vintage 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.

2015, bookshelf, industrial, junk bonanza, lamp, mid century modern, Mod, vanity, vintage

Junk BoNaNzA 2015!

2015-09-29 No Comments

I’ve been to the Junk Bonanza a couple times now (in 2012 and 2013) but had to skip last year since both my mom and I worked during the festivities. This year we both had time to go the first day of the event and were pretty pumped. Though we don’t always come away with things there’s so much cool stuff to see it’s always worth a trip. Plus, the things we have picked up there are pretty awesome and some of our favorites. This year we went on the first day and boy was it busy. The first main room was super crowded and it was a bit hard to make your way into different booths as you were kind of swept forward with the crowd. Luckily the other three rooms were far less crowded. There were a lot of cool pieces but I left empty handed again this year as I had a pretty small budget and didn’t see anything I needed within it. When I go to any sort of antique/vintage event I’m always looking for things that are unique and hard to find at Thrift stores, estate sales, flea markets and/or really cheap vintage stores, so I sometimes come away empty handed if I don’t see anything amazing that I can afford. It’s still fun to browse though and you never know what you’ll find. So here are a few of the cool things I saw while walking around the bonanza.

I’m really into these old organizational and industrial pieces but the majority of them were out of my price range.

It’s this guy cute? I have no idea where I’d put him but I like him/her.

This vintage kids ride was really cool. I think It was for sale but I have neither the money nor the space for it.

Cute yellow chair.

This booth had a lot of cool mid century modern pieces.

This cute lamp for example.

My favorite from this booth though was this mod/ MCM birdcage. I’ve never seen one before and I kind of love it. I Kind of regret not going back for that one.

Burnt out (I think) Light bulbs! these were super cool and I’m sure some crafty person could make something awesome out of them.

This booth had some cool Mid Century Modern lamps. These were nice, but i’m at a point where an atomic lamp has to be “can’t live without it” cool for me to pick it up. These I could live without.

This vintage horse head mount thing was pretty cool. It would be pretty awesome in a kids room.

Skeleton keys are just the coolest

Cool vintage daybed

I actually really liked this picture and it was only like $22.00 but I didn’t end up coming back for it.

Pretty sure this lamp is made of an old plant stand and a vintage industrial mixer blade, kind of awesome.

Cool Tripod floor lamp

How cool is this huge radiator cover?

BABY!

Santa and his roller set beard.

More cool industrial pieces.

50’s Doctors Cabinet.

Giant Diaper Safety Pins.

This beer sign was pretty cool but I see them a fair amount at Estate Sales so I passed.

I love a good vanity and am currently obsessed with a few Mid Century ones I’ve seen on the interwebs. This one was really cute but I’m not big on painted wood and it’s not the vanity of my dreams. I do though love the Mongolian lamb fur they upholstered the seat in. I’m semi-obsessed with some pillows from West Elm made of the same material, but they’re so expensive!

As and avid thrifter I thought this booth was a bit silly. Any thrifter worth their weight knows you can find silver pieces like this for (i’m assuming) much lower prices at literally any thrift store. I was pretty much just baffled at this booth.

An assortment of cool rotary phones. Back when I was a kid we had a few of these and they always made you feel very fancy, like the number you were calling should be more important because of the dramatic way you dialed. But nowadays these phones would just be catching dust in my house. The only vintage phone I think I’d buy aside from an Ericofone (like the one Roger Sterling had on Mad Men) would be one of those clear plastic 80’s/90’s phones. I was obsessed with those and never had one. Someone needs to make a phone cover for cell phones like that, I’d buy it in a minute.

Pretty Lampshade.

Cool vintage Christmas set up and awesome car grille.

I really loved the lamps in this booth but they were way beyond my price range, very cool though.

The people at this booth made this old stove into a kitchen island. Isn’t that the coolest idea ever? The great thing about Junk Bonanza is even if you leave empty handed you get to see a ton of cool DIY’s.

Can you spot the sneak peak of my Junk Bonanza OOTD?

These display cabinets were pretty amazing and reasonably priced, but they were still outside of my price zone. I’m also looking for more closed storage pieces as opposed to these lovely display pieces. That said if I had the money I’d totally have gotten them.

Isn’t this the cutest bookshelf? It would look awesome in a kids room. The good news is it’s a totally do-able DIY piece if you really like it.

These hands were pretty cool but I have no need for them. They could make really cool Halloween decorations though.

That’s it for this year’s Junk Bonanza, even though I walked away empty handed I saw a lot of cool stuff and will definitely be back next year if I can.

chair, lamps, lawn chair, mid century, mid century modern, thrift, thrift store, vintage, what i didn't buy at the thrift store, what i left behind

What I didn’t Buy at the Thrift Store

2015-05-26 No Comments

Hey guys! So try as I might I just couldn’t bring myself to buy anything yesterday at the Memorial Day thrift sales. I went to five stores and came away with nothing! There were just too many people and I was really just not in the mood. I mean one savers was giving out numbers for the dressing room, nope no sorry not gonna happen. So instead of a thrift haul I’d thought I’d do another addition of things I didn’t buy at the thrift store.

1. Wagon Wheel Chairs

I’m Mildly obsessed with wagon wheel furniture. If I had a house with a finished basement I would be tempted to decorate the whole thing in mid century wagon wheel furniture, it’s just so kitschy and cool. These chairs are pretty awesome but I don’t have a finished basement awaiting a sweet wagon wheel collection and if i’m going to go through the hassle of buying thrift store furniture It has to be something I know I can use. So I left these for a better home.

2. Barber Chair

This chair is pretty cool but it was also pretty beat up. One of the arm rests fell completely off and I also have no immediate use for it. So it stayed at the thrifts.

3. Mosaic-y Lamps

These are cool and I kind of regret not getting them but I have enough lamps and don’t really need anymore unless they’re something I can’t live without. These I could live without so I left them.

9. Dirty Wavy Lamp

I liked the pattern on this lamp and thought if cleaned it would have a lot of potential. But again I don’t really need anymore lamps.

10. Mid Century Sliding Door Bookcase

Ok I kind of regret not getting this. It was only around $10/11.00 and I’ve wanted one of these for awhile. The catch? I want one with glass doors and these are solid wood. In hindsight I should have gotten it anyway but I guess I’ll wait for the next one I see.

11-12. Cat Statue and “Marble” top side table

I really liked the egyptian cat statue but it was like $14.00 and that seemed a bit pricey for a decorative cat. The side table was really cute too but one thing I really don’t need is another side table.

13. Emily Anne cross stitch

I have an old friend named Emily Anne who is exactly one day and eight years younger than whoever this cross stitch was made for. I kind of wanted to get it but I decided to just take a picture and maybe send it to her later.

14. Dress Form

I like the idea of a decorative dress form to hang clothes and stuff on, so when I see them at the thrifts I’m always a little interested. This one was a whopping $50.00 so I kept on walking.

15. Pitcher

I liked the design on this pitcher but didn’t need one.

16. Mid Century Lawn Chairs

These lawn chairs were pretty cool but they were also in need of refinishing and were a bit pricey at about $70.00 for the pair. They’re very cool but were a bit expensive and not really practical for me right now, so I passed.

17. Mikasa Cups

I thought liked these but they were kind of small and into larger mugs at the moment.

18. Mid Century Small Dresser/ Nightstand

These dressers ( there’s a twin behind it) were nice and would be good storage. I think they’d be cute with different pulls. But A.) They didn’t have a tag and B.) I realized I liked them 99% because of the mid century style legs, which you can buy anywhere. I decided to leave them since I really wasn’t in love.

19. Jelly Bean White House

This is a thing. My grandpa loves Jelly beans so I was slightly tempted to get it but … I don’t think anyone really needs a jelly bean white house. Except maybe for Jelly Bean Barack Obama, Obama bean?

adventures in antiquing, antiques, lindstrom, MN, vintage

Adventures in Antiquing: LINDSTRÖM, MN

2015-04-23 No Comments

A couple weeks ago after brunch with my boyfriends family my mom and I took a mini road trip up to Lindstrom Minnesota to check out a closing sale an antique store was having close by. The pictures on the estate sale website showed a vintage dental cabinet, which i’m obsessed with, so even though there was a very slim chance it was still there we decided to make the trek anyway. When we got there the dental cabinet was gone and there wasn’t anything great or any great deals at the store so we left and decided to go to some antique stores we passed on the way.

Fortunately we came upon one huge antique store in Lindstrom and another smaller one close by. Here are some of the cool thing I found while looking around.

Guitar Lamp :

I love old tins with cool script.

I was definitely tempted by this cool decorative tiki mask, but decided to leave it. Still cool though.

More old Tins, bottles, some mod cups and pyrex.

Howdy Doody doll.

This was actually pretty tempting, it’s an acupuncture model. I googled it and you can get them on amazon for less than this seller wanted, so it was a pass. I may eventually buy one online though.

Another cool anatomical piece. This skeleton is cool but I just don’t know where’d I put him.

If you don’t know I’m obsessed with mid century lamps, this one was cute but was kind of expensive and not nearly cool or kitschy enough for me to buy it.

I don’t think this is old but I really liked the sign.

I just thought these wrestling action figures were cool.

These lobster dishes were also really cool and totally tempting. I’ve never seen them before and they were pretty reasonably priced but I still passed. Hopefully one day i’ll find them in a thrift store or something.

I still like the antler look but these were like $75.00, my mom got two for $25 at an estate sale last year so…. no.

I thought this display in the second antique store we went to was really cool. It was in a beautiful old historic house and every inch was chock full of cool stuff.

Even though I saw some cool stuff antique store just overwhelm me. There’s so much stuff I want I find it hard to buy anything unless it’s something I have to have or something I know is hard to find in thrift stores etc. So, of course, I left with nothing. But my mom walked away with two cute pairs of earrings. Either way it was a fun little road trip and hopefully just the beginning of a summer full of fun little road trips.

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.

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!

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.

ASOS, boots, forever 21, OOTD, payless, vintage

New Year’s Eve: Happy 2013!!

2013-01-11 2 Comments

Outfit without the cardi, notice the dancing glasses.

Cardigan: Vintage Shirt: forever 21 Skirt: ASOS Tights: Target Boots: Payless

Sorry this post is so late, a bug is going around my workplace and I started getting sick Dec 30 and my cold only worsened until recently. So, I figured i’d spare you photos of me looking like a chapped nosed zombie. Aren’t colds fun? Anyway despite feeling a little under the weather on NYE I still went out dancing. The only thing I knew I wanted to wear for NYE was my leather skirt, so I spent a good amount of time in december trying to drum up cute tops to go with the skirt. It wasn’t until Dec 30 that I finally figured out what to wear. I had been to a couple stores but found nothing, so I dug though my wardrobe and found this killer cardigan that I hadn’t worn since prom. I love it but it’s a little over the top, perfect for NYE! It’s a little warm, as it’s cashmere, so I knew I wanted to pair it with a light weight top as i’d probably end up taking it off during the night. The shirt is from forever 21 and is one i’d been stocking for awhile. It’s sparkly and sheer and something I would actually wear post new years eve.
I have to say i’m pretty into this outfit. I would have worn heels but I wanted to dance, was sick, and am not a big heel wearer. So I opted for these boots instead, I think they work pretty well. Anyway this is how I rung in the New Year before my illness took over and I was carrying around a box of tissues and drinking copious ammounts of liquids. Happy 2013 everyone!

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