thrift haul Archives - Black Cat Lies

ASOS, designer bag, fiestaware, haul, michael kors, mid century modern lamp. teak, picture frame, pyrex, red wing, Red Wing Pottery, shoes, sole society, stuart weitzmen, thrift haul, vintage, vintage coat

Collective Thrift Haul 2015 to … now

2016-05-19 No Comments

I haven’t done a thrift haul in a year! Sorry guys I’ve fallen off my blogging game, but I’m coming back I promise! I’m aiming for twice a week. Anyway I have found some awesome stuff in the past year so I figured I’d get my butt in gear and show you what I’ve found!

1. Vintage Green Coat with fur collar

One thing I’ve been searching the thrift stores for since forever is a nice vintage coat that fits me well. I’ve found a good number of coats that meet this description but all of them have been way too long. I’m a hearty 5’1 so many of the coats are made for taller people and leave me looking like I’m playing dress up. So I was shocked when I tried this bad boy on and it not only fit but it wasn’t too long! It was originally $24.00 but I got it on sale for $12, score!

2. Mid Century Modern Blue lamp

I found this guy at the salvation army during the MLK day sales. I wasn’t sure if they were having a sale or not but it was near another thrift store and I figured I’d check and see what they had. Fortunately they were having a sale and I spotted this lamp. I immediately went into a mini frenzy and wasn’t sure if I should get it. There were two lamps and they were marked 39.99 a piece. WTF salvation army? but the sale made them around 20. I decided to compromise and only get one since I had already spent way too much money. But yeah in hindsight I should have gotten the second one, since it would have been better to have a pair. But you live, you learn right?

3. Mid Century Teak Lamp

I found this guy at Savers for like $7.00 a little before Christmas. I’m always looking for these teak lamps since I don’t see them much at thrift stores. It has a broken end but for 7 bucks I was willing to overlook that. I really like it and it’s almost identical to one I saw at the Junk Bonanza for way more. Now I just need to find a cool lampshade.

4. Red Wing Pottery Capistrano

I found this at the Salvation army in early November. There are a bunch more pieces than those shown but I didn’t feel like digging them all out for the picture. It was in one of those baskets they make up for matching dishes and was pretty expensive, like a $120.00. I think it’s probably the most expensive things I’ve ever bought at a thrift store. But, my mom collects this pattern and It’s Red Wing pottery so it’s very collectible. My mom went to an estate sale once that was selling this pattern and they were selling each piece individually so I figured even if it was expensive It was still a pretty good deal based solely on the sheer number of things in the basket and it would make a good Christmas gift for my mom.

5. Fiestaware creamer

This is another Christmas gift for my mom, she also collects/ uses Fiestaware dishes. I saw this little creamer and knew it was an item she didn’t have. Usually if I see Fiestaware at a thrift store I pick it up for her.

6. Michael Kors Bag

I found this guy for $19.00 and from what I’ve read on the internet it’s a legit Michael Kors bag. It wasn’t in the glass case where you usually see suspected designer purses it was in the small home decor section next to candles and stuff. But I really like the bag and I’ve been using it pretty heavily since. I found it just in time too since my old purse was seconds away from breaking.

7. Stuart Weitzmen studded loafers

I found these the same day at the Michael Kors bag, sometimes you just have those days when you’re on a roll. I haven’t completely broke them in but I like em’ a lot and they were around $14.00.

8. Christmas Pyrex

I found this awhile ago at a Goodwill but never shared it on the blog. It’s one of the odd Pyrex pieces I’ve picked up in the last few years. I’ve mentioned before I’ve pretty much limited myself to only picking up pyrex with patterns I like on them so it weeds out a lot of Pyrex. This one has a very cute and festive design though so I went ahead and picked it up.

9. ASOS loafers

I got these at Savers last year sometime in like new condition and they’ve been in heavy rotation ever since. They’re pretty comfy and I think they look pretty cool.

10. Sole Society Pumps

I’ve been looking for a good solid pair of pumps for more business-y situations and I think these fit the bill. I like that they have a smaller heel, I’m not real confident in heels just yet so they’re kinda the perfect height. They give some height but aren’t so tall I feel wobbly in them. They’re around $69.95 dollars retail but I got them for $9.

11. I heart __ picture frame

This picture frame has been in my ModCloth “loves” list forever so when I saw it at Savers I had to pick it up. I’m either gonna give it to my bf for a present at some point or keep it, we’ll see. If you like it you can get it online here.

Aries, ashtray, brooch, bust, chair, chalkware, geode, haul, jewelry, lane, mug, nefertiti, skull, thrift, thrift haul, vintage

Vintage Christmas Gifts / Thrift Haul

2015-01-27 2 Comments

I haven’t really been thrifting much lately. Christmas always burns me out a little and thrifting (and shopping in general) tend to fall to the wayside as a result. But I did find some cool vintage items before Christmas, received some as Christmas gifts, and found a bunch of cool stuff at the MLK thrift sales. After the MLK sales I figured I finally had enough to do a little thrift haul. So here are my little haul of thrift finds and vintage gifts from the last few months.

1. Vintage chalkware figures

My mom gave these to me for Christmas. I have a similar pair that are “bookends” but one was

decapitated while hanging out on a shelf, so It was nice to get a new and very cool pair. I’m especially in love the detail on the sleeves of these guys, so pretty.

2. Italian made Vintage ashtray

No I’m not a smoker, I’m actually asthmatic so I can’t even really have people smoke around me, but I do like a cool vintage ashtray for decorative purposes. This one I again got for Christmas from my momma and it’s pretty cool, I love the gold marble-ish pattern.

3. Lane Dining Room chair

I randomly came upon this at the thrift store one Sunday and it was $3.00 so I kind of had to get it. My cat Tang is very fond of it and it’s got great lines so I think it’s a win. I eventually want to change the seat upholstery but I gotta find some nice fabric first.

4. Vintage Brooches

a. Vintage Flapper Brooch

b. Floral Brooch

These are more Christmas presents from my mom. I’ve always admired brooches and thought I should buy some, but they’re one of those things I can easily talk myself out of and thus never buy. So I was excited to get some from my mom. I really love the 1920’s/30’s flapper one, isn’t it cool? The flower one is pretty as well and kind of reminds me of munchkin land from the Wizard of Oz.

5. Nefertiti Bust

This is another Christmas present. I love this bust but it’s had a hard life. When you see it up close you notice that poor Nefertiti’s head was definitely glued back on after what I can imagine was a terrible tumble. I was thinking of maybe spray painting it to hide the “work” it’s had done but I really like the green color so I’m still on the fence.

6. Jewelry

A. Small faux diamond earrings

B. Gold Hoops

C. metallic block necklace

D. Skull Bracelet

E. Metallic stud earrings

F. Geode necklace

I got these all on MLK sale day at some of the thrifts. I sort of stumbled into the jewelry section at one of the thrift stores I visited and found a ton of great stuff. My favorite piece is the skull bracelet, but the geode necklace was also another great find. I’ve been lusting after similar pieces on sites like Shop dixi for awhile now but never got around to ordering one. So I was super happy to find this one, even though I may still buy some stuff from the site. I’ve been needing to accessorize more and now I’ve got some great motivation to get accessorizing!

7. Vintage Aries Mug

I’m not an Aries but this mug was too cute to pass up. I figure I can start looking for the others in the thrifts and eventually get to my sign as well as the other signs of the zodiac. As you can see it’s a bit cracked but I got it for .40 so I couldn’t really complain.

** As always I linked up with Thriftasauraus over on Sir Thrift-a-lot’s blog. Go check out his and other bloggers cool thrift finds.

Arc's value village, art, blendo glassware, coffee pot, georges briard, goodwill, haul, lampshade, letters, mid century modern, poster, salvation army, savers, shadow box, thrift haul

I bought a Vowl! (Thrift Haul)

2014-09-09 12 Comments

1. Georges Briard coffee pot

I spotted this coffee pot at Arc’s Value village and immediately picked it up. It’s in the Ambrosia pattern which isn’t the most sought after of Georges Briard’s work but is still really cool. And the fact that it’s not super expensive on the ebays means it’s ripe for the picking. I’ve liked the kitschy pattern for awhile so I pretty much snatched it off the shelf when I saw it. Plus it looks good in my nice little collection of retro kitchenware.

2. Framed Poster

I found this print at a thrift store in northern Minnesota. It was actually a pretty decent thirft store but the prices were a wee bit high. I liked this enough to get it though.

3. Mid Century Modern Shadowbox

it’s hard to take pictures of these things when you haven’t hung them up yet.

After forcing my boyfriend to get up at 7 on Saturday to go to the flea market I then talked my mom into going too. I figured she’d be in into it a little more than my boyfriend. Anyway we got there at about 11 which was two hours later than the first time I went and though there were venders, there weren’t nearly as many. We walked around a bit but nothing was killing us and none of the prices were great so we left. But, we did end up going to one of the antique stores on the hour long journey back home. One such establishment was an old antique store that now is mostly cast offs from remodeled homes, but had some cool old stuff too. Among a bunch of random stuff I found this cool shadow box. I’ve been looking for a nice shadowbox for awhile so when I saw this one I knew I had to get it.

4. Blendo Glassware Pink Cups

some blendo bowls (?) my mom thrifted a few years ago

These blendo cups were again found at Arc’s value village. My mom has an orange bowl and four small bowls in this same style (second picture) and I love the kitschy pattern so I had to get them.

5.The Letter “O”

I see letters at the thrift store a lot but they’re mostly craft store ones for kids rooms, not really the kind of letters I’m looking for. So when I randomly saw this letter “O” at the thrift store for 4 bucks I kind of had to get it. I have a “Z” (although not a real cool one, it’s hard to find “Z”‘s ) so I figured I could add to my “Z” and have the first two letters of my name. I have a feeling the letter trend is kind of on it’s way out, but I still like it so whatever.

6. Mid Century Lamp Shade

I got this lampshade at the Salvation Army on labor day, it was like 2 bucks and I thought it would look good with the green lamp that I thrifted a few months ago. Of course now I need to buy a lamp kit and figure that whole thing out because the lamp base as is doesn’t have the hardware to hold up a lampshade. Anyway I like the look of the lampshade it has kind of a ratan-ish outer shade and a smaller fiberglass inside shade. I can’t yet tell if it’s a perfect match for my green lamp but when I held it up to the lamp it looked good.

**As always linking up with Sir Thrifts-a-lot’s Thriftasaurus, be sure to check out all the cool stuff other bloggers have found there.

chalkware, dansk, green, haul, head vase, lamp, thermoserve, thrift, thrift haul, vintage

Thrift Hurl

2014-06-16 12 Comments

I’m back with another thrift haul! This one is significantly smaller as it’s a roundup of the goodies I’ve found in just the last few weeks, but it’s quality not quantity. And away we go!

1. Vintage Thermo Serve Set

I saw this set at the Salvation army and thought it was too cool to leave behind. I love the caddy it comes in and for 7 bucks I couldn’t say no.

2. Vintage Chalkware lamp

I didn’t actually find this piece, a close friend of my mom’s gave it to me. She rents out a space at a local occasional sale and this piece didn’t sell at the last sale, so she gave it to me! How nice is that?!?! I’m obsessed with Reglor lamps and though I’m pretty sure this is not a real reglor it’s in the same style and I’m obsessed with it. I definitely would have paid retail for it so it was amazing to get it for free. If you’re ever in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area you should check out Flamingos, it’s an occasional sale full of affordable vintage finds and just happens to be where my mom’s friend sells her wares. Her spot is in the stairway to the basement, so make sure to check there if you ever happen to go on a sale day.

3. Dansk

After years of looking I found not one but TWO Dansk pieces, in the same day! I found the pitcher first at my local goodwill. It has some nicks and the braiding on the handle is coming undone but other than that it’s pretty nice. I thought the braiding on the handle might have been a camp crafter gone rogue, but after googling a bit I found a lot of other pitchers have the same thing. Kind of a weird touch but cool. The little sauce pan I found that same day at another thrift store. Two dansk pieces, of the same color, at two different thrift stores? It must have been my lucky Dansk day. Unfortunately it didn’t come with the lid, but beggars can’t be choosers. Both these items came out to about $14.00 which is a pretty good price.

4. Vintage Green lamp.

I found this lamp at the Goodwill and pretty much had to have it. I like the style and the cool glaze. I didn’t come with a lampshade so now I have to find a good shade for it. I’ve seen similar style lamps with drum like shades before so I might go with something like that. Or maybe a cool fiberglass shade. I’m not sure so if you have any ideas please share!

5. Lady Head Vases (I don’t know what these are called)

My mom’s friend also gifted us these vases from her booth. Some of them have a few chips but they’re still really cool.

* As always I’m linking up with Sir Thirft-a-lot’s Thriftasaurus link up.

50's, cathrineholm, chalk ware, dishes, friendship pyrex, haul, jadeite, mid century modern, pyrex, target, taylorstone cathay, thrift, thrift haul, vintage

Thrift Haul!

2014-03-10 11 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a thrift haul partly because I’ve cut down on my thrifting and partly because I haven’t found a lot of amazing things lately. I’ve been thinking more practically and that I need to clean, organize, and donate the stuff I already have before acquiring anything new. So I wasn’t really doing any heavy thrifting for a couple months. Of course during those months I didn’t actually make any cleaning and organizing progress so… that’s still a work in progress. But, some spring cleaning is definitely in order (only a few more weeks till spring y’all, hopefully). Anyway I’ve made my way back to the thrift stores in recent weeks so I figured I’d share some of the things I’ve found recently and that I found a while ago but have yet to share.

1. Cathrineholm bowls.

I got both of these bowls at a vintage store near Milwaukee last fall. I went on a mini road trip there to visit the SC Johnson HQ where they have some Frank Lloyd Wright buildings (more on that in a future post). Anyway we went to a flea market near Milwaukee and though it was a cool market there were hardly any of the vintage goods we were looking for. But, we had noticed a sign for an antique store nearby so we went and I found these bowls for $15 buck (total). The lady that ran the store wasn’t really into mid century stuff so she had great reasonable prices. The bowls aren’t in the best condition but for $15 bucks I couldn’t say no.

2. Chalk Figure Wall Art

I don’t exactly know what these are called but I stumbled upon them a couple months ago at Value Village and had to have them. It’s not often I find such cool kitschy stuff at the thrift store so when I see something I like I pounce. These are also in rough condition but I actually don’t mind that. They’re totally cool and were pretty cheap so I’m totally OK with the cracks and nicks.

3. Embroidered Wall Art

I fell in love with this embroidered wall art when I first saw it on Smile and Wave (here and here) . So when I saw it at Savers a few days ago I knew I had to get it. It’s huge but I really like it, just have to find a place for it.

4. Kitchen Wall Art

I saw this while browsing a new Goodwill in my neighborhood. I really like the graphics, colors, and look of it.

5. & 6. Friendship and Jadeite

I pretty much only pick up Pyrex if it’s in a pattern I like/love. I see a good amount of it but I just don’t think it’s worth it if I’m not into the pattern. I do however love the friendship pattern so when I saw this bowl I immediately grabbed it and true to it’s name it came with a couple of friends. Tucked inside the larger friendship bowl was the smaller friendship bowl and a slightly larger Jadeite bowl!!! I’ve been looking for Jadeite in thrift stores ever since I saw Martha Stewart’s envious collection in a magazine and wanted to start collecting it. Though I’ve seen it a lot at Antique/Vintage stores I’ve never popped on them. So I was very excited to find this one hiding amongst the pyrex.

7. Target Frame

I bought two prints from my best friend earlier this year and have been searching for frames for them ever since. If you’re into the art you can buy some of her prints here on her Etsy page (NSFW). I found this one and originally had it in mind for another print but this one ended up working in the frame better. It’s a simple frame from target that I got at the salvation army, the salvation army and goodwill are good places to get cheap Target frames (at least in my neck of the woods). I may find a better frame for it in the future but for now I like it and the search for a frame for the second print continues.

8. Taylorstone “Cathay” Dishes

I’ve found a couple other dishes in this pattern before, so when I saw a good amount of it at a local thrift store I knew I had to get at least a couple of the dishes. Of course I ended up getting the whole set. Unlike Savers and the Salvation Army this thrift store doesn’t bundle like dishes so I was afraid it’d be more money than I wanted to spend. But after adding up all the prices It ended up being fairly reasonable. I don’t have a complete set but I’m definitely on my way!

As always I’m linking up with A Living Space, Sir Thrift-A-Lot, and Remnant. Be sure to check out all their cool finds too!

buffet, ceramic french bulldog, fiestaware, gondola, haeger, haul, head vase, lotus bowl, made in japan, metal crate, mid century modern, pitcher, planter, thrift, thrift haul, thrift store, tiki, vintage

Thrift Haul’n

2013-07-29 18 Comments

1. Ceramic French Bulldog.

I mean isn’t he cute?

2. 50’s Lady head vase.

I saw this amazing episode of the Antonio Treatment on HGTV a million years ago (or at least before it was cancelled, was it cancelled?). Anyway it was this cool family that lived in a 50’s house and the wife was obsessed with all things 50’s. She had some of the coolest collections ever, one of which was of head vases and they were soo cool. Video for proof:

I knew after the episode that I wanted to collect them, but haven’t really pulled the trigger on any until now. This one was $30, which isn’t too bad, so I figured i’d get it. I found it at the cottage house, a local vintage occasional sale place. I like the cottage house but a lot of the people that sell there tend to like the shabby chic look. So i’ll find a piece of furniture I like but it’ll be shittly painted green and distressed, which really isn’t my style. I like wood, I wish people would just leave wood alone.

3. Made in Japan red lotus dish

I first saw these bowls on A living space and thought they looked really cool. I’ve found a lot of remakes of them that are a lot bigger and generally white or black, which are cool but not the vintage ones I was looking for. Then I found a mint one at Value Village and recently this red. I just think they’re cute.

4. Mid century buffet/credenza

After helping my friend run some errands and visiting one Savers with her I decided after dropping her off to go to Bloomington and check out that savers as they were having their pre-fourth of July sale for Savers club card members. I figured if I went Sunday I could focus on going to other Savers I don’t frequent as often on Monday when it was 50% off for everyone. So while browsing the furniture, I have a set route I take at thrift stores that some day I’ll write about, I came across this cool mid-century buffet. A lady was looking at it when I first spotted it and I immediately hoped she was just checking it out. Thankfully she was. I looked at it, took a picture of it, then went and looked at dresses and shoes to mull it over. Soon I came back and one of the employees came up and started talking to me. After a little bit I thought it was worth the $25.00 price tag and I’d probably regret it if I didn’t get it. I mean look at those sexy legs! I think the guy kinda liked me because he gave me half off the thing even though I’m pretty sure furniture was excluded from the sale, but I’m not one to fuck up a discount. I was worried it wouldn’t fit in my tiny little car but luckily it kinda sorta did. I did though have to drive home with my back door ajar and tied to my car with an Ethernet cord, kinda sketch but it worked out. I’ve been looking for a similar mid-century piece to use as storage for awhile so it was one of those come to Jesus moments when you find something you’ve been wanting for a long time. I have these two plastic organizers full of papers in my room that I’ve been dying to get rid of, so I plan to purge some of the paper and put the rest in the new buffet. The buffet isn’t in mint condition, it has a chip on one of the sliding doors and one of it’s corners but for $16.00 bucks you really can’t complain too much.

5. Metal Crate

I’ve always liked the look of milk crates, maybe it’s my love of dairy or maybe just that cool industrial look. When I saw this one at the thrift store it I knew I had to get it. It reminded me of a similar one I pinned ever so long ago from Urban Outfitters (for 40 bucks). Luckily this one is a real milk crate and was a cool 2 dollars. I’d call that a bargain. I’m gonna use it for cool industrial looking storage, maybe for books maybe not, we’ll see.

6. Tiki Mugs GALORE!

I picked up all of these at a local Savers on their 4th of July Sale day. Since I already went to my usual Savers for the Savers club pre-sale the day before I was free to go to two of my favorite thrifts that I don’t visit as often because they’re not as convenient. Anyway I always search the housewares section during sale days, especially at Savers stores since their discount generally only applies to clothes, shoes, and accessories. So while everyone is looking through the stuff that’s on sale you can scoop up some really cool things, that are still pretty cheap, in the section that isn’t on sale. I found these beauts while checking the section for a second time. I think only one of the cups is actually vintage but I love a tiki mug and don’t really care if it’s vintage or not. One is actually from a local tiki restaurant, Psycho Suzi’s that makes you put down a deposit if you order a drink with a fancy mug and if you decided to keep it $5 is added to your bill, if not they don’t charge you. I guess people were walking away with the mugs, but can you blame them? Anyway I was glad I got to grow my tiki collection, it’s really shaping up nicely.

7. Fiestaware Yellow Pitcher

This is really for my mom. I love fiestaware but she’s invested in a whole dinner set of fiesta and is always on the lookout for more. So whenever I see fiestaware on a thrift excursion I usually pick it up for her. We already have a similar pitcher in red but I love the pitchers and I think the fun of Fiestaware is the ability to mix and match, so the more options, the more colors the better. The pitcher was a little pricey for a thrift store at $25.00 but It’s fiestaware and pretty much everyone knows it’s collectable so they price it accordingly. Plus I looked online and it was still cheaper than the similar pitchers I found (even the ones on sale), plus it’s for my mom.

8. Green Haeger Gondola Planter

I try not to buy a ton of planters, unless they’re really cool, as I don’t have much of a green thumb and nothing really ever gets planted in them. But this little gondola guy was just too cool to pass up.

As always I’m linking up with A Living Space, Apron Thrift Girl, Remnant and Sir Thrift-A-Lot so go check out everyone’s cool thrift finds!

70's, art deco, cats, coat, dogs, donut mug, dresses, H&M, haul, old navy, owl, poodle, salt and pepper shakers, sequin, side table, table, tea set, thirft, thrift haul, tops, vase

Thirft Haul

2013-03-12 6 Comments

I haven’t done a thrift haul it what seems like forever. But, I’m trying to get back into the blogging regularly pattern and I have a bunch of thrift finds from the last couple months that have been patiently waiting for me to blog them, so here goes nothin’. I’m also linking up with Apron Thrift Girl, Sir Thrift-a-Lot, Remnant and A Living Space. Be sure to check out all of their thrift finds as well.

1. Decorative Owl Side Table.

I was never really that into the whole owl craze, but when I saw this table at Goodwill I had to have it. You just don’t see stuff like this everyday at the thrifts so when you do you pounce, and I did. The table was a little pricier then I would really have liked to spend, but I didn’t want to chance loosing it and it was so unique I figured I could deal with the price ($50.00). Plus I got paid the next day. I’ve never really had a great score at this Goodwill so this was a first, a very welcome first.

2. “Made in Italy” vase and Art Deco Salt and Pepper shakers.

This vase was another find at Goodwill. It’s simple, cute, and was only 3 bucks so I had to get it. The Salt and Pepper shakers were found at Value Village. I’ve seen some of these in antique stores and thought they were cool but generally antique stores just make me hope i’ll one day find that item in a thrift store. So when I found these for 4 bucks I had to get them.

3. Ceramic cat set.

I got these at the Salvation army for around 4 or 5 bucks (for all of them). They’re kinda creepy and kind of cool, my favorite combination, so I got them.

4. Patterned Shift Dress.

I’m never sure if you guys want to see my thrifted clothes just on the hanger like this but I figured i’d give it a shot. I got this dress at Salvation Army, It’s originally from Old Navy and I though it was pretty cute.

5. Striped H&M Shift Dress.

I got this at Value Village. Value Village tends to be hit or miss, like most thrift stores, but when you hit at Value Village you really hit. I’m kind of obsessed with this dress, it’s a touch shorter than I’d like but it’s so cute I had to get it. Plus it’s not that short.

6. Sequin T-shirt.

I found this shirt at Value Village too. It is also kind of short but I really like it so I’m determined to make it work, we’ll see how that goes.

7. Poodle on Wood.

I found this at Savers and it was just “so bad it’s good” that I couldn’t help but get it, and it was only 3 bucks. Interestingly enough it was apparently given to someone as a birthday gift last year, or so says the inscription on the back, guess they weren’t into it but one man’s trash is another man’s come up, right?

8. 70’s Orange Coat.

I found this at Savers a few weeks back. I’m kind of obsessed with it and now that it’s getting slightly warmer I’m totally gonna wear it. This will definitely go into my Fall/Spring coat rotation. Also every time I see it I think of the thrift shop song, because you know “I’m in this big ass coat, I look incredible.”

9. Donut Mug.

I found this mug at Value Village at their Martin Luther King Jr. holiday sale. By the time I got the store it had been pretty cleaned out but I saw a sort of funky looking box in the housewares aisle and inside was this guy. I thought it was a pretty cool mug and who doesn’t like donuts? especially ones with SPRINKLES, which were totally my favorite as a kid. Obviously it was destiny for the donut mug and I to meet. Also it makes me think of Homer Simpson every time I drink out of it, unexpected bonus? yups.

Anyway those are my recent thrift finds. I’ll try to bring you guys an outfit post later this week. I haven’t been wearing anything super interesting lately, thus the lack of posts, but with warm weather around the corner (hopefully) I’m starting to get my fashion mojo back. I’ll also try to get more of the Florida pictures up in a post. I don’t want to drown you with photos but editing them down has been taking awhile.

Also though I still don’t have a smart phone (yet?), I do have an iPod touch and that means I also have instagram. So if you’d like to see LOTS of pictures of my cats as well as thrift finds and other random stuff you can follow me @blackcatlies, or click here, or click on the instagram button on the bottom of the “Follow me” window to your right.

campaign, chairs, cookie jar, dresser, drexel, faragamo, mid century, pottery, red wing, shoes, thrift, thrift haul, vintage, what i didn't buy at the thrift store, what i left behind

What I didn’t buy at the thrift store

2013-02-05 No Comments

Hey everybody and welcome to another addition of Things I didn’t buy at the thrift store. I have actually been buying some stuff at the thrifts but most of it has been clothes and I’m not sure if you guys want to see that or if I should just wait and post them in outfit posts, I’m leaning towards the latter. Anyway here are some things I’ve passed up on my recent thrifting trips

1. Groovy cookie jar. This cookie jar is so ugly it’s kinda cute, but it wasn’t ugly/cute enough for me to put it in my cart.

2. Red Wing Pot. I liked this pot but I don’t really need another pot so I passed it up.

3. Campaign style dresser. I’ve been wanting a campaign style dresser like this for awhile, ever since I saw this picture on pinterest. This dresser would have been perfect since it wasn’t in great shape so I wouldn’t feel bad about painting it green and it was only $25.00. It wasn’t too big but I don’t think it would have fit in my tiny little car, so I passed it up. I seriously need a friend with an SVU or truck that likes to thrift and wouldn’t mind helping a sister move thrift furniture to her house. A girl can dream right? I do have a family friend that has a large van, but he lives a little farther away and it’s really only worth the hassle of calling him if I really love the piece.

3. Campaign style desk. The dresser had a matching desk that was also pretty cute and cheap, but obviously if I can’t move one I definitely can’t move two.

4. Rock star Nutcracker. Ok I would have never actually have bought this but it was kind of funny to see. I used to be really into Nutcrackers when I was like 8 and saw the Nutcracker movie, but I never really understood them. They’re festive though.

5. Framed Cross Stiched sad children. I’m always looking for cute or quirky art at the thrift store, but these weren’t quirky enough to bother with. I still think they’re kind of fun though.

6. Aldo faux berkin. I liked this bag but when I inspected it further the shoulder strap was ripped and it wasn’t really worth it.

7. Livestorng bracelets. Remember when these were big? Remember when Lance Armstrong had won 7 tour de France titles and we thought it was not due to steroids? Oh the good ol’ days. Now Lance and apparently his bracelets are hung out on the .99 cent shelf at the thrift store.

8. Chairs. I thought these were pretty nice chairs. My favorite is the dark wood one on the left, but I don’t need any chairs so I passed them up.

9. Drexel Mid century Dresser. This was a nice dresser, only missing a few nobs, but I wasn’t in love with it and I don’t need another dresser.

10. Vintage Faragamo Shoes. These shoes are ok but after looking them over I realized the only reason I would buy them is because they’re designer shoes and that’s not a great reason to buy. They’re cute but not quite cute enough, although for five bucks maybe I should have taken the plunge.

2012, haul, thrift, thrift haul

Best of 2012: Thrift Finds

2012-12-28 No Comments

Can you believe that next week it’ll be 2013? It seems like this year has gone by so quickly. 2012 was a pretty decent year for me, not great but not bad, so to give it a proper farewell I figured I’d do some best of, and one worst of , lists before the new year. So here are my favorite thrift finds of 2012:

1. Broyhill Brasilia Dresser

This is my favorite thrift find of the year by far. I’d been obsessed with brasilia for awhile so when I found this beauty at the salvation army for $85.00 I couldn’t believe my luck. Yes it was a pain in the ass to move but it makes me happy everytime I see it. Love this dresser.

2. $30 Couch

This was another thrift find that was a bitch to move but I love it so much! That funky design, I even love the ugly green upholstery. We finally moved this into our TV room and it looks really good.

2. Cathrineholm!

I found these on my first trip to a new-ish thrift store and I love them so.

4. Fish TV lamp

I mean look at all that fishy goodness. #totesamaze

5. Snowflake Pyrex

6. Green Wheat Pyrex

7. Ugly Mushroom Canisters

I saw a whole collection of these for $118.00 on Fab.com I got these for maybe $10 total. Gotta love thrift stores and ugly mushroom cannisters.

8. Blue Haven Cinderella Bowl

9. Flower Print

Pretty sure I saw this in Bryce Dallas Howard’s character’s house in The Help. Just sayin.

10. Haeger Baby Planter

11. Siesta Ware tiki cups.

12. Newest Thrift find: Target vintage inspired bowl

This is the only non-vintage item on the list and my most recent thrift find. I’d admired this collection from Target but knew if I was patient I’d probably be able to find some pieces at the thrift store and I found this bad boy on Christmas eve. Patience is a virtue, especially at the thrift store.

2012, haul, junk bonanza, thrift haul, vintage

Junk Bonanza

2012-09-19 No Comments

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Last year my mom and I found about a local event called the Junk Bonanza. It’s basically just a big bi-annual antique,vintage, retro, and re-purposed three day shopping event. We found some good stuff at pretty decent prices last year so we decided to go again this year. I had to work the first two days of the event but Saturday I closed so I had some time to browse and shop. We got there around 11/12 and the place was pretty packed. Things were pretty congested when we got through the gates but it got better as we went. This year it seemed like a majority of the booths had re-purposed and/or shabby chic type items. Those items were ok but they’re not really my style. The shabby chic stuff is a lot of painted furniture (mostly in white, grey and pastels), a distressed look (real or faux, genearlly faux), and florals. It’s generally pretty feminine.

Example of a Shabby Chic-ish booth. loved the blue jay picture

The re-pourposed stuff is kinda cool. There were definitely some really cool re-purposed items, but generally I like things to be kept the way they were.

Baseball bats and balls re-purposed into American flag wall art.

There were definitely some serious trends going on. The “paint something with chalkboard paint” trend has apparently taken off like a rocket, there was a whole booth full of stuff painted with chalkboard paint. Every time I saw chalkboard paint I thought of the Portlandia sketch “Put a bird on it!” except it would be “make it into a chalkboard!.” I don’t hate that trend, It’s just not for me. I’m not a huge fan of the look of a dusty chalkboard (you know after you erase whatever’s on the chalkboard) and constantly wiping down something seems like it’d be annoying. But I have seen it done really well. Anyway there were also a lot of vintage biology posters for sale. I like them but I’d like to find one super cheap, preferably in a thrift store.

some vintage biology posters for sale

There seemed to be a lot fewer antique/vintage booths, which was kind of a bummer. There were a few cool booths, one in particular was really cool with lots of mid-century stuff. My favorite booth had this slightly creepy monkey blowing bubbles that I kind of wish I had bought.


He’s kind of ragged and creepy, yet adorable. I mean he’s blowing bubbles!!! aww.

There was also a cool Heywood Wakefield side table in that booth that was cool but I didn’t see the price on it. There was also this really cool giant malt mixer.

I have to admit I kind of wish I had gotten this guy. His face is so funny and very expressive. But he wasn’t in the greatest condition. Maybe next time.

I love old portraits, I thought these were pretty cool. Look at all the cool 40’s (?) hairstyles!

You don’t see many plus-size mannequins, so I thought this was pretty cool. But, if I read the tag right they wanted like $1000.00 dollars for it, way outta my price range.

This sign was really cool too. I love the colors, but it was a tad out of my price range. But, it’s from a local vintage store so If I start to obsess I can always go there and see if they still have it, or some other cool signs.

A cool mid-century light. I love mid-century lights but now that I have a few I’m looking for lights that are a little more unique/cool or that I can’t live without. The lights in this booth were cool but fairly similar to the lamps I already have.

Anyway, we walked around for a bit and saw some cool stuff but nothing we couldn’t live without. So after we made the rounds and saw all the booths we left empty handed. It was fun to see all the stuff people had for sale and some of the re-purposed stuff. But, I didn’t see anything really unique. Most of the stuff I saw has been trendy on a lot of design/ vintage blogs for awhile. But it’s always fun to see cool vintage stuff. I have kind of a hard time at vintage/antique type stores. They have lots of cool stuff, but for me one of the best parts of getting vintage stuff is finding it in a thrift store or at an estate sale. There’s just a high you get when you find it “in the wild” that you don’t get in antique malls. But antique fairs/malls etc are great for finding stuff that is harder to find in thrifts like vintage lamps, some vintage furniture and signs. There are also some vintage/antique stores that have pretty good prices. But in antique fairs/malls you just don’t get that same high and I always think in the back of my head that I cold find that item for cheaper in a thrift store. Nonetheless I do love browsing antique/vintage stores, though it can be a bit overwhelming, even if I don’t tend to buy as much. All in all it was a pretty good time and we’ll probably be back next year.

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