my antique vanities and used it to hold jewelry. Then when we bought this house, I put it in our bathroom on the countertop and used it to hold jewelry. I could never figure out what the little "depression" was for, but as it turns out, my ring holder fit in it perfectly.

Then quite a while back, after we redid our guest bathroom, I put it in there and used it as a tray to hold bath salts, a diffuser and a candle.



It has this really cool swirly circular pattern.





One day I saw Shannon's blog post about her dishes and a light bulb went off. So that's what this thing is!

I've never noticed them while out browsing the thrift and antique stores. Maybe I just never paid attention because I was always looking for more Fiesta.

Then yesterday I saw these.







I bought every single one they had. The price? $2.99 each. I think that's a pretty good deal. Hubs asked what I'm going to do with all of them. I told him I'd use them for the next time we have a smart dinner party. ha!!

When I was standing in line checking out, I noticed a display shelf that had TWELVE (12) boxes of four sets each of the pattern that has the grapes.



That's 48 sets y'all!! I wonder where the heck all of those came from. They were priced $12.99 each box (set of 4). I didn't buy any because grapes really aren't my thing. But if I change my mind and want a couple, I am sure they will still be there because there are TWELVE boxes! Holy moly!

Today I found another cheese dome lid. It's much deeper than my others.



Perfectly sized for one of my ceramic pumpkins.



I had the pumpkin on a bookshelf, but with the dome, it's a little too much. Maybe I'll put her on the foyer table.

And!

I received an award from Jenni! Wasn't that sweet?



The blog award rules:
1. List 6 things about yourself and
2. Pass this award on to 6 other bloggers (my favorite part of this!)

Six things about myself:

1. I'm a vegetarian. A strict one. That means no, I don't eat chicken. No, I don't eat fish. I don't eat any animals period. (I've always wondered why when I say I'm a vegetarian, people always ask if I eat chicken and fish.)

2. I'm a HUGE animal lover. Huge. I volunteer with animal rescue, bring home strays, have three rescue dogs of my own. I'd have more if I knew Hubs wouldn't divorce me. ;) Hubs says when I'm old I'll be the crazy lady on the block with all of the animals. I'm afraid to admit that I think I'm already that person.

3. I was editor of my high school yearbook. That lead me to study journalism, more specifically advertising.

4. I also minored in criminal justice. I'd *love* to work in forensic science, or be an agent for the ATF or DEA and bust down some doors so I can lock up the bad guys. Advertising seemed like the safer choice.

5. I'm a shorty! I stand only 5 ft. tall.

6. I love the beach. I think the stork dropped me off with the wrong family, because my folks are not beach people. We never went when I was a child. So now I go every chance I get.

So now I give this award to:

1. Brandi
2. Candy
3. Carrie
4. Gwen
5. Aimee
6. AJ

In each of their own ways, these ladies have inspired me, made me think more deeply or just have been a pleasure to get to know.

Have a great evening y'all!

xoxo

Thrifty Thursday (2 days late)

I love a bargain. What girl doesn't? I've acquired some really good treasures while out thrifting and saling recently.

Here's an ugly urn and cheese dome lid I picked up at the Salvation Army yesterday when I was on lunch. The urn was $1.99 and the dome lid was $.99.



I plan on painting the urn, but not sure if I should paint it black or white. In any case, it won't likely be happening today since we are expecting high winds and rain courtesy of Hurricane Ike.

Next, I found a really cute copper birdfeeder in the shape of a birdcage on summer clearance. I removed the plastic food tube from the middle, and I'll use it for display somewhere. Right now it's resting on top of the armoire in our bedroom, but I'm sure it will find a nicer home somewhere else.



Check out that savings! Score!



On another jaunt to the Salvation Army, I found this cute little metal thing for $.99. Judging by the nasty remnants inside, it is a candle holder. I don't know what I have in store for this yet, but right now it's resting comfortably on the mantle until I can find a permanent home for it. It even has a cute little "hatch" door on the front. (blurry, can't find my "good" pic of it)



And then one day I popped over to Tuesday Morning. Now, I like Tuesday Morning. I think they have some really cool things. However, I think they are way overpriced. I checked out there "last chance" section, which is usually items that are broken, beaten and abused, and I found these babies! The grand total for all of these darlings? Just a little over $5! The most expensive one was the cute white frame, which was $2. It reminds me of those old metal ceiling tiles in historic buildings. I've already given them new life, and will put the results on another post. I want you to be fully impressed.



Here is a freebie my neighbor gave me. It was a freebie that one of her coworkers gave her.



I love rusty old things, so I gave her a nice dose of clear coat to prevent rust from running down my brick. Being thrifty and frugal (and a known plant killer), I didn't want to run to Lowe's to buy some beautiful specimen of a plant only to have her go to death row. *light bulb* I walked out front, cut some pieces off my purple wandering jew and stuck them directly into the dirt. Risky? Perhaps, but I gave some cut pieces to my neighbor and she stuck them directly into the dirt in a pot, and those suckers went nuts. I'm hoping for a miracle.



Have you gotten any good thrifty deals lately?