Monday, December 30, 2013

Thrifting Finds #37: Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

Greetings, all!  I hope your Christmas was every bit as great as mine!  Sorry about the lack of postage last week, but you know how things get during Christmas week.

I want to mention just one of the many lovely gifts i got from the Hubster:  a Goodwill gift card!  Did you know that some Goodwills do that?  I sure didn't!  It's not good at all the GWs we go to (they belong to different groups or something), but what a great idea.  I was pleased as punch, let me tell you.

But enough blather.  We're here to see the goodies I picked up.  This is actually more than a week's worth, since I didn't post last week, but I guess that doesn't really matter, does it?  On to the goodies!



1.  Andy!  I had been looking for this album on CD for a while now.  I know I could have gotten it from Amazon, but I wanted to find it at a bargain price.  Now, I made a deal with myself that I was not going to ever look at the records in the thrifts.  If I started that, I'd never get out of there.  But there was Andy, right in front, looking at me as I walked past.  It was a sign, a sign I tell ya!  The cover's a little worn but the LP is just fine.  Goodwill, $1.00


2.  Richard!  Okay, remember what I just said about not looking through the records?  Well, I'll admit that I did flip quickly through the bin where Andy was.  And just look what I found!  This is Doctor Kildare, folks.  Singing Hi Lilli, Hi Lo.  You can't make that stuff up.  Did I need this?  No.  Could I pass it up?  No way!  Goodwill, $1.00



3.  Ceramic Christmas Tree!  I passed up on four of these last year.  Stupid.  So this year, I vowed to get one.  What did I do?  I passed up on the first one I saw, then didn't see any more at all before Christmas!  What a yutz.  After Christmas, I found myself at an antique mall I hardly ever go to and said I'd get one if I found one.  There were probably about 6 of them in the mall, this being the only all white one,  At prices from the mid $20s all the way up to 80 bucks!  I saw this one (20% off sale) and said I'd come back for it after going all through the mall.  And so I did.  With the discount, it was like 22 bucks, which I didn't think was bad.  It sure is colorful, and there are a lot of lights on it,  Like 150.  The only problem is...

Click to embiggen

the lights are actually these stupid little birds!  Now I have to find some replacement bulbs.  Oh, Amazon has them, but the shipping is outrageous.  There's a ceramic studio near me, but they want $.15 each, which would come to like 22 bucks.  That's not happening.  Well, I certainly have lots of time, so I'm not worried.


4.  Sink trays!  A purely practical purchase, but I'm happy nevertheless.  I already have these in the kitchen and Hubby's bathroom, but I also wanted them for mine.  They're pretty expensive at the home stores, so I was quite pleased when I spotted these.  Never installed, still mint in the package.  And a price I like!  They're already installed, too, using the new cordless drill that Hubby gave me for Christmas.  Savers, $2.99


5.  More blue glass!  I picked this up the same morning as the ceramic Christmas tree.  I originally wasn't going to get it, since $5.00 is more than I'm generally willing to pay.  Then I thought I'd get it for the Hubster, so that made the price okay!  Plus, I used the gift card he got me!  I kinda wanted to keep it for myself, but I know he likes this color, too.  Luckily, he said he wanted it, but that we should keep it at home!  So now it's our new candy jar, replacing the one I got at the Dollar Store.  Goodwill, $5.00

Other stuff:


A.  Holy cwap, that's a bigass piece of pork!  You're looking at almost 12 pounds of pork loin, folks.  For which I paid just over 20 bucks.  Our Weis occasionally has a good sale on these (I swear I once got one almost this size for like, 9 bucks), and I couldn't pass this up.  We now have two nice roasts, a slew of chops, and some cubes for posole or barbecue taking their rightful place in our freezer.

And that's it for this week.  I'm writing this post on my laptop at home, which I find impossible to type on.  Consequently, all sorts of odd things have been happening, as I think I keep hitting the touchpad by accident.  If this manages to post at all, I'll be surprised!

Best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year (that's full of really cool thrifted finds)!




18 comments:

  1. I think I saw those bulbs at Hobby Lobby the last time I was there with the doll/miniature stuff.I have a white tree too, but it's not as big.I used to have a huge green tree, it came apart in four sections, but my youngest broke it a few years ago(I cried...a lot).Maybe someday I'll find another.

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    1. I don't think we have Hobby Lobby around here. I couldn't find the bulbs at Michael's, but that's not a very good store.
      How big was your big tree? I've never seen one in more than one piece before. Where did you get it?

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    2. My husband's grandmother did ceramics for many years before she passed and she made it in the 70's.It was freaking huge-over two and half feet tall.The top was a 12" tree that sat on two graduating sections and then they sat on the base section that had the lamp on it. It was an ugly cry when it was knocked over.

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    3. What a shame! It sounds glorious. I hope you at least have some pictures of it?

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  2. Oh wow, you have guts. I'd never leave something & come back for it, always drop it off... just never know if it's going to be there later.

    A lot of people I have spoken with have said gift cards are thoughtless or last minute. My sister got me a Value Village gift card last year, she hates the store with a absolute passion. Usually sits in the car when I go visit & she drives me. Out of everything else she could have gotten me, going into the store she hates most (which happens to be one of my favs) & getting me a gc as part of my present was pretty thoughtful if you ask me.

    Nice tree.

    Happy new year!

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    1. Well, I don't like *giving* gift cards for the very reasons you cite. Still, I love *getting* them! I'm weird that way ;)
      I felt safe leaving the tree because there was hardly anyone else in the mall. Every time I've done that in a thrift, though, I've been sorry. Even lectured the Hubster about it the other day. Do I take my own advice? LOL nope!

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  3. Hey, I did not know that Goodwill has gift cards! - I wouldn't mind getting one as a present. The old albums are great. I have a load of them and usually buy them just for the cover...the wackier, the better. I really do like the ceramic tree with the bird lights, I have 3 different ceramic trees and they all just have the regular lights in them. Glad I found your blog, and Happy New Year to you!

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    1. Not all the Goodwills offer gift cards, which I think is weird. And unfortunate--as far as I'm concerned, they're the perfect gift.
      I am renewing my vow not to look through the record bins any more--there's just too much potential for disaster! Of course, I've started looking through the DVDs now...but only for Christmas movies (I keep telling myself.)

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  4. That Christmas tree lights up well and looks great.
    All the best in the new year.
    Denise

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    1. Thanks! I actually put a CFL bulb in there; it works really well and doesn't get hot.

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  5. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the sink front tip outs--so totally cool and handy--I ALWAYS pass the damn trees up until I want one at Christmas--did you know that they for mega bucks on ebay....just a thought : ) Thanks for linking up glad to have you!

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    1. Those sink fronts are hardly a cool buy, but they're so darn handy! I can only imagine what those trees go for on ebay--not to mention the shipping!

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    2. What is a sink front?
      Also, I had a similar experience as many of the other folks. I had a great (big) ceramic Christmas tree and it was demolished in a move.
      Very sad.

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    3. A sink front is that fake panel in front of the sink that looks like a drawer, but is just a piece of wood. The little trays attach to the backside and give you a little storage area for sponges and whatnot. Doesn't sound like much, but they're very handy.

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  6. I love the little tree and Christmas albums!

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    1. Thanks--me, too :) The tree is actually pretty big--almost 2 feet, I'll bet (too lay to get up and measure...)

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  7. I just love that white tree! I hope you had a great Christmas, we did, but now to put it all away, ugh. Thanks so much for joining my History & Home party, the very best to you in 2014 -Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com

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    1. Thanks! And same to you! I usually put things away a little at a time; that way, it's not so traumatic.

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