Saturday, November 8, 2014

Just Like Nana's

Not exactly thrifted,  but while Mandy and Violet were out and about in Escondido recently Violet noticed some china “just like Nana’s” at  Deborah’s Next-to-New consignment store. They gave me a quick call and after a few exchanged photos and a check on line Mandy kindly made the purchase for me.


I’ve always loved blue and white china and I’ve had a basic set of Blue Danube for many years.  I never did buy all the various serving pieces, mainly because they are so expensive.  Over the years a few of my pieces have been broken so I’m thrilled with these lovely additions.  I checked on line and  the replacement for the serving platter alone is listed at $99.99 - that’s half what we paid for all these dishes!  Thanks Mandy and Violet, you certainly know a bargain when you see one! 

Thursday, October 16, 2014

A little shopping in Beaumont

Martin had an errand to run in Beaumont, so we decided to make it an outing.  There is main street that has lots of antique shops with the little booths which all belong to different people.  There's gotta be a name for those, but I don't know it...  Anyway, Sarah helped me pick a couple of things. She seemed very determined that we would take these things home.  Who am I to argue?  She has great taste.



We found a child-sized rolling pin and a sweet goat bell.  I love the bright yellow paint and wee little scale of the rolling pin.  The bell is metal, and although it looks like it would be loud, it makes a nice little *ting ting* when rung.


From the top of the bell, you can still see the brassy/coppery color of the original metal.  I can almost hear it down in the meadow!  After shopping, we had the best Thai food!  What a lovely day! Thanks, Martin!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Fun stuff!

I find some of my best stuff when I go into a thrift store to make a donation.  Maybe I should just drop and run!  Anyway, I found some enamelware coffee pots and a pair of tiny wooden shoes at a shop in Sun City.


Kinda fun!  I'm thinking about mosaic-ing (is that a word?) the clogs, which are souvenirs from Holland.  I think they'll be adorable in the garden.  Not sure about the camp coffee pots yet, but that never stops me!  I have some ideas, I just have to narrow them down!

Martin and I went to a show with lots of vintage vendors and found more stuff.  The first thing was a silver over copper pot of some sort with a screw cap (lined with cork) on the end of a short spout. When we asked the vendor what it was, she said she'd tried to research it but still had no idea.


We got it for a steal and when I researched it, I found out it is a fancy-schmancy martini pitcher.  Of course, that is the last thing we need, but I will find a way to re-purpose it.  It was just too cute to leave behind.  We also got a few ridiculously charming old drawer pulls shaped like cherries.



I'm not sure why, but these remind me of my childhood.  They ring a vague, far-off bell, but I can't place where I might have seen them.  I love the hand-painted finish and the chippy, used patina.  So sweet!  Again, no concrete plans for these, I just knew I'd be sorry if I passed them by.

Well, that's all the "stuff" for this time.  I think I got pretty lucky with this latest batch!  What do you think, ladies?

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Some beautiful finds

 Some really wonderful finds lately. Mostly pieces of art/home decor type things. I come across them and they're just so beautiful I can't pass them up! This beautiful hand created wood jewelry box was made by "Rich". I looked for it online and came across these, which are made in the UK. Not sure if that's where it's from but definitely inspired by it. I put some orange oil on it and it looks so lovely. The boxes are lined with a soft felt. I only paid $15 for it at the American Cancer Society Discovery Thrift shop in Rancho Bernardo. Love that place, so many beautiful things there and it goes to a good cause.


This beautiful and unique little metal hand painted peruvian looking horse I found at the local St Vincent de Paul's thrift shop. They don't have a store specific website (this shows all their stores, though), but here is their Yelp page. Never mind the bad ratings, I think it's a great store. I've always had nice, helpful volunteers helping me there and there's a wonderful selection, the store is clean, and nice product, also, nicely organized. Don't miss out back where they have patio furniture and other outdoor stuff. There's some other stores in the area, but I like this one best. Lots of great books, usually listed at 50% off. Their collector's books are quite pricey.
**correction, just remembered I got the horse at Deborah's Next o New consignment shop, more about that shop in another post


I think I found the above Kokopelli hand crafted & signed plate at Sally's. (Salvation Army Thrift shop) in Escondido. They've recently been having numerous 50% off sales as they tried to liquidate much of their stock before a remodel. They even had a 75% off, but I didn't make it down there. I recently also saw a Living Social coupon for the SA stores, so keep your eyes peeled, they're always having great deals!!!


This beautiful, hand carved walking stick I found when I was out and about with my mom in Murrieta. Found this at the Angel View Thrift shop out there. It's a wall decoration (has a hook on the back) but I rather like it as a walking and talking stick. We've been using it at our family meetings!  If you look close it has an alligator on it!


As you can see, I really love earthy, multi-cultural, colorful earthtone kind of pieces. Sometimes I get more practical things, like clothes or kitchen ware. But I love when I find unique artsy, craftsy type home decor items that I otherwise wouldn't spend the big bucks on.

Have a great weekend!!!


Mandy

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

New shops!

My Mother-in-law, Ellen, got me out of the house the other day in an effort to cure my cabin fever. We recently moved much closer to Ellen and Mandy, so now, thrifting together will be much easier to do!  Ellen showed me a few of her favorite shops in the area and naturally, we came across some things we couldn't live without!


beautiful old books!

cast iron ducky with bonnet!
                                 
milk glass and tiny colanders 
There were also some unbelievable, intricately-carved toothpicks that I couldn't get a good shot of for the life of me!  Each one was different and amazing to see!  I'll have to see if I can put Martin to the task of getting a good photo or two.

Thanks for the fun day, Ellen, and for sharing some of your good poking-around places!  Can't wait for our next day together!

Robin

Friday, May 23, 2014

Treasures from Sally's

My first post.  Ever.  So with encouragement from my girls, Mandy and Robin, here goes...

One of my favorite stores is Sally's - or The Salvation Army Thrift Store.  I hardly ever come home from there empty handed, but I really do try hard not to buy things I don't need. Then there are times when something catches my eye, calls out my name, and I've just gotta have it!  That's what happened today when I saw this cute little one-of-a-kind pitcher.  I walked by it two or three times.  Picked it up, put it back, was ready to leave, went back and grabbed it because...as my hubby reminded me... I'd probably regret it later if I didn't buy it now.





The name inscribed on the bottom is Cama Deruta, which  tells me it was made in Italy.  I love the colors, the simple design, and the feel (the white dots are raised) of this little pitcher.  It holds just over a quart and with its pointy little spout will be just right for watering my house plants.


Speaking of plants, I also found this nice flower pot for my succulents which were badly in need of re-potting.

                                                    



Well, that's my first post.    Hopefully I will eventually overcome my "paralysis of analysis". Mean- while, Happy Thriftin'!

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Peruvian treasures!




Found these Peruvian treasures at my new favorite thrift shop this week, St Vincent's de Paul on Escondido Blvd. I love the ceramic donkey candle holder, he's so magnificent and a steal at $7!!!

Also found these two plump little fellas on my way out, $4 a piece. I'm so in love with them! They make such a welcoming addition to my bookshelf in the front room.

What thrift finds have you found this week? Let us know and share a link if you have photos or a blog.


Have fun thriftin' this week!


Mandy

Friday, April 25, 2014

Re-purposing

Since our house is on the market, we've packed and de-cluttered so much that when it came to staging, I was at a loss!  I needed something for the dining room table.  This fact was in my head when I drove by an estate sale, so I stopped to take a peek.  And there they were.  An old silver-plate coffee pot and creamer and sugar.  It was $20 for the lot, but I haggled it down to $15 for all three.  I'm nothing if not frugal...

with flowers...


better shot of the silver-plate

I love the patina of old silver and I think the flower arrangement will look even better once the lilies open.  Necessity is the mother of Excuses for Shopping! Yay!

Monday, April 14, 2014

Latest find, a sweet little carved table


Found this great little carved and painted wooden table at a local thrift/resale shop this past week for $40. It was a lovely little shop that I'd passed by several times which always had some beautiful furniture in front of it. I'd been wanting to stop there so went in for a quick moment on my way home from the post office one day.  The owner lady there had a really good eye for resale items. It wasn't your typical thriftshop with stuff kind of mismatched. She had beautifully arranged her items making them very appealing.  I found this little table tucked in the back of the shop but I also found a few other smaller items (I'll share on another day).
I loved the beautiful detail on it and the light pastel colors. These aren't usually a color I go for but with it being Spring and Easter coming up, it dressed up sweetly with a couple of Spring decorations and a rose from the garden. Other items on the table that were thrifted were the glass bottle vase, the metal heart tin and the Royal Dalton china Peter Rabbit bowl with the chocolate candy eggs in it (all from other thrifting days in the past). The crocheted rock was a gift from a dear friend.

You can see the lovely detail below:


It ties in rather nicely with this carved wooden framed mirror I picked up a few years ago for $5 at a yard sale in Ramona when we lived there.

 It has very similar carved details, although in a slightly different palette of light colors.



We're off to the island of Kauai this week. We're so excited for this family vacation! Maybe I'll even find a thrift shop there! Wouldn't that be fun?

Have a great week.

A hui hou! ("Goodbye, until we meet again" - in Hawaiian)

Mandy

Sunday, April 6, 2014

A little something for the garage...


I went by my local thrift store to make a donation and just ran in for a second.  I didn't turn anything up in the crockery section, my weakness when it comes to thrifting, but I came across this router table for $12.50.  It is a Craftsman with all metal construction and instructions/manual included.  Neat!  I'm sure it will get lots of use once we get our workshop set up.









Monday, March 31, 2014

Now We're Rolling!!!


I thought I would take a photo of my yard sale rolling pins before sealing them up in a box.  I got all three of these old beauties for $5.00!  The white one that you put cold water into came from Ellen, who had given it to Martin who knows when!  Also in the box is a paper roll hanger from Uncle Tony's garage.  I'm looking forward to using all these for decor in the new place!



While all four are still suitable for kitchen use, I'm not much of a pie-cruster, so decor, it is!  Now, for a proper wrap-up, some more odds and ends and to seal the whole thing up with packing tape!  See you soon, rolling pins!

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Estate sale!

I went to an estate sale near the house a while back, not really expecting much.  The signs said 50% off everything, which usually means I'm a day late.  When I got there, though, I found some really good stuff at really good prices, since they had begun to pack things up.  I have some blue Calico pieces that I have picked up over the years, but I found this brown Calico dinnerware set for a steal!



This is only half the haul.  There were 53 piece in all, most in good shape.  We've used a piece here and there, but I did use the dinner plates to stage the china cabinet over the wet bar.  It looks pretty!

My other favorite from this sale was an old hay rake.  I admired the aged patina and the amazing old repairs.  The more I looked at it after I got it home, the more I loved it.







It is probably one of my favorite finds, since, in this neighborhood, it's hard to find "real" farm implements.  It makes me happy just to look at it and have it in my hands.  I guess I do have some country girl in me somewhere!

What are your all-time favorites, ladies?

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Wooden and Ceramic Bowls and some other pottery



I've had an eye out for extra bowls lately and came across a few lovely ones. The above wooden bowl set came with a larger salad bowl and six serving size bowls, all in very good condition! Found them at a large thrift store in town, The Valley Thriftstore on Valley in the north eastern most part of Escondido. It's a really large store with lots to choose from. Prices are kind of steep for books (which  I am always on the look out for) but other items weren't too bad. I got this set for $10. Downside about this shop is I got to the counter and realized they only take cash (not posted at the door, only at the registers). They do have an ATM  but I really dislike paying ATM fees, so I had them hold and came back with some cash. At least I know to have cash on me next time I go there. There's another thrift shop across the street from there I'd like to try some other time.
This beautiful handcrafted pottery bowl was only a buck fifty (was 50% off). It is a lovely earth-toned color with imprints of leaves and seeds. Really pretty in real life. Got this one at the local Sally's. It's so pretty I want to just leave it out as decor.

The bowl below is also handcrafted pottery and a lovely light blueish-green glaze. Perfect size for some cereal or soup. It also was $1.50 from Sally's. I get some really good deals there, as recently they've had a lot of half off sales. 


My mom, sister-in-law and I went to the Vintage Marketplace in Rainbow this weekend. It was a beautiful, breezy day out in the country. Really nice spot for some vintage shopping and shabby chic decorating ideas. I picked up this cute little vintage Mexican pottery bird. I've just started collected Ken Edwards Pottery / El Palomar pottery. This one isn't but looks similar and looks nice next to the rest of my collection. 


Here's my Ken Edwards collection. One was a thrift find, one my mom gave me (probably also thrifted) and one I picked up on eBay for a decent price.


Had a fun weekend thrifting and vintage gazing. Hope you had a good weekend as well!


Mandy

Monday, February 24, 2014

Bottles Up

 I'm going to let you in on a little secret....

For one, I'm not a morning person. So, I'm not one likely to get up early and go yard sale hunting for treasures. However, I've found that by hitting up yard sales and garage sales and even estate sales later in the morning, the sellers are ready to get rid of everything and drop their prices drastically. You might not have much to go through, but every once in awhile you find something really great or just a really great deal!

An older couple in my neighborhood was downsizing, still moving locally, but their kids were grown and gone and they were buying something smaller. The very nice lady gave me these lovely blue glass mugs for 10 cents each. I figured they'd be perfect for some little blossoms or next time I'm giving a little bouquet of flowers as a gift to a friend, they'd be perfect!  The lady was so very nice, she even gave me some free photo frames, one of them very vintage looking.

 These vintage Club Checker I found at another yard sale for 75 cents. I thought they'd be great for crafting on. Perhaps making pendants or using in altered art.  They could be made into something like this.  Sometimes I resell them online, and vintage games usually do pretty well.
This beautiful Green Glass Italian Wine bottle, I also got for 10 cents! What a bargain. I looked it up on Ebay, and found one going for $50. I'll keep it for now, til I decide what to do with it. It needs a little cleaning up. But, it's so pretty, it has  straw and cork stoppers in it. Apparently the chamber on the right is for chilling ice in.

So those are my finds this week. Hope you had a fun weekend thriftin' and junkin'! Have a good week.

Mandy

Friday, February 7, 2014

Happy to be here!

Thanks, so much Mandy, for inviting me to contribute!  I'll try to pull my weight with interesting thrift-ed finds.  I'm looking so forward to days in the future when I can go hunting with you and Ellen and maybe the girls!
Here's my first contribution!

Pyrex Early American bowls and Glasbak green floral.

Fun book with some classic kids stories.

and neat end papers,

and charming illustrations.

and a couple of board books.
I can't remember what the bowls went for (but they must've been cheap or I'd have left them there!) and the books were on special for 25¢ a piece.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  Thanks, again, for the invite.  I feel loved!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Awakening and Enlightment



Do you ever go to a thrift shop and find something that catches your eye, then you can't decide whether to buy it, you go home, you can't stop thinking about it, you then go back and hopefully it's still there, and you buy it? Me too. I saw these at the local Sally's here in Escondido (coined by my mom, Ellen, for "Salvation Army" thrift shop) on my way home from the post office.   I ran in for a "quick look", after all  it was on the way home,  how could I not? I thought, these can't be real brass and real pantina, could they? I still don't know, even after looking on the internet. But I think they were a good deal nonetheless at $11.25 for the pair (they were 25% off). I also got a nice, hardly worn roadrunner and kokopelli t-shirt for .25. What a deal.

I had a hard time finding the statues online as I was looking up "hindu statues". After posting on my instagram a follower informed me that they are from Thai Buddhism and are Thepenom or Tappanom. She copied a description of them, which I think she found here, and it says,

"In Thai Buddhism, the Thepenom or Teppanom are celestial beings or mythological angels that descend to the Earth as the Buddha reached enlightenment. They are shown usually in the traditional Thai garb, in a kneeling position, with hands pressed closely together at chest level in the Veneration Mudra or Namaste greeting. Representing one of the most important divine beings of Thai Buddhism, this 16" Thepenom Thai Angel Statue features a golden-colored wood finish that is detailed to absolute perfection. This statue is kneeling, with palms pressed together, and with eyes closed. The Veneration Mudra or Namaste gesture is known as an act of greeting and blessing, which makes this angel statue an ideal addition to any home or office. Known to harness divine energy, these pure spirits accompany the Buddha into his elevated sense of awakening and pure enlightenment. A popular element of Thai mythology as well as the practice of Buddhism, these Thai angel statues are found in many of the royal palaces of Thailand, Buddhist temples, restaurants, and in many homes."

Interesting stuff. It's always nice to have symbols of greeting and blessings in my home.  I think I'll keep them!

Mandy


A closer look.

Let's go thriftin'!!!




My mom and I have been thrifting for many years. I used to tag along as a kid in the older days, then, when I moved out on my own I found the treasure of buying things to be used to decorate and for their functionality. Today, we both still enjoy thrifting for enjoyment and for the thrill of "the find". Join us as we share some of those "great finds" and occasionally re-purposing. (Grandpa is great at that!). I find lots of great books, games, and some indoor decor and collectables. Mom also has a knack for finding great books, as well as indoor decor and garden decor.



Mandy & Ellen