In England we call them ‘charity shops’ and there are a few in most towns. Some of my friends had been getting great bargains recently, mainly clothes, books and toys, so on Thursday morning I had an urge to go shopping (and that was before I even read your blog). However I quickly abandoned my adventure when I worked out that pushchairs (strollers to you) and charity shops just don’t mix. There just isn’t enough room. You can only apologise for knocking things off shelves (or knocking entire shelves over), running over people’s toes or just being in the way a certain number of times before you go mad. So charity shops were left for a child free time (if it should ever happen) and I went to my favourite cafe for a pot of tea and a sausage and egg butty

So while I am unable to satisfy my bargain hunting urge on the high street I have to resort to the next best thing – ebay!!! Two weeks ago my husband shared with me his ebay and paypal passwords – ooo, I’m going to have to be careful or he may live to regret it. My best purchase so far – someone’s huge collection of damlation related merchandise – yes, really. You see my little girl has decided that for her 4th birthday in July she wants a dalmatian party. That’s great but 101 dalmatians isn’t popular at the moment so favours and prizes are hard to come by. Not any more! I am going to wrecklessly split up the multitude of models, toys, badges coming my way at a ridiculously low price, and send little children home with lots of goodies. Also included in the collection are things that are going to be great for birthday presents for Beth – even a lunchbox – what more could a dalmatian mad little girl who starts school in September ask for? Who said Kids birthdays had to be expensive?

By the way, I like your purchases, they go so well with the view from your window.

And GRITS, WELCOME BACK!!! Glad you were able to re-registered!! Actually, I really like the way your name reads now! Better than the previous version, IMO. OK, gotta disappear for awhile, but hope to be back and Say some more soon! Oh, and thanks D for the prayers for my health!! Much appreciated. I’m not out of the woods yet, tho, but finally seen to be getting better!

Peace!

THAT’S ALL, FOLKS.

PS Invite me to your yard sale or ELSE!

Anyhow, Tori, I have dropped by to read from time to time but didn’t have time to comment. I want to tell you again how much I enjoy your writing style & subject matters…so very entertaining.

Now on to tablescapes and thrift shopping. I hate the word “tablescape” because of that woman on the Food Network (I MIGHT watch a bit of her recipes occassionally but I leave when the tablescape starts). Like where you come from, I just “set the table” and having gotten old & decrepit and downsized, I don’t even do that anymore.

I love thrift shopping though. About 5 years ago I moved to this little town outside the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area and all we have is what they call PTA thrift (yes, the proceeds go to the PTA). I haven’t found much of anything the times I’ve been. But when I lived in the Raleigh area, I frequented Good Will stores and Disabled American Vets (my fav) thrift stores regularly. As Delivered said, I’ve found some great clothing bargains there. My thing with dishes was old bowls & platters…chips and all (usually “flowerdy” of course). I think it started when my grandmother died and I got a little bit of her old stuff.

One of my most satisfying finds was curtains for my current bathroom. I had exactly in my mind what I wanted but couldn’t find any…nothing fancy, just the old-timey off-white semi-sheer ruffled curtains with tie backs. Was having work done on my car at my daughter’s in High Point and there was a Good Will across the street and we went just to look around and voila! I found exactly what I wanted…$1.50 or $2.00, I forget. I’ve had other good buys but can’t recall them now, besides I don’t want to write a boring book for ya’ll.

Tori, your finds are great! Really classy looking and a real deal! I’d love to go to your yard sale, except that I have more stuff than I can fit in here now. BTW, you DO know that as soon as you get rid of something you need it, right? I’ve downsized twice and if I could, I’d go back & reclaim some of my things. :o)

So, w/ that being said – I have seeeeeriously found some nice, REALLY GREAT THINGS – at the Rocky Mount, NC Sal. Army store – me & my girls call it Sal’s now. They can have some good furniture, too. Ya just have to know what to look for – and how to look beyond the clutter.

ps — Stribet – LOVE YOUR CAT! I HAVE 5!
Jonny – howr ya feelin these days? Too early for ya this morning, or still down? Prayin for ya!

The only problem is storing all the bowls. Eventually there comes a point when there just isn’t any more room. And now with the possibility of moving coming up, the thought of packing all of them makes me want to just curl up in the corner.

My best Goodwill find has been a Mamma Ro salt & pepper shaker in my favorite shade of red. 1.50 for the pair, when they normally retail for $65. (yikes!) – of course that includes a butter dish too

Do let us know when you plan to have the yard sale. I’m sure we’d all find things we just “have to have” to add to our collections as well.

Teen Challenge…Yea! Always wonderful when you can treat yourself and champion a great cause

Can I make a plug for my favorite thriftstore? *I am imagining heads all nodding at this point*. Okay then I will. If you have a Teen Challenge Thriftstore near you become a patron there and you help to fund an organization that helps folks (men and women, young and older) find Christ and find a Christ based solution for overcoming alcohol and drug dependency. What a great cause. I have become friends with so many men who are seeking to turn their lives around. Their store is right across the street from where I work (I mean who wouldn’t take any excuse they could to take a break from the DMV, right?). Anyway, so anyway I am there almost everyday talking with the guys and occassionally finding something really cool!

So I say be thrifty and spruce up your house at the same time you support great causes. Tori, it’s so amazing what you come up with to get this group to talking. You are good Girl!!!!!
Blessings to all us Bloomrs!

I too like salad plates…….a lot! I think it’s because salads have the most potential to be really eye pleasing, and a beautiful plate only makes them more so! That, and they are small compared to big honkin’ dinner plates and less expensive, so we can have lots of them without having to take out an insurance policy on them. I think I have too many.

(I hear you snoring, Jonny! Stop it! Act like you’re interested!)

My sister has worked at J.C. Pennys forever and she does displays for them. And many times they have one place setting left of various fine china and stoneware patterns that are discontinued. She buys it at a big discount and now she has 16 place settings of 16 different patterns, but all with a touch of midnight blue on them. And when we eat there, she takes them all down and we get to pick the one we like best to eat from. I think that’s a cool idea, and not just because it’s MY sister. And the kids love picking their favorite!

I have several thrifty “finds” that I particularly like. I’ll try to get them together and take a picture. I know you all are breathless with anticipation! (Hey! I hear a whole bunch of snoring now! Cut it out!)

In the “for me” department finds have included books and software…oh, my inner geek satisfied at bargain prices

Such a fun post and now I’ve a couple new sites to gander. Looking forward to hearing about treasures others have discovered.