Spotted: A Thrift Trip

It's been a good long while since I've been able to take a couple of hours to just roam through a thrift store or two.  But, as last week's errands would have it, there were four of them within the near vicinity of places I had to go and since I had a little extra time on my hands (well, borrowed of course from continuing painting the kitchen), I roamed...and these things are what I spotted...

(Pssst...if you're local to Mobile, I'll put the thrift store under each photo in case you have your heart moved and want to see if any of these are still there!)

This long tray was only a couple of bucks and would be a nice valet tray to set in a bathroom or atop a dresser in the bedroom to hold pretties and things.  In a kitchen it would also make a great place to lay cooking utensils that are in use next to the stove.

Goodwill on Azalea

Are you a plant person?  Pots can get pricey but I've always found thrift stores to have them.  These three were cute.

Spotted: Goodwill

The four-year old and I made a quick trip into a local Goodwill here while out running errands last week and we found some STUFF.  I hadn't planned on going in and taking pictures to show you the treasures because I haven't had much luck finding things at thrift stores recently but after I spotted a few great things, I thought "why not?"  (If you're reading and you're local to the Mobile area, these were all seen at the Goodwill in Semmes.)  

I know it might be disheartening to you for me to show you what I found here - things you can't buy there since they're here, but my whole point of these "Spotted" posts is to show you what potential lies in those little (and big) things laying around inside thrift stores around the world.  You just have to open up your mind a tad and picture those things somewhere besides on a thrift store shelf surrounded by a random assortments of objects.

I didn't take notes on the prices of what I saw but everything was under $5, with the exception of the lamps.

It took a fair amount of back-and-forth mind conversation to convince myself I didn't need this wallpaper:

(I was juggling things in my hands so I struggled getting a good picture of the whole roll.)  If it were the modern peel & stick kind, I would've pounced.  But, having torn loads and loads of wallpaper off the walls in this house within the last year, I'm still raw about the idea and so pasted wallpaper isn't on my list of things I would like right now.  However, this pretty roll that mimicked a beautiful blue sky with wispy white clouds would look dreamy on the ceiling in a kids' room, inside a closet, on an accent wall, just anywhere.

Spotted: Goodwill

I managed to skip the house for a tiny little bit last weekend sans kids to head to one of my local Goodwill stores.  They were having a BIG (and rare) furniture sale and I've been looking for a few pieces so how could I not?  Well, I didn't find any furniture I needed but I found a couple of other things I brought home.  And, like I sometimes do (check my 'Spotted' label in the sidebar) I snapped some pictures of things I thought had lots of potential to hopefully inspire you to go out and find those diamonds in the rough.  :)

My stores here always have TONS of baskets.  This one caught my eye:

It falls more under the tray category maybe but it'd be a great one to sit atop a coffee table or the corner of your kitchen counters.  Minus the handles, it looks a lot like this $40 tray from Crate & Barrel.

I saw this wood lattice square* on clearance at Target a few months ago and whadya know? 

Spotted

I know you’re expecting an update on the kids’ room but…

uhhh…

I don’t have one.

I mean, I do but it’s their “new” rug and I kind of wanted to save that until the reveal week.  I painted their old rug and I want there to be some element of surprise in the final week and the color of that rug is going to be it.  :)  I was planning on sharing how I spiced up their ceiling fan this week but I ordered some stuff for it (three weeks ago) and those things still have not yet come.  My impatience is only slightly killing me. 

So, I’m going to skip over the kids’ room for week five of the One Room Challenge (but you can still click the link and check out everyone else’s rooms!) and show you what I found secondhand this week.  It’s another post in the “Spotted” series but this one involves a few different places vs. one store.

Gianna was in an especially cranky mood during this run so I didn’t catch prices because it was more of a see, shoot, and run type of thing but they’re all thrift store prices, which are usually fairly good down here…sometimes a little higher than other thrift stores I’ve been to in other places but still, much, much less than buying new and even consignment.  The point is to show you what you can find if you only go into a thrift store with an eye of potential.  ;)

First up, a local Goodwill. 

It’s no wonder this shower curtain caught my eye (I heart striped shower curtains v much):

Spotted: Goodwill

We’re trying to get on more of a weekly schedule over here.  We’ve got our daily schedules down pat pretty much but we’re trying to organize our weeks so that we know where certain things are going to fit in.  Things like me getting a little break from the kids for just a smidge of time.  I think they call that self care, right?  It sounds so whiny and poor-me-I’m-surrounded-by-littles-all-day-long and I hate that because, as you know if you’re a mama, one of the hardest things is to be away from your kids…yet getting a little breather once in awhile is good for the sanity aspect.  It’s one of those catch 22 things I suppose.  Mother bear can’t rip herself away from her babies she loves oh-so-much yet if mother bear is asked one more question about why the toilet paper is white or why a marker is called a marker or why we can’t stick things in our ears, mother bear might actually turn grizzly.  You know.  I bet that, if you’re not a mom, you might be able to relate in dealings with coworkers sometimes, yes?  Anyway, our budget doesn’t allow for a mothers’ helper or babysitter (nor does mama’s-girl Gianna) so we’re working with Anthony’s work schedule which makes things a little more difficult on the planning side but as you probably know, challenges are looked square in the eyes ‘round here.   

So far, we’ve pretty much figured out a morning when I can get a couple of hours to do whatever I want/need to do and last week, I spent that morning perusing a thrift store and it. was. awesome.  I feel like my most recent (of which there have been few) thrift store visits have left me feeling disappointed – I’ve found nothing of interest – and like thrifting as a spectator sport is dying out.  Around where we live, there are lots and lots of people trying to make money off of refurbishing furniture and things and so, if you’re not the early bird or the frequent peruser, you’re not the one getting the worm.  So basically, with the ability (or should I say the lack of ability) for me to get to thrift stores early and often, it takes some serious luck for me to bring in a thrift store win.

Anyway, I’m seriously rambling here when really I hopped on to share deets on that thrift store excursion from last week.  For this one, forget about all I said about the luck and stuff because I found SO MUCH GOOD STUFF! 

Look!

Spotted: Open Doors

There’s no non-awkward way to jump back into superficial, almost-meaningless blogging after my last post so I’m just going to go right in, head-first with…

*drumroll*

another round of Spotted – things I’ve seen at local thrift stores!

This time I pranced the secondhand corridors of quite possibly my favorite thrift store here, Open Doors Ministries Resale and Thrift Store.  Their prices are awesome (at least half that of Goodwill!) and they always have something good when I go in.  Always.

This time was no different.  I went in looking for a light fixture for the kids’ bathroom and after looking where I had seen light fixtures in this store in the past, came up short.  But, BUT, when I went up to the checkout desk to ask if they had any more light fixtures anywhere, the lady behind told me “Did you check the room in the back?”  WHAT?!  What room in the back?!  Y’all, there is a WHOLE ROOM/AREA FILLED WITH LIGHT FIXTURES in the back of the store that I had never known about!  Mind you, I’ve been scouring this thrift store for over a year now.  Crazy!!  Behold:I know it’s hard to make out from this angle what exactly is in there but to the right there are shelves of lights and light parts.  It was nuts.  I still didn’t find what I was looking for (I needed a two-light fixture and lucky found this one later on sale on Amazon) but you bet I will be back to hunt down something to replace the boob light in our master bathroom.

Anyway, besides all the cool chandeliers I saw that I didn’t need, I spied all of this stuff:

Spotted: Goodwill

On my way to pick up our groceries last Saturday (Walmart grocery pick-up*…life-changing…order online, they shop for you, and you just park while they load your car!), I did a quick run by the Goodwill that’s across the street from Walmart.  I walked out empty-handed but here are a few things that caught my eye:

These chairs:
I always make a beeline to the furniture section because #fomo is real and I just know that if I don’t, someone is going to beat me by seconds to that one thing.  Okay, so maybe that’s a smidge dramatic but 1) I really do suffer from #fomo and 2) the furniture section is the most exciting section imo.  Anyway, you probably already know that I have a love for all things bamboo so you can understand why I loved these.  My head went right to how amazing they’d look reupholstered with some Swaying Palms fabric (Deme, I know you’d agree wholeheartedly!)  The bamboo was in great condition but the foam, not so much.  I hemmed and hawed over whether or not to grab them but, in the end, I felt like the $24.99 per chair was a little high so I moved on over to…

this chair:
It was obviously someones guinea pig for a reupholstering project that I wouldn’t exactly call successful.  There was more puckering on that chair than on a millenial female’s insta feed but, the legs.  It’s always about the legs.  I did an awful job of documenting prices on this quick trip but I think it was $14.99?  Don’t quote me.  It obviously needed a fabric facelift but it had the potential to be a great accent chair!

I didn’t think much of this chair upon my first pass through the furniture arena but decided later that it would be so lovely painted a bright color.  Mint, fiery red, jade green, or even toned down to a distressed, creamy white.  Heart eyes.  :)
Also, I hate to admit it, but I’m not a farmhouse decor fan.  It’s just not my style.  I mean, I LOVE Chip and Joanna but I wouldn’t want them to fix up my house.  However, they must be rubbing off on me a tad because this chair definitely falls into that category.  :) 

This was an odd-shaped basket thing I thought might be cute in one corner of a kitchen countertop:Or really any little lonely corner.  In a bathroom it could be the corner basket to toss your straightener/curling iron or in an entry way it could hold keys atop a foyer table with one side against the wall and the other along a row of books.  The color was on pointe too.  It’d bring a natural element to a space.

This planter was gorgeous as is:
Had I a plant in need of a home, it would’ve come with me.

This planter was cute too.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the colors but spray paint does a quick transformation make.  The scalloped edge up top is what reeled me in.  It might even make a great pendant light – upside-down with a hole drilled into the bottom for the light kit to fit?  Can you see it?

When you’re thrifting, it’s always helpful to look at pieces individually without gazing at them amidst their gawdy surrounding neighbors.  Such is the case for this tea pot/vase thing:
There were some pretty ugly things around it and, in fact, I glanced right over it at first but was drawn back to all the colors.  It was so, so pretty.  I pictured it on our kitchen countertop with the white subway tile backsplash letting it be the star.

And finally, had we more space on our kitchen countertops, I would’ve snatched up this spice rack: It was just downright cool…much cooler than the jumble of differing spice tins and jars we have going on in the bottom shelf of one our our cabinets…

I’m going to drop back into this Goodwill this weekend again, I think, to see if those bamboo beauties are still there and to see if they’ve been reduced.  What do you think?  Is $50 for both a steal or too steep?  I don’t know if we’d keep them or not…I might love them so much I’d sell two of our current bamboo chairs in turn.  Or, I’d could set them at the ends of our dining room table…ooh, there’s an idea!!  But then again, they might make a fun project and a great profit to be shoveled towards student loans…ugh.

Want to see more of what I’ve spotted in my thrifting adventures?  Click here. 

.           .           .

*The Walmart grocery pick-up link is our referral link.  If you click and order groceries through us, we’ll get $10 off our next order and you will too (minimum of $50 order)!  Happy shopping…or not shopping…which is what I prefer when it comes to groceries.  ;)

Spotted: Goodwill

Last weekend I had to make a run to Lowe’s and just down the street from Lowe’s here is a Goodwill.  I left Anthony at home with all the kids and don’t tell him, but I did a quick swing by that thrift store.  ;)

I left without buying anything but I did grab a few pictures of things I liked and so, once again, we have yet another post in the ‘Spotted’ series (you can read more if you click ‘Spotted’ under the drop-down, archive menu in the sidebar).

I don’t know what it was about this picture but I really loved it.  I might nix the existing finish of the frame, painting over it with a creamy white but then again, maybe not.  I think it’d be pretty in a little/preteen/teen girl’s room – I’d pull the bright coral color out for curtains or bedding or maybe both.


On the docket over here is turning two coffee tables into tufted benches (stay tuned!) and so, of course, that’s what popped into my mind when I saw this coffee table.
I have a thing for bamboo and the bamboo on this thing was in pristine condition.  It was only $4 (!!!!) because the glass was missing.  I’d remove that thick top part and replace it with a piece of plywood.  Stick some foam, some creamy white linen, and some tufting over that and it’d warrant all the heart eyes.

 
At first glance, these tables weren’t anything special beyond their mid-century modern vibe.  But, had I the time, I’d have swooped them up and dolled them up.  The white tops were a faux marble that I might try to extend or paint down around the sides of the tops to make them look like they were slabs.  Then I’d probably paint those sides with the diamonds and the legs (white?  gold?) only because I’m pretty sure they weren’t wood.  But, I didn’t look close enough to know for sure.  If in fact they were wood, I’d sand them down and stain them a light, ashy brown.


This chair.
Gosh, I wanted it.  But, I’d have an entire houseful of furniture with no room to walk if I grabbed every good piece I saw.  But, it might’ve been perfecto out on the screened-in patio.  Either way, I walked out without it.  It was marked at $34.99 and in great condition.  The cushion was boring so I’d probably make another but the bamboo (how I love it) looked incredible.  And I don’t know if it came off the base or not but how awesome would it be if you took it off the base and hung it?  Swoon…


This was a fancy map of the Rocky Mountains:
I loved it because I have all the sentimental feels for the Rockies; lots of great childhood memories.  I also loved the colors in it; the minty green was so pretty.  I’d ditch the frame and find another though and it could be hung anywhere – office, playroom, bedroom, bathroom, etc…


I had a hard time walking away from this little hexagonal dish:
I couldn’t think of a place to put it off the top of my head and now I’m wishing I’d have just grabbed it.  Our bathroom counter is crying.  My first thought was to stick some succulents in it to add a natural element to a space.

I have absolutely no use for teacups and saucers but these were so pretty.  There were only two anyway and if I were to start a high tea tradition here in this roost, we’d need just a few more.  The teacups might’ve made cute little succulent planters though.


I’m really not much of a dog person (hello allergies) but this little guy was cute.
Sometimes styling shelves can be ruff but the addition of this pup would make any shelf quite fetching, ya know?


And last, I spotted this gem:
’Reconstructive Plastic Surgery’ – this one would be the star in a frame collage.  Hang it somewhere prominent and you’ll forever have the perfect ‘statement piece’.

*wink wink*

Spotted: My Favorite Ever Thrift

Last weekend I drove to see my sister in Florida…just me and the fetus girl.  It was a spontaneous trip and a little babymoon for me before we are, once again, in the throes of having a newborn and I loved every minute of it except those first few minutes right after I left home.  I’ve never been away from all three of our kids for more than a couple of hours and it was SO. HARD. to leave.  I wanted to go so bad and I knew it would be so revitalizing but the thought of being without my little leeches for a few days was hard.  So weird, right?  I mean, there are days I think “man, I love you guys to the moon and back but I need a break!” and then that break comes and I get cold-feet and all sappy and emotional and I rethink my decision a thousand times and force myself to keep on driving when really all I want to do is turn around and forget about it.  Human beings are so complicated.

On the bright side, I have two sisters I love dearly and so getting to spend the weekend with one of them was just the best.  Farrah and I are Irish Twins – born 10 months apart.  Yep, 10 months.  I was born three weeks past my due date in February and at my mom’s 6-week post-partum visit they told her all the usual stuff and dropped the bomb that she was pregnant again (I’m guessing the whole routine urine test gave it away?)  Surprise!  Farrah was born two weeks early in December and so now for two months of every year we are the same age.  It’s as awesome as it sounds.  :)

We had lots of fun this past weekend doing things Irish Twins do – sewing, crafting, eating, relaxing, going on a 5-mile bike ride along the beach, and thrifting.  I didn’t really have a list of things I wanted to do while I was in her neck of the woods because all I really cared about was taking advantage of that little “break” I was on and spending time with her and her cute little family but I did make it a point to hit up my (our?) favorite thrift store.  We have to go everytime we visit her because it is hands-down thee best thrift store I’ve ever been to.  I don’t even know the name of it but we’ll just call it ‘My Favorite Ever Thrift’. 

Here’s what I spotted on this trip:

There are always a bundle of light fixtures when I go in - light fixtures I don’t need and that I have to convince myself to walk away from.  There were a few that caught my eye (and I actually did buy one that will be going up on our front porch one of these days) that had those great geometic lines I love and would’ve made great fixtures in a grand entry, over a dining room table, in a master bedroom, or used as a terrarium or decorative bowl.

This minty-green couch was something like $20 (50% off $40) and I wanted it.  Bad.  It needed it’s skirt removed to expose it’s beautiful legs underneath and to be set in a little girls’ room or a light and airy living room.  
This piece of art was really cool looking.  The colors got me at first.  With a white mat and light wood frame it could be the life of a room.
However, it was marked at $60 so that turned me away.  I didn’t do any research on the artist but my guess is that, at that price, maybe it was someone semi-well-known?

I thought this bamboo wine rack was cool:
With a coat of some bright paint color, it be the most fun your bottles of wine ever saw before they hit the recycling bin.

This fireplace set was gorgeous and in pristine condition.  Not to mention that the gold color was the most perfect champagne-gold.  I think it was around $10.  I would’ve snatched it up if our fireplace wasn’t gas.

These glass bottle toppers were all gorgeous.  There were about 30 of them in two baskets and I wanted a few so bad but had no clue what to do with them.  Now I think they’d be great just piled high in a glass jar on display.  If you wanted to be a little more aggressive, they’d probably make great knobs after a little trip to a glass store for a snip and the addition of a threaded rod and nut on the back. 

Cute little bamboo chairs get me every time:

And this wood bar stool was really cool too.  Set in the corner of a room with a cute little lumbar pillow or sheep-skin throw, it could hold its own.

More bamboo…
The color on this one wasn’t the greatest so it’d could definitely use a coat of paint but I liked the shapes on it.

And I’m still not sure how I feel about the curvy top of this one but in my head, I thought it’d be fun to paint and style all those shelves.

This was a cool little miniature rocking chair that could’ve used a punch of geometric fabric instead of that boring green.  I really comtemplated getting it because it was so different than your normal rocking chair…and then I pictured the fight over it and it tumbling over with a twin and…nope.

The best score of this trip:
Seven princess dresses – Belle, Snow White, two Aurora’s, Rosetta (from Tinkerbell…my girls are obsessed), Rapunzel, the Brave girl – and one white flower girl dress.  They were ONE DOLLAR each!  I know…take a minute and let that soak in.  A few of them needed a little TLC in the form of some hem and seam fixing but my sister and I did that in ten minutes one night while watching a movie.  Needless to say, my girls haven’t worn normal clothes since I’ve gotten home and I don’t see an end to that in sight. 

This chair was stylish and simple:
It needed a little bit of cleaning but it was microfiber so that would’ve been fairly easy.  I liked the straight edges and it was something like $40.  A little bit of nailhead trim might do it some good too.

Oh my gosh, this table:
Had it not had a sold sign on it I would’ve hard a really hard time walking out without it.  I would’ve figured out a way to somehow take it apart to fit in our little Corolla and take home with me.  Painted white?  A dream it would be with that gorgeous fretwork and my dining room’s first love.

This solid piece of butcher block was incredible:
Again, if I’d had the room, it’d be waiting to be installed as our bathroom countertop or on an island in our next house.  It was in excellent shape, the color was oh-so-good, and it was huge.  I loved the thin strips of wood too.  It had no price on it but it was probably worth every penny they were asking.

Last but not least, we found this faux leather jacket:
I couldn’t tell if it fit me well with this big ‘ole belly in the way so I selflessly let Farrah get it.  ;)  (Being selfless is super easy when you know she’d let you borrow it anytime so don’t worry, no holy points were gained over in this direction.  Ha!)

They have the best prices on clothes out of any thrift store I’ve ever been to and speaking of clothes, they had lots of great stuff but since my current state is stamped “pregnant”, I didn’t spend too much time sifting through those treasures.  I did very much regret grabbing a faux suede shift dress that I hemmed and hawed over though.  :( 

Anyway, it’s back to the old grindstone that I love and will probably never leave again (I’ll just take them with) so Happy Tuesday to you and yours!

Spotted: Goodwill

It's time for Roooouuuund Two of Spotted errbody!  (Did you miss Round One?  Click here to read it.)  I hope you're as excited as I am!  Seriously though because I spotted some pretty awesome stuff...all which I didn't need.  Ugh...  The tug and pull of materialism...I think it's even worse when it's cheap.  :(

Let's just start with these:

I'm a little frustrated with myself that I walked out without them.  I think our master bedroom is too.  Dang...I might have to go back first thing tomorrow.  There's no filter on this picture so you can see with your own eyes how gorgeous the brass is - not too gold or yellow.  They were a little crooked but that's never stopped me from buying anything before.  Plus, I think the shelf was a little unlevel, making them look worse.  They were also really heavy and I'm sure if I just tinkered around with them a little, maybe tightened the screw below the base, they'd be good as new.  They were $9.99 each.  Update:  I went back today to get them and got cold feet.  :(  I messed around with them and got the main pole screwed in tight enough where it was straight but I couldn't figure out how to straighten the top from that piece that adjusts the height and so...I left them.  I'm hoping maybe I can do a little research on how to fix them and go back this weekend.

I thought this was a cute twin, bamboo headboard: 

It would add a natural element to a room just left as is or would be so fun painted white or a bright coral or mint or cobalt blue or any hue you can think of.  Polish it off with some cute pillows from my shop and bingOO.  ;)  It was $14.99. 

 This mirror would've come home with me if it was under $10:

They had it at $14.99 and I thought that was a little high considering it definitely needed a paint job.  But in white?  Gorgeous.  I'll be checking back for it in hopes of a price drop.  I'm thinking white paint and hung above our bed horizontally once we get our headboard made?  And then after I wrote this I couldn't get it out of my head and was dreaming about how amazing it'd be with some skewers glued around that recessed area like what I did to this mirror?!  Definitely going back for that thing.  If you beat me to it, I will cut you.


This painting or print, I couldn't tell which, was huge and the colors in it along with the color of the wood frame were so pretty:

It was seriously like three-or-four-feet-wide huge.  It'd be perfect over a big sofa or loveseat or even over a bed/headboard.

This frame would make a great fixer-upper:

It had a linen-looking fabric mat atop a second mat over the three picture openings.  You can see the quality of the framing in the (sort of blurry...sorry)picture below.

But if you painted the second mat under the fabric one gold, taped off that gold trim on the inside of the frame, and painted the rest of the frame white, it'd be so beautiful.  If we weren't pregnant with #4, I would've gotten it to house a picture of each little bean present day.

I loved the mat of this frame:

You could replace the picture, paint the under mat gray or gold, paint the lighter pink mat white and the frame whatever and, once again, so pretty and different.

I didn't have much time to go through clothes this trip since I had all three nuggets with me but the lace from this dress was peeking out at me while I was looking at the frames on the shelf above:

It was such a pretty navy blue and looked to be fitted and if I didn't have a belly in the way, I might've taken it home with me...or at the very least, to a dressing room.  It was made with some quality lace over a satiny shell and it wasn't stretchy at all; definitely well-made and probably very expensive for the first owner.  It was $6.

These pants were hanging on the end of a rack and I wanted them bad but didn't feel like paying $5 for them:

Our Goodwill has $1 days once a month so I'll be checking back for them then.  The picture doesn't do them justice though; bad angle.  They were super long (which is perfect for my stilt legs) and the fabric was a linen/cotton blend so nothing pajama-y.  The crotch wasn't quite as low as it looks in the picture but they probably would've hit at the hip in height.  So cute, pregnant or not.  I'm thinking beachy with a white tee and some strappy sandals with some simple gold jewelry...

And, the best find for last, these:

    Oh yes, Toilet Tattoos.  Need I say more?  Every toilet lid that wants to be a toilet lid needs one.  Flush away your elasticized carpet covers and grab a few of these puppies.  Change them out with the seasons and your house, ahem, your toilets, will be theee talk of the party.  My fave was the animal print.

Rawwr.