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 #30: It's beginning to look a little like...

Christmas!  But just a little.  I know that Halloween is barely over, but Thanksgiving is late this year and I like to get a head start on Christmas.  So if you hear me singing carols in the shower (and if you're in a position to do so, close your eyes, I'm nekkid!!), I hope you'll forgive me.

Anyhoo, hubs and I got to do our usual rounds this weekend, and while most of what I found wasn't very exciting, it was at least useful. Practical.  Not unlike me.  First up:

1.  Wonder Cup!  Not very glamorous, I'm afraid, but terribly useful.  In fact, I already used it when I made cookies yesterday (keep reading.)  Whoever previously owned this kept the instructions in the bottom for easy reference--I love that.  Goodwill, $1.25

2.  Buttoneer!  I got a generic one a while back and accidentally bent the all-important needle, so I was very pleased to find this on the Wall O' Bags at Savers.  I was especially pleased at the $1.99 price tag, as these always end up going for crazy money on eBay.  Did I mention that I hate sewing on buttons?  I can do it with the sewing machine fine, but that's such a hassle to set up for a single button.

3.  This thing!  I believe this is a sort of lampshade-y thing that you stick on top of one of those bigass Yankee Candles.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong.  I don't actually own any bigass Yankee candles, but I do have a couple of generic ones that get hauled out at Christmas.  I'm pretty sure this is purely decorative, rather than functional.  It was actually a Dollar Store purchase for, uh, $1.00.  I was standing in line when I saw it, and I was taken by the insouciant Santa.  Wink.

4.  Blowmold!  My first ever!  I'm pretty sure this blowmold is not vintage; I don't even think it's particularly old.  Still, it's the first one I've come across in my travels, and I couldn't beat the price.  I'd say Santa's a good two feet tall, and I haven't decided what to do with him.  He'll either go by the front door or on the balcony, or maybe I'll take him to work with me to decorate my cubicle (have to check the official "how to decorate for Christmas The Holidays memo.)  He had a $2.00 price tag attached to the cord, but that might have been from a garage sale or something, since he also had an "official" $4.00 Goodwill price on the bottom.  The cashier gave him to me for two bucks!  I have no place to store him, so once Christmas is over, back to the GW he goes.

I also bought a serving spoon for $0.25, but didn't take a picture.  You can never have too many serving spoons, particularly with Thanksgiving coming up.

What I Made This Weekend Department

A:  P-P-P-Pasta!  Technically, Penne Pasta with Pesto, Pepperoni, Parmesan, and Provolone (also meatballs, sauce and three other cheeses, but those don't begin with P.)  

The verdict?  Pretty pedestrian.

This wasn't an actual recipe, just something I threw together, using ingredients we like.  Unfortunately, it came out kind of bland, despite tossing in some crushed red pepper to give it a little oomph.  I didn't use much pesto because it tends to take over and the pepperoni wasn't very spicy.  So, while it wasn't bad, it just wasn't knock-your-socks-off good, either.

B.  Dr. Martin's Mix!  This recipe comes from The I Hate to Cook Book by Peg Bracken.  I'm not going to give the recipe because you all--every single one of you--need to own this book.  And every other book she wrote, too.  I've read her books literally dozens of times and I still laugh out loud.  

Okay, this is basically sausage and rice. I really don't like sausage, but I love this.  It's simple, quick and one of those dishes that is better than the sum of its parts.  P.S.  I don't know what kind of rice Peg was using, but this does not need to simmer for an hour!  Twenty minutes pretty much does it.

C:  Cookies! We have a cookie exchange at work and a friend of mine is running it this year, so this is the first time I will be participating.  I made White Chocolate Macadamia cookies but I left the Macadamias out, because who wants to spend that kind of money on people at work?  They're delicious even without the nuts.  I used 1/2 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of Crisco instead of all butter.  I think next time, I will use all butter-flavor Crisco* because I like cookies that are chewy instead of crispy. Also, I think two cups of white chocolate chips were too much, so I'll cut back on them as well.  These smell great when they're baking.  I haven't gotten the review from hubs (aka Cookie Monster), but I'm pretty sure he'll approve.

*Now that butter is back to being $2.00 a pound at Aldi, it's actually cheaper than Crisco!

UPDATE:  Butter is now $1.69 a pound at Aldi.  Woohoo!

And that's it.  Seven pictures in one post, and my fingers are typed to the bone.  Not to mention the fact that I'm at work and should probably be, uh, working...

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

Thrifting Finds #29!

Once again, it was a rather disappointing weekend for thrifting. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do our usual Sunday rounds.  Instead, we went to hubby's office and worked on a project that needed to get done.  The good thing is that, given the way the thrifts have been lately, it's unlikely we missed out on much!  With any luck, we'll be back to our usual routine next week.

I did find a couple of things, and I have some other stuff to share, which makes me feel better.  Since I really only post once a week, I hate it when we find nothing and I have nothing to post about.

So let's get to it!

1.  Blown glass snifter!  Lately, hubs and I have been hitting the thrifts and hubs makes a quick trip around then goes out to smoke while I look more carefully.  When I saw this on the shelf, I figured he had either seen it and didn't want it or missed it completely.  As soon as I spied this beauty, my little hand shot out and snatched it.  Those who have been paying attention probably realize that I love this color, having in the recent past purchased this:

...and this:

...and this:

So after I bought it, I showed it to hubs, who immediately made an "Oooh!" face and said he must have missed it.  Since he liked it so much, I gave it to him to add to his collection at work.  Also, the price was right:  $0.48!

2.  Cookbooklets!  I love these little booklets, generally put out by food manufacturers, encouraging mid-century housewives to use, say, Crisco, in everything from biscuits to coffee.  The one on the left touts Mirro bakeware, the other one is published by Pet evaporated milk.  Neither one seems to have any outstanding recipes, but I only glanced through.

And here's my rant about these.  Someone gave a buttload of these to one of the Goodwills I frequent.  What the GW has done is painstakingly adhered a non-removable price sticker to each and every one, each with the price of $1.19!!  Really, Goodwill?  A lot of these are like, four pages long, and now they're ruined by having huge price labels on them.  What they should have done was put a fistful of them in a baggie, and sold that for $1.19.  The only reason I bought these two was because it was half-off red tag day.

What I Made This Weekend Department. 

I'm not exactly sure why I took these pictures this weekend, but as long as I did, I thought I'd share 'em.

Dinner!  Last night we had Ritzy Pork Chops with spaetzle and mixed vegetables.  I thought the chop was kind of meh, but hubby liked his.  This is one of those dishes I'll make one more time, changing up the seasoning.  If we don't like it the second time, I won't make it again.

Go check out Heidi's blog, if you can.  She doesn't update regularly, but I've come across a lot of recipes there that I want to try.  

Tonight's dinner!  This is Chicken & Wild Rice soup, that I thought I got from Colorado Lady but when I went to look for it, I couldn't find it.  I have a really bad habit of copying recipes from the Interwebz and not noting where I got them.  We haven't had this yet, so I can't give a review.  I'll update tomorrow and let you know what we thought.  If it's good, I'll share the recipe, too.

Edit:  Hubby approved of the soup (though again, I thought it was kind of meh), so here's the recipe:

Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

1 celery rib, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1/3 cup chopped onion

5 1/2 cups water

1 package (4.3 oz) long grain and wild rice mix

1 envelope chicken noodle soup mix

2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup cooked cubed chicken

In a sauce pan saute together the onions, carrots and celery (add a little oil if you want, it's really not necessary)*.

Add the water, rice with contents of seasoning packet and soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in soup and chicken. Cook 10 minutes longer or until the rice and vegetables are tender**.

* I used a little oil because I didn't want it to stick.

**This took more than 10 minutes to cook the rice.

Goop!  That's what hubby calls it, anyway.  Actually, it's homemade moisturizer, courtesy of Colorado Lady.  Hubs and I both get really dry skin in the winter (and I've started already), and I thought I'd give this a try, just to say I did.  It certainly was easy to make!  I've only used it a couple of times and it seems pretty good, but it'll take a couple of weeks of regular use, I think, to really come to any conclusion.  I thought it was going to be too greasy for hand cream but it's not.  Still, if I make this again, I might cut down on the petroleum jelly next time.

And that's it from Fondue Headquarters!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that next week I'll have all sorts of really nifty bargains to show you!

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

WTF Weekend!

Greetings, everyone!  (I did a little re-reading of past posts, and discovered that about 95% of the time, I start off with the word "Well."  Not sure why I do that, but I thought I'd try something a little different this time!)

Okay, so it was another disappointing weekend at the thrifts.  Hubs and I even stopped at a yard sale, something we never do because around here they're usually all about children's clothes and Little Tikes toys.  I almost bought an old reel-to-reel tape recorder but reined myself in at the last minute.

We did, however, come across a bumper crop of WTF this weekend, though. It seemed everywhere I looked, I screwed up my face into that WTF expression, which is doing my crow's feet no good whatsoever!  I took a few pictures to share, but first, here's my sole purchase of the weekend:

Click to embiggen

1,  Hot buns!  Well, a bun warmer, anyway.  I already have one but it's not very practical, so I got this to replace it.  It has the original box, which I love, but the wrong cord was inside.  Luckily, I have the correct one, so everything works out.  I'll need this for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so it's a purely practical purchase, even though it's vintage and cool.  Plus, the people on the box are pretty groovy.  $3.99 at Savers.

In totally unrelated news, I discovered this coffee maker on ebay the other day, and I think it's something I need to own:

Awesome, no?  I sent this picture off to the hubs and asked what he thought.  His reply?  "I think this belongs in our kitchen!"  I'm waiting until I find one at a price that I like, though.  If anyone comes across one of these in their travels for five bucks, keep me in mind, won't you?

Okay, on the the weird stuff.  Bear in mind that this is only a selection of the stuff I found this weekend.  There was more.  Much more!

Click to embiggen and enjoy its creepiness

A.  Whaaaat???  What is this?  I don't even know.  It's playing some kind of instrument, I think.  This is super-creepy in real life.  The stuff of nightmares.

Click to enjoy some serious boobage

B.  Boobies!  Dirty boobies, to be exact--Native American woman really should have had a bath before being donated.  But my goodness, that's some cleavage, no?  When I saw it, all I could think of was "motorboat!!"

And that makes me want to rant think:  why do people donate filthy stuff to the Goodwill, etc?  There was a cookie sheet at Savers this week that still had the grease spots from the last batch of cookies!  Come on, people, wash your stuff.  Donating dirty stuff is just nasty.

Don't click or you'll be sorry

C.  Obligatory Creepy Clown!  Yeah, the face is bad enough on this one, but there was something about the distended belly that kind of made me hurk a little.  It's like he, I don't know, has some kind of disease or something.  Ew.

Click to enjoy embiggen

D.  What.  The.  F-word!  This is a framed photograph.  Of a gun.  And bullets.  WTF people, WTF?  The frame was actually kind of nice, but that picture of a gun just gave me the willies.  Who does that?  Who frames--and presumably displays in their home--a picture of a gun?

If I were not the wonderful, kind person that I am, all of these items would have been purchased as Christmas gifts for friends and relatives.  And let me tell you, I was tempted!

Linking up with all the fun at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and We Call It Junkin 

Thrifting Find #27!

Please note the title of this post--Thrifting Find.  Singular.  Because I only found one thing this week.  Which I guess I shouldn't complain about, especially considering how bad my luck has been lately.  Oddly, I did come across another coffee table with two (count 'em!) drawers, but the top was in less than lovely condition, so I think I might break down and order the one I posted last week from Overstock.com.

Anyway.  Here's what I bought:

Click to embiggen, 'cause it's really pretty

1.  Blue bowl!  Eagle-eyed readers of this blog remember that I've been looking for a big cast aluminum bowl for my dining room table.  And maybe I still am, but I couldn't pass this up.  Or actually, I could, since I saw this in the GW last week and decided six bucks was too much to spend.  After I left the store, I immediately regretted my cheapskateitude.  Luckily though, it was still there when we went back on Sunday, so I snapped it up.  It's coming up greenish on my monitor, but it's pure blue in real life, a really gorgeous color.  I know nothing about it.  There's no maker's mark on it, and I'm pretty sure it's not old but it's a great color and a great swoopy shape (it's swoopier if you look at it from a different angle; the front (or back) is actually higher than the back (or front.)  Goodwill, $6.00

By the way, those are Ikora non-tarnish candle holders I got from GW a while ago ($2.00) with Ronson butane candles.

Something I didn't get:

Pyrex Casserole!  I guess this is a promotional pattern, though I don't know the name.  It looked to be in very nice shape and was only 8 bucks for the whole thing but once again, it's not a pattern I collect and I don't have room to keep stuff I can't use.  In the same store, I also found a pink gooseberry on white Cinderella bowl.  It was slightly scratched, not too bad, and only $2.25, which seemed a good price to me.  Again, it's not a pattern I collect, so...

Linking up with all the fun at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and We Call It Junkin 

Curses--Failed again!

What is it around here?  It's like absolutely nothing good is showing up at the thrifts.  Nothing, at least, that I want to buy.

The Rescue Mission had a really nice selection of Tupperware this week, but nothing in a size or shape that I could actually use.  Goodwill had a coffee table with a drawer (more on that later) that was acceptable in size and style, but it was wobbly.  I found a nice Pyrex fridgie in the big square size, but it was the Early American pattern which I don't want.

Not that the weekend was totally without purchases, you understand.  Just not anything spectacular. I did find a small folding table for my neighbors.  I put it outside their door to put the newspaper on in the morning.  My neighbors are elderly and they have a hard time bending down, so that should make things easier.  And I got Hubs a purple (his favorite color) travel mug to replace the one that the Girl Child made off with when she went back home to New York.

And I got this:

Don't bother clicking to embiggen--the picture is lousy.

What's Golden Fluffo, you ask?  Let's have Mike Wallace explain:

"This yellow Fluffo is such a short shortening..."  LOL I don't even know what that means.

I haven't really looked through it yet, but it's copyright 1956 and published by Procter & Gamble, so I'm confident that it's going to be a good one.  There's a chapter on salads though, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the Registered Home Economists in P&G's sparkling test kitchens incorporate shortening into, say, coleslaw.  This is 1956, remember, so they'll do it.

Okay now, coffee tables.  I've been on the lookout for one that has a drawer for keeping remotes and stuff in.  I really hate having crap on top of the coffee table and so far, we have three remotes (which we hardly ever use) and once I change out the ceiling fan in the den, there will be another one.  Not to mention the folders for our FIOS internet, TV, and phone that require periodic reference.

Naturally, I've been on the lookout for a suitable table at the thrifts but have been coming up with nothing.  So I decided to take a peek at Overstock.com and found this one:

It's certainly the right style and as a bonus, it has two drawers.  Plus, it's reasonably cheap ($104.05) and the right size. 

So, asking for your opinions--should I get this or wait to see if I can find something in the thrifts?  Post in the comments or email me--for some reason, people like to email me rather than posting comments.  That's fine, I just don't know why people do that.

Linking up with all the fabulousness at Sir Thrift A Lot, The Nifty Thrifty, and We Call It Junkin though I kind of feel bad about it.