This and that

Haven't blogged in awhile but that doesn't mean I haven't been out thriftin'!! Today I found these goodies at a newfavorite  local thrift shop. We've moved and are now closer to the Valley thrift shop. I was out looking for some wall decor for our front room but didn't find anything. I did find a nice purse, some jewelry, some sandals and a little painted cat so the visit wasn't a bust. But then, it never is!! Happy new year and hope you have a great new year of thriftin and junkin'!!

Mandy

A few of my favorite things

Haven't posted in awhile, but I have been thrifting and garage sale hopping, nonetheless! Here's a few (from the many) finds I've bought the last few weeks. 

 These cute little ceramic kitty teapots will look very cute on someone's Christmas/Yule tree this year

 I'm always a sucker for lovely painted Mexican clay pottery . I also found this lovely flower vase, too.

I am such a book hoarder collector/lover. But, I do so love finding lovely vintage books. This one is a French primer from 1894!  It's so lovely!

Thought I'd also share some of my bird and nature books I've pretty much found all of them at thrift shops, maybe an occasional one on amazon (used). I love looking through them and identifying some of the birds in the garden. There's some wonderful illustrations in many of them, as well as some poetry books about birds and nature. Happy Summer Solstice and happy hunting. (We've got more sunlight hours in the day to shop, Yeah!!!)


Mandy

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

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

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

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

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

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.