why I love thrift stores...

That little seascape picture had me at hello when I was

browsing at a local thrift store a while back.

I love that it's unique and adds personality to my kitchen... and it was $4... how can you not

love that price tag!!

Happy long weekend everyone!

Thrifting again...

Was at the thrift store today shopping for a new project (a top to bottom house renovation that also needs some new furniture!) and found some great chairs needing a makeover.  Check one thing off the project to do list :)  As I was about to leave, I spied this little moroccan inspired side table sitting in a corner topped with a huge ugly lamp.  I thought... yes... I could do something with this...

So I brought it home.  Turns out it fits nicely in the living room, could work beside my chair in the nursery, and could be a great table between the 2 beds in the kids shared room.  Love a good find... just needs a coat of paint... now, just gotta decide on the color :)

Oh, and apparently tomorrow is 50% off everything in the MCC furniture store here in town.  I opted to not pick up the table tomorrow as I didn't want to have to brave the crowds and parking lot with my stroller and Eme while trying to carry the table to my car.  It was cheap enough already.

But, apparently there will be coffee and danishes... tempting... I may show up just for the free breakfast :)

Feeling Thrifty

If you've read my blog for any length of time you would know that I love a good deal.  I also love thrift stores-- the thrill of the hunt-- a great deal-- it gets me every time!  A few weeks ago someone suggested that I write about my thrift store shopping process-- when do I go, how often, what do I look for, what's a good deal... and so on.  So, here it is... my personal guide to thrift store shopping.

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Where, When, and how often... 

I usually shop at my local MCC thrift store-- the volume of stuff that they process is incredible-- every time I stop by there is new stuff.  I try to avoid Saturdays (that place is nuts on the weekend) unless they have a sale-- when things are half price I'm willing to brave the crowds.  I usually try to go early on in the week-- most people who drop their donations off would do it on a Saturday-- I assume that the new stuff is probably making its way into the stores at the beginning of the week.  I like to browse through the store a couple times a month on average.  If I'm looking for something specific I'll go more regularly.

Stuff I've found...

Well-- very rarely do I find exactly what I'm looking for.  Most of the time I randomly stumble across something that I think is awesome-- but am not entirely sure where it will go in my house.  But, if it's cheap enough and has a little vintage charm I'm always willing to give it a try!

Pretty much every room in my house has something I've found at a thrift store...

What do I consider a good deal...

The most expensive items (1, 5, 8, & 9) were $15.00... a lot of stuff I've found for $1-2 (2, 3, 4, 6, & 7).  I've painted a few things (8 & 9) but others I've left as is-- the worn finishes are sometimes too fantastic to paint over!  Generally, I don't like to pay more than $15-20 for a piece of furniture-- but if I found something that was insanely fantastic and was in great condition I would be willing to fork out a little more cash :)  For accessories-- I don't buy anything that's more than $2-3.  If something's overpriced-- you can always ask for a deal or wait until there's a sale :)

What do I look for...

Some things to keep an eye out for-- great picture frames (if they have glass you can get a new mat (dollar store!) and frame photos-- if there's no glass-- think chalkboard!) anything vintage schoolhouse-- globes, maps, textbooks, chalkboards, lamps with a classic base that could be updated with a new shade, solid wood furniture, old books with great covers, industrial looking furniture, crates, baskets... those are just a few suggestions.

Here are a few items that are currently on my thrift store radar...

Charming twin bed frames-- I would love to find a spool bed or a vintage metal bed frame for Eme's room.  Check out some of these examples...

Colorful quilts and afghans-- so great.

Landscape paintings or any vintage/antique artwork that would look great on its own or as a part of a collection-- gotta love a great gallery wall!!

Mirrors-- buying a new mirror (any place other than Home Sense) can be expensive!  There are always lots of great old mirrors that just need a coat of paint...

And of course I'm always looking at the dressers and tables to see if there is anything that needs to be painted!  These blue ones are pretty fantastic...

(images via my pinterest)

Now I'm hoping you all don't run out and snatch up all the stuff I've been looking for!

Well I hope some of you found this thrifty little guide useful.  Popping into you nearest thrift store every so often can be fun if you know what to look for!  I really think that it can be a great place to find  fantastic unique stuff for your home when you're working with a tight budget.  All it takes is a little vision and some time.

Anyone else have any tips or great shops to check out?  

Anyone wanna share their best thrift store find of all time?

Small Changes... Big Changes?

I found this pretty little painting at a thrift store a week or two ago.  It came with the gold frame.  It was $2 or something like that (half the price of a starbucks drink-- that's how I justify little purchases-- compare them to the price of a starbucks :)

I like it.

I've been at home a whole lot more than usual this week.  You know what happens when I'm stuck at home?  I start staring at all the rooms in my house and get all kinds of fantastically crazy ideas.

I officially decided to paint my bedroom about 6 times this week.  And then 6 times this week I decided to NOT paint my bedroom (cue the sound of Doug rejoicing).  At this point it's still barely there blue (BM Horizon OC-53) but there are still a few more days left in the week :)

But one thing I do know for sure-- is that I am still in love with that light fixture!

A Thrifty Find

There was this funny space at the end of Caleb's bed that needed something.  Just before Christmas I found this chair at a thrift store.  I love cool chairs.  Especially when they're only $3.  I decided to put my $0.50 thrift store chalkboard up in there too.

It's cute and comfortable.  Speaking of cute... check out my photography assistant.  I'm thinking about changing her middle name to TROUBLE after this morning... as I write this she is throwing every last crumb of food off her tray onto the floor.  I'm going to ignore that...

And something else that's cute.  This makes me smile.

 It's supposed to be a house and a tree-- in case you're wondering.  Oh, and after I hung the chalkboard up Caleb walked into his room, laughed, and said: "that's a great alien tree."  Then he walked out.

Three things

Quick post here... we're road tripping it tomorrow... so today I'm packing like a mad woman.  But let me share three of my favorite things today.

1.  What did I make with all those strawberries?  Well, I froze a bunch.  I made a pie.  And... I made a ton of fruit leather.  I stole my mom's food dehydrator and made a huge batch of strawberry banana fruit leather.  Just call me Jan.  The taste and smell make me feel behave like I'm 10 years old all over again.

2.  Most ingenious mama moment yet.  Why entertain 3 year old and feed 10 month old at the same time, when I can just arrange this?  Drinking your morning coffee in peace?  Priceless.

3.  I found this mirror at MCC for $10 dollars and change.  It may not be so pretty now, but imagine a coat of paint in a fun color like blue, green, pink... oh the possibilities.  Please ignore the image of me in jean capris (wishful thinking) accompanied by knee brace... this packing business is serious!!

That's it!  Back to laundry and packing.

Feeling Thrifty

My sister and brother in law came out from the prairies for a visit!  Today my sister and I decided to do a bit of thrift store shopping.  We found some good deals!  Let me show you what I found for Caleb's room today...

First up, this old wooden racquet!  I saw it at Value Village for $6.00 and knew it would be a fun addition to Caleb's room.  He likes anything sporty (especially things that are used for swinging and hitting :) and the racquet fits with the cool Canadian hunting lodge feel inspired by the HBC lookalike blanket I found for him a while back.  It's got this awesome old school Canadian flag on it... I decided to hang it on the wall as a unique kind of artwork.  I'm also hoping to keep it out of reach-- until he pulls out the step-like shelving unit in his closet and pulls it off the wall :)

And the next deal of the day... this old school globe from MCC for $2.50.  It's definitely not geographically accurate anymore, but Caleb loves it!  I also think it looks pretty amazing... and for $2.50... it's a steal!

And last but not least... I found this light fixture at MCC for $2.50!  If you've read my post on light fixtures you would understand why I'd be excited about this one.  It's not big enough or bright enough for the dining room... but I think it could work in another room in the house.  Maybe I'll try to put it in Caleb's room... or maybe I'll use it to replace one of the many boob lights in my house-- I already showed you the ones in the hallway, but there are unfortunately more in the basement!

If anyone could use a few new things for their room... it's Caleb.  He's had a pretty rough day today.

Don't you just hate it when you scrape your face on the driveway?