Thrifting Finds #67: Finally!

At long last I have some good news to report.  Or at least I won't do any whining.  How's that?

Can you guess what's coming?  That's right--I actually have some thrift finds to show you this week!  I mean, how long has it been?  A month?  Two?  Too dang long to suit me, anyway.

Plus, Hubs and I went to a new store that we'd never been to before.  Or stores.  Or store.  I'm really not sure which.  Hubs works with a guy who also likes to thrift and he told us about a place down in Silver Spring, or that general area.  We found it, and it's kind of the strangest setup we've seen.

So it's a Value Village.  So far, so good.  But right next door to it, and without any walls or anything separating it, is something called Unique Thrift.

And the two places were mirror images of each other:  each had a housewares section, toys, clothes, etc of its own.  I'm not sure if the checkout aisles were specific to one of the stores or if they were interchangeable.  I might not be making myself clear here (I'm kind of in a rush today), but take my word for it--it was strange.

Not to mention busy.  We went just after noon on Wednesday, and the place was packed.  I shudder to think what it's like on the weekend.

Other than that, we just made our usual rounds.  Here's what I came up with:

1.  Bigass Corningware Roaster!  I thought I had all the Corningware I needed, but I didn't know this existed.  You can't really tell the scale in the picture, but it's enormous.  Seriously, I could roast Honey in this and still have room for potatoes and carrots!

Not that I ever would, of course.  It was kind of a mess when I got it, but it cleaned up nicely.  I'll be using this on Thanksgiving.  Goodwill, $5.00

2.  Old Razor Blades!  Say what?  Yeah, kind of weird, but I've noticed that these injector blades have a huge cult following.  Plus, they often go for crazy money on ebay.  I'm going to try a pack for myself and see what all the fuss is about.  Once I get the razor, of course.  If I like 'em, then I'll keep all three packs.  If not, I'll sell two.  Goodwill, $0.47/ea.

3.  Barbie's MOD'ern Cousin!  At first, I thought this was Barbie, but it's actually her 15-year-old cousin Francie.  I saw her in a plastic bag on the above mentioned Value Village's Wall O' Crap.  I think what I noticed was the brunette hair in the sea of blonde Barbies.  As far as I can tell, she's a 1969 model, which I think makes her vintage.  She seems to be missing a button on her blouse, and one of the buttons on her skirt fell off, but I still have it, so I'll try to attach it.  Value Village, $3.00

4.  The Plate I need!  Yep, finally found one at a price I was willing to pay.  Oh, and just to make it clear, despite the existence of this plate and the two other pieces of Butterfly Gold I bought this year--I do not collect Butterfly Gold.  Period.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Goodwill, $0.48.

And that's it, but this is more than I've had to report in quite some time!  So this week, I'm not ashamed to link up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin  and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #66: The Hubby Haul

Hi, kids!  Did everyone have a good time out in Thrift Land this weekend?  I hope so, because I sure didn't.

That should come as a surprise to no one.  I seem to be having quite the dry spell lately.

To be completely honest, it's not as if there were absolutely nothing in the thrifts.  If you're a fan of Family Guy, I think each store we visited this weekend had all of the seasons on DVD.  I like Family Guy, but not to the point where I need to own it.

Then there was the Desert Dawn baking dish in pink.  It was in pretty good condition, and I think it was like 4 bucks, but it's not a size that would be of any use, and it's not like I  can put my Pyrex on display, so I passed it up.

The cookbooks seemed to be all modern Rachael-Ray-Mister-Food types, which hold no interest whatsoever.  This may actually be a good thing, as the cookbook backlog is growing.

Anyway, it occurred to me that this blog isn't just about the stuff that I find.  Hubs always goes with me and sometimes he finds things.  Like this week.  He found two things to my zero, so without further ado, here they be:

1.  Blown Glass Thing!  Frankly, we aren't sure what the heck this is, but we've just kind of decided it's a vase.  I keep calling it a Shrimp Cocktail Thing because those flutes at the top would be perfect for shrimp.  If you look closely, you can see my dining room!  Goodwill, $2.00

2.  Heavyass Glass Obelisk!  Seriously, this thing has some heft.  I weighed it on my postal scale and it came out at 8 pounds, 3.4 ounces.  As in the above item, neither Hubs nor I know what the heck this is.  It's solid, so it's not a vase.  So why don't we just call it an objet d'art, and let it go at that.  There's one little chip on the back, which I'm sure is from being manhandled by the Goodwill staff.  Still, it doesn't show, so what the hey.  Goodwill, $5.00, I think.  (That comes out to $1.75/lb  $0.60/lb I CAN'T DO MATH)

Annnnd...that's it.  No fabulous bargains this week and I didn't cook anything interesting.  I know I keep saying this, but maybe next week will be better?

Linking up this week with  Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm,  and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #65: Cheating

Well now, did everyone who got one enjoy their long weekend?  Hubs and I did, though we didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Well, kinda.  We celebrated Labor Day by grilling these:

I don't do meat very well, often turning it into leather, but I was inspired to try grilling a Porterhouse by this gal:

I can't embed this video, so click here

They came out pretty well, too!  Little rarer than I care for, but just to Hubby's taste.

Now, does it sound like I'm avoiding talking about our thrifting rounds?  I am, because once again, we found nothing.  Oh, I came across a Spring Green plate that I've been looking for, but there was no way I was about to stand in line to get it.  

Saver's must have been having a half-off sale because the place was packed.  With animals, apparently--someone just left a banana peel on one of the shelves.  A banana peel.

You know, if you feel the need to eat a banana while shopping in Savers, you might want to examine your life a little bit.

And the Goodwill we went to yesterday was beyond wild.  Walking in we saw this chick with two overflowing carts--one of clothes, one of crap.  Nope, not waiting in line here either.

The week wasn't completely without purchases, though.  I did get this little baby:

Presto Iron!  In the original box!  Complete with instructions!  Never used!  Because if I'm going to iron (and I do.  Sometimes), I'm going to do it in style.  I already own a similar one in green, but I've knocked it off the ironing board so many times that the thermostat is now wonky.  This was an ebay purchase, which came to about 20 bucks including shipping.  Unfortunately, when I went to unwrap the cord (still in its factory coil) last night, there was an awful lot of crackling, meaning the insulation inside has given up the ghost.  Shoot.  Now I'll have to replace the cord, probably with the one from the other iron.  Or I could just use this for show.

Bargain of the Week Department:

These were on sale at Walgreens:

Sale price was $2.99 each, but they give you $2.50 in Register Cash for each one purchased, making the net price $0.49.

Well, except that I had $1.75 worth of coupons!  When all the math was done, Walgreens not only gave them to me for free, they actually paid me $0.76!

And that, as I said to Hubby, is how you use coupons.

How I averted a Disaster of Nearly Epic Proportions!!!

Hold on to your seats, kids--this one's a spine-tingler.

So I own the world's best "Granny Cart"--you know, those folding wire carts you use to haul your groceries around.  We live on the fourth floor and though we have an elevator, hauling the amount of groceries we buy would be time consuming by hand.  So 11 years ago, I bought the World's Best Granny Cart--big and sturdy, the label said it holds 250lbs, and I believe it.  It gets quite a workout every weekend.

So leaving to do the marketing on Saturday I heard a sound that made my blood run cold.  One of the front wheels crumbled to pieces, leaving the cart with a distinct list to starboard.

O noes! as they say.

What was I to do?  I will never find another cart as good as this one,  Even the store I bought it from has gone out of business.

Once again, as I lay down to take my nap, inspiration struck-- Harbor Freight Tools to the rescue!  I knew they sold tires for hand trucks and such, so I hoped they also sold somewhat smaller wheels.

And indeed they do!  We got two replacement wheels that, while not an absolutely perfect fit, are good enough for what they're for.  Paid 10 bucks for the pair and I've already installed them.  They work nicely, but there's one problem--they stink to high heaven!

The cart lives in the laundry room, which is right off the foyer.  All weekend, we've been treated to the kerosene-like smell of the new tires, combined with the Yankee Candle cinnamon oil warmer thingie. It's a heady aroma, lemme tell you.

It was a little better this morning.  Or else I'm getting used to it.  I think the cart's going to live out on the balcony for a while, though.

Now, it wouldn't be a trip to Harbor Freight if there weren't some free gifts, and this was no exception:

That's a bar clamp on the right for those who don't know.  I'm not quite sure why, but that head lamp makes me think of Wile E. Coyote.  And that it should be marked ACME.

We got two freebies because I made Hubs buy one of the wheels while I bought the other LOL.

So.  While it wasn't a particularly good weekend for the thrifts, there was at least a little bargain gathering, which is fine with me.

Linking up this week with Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm,  We Call It Junkin and The Nifty Thrifty

Thrifting Finds #64: Two bucks

Hi, kids!  Did everyone have a wonderful weekend?  Your ol' Uncle Veg had a nice quiet one, which is just the way he likes 'em.

So Hubs and I managed to do our usual weekend rounds, though there was much disappointment.  Out of the 8 thrifts we visited, only one yielded any finds at all.  Oddly, I  started finding Pyrex again, after a dry spell of several months.  I have no idea where it all went.  Unfortunately, it was nothing I could use.

I'm also starting to find the British Pyrex (it has a name, but I've forgotten it.)  Was it imported here?  Seems kind of strange to have it keep showing up--often enough that I can recognize it without looking at the bottom.

What I'm not finding is Corelle.  No, I haven't started collecting it.  I just need one microwaveable plate to keep at the office and since Corelle is hard-to-break to boot, that's what I looked for.  Naturally, since I want it there is none to be found.

Well, no.  There is some to be found.  I got a few plates a couple of months ago for the princely sum of 48 cents each.  You can imagine my surprise when I picked up a Butterfly Gold plate yesterday and saw it marked three bucks.

Three bucks?  Really?  For one plate?  Another instance where I want to go in the back and start smacking heads.

Anyway, that's my rant for the week.  Here's what I found:

1.  Another cookbook???  Yes, but look--it's no ordinary cookbook.  The recipes are magic.

Magic.

Do you know what that means?  I think it means you can put turnips and cabbage in the Osterizer and pull out a steak.  I haven't actually read the book yet, so that's just a guess on my part, but you have to admit that would certainly qualify as "magic", no?  Savers, $1.00

2.  Seriously??  I bought another Betty Crocker cookbook?  You bet yer buns I did!  Because I need "a wealth of ideas for today's entertaining", not to mention "more than 400 guest-tested recipes."  I mean, who doesn't?

Plus, look at that house on the cover!  I would kill for a house like that.  And if I had one, you can be sure I would be entertaining.  A lot.  Savers, $1.00.

It was half-price book day at Savers, btw.

And that's it.  I'm wracking my brain for some interesting little story to share, but I got nothin'.  So I'll just go ahead and link up with the Usual Suspects:   Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm,  We Call It Junkin and The Nifty Thrifty

Thrifting Finds #63: I did the math...

When I was but a wee tot (lo, these many years ago), my Mom had a tile hanging in the kitchen that said "Never complain, never explain."

Clearly, this lesson made no impression on me, as I'm about to do a little of both.

Now when I did the math, I discovered that what with one thing or another, Hubs and I didn't make our usual weekend thrifting rounds for over a month.  I know, right?  No, it wasn't easy.  I can only attribute my survival to a world-class constitution.

Hubs and I were both on vacation last week, as it was my birthday week (it was lovely, thank you, and I don't look a bit older.)  We never go anywhere or do anything, so the plan was to make up for all that lost thrifting time.  Which we did.  In spades.

Once again I did the math. Last week we went to seventeen different thrift stores, a couple of them new to us, and made multiple visits to a couple for a total of twenty three visits.

We found one thing.

I can't even say "we".  Hubs found it.

So that's how it goes.  Either I've become much more discriminating overnight, or the thrifts have just been full of crap.

"Full of crap" gets my vote because, yeah; crap.

So what did we find?

Stretch Vase!  Yes, another one!  I've lost count of how many we have now.  At least three at home, plus who knows how many more at Hubs's office.  It's not the best one I've ever seen, but I'm a sucker when it comes to that shade of blue.  It only looks green because of the yellow wall in the background (See?  I remembered my color theory from second grade!)  Goodwill $7.00.

Aaaaannnnd that's it.  I'm on the verge of just giving up here.  Is anyone else having the same problem we are?  Is it going to get better?

Thriftiness Department:  So far this year, I've started saving 12 bucks a month by dropping the FIOS TV that we never used, and another 25 bucks a month by switching my cell phone over to Ring Plus.  My latest project came about kind of by accident:

Hubs:  And when we get home, you're going to cut my hair.

Me:  Do what now?

I had one of those do-it-yourself haircutting kits that I bought a while ago and used once.  Hubs decided that we should make use of it.  So I gave it a go, and dang if his hair didn't come out looking pretty good.  Coulda knocked me over with a feather.  Saved 23 bucks right there.

Not willing to leave well enough alone, I cut my own hair as well.  Did it come out looking professional?  No.  Did it look any worse than when I paid 23 bucks?  Nope.

So I think we're going to stick with this.  Unfortunately, my clippers are really crummy, so I ordered a good set (any excuse to buy something new, right?)  And the funny thing is that we're not really doing it to save money. Hubs is never really happy with his haircuts, and I hate everything to do with getting my hair cut.  Really--I hate going to the place, I hate sitting there, I hate waiting, I hate making small talk, I hate paying for it.  The list goes on.  Plus, they never get it short enough.  I always say "as short as you can make it", and they cut off two millimeters instead of one.  Then they always ask "Is it short enough?"  And usually I say no, so they cut off another millimeter.

After that, even I don't have the nerve to make them cut it a third time.  Plus, I'm itchy and dying to get the hell out of there.

I think I put myself through that torture no more than 4 times a year.  Hubs probably twice that.  At 23 bucks a pop, that averages out to $276.00 a year.  So even by paying about 60 bucks for new clippers, we're definitely saving some serious scratch.

Linking up this week with  Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin , if I can even remember how to do it...

Hi! Remember me?

Hiya, kiddos!

Sorry I haven't been around much lately.  I haven't forgotten about you, really!  I just haven't done much thrifting lately.  Because reasons.  Plus, on the few occasions where I've  found myself perusing the stock in the local stores, there has been absolutely NOTHING worth purchasing.

I've asked this before, but I can't remember the answer:  Is thrifting cyclical?  Is there a time where it's "out of season"?  Because it sure feels like it to me.

Hopefully I'll be back next week with some delightful purchases to show you.  In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of a bunny:

Until next week!

Thrifting Finds #62: Hey, how do you work this thing?

Let's see.  First I click New Post.  No, no, first I have to sign in to Google, then I can click New Post.  Where is it?  Oh, right. I have to find Blogger first.  Where the hell is it?  And why is this getting bigger?  Dagnab it! What'd I do?

Okay, so it's been a couple of weeks and I'm a little out of practice.  Truth is that not only have the thrifts been devoid of cool stuff, I didn't even have one of my "amusing stories" to relate last week.  Oh, I did find something, but it was minor and then I got sidelined by a migraine, so posting kind of went by the wayside.  No one wants to hear about a headache.

But here I am again, right in the thick of things, and ready to disappoint you.  No, seriously--it wasn't a stellar week, so don't get your hopes up.

So let's just jump right in, shall we?

1.  DVDs!  I don't often look through the DVD section as it is time consuming and I don't have that much patience.  I did take the time this week and came away with a couple of decent ones.  The Fire Trucks one is for the son of a friend of mine.  Elf.  The funny thing is that I absolutely loathe Will Ferrell.  Seriously, 30 seconds of him is like a lifetime supply.  But this is a Christmas movie that I don't own and have never seen.  My nephew loves it, and I'm pretty sure it's the one in which Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story) makes a cameo appearance.  So we'll watch it once and see what happens.  The package is still sealed, which I guess means there's another anti-Will Ferrell person out there.

Will and Grace is our "backup" DVD.  Hubs and I don't really watch regular TV any more, we just get DVDs of the shows we want to watch and then do it at our leisure.  Sometimes there is a gap between getting the various seasons of a show, so I got this to fill in.  I loved the show when it was first on but never felt the need to revisit it.  I'm glad to report it's just as funny the second time around.  Goodwill, $12 total ($2/disc.)

2.  Not another one!  Yeah, 'fraid so.  This is actually a reprint of the 1953 edition, which I already own.  Still, I saw the bright beautiful colors on this one, and it looks like nobody even cracked it open (it still has the Ollie's price tag on it), plus it was cheap, so  I thought I'd give it a whirl.  Saver's, $2.00

Annnnnd.... that's it.  Yeah, I'm hoping to do better soon (pleasepleaseplease) but the way things are going...

What I Made Department:

Yum Yum Sauce!  I had never heard of this, but someone posted it on Facebook and I thought I'd give it a try.  Apparently, it's a Big Deal at Japanese restaurants.  I haven't tasted it yet so can't give my opinion.  I'll be dipping celery in it tonight, so I'll update later.  Here's the recipe I used:

1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 teaspoon paprika
3/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients
Mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

I don't have rice vinegar in stock, so I used plain white.  I went easy on the garlic powder, too.

Loaded Baked Potato and Buffalo Chicken Casserole!  Another recipe someone posted on Facebook.  This was definitely more work than I like to put into a single dish.  Plus, it's more of a winter thing, as it involves hanging over a 500-degree oven for the better part of an hour.  Still, it was delicious and Hubs requested that it be put in the regular rotation.  I thought it was a little dry, but a bit of sour cream on top would take care of that.  Here's the recipe I started with (but changed a lot--see below):

2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cubed (1")
8-10 medium potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1&1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
6 Tbsp. hot sauce

Topping:
2 cups fiesta blend cheese
1 cup crumbled bacon
1 cup diced green onion

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a 9X13" baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder and hot sauce. Add the cubed potatoes and stir to coat. Carefully scoop the potatoes into the prepared baking dish, leaving behind as much of the olive oil/hot sauce mixture as possible. Bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes, until cooked through and crispy and browned on the outside. While the potatoes are cooking, add the cubed chicken to the bowl with the left over olive oil/hot sauce mixture and stir to coat. Once the potatoes are fully cooked, remove from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Top the cooked potatoes with the raw marinated chicken. In a bowl mix together the cheese, bacon and green onion and top the raw chicken with the cheese mixture. Return the casserole to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the topping is bubbly delicious.

My changes:  I didn't use nearly that amount of anything, really.  Instead of raw chicken I used a 22-oz, bag of frozen grilled chicken chunks from Aldi.  Instead of the seasonings, I added part of a packet of Ranch Dressing mix to the potatoes.  Also, I marinated the chicken chunks in Buffalo Wing sauce.

I'm going to go ahead and link up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin, even though I probably shouldn't.  Because I'm like that.