I think the British bloggers refer to itty bitty items such as the hair spray ceramic ($3.99) and the black and white hat ceramic ($3.99) as "smalls" [they are less than 3 inches tall] ~ so here are my finds from Thrift Town on El Camino in Sacramento.
Bag of soaps ($1.99) and bag of cards $1.99) - with my Thrift Town coupon, $5 off any purchase of $15.00 or more, I spent about $15.
Regal mouse (who may or may not lose his cape and crown and be recycled back) ($1.50) and a bag of Halloween and Christmas ornaments ($1.99) that I bought for one ornament in particular. It will most likely show up in my Commando Countdown to Christmas of a blog post a day. Little did I know how much work it is to prepare 25 posts in advance. There were scenes to be set (minature in scale nonetheless) pictures to be taken, cropped, adjusted, and posted to Blogger (which can be an ordeal at times, depending on internet speed). Enjoy!
Pink Saturday ~ Shop thrift, shop local, shop commando!
In revolt of Black Friday, I like my newly-discovered blogger's idea Dear Helen Hartman: Black Friday? I prefer Pink Saturday!
Three hook rug butterflies ($1.50), "spoiled rotten's room" hanging pillow (.25) and a pill bottle full of small beads (.25).
Took a walk out to the garden and discovered these late-blooming mums kissed with raindrops. The moisture reflected on the angel bird bath made for a great picture.
Things just didn't go as planned today, I had good intentions to ride my bike and rake some leaves but when my tires needed air (and no tire pump available), and the train going through the middle of town decided to back up after a 20-minute wait, I knew it was time to cut my losses. The SPCA Thrift on E Street in Sacramento called to me and this itty bitty ceramic rooster feller ($1.96) joined my "rescues."
Had wardrobe malfunctions too this morning ~ the colorful autumn skirt I picked up this weekend wrinkles horribly and a cashmere sweater I just retrieved from the dry cleaner had at least 4 small moth-holes. I keep a small sewing kit at my desk so I could do the quick repairs to the sweater, but the skirt is a goner. The clothes situation is part of the downside of buying thrift, sometimes you don't discover the flaws or defects until after you've left the house.
This original nautical watercolor was the best of the bunch at Amador Hospice Thrift ($8.50). To make the picture "pop" I painted the blue borders with a highlight of acrylic ultramarine blue. Now it is ready-to-hang worthy. I've been having such luck with orchids, these two books Easy Orchids ($1.50) and Complete Guide to Orchids ($2.50) will come in handy. The Romantic English Garden ($1.50) was also a keeper along with the No Boundaries loungewear ($3.50).
I couldn't pass up the book, The American Shakers and Their Furniture ($1.50), and The World of M.C. Escher ($3.50). Today's Best Reggae Hits ($1.50) will go to my reggae-loving daughter pictured below with Scatter, a recent rescue.
How could I resist this jeweled belly button troll ($1) at Cameron Park Snowline Hospital Thrift Shop? I splurged for tunes in the Hairspray CD, Patti Page's Greatest Hits and Earl 'Fatha' Hines and his Orchestra - Harlem Lament. I have no idea if Earl and his buddies are any good, but it will be fun discovering so. The embroidery in the background is a pillowcase border hand-stitched by my mom.
Friday night I had some time to kill before I met a friend at Zelda's Pizza in Sacramento, so it was a quick trip to Eco Thrift. Scored a Liz Clairborne sleeveless knit top (.99), a George ME sleeveless knit top (.99) and a JKLA black stretch skirt with sequin detailing ($2.99). Bought a bag of what I thought were fabric remnants (.99) but turned out to be placements, a few hand cross-stitched. These items will be utilized as backgrounds in future posts.
The autumn print skirt ($2.99), the small barrel planter, fits right in with my ranch/western decor ($3) and the packet of necklaces ($2.40). I saw the one NWT beauty and the beast Disneyland necklace and thought it was all one piece of jewelry but it appears the one small necklace is true gold box chain.
So the beauty and the beast necklace will go to my niece, pictured below with the tiara.
And since Taqueria Jalisco, 330 16th Street, Sacramento, was across the street from Goodwill - I sampled the chicken tostada. Yum!
These three sweeties were separated into three separate Christmas ornament bags at the Thrift Town on El Camino Avenue in Sacramento. Anyone who has been thrift shopping knows you have to sort through a lot of crap, debris, junk stuff before you find what you may or may not have been looking for.
My angels were also in perfect shape - no chips or cracks. I had two buy $10, receive $3 off Thrift Town coupons. One coupon I used for this purchase and the other I gave to another shopper. I meet the nicest people thrift shopping. It is not like shopping retail, people rarely strike up random conversations at say Macy's.
This Thanksgiving Ty Beanie Baby was a thrift shop rescue at some point during the past year. Beanie babies can be bought by the bag at the thrift shops now. But when I see a holiday-themed one, I tend to save them for the occasion. He is also resting on a small wicker cornucopia and a fall-themed Tiara International sweater (both TSF). I wore the sweater on Halloween but am undecided whether I will keep it or recycle it back into the great Thrift Shop Beyond.
11-11-11 ~ A day for good things to happen!
I wasn't going to head to Thrift Town on El Camino Avenue in Sacramento. I was thinking, "I have too many clothes." But, you know, a girl can't have too many clothes! This red cashmere beaded beauty NWT from Charter Club was my first find ($13.99).
Then there was the cornflower blue Merona shell and sweater set ($5.59).
And finally the Inc (Macy's brand) fun print retro-look shirt with bell sleeves ($5.59). Because it was 30% off clothing day, the lines were very long.
I was able to sneak into the Snowline Hospital Cameron Park shop, 2650 Cameron Park Drive, Suite 220, Cameron Park, California, 95682, (530) 344-4480, just a few minutes prior to the 3:00 p.m. closing time on Sunday and snagged this faceted-cut Amber ring ($6). What delighted me about this piece is it replaces a similar ring that I lost a few years ago.
Madalin wanted to get into the picture when I was photographing the ring and the Allison Taylor silk blouse ($3).
And now there are two ~ isn't that how collections start?
The butter churn cookie jar ($5) and Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing ($1) were my fortunate finds at Interfaith's Great Finds in Sutter Creek, California. A couple of months back, I bought the barrel cookie jar at Interfaith for $15. Now I own a pair of cookie jars, if I collect one more is that the beginning of a collection? Would love comments, please post your thoughts on collections.
I know time to get a new camera phone! But at least you can get the gist of my finds: a leopard cloth frame (69 cents), Andy Williams at Christmas (99 cents, am a big fan!), a ceramic round hairbrush ($1.49 to be soaked in ammonia before use), a bag of soaps and shampoos ($1.49 some to use for traveling, some to use in toiletry gift bags for the organization WEAVE, women escaping a violent environment), Charming bracelet ($5.99), three bracelets tied with ribbon ($2.99) and a NWT Mervyns JPR skirt ($5.99). The best part was I used my well-worn fully-punched Thrift Town Super Shopper Card to receive $10 off a purchase of $20 or more.
Then, Mexican food it is - at Beto's Taqueria, 480 East El Camino Avenue, Sacramento, CA (916) 922-2581.