Thursday, June 14, 2007

It is a Dangerous Liaison

It's official: my children have become thrift store junkies.

I really shouldn't be all that surprised, given my family history of parents and grandparents constantly searching for a deal. But I just didn't expect it to happen so damn early in their lives.

I didn't become overly-obsessed until I was about eight. By that point my dad had taught me all the fine details of haggling at the flea market and I could purchase an armload of books for two bucks.

But my children, my children, will end a play date short if I offer to take them to the thrift store. I guess the prospect of fifty-cent books and allure of finding undiscovered Legos is just too much excitement for them to wrap their little minds around.

So, wanna see my favorite scores of late?


From the top left -- a Lauren Ashley (holy shit!) 100% cotton thing. I think it's suppose to be a box spring cover, which is great given we don't have one. And it might even fit our bed and that would make it a double score. Cost -- two bucks.

Next is a twin size fitted sheet with purple flowers. 100% cotton percale. Can we say love? Love. Me thinks Griffin will not mind sleeping on soft flowers. Besides, he's also a textile junkie. Cost -- two bucks.

Last is a 100% cotton percale (hmmmm... see a theme here? It's called, My family is allergic to everyfuckingthing except cotton) pillowcase that feels like buttah. Cost -- 95 cents.

Oh! And here's my favorite --


An old casserole dish. With two compartments! So now I can serve two veggies at once. Or two different kinds of dip. Or dip and chips. Cost -- $1.95.

Ahhhh... I heart thrift stores. Especially when I actually find good stuff.

22 comments:

lera said...

Very nice. Love the casserole dish.

I love percale sheets. So soft. Mmmm. Makes me want to go to sleep thinking about it.

Anonymous said...

We had almost that exact casserole when I was growing up. Peas and carrots, baby. Peas and carrots.

Anonymous said...

That sounds like fun! I took my kids shopping today too, but the forces of harmony were not with us today. (That's putting it mildly. It was like two monkeys on crack.)

Renee said...

I LOVE thrift stores, as do my girls. It's catching, that's for sure. And hey, raising bargain-hunters is a good thing!

Anonymous said...

Love it all. Where'd you go?

Oil Cloth Junkie said...

-sigh-
I want to go thrift store shopping.

Berber said...

I love the fabrics!
I feel a strong urge coming up to go to the thriftstore tomorrow...

Kim -today's creative blog said...

great finds. My son loves going too.
sleeping on purple flowers. Love it.

Anonymous said...

for my daughter it's all about the books - she still loses patience with me about halfway through, though.

amy h said...

I love the casserole -- good find!

Chickenbells said...

Wonderful scores!! YAY...I love the thrift (I go every morning, of course it's right across from the shop, so that makes it that much easier) I had been drug to every thrift and swap meet in So.Cal. by the time I was 4...and I STILL have some of the stuff that I got to pick out for myself as a bribe...I mean, a gift for being so good.

Heidijayhawk said...

i think we are rasing the same kids. parker was playing his camecube on the plasma tv (difference between me and dear hubby) when i peaked my head around the corner to see if he would like to accompany me to a few garage sales and the thrift store. the child put shoes on while he was running to the car! i love that boy!

Anonymous said...

good call!!

Suzie Sews At DOTTY RED said...

love the green on the dish and as for the linens, great find!
Suzie Sews

Marshamlow said...

I have always been a thrift store junkie myself, and garage sales. I haven't had the chance to find one here yet, now I have a project. Great finds.

Anonymous said...

What more could you want from your children!
Mine aren't great in shops but love a car boot sale, rummaging for toys, books and other treasures while I grab linens and pyrex. I've even managed to convert my husband which was no mean feat I tell you!

Angelina said...

Those are some great finds!

Cotton is just about the best fabric on earth in my opinion. Plus, the Egyptions supposedly grew and wore cotton, so it has to be great, right?

We went to an "antique" shop the other day that was a hoarders paradise and Max was so comfortable in the moth ridden, jam packed with dirty junk, and dusty atmosphere it really scared me. Hoarding runs in Philip's family and Max shows every sign of becoming one with great relish. I feel icy fear crawl up my veins.

On the other hand, he found a cool Hot Wheels car and the lady of the manor gave him a couple of lego bits for free which put him in a good mood for a whole hour.

Angelina said...

By the way, when I say "hoarding" i mean it in a very serious clinical way. As in: must carve a path from the bedroom to the living room with a machete and wear a mask for the dust-up this causes. I'm talking about the kind of hoarding in which twenty years of junk mail piles up because you can't bear to throw a single piece of it away.

I definitely don't mean enjoying having collections and finding good stuff at the thrift store, which is not at all the same. Just want to make sure you realize I'm not insulting the desire to find great stuff and collect interesting things.

Anonymous said...

NICE!
I just bought that same casserole dish last year...we are casserole twins now!
My kids like it too, its the only store they don't hear 'no, we dont need that crap' 10 times in a row!
And if we end up not using it, at least I get the happiness that I saved it from the landfill.

Anonymous said...

waaaaaaaaaa - I never find good stuff. Lucky you.

Anonymous said...

WHAT SCORES! I found some white and aqua Pyrex last fall with the compartments like your dish. It was a steal too. But now I'm too afraid to use it!

Anonymous said...

That dish is the bomb! Kudos on the cotton score... all my local thrift shops seem to be dry on the cotton front.