A Thrifting Bonanza

It’s the middle of October and the weather has been great for being outdoors and for Thrifting. Between taking down a dead tree in our garden, general garden clean-up and inside clean-up we’ve been pretty busy. I did manage to fit in a couple of trips to the local Thrift Stores and an estate sale. I’ll be sharing those with you today…so welcome, Friends, to today’s thrift blog.

The first item is this quite nice Fall tablecloth in rust and green with an off-white background. It’s a rectangular tablecloth and fits my dining room table perfectly. You’ll be seeing it later this Fall. It was $2. I can’t buy the fabric for that amount. LOL

An Italian espresso pot by Bialetti in perfect and “Clean” condition was next. We have a Goodwill “Last Chance” store. I’m not sure that’s the official name but it’s the store where things are sent from the other Goodwill stores in the area that hasn’t sold…basically the clearance store. At this store things are just tossed into large bins and are sold by weight. Two days a week the items are half off the clearance price. We rarely go as its a bit chaotic but were there this week for a short time. I found some silk flowers, a large bag full, (not shown in this Blog) and this espresso pot for about $1.50. You might want to check your area to see if you have a store like this.

This nicely made, wrought iron, plate stand was a good find. I use these, especially in the holiday season, for desserts.

This tray was a really nice find. It is beautifully made from brass and wrought iron and sits on these really great feet. It’s quite sturdy and has a lovely patina. It sells for over $100 on-line. You’ll be seeing this in future posts as well. It actually goes quite nicely with the tablecloth. This is the Pomeroy Prairie Rectangle Tray.

I found some Waterford “High Ball” glasses. I am always amazed that I find Waterford glasses in the Thrift Store. These were 75 cents each. Go Figure!

These plant spikes for watering individual plants were another part of my $1.50 Goodwill clearance haul. I like to use these around some of my Hydrangea and Rhododendron plants in deep Summer. You place them in the ground next to the plant and up end a gallon soda bottle filled with water into the plant stake. The water slowly seeps through the plant stake into the ground watering the roots of the plant. They can be quite pricy so I was happy to find these.

I found this second tray by Oneida in these beautiful rose pinks and greens. It has wooden handles and is made from a single piece… so quite sturdy. It was just over $1 and I think partly because it was so dirty and greasy but it cleaned up beautifully.

Four water glasses by Duncan@ Miller in their “Chantilly” pattern made their way into my cart. These are quite pretty with a lovely leaf pattern in the goblet and this beautiful cut glass base. I hadn’t heard of this company before but they do a nice job. They also had champagnes and sherry glasses in the set but I just opted for four of the water goblets. Sadly no wine glasses.

A set of nice Fall pillar candles made it into the basket. I like to pick-up nice, new candles when I see them for a good price.

I found this set of 12 German, hand-painted, dessert plates edged in gold. There are six images and two plates for each image. They were in perfect condition with no chips, nicks or knife marks. The images are all of Fall fruits and beautifully rendered. They will be perfect for a buffet.

My Hubby found this set of Noritake, “Harcourt”, dishes. They have a blue and white inner and outer border with gold edging on the inner and outer borders. I rarely buy more than four plates but this set was complete with a setting for eight with serving pieces and cups and saucers. I bought the whole set for less than half the price of one dinner plate. I think these will be great to use in Winter table settings. When I buy things like this at a Thrift Store, I always volunteer to wrap and box them so I don’t hold up the line on a busy day. The cashiers are always grateful for the help and I know they are securely packed for the trip home.

I also visited an Estate sale this week in a neighborhood quite close to ours. I’ve been looking for a rug for the Morning Room that would cover more of the floor. I found several on Marketplace over the last few months but, for one reason or another, they didn’t work out. I knew this Estate sale had several really nice Karastan area rugs. These are beautiful rugs made of !00% wool and quite heavy. They give you quite a bit of cushioning. This one was in great condition with the fringe completely intact and no snags or rips or stains. It was rather dirty but I knew it would clean up well and the price was great.

We brought it home, rented a rug shampoo machine and brought it back to its former glory. We cleaned a few other carpets at the same time so accomplished another Fall chore. I love how it looks and will give you a tour of the room once Halloween is over. When you are buying something like a rug for a specific room make sure you have the room measurements with you and that you measure the carpet accurately. If we had been an inch or two off, the carpet would have been too large.

Well, that’s it. It was a pretty big thrift and estate sale shop. Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and I hope you have good luck hunting for treasures this week.