Curbside Finds

A few weeks ago, I was on my way to work when I spotted some chairs at the curb.  I was intrigued, but I could see they needed work, and (no small matter), I needed to be at work in just a few minutes.  I almost kept going, but I just couldn't drive on without checking to make sure they couldn't be saved.  So I turned around and crept s-l-o-w-l-y along to get a better look.

One better look later, I was smitten.  These are exactly the kind of thing I've been wanting for our living room, and they didn't appear to be damaged at all, just missing some parts like, um, seats?

Yep, no seats, no cushions, and no back on one of them either.  Never mind, I wanted them.  And once I saw the labels, I knew I had to have them.

Danish!  Just as I suspected!  Now I had to figure out how to get them home...without being late for work. Don't laugh, but I even tried to stuff one in my Beetle, which was SO not happening!  Lucky for me, I heard voices coming from the backyard.  I ran back there, carrying one of the chairs, shouting, "I want these chairs!"  Once they finished laughing, they graciously offered to keep them on the porch for me until I could get back with a bigger car.  Whew!  I made it to work on time AND I got my chairs!

Now the fun begins.  First, I need to buy Fagas straps for the seats.  I had no idea such a thing even existed, but the way they work is pretty neat.  We also need this Experspring stuff to redo the back of the chair on the left.  And cushions, we'll need cushions.  My free chairs aren't going to end up being so free after all.


Not my exact chair, but close!

Okay, who is thinking, "What about No-Thing New?"  I know someone is!  No-Thing New just doesn't figure into this situation.  I am giving myself a free pass to buy whatever I need to fix these up!  Now to choose a fabric...

Thrifting Tip

A few days ago, Gerry and I decided we should go shopping for shorts.  We shopped secondhand, so this didn't violate the No-Thing New rule of buying nothing new, but an argument could be made that we didn't strictly NEED them...at least, not yet.  It's still February, and despite being a very mild winter, we certainly aren't wearing shorts!

But the truth is, we are both a little short on shorts.  Gerry needs a smaller size, and I need a pair or two to substitute for all the unflattering ones I culled during my closet purge. 

So why did we suddenly decide we needed to buy shorts in February?  Because we're going on vacation!  Nah, just kidding.  We're shopping now, because my favorite thrifts switch our their wares for the seasons, and they are starting to put out all the warm weather gear they've saved up throughout the winter.  The racks are stuffed, and shorts aren't on anyone's radar yet.  If you wait until it starts to get warm, you'll be picking through the leftovers, and may also be more inclined to settle for something that isn't quite right.  Going now, when choices are plentiful, means you can afford to be picky and take your time!

Found Object

As a break from No-Thing New, how about a look at something repurposed? 

I had been trying to figure out what to do with my husband's collection of colognes to make them easily accessible yet contained and neat.  He didn't want them stuck in the bathroom closet, and I didn't want to look at them scattered all over the top of the dresser.  Decorating magazines often show trays used for this sort of thing, and I started to picture something like a John Derian decoupaged tray.  I figured I'd pick something up at the thrift shop and decoupage it myself with old book pages and clip art.  Then, during one of my clutter-busting binges, I came across this cigar box.  I bought it at a yard sale years ago, but never had a use for it.  It was almost tossed onto the donate pile when I thought WAIT!  Maybe I can use that! 

It was just the thing!  Everything fits, Ger can see what he has, and I can easily move it aside for dusting.  Um, err...okay, I don't dust all that often, but when I do?  It's great!

Finding My Muse

I signed up for a Project Runway contest at work--kind of the library version of a fantasy football league--so of course I'll need a model. None of the models offered were quite my style, so I headed to the thrift shop to seek out my muse. What an adventure that was, sorting through all the different types of Barbies! I think I spotted a Britney Spears and one of the Olsen twins. There was also a very pretty ballerina, but her legs were lavender, and that would surely be difficult to design around! I thought these were three rather wholesome looking gals: no garish eye makeup, no outlandish jewelry, and one even has freckles!

Want Another Peek?

Remember the Macy's ad I posted as an inspiration for our new kitchen? I was mainly attracted to the blue and red, but the shelf really caught my eye as well. I was convinced that a stainless-steel shelf in a Martha Stewart ad had to have come straight from a restaurant supply store, so I started searching the web for similar shelves. My fear was that I'd find one, and it would cost an arm and a leg. But, oh, if I could find a shelf like that and have it in my kitchen, life would be good!

So I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it's just a $15 shelf from Ikea. Heck, at that price, we bought two!

These enamel pots are all thrift shop and yard sale finds, and we had long been looking for a way to both store and display them better. I love the shiny finish and always thought it was too bad they were stuffed in cabinets. For a while, I was on the hunt for an iron pot rack something like this, but the price always got in the way. Now I'm glad I didn't shell out the two hundred dollars, because I like this so much better!

Kudos to Gerry for arranging the pots! He surprised me with that and then I surprised him by not changing a thing. Well, okay, I added the Orla Kiely tin, but that's all.

We did splurge a bit on the dish drainer which was a whopping $25, because I thought it would be nice to have some plates handy in that area. This will all make sense as I share more pictures!

Chicks

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Ornament Infirmary

A few casualties of the decorating process.

A little bit of glue and some gold thread will fix these right up!

Christmas Couples

We have a few couples on our tree, and I think they have distinct personalities.

What do you think each couple would be like in real life?

To My Fellow Thrift Shop Shopper

I stopped in at the thrift shop the other day to see if there were any new Christmas goodies, and this little cutie immediately caught my eye. Soon I found the same ornament in red, and then another in green, this chap's twin. As I was standing there, comparing the two green ones, I remarked to a fellow shopper that I was just trying to decide which one was in better condition.

Do you chat with people while you're shopping? I do. Now, I have to say, more often than not, it falls flat. People are in their own little worlds, I guess, and are surprised when someone, a STRANGER, talks to them in a store. But every so often, it turns into a nice exchange.

So how did the person react when at the thrift shop? She said, "Oh, you can't leave one behind just because he's not perfect!" Sounds like something I would say! I bought all three. My only regret? That I didn't extend an invitation for coffee or something to my fellow shopper. It's rare that I run into someone who shares some of my quirks, and I'll bet we could have been friends.

I'll just have to keep my eyes open at the thrift shop. You never know what you might find there!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Thrift shop find. Not a super deal at $2.50, but irresistible.

What treasures have you found lately?

Learning

Just wanted to share my latest thrift shop find, a Jessie Willcox Smith print. The colors! The cat! The hair bow! The book bag! I love it. $2.49 well spent don't you think?

Just out of curiosity, I looked up more of JWS's work online. There are so many I would love to have. My Kitten, for instance, or Books in Winter . Ordering them up online just isn't as much fun as stumbling across them at the thrift shop!

Virtual Coat Drive!

So, the plaid coat. Even with all the comments assuring me it was cute, I couldn't bring myself to keep it, so back to the store it went. Part of the problem was the fit--the medium was a bit restrictive in the shoulders and the large was too boxy in the body--and part of the problem was this:

I have a closet full of coats already. Okay, these aren't ALL winter coats and they aren't ALL mine, but there's still a fair amount, and I'm having coat guilt. The first three there, the brown, orange, and navy, are all perfectly nice pea coats. There's also a lovely, simple, black dress coat mixed in there. I really don't need more than that.

Need schmeed. A few years ago, I fell prey to an irresistable offer from Chadwick's and bought this coat in both plum and grey:

Unfortunately, they are both a bit too big, but I didn't want to pay for return postage, so they hang there, taunting me. How dumb am I? They're lovely coats, the plum is an especially nice color, but I don't feel good in them. And yet, year after year, I tell myself I might wear them, and they're too good to give away. In fact, the whole point of this post was going to be asking for refashion ideas, some way to salvage them. But you know what? I'm not even going there. I am removing them from the closet tonight and taking them to the thrift shop tomorrow. Yes! Coat guilt be gone! Hopefully they will be the perfect fit for two people who need warmies for the winter.

As for this one:

I really get a kick out of this coat. It was a thrift shop find, I think it's very cute, but it is SO warm. Like stifling. Only to be worn on the coldest of cold days. But this one stays. I might not have a new plaid coat, but I am hanging onto my old houndstooth one!

The plaid one, in case anyone was wondering, was from Kmart and on sale for $39.99. A good deal, but just not meant for me.

.

How does your coat closet look? Anything in there that's ready for the donation pile? Now's the time to do it!

Something I Love

Do we all have a soft spot for the dishes of our childhoods? I never thought Corelle's Spring Blossom or Butterfly would become collectible (although I've always had a soft spot for Spice o' Life), but now I see it popping up here and there on blogs, and I notice the thrift shop doesn't have the glut of these patterns it once had.

We never had Corelle at my house, though. Instead, we had a set of Japanese ironstone festooned with big, green, loopy flowers. I can still remember them coming into the house and bringing with them a whiff of The Brady Bunch.

Lately, I've been finding myself drawn towards random dishes that remind me of that time. It started with a few pieces of the Country Gingham pattern by Mikasa. They don't match a single thing in our kitchen, but there was no way I could resist a pattern as cute at this, especially not for 25 cents each.

Next I found a few more small plates in the Andes pattern. This glaze on this design has an amazing amount of depth and of course I love the touches of red. Fifty cents each!

The plate in the big picture at the top is one of my latest finds: four dinner plates in the Fresh From the Garden pattern. I splurged on these...$1.50 each. I think my limit is somewhere around $3 per plate, so I don't expect this collection to grow very quickly, but I'll keep hunting!

Box Lot Fun

Despite an attic filled with Christmas stuff, I brought this little box home from the thrift shop. For $1.40 how could I resist pawing through it, searching for treasures? It looked promising.

I saw there were a few wooden angels, but I didn't expect to find the entire band! Twelve angel musicians, made in Italy, with glittery halos! What song do you think they're playing?

Shiny Happy

I don't know what I was thinking. We go to the thrift shop about once a week, and for two weeks in a row, I saw this stack of shiny, colorful cups, all lashed together with tape and hanging in the mug section. Maybe that's it--they were in the mug section, and I definitely don't need any mugs. I passed them by. But by the third time I saw them, they'd transformed themselves. Now I wasn't seeing mugs, I was seeing scoops for our flour and sugar canisters or cups to hold paperclips or sugar bowls or pincushion bottoms.

They came home with me. What would you do with these happy, happy cups?

Fifi le String

One day at work, my friend, Rosemary, told me she was going to bring me a cat head. Okay, I thought, a cat head. She said it just looked like something I would like. Boy, was she ever right!
It's kitschy and cute and reminds me of my lovely Isabella with those pretty pink ears! Oh, and the plaid bow. --swoon-- And my friend didn't realize...

...it's a string holder! Be still my heart. This is cute beyond my wildest imaginings. I'm still deciding where I want to hang Fifi le String (that's what I call her). I love her. Thank you, Rosemary.

Self-Stitchin' is My Game

I thought I'd lead off with the nicer photo today, because it's dreary and grey, and there's no hope of getting a sharp, clear pic of the outfit. This bracelet came from a yard sale years ago. It's marked "V B Sterling Denmark," and I paid next to nothing for it, either fifty cents or three dollars, but I don't remember which! VB stands for Volmer Bahner and this leaf design was one of his oft-used motifs.

Sweater, Spenser Jeremy via thrift shop

Skirt, self-stitched

Shoes, Ecco

Bracelet, vintage via yard sale

This skirt is just one of my New Look 6843 a-lines made from a mod print I got at Gaffney's. This is a good transition skirt, because the colors aren't too summery and it's a heavier weight fabric. Earlier in the summer, I lightened things up with a bright red tee, but I've also worn it with long sleeves in colder weather.

And now...I have a three day weekend! The Self-Stitched outfits will continue on Monday, hopefully with a few NEW things thrown in!

:)

Thanks for rummaging through my jewelry box with me!

I hope you enjoyed it!
I had fun!

Vintage Flair

Surprise! More pins! Well actually, these are called pin-back buttons in collector parlance. Not that I am a pin-back button collector by any stretch of the imagination, but I've come across a few I couldn't resist. A loaf of bread? Yes, please.


Anyone who knows me in real life has heard me say this. Whenever someone asks how I am after feeling poorly, I reply, "I'm much better. Thank you," while thinking of this pin. I'm pretty sure I do a little something with my eyes, too, in imitation of that cute picture!

This I just couldn't resist. "Makes 'em lay." Awesomeness.

Little Gems

Here's another side to vintage--a little bit of millefiore, a portrait brooch, and a tiny pin with dangling grapes. Who are those kids in the pictures? I have no idea!