Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
I have been in serious, serious thrift withdrawal. In the Philly area, I had a number of regular haunts mere minutes away and the time to peruse them more than I should probably admit. I had my thrifting buddies who were equally happy to spend a morning or afternoon (or both!) digging through piles and boxes to find the treasures lurking beneath the detritus. All was well in the world. And then suddenly, I had to uproot my life and all my thrifting routines and relocate to New England. Surely there would be good thrifting among the Yanks, right? Over the summer, I made a few attempts to locate some new thrifting territories. Easier said than done! But now that the kids are settled into their new schools, I am going to take advantage of my few hours of peace each week to redouble my efforts to seek out the thrifty loot I just know is all around me, if I can just figure out where it is hiding.
This morning, my sweet little thrifter-in-training, otherwise known as my son, and I set out after we dropped his sisters off at school. First destination: a charity thrift in one of the 'burbs. This particular shop is small, and predominately populated by clothing but it does have china and glassware, a few books, and knick-knacks as well. I would call our visit a moderate success. I picked up this sweet little painted jewelry box for $5--probably more than I would have paid a few months ago but given my withdrawal symptoms (I needed a fix!) and the fact that this piece had cute little spindle legs, I just had to buy it.
I also picked up a couple of props for future children's parties. I have
had my eye out for vintage muffin pans, and these were perfect! Small
in size, no rust but plenty of beautiful patina, these will look
stunning holding supplies for a party craft activity, regardless of
party theme. More specifically, I envision throwing a hobo or camping
party one of these days, and these little beauties will fit right in at
an outdoor fall event and only set me back just under 2 bucks.
One of my most successful past parties was my oldest daughter's Woodland
Fairy birthday party. I invested a lot of time and effort in designing
that party, but it turned out just lovely! Luckily, because I have two
daughters, my younger daughter will also be having a woodland fairy
party soon, and these cute little bottles will complement the existing
design elements perfectly. Imagine delicate little posies in each of the
bottles, or fairy dust? The possibilities are really endless. These
bottles were only 99 cents.
I also picked up these two frames for my latest home decorating work-in-progress: an historical family portrait wall. I am lucky enough to own some beautiful vintage photographs of both my family and my husband's family and have been collecting old frames to showcase them. These two are a nice smaller size and have gorgeous details like inlaid mother of pearl. Under a dollar each!
After departing the thrift store, we headed up the street to a used
bookstore. I scooped up several American Girl books for $1.39 each (my
older daughter reads one a day when she gets going so I need to keep her
bookcase well-stocked) and a couple of interesting hardbacks for me for
a dollar each. Then off to pick up another thrifter-in-training and a
pit stop for a snack before heading over to a church rummage sale in
Sudbury. It ended up being a used clothing sale and not much else, but
my daughter scored a fancy boa that she loves for fifty cents and I
found some really great clothing for the kids, including Hanna Andersson
dresses and a mint condition American Girl hoodie, for $1 a piece.
You'd think I'd be done for the day but tonight is the semi-annual rummage sale at my new church, and you can bet I'll be close to the first in line!
You'd think I'd be done for the day but tonight is the semi-annual rummage sale at my new church, and you can bet I'll be close to the first in line!
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