Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thrifting Thursday


I hope this little adventure into thrifting has been helpful to you. I've enjoyed rambling a little about how I have thrifted through the years.

Last week I mentioned that we would talk about where to find treasures to collect. A collection can start innocently enough. You find a seashell, and then another, and before you know it you have a jar full of seashells. Or maybe someone gives you a cream pitcher as a gift. You find another one at a thrift store or antique shop. You have started a collection.

So where do I go to find little treasures. Years ago the most likely place to dig for hidden treasures was at yard or estate sales. We have them quite often here in Florida. With the balmy weather, it seems to invite opening your garage and cleaning out the clutter. One man's junk is another man's (or woman's ) treasure.

But in the last several years, thrift stores have cropped up like the corner drug store.

A good place to start is your local Good Will or Salvation Army stores. I have found many collectible items at the Good Will. Some days I go and find nothing, but then there may a day when I hit on a great find.

Antique shops are also a good place to seek out treasures. But I would suggest that you know what you are looking for, and have a good idea of what a good price might be. Some Antique shops can be quite pricey. But then again you might come across something like this.

On our most recent trip, my daughter and I found an Antique Mall just outside of town. It was a very well kept shop with lots of individual booths. As I walked around the back of the store, I came across these pink glasses. It was love at first sight. They are not old, but they are the same color as my other pink depression glass pieces. When I saw the price, I knew that I had to take them home. There were 9 glasses, for $10! Now that was a far better price then if I had purchased them new at Home Goods, or even at the Good Will. And the funny thing is, we had just been to an Antique shop in town the day before. In that shop I almost bought six pink glasses that were marked 1/2 price off of $6 (EACH). But the glass looked a little odd to me. They had some kind of film on them, and it did not rub off when I tried to clean it with my hand. So I left them. And was I ever so glad I did when I came upon these little beauties.

One thing that I might note is to be patient. Sometimes you might be looking for something special. And you just have to keep looking. This happened with the kitchen scale that we found last month.

I've been on the lookout for an old scale for my kitchen. They have been mostly too expensive for my budget. But when I found this scale, in great condition, and in my price range, I knew it was a keeper.

So tell me, where do you go to find your treasures?? I'd love to hear about your adventures in thrifting.

Linking up with Time Travel Thursday

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Outdoor Wednesday

Isn't this where you want to be right now? I love Spring :-)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Good Morning!

Wouldn't it be fun to enjoy a lazy morning with Tea and a good book?

Cracking the blinds open to let the sunshine peek in.

Let's add a sweet fragrant rose........

I think the tea is just about ready.

I hope you can enjoy the pillows being fluffed up, and a good book along with your Earl Grey.

Please join me as we share tea with these other delightful ladies -

Sandi's Tea Time Tuesday

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Martha's Favorites


Table Top Tuesday

A Return to Loveliness

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Foto Finish

Macro is the subject of Foto Finish this week. I captured this shot last summer in our backyard. Just kept zooming in on this dragonfly. Such interesting creatures.

Check out the other Foto Finishes for this week.

Words to Live By


Recently, I read on another blog post about someone whose words had been stolen and used without permission or credit given. I've heard of people doing this before, and we all know that plagiarism has gone on for centuries. However, I never would have thought that someone would copy my words and use them without asking my permission or giving me credit. You see, I'm just a little blog. I write my posts mostly as a journal. But after reading this post (click here) I searched my blog name on google alerts and low and behold I found that someone had indeed taken the words that I had written and posted them on their blog! I was never asked permission, nor given credit (although they titled it Just a Little Southern Hospitality).

There are many times in the Old Testament where the Lord states "Thou Shalt Not Steal!" And even though the words may be few, they were still written by me. Someone took the liberty to copy my post about First Fifth Forever and letter writing and posted them on their own blog. I was not sure what I could do about it. I hesitated to make a comment on their blog, mostly because when I looked at some of the other posts written, I remembered some of the words that came to my email in the form of Spam.

On Rachel's blog she asked for respect of her blog, and her words. I think we should all have enough respect to not steal from others. The Lord hates liars and thieves.

Ex 20:15 Thou Shalt Not Steal
Deut 5:19 Neither shall thou steal
Matt 19:18 Thou shalt not steal
Mark 10:19 Do not steal
Luke 18:20 Do not steal
Romans 13:9 Thou shalt not steal

And so I would ask, for me and for the countless others who have taken the time to write words on their blog, words that are special to each one of us, PLEASE respect my content and do not take words, pictures, thoughts, concepts, ideas........... You must ask permission, just as in anything else. Show honor and trust, as we have written these words to share our hearts, not for someone else to take and use as their own.

Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. (ESV)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thifting Thursday

Last week I shared with you an article I read about collecting. The Antique Week newspaper was encouraging it's readers to keep collecting. The article mentioned that items that were being collected were going up in value. Now I have always said, the items that are for sale are only worth the price if someone is willing to pay it.

But getting on to starting a collection. What is a collection anyway? The dictionary has several definitions but this is the one we will look at today -
"something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, especially for some purpose or as a result of some process: a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill."

You know how a collection starts? Let's say you pick up something that you like. Then you see another piece somewhere else and you add it to the first one. So now you have two, and you have started a collection ;-)

Years ago, I would shop with an Aunt who loved to collect Bristol vases. After years of collecting, she amassed quite a lot of them. It was something that she liked and she enjoyed hunting for a new piece to add to her collection.

There are different ways of collecting. You can collect a line of something, like Limoges china, first edition books or the work of an artist you like. You could also decide to collect things specific to areas, like pottery made in Italy, or Poland.

I always loved tea cups. When I first started collecting tea cups, I was not too specific in what I bought.


If I liked it, and the price was right, I added it to my collection. Then I started looking more specifically for tea cups made in England. So now I have a nice collection of English Tea cups.

I also have a nice collection of Tea Pots. Some are made in England, Russia, and the US.

The point is, if you find something that you enjoy, and you have a way to display or store them, make your collection work for you. Whenever I have friends over for tea or lunch, I really enjoy using the pretty tea cups and tea pots.

Let's talk next week about where to go to find a treasure to collect.

Check out the other Time Travelers on Time Travel Thursday

and Cherry Street Cottage!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Vintage Things

If there is one thing that my sweet daughter has learned from me.........

it's how to find vintage things............


and bring them home to roost..........


Please join Coloradolady and Vintage Thingie Thursday.