A little Early Christmas Thrifting

Well I guess it really isn't that early now is it?  Especially for decorations.  I didn't get much today but I did want to share this beautiful cranberry wreath I found at the Salvation Army.   It was 30% percent off on Bric-a-brac day so I got a great deal on it too.  It is Pottery Barn and still has the tag with it and the hanger ribbon is still wrapped in plastic so I don't think it has ever been used.  It's very pretty, reminds me of a Martha Stewart cranberry wreath project a few years ago that I wanted to do but the beads for it would have cost about 80.00.    Too much for one wreath for me.  This one is so pretty, the berries are glass so it is a solid wreath and the beads are strung on wire.
It's 12 inches across.    It was priced at 1.69 with 30 percent off so I paid 1.11 cents for this wreath which would be a great deal on a napkin ring at Pottery Barn, lol!

A little update:  This exact wreath is being sold online at EBAY for 44.00 plus 8.00 shipping! Nice to get mine for a little over a dollar ; )

Being Thrifty, not just thrifting!

I have been wanting to get a pretty gel manicure.  They are a little pricey though, aren't they?  And I wonder about a product that I have to soak my fingers in for any length of time.   So I was looking around and have found the Sally Hansen Miracle Gel.  It is a gel that does not require a special curing light or soaking to remove the polish.   I received a bottle for my birthday last week and I thought I would give it a try.  At around 9 dollars a bottle for the color or 15.99 for the bottle of color and the necessary gel topcoat, it is a pretty nice deal compared to a salon manicure.

I liked this teal color my son picked out for me : )  I guess he noticed the teal I have been using around the house for decorating and remembered I liked it!   I probably would not have picked this color out for myself but I'm glad he did because I wound up really liking it.  

I always try to do thin coats so they dry really well even if I have to do an extra one for coverage.  I wound up doing 3 coats of this polish, shown below. 

I used the top coat to cure it and sat for awhile waiting for it to dry.   I did it in the evening and was up for a few hours so it did have a chance to dry.  Still the next day I wound up with several dings and scratches.   

 I smoothed them out with polish remover and then applied another coat to the ones that were damaged.  I had checked out a few websites and read that it helps to go outside for a few minutes so I did that.  That must be the trick because they held up very well this time.  

This is after 5 days, picture below and I think it did pretty well.  I actually did a lot with my hands, washed dishes, worked on beadwork, combed my dogs and kitty, my regular stuff.  I don't see it looking that great at 14 days but for me regular polish and topcoat usually starts chipping off in a day or two.  

I will definitely give Sally Hansen Miracle Dry another try and get some Red polish for Christmas.  Here is the link for a lady named Karen Falcon at imabeautygeek.com who blogged about it and shows all the beautiful colors there are.   She reviewed every other polish brand you can think of too so it's a lot of info!!  Probably too much for me.  

 (PS.  I am not associated with Sally Hansen in anyway or Karen, I just thought it would be fun to post my process and that someone might find it useful and a way to save some money : )

 

After 5 days, just started to chip a little at the thumb and the cuticle area on my index finger.  

Some thrifting..............found a treasure !

Oh my gosh I was so excited to find a pretty piece of Pyrex in a pattern I already had a piece of!! I had the mixing bowl which I found at the GW for 2.99 which was a great find about 10 months ago.  Today I found a small casserole in the same pattern at a different GW for .99 cents!  It is just adorable and I was thrilled.

  I had no plan to go thrifting today but I was running an errand for my husband and wound up right next to the GW and of course had to run in for a peek.  That's when found this piece, what luck !  Well I had to take a quick scan of dresses and shoes and found one of each.  I found a pair of brand new Sperry Topsider boat shoe wedge heels for 9.99.  This was such a great find, this shoe retails for around 90.00-100 dollars and I found a brand new pair for ten bucks.

One of the reasons I love thrifting : ). I found this dress too, I really like it and it was yellow tag so it was 50% off, yay!  It's a nice soft fabric in navy with the front hem shorter than the back. Very cute. I have faux top siders in navy sequins I got at target that will go perfectly with this dress.  Not a great pic but the dress really is very cute and is perfect for the weather we're having.  

Now I am really on the look out for a smaller china hutch to keep all my Pyrex and other pretties in.  It's a shame to keep them in the cupboard but for now that is where they shall remain.  I am hoping to find one I can paint a teal/turquoise blue.    

Estate Sale around the corner : )

Well there was an estate sale in my neighborhood in walking distance so I finally had to go over and check it out.  I spent 3.25 and picked up avfewclittle items 

I can always use a Tupperware measuring cup, I only have a one cup size and this is 8 cups. Score for 25 cents.  

I used to watch this program and I love aunt. Bee and cookbooks : ) 1 dollar. 

This handy clear plastic tray is pretty big and can hold taco fixings or beads and craft dupplies, I haven't decided.  1 dollar

I bead myself so I know how time consuming it is.  50 cents 

50 cents 

Just a cute little charm bracelet I'm going to try and polish up. 50 cents. 

Rummage sale weekend!

This past weekend was a great one for rummage sales!  In walking distance from my house is St. John the Baptist church and they were having there annual church carnival which includes all different kinds of food, rides (no thank you) games, bands all day, and.....................an enormous rummage sale!!!  The kind where the person at the table looks at your pile of items, doesn't count them and says, how bout 4.00 for everything???  Great!   I got many wonderful things and I will show you a few of them here.  The same weekend was another church rummage sale across town at St. Andrews.  That was really good too, I picked up a lot of great things there.  I don't have pictures of everything because, well there were just too many items.

Aren't these vintage yellow flower pillowcases with a eyelet trim beautiful?  They really are and they are in perfect condition.  No stains, tears, worn spots, nothing.  So pretty.  50 cents apiece.

I found 4 of these melamine salad/lunch size plates.  In the beautiful teal/turquoise color I've been loving lately!

And a very light turquoisey blue bowl and a light green one too, 50 cents each.

I could not resist getting this Buzz Lightyear mug!  It is just so cute!!  Toy Story was my now 14 year olds favorite movie when he was 2-4 years old and I have easily seen it a few hundred times.   I didn't really think he would want it at his age but I just got it for me.   Suprise, suprise, when I took it out of the bag he said, "Is that for me?" and immediately wanted to put juice in it.  (We washed it first : )    I was suprised but very pleased.  When he tires of it I can give it to my 5 year old nephew.  I might sound like a bowl of sentimental crazy but I swear Toy Story stuff can bring me to tears right now.  My two sons are 25 and 22 so obviously this one is my baby and he is my last child.  I miss my little babies so much, it was such a great time in my life, I am getting teary right now just writing this!  Sheesh : )
1 dollar.  He is from the Disney on Ice shows which I guess is why I've never seen it in the store.

I couldn't beleive my eyes when I saw these vintage enamel daisy burner covers!  They are just beautiful!   I love, love, love them.  They were all taped together and had a price tag of 3.00!  Yes, thank you!

I meant to buy this chair for my sewing table but forgot about it as soon as I got inside the sale.  Oh well, it was really cute though and comfortable for 10.00.

My husband was with me at St. John's rummage sale, we enjoyed the food and entertainment for three nights in a row.  Walking distance from our house, it was really fun.   He spotted this couch and rug and had bought it before I even walked up!  He got both pieces for 35.00 each.  They are both in beautiful shape and fit pretty nicely in our living room.  the door behind the couch will soon have drapes that  can be pulled closed when the boys have friends over.  That room is kind of storage right now but it has a fooseball table and games and stuff and opens up to the backyard and the pool area.  I am trying to get it ready for summer.

  My uncle used to own an Oriental Rug store in Corona del Mar so I gave him a call about the rug.   He knew what it was right away.  It is called a 90 line 5/8.  It is still imported and available in L.A.  It retails for 16 dollars a square foot so this one retails for 1280.00   I think my husband did an excellent job don't you?  We plan to keep it but it is something we can always sell later on and make a few dollars.  Really great finds!

The detail in the rug is just so beautiful, the pretty flowers and all, I just love it.

     The last night everything was half off of already low prices and I did a quick walk through to see if there was anything else I wanted.   I'm really glad I did!   I found these beautiful authentic sandpaintings!  I was very excited, of course I had to have them!  3.00 for them all.  Yay!!  They are signed by an artist named "Yazzie" which is a pretty common last name in the Navajo nation.  I looked on ebay and there are actually a lot of sandpaintings for sale.  But I was looking for something by the same artist and I found one.  Some of the paintings by different artists were similar but one detail that this artist has that was different than the others was the hands.  His hands are very Edward Scissorhands in the 2nd and especially the 3rd painting.  I really love them.

And no, I did not pick this guy up at the sale.  This is my baby Link, my precious doggie.  I just had to include this picture of him <3  We went to the beach this morning to walk and play ball and I snapped a few pictues.  This makes him look so vicious but he was only asking me to throw the ball to him.  He is a beautiful black and brown Chow/Border Collie mix and he was rescued from the animal shelter.

Well that's it for this post and I hope you enjoyed seeing my finds, I feel like I got some real treasures!

More teal and kitchen Items and a cool bag!

I made a quick stop and I actually can't remember where I went!  I think it was the Salvation Army.  Yes, yes I remember now because they were having a 50% off sale.  I found this awesome little plate that so matches the colors and the new vibe in my kitchen (not to mention it is a picture of Chocolate Cake!) so I had to have it.   It's a Hershey's chocolate collector plate which I wasn't aware they even had.  so cute!!!  I picked up this little treasure for 1.30 after the 1/2 price.  Awesome!

Then I found at the same place this utensil holder from Le Creuset.  I was very excited!  It is in excellent condition, not chips or anything!  This sells  online on ebay for around 35.00 asking price and retails for 67.00.   I was very excited, I've been wanting the Le Creuset dutch oven 3.5 quart in  Caribbean blue but it is about 200.00.   I'll have to put it out there for Mothers Day : )  Anyway I was thrilled to get it for 99cents, and even tho I wasn't going to go with any red in my kitchen, the boy in the plate is wearing a red sweater and so I think it will go just fine.   

The last two things are accessories and I just love them both.   The first is a dark red/maroon handbag by Relic.  Very cute and in excellent condition, clean inside, for 3.99.  

 Then check out this brand new handbag with the tags still on it that I picked up for 4.99!  It is so cute and flashy and perfect for going out in the summer!!     Oh and anyone who might read this and lives anywhere near Claremont, California, there is a great store out there that I just found recently with my mom, it's huge.  It's actually where I picked up the last item, the new purse.   It is called Charity thrift and the salesgirl told us that on Mondays they have a 1.00 dollar tag sale on a specific color.  One of my favorite Salvation Army's used to do that and now they don't.  So if your are in that area google the Charity thrift and head on over on a Monday for some great stuff.   

The picture isn't the best, it is a really pretty gold bag with a big rhinestone in the middle of the flower, it is very pretty and sparkly. 

Thrifty Spring Finds!!!

I went thrifting on Monday with my mom and we came home with a few great things!   I love what I found and they really go together with my kitchen and the colors I am going with for spring!  This placemat actually includes all my colors.  I found 4 of these at the Goodwill in Hawaii.  I love teal/turquoise and yellow and brown.  All three are represented.   First item is this cute little hardboiled egg slicer.  50 cents.  I am a huge sucker for kitchen gadgets in metal like the more old fashioned looking one.  I have a whole drawer full.  This one was made in Germany.  I forget to use them for specific jobs a lot of the time but I just love finding them and buying them. 

Second thing, these adorable corn holders in bright, yellow plastic, kind of feels and looks like melamine.  Perfect for the yard and a  nicer than the plastic ones at the grocery store.  I have a set of clear glass ones but these are much better for the back yard.   So pretty!  I can't wait to use them.  I love BBQ'ed corn with lots of butter and salt and a little Cholula (?)  hot sprinkle.  $ 2.00

Next is this very cute cake plate and cover.  I had thought I wanted a glass one and maybe I still do! but I saw this one and had to have it, the turquoise bottom is just perfect!  It looks very 50's to me.  It is like Tupperware but is made by a company called Tucker and it was made in the USA.   1.50 for me : )

Lastly is a clothing item, this pretty Lilly Pulitzer dress!!!  I LOVE it.  Big yellow daffodils on it, it is just screaming springtime!  And what an amazing deal on this, so exciting!  I found it at the Goodwill with the Lilly Pulitzer tags still on it including the price tag, $ 278.00 dress, brand new and I got it for..............8.99!!!   This has been a pretty successful week thrifting, I hope you all are doing well too,  Happy April  XXOO