December 3rd Trip

I found several goodies at the thrift store tonight. There were quite a few things there that I liked, but I managed to restrain myself on some of the more not 'gotta-have-it' items. We had a 30% off coupon that we used, so the prices posted are after the discount.

My favorite find of the night is this "12 Days of Christmas" ornament set:
(12 days of Christmas - 12 Drummers Drumming, Eleven Pipers Piping, Ten Lords a Leaping, Nine Ladies Dancing, Eight Maids a Milking, Seven Swans a Swimming, Six Geese a Laying, Five Golden Rings, Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree).

It was put out by Costco (Kirkland Signature brand) and the tag on each ornament is just a 'made in China' tag, so they'll have to come off before display. They are good-sized, about 3-5 inches each (the longest ones may be up to 6 inches). It was 6.99.

There was this porcelain hippo salt & pepper shaker set that I could not pass up - who can pass up a pair of precious porcelain hippos in a top hat?!

New, from Target, also M.I.C., someone's unwanted gift - there's a bit of tape and wrapping paper on the back. 1.39.

This awesome Transylvania/Romania/Dracula souvenir:

I plan to unleash some creativity on this, and paint his hair and eyes (because the eyes he comes with are comedically misaligned) and a jewel for his crown. It looks like there was something there, and if not, there should be something there. 69 cents.

I got this awesome handcarved/painted bugs on cactus:

I don't know what the 3 holes are for, perhaps pegs for keys? This goes with the Southwestern/Mexican art that I love and collect. 1.39.

I couldn't say no to this fishy/piggy bank (I apologise I didn't clean it before the photos).

It came from Old Navy, and has "2012" 'branded' on her rear. There were many different styles of these made for Old Navy, so perhaps one day I'll find more of the series? 34 cents.

I picked up a brand new VGA cord that I just realized yesterday I needed (to hook up my computer to the big tv screen) for 4 dollars:

I got these 2 little ones in a bag, I plan to use the nino del atocha for a little diorama. I didn't notice that the crown was damaged on the Statue of Liberty, but I can fix that. 3 inches tall, plastic.

And an 'honorable mention' from the other day, a lovely mirror, hand-hammered metal, made in Egypt:

2.10

November 10th Trip

My finds from this trip :)

2 large abalone shells:

I love these, they're so beautiful.

I found some forgotten Captian Kirk and Spock action figures, and washed them up:

They still had some caked-on dust on their shoes I had to go back and get later.

I found this fun sheep from Pier One:

It's about a foot tall/wide. It has a bit of wear, which is fine with me because I love to paint stuff, and this is perfect for customizing, since it already has been and isn't valuable or rare.

I almost got this desk clock (minus the clock) from Australia, but ultimately turned it down for some reason (I think Other Half urged me to not get it and now I regret having done so):

Adobe Painting

One of the finds from today is a beautiful painting of an adobe wall. Adobe, or mudbrick, has been the favored building material here in the American Southwest for hundreds/thousands of years. This lithograph is on a matting that is 8x10. It came in a frame I didn't like, so that was immediately donated back.

Fairy Door

One of my finds from today is this cute fairy doorway. The 'stained glass' in the doors is not opaque, so if you put a light behind it, it lights up quite nicely. It's about 8 to 10 inches, I estimate.

This photo was taken before I cleaned it - I know I tend to post pictures that are taken before I wash/condition the item - that's because I tend to forget to take an 'after' picture, because once it's clean, it tends to get put away in its new home. When I just get home with it, I have my camera with me and I can just take a snap of it.

Wedgewood

Today my Other Half found 2 small Wedgewood trays to add to the collection. I didn't photograph them after I cleaned them - they came out looking brand new. I'll try to get a picture of them clean at some point.

Birthday!

Today is my birthday, and I like to overdramatize that I'm getting old (at 31, I know I'm not really that old). I came across this cute little fellow and took a picture. "Just like me," I joked, "complete with a coat of dust!"

La Dolce Vita

On this trip, I came across this Dolce & Gabbana clutch for 4 dollars. I try to grab whatever D&G I come across because my first and last initials are DG. I like to take the logo and repurpose it. I am not a fan of them as personalities. The anti-gay family controversy broke out immediately afterward.

Madonna

On this trip, I found this awesome little mannequin wearing one of Madonna's iconic stage costumes. As a fan, I had to have it. Come on, vogue!

Keys

One of the things I collect is keys. All kinds of keys. I began collecting keys as a child, when I inherited a bunch of old keys from my great grandparents. With all the keys lost in this world, they are surprisingly difficult to come across. At the thrift store, I found what added up to be this full keychain. I first came across one of the little license plate tags (I forget what they are called) and then the chain, and then the keys. They had been spread throughout the large shelf that the store puts furniture on, and I hope I found all of them. The chain had broken, so they weren't together anymore. I put them back together and love them. As the little tags all say "Wisconsin", I imagine they came from somebody that moved here from there a few decades ago, as they're all old-style keys.

Godzilla!

On this trip, I found a Godzilla cup holder from 1998. It was released at Taco Bell when the 1998 edition of Godzilla was released. I had this cup holder as a child, but it was lost somewhere along the way. When I came across it, I had to take it home. Funny enough, I still haven't seen this movie, but I have recently began to watch all of the Godzilla movies, in chronological order, so it's in my "to do" tray :)

I found this idea online and am going to put it to use, as my cupholder would be far more helpful as a pen cup.

Titanic Jewelry Box

I found this small porcelain jewelry box. It is a reproduction of one from the Titanic, second class. Super cool! Perhaps when I end up with a "Heart of the Ocean" necklace, I'll store it in this box :)

Just Some Fun

Only one thing in this post came home with me, and that is the tiara/headband. It came in a bag of headbands and other hair things for 4 dollars, and I love it. The clown 'thing' is a regret of mine, I regret that I didn't buy it. I went back to get it, and somebody had already taken it. It is handmade and I originally thought it was an interpretation of Sid Haig's character "Captain Spaulding", featured in the films "House of 1000 Corpses" and "The Devil's Rejects". The two pink chairs are just something I found interesting; one thrift store we went to had one, and the next thrift store we went to after that had another. I happen to have a photo of the first one because I was going to comment on how run down it was but still out for sale.

First Entry!

I decided today to start this blog about the awesome things I find at the thrift stores I go to. Shopping at thrift stores is one of my favorite things to do. You never know what you're going to find! I've been thrifting with my best friend since 2006. I initially never went to thrift stores because I had one of the common misconceptions about the people that go to thrift stores: that only impoverished, desperate people go there. (Not that I'm financially rich by any means!) My best friend also was under that impression. Luckily, we discovered that that was entirely not accurate, and just one more 'media lie'. I have certain areas of interest that I tend to center on. I am a total deco-freak! If it's pretty, and I really like it, I will probably buy it. I love ocean-centered things - seashells, nautical themed things, artwork, etc. I live in the American Southwest, in the desert, and I don't get to travel to the beach. I would one day like to live there, right on the shore, but my best friend can't move yet, and we do everything together, so here I must stay, for now. I am a Barbie/fashion doll collector, but I won't post all my thrift store dolls here unless they're of particular interest/significance, because there are just so many that it would quickly become a thrift store doll-centric blog, and that's not what I want for this blog. I collect religious art from all different religions. I myself am not particularly religious, but I suppose you could say I am a fan of religion. I particularly like Hindu art, but have artwork from all over the globe. I also love 'ethnic art' from all around the world, I don't just limit myself to religious art. I love 'junk' jewelry, a.k.a. costume jewelry. I love all things sparkly and glittery. That said, here are a few things I've found :) This week, I found this awesome seashell that has both shells. It is attached somehow at the natural hinge, though it does not open and close. As I said, I love seashells, and this one is especially awesome because it has all these extra growths on it. I think that's the most interesting thing of all. I took the photos just after I washed it (I scrub everything that find that isn't new in the box). (Incidentally, the 'background' is a grass hand fan I also found at the thrift store.)