Anatomy of a Thrift Shop/Stop

Well Hello August!

As the summer winds down here, i'm very reminded that I live in a place where it can be 50 degrees in the morning and 98 degrees by 2pm and then back down to chilly. I love Virginia, I do...it's just insane sometimes the weather we get. 

On that note, I have been ducking into thrift shops when I have the time (as always, a swift thrift it usually ends up as) to search for things on my ever handy list as well as add more pieces to my end of summer closet. 

The last time I was thrifting, I thought to myself 'Self? I should blog this...and show everyone how I shop' Thankfully, recording isn't smiled upon in most of the shops I go to so you won't be subjected to my rambling commentary. Instead, i'll just walk you through and share a video of my rambling commentary concerning my finds. 

When I go into a store, I usually have a plan in mind. A list stays in my head (and in my planner) and it contains all of the items that im looking for. It might not mean that I walk out with every item or that I walk out with anything at all..but it's there. The first place I make a beeline for is the long-sleeve shirts. I'm what some call a 'careless shopper' I tend to move through the colors and prints and I pull anything that catches my eye. If it's obviously too small, I put it back. If it's my size or a little big then it goes into my cart. Once I am done with the long sleeve shirts, I move on to the sleeveless shirts since that is one of the things on my list right now. Then I move onto whatever section is next on my list. Right now, it's shorts. Since I am in the process of trying to eat more healthy, some of my shorts aren't fitting right so a new pair of denim shorts is high on my list. After that, I circle around to the housewares and then the purses/shoes.

Then comes the dressing room. By now i've got a pile the size of Texas on my cart and usually what I will try to do is park my cart outside of a dressing room and only bring in a handful of items at a time. My favorite go-to Goodwill has dressing rooms that have literally not been updated since...well, ever. They have one hook for clothes that is located on the door itself. One mirror. One bench to throw your items. That's it. So 99% of the time, no matter what store i'm in, this is what my door looks like: 

Things I haven't tried on yet are on the center hook. Things that are a 'maybe' go on the left hand side and things that are a no go on the right. 

Then there's a pile on the bench. Only because this time around there was nowhere to put my cart so I had to bring everything with me. I ended up just switching out the 'no' pile with the 'not tried on' pile. This time around, nothing came home with me sadly =( That 'maybe' on the left was hard to say no to but in the end, I didn't have anything at home that would work with it and it was a bit too big. 

Here's a close up of that glorious white and pink shirt that was sadly too small for me. I love the bike print...I have a thing for random prints. I love them. 

I get a lot of crazy looks and side-eyes when I exit the dressing room and only keep 3 or 4 items out of 30 but here's my thing. I go around and grab what catches my eye. I don't WANT to try on a few, get dressed again, leave the room and find something else only to have to strip again, try it on and then start all over again. So that's my strategy. Grab it, try it all on at once. Does it all leave the store with me? Never. Sometimes, like in this case, nothing came home with me and that was ok.

Well, maybe not ok because that Merona shirt was so fabulous that I might have cried when it didn't feet. 

On that same trip to Goodwill that I share up in the video, here's a few things that didn't leave with me on that day: 

 This Ciroa china set. 65 pieces for $50. It's not in my budget right now but isn't is gorgeous? I fell in love with the bird print. Unfortunately, I left it there that day and when I went back a few days later it was gone. Ah well. 

 I saw this and about cried laughing. My husband and I say this to each other all the time, "I love you with all my hearts" it's sort of an inside joke with us now. I just don't have anywhere to put it. While it's adorable and had a meaning to me, I don't want to buy it and then have it sitting around because I can't find a place for it.

Two...count them TWO jean jackets. I have an issue. My daughter has inherited at least 4 or 5 denim jean jackets. She's 4. I am in my 30s and do not have even one of these classic pieces. AH! So top of my list is one of these. Unfortunately, both of these were too small. The Old Navy one on the top is exactly what i'm looking for and it fit fine, until I went to move my arms. 

One day i'll find it, this elusive piece. Until then, happy thrifting!

Cheers-
Jo

Goodwill Outlet haul part II

Isn't that a fantastic face that you love to see? Wow...what is WITH my expression there? I'm laughing over here, I assure you.
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Part 2 of my Goodwill outlet haul is here for your viewing pleasure. I went yard saleing...yard-saling? yard sale-ing. Yeah, that one looks good. Yard sale-ing. Anyway, that's where I went this past weekend. My parents were back from a short trip and I convinced them to watch my urchin overnight so that I could get up early the next morning. Actually, I had training in the early AM up where I work so that was the main reason...but who could blame me for hitting the yard sales too?

I'll probably have a video of that up later this week. Until then, stay thrifty!

Cheers-
Jo

Goodwill Outlet, a video, and more!

Well hello! Lookie! I have insanely bad social skills and a fear of speaking in public...but I present to you Part 1 of my first every thrift haul. 

Whew. 

This was harder than you will ever know. I took speech the last semester of college because I was terrified at speaking in front of my peers. I turn bright red if the attention is on me for longer than a few minutes and I tend to stutter when backed into a corner. I'm what you call an introvert.

But I got over myself for a few minutes and sat down and did a thrift haul because you know what? If a ton of other people can do it? So can I. It was actually a little fun and I haven't even GOTTEN to the clothes yet. Sweet. There's going to be a part 2. Now that I've figured out how to record and upload using my trusty phone maybe they'll even be MORE videos?? Say it isn't so ;)

So yeah. Enjoy the video. I talk about Goodwill Outlet in it and do a quick overview but just in case you were wondering I am going to a further breakdown right here:

Goodwill Outlet. What a place. I admit going the first time with my mother a few years ago was...overwhelming. I picked here and there but I wasn't serious about it. I thought it was a little much. Then I got to go one day about a year ago by myself. No kid. No mom. No husband. I had a couple of hours and was in the area and thought 'why not?' That's when I realized that I had found a hidden gem. The Outlet has it's quirks and I tend to stay away from the resellers in our area and sort of do my own thing but if you have a couple of hours free and this is your thing you should totally check it out. Clothes are $1.39/lb up to 20 lbs. Anything over 20 lbs is $1.19/lb. Housewares are $.59/lb and then everything else is priced per item. Adult Shoes are $3, Kids shoes are $2, electronics are priced by type but nothing is over $10. Purses are $3 and books vary from .25 to .75 each. You have to dig.

When I say dig, I mean DIG. I tend to start at one end of the clothing and I look at each item as I pull it towards me. I toss it to the other "side" of the bin and I go through it quickly. I look for things like material, pattern, identifying marks. It takes some getting used to, and it's not for everyone..but it can be fun to be digging through and then you find something. For example. I found a black miniskirt, brand name White House*Black Market with the TAGS still attached. That sucker had attached tags for $69 on it. With my haul that day it came out to .55 per piece. Dude. 

So yes...bottom line is that it takes some work and some time. This blog is more for the "quick" thrifts of a working mother but I thought i'd show you a little bit about the Goodwill Outlet and what I could do with a few hours on my hands ;)

Cheers-
Jo

Weekend Finds

It's the weekend! First of all, let me say Happy Mother's Day to all my fellow mothers out there, and I mean ALL of the mothers out there. In an attempt to not be too sappy, i'm going to leave it at that. There is a special place in my heart for women and families who have experienced unexplained loss and haven't had the opportunity to hold a baby yet in their arms. I've been there, and it's a hollow shell of hurt that deserves a nod and a hug and a whole boatload of feels. 

*ahem*

On to brighter things that hopefully will make fellow thrifters smile. My finds!! I went to a new thrift store in our area yesterday, and hit a Goodwill with my mother today and scored reasonably well at both places. Every year my husband asks what I want for mother's day and my birthday, which is about a month after. Every year I tell him the same. $200 cash and an entire day to myself so I can go thrifting. That usually earns me a look and a roll of the eyes, but I figure if I keep asking then he's bound to give in some day, right? 

The first thrift store I hit was one that just opened in my little town. It has a couple of other locations nearby that are a little bit of a drive, so i'd been to those locations before but this one just opened about a week ago with a rebranding of it's name. Regenesis Thrift is the new name, and it's run by a ministry outreach center. They support those in need, mostly those suffering from substance abuse and battling to get their lives back on track. They also help those recently released from prison who have nowhere to go and think themselves lost and without support. It's a fantastic cause and i'm happy to see a new location that's close to my house and not so far of a drive =) They run the same specials each week, outlined at the site above. Each day is something different rather then a weekly color being 50% off like Goodwill. I happened to go on a Friday, which is 0.95 cent clothing day. Anything not tagged above a certain price automatically is 0.95 cents. Women's clothing usually runs about 1.99 unless they are tagged a little higher (name brand, designer, or NWT)Here's what I found: 

These sweet little Fire King bowls. They are only a couple inches across and a couple inches deep. I use these to heat up broccoli for S and to melt butter if needed. .99 cents for both of them together. 

 Ann Taylor button down blouse. I've been obsessed with finding these now that the weather is getting warmer. I work in a pharmacy and it's freezing in there...so I tend to dress in layers so that when I head outside after work I have something cool on underneath my cardigans.

 Brand new Merona cardigan. It's a really pretty seafoam green color with detailing up top. It still had the tags attached in addition to the sticker on the front. It's literally brand new. It was marked 2.99, so this is the only piece I didn't pay 0.95 for, but i'll take it =)

 Old Navy button down blouse. Grey with a little bit of sparkle!

New York & Company blouse. This one has a cute button down detail all the way down the back, shown below. 

I also picked up a couple of pairs of boots for the kiddo. They are packed away because they are a bit big for her right now, so no pictures of those. After leaving there, I had a little time to kill so I hit Goodwill. Before I show you what I got there, let me tell you about this gem:

This, my friends, is a Thirty-One bag. This particular one is a Suite Skirt Purse, and it came with the attached skirt. I have been hanging on the edge of getting a thirty-one purse for a long time (i'm a bit of a purse snob) and ultimately kept stalling. My local Goodwills usually mark purses as $4 unless otherwise marked. This one WAS tagged higher at $5.99, but that put it in the color tag category so I snagged it half off for 2.99. It's the perfect size, and it's been my current love for almost a month now. 

                                               I walked out of my local Goodwill with this yesterday. It's the original Skirt purse..a little smaller than the one i'm using but a good back up none the less. 4.00 and it now waits happily in my stash. 

Today my mother came and gathered S and I up to peruse a local store that is closing. After we had lunch, I suggested a trip to a Goodwill neither of us had been to in awhile (it's a little bit of a drive) S was trying NOT to fall asleep so she agreed and off we went. 

 VINTAGE!!!!! Remember my left behind train case that I passed up because of wear? Well, look what I stumbled on today! It's a Samsonite and it's gorgeous. It has wear but with a little elbow grease and a magic eraser it's looking a lot better. Complete with Inspected Luggage sticker on top =) 

It found a home on my bathroom counter, holding my makeup. I'm not a huge makeup person, so this is perfect. 

Then there was this. I have a thing for vintage caboodles. I found one a few months ago and snatched it. My sister in law pleaded for me to find her one and lo and behold I went back to the same store a week later and found one for her. Then I found another one, and then I found this one today! I realize this isn't a caboodle, but it's sassaby and it's from the same time period. I picked this up thinking my sister in law might want it for my nieces but she declined so currently it's acting like a jewelry box for S. She loves the bright colors. The second caboodle I found sits on the opposite end of the bathroom counter from my train case and it holds all of her hair things. If I see another one, I know i'm going to pick it up...I have a problem saying no to things from my childhood. 

Last but certainly not least...this munchkin baby food container. I made S's food when she started eating solids and we fumbled with several types of freezable containers. I picked this up because it was new and still in the package. While S is 4 now and way past this stage, we would ultimately like to have another child at some point so I bought it with that in mind. When I got home, I looked it up and whoa am I going to have my work cut out for me. Most of the reviews on this product are dismal, citing the fact that once frozen it is nearly impossible to get the food out. We'll see. I'm not overly upset about it...still a good buy. 

So that's it. Well, not really...but that's all I have pictures of. There was also an adorable milk glass bird container that I got for my mother in law. It's in the process of soaking though, so no pictures of it at the moment. Any favorites? What did you find this weekend?

Cheers, 

Jo

Spring is in the air!

Greetings...

It was a busy busy weekend for us, no time for thrifting because we are planting outside and getting the yard all prepared for Spring! 

I did break down, however, and finally make something that i've been ogling for quite some time. First of all, I love succulents. I do. I have ones nestled in some of my more chipped or lidless teapots and they make the shelf above our sink rather cheery. When we moved, we inherited a rather large wooden table for our formal dining room. I love it, but it was looking rather plain and quite frankly I was pouting because I couldn't find anything that I absolutely loved to put in the center. 

Enter the trusty pinterest. I fell in love with things like this: 

source: mothology

(eeeeek...$59!)

and pretty much everything on this website:

source: tips on how to care for them

So, inspired I set off to collect what I needed. Obviously since this is a thrifty blog i'm not looking to spend loads of money. I figured a little splurge wouldn't hurt since this is going to be a year round centerpiece and not something I change out or get rid o after a few months. I already had a container in mind. Many moons ago I stumbled across a vintage wooden toolbox and I snatched it up. For years I used it and it's little tray insert as a jewelry collector on my desk but recently I retired it and it's been begging for a new home

Step 1: Gather allll the materials (and I do mean all of them) I kept having to run out to grab things I forgot. The only thing missing in this picture is the dirt and the scissors I forgot. I took apart the toolbox and stored the tray (just in case)

Next I lined the inside of the bottom of the box with simple plastic bags. This allows any water that breaks through to collect here rather than against the wood

I found a round, 14" coconut fiber liner at Lowes. L just started working for Lowes so i'm spending more and more time wandering the aisles =). I cut it to fit the size of the tool box, cutting down the sides just a little each time before testing it and cutting more if need be. You can always cut MORE...you can't add any back on though. 

Tuck your liner inside the box and fill with your choice of dirt. I used Sphagnum moss/Peat moss mix. It retains water a little better and gives it a good solid base. Choose your focal piece, or a larger plant to go in the center of the entire thing. Mine was the aloe plant I picked up. 

After that it's just placement, which is totally up to you! I took the bigger ones first and then worked my way around. The mix I used is rather spongy feeling, so I basically just moved it aside and dropped the suckers in, then I added a little bit more mix at a time until it was covered and I could press down firmly. After they were all planted, I added in a little more just for appearance. 

I debated but ultimately in the end I chose to put the handle back on. I threaded it through the middle of the aloe plant. It's removable, of course, so if I decide later it needs to go I can always redo it. For now, I love the finished look it gives it. 

Here you have it! A centerpiece that will last season after season. I am so in love with it. I keep a spray bottle of water nearby to water and give them a light spray every few days. 

All in all, I think I paid under $20 for the entire project. Here's the breakdown:

Vintage wooden toolbox: Free, thrifted and already had it

Succulents: $2.48/each so about $10. I also had some cuttings from my own already

Coco Liner: $1.48

Sphagnum moss/Peat moss mix: $4 for one bag. I still have over half of it leftover too, so good for other projects

Not too shabby. 

Cheers, 

Jo

Goodness, time certainly has gotten away from me.

I've spent the last few months up and down and all around. We had a bit of a health crisis in December, and then L was suddenly let go during a round of layoffs at his company. We were in shock, understandably, but we realized quickly that we weren't the only family who was affected and resolved to look at the bright side of things instead of wallowing in the aftermath. Within a few weeks, L had a new job with the same pay and better hours...so it's actually working out for the better! 

As such, I had to step away from the blog pretty soon after I started it, and during one of my recent Goodwill trips I realized that it's high time I start up again! I've been perusing other thrifty blogs and getting my inspiration back. I'm still horrible at taking pictures and I tend to put things away after I bring them home, so that is my number one things to get better at =)

So just a short post today, a to do list of sorts:

In the next few weeks here are my goals for this blog:

1- Post more regularly

2- Take pictures of hauls as soon as I get them home

3- Put together a page/album of all the things I had to leave behind =(

4- Share how I use my finds in everyday life


Not so bad, eh? I leave you with this...a few things that I had to leave this past weekend

 A little owl candle. I'm in love with all things owl...and I regret not taking him home, I do. My reasoning was because it was a little on the high price for something so tiny and it wasn't the 1/2 off color for the week. 

 Isn't this gorgeous? I wanted it...so bad. But alas, I already have a crock pot...and I just brought home another vintage Rival crockpot to add to my stash. There just wasn't room for this beauty so I left it for someone else to snatch up. Next time I went back around it was gone, so that made me smile 

These beauties were at an antique mall that I ventured into. The only one I took with me was one of the dark green fire king mugs in the back center. I left it's brother behind because it had a fairly large crack on the inside (I have a cheery yellow fire king mug that I had to retire because of a similar crack) and although the birds are so pretty, the seller wanted 3 times as much for those so I left them there for now. 

This was another one I regret not snatching up, but in the end...this Trojan train case was just too damaged. I don't know anyone in my area that can help me fix it, and the wear and tear you see was just flaking off in pieces =/ It was sad to put it back, but the inside was stained as well and I'm not even sure how to go about getting that clean so I reluctantly walked away. I also found another Lil' Oscar cooler this trip but the outside was chipping off with just my fingernail so I left it there as well. 

So there you have it, I don't always find something...and I don't just bring home stuff to take up space (although L might disagree with that a little) Sometimes I regret leaving things, but ultimately each trip finds something new. Until next time!

Carving time, a magical find, and what got me started....

It started with a teapot. Yup, that's right. I snatched that kitschy little teapot shaped like a snowman right off the shelf and fell in love. After that, I kept my eyes peeled for teapots at every turn. Yard sales, thrift stores, estate sales, I found the 'housewares' section and dove in. Now, it's years later and my teapots have found a new home on a built in shelf in the kitchen of our new house. When I was younger, I was not picky about which teapots came home with me. I really only had one rule...it had to be unique. Somehow, the plain reds and blues and flowers came home with me but ultimately I craved the really really unique ones. After awhile, it was harder to decipher which ones would fit along my new shelf and my husband (bless his heart) put his foot down about the fact that teapots were overrunning his life. To be fair, until we moved here my teapots didn't have a home so they were, in fact, overrunning the house. Now I leave behind the ones that are more plain...the ones that have no lids or missing pieces...the ones that I might something close to already on my shelf. The ones that are lidless in my collection have been moved to be more useful. They hold our cooking utensils, the pampered chef bamboo spoons, and a variety of succulents that I haven't managed to kill yet. 

I still keep my eyes open, though. In fact, this is a good time to point out that it is so very important to open everything. Hear me? Open Everything at a thrift store. Every container might be empty but then you might stumble upon a raggedy looking asian-inspired fabric box and on an off chance you might open it up and find this:

Exquisite. There are no markings, other than some characters that I can't decipher. But there is literally not a scratch or a chip on this set. There is a total of 5 cups, only 1 was missing. This is just proof that there might be something hidden in the rough looking items you find! I had already seen at least 5 empty boxes like that that held nothing. Imagine if I had just walked past this one thinking it was an empty box. I wish I had taken a picture of the actual box, it was rough and I was unable to save it. I'm not even joking, I'm the one at the antique store on her hands and knees pulling out that hidden piece in the back of the shelf. L doesn't like to come with me for this very reason ;)

--

After teapots, I fell in love with vintage pyrex. I know, I know. Everyone seems to love vintage pyrex. My mother has so many dishes still up in her cabinet that we used every day 40 years after she and my father received them as a wedding present. Hers are dishwasher-faded, a fact she admitted was because when she got them there were no blogs or websites or warnings that putting them in the dishwasher would fade them. Doesn't matter, they still work. So now that I have a new love, I tend to slip away to the thrift stores whenever I have a chance. We just moved back to our hometown, and the thrift stores are sparse without a good drive so this past weekend I dropped my little'un off at the grandparents and did some Christmas shopping kiddo-free during the morning. My parents love living close to us now so I let S. stay at their house through lunch and hit some local charity thrifts and a goodwill. Here's my finds from my impromptu Saturday thrift!

Two 401 pyrex mixing bowls. I already have a complete set of Early American cinderella mixing bowls and I was going to stop, but hey...I can't. My mom has several dishes of the Amish Butterprint variety, and I found a fridgie set so now I have a mixing bowl to start THAT collection =) I like the idea of having a set that's not the cinderella style so when I found the 401 old orchard, I snatched it. There was a 402 of the same set at the salvation army store I found that one in, but I left it behind because it was pretty beat up and priced three times as much as the 401. The Amish Butterprint cost $2.25, the old orchard was $1.98

I collect and use daily vintage fire king mugs. This bright orange one came in a set of 3 for $3.25. One is slightly faded so the color is different and another has some fading around the rims i'll keep those two but the other one is set aside for now until I set up a small resale shop or something. 

I can't tell you how many times people have given me the side-eye when I give a little squeal and turn a mug or five over to see the standard Fire King markings. 

This...this my friends is a corning electromatic E-1310. I found it sitting in the midst of the the forgotten electronics. It works, but I have yet to try to cook/bake anything on it just yet. I need to find a manual online to get specifics. I might keep this, I had planned on reselling but damn, it's just so pretty. We'll see. 

A Coleman Lil' Oscar. I love this thing. It's in perfect condition...had some unidentified stuff on the outside but with a gentle scrubbing it was good as new. Mr Swift Thrift has already claimed it for his own. 

and this? This is my golden find. I have a love affair with space savers by pyrex. I haven't ever found any but I drool over pinterest pictures of stacked space savers. Then, as i'm strolling down the aisle of goodwill this past Saturday, on my first stop of the day, I stumble across this beauty. She's a promotional piece that pyrex released in 1958, Embroidery pattern space saver. She's got some staining on one handle...i've tried barkeeps friend with no success but really, other than that small blemish she's in perfect condition. It was marked 2for#2.25 and I scoured the entire aisle for a lid...I even went back and searched all the surrounding aisles with no success. Never mind, I put it in the cart with my other finds (which also included some christmas light hooks and a string of bright lights for one of my trees) and headed up front. When the cashier pulled at the small sticker, she asked where the other piece was and I told her I couldn't find it she took 50% off my baby. AHHH!!

So yeah, I scored. I had a pretty good day =D I left a few pieces behind, some teapots (I took pictures though, planning to make a little album of the left-behinds)some pieces that belong to the corning spice of life collection. I already had everything that I found, and several I found were overpriced. I found two antique malls to kill time in, but they wanted antique mall prices such as $10 per fire king cup, $45 per pyrex casserole, and $95 for a 3 piece primary mixing bowl set. I went back to a good will to find some pryex spice of life canisters that I left behind but alas...they were gone. They've found a good home somewhere though, so I can't be upset about that!