Monday, January 20, 2014

monday goings-on and thrifty stuff

 Hello friends, how was your weekend? Mine was busy. We've been looking
for a car for Tim and you know how that goes. Car shopping is stressful. The
very old Honda Tim had been driving finally bit the dust. Non-repairable. I'm almost
glad, in a way. We all had poured way too much money into that car to keep it
maintained. Seemed something else was wrong with it every week. There's a
local, privately-owned used car dealer that we've been working with. We like
 to support small, local shops if we can. These people have been residents of
our town for many years and they've had a reputable business for many years,
too. Tim bought his first vehicle (a pick-up truck) from them years ago. Their
pricing is very fair. We test-drove a couple of cars in a snowstorm on Saturday
and we're test-driving a couple more cars later this week.

I found a little time for thrifting this weekend, too. I really love this decorative
piece that was originally from HomeGoods ($20 price tag on the bottom - I got
it for $2.99). It was filled with autumn decor...that bowl-filler stuff with pine
cones and seed pods. I put those in a separate bag and stored away with
my fall decor things. I don't know what I'm going to do with this yet; I'll have to
play with it. But I can picture a small plant or bird's nest and a bird for spring.


I also found a bag of seven little vintage books for $1.99. I love sweet little
vintage books like this...the artwork in them is lovely and they contain
beautiful poems and sayings. They also look pretty stacked on a shelf
or used in a vignette.



Have you ever heard of this magazine? One is from 2004 and the other 2005.
I don't remember this publication. I thumbed through them and it looked like
there were some good decorating ideas and articles. For 29 cents each, I
figured I couldn't go wrong.
 

I love bracelets. This colorful wooden beaded one was only 99 cents.
 

 I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive, pretty, ceramic planters. They're
so expensive in retail stores! I love the color and the flowers on this one.


Speaking of plants, I stopped at Home Depot today, hoping to buy a couple of
tiny succulents. I have a few deeper milk glass pieces that I wanted to use as
planters. But Home Depot didn't have any succulents - nary a one! I was 
surprised. They used to carry a nice selection. I did find a couple of house 
plants on clearance though, simply because one was in a Christmas container
and the other in a football-shaped pot. More on that in another post! 
Happy Monday, everyone.

30 comments:

  1. Hi Melanie
    I have 2 Joan Walsh Anglund books and they are so sweet.
    Hope are as successful in the car market as you are at the thrift stores. Car buying is necessary but so stressful

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  2. I hate car shopping. Hate is a strong word. Okay I really strongly dislike car shopping. LOL! I hope you all find something he likes. Looks like you found some great finds. I love that first item from Home Goods - so many things you could put inside - I am thinking Easter. I love picking up old magazines - before PInterest I kept several binders full of old clippings from older magazines.
    Patty at Home and Lifestyle Design

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    1. I hate/strongly dislike car shopping, too. I just want it over and done with. Thanks for the idea of using the HomeGoods find to fill with some kind of Easter decor.

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  3. Your bracelet is pretty! You really find some nice things in your shopping!

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  4. These are all great finds. I thought of you last week when I went to HomeGoods! I came away with a cookie tin and some kids' art supplies, all on clearance, and a new candle. I love little old books too and I wish I had more of them. I've never heard of that magazine either but there are fewer magazines being published all the time, it seems. I think they both look great. Around here, Lowe's has a much better plant selection than Home Depot does. I hope you have a great week!

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    1. That's so sweet that you were thinking of me while shopping! Unfortunately, I don't have a nearby Lowes. The closest one is about 25 min. in a direction I rarely go. There's a Menards nearby though - I might try there. We also have a garden center, but they tend to be really pricey on houseplants unless there's a sale.

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  5. Best of luck with the car shopping. It's a headache, I know. I have so little patience with salespeople.

    I like the little cage thing...what a great deal. I think it will look great with a plant!

    I like your books, too. I'm purging the den brutally. It feels a little weird!

    XO,
    Jane

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    1. There's only 2 salespeople at this place we're dealing with - the owner and a girl who work there. And both are very nice and not at all pushy. Whew! The part I'm really going to dread though is the negotiation on price.

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  6. Love that first piece!! What a steal.
    Susan

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  7. Aw... the books!!! I I want to see more of "I'm thankful for people like you"..... that one just looks sweet!!!

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  8. Wow you scored some great finds, love the little books, I seem to be attracted to little books too. Car shopping is the worse! I always feel like I am in a foreign land, and I'm going to be robbed! Hope you have better luck!

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    1. No kidding! We do our homework beforehand though, so we know about the car, the reliability, what the price should be, etc.

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  9. You lucked out with some thrifty finds, Melanie! I love Joan Walsh Anglund's illustrations. I've got a set of little ceramic plaques with her paintings, one for every month of the year. I think it was my very first collection!

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    1. I had never seen her books or illustrations before - very charming!

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  10. Lots of great finds, Melanie! You'll have lots of fun with the decorative garden-y piece! Good luck with the car search...we finally found one last month, it's a relief to have the search over...

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    1. Thanks, Linda - I can't wait until it's over, too!

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  11. Hi Melanie,

    Love that decorative piece from HomeGoods, (we call it HomeSense in Canada)! Is it wrought iron, metal, plastic? It's lovely! And, your colourful wooden bracelet reminds me of those candied ones we used to buy at the corner store, when I was little, do you remember them? I thought I was so stylish donning that sweet treat! You're so right about ceramic planters being so expensive in retail stores, why is that? You managed to find a pretty one, love the muted hues and your tiny succulents will look perfect tucked in to it! BTW, saw on the international news last night that Lowe's has gone bankrupt! Did you hear?

    Enjoy your new found treasures and hope you find a gem of a car!

    xo
    Poppy

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    1. The piece from HomeGoods is metal. You are spot on with the bracelet - it does remind me of those candy ones! :-) Lowes has gone bankrupt?! No, I hadn't heard that!

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  12. My HD always had succulents too, in the past, though I've not been in any area in there for awhile aside from the bird seed aisle. Perhaps they are seasonal and we just never noticed; not sure.

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    1. As luck would have it, our local garden center has succulents at 40% off right now! I see a trip within the next few days.

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  13. Those little books look so sweet ~ you found some great deals. Good luck with the car shopping. My car is 14 years old and I keep wondering how much longer it will last. Hubby has the good car for trips and such so as long as it gets me around town, I guess I'll hold onto it!

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    1. I'm not that far behind you in the age of my car - mine is 13 years old! It's a Honda Accord - which is a great car - and has "only" 130,000 miles. Not bad for that old of a car. It runs perfectly fine, doesn't have a speck of rust, and has never given me any trouble, so I pray it remains that way for a long time! We certainly can't afford car payments at this time of our lives (having a college student)!

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  14. Hi Melanie, those books are darling. You always manage to find the sweetest things. Good luck car shopping. I'm insisting our son take a driver's ed course in Colorado before he can even think to get a license or a car. He should have done it in November when the first course was offered, but he was just settling in for his freshman year. He is checking into it now and will take the next session. Driver's ed is not offered in Kuwait and I don't want him driving without getting the basics and the rules of the road (something lacking in this country). Hope you have a great rest of the week. Tammy

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  15. I don't blame you for insisting your son take Driver's Ed. Here in Illinois, Driver's Ed is offered as a course in high school, though that's greatly diminishing due to lack of funds. So both my boys took the class in high school and had their driver's licenses when they were a little over 16.

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  16. I was thinking of going to HD today-I was going to get some bulbs, it still isn't too late to plant them here-and speaking of HD I did buy several succulents there last year, infact they are still doing quite well in the garage-wonder if it is a regional thing?
    Blue ceramic planter is dreamy!
    Have a Lovely week-
    Jemma

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    1. It could be because our weather has been too frigid to ship the succulents here; that's the only thing I can think of. On the other hand, a local nursery has them in stock and they're 40% off right now, too - so I'll be heading there this weekend!

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