Thrifty Thursday

I've ALWAYS loved thrifting.  I remember my first trip to the Valley Thrift in Hamilton when I was eleven years old.  My best friend and I were dressing up as Siamese twins for Halloween, so we needed a giant shirt and pair of pants (duh).  Immediately, I gasped at the stench fell in love with all of the old treasures.  I would visit frequently throughout my teenage years.  Then, at OU in Athens, there were some fantastic spots, naturally.  And thrifting was starting to catch on with all the cool kids.  Nowadays, you just have to hope that you find a spot that the local hipsters aren't on to yet, or that you're hitting on a good day.  It's so trendy now, but I don't care.  Cincinnati/ NKY has some fantastic spots.  I'm not even sure if I want to disclose where I'm finding some things because I don't want to spread the wealth! Just kidding kind of.  If I haven't been in a while, I start to get that itch, and give my sister a call.  We always have a blast finding funny old things and other people's trash our new treasures. We both lean toward mid century modern design, and always get so excited when we find a great piece of furniture.  I've bought A LOT of thrifted furniture, including my awesome retro dining room set.  I do follow a set of guidelines when thrifitng, as you must, obviously.  

• Try to wear a scarf sprayed heavily with your fave body spray or perfume, then wear said scarf very close to your face.  There's no way around the awful smell of a thrift store, but I've found that this helps a bit.
• I have a $5 limit on almost ANY item.  If it's more than that, it should a). be furnitre and b). be WORTH it!
• I will NOT bring my toddler with me.  She would touch too much and I would be vomiting in my mouth dousing her in hand sanitizer too much.
• Set aside TIME to really look.  You may have to look past the awful seat covers on the awesome chair if it has good bones.  
• Never, EVER buy lingerie, bathing suits, pajamas, etc... because, Eeeeeew.
• I try to stay away from fabric furniture (NO mattresses).  Everything has been sterilized and bed bug treated before being sold, but generally, it's still not worth the risk.  
• It's OKAY to negotiate! As you'll see below, it usually works!  I got two awesome retro pieces for $5 each; originally $8 each.
• If you go looking for a specific item, you probably won't find it right away.  But be persistent, as their inventory changes daily.
• Wash EVERYTHING as soon as you get home, if for no other reason then to remove the odor and germs.  You should do this for non-thrifted merchandise as well, for that matter.
• Grab a coffee, bring a friend, and HAVE FUN!

One of my favorite thrift store stories occurred during my album collecting years.  I could spend HOURS sifting through all of the old records.  That got to be very trendy, too, and now it's really hard to find anything other than John Denver's Christmas album.  Anyhow, I came across Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming and pounced.  

It was a great cover and I couldn't wait to hang it in my living room. I was looking through it weeks later, and noticed some handwriting on the back cover.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was my own mom's name and it sure looked like her handwriting.  Wouldn't ya know? I took it to her house and she couldn't believe it- it was her old album! So awesome!  I cherished that album from then on, as well as some other fantastic ones.  I ended up losing it when our house burnt down, but I still have the memory of the sweet story.


So, with that overdrawn history of my love of thrifting, I introduce to you:

I will be sharing some of my recent finds, how I'm using them (if applicable), and what I plan to do with them.  I'm excited! Are you? Good. To kick it off, I'll share some finds from the other day because I just can't wait a week to start the sharing. (FYI- major camera issues (insert sad/ disgruntled face), sorry for the poor quality).

White Ceramic Owl votive holder.   Was that not loud enough? WHITE CERAMIC OWL!!! YES! And, it's like the heavy ceramic.  It didn't have a price on it.  I was in a little store and had already talked down some other items.  I stopped a young girl working to ask if she knew how much.  She glanced down at it for about 2 seconds and then wrote $1 on the bottom.  I could hardly contain my giddiness. (nerd alert, right here)

White Ceramic Lamp.  $1.99 with no shade.  I don't even think I'm going to alter this.  I can't wait to find the perfect shade for it.  I don't have a home for it, yet, but it could literally look great ANYWHERE in my house! SCORE!

A couple-a yards of delicate lace fabric. 69 cents.  There are just too many Pinterest projects calling for lace right now, so I needed to have some on hand.  I've also been hoarding mason jars, so there will be some cute things happening.

Classic Navy cardigan.  Size 2T, true vintage.  Perfect condition and so retro/ classic/ lovely.  I'm sure both of my girls will get lots of wear out of this little gem

Super, right? I think so.  Plus, having this little weekly theme should help me blog more in general.  And for the love of George Clooney, I need to do that. Sheesh.


Linked up over at Harper's Happenings!