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.
