Thrift Store Shopping with Shelia

I'm not much of a shopper. I'm not one of those people who enjoys 'recreational shopping' in that I look forward to going to the mall every Saturday, or taking shopping vacations. I just don't like it.

But when I do shop, I like thrift stores. Oh, the fabulous array of other people's cast-off stuff fascinates me to no end. 

And I have actually found some pretty nice stuff at my two favorite thrift stores....The Goodwill and Bethel Thrift Store. 

Table linens. The stool in my sewing room. A pewter bread plate. Various old dessert plates. Punch cups. Forest animal beanie babies that I used to decorate the tables for my niece's baby shower last year (totally cute). 

So I thought you might want to take a thrift store shopping trip with me and if you enjoy it, I'll make this a semi-regular post. I say semi-regular because it seems that I cannot post unless the spirit hits me...I have to wait for inspiration. 

C'mon now....let's go to The Goodwill.  

 I found this in the picture bin. Two clowns. Obviously in love. One of them joined the Navy and is going off to sea for a year. The other is going to carry on, solo. They are so much alike that they both bought "I love you" balloons to give to each other as parting gifts. I don't understand clown love, but I do understand how it hurts to say goodbye.

 Ah, the humble secretary. She works long hours and never sees the outside of her office during daylight. From morning till night she toils in her windowless office, with her outdated typewriter and Webster's Dictionary, a secretaries manual, and a copy of Gone With the Wind that she reads during her 15 minute lunchbreak. She decorates her office with paper flowers because she never sees the real ones blooming outside her tiny workspace. She doesn't even have a chair.

 This is a.....actually it's more of a.......I turned it sideways and upside down, trying to figure out it's purpose. It hints at being some sort of egg-carrier.  

Saturday Night Specials.



 

 Do you have problem feet? Do your toes get cold, but your heels get hot? Problem solved! A shoe entrepreneur has invented Special Sneakers to solve your foot problems.

 Anna-one! Anna-two! Boy, did this bring back memories!   I kinda wish I'd bought it, I could have been listening to it right now. As a young teenager I had a crush on Tom Netherton, one of Mr. Welk's singers. I also loved JoAnne Castle and her rollicking, decorated piano. I might have to go back to Goodwill and buy this.  

 I love the Happy Goodmans!!!! And I think my Daddy had this copy of "I'm Too Near Home". They are all home in Heaven now.  Who didn't love Vestal with her big hair, big smile and big heart? She was born and raised in Fyffe, Alabama so she was also an Appalachian Girl.

 Are you pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine? Obviously Paul A. Somebody is pro-vaccine and felt strongly enough to take a bold stance and write a book. And then he titled it "DEADLY CHOICES" and it worked because out of all the books on the shelves this one socked me right between the eyes.  

 Doralean: "My old man fixed me up a exry-cise room on our old sunporch".

ThelmaJean: "He did!? Well, law, are you gonna start exry-cising?"

Doralean: "Yeah, I got ever'thing I need. He even made shelves for my videos. I can exry-cise while I'm watchin' movies and then take a break in my beach chair."

ThelmaJean: "Girl! I'm gonna make my old man fix me up a exry-cise room!"

We are now leaving The Goodwill and going to Bethel Thrift Store. I love Bethel Thrift Store!!!  All of your donations help to fund Bethel Bible Village, a place for young children to stay when their parents are unable to care for them. I strongly suggest you google Bethel Bible Village after reading this blog.

 Advice: if you're giving a party, shower, a fancy swaaray and you want to serve punch in genuine glass punch cups, don't spend a lot of money. Go to Bethel Thrift Store. You can buy punch cups for .50!  Check the rim for cracks! You don't want your guests to cut their lips and bleed all over the place. They might not want to come to any more parties at your house!
 Take them home and run them through your dishwasher a couple of times. It doesn't matter if your punch cups do not match. It is considered shabby chic to have non-matching cups and plates. If I sound experienced at this, it's because I am.  

 Now, honestly, this was a lovely set of dishes. As you can see by the sign, it was SOLD! You can get nice stuff here people. And it goes to a worthy cause.

 Hub and I just purchased a Weston Electric Meat Grinder in order to grind our own beef and chicken. Do-it-yourself meat-grinding isn't new! Here's an old Enterprise Tinned Meat Chopper for $50. It's a deal because the internet price is $100. Hub might want to consider purchasing this in case our electricity goes out. You always need to be prepared.

 More advice: When your kids outgrow their bicycle helmets, batting helmets, etc....consider donating them to Bethel Thrift Store. Hub just informed me that it would be a good idea to have some of these around the house as head protection during tornadoes.

...and lastly, The Nancy Reagan Collection for Thrift Stores. To be quite honest, had I been a size 4..or maybe even a size 2...I would have bought this lovely suit for $12. There was nothing wrong with it, I checked the seams, the buttons, the collar (for discoloration or frays) and it looks brand new. An itty-bitty woman must have cleaned out her closet, because another apricot-colored suit was hanging close beside this one. I took a picture of the lavender one though, because I like the quilt hanging beside it.

Did you have a good time visiting thrift stores with me? Want to go back? Leave me a comment so I'll know!

Thanks for reading my blog and Happy Daylight Savings Time! Rememer tonight we Spring Forward!

Shelia