A Project! That Might Get Done...Soonish!

Good news: the move is done. Finished. No more living in limbo with some things in the the new place and some in the old. Bad news: moving is a beast and as such we are exhausted. Then there are the moving expenses, which have left me without project funds. The only project I'm currently trying to finish is painting a dresser. I plan on using it for a purpose other than holding clothes. Stalling my painting plans however is the act of finding a paint color. What I have in mind has yet to be found, hopefully a trip to Michael's, Home Depot or A.C. Moore will yield the color of my current dreams. The Hubs has started the process of redoing the dresser already, just a bit more sanding to go.

When One Thrift Store Closes...

The thrift store near by my apartment closed down two weeks ago and decided to give (yes, give) away their merchandise. Cue Happy Dance! They advertised on Craigslist and that leaded to a smallish grouping of people waiting outside for them to open.

Yes, it was a little bit of a mad house going in and "shopping" with a host of other people vying for the good stuff. There was a bit of everything. Books, furniture, clothing, kitchenwares, purses, TV's. I scored a Batman TV for the offspring and a small host of random goodies.

That's two candy dishes, oil lights and a gravy boat. The white candy dish was just too gorgeous to pass up. Imagine my surprise when I saw that same glass candy dish at the place were moving into the day after buying mine! [The townhouse we're moving into is currently occupied by a family friend, in case you were wondering how I knew such privileged decor accessory information.] I plan on using the gravy boat as a soup tureen since that what it looks like to me.

A wall candle sconce that will be painted....white? black? I'm still undecided.

A teak bowl from Thailand, I think. It'll probably house fruit in the kitchen or dining room. [Our new place will have a dining area that's not in the kitchen! Excitement!]

                                      

                                             A plate whose fate is yet to be determined.

Sadly, all my finds (there are a few more) are all wrapped and packed away. We're not going to be moved in for another 4 weeks. It feels like too long to wait.

The Month of May

Sorry, blog readers for another long stretch of no posts. There hasn't been much thrifting, decorating or projects going on in my life. The thrifting that I have done has been of the non-home variety.

What is going on however, is the opportunity for our little family to move into a much larger (and not much more costly) place. We're talking apartment to townhouse, two bedrooms to three, one bathroom to two and a half. We're also talking about moving to Virginia Beach from Chesapeake. That last little bit is the sad part. When I first moved to Virginia from Texas many, many moons ago, Virginia Beach was were we lived. These last 11 years though I have become a Chesapeake convert. All the friends I have I met while living here and I am sad to move 30 minutes away. It's just that this is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The coolest thing about the move is that we'd be moving into a house that I used to live in! It's the place I was living when I moved out to Chesapeake. Now though instead of living with my parents, I'll be with my husband and stepson. I never lived in the master bedroom before!

So, sorry for the month of May, but cross your fingers that this move happens and smoothly too.

Store Review: Fran's Fantasies

I noticed Fran's Fantasies for the simple reason that I live really close to it. I am thrift store junkie, not an antique store junkie but I had to check it out. Let me tell you, there is a definite difference between thrift and antique especially in terms of price. Fran's has a very large inventory but unfortunately everything is crowded in on each other. Seriously, there was merchandise in the restroom. It's impossible to move freely throughout the store. I didn't want to dig through the items for fear of breaking any antiques. There is a good selection of china cabinets and bookcases but there all being used to display other items so checking out the furniture is difficult. In Fran's favor however is that they're willing to negotiate on the prices. If you're looking for a particular item, Fran is willing to help. Most things seemed priced too high to me but maybe that's because I am not an antique shopper. If you don't mind digging, haggling and can leave the kids home (and your purse in the car - there is barely room to move around) then maybe there will be a find for you in Fran's Fantasies.

Thrifting With BJ! Again! Part 2

The day started with a yard sale that was close to home. It lead to the find of the days ,in my humble opinion, of vintage baby dolls. Li'l Ruthie and Li'l David were $10 a piece and snatched up by BJ. I know, not an item for the home, but a fantabulous deal nonetheless. BJ really racked up at the yard sale, which is an omen for a good day thrifting.                                       

I had never heard of these dolls before. Some internet searching as only revealed that they were made by Horsman Dolls, Inc in 1977. Anyone out there have any extra information? The dolls are anatomically correct. They actually have little disclaimers to parents about it on the box. "This doll has true-to-life features which differentiate little girls from little boys. For those who feel they do not want their children to be aware of this difference we do not recommend this doll."

I spotted a gorgeous little table marked at $30. I would have loved to take it home, but alas, it would have had no purpose. It had a gold with black spotted top and gold legs with casters at the bottom, so bonus points for being able to roll. Unfortunately it was really low to the ground, so I have no idea what I could have done with this table. Maybe someone out there can give me a suggestion?

I also spotted a lovely wooden table with drop leaf sides. I had seen something very similar to this recently in a magazine and was surprised at my good fortune to run into one so soon. I should have known then that it would already have been sold. *snap!* It's okay, I live in a small apartment so it wouldn't have had a home. At $50 I could see why it was snatched up especially since it seemed antique-y.  I was lucky to even get a picture of it. Almost as soon as I saw it, it was gone! Luckily, the sellers had just moved it out of the way since it was sold and the buyer was coming back to pick it up. I caught this picture when it was brought back out to get sent home.

Back to Thrift Store City... In the category of furniture I didn't buy.   A rocking chair and yes the seat was that shiny. Lacquer? The whole thing seemed really well made and smooth and was very comfortable. And a reasonable $35.

Lastly, we come to a lovely armchair with dark wooden arms. I love a slipper chair but find for my own comfort that I prefer arms. I'm not sure though that this chair would work for me. I don't imagine wood arms to be comfortable for long term sitting. I still thought the chair had a good look, though it's not completely my taste. Priced at $100, it's not a terrible price, but is still more than my cheap self would like to pay. Our current armchair/recliner is a  vintage La-Z-Boy (tweed, I believe) that we talked down to $30 from $50 at a Goodwill.

Thrifting With BJ! Again! Part 1

Once again, a Saturday out with BJ. And once again, goodies abound. First I shall tell you of the lovely, lovely items I did not buy. A beautiful china cabinet at Thrift Store City in Norfolk. Had I the spare 200 smackers I still couldn't have got it because it was already sold. *sigh* . It was about time they had a decent price on a new (ish) piece of furniture. They have a tendency to be notoriously high (a dining room set for $900, puh-lease!). So you can imagine my shock and surprise at a price I would actually consider paying.

There was also a dresser that matched my recent Salvation Army find. There was only one major difference and that was the handles, my piece has hidden grooves under the drawers and this piece does not. Considering that this dresser was from a different company (Bassett) I suppose differences are to be expected. $70 wasn't a bad price either as we are talking solid wood here.

For $13, I could have got my hands on a similar nightstand. There was some damage to the top. I think it was definitely salvageable and worth the price. I'm a little traditional however in my desire to have matching nightstands and since there was only the one, it was a  no-go.

Onto the Goodwill Outlet where I bought a Target lamp for only 2 bucks! It still had the tag that said it was $29.99. Woot-woot, more than 90% off! Now I just have to get a shade. Which is the truth for 4 other lamps in my home. If only I could find nice shades as easily as I find nice bases.I also found a little piece of canvas art for my bedroom.

The Goodwill Outlet is one of my all-time favorites places to shop. Clothing/textiles/fabric and housewares are all sold by the pound. The pound, people! The housewares is my favorite, it's only .59 cents a pound and they consider most things to be housewares. Purses, luggage are $2. Clothing is $1.29 a pound. Paperback books are 25 cents, hardcover 50 cents. I rarely ever spend more than $20 when I'm there but almost always leave with a huge bag of stuff.

Thrifting in Suffolk

What a whirlwind of a trip! My new friend (hopefully) and I went to a yard sale here in Sono first & then to Suffolk to a Goodwill, Salvation Army, Sisters Thrift, a Book Sale store and a yard sale. I barely spent any money at all (we're talking less than 8 bucks here) and still came away with plenty. I bought an itty bitty Lego kit, a crochet baby blanket, square porcelain plate, a wallet, a kids' sleep mat, a big pencil case & a bunch of magazines, plus a few other things. The store with the book sale was by far my favorite. I can not wait to go back. Everything there was insanely cheap, my magazines were 10 cents a piece! And look at the size of this place! A little slice of heaven, I tell ya!

Now onto the things I didn't buy, no worries though it was all things I couldn't use. At the Salvation Army there was a lovely mid century modern-ish desk or so I thought. Closer inspection showed me that it was a sewing desk complete with a hidden sewing machine. It might have been nice to bring home had I the spare $50 to spend, room for another desk or the ability to sew. 

At Sisters Thrift Store there was a chest dresser in a tobacco color that I thought looked great. Unfortunately the store wanted too much for it. Though it looked brand new, $189 is entirely too much for a thrift store to charge. On the other end however there was a Lane cedar chest for $69. While that is more than I would like to spend it seemed a much more reasonable price. I have course have no room for a cedar chest especially this one, this sucker was a big one, tall and long. I couldn't get a good picture that didn't wash out the rich color, but at least it does show the detailing in the wood.

I am anxiously looking forward to going back to Suffolk, there were a lot of great finds. Too bad I didn't need any furniture, right?

Look What I Bought!: Salvation Army Dresser

It's mine! {cue evil laughter} I managed to get to the Salvation Army on Monday and bought the dresser. Plus I lucked out because they give you 3 days to pick it up. Most thrift stores give no more than 24 hours and that's if they give you any time at all. I'll have Salvation Army in my mind more often in regards to furniture buying now. My mother provided the lift to go get it. A lovely employee helped the Hubs load it, which was another added bonus since I was told that the people who help load leave at 3:30 and we picked it up after 6pm.

When we got home the Hubs discovered that we just bought a piece of Stanley furniture. Yay! for thrifting quality merchandise.

The dresser is now taking up residence in my bedroom and performing double duty as a nightstand. It's too big for a nightstand but until I rearrange that's where it'll live. I do love it though, especially since previously my undergarments were living in a plastic (ugh!). So please excuse all the extra stuff on the top because everything has yet to be situated.

Now if I can just get around to refinishing it......

Shoulda Bought It: Salvation Army Dresser

Why, oh why, did I pass up on this dresser? Oh wait, I know why, because I was being supremely cheap and wanted to wait 2 more days so that I could save an extra 5 dollars. Silly me. Now I have to hope I can make it back to the Salvation Army and that it's still there. While this dresser isn't exactly what I was looking for (hoping for one twice as long) this is still too good of an item to pass up. I know I can find a home for this in my home. It's marked at $50 and was 20% off when I saw it (so $40) but I wanted to wait for it to go down to $35. Yes, I know I'm insanely cheap. If I were willing to wait until April 5th (& were it still there) it would be marked down even further to 50% off.

I checked the piece out and it seems to be all solid wood except for the top which has a veneer. This is okay because I want to sand it down, stain it a darker color and paint the top white (a la John & Sherry over at Young House Love).

So, cross your fingers that it's still there! And that my dad will drive it to my apartment in his SUV.

Buying Thriftly

Just a few thrifting tips that I find useful.

Ask for discounts - I know, you're at a thrift store so prices should be super low, right? Well unfortunately not always. I've gone out plenty of times to find items priced entirely too high (hello, Goodwill and your Target castoffs). I've even found items that are originally from the Dollar Tree priced higher than a dollar. While you won't always get a discount, it never hurts to ask. A few days ago I got 25% off a purse at Salvation Army, all I did was mention to the cashier that I really wanted it but didn't want to pay that much.

Get to know staff - This is really easy to do if you frequent a store. All it requires is a little bit of conversation and general friendliness. My mother is a pro at this. She's even had items held for her because she'd mention that she was looking for something in particular. Knowing the staff also helps play into getting discounts.

Check out the merchandise - I know that this should go without saying but it's really easy to overlook problems with an item during the thrill of the hunt. Thrift store return policies usually are "no returns, no exchanges" so it's best to double check items before you buy them.

Find out about sale days or specials - Lots of stores either have days when items are discounted or have special color tags that are discounted. The Salvation Army around me have 'Customer Appreciation Day' on Wednesdays where all the clothing and linens are half off. The Goodwill has different color priced tags and every week a different color is on sale for half off. It pays off to pay attention.