Thrifting Finds #86: Late Entry

So it was a very busy week here at Fondue HQ.  Busier than a lazy guy such as myself really enjoys.

I didn't technically get any thrifting finds this week, but I have one from a few weeks ago to report on.

But first, here's what happened at the HQ:

We Got a New HVAC System!  I knew this was going to happen when we bought the house; the original system was still in place and 20 years old.  Apparently, anything older than 15 is living on borrowed time.  I managed to wring one last summer out of the AC but decided to replace everything while it was still running.  That way I could do my research instead of having to make a hurried decision because we had no heat and it was 20 degrees out.

That new A/C unit up there is about the size of a Toyota.  Which makes sense, since that's about how much it cost.

Furnace!  This is our fancy new multi-stage, variable speed  super-efficient furnace.   How fancy is it?  

It comes with its own WiFi.  If there's a problem, the HVAC company will know about it before I do.  Plus

The thermostat is practically an iPad.  This will do everything but make the bed.

See what I mean?  It's the size of a Corolla.  It's also super-efficient with more features than I can name (or remember.)

Also, that very same day, we had new rollers installed on one of the patio doors.  No pictures of that because, well, because it was boring.  But while the guy was here, I had him cut down the mirror that we removed from the powder room so that it would fit exactly on top of a cabinet we have.  So that was one more little project done.

As for the thrift find, here they are:

The Girls!  We found these plaster plaques a few weeks back at one of the Goodwills.  All three were chipped, but not too badly  Nothing that a coat of spray paint wouldn't hide, anyway.  It took a few weeks until we had a nice enough day to paint them, and they took longer to dry than I thought they would.

I wasn't looking forward to hanging these up because I needed to plan the spacing, etc. correctly so I didn't have to redo anything.  At first, I thought we'd do them all at the same level, but Hubs and I decided we liked them better this way.  Here's a closeup:

I thought they were muses, but Hubs pointed out logically that there is no muse bearing water.  So I guess they're just three random gals.

What I Made Department

On the same day everything else was happening, I also got a head start on my Christmas Cookie Extravaganza:

Okay, so not a very impressive start, but it was about all I could handle.  Those are my Cherry Jumbles and Platinum Blondes.

And that's really all I have for this week, kids.  Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #85: And He Goes for the Hat Trick!

Three in a row!  Can you believe it?  I certainly can't!

So I noticed that the last couple of weeks, all the thrifts seem to have a lot more stuff in stock than usual.  I mean chock-full.  Not a whole lot I want, mind you, but the shelves are packed.

Again, all the Christmas stuff seems to be from Walmart or the Dollar Store.  Not that I need any.  When we were moving the HQ, I discovered that we own a crap ton more Christmas stuff than I ever realized.  If I decide to really get into it this year, Christmas could be quite the extravaganza.

It's going to be garish at the very least, and here's why.  I don't know if anyone remembers when I made my ornament wreath:

Wellsir, it was a casualty of the move. I loved it, but it was made with almost all new ornaments, so there wasn't a whole lot of emotional attachment.  Anyway, it's gone and I'm not sure I'm up to making another one, but I think I'm going to try my hand at making a Sparkle Ball:

This will be hanging by the Fondue HQ front door, and it will be the only one in the neighborhood, I can guarantee.

But I digress.  What a shock.

Anyway, I managed to pick up two things this weekend, though only one is pictured.  The other item is a plastic milk-crate type thing for holding record albums which, like Christmas decor, we own a whole lot more of than I realized.

Please forgive the grammar and syntax of that sentence.

This is what I want:

I have just the right place for it, between two chairs in the living room--It's about 24" in diameter.  I am, however, unwilling to pay the 800 clams this table costs.  Then I saw this little table at the Goodwill and thought it would be a good candidate for a makeover:

It's not identical, of course, but it's similar, and for seven bucks, I could hardly say no.  It's pictured with the first coat of white paint on it--it's "walnut" Formica underneath.  It'll certainly do until I can find what I'm looking for at a price I'm willing to pay.

This reminds me of a series of articles that used to appear in Metropolitan Home, I think, back in the '70s.  They'd do one room with all chic, luxurious stuff and then do another one that looked similar, but on a budget.

Again, I digress.  

And that's it for this week.  Next week may involve picking up a trash compactor, which will certainly be exciting.   Oh, and Wednesday, we're getting our new furnace and AC unit here at Fondue HQ, and let me tell you, I am WAY more excited about that than I need to be.  Especially since it's costing as much as a car.

Other big news:  we're getting new rollers on the patio doors.  Again, way more excited than I should be!

Tune in again next week and I'll tell you all about it.  In the meantime, I think I'll link up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #84: I'm on a Roll!

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.

As they say.

Here I am again for the second week in a row with some actual thrift finds to report.  When was the last time that happened?  'Bout a million years ago, I guess.

Anyway, Hubs and I started out the weekend by going to an estate sale.  It was already in day 3 of a four-day run, but it's so rare that there's a sale close by, not to mention one that's operating while we're out and about, that we went anyway.  Judging from the pictures I saw online, there wasn't much I was interested in, but you never know.

Hubs and I loved the house.  I'd guess it was about 1960-ish (Edit:  Built in 1962.)  We lost track of the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and neither one of us could make heads or tails of the floorplan.  It seemed kind of like a maze.  It looks like the owners did a good job of decorating it when it was new but unfortunately, they just didn't keep it up.  Everything needed replacing, which is a shame, because whoever buys the house is just going to rip everything out and destroy all the mid-century goodness with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.  Oh, well.

On to the finds!

Vegetti!  I'd been meaning to try this, but in the stores, it's like 15 bucks.  I didn't want to spend that much on something I might end up using once, so I was pleased to find this for a buck at the Goodwill. Even more pleased when I found out it was half price!  Goodwill, $0.50

Tissue Box and Guest Towel Holder!  These came from the above-mentioned estate sale.  Hubs and I weren't pleased with the tissue box we have in the powder room and this metal one was a nice upgrade.  And when we have guests, they can use the guest towels I will provide, just as soon as I buy some!  Now get this: the tissue box had the original price sticker inside--32 bucks!  Is that outrageous?  Maybe it was for the set, but still, that seems a lot of money for these.  I'm guessing they're late '60s, early '70s.  Estate sale, $3.00

Super Cool Punch Bowl!  I passed on one of these at Savers last year and have regretted it since.  So you can imagine my pleasure when I saw this at the Goodwill.  There are a couple of chips in the punch bowl, but who cares, you know?  It has all 12 cups and the ladle, and it came in the original box:

So as you can see, it's a Moderno.  Whatever it's called, I love it!  Now that we're in the new house, Hubs and I were thinking about having an Open House next month, and now that we have this punch bowl, I guess we're going to have to go through with it!  I don't want this baby to go to waste.  My original plan was to get a crappy punch bowl set from the Goodwill and then give it back after the party (like I did last time), but this one's a keeper.

Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #83: I'm Back!

Whew.

I know it's been a long time, kiddies, but really, your old Uncle Veg has been having the most dismal luck at the thrifts.  Week after week, Hubs and I hit the stores and come home empty handed.  It's been really discouraging.

But all that changed yesterday.  Not only did I find something, I found two somethings.  Maybe three, depending on how you do the math!

So let's not waste any time.  Here we go!

Pink Swirly Apothecary Jars!  It's kind of hard to see (because I'm a terrible photographer) but these two jars have pink and gold swirls on them.  I'm pretty sure I've seen them in other people's vintage blogs, but I never thought I'd find one, much less two of them.  I need to fill them with something, and I'm thinking bubble bath, since that's what probably came in them originally.  What do you guys think?  One's going in the powder room which is already pink, so I should probably put blue bubble bath in that one.  Haven't decided whether hubs or I get the other one.

Goodwill, $2.00 each.  Yeah, kind of pricey, but worth it.

Fabulous Mid-Century Stereo!  I originally saw this three weeks ago and tried to convince myself to forget about it.  Then  two weeks ago, I thought What the heck? and went back and poked at it a little (there was stuff on it and around it.)  I noticed that the cloth on one of the speakers was pushed in, so I told myself that's that, I don't want it in my living room if it's not perfect.  Then Saturday morning, as Hubs and I left the house, I said "I don't think I'm quite finished with that stereo..."  So we went and measured it.  If it was too big, I'd have to give up on it.  Nope, just the right size.  Then I asked if it worked.  They said it hadn't been tested, so they plugged it in while I went to find a record.  We fired it up and it played.  Beautifully.  I was flabbergasted.  Of course, the changer needs cleaning and greasing and it needs a new needle, but I couldn't have been more pleased.  It sounds really good, too.  Oh, it's a Truetone (Western Auto) from 1966.  I found it in my 1966 Western Auto catalog.  It's next to the top of the line.  

When I asked how much, the guy said 40 bucks, which I thought was extremely reasonable, particularly because it worked.  So I forked over the cash and two guys put it in the back of my car for me. Needless to say, I'm tickled.  Rescue Mission Thrift, $40.00

Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #82: Quickie!

Just a quick update, kiddies.  I wanted to let youall know that progress (no matter how small) is being made.

First off, we took down the big flat builder's mirror in the powder room and replaced it with an oval mirror we picked up at a used furniture store.  Sorry, but I forgot to take a picture.  It doesn't really matter though, because the powder room still needs to be painted.

I didn't want to just toss the old mirror, so I put it on top of a cabinet we have.  It's too big, but I like the mirrored-top business.  From the little research I've done, it looks like one can cut mirror at home if one has a glass cutter and a straight edge.  I may just tackle that, so stay tuned.

In other news, we got the couch!  The living room is definitely looking better:

I had the bright idea of renting a U-Haul van instead of paying the $120.00 (I know!) the furniture store wanted for delivery.  It all worked out in the end, but it was a certain amount of hassle, and it ended up costing about $75 bucks.  That's still better than $120, but I think I could have found some random dude on Craigslist with a truck who would have done it for less.

I have a lead on dining room furniture.  Stay tuned!

Didn't get to go thrifting this week, but a friend and I went to the outlets in Lancaster, PA.  Nothing much there, but through a series of events, we found ourselves at a restaurant supply store.

Guys, guys.  If you ever go by a restaurant supply store, go in.  Seriously, I could have done some major damage there.  I mean, did you know you could have your very own nacho cheese pump, just like they have in the movie theater?

In your own home!!  

I showed restraint, and only bought two baking sheets (they call them bun pans, I think):

They're 13 X 18 and super heavy aluminum.  The price?  $3.49 each.  Can you believe it?  They'll easily outlast anything you can get at regular retail, and for about 1/4 the price.  If anyone wants to know the name of the store, I'll try to find it.  I know they have a website as well and they don't mind at all selling to just regular people.

That's all for now.  More later as events warrant!

Thrifting Finds #81: Update!

Just a quickie today, kids.

So last week I reported that we were having the sofa cleaned.  It happened, but it was weird.  When I got home from work, I looked at it and it looked pretty good.  Not perfect, but better.  Hubs reported that the guy kept trying to upsell him--fabric protector, clean another chair (that was perfectly clean to begin with), etc., etc.  Luckily, Hubs has sales resistance, so we got the clean chair cleaned free, if we gave the company a good review.

Now here's where it starts getting weird.  The closer we looked at the couch, the worse it looked.  The best was I can describe it is that they removed the top layer of dirt that was hiding the even worse lower layer.  And yes, I realize how gross that sounds, but we're talking two guys and a dog here.  And it's really just grubby; it's not like we peed on it or anything.

So I'm getting a slipcover from Target, and we'll see how that does.  But first, I'm going to try this, since it's cheaper:

My couch isn't microfiber but at this point I probably can't make it any worse.

In other sofa news, I think I've picked one out for the living room, so now I'm soliciting opinions. I want the colors in the living and dining room to be turquoise and orange.  I already have orange chairs and the walls are turquoise, so I figured the couch should be white.   After reading all the above, bear in mind that the living room furniture will mostly be looked at, not used.  So I was thinking about this:

It's kinda mid-century, don't you think?  And it's affordable.  Please post your comments below.  If you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

One last thing:  we have become official Suburbanites with the addition of this:

All I need now is an apron that says "Kiss the Cook."  We got it on a really good sale at Lowes, plus they were having a special on propane, so a $50 tank only cost me $24, plus I had a 10% off coupon.  This is far more grill than we'll ever need, but it is by no means the biggest available.  Actually, it's on the smallish side.

I took another stab at making pickles last week:

Hubs and I liked Pickles 2.0 much better than the first batch.  Hubs thinks they're a little too much on the sour side, but I think they're fine.  When we finish these, I'm going to try making Bread & Butter pickles next.

And that's it for this week, kids.  I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging but truthfully, there has been nothing to report.  I know that doesn't ever stop me, but still...

Thrifting Finds #80: It happened!

Well kids, despite the title of this post, there will be absolutely no discussion of Thrifting Finds, for the simple reason that there haven't been any.  To tell the truth, hubs and I haven't really been out thrifting in months because

Fondue Headquarters has moved!

Yes, it actually happened on June 15 and let me tell you, hubs and I are pooped.  I'd like to report that the new HQ looks lovely, but if I did, I'd get struck down for lying.  Here are some pictures from the day we moved in:

The Dining Room!

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice there's no dining room table.  That's because the one we had was an antique and while lovely, not as practical as I want.  So it went to auction and now we're in the market for a dining room set.  Though it's obscured by a rolled-up rug, that's our new china cabinet in the background.  It's a bit smaller than I would have preferred, but I really like it.  It's a Stanley, and I got it on CL for $175.  I probably could have gotten the price down but I was too tired.  P.S. The dining room looks somewhat better now.

The Living Room!

It's a new look I'm calling Early Garbage Dump.  You'll be reading all about it in the latest issue of Bitter Homes and Gardens.  If anything, the living room looks a little worse now.  I don't know how that happened.  Notice the complete lack of seating.  There are actually two new chairs:

but no sofa yet.  It'll look interesting for a while.

The Master Bedroom!

Though not perfect, I'll admit that the master bedroom looks a lot better now.  I think I only have a couple more boxes still to deal with, and then some decorating touches (or as close as I ever get to them.)

The Guest Room!

Not a whole lot of progress here, I'm afraid, but I do have the desk set up so that I can pay bills again.  One more bookcase has to be added and then I can start unpacking and getting organized.  I don't think we're going to have guests any time soon, so we're safe.

The Family Room!

Again, this looks much better today.  The Anga (Ikea wall system, shining example of the world's worst engineering) is up after much trauma, and restocked with most of my collection of vintage toys. There's some overflow, but I'm going to try to put them in the guest room.

There's no picture of the third bedroom, as that is our Room of Shame.  Everything that we don't know what to do with gets shoved in there.  It's sort of like a second-floor basement.

What else?  Hubs' bathroom and the powder room still need to be painted.  (Pssst!  Wanna be shocked?  Look what the previous owners did to the powder room.  Bonus points if you can find the electrical outlet:

Yeah.

The kitchen needs some work as well, and by "work" I mean "needs to be completely redone but there's no money for that so we're going to have to live with it."  Ooh, I should probably take a picture of the new washer and dryer--they look like little space pods!

Okay, there's lots more to tell (like the story of Jethro moving the refrigerator for me...), and we're meeting with our wonderful Realtor tomorrow to get the old condo on the market, but I'm at work and should probably do some--I have mortgage payments to make!

P.S.  Made baked chicken chimichangas the other night and they were delish.  I'll look for the recipe if anyone wants it.  Am also making pickles for the first time, but I'm skeptical; the brine has no vinegar in it and it's looking mighty murky if you ask me.