It has been quite a while since I have gotten to do much thrifting. Not like the good ol' days (ahem...last year) in Wisconsin or this summer in Texas. My friend Alicia and I got to quickly hit two stores a few weeks back, but I did not find much. A VHS movie or two and two extra pairs of soccer shorts was all I had to show for the day. Which really isn't blog worthy.
But today Wyatt went to Mrs. Alice's again for a few hours and the older two were in kindy. Which gives me exactly 1 hour and 45 minutes. I have just enough time to either run right back home and clean the kitchen up from breakfast and take the trash out, or I can hit two thrift stores that are situated directly in between Alice's house and the school. This one is a no brainer for me. Any respectable thrifter would come to the same conclusion I did.
I was able to hit the CHKD Thrift Store and the Judeo Christian Outreach Thrift Store, both off of First Colonial Road. At the first store I was able to find a fireman costume for Ian (not photographed as it was already on his little body) and one of our favorite videos the Little Twins. But then at the second stop I found several goodies for myself. (Click on the photo above to take you to flickr where you can see a detailed description.)
My favorite purchase has to be a king sized top sheet. It is not vintage, but I really like the print. I had originally thought I would use it for yard goods for other projects. But when I got home I noticed it had the same yellow and red that the wool rug in the dining room has. Noticing this little detail then prompts pulling the dining room chair over to the window to drape the sheet over the plain white tab tops that are currently hanging. I think I like them there. And yes, my tablecloth needs ironing.
Now as I am getting ready to leave the any thrift store, and if I do not have three little boys falling out and acting like fools by this point, I usually do a last walk around the store to make sure I didn't miss anything. Orthat a new rack was not put out while I was on the other end of the store. So on my last walk around of the day, I spotted this...
on the back of a mirror in a group of old prints and frames. "A. Brandt Co." As in THE A. Brandt who made ranch oak furniture in Ft. Worth, Texas in the 30's and 40's? As in, if you live in Texas and want to decorate your house in authentic western style, you have to have a piece or two of A. Brandt ranch oak? I whipped out my cell phone to call my mom faster than green grass through a goose. (see, even when I talk about my native state the accent and colloquialisms come back) The conversation went something like this...
"Mom, are you busy?"
"Not too busy?"
"Mom, A. Brandt is good right?"
"Yes, generally. It is very good. Why, what did you find?"
"I found an A. Brandt mirror that is in perfect condition at a thrift store for $3."
"Get it! Quickly! I love you, bye!"
(Hi Mom! Yes, I know there was more to the conversation than just that. I know you asked about the boys. And we talked about you taking Grammer to her hair appointment. But that was just the down and dirty of it to make for a good thrift store story.)
That was that, SOLD! Now, if I can only sell it on Ebay for what they are currently going for before my S. gets home in two weeks, I'm will be doing good. He just does not understand this buying and selling thing. And a big thank you to the U.S. Navy who deems my blog, and all blogs, as a security risk and blocks it from being read, or I would have just blown my cover.