Thrifty Finds

I'll be linking up with Apron Thrift Girl for Thrift Share Monday and Me and My Shadow for Magpie Monday.

In addition to a few thrift stops this week, I was able to go to an actual yard sale!  Yea!!!  I love yard sales with a deep and burning love.  You simply can't beat them for bargain pricing.  My mom and I like to go out together, and two of my three kids love to tag along.

First for my thrift finds this week.  I hit the little charity thrift shop up the hill from my house.  It is only open a few hours a week, so I don't get in there very often.  When I do go, I rarely walk out empty handed.  This week I found quite a few great books for the kids, and a special little treat.

The puzzle book is for the kids, but Bekah will probably claim it.  She has a weird and fascinating ability with puzzles, but that a subject for another post.  Do you see the little treasure in front?

That's a darling teapot for loose tea, and it was just .75.  Husband and I went to Taiwan last year, and we were gifted with several tins of loose tea.  This should be perfect!  It's in new condition, and does not appear to have been used.

Later in the day Mom and Joshua and I stopped at a yard sale.   It was late, after 3:00, but the seller was preparing to move, so she was still selling.  I got this...

How cute are those shirts!  They were $1 each.  The green Linus is for me, and the other two are for Rachel.  In addition to another book, I got a half bag of potting soil for .50.  That's what I love about yard sales.  It's time to start our vegetable and flower seedlings here in Arkansas, and I would have been purchasing a bag of potting soil within the next week.

How do you thrift?  Do you go looking for a specific item, or do you let the items find you?

Saturday Night Retro

It's that time again already?  Wow, this has been a quick week.  We've all had head colds, and I'm still suffering a bit, so I'm extra ready for some downtime.  I think I'll go a different route tonight.  Instead of some of my favorites, how about some reminders of yesteryear that might be a little less classic, but still fun.  Remember this one?

And this...

Don't pretend those never made you cry.

And how many of you had these?

Puffy stickers.  When I was in about 5th grade, 1979ish, the girls in my class collected them.  We put them in photo albums, stuck to the pages.  I only had about two pages worth, but some girls had dozens.  I don't think we traded them, since they were already stuck.  I think we just showed them off to each other.

Share a favorite memory from elementary school in the comments.

Turquoise Tableau

I love my turquoise dishes and kitchen ware.  Don't they make you smile?   I gathered some of my favorite pieces for this shot.

In the center, front and back, is of course Pyrex.  I have two round casserole dishes and the butter dish in the Butterprint pattern.  (i realized after i posted the pic, that you can't actually see the pattern on the larger casserole, because the butter dish is blocking it.  my photography skills are lacking.)  This pattern came in white on turquoise, like the two casserole dishes, and turquoise on white, like the butter dish.  There should be a turquoise on white casserole in between the other two sizes, but alas, it was missing from the thrift store shelf.  I grabbed these two minutes after they hit the shelf, and I explained to the volunteer that there was likely a third piece, in the opposite colors, somewhere in the donation pile.  She was not sympathetic to my needs, and did not go to check.  Pity.  These were both missing their lids, but there was one to fit the smaller size in the random lid box.  Each dish was less than $3.  I know!  The butter dish was a Christmas gift from my dear brother.  The sweet baking dish on top is also a gift from my brother.  It is in the Snowflake pattern.  I know where to find a casserole dish in that pattern locally, but it's a bit more than I'd like to pay.  Pyrex has several other lovely turquoise patterns, such as Balloons and Eyes.

Flanking the casserole dishes are my amazing footed mugs.  They have a retro rooster design.  I got three of them at a little flea market in a tiny town.  Alas, one was broken within a week.  That's how it goes when you actually use your vintage dishes, as I do.  I don't know who made these, but I suspect they are Federal Glass.  If anyone knows, please share in the comments.

Front left is one of my favorite coffee mugs.  My sweet Rachel gave me that for Christmas, and I love to use it.  Again, no markings, but this one has a Fireking feel.  Rounding out the photo is a cute little clear glass apothecary/snack jar with a pretty turquoise pattern.  This has a matching orange jar, and they stack.  I assume there was once a lid, and possibly other jars, but I've never found anything about them online.  Again, if you know, please share.

This is not all of my turquoise, but I'll do another post with items that fall more into the blue category, as well as my Federal Glass snack/luncheon sets that have some turquoise.

Next up:  PINK!

Thrift Share Monday

This will be my first link up with Apron Thrift Girl for Thrift Share Monday.  I went to the thrift store THREE times last week, so I have some good stuff to share.

Those of you who thrift in northwest Arkansas are familiar with Potter's House Thrift Store.  It's big, it's packed, and the best part is their rotating pricing system.  By lowering the price of an item each week after the first two, they really move the merchandise along.  And if you see something you like, but don't like the price, you can take your chances on getting it at a later date for less.  Almost any item left after four weeks is fifty cents.

I'm not going to show everything I got, because it's late, I'm tired, and I haven't photographed all of it.  Here is the highlight, though.

Franciscan Tulip Time

A beautiful set of Franciscan serving pieces in the Tulip Time pattern.  These are so beautiful.  The teapot and sugar bowl have repairs, but the other pieces are in excellent condition.  I love these colors, but I am trying to limit the things I keep to a few patterns that I really love, and pottery like this is not high on the list (although this has a marvelous buttery soft surface).  This will either be sold to buy what I want, or traded locally.

Pop over to Apron Thrift Girl and check out more thrifty goodness.

ETA:  I just discovered Me and My Shadow and Magpie Monday, so I'm linking there as well.

Saturday Night Retro

Saturday Night Retro has been on hiatus for two weeks.  First, because of this, and then because of this

I was just exhausted last weekend.  I think I was in bed by 10 pm, which is unheard of for me.  I'm still tired tonight, after a whirlwind of activity this week, but I'm ready to sit back, relax, and travel down Memory Lane.  Won't you join me?

Husband recommended this one.  It definitely is a blast from my past!

 

I went to a Def Leppard concert in the 8th grade.  I went to A LOT of concerts in the 8th and 9th grades.

However, SNR requires something more mellow, so let's try this.

 And this.

Now for something a little different.  Husband and I were watching, and laughing at, videos from the 80's.  One of Joan Jett's band members had on a fringed jacket, similar to this.

And for some reason, it struck us both as hilariously awful.  Because, you know, there are no pictures of either of us wearing anything embarrassing in our youth.

Let's break that one down, mkay?  Big perm?  Check.  Pastel random print shorts that come two inches above the belly button?  Check.  Faux leather bootlets with plastic jewels on the sides?  Check.  Scrunch socks?  Check.  Reading the Weekly World News?  Wow, let's move on, shall we?

I began thinking of other fashion disasters from the past.  Frankly, critiquing 80's fashion is like shooting fish in a barrel.  But that won't stop me.  I give you...

Now I'm not naive enough to think that we won't laugh at today's styles in the future, but right now is right now, and we all need to be laughing at fashions from the past.  So what's your favorite bad fashion item from your youth?  Post a link or description in the comments.

(My) Kids Say the Darndest Things

I've mentioned before that my kids say some pretty funny stuff.  I'm sure lots of kids do, but I don't hear it, so I can only report on what my kids say.  Feel free to share your kids' funny moments in the comments.

Here's one of the most memorable funny kid moments:

Joshua, about 6 years old.  We had been discussing Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.  Have I mentioned that we are a very political family?

Anyway, little Josh asked, "Is he a dick potato?"

Stunned and very confused, I just stared at him, trying to process what I was hearing.  "A what??" I asked.

He said, "You know, a dick potato.  Like Castro."

No longer confused, but still stunned, I said, "A dictator?"

Josh, "Yeah, that's the slang.  Dick tater."

Joshua, 6 years old

New Blog

My sister and I have started a recipe blog together.  It's a bit different than most.  Check it out here.

I Wok, You Crock

Sharp Shooting Kids

I missed making a Saturday Night Retro post last night because I wasn't relaxing at home, listening to music.  Instead, I was watching my kids and their teammates win the Arkansas State BB Gun Championship!

Washington County Shooting Sports- State Champs!

Rachel's team won the whole shebang, and three of her teammates won most of the individual awards.  This team, made up of different members, has won for four of the past five years.  They are a great group of kids, and have some amazing coaches.  Winning here means they go on to compete at the national event in July.

Rachel is admiring the trophy

One extra pleasant bit was that Joshua won an award for being the only participant to score 100% on the written exam.  He and Rachel both worked hard to learn everything they could, and they basically have the rule and safety books memorized.  He also shot his personal best, 331.  Great job Joshua!

Here are a few shots from the weekend.

They got a taste of what camp is like.

and a cafeteria

Rachel kneeling

Joshua attaching his sling

They had a great time, and I'm so happy for their team and coaches that all did so well.

Books That Matter

I'm starting a new feature here called Books That Matter.  Every six weeks or so, I will feature a different book that matters, and I will spend the next six weeks reading it and discussing it with anyone who is interested.  I hope that many of you will read the books, too, so you can join in the discussion.  I've asked a few learned friends to add their two cents when the time comes.  Who gets to decide which books matter?  Well, on this blog, I do.  I do welcome suggestions, though.

The idea behind this feature is that there are certain books that nearly everyone should read at least once.  Some of these are great literature, some are non-fiction that really hits the mark, some are politically important, etc.  Some will be books whose premise I strongly refute, but I recognize that they are important none the less.

The reason for allotting such a long time, six weeks or so, to read them is because they will all have many layers which need to be explored.  Even the ones that are "easy to read" will have a lot of depth.  I hope to get a lot of input from all of you.

For more information on the Books That Matter feature, click the link in the right sidebar.