Invisible Picture Wire Saves the Day
Do you ever have one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments? Any seasoning at all would be better than having to eat one more bite of this bland food. A few lunges while I brush my teeth is better than no exercise today! This mint stuck to the bottom of my purse is better than having no mint and bad breath! Using my husband’s deodorant is better than not using any deodorant at all! Added perk – I can enjoy the manly smell of ‘arctic ice’ coming from my armpits all day long. I had one of those “anything is better than nothing” moments as it relates to…
The Best Flea Market Score
Not only did I recently find the best flea market score EVER, it happened twice at the same flea market. I know, I know. I don’t think you can technically have two “best ever” declarations in the same sentence. Alas, it won’t be the first or last grammar violation on this blog. Now, while I’m still riding the high of the moment, I am well aware that the best flea market score to me is not the best flea market score to someone else. And thank goodness, right? Otherwise, they’d be walking home with my finds and I’d be walking home sad and empty-handed. Actually, I’d be driving. New Jersey…
Happy Thrifting: Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market
Have you ever seen a faraway place on TV or in a magazine and thought that it would be a cool place to visit someday? That’s what I’ve always thought about Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in Connecticut. It is often the backdrop for the HGTV show Flea Market Flip. It has also been mentioned in magazines the likes of Architectural Digest and by interior designers like Emily Henderson. As it turns out, I can now drive to Elephant’s Trunk Flea Market in about two hours. I’ve been stuck in traffic jams in Atlanta for longer than two hours, so driving this long to potentially score some unique treasures at a…
Happy Thrifting: Smalltown Antiques
I’ll happily admit I’m the type of shopper that judges an antique or thrift store by the stuff they have outside. If it looks like “good” stuff – whatever that means – I’m more likely to want to stop. Do you do that too? Smalltown Antiques in Flanders, New Jersey, had all sorts of good stuff outside its front door when I visited. I’m guessing thieves don’t steal old crocks? Not only was the outside packed, but Smalltown Antiques the kind of shop that is brimming with interesting finds inside too. It’s not big space-wise, but there’s a lot to take in. I loved the bookends on this table and…
My Latest Thrift Store Finds
Believe it or not, I’ve been shopping – thrift store shopping! And I have some thrift store finds to share with you. There’s really no difference at all between thrift store shopping and regular store shopping for me. 99% of the time the outcome can usually be categorized as one of the following: This store was a complete waste of time. I can’t believe I left my house for this. The store contains all my hopes and dreams and I can’t afford any of it. That last 1% of the time I find something at the intersection of I can’t live without it and I’m willing to pay for it,…
Happy Thrifting: Andover, New Jersey
The fastest way for me to get “alone time” is to ask my family if they want to go hunting for treasure. They know this is code for thrifting and everyone single one of them will say, “no thanks!” Then I pretend to be disappointed while skipping out the door. My latest adventure for the Happy Thrifting series took me to the small town of Andover, New Jersey. Andover is located approximately an hour and fifteen minutes west of New York City. I didn’t get a firm count on the number of antique or thrift shops in the Andover area, but I went into four shops. I’m fairly certain I…
Happy Thrifting: America Designs
I have quite the virtual shopping treat for you today! We recently visited the town of Lambertville, New Jersey. Never heard of it? That’s okay. It is a small town (population approx 4,000) located along the Delaware River and right on the border of Pennsylvania. The Travel Channel recently named Lambertville the “Most Charming Small Town” in New Jersey on it’s list of “America’s 50 Most Charming Small Towns.” That’s quite the endorsement, isn’t it? With a recommendation from The Travel Channel and the town’s self-described label as the “Antiques Capital of New Jersey,” we HAD to check it out. The very first store in Lambertville that we ventured into…
Items I Should Have Bought on Facebook Marketplace, but Didn’t
I thought it would be fun to show you my gallery of thrifting regrets today. Nothing says a “fun read” like the word regret. Ha! Do not even get me started on how much I loathe Facebook, but I do find its Marketplace to be quite useful when I’m thrifting for something in particular. It’s where I found my quirky rattan swivel chair. I still am over-the-moon about that chair, by the way. I like to ‘save’ items I’m interested in buying, but not motivated enough to leave my house that day to collect. Sometimes I watch the items to see if the price drops, but often the items are…
$60 Thrifted Dresser
Sometime last year I crowed about a thrifting haul. I scored multiple thrifted items in the course of one week – something that rarely happens to me. In fact, it hasn’t happened since. But not for lack of trying! One of the items I didn’t tell you about was the $60 thrifted dresser with killer legs. See what I mean? Look at those little wooden wheels… I found this dresser at my local Habitat Restore. It has become my go-to place for inexpensive furniture partly because it’s located only a few miles from my house, but mainly because of the ‘inexpensive’ part. I would have bought the dresser on-the-spot, but…
The Painting I Rescued From the Trash
Here’s some advice to live by: always go for a walk around the neighborhood the night before garbage day. Trust me! You never know what treasures you might find just sitting on the curb waiting for the garbage truck to be discovered. Earlier this fall I took one of these walks. It was late afternoon. The air was crisp. The leaves were still glorious. There wasn’t a soul in sight. That’s when I spotted it. Do you see it? A painting sitting with a pile of trash at the end of someone’s driveway. They’d left it there to be collected by the garbage truck. Or me. Their intent could have gone either…
