Thrifting Finds #32!

Things were a little topsy-turvy here at Fondue Headquarters this weekend.  We lost our interwebz on Wednesday.  An hour on the phone with tech support on Thursday brought a technician out on Friday.  He managed to fix the problem within about 15 minutes.  Friday night, the interwebz went out again, so another hour on the phone on Saturday brought another technician out on Sunday.  This was a bit of an ordeal, as it took him nearly 3 hours to fix the problem. He had to replace our router and modem, and then take everyone in my building down.

I was okay with that.

It was still working this morning when I left for work, so yay.

On to the thrifting!

This weekend was a little more productive than the last few, I'll admit.  I still didn't get anything really fabulous, but I do like what I got.  I was tempted by a couple of things:  a Tupperware chip & dip set and a Corningware pan in a size/shape I had never seen before.  I toyed with getting them, but finally realized that I really didn't actually need either, so left them behind.  Interestingly, the Goodwill had three of the unusual Corningware pans.

Here's what I got:

1.  Magazine rack!  This is kind of mid-centuryish and I definitely need one (the one I had kept collapsing.)  Magazine racks seem to be hard to find around here for some reason.  I should probably polish the "brass" parts and wax the wood handle, but I probably won't do either because I'm lazy.  This was $8.00 at the Goodwill, which I thought kind of pricey, but as you can see, I paid it anyway (I'm kind of rich this week--see below.)

2.  Folding chairs!  I hemmed and hawed over these because the second I walk into a thrift store I become Mr. Indecisive.  We already have folding chairs, but they're from Ikea and not very sturdy.  We need folding chairs often enough to warrant having nice ones, so I'm not sure why I was so hesitant about buying these.  They're sturdy, reasonably comfortable, and they were only $4.00 each, for crying out loud.  As you can see, they did end up coming home with me.  They could do with a little wiping down, but nothing major.

(I actually bought one more thing, but I'm saving that for next week, because I think there will be very little thrifting next weekend.)

In other news:

In reading other people's blogs, I realized there are a couple of things I have never seen in a thrift store:

A) Knee huggers.  I would really like to have a few to put around the house, as I think they're kind of fun and cool.  Have never seen a single one in person.

B) Vintage tablecloths.  Christmas or otherwise.  In fact, I'm not entirely sure I've even seen contemporary tablecloths in any of the thrifts.  People keep finding the most fabulous Christmas linens all over the place, and I'm completely jealous.  I'd probably have better luck at estate sales, but we don't really seem to have those around here.

Hey, remember Creepy Snowflake Girl and the framed photograph of the gun?  Here's a little unsettling news:  they've both been sold.  At any rate, they were both gone from the store, which seems to indicate that someone bought them. *Shiver*

Ebay success!  Remember the Eames coat rack and the free laptop I got a while ago?  Well, I stuck them both up on Ebay last week, and they both sold!  It's been a while since I sold anything on Ebay, so I'm behind the times, but when did they start collecting fees on the amount of postage?  That just seems wrong to me. Between the Ebay fees and the Pay Pal fees, it's seems to be only worth posting something really valuable that you got for a song.

What I Made This Weekend Department

Crock-Pot Meatballs.  No picture because while delicious, the finished product just was not very photogenic!  There really isn't much of a recipe either--just combine a couple of cans of cream of celery soup with a good tablespoonful of beef broth base (not bouillon), Throw a bag of frozen pre-cooked meatballs in the Crock Pot (I used Aldi's Fit & Active turkey meatballs), pour the sauce on top, and cook on low for a couple of hours.  Since everything's already cooked, it really just needs to heat up.  Serve over noodles.

This is the kind of broth base I use, but I'm sure other brands would be just as good.  Just don't try to use bouillon which is super-salty, not to mention nasty.  This stuff is kind of salty too, so be careful.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza.  No picture for this either, because I haven't made it yet!  I'll update tonight, as long as the finished product is presentable.  Not much of a recipe for this one, either:  Unroll and press out a Pillsbury pizza crust.  Spread some barbecue sauce on top.  Throw some diced, cooked chicken on top of that (I love the precooked chicken chunks you get in the meat department.)  I like to put a drained can of tomatoes with chilis on, as well.  Throw on as much cheese as your conscience will allow, and bake according to the directions on the pizza crust tube.

Edit:  Here's the picture

And that's it for this week, kids!  This week I'm linking up with  Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, The Remnant and We Call It Junkin 

Thrifting Finds #14!

Thrifting find, actually.  It was kind of a slow weekend.  Still, I really like what I got:

1. Rollers!  Just couldn't say no to a package of mint, shrink-wrapped bouffant rollers!  With the original price tag, yet--and you know how I love my original price tags! Savers, $.99 

Oh, and by the way, I'm pronouncing "rollers" the way the gal in this commercial does:

Now, you may be wondering just why the heck I bought a pack of rollers in the first place.  Well, it's because they'd go so well with my awesome collection of defunct hair-care products.

I've never mentioned that collection?  How remiss of me!  Here's a preview in case anyone cares:

If anyone's interested, I'll post more pictures.  I've got a lot of this crap.

In other news, The Girl Child blew in last night amid a tornado of luggage, Apple products, and girly-scented things.  We're more of a way station than an actual destination, but at least we get her for a day!

And because she's here, I did a little cooking.  I made Peanut Butter Candy Bar cookies and Caramel Apple squares. 

These are the Peanut butter bars:

There's a peanut-butter cookie base, covered by a layer of peanut cream, covered by a layer of caramel with salted peanuts, all covered with a layer of milk chocolate.  Needless to say, these were a lot of work.

Can't find the pic of the Caramel Apple squares, so picture an oatmeal cookie base with chopped apples, caramel, and more oatmeal cookie on top.

I also made deviled eggs for the first time.  The whole hard-cooked egg thing is kind of icky to me, but TGC likes them and I got to use my awesome Tupperware Deviled Egg Server!

I actually did make enough eggs to fill the container but one of them was so hard to peel that I had to toss it.  We're having these tonight with Buffalo Chicken Barbecue, potato salad, and some crudites.  Sort of a little indoor picnic!

So that's about it.  Only one purchase this weekend, but I'm sure you'll forgive me as I was a little busy.  Hopefully, next week will net many, many cool purchases!

Linking up with all the deliciousness at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and The Remnant

Recipe Roundup: Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

We're having this tonight, as a matter of fact, and both hubs and I enjoy this so much that I thought I'd share the recipe.

I totally stole this found this on some other blog, but I can't remember which one.  I'd gladly give credit if I could only remember.  If this is your recipe, let me know!

Buffalo Chicken Barbecue

1.5lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4C Buffalo wing sauce
1 packet Ranch dressing mix.

Dump the chicken in your Crock Pot.  Mix the Ranch dressing mix and the wing sauce and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Check it after 5 hours, because it's easy to cook this to a pulp.  You know your own Crock Pot. so let experience be your guide.  When done, remove the chicken and shred it.  Return it to the pot for a minute to soak up the juice.  Serve on sub rolls with a squirt of Ranch dressing on top.
Double (or more!) this recipe because it's easy, it's delicious, and it freezes well.

But wait, there's more!  How about some photographic documentation?

I forgot to take a picture of the chicken, so use your imagination.

That Louisiana Supreme wing sauce?  Best.  Stuff.  Ever.  I've been putting it on everything.  I get it at the Dollar Store, so you might want to look there and see if yours has it.  If not, I'm sure whatever wing sauce you usually use will be fine.  Likewise the Ranch Dressing mix.  I bought the kind that happened to be on sale.

Finished product!  I know it doesn't look like much, but it's hard to photograph food well, and I'm not a good photographer in the first place.  You can trust me, though--this stuff is delicious.  Make a lot and freeze some.