Thrifted: Seafoam Lamp

Two weeks ago, on a trip through the local thrift shop, I came across my best find in a long, long time. I was at Value Village to take photos for my upcoming newsletter and from half way across the store I spotted it: that pretty seafoam colour that floats my boat. I made a mad dash across the store (seriously, old man, get out of my way!) I reached the back of the store, waited patiently for an older man to finish looking at the bottom shelf, and then ended up saying "excuse me" and just snagging it off the top shelf. 

I checked the lamp over from top to bottom: no cracks or chips. It's art deco style was impressive - and the lamp was as big as the dickens. There was an electrical outlet to test your lamps, but no light bulb - huh? But, at $5.99, how could I not invest in the lamp of my dreams? Just look at it!

After purchasing my lamp, I drove to the Wally-world next door and found the perfect lampshade. Seriously, a match made in heaven! The shape was the perfect complement to the tall lamp and the linen fabric and colour went beautifully with the lamp. I brought the pair home and set them up in the living room. A quick wipe-down, a fresh bulb, plugged it in and voila! The lamp is the exact shade of minty green that I painted the stripe in the large painting. It doesn't translate perfectly on the screen, but trust me - it's a match! And, at about 18" plus the shade, it's a hefty lamp! 

How about you? Find any treasures lately? Do share!

Happy Tuesday!

Thrifting 101 - Coming Soon

I've been working on a project for the past little while that is just about ready to be shared!

Thrifting 101 is a newsletter that I've created with tips and tricks that will help you in becoming a pro thrifter. I know that some of my family and friends are hesitant about shopping at a thrift store, which seems like a foreign concept to me. I remember going second-hand shopping with my mom for as long as I can remember. Whatever your comfort level, I hope that this project will help you to become more comfortable in your local shop. Keep your eyes peeled, the project will be revealed soon!

Happy Thursday!

Antiquity

Over this past weekend, Dan and I discovered the best little town ever. There were three antique shops right in a row! If you know my province then you know that there aren't an abundance of neat, clean, well-priced antiques. There was one large one that smelled amazing, one beautiful, well-curated one, and one flea market, diamond in the rough style antique shop. I was a good girl and only came out with one item: a piece of Pyrex in the prettiest shade of green.

My favourite shop (of course!) was the beautiful, well-curated one. I knew that I had to take a lot of pictures because if you're a Bluenoser, you just wouldn't believe me without proof. I'm thinking that I need to load up a carload of girls and make an antique road trip! I'm not going to lie, Dan was really into it, too. One of the shops had some great boy-friendly finds, and there was so much beautiful furniture, windows and doors around that he couldn't help but fall in love.

Here's a few photos from my new favourite shop:

Beautiful, eh? Drop me a note if you'd like to learn the location of this shop! I don't have the name of it and can't seem to find it online but I can give a mean list of directions. If you want to go on a road trip, you know I'm game! As Dan said, "this place is like Anthropologie" which he knows is one of my most favourite places. Antique lovin', handcrafted, character lookin' me.

Are you into antiques? Tell me your favourite find!

Happy Wednesday!

Sunshiney Day

After today's glorious sunshine, I'm longing for beautiful sun-filled summer days like this:

Soon enough, soon enough.

I spent the day with my Mom today. We thrifted our little hearts out. Mom and I had planned on going to a cooking class that's about an hour away. When we arrived to register, all the spots had been filled. Boo! I did manage to find a few new to me things for summer, including a linen vest (which I had been looking for!), a pair of North Face workout pants and a pretty coral top with a crocheted collar. Not bad! (I'll try to share some pics soon...) Mom found a few things, too, so we stopped for a yummy lunch and then headed home. I'm meeting a couple of friends from high-school tomorrow - I'm excited to hang out with them after all these years!

Did you do anything exciting this week? Do share!

Happy Wednesday!

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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Phillipians 4:4

❤

Thrifted Jewels

Did I hit the jackpot last week or what?!

Mom and I were nosing around at our local thrift store, and one of the ladies told us that they were putting out some jewellery. Apparently, they only do it twice a year - that way they can have a big selection all at once. Mom and I were like a couple of kids digging through the baskets! Here's what I came home with:

A beautiful beaded bracelet

A darling bird necklace

A chic ivory and gold chain bracelet

An adorable green apple necklace

A chunky grey and black bracelet

A stack of adjustable bangles

A dainty multi-strand necklace

A handmade heart pin

Wasn't that a great find? I also got a royal blue tie-neck blouse there, too. All of the jewellery came to around $12. Crazy, right? It was hard to pass up the bargains, even though I need more jewellery like I need a hole in the head. I was selective, though, and only came home with the pieces that I absolutely loved. Yay!

Happy Tuesday!

Thrifted Thursday

I got a terrific deal for this week's Thrifted Thursday! 

I've been on the hunt for little tiny vases - I've searched on Etsy, and in boutiques and markets. I wanted something that would look cute with one single wildflower in it. With spring and summer on the way, I wanted a little vase to hold any outdoor goodness in: twigs, flowers, anything that I could find to put in a teensy vessel. Something simple, pottery, free-form or organic shaped. You would think I was looking for gold with how difficult a vase is to find! 

I stopped in at a local thrift store - and what did I discover? Not one, but two of the exact type of vases that I was looking for were tucked away on a shelf! They're handmade, tiny, simple shapes and colours - perfect! Guess how much each of these were? Twenty-five cents each! I snatched them up and headed for the counter...

Score!

Have you found any awesome thrift finds lately?

Happy Thursday!

Thifted Thursday

I went on a very quick thrift trip a couple weeks back. I went into the store looking for a new blanket for our dog - we buy secondhand hand-knit throws for him so I don't feel guilty throwing them out when they get all grody (how do you spell that?! I've only used it out loud before...) from being washed a million times. If you have a pet, I'm sure that you know what I mean.

Not only did I find Sage a nice new blanket, but I walked out of the store with this:

What?! Can you believe that I thrifted this beautiful blanket? At $12.99, it was way more than I usually spend on one secondhand item... but it was totally worth it. A handmade throw in colours that match our room perfectly! It's all hand-tied as well. What a gorgeous piece of work - I can't believe that someone donated it! Their loss, I guess :) It's just perfect for us!

The last photo of the set shows the throw's colours the most accurately - aren't they dreamy? It has the exact yellow of our quilt set, a shade of mint green that I love, and a lovely dark gray that matches our Euro shams. This blanket is one of my favourite finds yet!

Have you found any thrifted goodies lately?

Thrifted Thursday

As you may remember from earlier posts, I've been on the hunt for yellow. Yellow anything. Anything that will bring a little springtime into our living room. I went and had a root canal done on Monday (yay!) and Mom and I did a little thrifting. I was selective, though. I'm getting to the point where I go and look for specific items. Items that are not what I am looking for get left there. There's too much junk in our tiny place already. Anyway... something yellow jumped out at me from a shelf:

A yellow ceramic dish! It's the perfect shade, too. For 99 cents, I found quite the little bargain. I can use it as a planter, to corral odds and ends, or even to just look pretty on a shelf. The pretty material underneath it is a pillow sham that I thrifted last year... it's been hanging out in our linen closet, but I can't bare to get rid of it. I know I'll find the perfect use for it someday.

I also found a backpack for Daniel on Monday. He's been looking for a little sporty one to use while biking or snowboarding. This one is Mountain Equipment Co-op, and it's in perfect condition. It's black, gray, and green, with one cross-body strap and a nifty water bottle holder. I tossed it in the washing machine with a little Spray and Wash on it when I got home, and it looks brand new. Not bad for $4.99!

Have you had any perfect little finds lately?

Thrifty/Thrifted Thursday

 Did you think that I forgot about this weekly feature?!

... maybe I did.

Our nearest second-hand shop closes up for the month of March every year. They purge old stuff, revamp the store itself, and restock lots of goodies. Right before they close every year, they put everything on for half price. My mom and I ran in last week, and look at my little treasure...

Is that not the cutest tea saucer ever?! I collect them, as you may know... but only individual plates, never sets. Oh, the colours - pink, mustard, brown, green! The tweedish background... oo la la. Here's a closer peek:

How much did I pay for this little gem, you may ask? A mere thirteen cents! I could actually pay cash for it :) I love this little plate so much, I decided to change the feature header shot to include it! Here's a look at the new picture:

I hope that your Thursday is lovely!

Good Thrift Hit.

I went grocery shopping this morning (yay!) and Mom and I decided to check out two local consignment shops before we headed home. Am I ever glad that we did! 

I picked up three sweaters, in what may possibly be my go-to colour combination: olive, mustard, and oatmeal. It's so classic, but a little bit trendy, too. It's my Anthro style on a budget :) The sweaters are all in excellent condition, and were all $5 or less.

The bottom two sweater are cardigans... my fave, as you know, and they'll be part of my easing-my-way-into-spring wardrobe. The polka-dotted olive and cream one is a pullover, lightweight sweater.

 

I also found two adorable pairs of teensy, weensy shoes for my friend Janelle. Well, not for her... for her very soon-to-be little baby boy. :) They were both under $2 and never worn. Score!

Did you find any little thrifted treasures this weekend? Do share!

Thrifty Thursday

This Thrifty Thursday, I have some real cuties to share with you!

 On Monday, Value Village held a 50% off day, so my parents and I headed down to scope out the bargains. I had a gift certificate that had been burning a hole in my wallet since November. I wasn't expecting much, as I haven't bought anything there in quite a few visits. Little did I know...

I found two pairs of shoes, both new with tags. The first pair was $100 - and I bought them for $5! The second pair was $60, and I bought them for $5 as well. I also found a great assortment of adorable baby clothes for my friend Janelle (yay!), and a few home decor items that I will share soon.

Take a peek at my pretty shoes:

Cute, eh? I was pumped - pretty shoes that fit perfectly,
and are comfy, wearable ones, too!

(P.S. Can we not talk about how dirty my table is?
I was up crafting on it the night before, so there are paper cutting and glue smudges all over it. I know now you are going to scroll back up. Don't. Just look the other way, mmkay? Thanks.)

Have you thrifted anything wonderful lately?

Home Tour Week: Thrifty Thursday

It's Thrifty Thursday, Home Tour Week edition!

I'll be sharing our living room with you later today (!) ... when I was taking the photos, I saw the perfect thing on our bookshelf to feature for this week's Thrifty Thursday:

I picked up these two adorable little shadow boxes last year. The bleached wood is a perfect accent in any room - a little Scandinavian influence. I believe I paid less than $2 each for these bad boys. A whole lot cheaper than a department store - and they were still in their original packaging!

I have a Black Apple print from Kelsie is one frame - I love this print! It's an albino girl with her albino rabbit - two peas in a pod. In the other frame, I made a little bunting banner out of coral coloured paint chips, and the word "one" in sparkly baby blue letters. They frames are cute, small, and great bookshelf fillers. Score!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!