SPECIAL THINGS AND THRIFTY FINDS!

Hi, my name is Jenn and I am a thrifting junkie.  Have been since high school.  My then-boyfriend and I both were.  We were addicted to cruising flea markets, antique malls, auctions, and garage sales.  We would sometimes get up REALLY early on a Saturday to hit the sales that were in the paper...do teenagers really do this?  So funny.  I also had a subscription to Country Living (they had awesome thrift and antique articles and even DIY projects to make with your "junk").  I actually remember getting competitive with him over some items, and when we broke up, there was one unique jacket in particular that we both wanted--it fit him better in the end, but sheesh!  :)  Anyway, to this day, I drive by a garage sale or thrift store and I am rubber-necking it to see if it looks quality.  I get an adrenaline rush.  I love collecting odd and pretty things and repurposing them, but mostly i just love vintage (household, clothes, textiles, ephemera, you name it).  I don't believe in paying full price for anything, love haggling for a bargain, and love the fun of finding that perfect and unique item, one that probably nobody else has.  It has definitely allowed me to have an extensive (and cute!) wardrobe, a pretty snazzy looking living space, and a million projects in the works.  If I had a dream job, it would be hunting for treasures...I am working on a way to make that a reality!  Here are some special treasures I have added to my collection recently (and some not so recent, but worthy of sharing!)...

These (and the photo above) are vintage MINT GREEN dishes from Spain.  Okay, so if something is mint green, I will probably love it.  But the major selling point for me was the butter dish.  This cracked Raf right up.  He seriously thinks the butter dish is very silly.  But I have wanted one!  And it is mint green!  These dishes are really very pretty, and a welcome addition to my kitchen.  

Um...little, vintage, yellow, enamel tea pot--hello!  I, for some odd reason, have always wanted a bright yellow tea pot.  I walked into Thrift Town one day and spotted it right away--it was SINGING to me!  I make loose ginger tea in it regularly.  It is perfect and precious!

Enameled, vintage, avocado green canisters.  I needed (preferably pretty) counter storage for flour and sugar.  These were $2.99.  Done and done!

Four vintage, embroidered pot holders.  These were a (99 cent) purchase for a special tiny someone, but she doesn't know it yet.  Perfect find for a little gal with a tiny kitchen.  Yes!

So cute.

I want more bright throw pillows.  Silly?  Maybe.  This beautiful, hand-embroidered rooster and flower tapestry was 49 cents.  And pillow sized.

I REALLY wanted this hand-embroidered and framed vintage tapestry.  To hang in my studio.  It was really cheap, but I wasn't sure.  I walked away from it.  Three times.  At the last minute I ran out of the check out line at the thrift (like a crazy person) and I grabbed it.  Sigh...it is handmade and beautiful and inspiring for about 3 projects I have cooked up in my head.

So pretty.

This was not a thrift find, but has a special story... My big brother, Jeff, who is a talented guy with REALLY GOOD taste gave this to me (and I KNOW it was hard for him to give up).  He found it in an old storage barn at my family's farm in New York.  It is from the 1960's, back when my grandfather and his brother had a little maple syrup business.  They tapped trees right on the property and boiled the syrup there too in a little building back in the woods.  So special, and sincerely one of my most treasured possessions...thanks Brother!

I bought this vintage tin sign at an antique shop in Syracuse, NY, when I was visiting a couple of my dearest pals.  I bought it when I was going through a rough time and was moving into my first apartment by myself.  Whenever I look at it, it makes me remember that special place I lived and my sweet, sweet buddies who always lift/ed my spirits!

This print has been traveling with me forever.  I think I got it in 2003, when I was working as a barista in a coffee shop in Nashville, TN.  It was a much-coveted screen print that our shop had a few of (hanging in our window, advertising something or other).  My sweet boss knew I wanted it and stashed it aside for me (much to the chagrin of everyone else who wanted it!).  I finally put it in a frame a couple of months ago and I love it.  It is hanging above my stove and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

The end.  For now...