No truck? Get a hatchback!

Many diehard thrifters and junkers swear by driving a truck to haul all their booty home. Convenient, sure.

But what if a truck isn't your thing? Or you don't have room for one?

I'm here to tell you, a hatchback is your friend.

One time, I piled an entire vintage 70s faux bamboo bedroom set in my 2-door Acura hatchback:
* 6-drawer dresser
* nightstand
* queen-size headboard and rails
* plus, the dresser's mirror bundled in a blanket and tied to the top of the car.

Granted, it took two guys about 30 minutes to figure out how to pack it all in (I freely admit to being spatially challenged, my bumpers prove it). And, it was a long ride home driving slowly so the furniture wouldn't get banged up from my usual Mario Andretti driving style...

Jenny Lind bed, repro from 1950s? Oak dresser from early 1920s?

Last night, I made it home with the small dresser and large twin headboard above neatly stashed in my car with the back seats folded down. (Thank you, Craigslist!) The Jenny Lind repro headboard from the 50s and the antique dresser will be repainted and blinged out with glittery new hardware for a friend's daughter's room. Photos to come eventually...

What gives, Thrifty Org?

OK, so I've admitted my thrift store problem, so I know y'all aren't judging me. Right? Right?!

After some concentrated blogging lately, it seemed somehow -- oh, I don't know -- mission-critical that I hit up a thrift store today to see if this weekend's luck would hold.

So around 4:30, I took a break to swing by a Very Worthy Thrift "boutique" in South Tampa that benefits an important cause. Which I shall leave nameless.

Scanning the three-room store, I spied out swag in a few minutes. There was a small but commendable amount of my fave junk: a pair of matching Japanese porcelain vases just great for a mantle (confession: not that I have one), a hand-painted porcelain candlestick lamp (sans shade, natch) perfect for a powder room, a brass birdcage that would perch with panache on my dresser, and a tiny nightstand with nice inlay detailing that compliment my faux bamboo bedroom set.

Cue rude awakening music / needle scraping across a record!!

* The vases are $69.99 for the set. I'm no porcelain pro, but please! It's a thrift store!

* The candlestick lamp was $20. And it's leaning slighting to the right! And it needs rewiring, for pete's sake! There's no shade, for cryin' out loud!

* The birdcage was a display item, not for sale. Like quite a few OTHER display items scattered around. Hello, is this a display museum? Or a store where we're moving product to aid a great cause?

* The nightstand was $59.99. Kinda teensy for such a big price!

Well, this frustrated frugalista will pass, thank you very much. Back to my other usual hangouts...

P.S. If you know anyone who's looking for Missoni dishes at about $40/pop, I'll be happy to tell you the location.

Estate Sale Lovelies, or "Aunt Edna's Stuff"

What I just love about estate sales run by ordinary people is that they typically wanna get rid of stuff.

They wouldn't mind making a tidy profit, but mostly, they need to clear a house out.

This is especially true in the summer, as the day gets hotter and people keep haggling on prices. If you're lucky you'll hit the sweet moment when sellers start mumbling to themselves, "Let's just get this over with and get Aunt Edna's crap outta here!"

A 40-something guy was supervising his mom's sale so she could move out of state, and he practically shoved these in my hot little hands after I mentioned longingly that I liked old ceramics. He dumped her plants out of them, right in front of her! They are McCoy, of course, and were only $3 each!! Granted, the yellow pot has wear and a chip, but I don't care!

This sweet little floral oil painting, well executed, called out to me from another estate sale. The frame was filthy, so I'm slowly and painstakingly cleaning it.

This glowing green vase is Murano! How do I know that? Other than the telltale specks that show it was pieced together, it still sports the original label written in Italian! Brava, bella!

But the best estate artifact? I cherish this oil painting the most, because my late grandmother (the original junker) painted it.

Thrift Shop Spelunking

Wikipedia calls spelunking the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems, which reminds me a lot of the urban sport of thrifting.

They're both messy, dingy places where you might find something fascinating hidden under the dirt. Or, it could just be exercise in sharpening your eye while practicing your way picking through crap. It's all good, right?

This summer, I've snapped up a couple of great buys at thrift stores, but I have to be honest. I spend a LOT more time shopping in vain than I ever do finding anything. Is that because Tampa thrift stores suck? Or because my fave stuff ends up elsewhere? I don't know, but you can bet I'll keep looking...just in case I strike it lucky!

Here's a gallery of my best recent thrift store finds. Enjoy!

Check out this funky brass-trimmed bamboo wastebasket turned planter! Half off during a sale weekend.

I love this Chinese vase. Only four bucks, and in perfect condition!!

This Italian ashtray caught my eye, because I love, love, love flowered ceramics. There's one ding, but hello! Fifty cents!!

Scored this non-vintage cutie at a thrift shop that benefits strays. Makes a darling (if small) boudoir wastebasket.

But wait! There's more. Collectible pottery sometimes makes its way in. Witness this honey of a Haeger!

Last, but not least, one of my fave finds, this litho print from the early 1940s in mint condition. The thrift shop owner had found it stuck behind a print of FDR! I asked if I could just buy the floral print alone, and he made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Goodwill provided the $3 gilded frame and glass.

Roadside Antique Malls: Can you say "overpriced?"

So recently I drove from Tampa to Atlanta and back a few days later, hoping to see some new and unusual finds during the 7.5 hour drive. At a great price, of course.

Well, I was not altogether lucky.

So, on my way up, somewhere in N. Florida, I stopped at Hilltop Antiques and another mall across the street. Prices were skyhigh, although Hilltop was prepared to let me have a bright orange Catalina pottery jug with intact handle for $30. Which was probably a pretty good price, but I don't collect it and didn't mean to start now.

Stopped at The Big Peach Antiques Mall in Byron, GA, right off I-75 at Exit 149. They had 28,000 square feet of air-conditioned (but not truly cold) dealer space! Man, I moved fast, but it took a while to scope the whole joint out.

Ended up with two pieces of pottery, a Haeger rounded planter and an unmarked teapot-shaped piece that looks to me like a Brush McCoy glaze. They were priced to move, baby!

But an attempt to negotiate on a darling vintage Asian print went nowhere, when the mall workers couldn't reach the booth owner to clear a 20% discount. OH WELL.

Spotted a pretty handpainted porcelain lamp that almost came home with me...but...it needed to be rewired and / or maybe a new base. Which is against my rules, so despite a good (but not insanely good) price, I left it there.

While in Atlanta, the roads were too confusing and I was too busy to try to find local antique shops, so I waited til I was headed back to Tampa.

I prowled around The Braggin' Bull in Vienna, GA which had 13,000 sq ft of dealer space. Some great art pottery I couldn't afford (Roseville I'd never seen before - Maple Leaf?), lots of clocks, Asian art, oil paintings and prints, Native American baskets, porcelains, etc. Not overpriced, as a rule, but definitely out of my price range.

Stopped by Sue's Antique Mall a little further down the road, but it was unexpectedly closed. SO not happy!


One thing I'll say about these megamalls full of antiques - the scope and breadth is astounding. Doesn't make up for the high prices, but if your budget allows, you just might find something you never knew you needed!