Thrifting Finds #44: Another good week!

You know, we here at Fondue HQ (and by "we", I mean "me") are a generally easy-going sort.  Not quite glass-is-half-fullish, but more kind of goofily pleasant.

This weather, though, is turning me into a Grumpy Gus.  Enough already.

Yeah, I know it's useless to complain about the weather, but criminy, this is just getting on my nerves.  It's been a constant barrage of precipitation since early December, mixed in with just enough nice days to lull one into a false sense of security.  Last week (I don't remember the day, they're all a blur now...) we got 18 inches of snow.  Okay, that's not too bad, in the Grand Cosmic Scheme, but WHY ARE THE PILES OF SNOW TEN FEET HIGH????  I think there's some law of physics that's not being adhered to here.

Okay, enough ranting.  Thanks for sticking with me.

Anyway, it was a pretty good weekend at the thrifts, despite the weather.  We skipped a couple of our usual stops because I knew the parking lots were going to be nightmarish.  Two places were having President's Day sales.  The Goodwill had 50% off everything, and it turned into Hillbilly Day/Bring Your Inbred Children and Don't Watch Them Day.  It was kind of awful.  Hubby lasted about 2 minutes before he ran screaming out to the parking lot.  I lasted a little longer, but not much.  The people at Saver's were much better behaved, but there were so many of them that I was starting to get annoyed (and youall know how hard that is.)

Hmmm. I think I just ranted again.  See?  This weather is bringing out the worst in me.

So.  Let's get to the Thrift Finds!  And here I'd like to apologize for the quality of the photographs.  I don't know what happened or why they're all so terrible.  My phone seems to take either really good pictures or really horrid ones, and I can't figure out why it happens.

1.  Vacuum cleaner bags!  Yeah, I know these aren't very exciting, but a pack sets me back five bucks at the sewing machine/vacuum cleaner store.  I couldn't argue with .99 each.  Just to give this a kind of vintage slant, they fit my vacuum which is the same one Laura Petrie won on "Pay As You Go!" in the episode "Coast To Coast Big Mouth."  The last time Saver's had their half-off sale, it was advertised as clothes, bedding, and shoes only, but turned out they were discounting everything in the store.  Didn't happen this time, so .99/each.

By the way, why do sewing machines and vacuum cleaners seem to go together?

2.  Hot buns!  This is the Poppy Red version of the Avocado bun warmer I got a while back.  You know, the one that didn't work?  I took a chance on this one, and my luck improved; it got nice and hot.  Saver's, $4.00

3.  Holy Cwap, Another Cookbook?  So yeah, I found that I couldn't resist this.  I've only quickly flipped through it so I can't report on it yet, but Family Circle had a reputation for publishing some truly WTF recipes, so I'm hoping to find some good stuff in here.  Saver's, $1.99.

4.  Stretch Vase!  Fabulous, no?  I mean, come on--bask in its glory.  Bask!  This is a big 'un, too--22 inches.  Here's what it looks like in context:

I spotted this baby the moment I walked into the Goodwill.   As gracefully as a gazelle, I sprinted over to the shelf and grabbed it.  I actually said "Snatch!" out loud as I did.  Did the fact that there was a $12.50(!!) price tag on it dampen my joy?  It did not--I have a gift card!  So yeah, I was a happy boy.

Which brings up a point (and I feel another rant coming on):  what is UP with the Goodwill pricing lately?  One of our usual stops seems to have a new pricing person on staff, a person who is apparently convinced that they are reselling gold.  And now another one is suffering from the same disease.  I realize it's all for charity, but come on.  One GW actually had a stack of disposable plastic plates from microwave frozen dinners.  Maybe 40 in the stack?  I didn't count.  Price:  10 bucks.

I know!

In Other News Department:

It's February and I finally got my Christmas present from Hubby!  Okay, let me explain:  I asked for a new cordless drill and flashlight, but I would only let him get one for a price that I thought was reasonable.  Ended up not finding anything, so Hubs gave me a gift card instead.  I bought a drill but couldn't find a rechargeable flashlight that I liked.  They I stumbled across a battery store that would rebuild the non-replaceable batteries from my old drill/flashlight. Great!  I returned the drill I bought and had the batteries rebuilt.  It was kind of expensive, but by doing so I could save not only the drill and flashlight, but also the sander, saber saw, and circular saw that was part of the set.

To make a long story longer, flash forward two weeks to discover that the rebuilt batteries didn't work.  Well, they worked, actually, they just wouldn't recharge.  So I took 'em back.  Bummer.  

There's a bright spot, though:  by sheer accident, I discovered a sale on a drill/flashlight combo that was not only what I wanted, but cheap, too.  So we went to the store and got the set.  I also wanted to get a spare battery, but the difference between the battery alone and the whole set was only five bucks, so I now have a spare drill, flashlight, and charger in stock.  Plus, they gave me a really nice tape measure for free!

Not my picture

I finished our income taxes a couple of weeks ago and when I went to print them out discovered that my printer didn't want to work.  It's always been a little touchy.  After some frustrating time, I managed to get the WiFi back on line and when I clicked Print, everything seemed to work well--except the pages were all blank!  Plenty of ink, so that's not the problem.  Hmmm.  Let me get out the manual and see if i can fix it.

Oh that's right--there is no manual.  You have to read it on the computer.  Well let me tell you, it was the Most.  Incomprehensible.  Manual.  Ever.  Nothing it said to do worked, and half of what it said to do didn't give a clue about to how to do it.  So out the window it went.  Luckily, it didn't cost me anything, as I got it with points from my credit card.

So I decided to go back to a laser printer and the last one I had was a Samsung and I liked it, so that's what I got.

Not my picture.

Now, I could have gotten it for $134.85 from a big online place, or I could get it for $70.00 refurbished from another online place.  I love refurbished stuff because it means someone has actually looked at it and fixed it.  So I went the refurb route and when the site invited me to type in a code to get an additional ten dollars off my order, I did not refuse!  Free shipping? Yes, please!

An apology!

If you sent me a comment last week and it didn't get published, please don't take it personally:  I'm just a jughead.  

What happened was, I selected a bunch of comments to post but I accidentally clicked Delete instead.  I couldn't figure out how to get them back, so they're gone.  I am fairly sure I'm stupid enough to do this again.  Still, I will endeavor not to and in the meantime, please accept my sincere apologies.

All righty.  This post is already too long, so I'm not going to bother posting what I made this weekend (trust me, it was nothing exciting anyway.)

It was a pretty good week, so I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #40: Woo hoo!

Yeah, it was a pretty good week.  For a change.

First off, I mentioned last week that I was going to stop in to a little thrift that I had never been to.  Turned out to be not worth the trip.  It was a tiny little place, mostly women's and children's clothes.  But it was run by dear little Church Ladies, so it was fun to at least visit.

Anyway.  We usually do the bulk of our thrifting on Sundays, but this week we went to the Hubster's office and we filed and shifted files and basically worked our tails off instead.  The reward, of course, was to go thrifting on Monday since we were both off.

What we weren't expecting was the mob as Savers.  I had gotten an email saying they were having a 50% off sale on clothes and bed/bath, departments neither Hubs nor I are interested in.  Turns out, they were giving 50% off everything and word must have gotten around because the parking lot was jammed.

Well.  So back to the Hubster's office for a minute.  While we were there, I took a couple of pictures of his glass collection, in case anyone's interested:

As I told him Sunday, "If you ever decide to have a Margarita party, you're set."

We did hit our usual stops on Saturday.  Nothing at the Goodwill, but I did find a couple of things at the Rescue Mission thrift.  I always feel bad when we go there because we hardly ever buy anything.  It's one of those places where you pick out what you want, take it up to the front, and the person there makes up a price.  Not my favorite way of doing business, but the people there are nice, so I don't mind.

1.  Andy!  Again!  Yeah, I realize I just bought this album a couple of weeks ago, but I saw it sticking out and thought I could finally make a purchase. Plus, the cover's in better shape than the other one and still has the plastic on.  Rescue Mission thrift, $1.00

2.  Little Drummer Boy!  While I was grabbing Andy, Hubs started flipping through the records and came across this.  His family used to own it when he was but a tiny tot, so we bought it.  The jacket isn't in  very good condition and the record itself has a lot of wear, so we got it mainly for sentimental reasons.  Rescue Mission thrift, $1.00

3.  Singer!  I had seen this book last week and meant to check whether I already owned it or not.  Of course, I totally forgot, so I just up and bought it because I figured it wouldn't hang around forever.  Turns out I don't own this particular one, but a slightly newer edition.  Well, no big deal.  I can either try to sell this on ebay or just re-donate it because it was only a buck.  Rescue Mission thrift, $1.00.

And remember--"What's new for tomorrow is at Singer today!"

I just realized that I saw two individual end tables this weekend that I totally would have bought if they had been pairs.  

I'm going to save the best for last, so here's what I got on Sunday.

4.  Dinner in a Dish!  Here's another Betty Crocker cookbook that I just had to have.  I've seen some recipes from this book on some of the foodie blogs I read, and it looks like there's a lot of hilarity inside.  I picked it up and told Hubs that I was only going to get it if A) the checkout lines weren't too bad and B) I found something else.  Savers, $1.00 (half-price day.)

4a:  Disappointment!  I have been on the lookout for one of those microwave turntables because my microwave is quite old and doesn't have one (it's a genuine Radar Range, and when you close the door, it's like closing a vault.)  So I was pleased as punch when I found one in a plastic bag on Savers' Wall O' Crap.  Unfortunately, it didn't work, so it's getting tossed.  Well, you win some, you lose some, right?  Plus, it was Half-Off day, so it was only $1.50, and there were two random spoons in the bag as well.  

Have you seen what those turntables go for on ebay?  Crazy.

Okay, now for my Big Find.  Well, big for me. A lot of you find really cool stuff all the time.  Me, not so much.  So I was quite pleased to bring this home:

5.  Cathrineholm!  I saw this out of the corner of my eye and immediately thought "That's not Cathrinholm, it's some Japanese knockoff, right?"  So I picked it up and nosir, it's the genuine article!  No chips, no dents, one small scratch on the side.  The lid and stand were taped to it and the burner was inside.  I did a little happy dance!  It looks kind of pea-green here, but it's actually avocado.

I guess you want to know how much I paid, huh?  Well, I'll tell you.

Are you sitting down?

Four bucks.

I know!!

Second happy dance!  And that's not even the best part!  The best part is that I managed to grab it before Douchebag Guy* got his grubby mitts on it!  I kept wanting to prance around, waving it in his face and singsong "I got it and you didn't!"

Yes, I'm a terrible, terrible person.  I'm not proud of myself.

And you can bet I've already posted this puppy on ebay!  Special thanks to the Hubster, who determined that I spelled the name wrong in my listing (I thought it was Catherineholm.  Turns out it's not.)

And while I was at it, I posted a couple of other things on ebay, including the patterns I got a couple of weeks ago.

*Douchebag Guy:  This is a guy who is always at the Goodwill, checking the value of things on ebay, scarfing up everything before anyone else can get to it. Clearly, he's a reseller and this is how he stocks his store.   I once stood behind him in line while he bought--literally--$429.83 worth of stuff.  At the Goodwill.  So you can imagine the sheer volume of stuff.  I had one item in my hand, and he didn't say "Why don't you go first?", as I would have done.  Hence his name.

Well, so kind of exciting, no?  This was the best week of thrifting I've had in quite some time.

Oh, wait.  I almost forgot.  Time for our 

Weekly Dose of WTF  Saw this at the Goodwill and at first I couldn't figure out what it was.  I think it's a monkey.  I always like when people leave the batteries in things like this.  Enjoy the video.  

What I Made Department:

What with one thing and another happening this week, I hardly had to do any cooking at all.  So I made

Renae's Taco Bake!  This recipe came from (I think) a Taste of Home cookbook.  It's basically Chili Mac, so nothing to get excited over.

Meanwhile, it was 50 degrees yesterday.  Today, they're calling for 6-10 inches of snow.  Sheesh.

Since I actually found cool stuff this weekend, I'm proudly linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, The Nifty Thrifty  and We Call It Junkin.

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 #31: Have yourself an absolutely horrifying little Christmas!

Wow.  Just wow.

Once again, hubs and I didn't find much on our rounds this weekend, but something I stumbled across turned out to be the highlight of the day.

But first, let me rant a bit.  What is up with the Christmas stuff around here?  I keep reading all these blogs where people come across the mother lode of Shiny Brites or shelf after shelf of Lefton elves, or blowmolds up the wazoo.

And I'm totes jelly, as the kids say.  (Actually, do they still say that?  I'm kind of behind the times.)

We hit seven thrift stores this weekend, and while I found a lot of Christmas stuff, 99% of it was recycled dollar store crap.  The rest of it was just ugly.  Where's all the good stuff?

Harumph.

Other than crappy Christmas stuff, I also came across a bunch of Pyrex, most of it horribly abused.  I even saw a couple of pieces of English Pyrex.  I didn't take a picture, but it seems a little more opaque than the typical American opal glass.  Closer to Corelle, actually.

Anyway, on to what I found.

1.  Pyrex!  It's been a while since I bought a piece of Pyrex, and I'm glad I came across this.  I already have a couple that Mom bought back in the '70s.  These are really great storage jars.  I needed something to keep flour in and was looking for some Tupperware, but I got this instead.  Pretty sure it won't hold a whole 5 pound bag, but it should fit in my freezer.  $3.00 Goodwill

I almost got a Scumbuster at Savers, but the lines were so long that I didn't feel like waiting.

Speaking of Savers, I did find something there of note.  I didn't buy it, but I took a video of it

Because it's so horrifying.

Click to watch--if you dare!!!!

This thing is horrifying on so many levels--the club foot, the creepy voice.  But the face--that scary, I-want-to-eat-your-soul face--just really did me in.  How fortuitous that the person who donated it left the batteries in so you can get the full effect.

Brrrr.

What I Made This Weekend department

A.  Dan L's Enchilada Casserole  My friend Dan sent me this recipe a while back and I love it not just because it's from my friend, but because it originated in the Mexican food capital of the world:  Council Bluffs, Iowa.

1lb ground beef

Chopped onion

1lb can enchilada sauce

1lb can refried beans*

1lb jar salsa

Corn tortillas

Cheddar and/or Monterrey Jack cheese

Brown ground beef with the onion.  Drain and return to pan.  Stir in refried beans, enchilada sauce and salsa.  Simmer a few minutes.  Put a little of the sauce in the bottom of a greased 9X13 inch baking dish (vintage Corningware preferred) and add a layer of corn tortillas.  Layer sauce with tortillas until you run out of materials, ending with the sauce.  Put cheese on top and cover with foil.  Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Take off foil and bake another five.  Let sit at room temperature 5-10 minutes before attempting to serve.

*I leave the beans out because ew.

B.  Potato, bacon and corn chowder  Okay, I'll admit it--this isn't the best picture.  I'll take another one tonight when we actually eat it.  It'll have bacon bits on top and some lovely cheese melting in.  I got this recipe from Carnation evaporated milk and it's so easy it's embarrassing.  Still, there's something to say for an easy recipe that's delicious and made with stuff you're likely to have in your cupboards.

EDIT:  Here's what it looked like last night when I served it:

It was delish.

In other news  I had my car detailed last week!  I always thought that sort of thing was only for self-indulgent BMW drivers.  Then a while ago, hubs got a coupon for a free (!!) detailing, and man, what a difference!  He liked it so much that I got him a gift certificate for detailing last Christmas.  (There's an impossibly cute story about hubs and me giving each other identical presents last Christmas, but it's so nauseating that I'll spare you the details.)  Anyway, I finally got to use the gift certificate that hubs gave me last year.  Man, oh man, it's like having a brand-new car again!  Everything is so clean and shiny--and they totally got the coffee stains out of the mats.  The only problem is that they go kind of crazy with the Armor All.  There's a plastic mat/tray thing in the back of my car to protect the carpeting from dirt and stuff, and with all the Armor All they put on it, it's slippery as Teflon.  We did the marketing this weekend and every time I turned a corner, our groceries did a little Indy 500 thing back there.  If you're looking for a gift for a hard-to-buy-for person (hubs knows I am way too cheap to ever buy this for myself), I recommend this.

Also  I finally put the Eames coat rack and the free laptop I got up on ebay this weekend.  I already have bids on both!

Linking up this with Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and We Call It Junkin 

Thrifting Finds #21--Eames Edition!

I think we covered all of our usual spots but one this weekend.  I kept stumbling across things that were almost something I wanted but not quite--a lamp I would have bought if it had a mate, a coffee table that was the right size but the wrong style,  nice Pyrex in patterns I don't collect--that sort of thing.  I'm sure that happens to youall too, right?

I almost started having "Empty Hand Syndrome", when I spied this.  It was in a bin of stuff ready to be shelved, and a bunch of people passed it by.  It's like it was waiting for me.

1.  Eames coat rack!!  When I first spied this, I thought "Huh.  That looks like one of those Eames coat racks."  So I sauntered on over and discovered I was right!  It's the genuine article, made by Herman Miller and still has the mounting screws and the instructions/certificate of authenticity attached!  There are scratches on a couple of the balls from being manhandled by Goodwill staff, but nothing major.

Unfortunately, cool as this is, and as much as I love it, I have no use for this and don't even have a good place to put it.

Well.  I couldn't let it languish in the Goodwill, could I?  Or worse, let it get purchased by someone who has no idea what it is.  So I up and bought it.  It's headed for ebay, hopefully to someone who will appreciate it.  They seem to go for 100 bucks or more, which would be great.
Wanna know how much I paid for it?  Are you sitting down?
Six dollars.
I know!
I'll have to get off my butt and take some pictures and come up with a description, but with any luck, this'll be posted this week.  Keep your fingers crossed that it sells for millions of dollars, won't you?

Linking up with the goodness at Sir Thrift A Lot.