Monday, January 27, 2014

Thrifting Finds #41: You can't win 'em all

Well, I kind of knew--or at least suspected--that after last week's haul, this week would be kind of puny.  And boy howdy was I right.  Not that I found nothing at all, you understand, but, well, you'll see in a minute.

The good news (I always like it when there's good news), is that there's some good new thrifting potential.  To make a short story long, when Hubs and I were in the Rescue Mission thrift last week, I overheard a woman asking if they had a square dining room table.  The man running the place said no, but that he'd call blahblahblah and see if there was one there.

Now, I only heard this conversation "out of the corner of my ear" as it were, so didn't pay too much attention.  And then, thirty seconds later, I forgot about it entirely.

Until late last week that is, and I started wondering.  Then I started doing some research.  Turns out that the Rescue Mission does have another store. It's only a mile or two away, located in a quaint little downtown shopping area.

It's a great store!  Okay, I'll admit I didn't buy anything, but I was certainly tempted.  The RM thrift we usually go to is in an unheated gym, and always seems kind of, I don't know, random.  Like an outlet, I guess.  This other store was heated (much to Hubby's relief!) and clearly had the cream of the crop there.  Everything was neat and well organized, the furniture was immaculate, and there was a ton of stuff.

I was tempted by a couple of end tables, but Hubby thought they were too big (and I think he was right.)  I was also hugely tempted by a coffee table that A) didn't have a drawer (which is what I'm looking for) and B) was likely too big. But it was extremely cool, and only 15 bucks!  I can't wait to go back again next week and see what they have.  I'm sure I missed a lot of stuff, just because I was overwhelmed by the joint.

Also this weekend, I managed to lose my gloves, I think in one of the thrifts we visited.  Oh, well. Serves me right for being careless, and maybe someone who could actually use them found 'em.  Here's a minor problem, though:  have you ever tried to buy gloves in January?  Good luck!  I finally found a few pairs of leather gloves at Macy's.  For eighty bucks.  Yeah, that's not happening.  I have a backup pair, but they're a little slippery for comfortable driving.  I might just give up the search until next winter.

Okay, after all that, are you ready to see what I got?  I hope you're sitting down, because it's, well, it's something...




1.  Baking pans!  Three of 'em!  Can you believe it?  Awesome, no?  Okay, no.  But I've been looking for some so I can make those peanut butter cookies with the peanut butter cup inside. They were clean, and only a buck apiece.  Plus, one is marked "Happy Home" which is a Woolworth's trademark, so that made me happy.

Does anyone else miss Woolworths?  Man, I sure do.  Nobody could make a patty melt like Woolworths. Nobody.  I seem to particularly miss the store around Christmastime.  All their stuff was cheap and cheerful, and it was one of the few stores that actually made me feel Christmasy.  I even miss the odd smell that they all seemed to have.

But I digress.

Here's a little something I didn't buy:


Oink!  This was on the shelf at Savers (who clearly got cleaned out with their sale on Monday and haven't restocked yet) and I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.



In Other News Department:

My ebay auctions end this evening, and I'm a little disappointed, frankly.  The Cathrineholm fondue isn't generating much excitement--it's up to $11.01--and I'm not sure why.  It's certainly in wonderful condition.  Oddly, the auction with the most watchers is for those doll clothes patterns I got a couple of weeks ago.  Really?  I hoped to recoup my original expenses, but I didn't think that many people would be interested.  Still, watchers aren't bidders, so there's that.

I was hoping to make, if not a killing, at least a nice profit, because I've kind of gone a little insane on ebay lately.  Nothing's arrived yet, but I'll post a couple of pictures of some of the things I've won.

You see, I have this terrible habit on ebay:  If I see something I like, but not necessarily "like like", I'll make a token bid and say "Oh, someone else will outbid me."  Well, that sometimes happens, but often enough I'll find myself the winner of, oh say, a laundromat bleach vending machine* that I really hadn't counted on owning.

*Totally true.

What I Made This Weekend:


Beef Tips over Noodles!  Sorry, not a good picture.  I find brown is particularly difficult to photograph, particularly under fluorescent lights.  I'll post the recipe if anyone cares.  It's delicious.


Beef Vegetable Soup!  Actually, I made this a few weeks ago and froze it.  It's supposed to get frigid again here, so Hubs requested some soup this week.


Cheesy biscuits!  Which I completely forgot to take a picture of.  To go with the soup.

I'm not proud of it, but I'm linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/FarmThe Nifty Thrifty  and We Call It Junkin.

Hopefully, next week will be better!




12 comments:

  1. There is a store near my house that sells those pig statues, among other ones. I wonder who would waste their money on those.

    Yes, tried to buy gloves in January before. Very frickin' hard!

    Can't wait to see what you've bought on eBay. When I was buying on eBay I had the same habit - bidding on stuff I kinda liked secretly hoping someone would outbid me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh man, thank you! Regarding my ebay bidding, I was afraid I was kind of insane. But as long as someone else does it, too, that makes it okay, right?
    It shouldn't surprise me that buying gloves in January is hard, considering that the stores had Christmas stuff out in October. It was a little weird to have to walk past all the bikinis to get to the one rack with four pairs of very sad, leftover gloves.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well I'm just shocked that you didn't buy that pig. HA! Our Value Village always looks like there was just a giant sale. The shelves are always so bare that the only time I go in there is if I am driving by. I hear about people finding awesome things at VV and every one I have ever been too is the same....blah.

    Have an awesome week!

    Erica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fortunately, I've been mostly able to resist buying the myriad WTF things I see. And let me tell you, it's not easy. I keep threatening to give them to my daughter.
      Our Savers is kind of weird--everything is neatly organized and mostly immaculate, but then they'll put out some pans or something that are crusted with grease from the last time they were used! And the furniture is beyond disgusting.

      Delete
  4. Don't despair, thrift store searching has its good weeks and bad weeks, just like yard/garage sale searching, flea market/swap meet searching and the like.

    Maybe January and cold weather around the country have an impact on what is donated. Hopefully when spring finally rolls around, people will start spring cleaning and think to themselves 'Isn't it time I got rid of this doodad and thingamabob that is collecting dust?' and off to the thrift store it goes.
    At least, that is how it is for me, Its too cold where I live to start dragging stuff to the local thrift store. My donations will go when winter is over, and hopefully donators will do the same.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now see, I always thought January would be a good month for thrifting since everyone made their donations in December to get the tax deduction. This may be true, but I haven't seen a huge influx of stuff into the stores, Maybe they're just sitting on it somewhere.
      I know thrifting has its ups and downs, but sometimes I just get so impatient! Which, unfortunately, often leads to "Empty Hand Syndrome" and leaving the store with stuff I don't really want!

      Delete
  5. The soup looks delicious! Too bad ebay is sucking right now. It sucks when you expect stuff to garner a nice price and then it doesn't because people can't see how awesome it is. : ) Hopefully two people are watching the CH and will get nuts when the auction gets close to end. That's what happens to me every time I bid on a CH. EVERY DANG TIME!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, people didn't actually go nuts, but the CH sold for 42 bucks or thereabouts. Not great, but not bad either.
      As a buyer, I like ebay--I get a lot of stuff there. Now that I'm trying to sell, it just seems so much more complicated than it used to be.

      Delete
    2. I lost my leather gloves this week too. They were longer than normal so my wrists never got cold and I miss them so very, very much! I'm always happy to find a new store to shop in, lucky you!

      Delete
    3. Finding new gloves ain't gonna be easy, even if I wait until next winter. Seems I have little girly hands with long, tapering fingers. With most men's gloves, if they're long enough, they're much too wide. I'm not too proud to try women's gloves, but they always look so girly.

      Delete
  6. Well we're proud to have you, Bob! Loved it, as always. What's with that pig thing, is she trying to be...sexy...looks like? Oh my, it's good for a laugh, anyway. Thank you so much for sharing this at my History & Home link party this week. Take care - Dawn @ We Call It Junkin.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As far as that pig goes, your guess is as good as mine! Coy maybe? At first I thought the flowers were shamrocks. What on EARTH possesses someone to make something like this? I just don't understand.

      Delete