Thrifting Thursday

Well somehow Thursday has snuck up on me and it's time to share my thrifting finds for the week.  I already showed you the absolute best find ever but here are some other little things I picked up.

I found three throw pillows at Goodwill for less than $2 each!  I was initially drawn to them because of the fabulous burlap covers.  Even if the burlap doesn't work, for that price I can definitely splurge on recovering them.

Yes, I know there are only two pillows in this picture.  The third one is the size of the one on the right.

I've also been on the lookout for cute and handy things to put in my sewing closet.  That project is still in progress but check out the bulletin board I got for hanging patterns or inspiration pics:

Remember my cloche conundrum?  I found a plate that probably went with a cloche of the same size.  It fits perfectly, although I'm not crazy about the way it looks.  But if there's one thing I've learned from other bloggers, it's that anything can be improved with a bit of paint.

Have you found anything exciting this week?

The Big Reveal

I feel like I've been taunting you (oh yes, the huge numbers of you who read my blog, haha) with tantalizing little snippets about this fabulous thrift store dresser.  This has been a long process so I've spent a lot of time in anticipation as well.

Thursday-
I went to my local Salvation Army Thrift Store late in the afternoon.  They keep some furniture on the "porch" along the front side of the building.  When I saw something gorgeous just around the corner, of course I had to check it out.  There she stood, a beautiful yellow dresser.  No price tag, kind of looking like she just came off the truck.  Inside, I asked if the dresser was priced yet.  It wasn't and wouldn't be until the next day.

I spent all evening agonizing about the dresser.  I waffled back and forth about how much I was willing to spend, trying to convince myself that I had to have a budget of some sort.  I knew in my heart that I would probably jump at any price, even if I couldn't really afford it.  Still, I tried to condition myself for disappointment or walking away from this beauty.

Friday-
I got up painfully early.  Remember how I said I'm still kind of on college time?  Well apparently one way to help break that habit would be to have dresser incentive every morning.  I was terrified someone else would swoop in and buy "my" dresser.  I was actually waiting at the door when Salvation Army opened at 8 am.  Yup, I was that person.

It turned out I needn't have worried so much.  The dresser wasn't out yet and I had to wait for the manager to arrive for it to be priced.  That only took, oh, an hour.  The store wasn't that big so by that point I had looked at practically every single thing there.  The manager explained to me that the dresser had come from a house that had "bugs."  The pick-up team hadn't know what kind- termites, bed bugs, wood beetles, fleas, whatever.  At this point, I was recoiling and already itching.  But I could see that wonderful dresser just waiting for me.  Did I really thinks she could be infested with bugs?  The manager said he wasn't planning to sell the dresser but that he could do a low price as long as I understood the risk.  So I took her apart, painstakingly.  I pulled out each drawer and beat it a bit so see if anything crawled out.  I looked in every crevice for signs of creepy-crawlies.  I lay on the ground so I could see the underside.  No little streams or upward trails from termites.  No odd air bubbles from beetles.  Nothing suspicious at all, in fact.  So yes, I was still a bit wary but mostly I really wanted that dresser!  The manager named a price and I probably should have countered but I had already expressed way too much interest to pretend to waffle and his price was a quarter of what I had expected before knowing about the bug situation.  Insanely low for such a fabulous piece of furniture, in fact.  So yes, I jumped on it.

I pulled my car around and the manager insisted the dresser absolutely would not fit.  People tend to underestimate my Prius so I told him that she's bigger than she looks.  I mentioned that I just moved to town and didn't know anybody with a truck.  So it was the Prius or nothing.  He was unmoved and wouldn't even try to see if it would fit.  I wasn't as assertive as I should have been and went home in despair.  Sure, he said he would put a sold sticker on it and give me through Saturday to pay for it and haul it away, but I was completely serious when I said that there was no way I could get a truck.

I spent another evening agonizing.  I wondered if it was just dresser infatuation, not love.  I realized she probably wouldn't fit in my living room, where I had originally planned to put her, and tried to decide if I was ready to get rid of the dresser in my bedroom.  I wondered how I would find a truck, knowing only a grand total of about four people in town.

Saturday-
I was determined to make this work.  It was love, not infatuation. I would bring home my beauty and sell my other dresser.  And I would fit her in my Prius, by golly!  I put on my assertive, grown-up face and marched over to the store.  Turns out, I didn't even have to worry about the pessimistic manager.  The loading guys didn't so much as bat an eye when I said which dresser was mine and pulled my car around.  The hatch didn't close but the dresser did fit, with room to spare.  I was terrified the entire drive home but it was only a few miles and we made it intact.  My bestie helped me haul the beauty up the stairs and I was blissfully happy.

Now that you've read my harrowing tale, here she is in the middle of my living room.  I cleaned her up but haven't had a chance to move her into the bedroom yet.

Welcome to Thrifting Thursdays

I didn't really get serious about thrifting until recently, probably around the same time that I started reading so many fabulous home decor blogs.  Now I'm hooked on the idea of finding a treasure, whether it be in mint condition at a perfect price or a bit too loved and in need of a major makeover.  I guess it's the thrill of the hunt for me.  I love finding stuff but I'm happy just to look around too.

My apartment is furnished almost entirely by hand-me-downs and thrift-store finds.  I had my furniture and a dinner table that I had asked my parents to keep around for me.  That didn't leave a whole lot of furniture gaps, but I've managed to squeeze in a super-comfy arm chair, a simple wooden chair (mostly for holding stuff), and a rolly chair for my sewing table.

For kitchen stuff, we went thrifting like crazy.  I had nothing, absolutely nothing.  So for a while, my mom and I were hitting up Goodwill, the Habitat ReStore, the Salvation Army Store, and an entire rotation of other thrift stores, practically every other day.  It worked though.  I have plates, cups, pots and pans.  I have a toaster oven, a coffee pot, baking sheets and muffin tins.  I even have a mixer!  That is probably the find that I am most proud of.  It's so decadent but inexpensive!  I found a beautiful Sunbeam mixer that looked like it had never been used, complete with two sets of beaters for... six dollars!  The fact that it didn't have bowls was a bit problematic but I was prepared to wait for the right ones to show up.  Within a couple weeks, we found a matched set of glass bowls at Goodwill.  They did cost as much as the mixer itself but still: the whole shebang for only twelve bucks?  That's beyond fabulous.

I've done a bit of thrifting since the move, mostly just to get little household stuff.  I'd like to decorate a bit more, but I've made a promise to myself that I won't spend much trying to make it perfect.  What is perfect anyway?  Besides, if I'm patient, I can find great stuff for cheap and then be able to splurge on something amazing.

So here are my finds for the week:

My spice rack spins, has little labeled glass jars, and seems to have hardly been used.  There are only two vials missing and I can totally deal with that.  It was half-off an already-great thrift-store price so I just couldn't pass it up.

I've really been struggling with what to do with my bedroom.  I have some art that I like and had planned to use in there.  The style of this apartment and my new duvet cover just don't mesh with it.  I wanted something rustic or country chic.  I finally decided that a window would be gorgeous, at the right price, of course.  Luckily, the Habitat ReStore was practically overflowing with windows.  I had my choice of all shapes, sizes, and conditions.  I love this one and I think I might give it a little extra pizazz in the next couple of weeks.

Lastly, I stumbled across this little puppy.  I have thing for turquoise and I just could not walk by this vase.  It had some not-so-fabulous fake red flowers in it so I convinced them to sell me just the vase.  Yes, it has chips on the lip, but it might get repainted somewhere along the way.  For now, I'm just telling myself that gives it rustic charm.

Cross your fingers for me because, while I was out today, I might also have discovered the best thrifting treasure yet.  I have to go back tomorrow and see if the store has priced it yet.  Here's hoping it's still there and that I can afford it!