Thrifting Jackpot!

I hit the thrifting/yard sale Jackpot recently.

Look at these A-M-A-Z-I-N-G treasures that I scored!!!

When I mean A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, I mean like birds chirpping, and Choirs singing, and rays of sunshine shining down on me!!

First, I got this, at the Good old Goodwill...
this is the actual picture from the BALLARD Designs catalog, my photo was too dark, and I couldn't wait to write this post,
Ballard Price $49

I actually got the Fleur-de-lis pattern, but I couldn't pull it up on the website.

photo credit here

My Price from Goodwill $8.00!!!!

My biggest "deal" to date.....remember this post from last week??

I was looking for a chair for E's desk, and I wanted something similiar to this
from Pottery Barn, $199

Photo Pottery Barn

Well..... guess what I stumbled upon at the Goodwill....
 it is dark blue, and in PERFECT condition...

Ask and ye shall receive!!

I picked it up, and turned it over, hoping to see a brand name printed on the wood
...but I found something BETTER..
I found the actual Pottery Barn Price Tag still attached to the bottom of the seat!!

My price..are you ready for this....... 

$8!!!!!

I also purchased this Pennsylvania Dutch  "HEX" sign from GW for $3.00

I love it, it's meaning is:

Double Trinity Tulips


The stylized tulip with its three petals is a dominate feature in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. It is referred to as the Trinity Tulip and it symbolizes the Trinity as well as faith, hope and charity. The heart in this sign (as well as other Pennsylvania German folk art) is not the heart of sentimental "Victorian" valentines. Rather, it is religious in its representation of the heart of God, the source of all love and hope for a future life. The colors in this heart are used to give them additional meaning. Red symbolizes strong emotion and blue is used to indicate strength, especially spiritual strength. The white background symbolizes purity and the solid black circle represents unity in Christ.

The following items were purchased within the last two weeks while I went "yard saleing" with my mom

I just fell in love with this wooden barrel, currently it's sitting next to the Pellet stove,
 and is storing Hot Wheels Race Tracks, I paid $5

And this is another A-M-A-Z-I-N-G find while yard saleing with my mom..

Remember this post, again??

$24 Each

I love old boxes, and really wanted one or two of these old Soda crates

 (above are from Pottery Barn)

I see them in antique stores all of the time, and I know that they are collectable,

I prefer COKE instead of Pepsi, look what I bought!!!

I love them!!

The man pulled one box out of the garage along with the bottles as I was standing in his driveway.

I asked what he wanted for the crate, as I really didn't want the bottles,

 and he said, Oh, I have another one in the garage, how about $2!!

I of course couldn't say YES fast enough!

Then I said , "Well, how much do you want for the one With the bottles?"

He said $3!!!!!

Needless to say, I got both wooden boxes and 6 empty 32 oz bottles for $5!!

The boxes are from 1971 and 1973, the dates are printed on the inside from a bottler in TN!

Some of the bottles are older then others, as some have bar codes printed on them!

I love them all!!

Great DEALS huh???

Litttle Bit of Easter

With all of the rain, and dreary-ness, and cold weather, it hasn't been very Spring like to me.

And, even though I knew which day Easter would fall on, a whole year in advance, (You know it's one of those holidays that changes dates every year), I still procrastinated decorating this year.

Two weeks ago, I found this idea

 on the House of Hepworth's blog and loved the idea.

Then I saw this post at Decor Chick recently,

 that just happened to reference HoH's post.

I knew that I could find the cheese domes at Goodwill, and I already had the prefect candle stick holder...

so I took the plunge!

Here is the Before picture. (Both items were Goodwill treasures, total cost $5)

I spray painted them with VALSPAR paint, and used gorilla glue to attach the wood base to the candlestick.

I love the Aqua blue color right now, so I just knew it had to be the right choice!

Here is the final project, along with my Easter/Spring decor.

Not too bad for putting this together last night?!!

Greenhouse was purchased at Big Lots about 8 years ago for $5. The Glass jars inside are antiques. One is an old ink well for a student desk, one a blue vase,and one is from a pharmacy.

The bunny was a Gabriel Brothers find for $2.99 and the litte green bird was from Michaels for $1.99

E and I made the garland by simply putting plastic eggs on ribbon!

Happy Easter!!

Treasure Hunting

Yay Saturday!! And there were no Birthday parties, holiday celebrations, weddings, sporting events, or appointments. I had absolutely nothing planned for today! Wow! Maybe I should have clean the house...or maybe not!

Sounded like a great day to visit the Goodwill. It's been two weeks since my last visit. and I was Hopeing I didn't miss any treasures!!

My first spotted treasure was this caserole dish with it's lid.

It's not something that I would typically pick up, as I'm not crazy about the off-white color and orange flower combination, but I know that this is called Autumn Leaf. And, I know that the gold that lines the rim of the dish and lid, is real gold. And, I know that it is a highly collectible Antique piece.

I know this because my mother in law spent many many years and many many dollars collecting Autumn leaf.

She would be very proud of my find. (She must have been looking out for me in spirit!)

It is a really great piece, in excellent condition. and, honestly, I think that this was mistakenly put on the regular shelf, as it would have gotton at least $60 in an antique store or if it was inthe auction case.

But, I only paid $6!!

Next, I saw this sewing table. I really liked the lines,and knew that it would/could be a great accent piece, but I didn't buy it, it was marked for $30 and I think that it's too much for Goodwill to charge.

I love globes, and this beauty was sitting on the floor, calling out for me to buy him for $4.50!! It's old, but I don't know how to tell the age of a globe other then by looking to see which countries are missing or called other names.

And, I HAD to buy these kids chairs. They are painted baby blue, but they will be a future project, which will be sanded down and I will custom paint them, and gift them to two very lucky little friends of mine. Not bad for $5 each!

Scott got two vinyl records, for $1 each, and he bought 2 brand new 12 cup muffin

tins for $4 each.

Before we left, I spotted this lamp. (I didn't buy it, but had to take a picture to show my mother) I had this exact lamp in my nursery when I was a baby. The clown should have been holding a bunch of balloons, which were missing but it was identical other then that!! And, it was in great shape.

All in All, it was not a bad day at the Goodwill!!

Weekly Thrift Store Finds- Goodwill

Every week, E and I make a visit to our local thrift store and/or Goodwill.

It typically wouldn't be that much fun for an almost seven year old to visit the same store every single week, especially one that sells "used" stuff, but we have turned our visit into a "Treasure Hunt" adventure.

We have a set plan of attack when we enter the parking lot. (Makes us feel like professionals!)

1) We drive around to the drop off dock, and we donate at least a grocery bag containing "something" that we no longer need, use, have outgrown, don't play with, or has collected more dust that necessary.

2) After parking and grabbing our reuseable bags out of the trunk (since we don't need any plastic bags since the recycling company won't collect them in our weekly pick up anymore), we head into the store.

3) We always look at the Silent Auction items first. There are so many amazing collectables that people donate to the Goodwill. There are things like Coach purses, Longaberger Baskets, Estate jewelry, Art, China, Silver, old Toys, etc.

4) Then we go through the "New Item" section. Many people don't know this but Goodwill purchases items from chain stores that have been marked down on clearance or discontinued and haven't sold. I have seen items from Target, (with the Orange clearance tags still attached), Michael's, Kmart, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

5) We look at Books and Albums, My hubby loves old Vinyl. He likes them to listen to, and actually prefers the sound of a record player to the ipod. (Um ok)

6) My favorite section is next..furniture!! You just never know when that perfect piece is waiting for you!

7) The last area that we  hit is the toy/housewear section. E likes to look in the toy section for Star Wars, Hot Wheels, and trains. And, I like to look in the housewear sections for serving wear (for hosting parties). I look for items like large silver platters and serving trays, candlestick holders, chafing dishes, and every once in a while I actually find home decor items.

Here are a few of our Thrift Store finds from the last couple of weeks.

I'll remember for future post to take before and after pictures of the furniture.


Originaly Hunter green ladder back chair with broken straw seat.

Painted it black, added black and white toile fabric to cover the seat, and added a pillow,

Purchase price $8
Paint and fabric scraps $0
Pillow I already owned $0
Not bad huh?


Southern Living at home Carousel Candlestick holders
I had one of these, and love it. I  bought it from a Southern Living Party years ago, I actually still have the catalog add...look how much I paid for it back then:

I got two of them at Goodwill  for $3each  SCORE!!!





And these two items, which match perfectly in E's bedroom... E found these treasures himself, mixed in with the toy section) These are not toys and were originally sold at both retailers as decor items.

Airplane from Pottery Barn Kids. (We paid $5)

Pick Up Truck (Marshall's price sticker is still on the bottom for $19.99, I paid $6)