Scouting Out the Thrift Stores

I started thrift shopping as an occasional hobby years ago.  I had my favorite stores in Texas.  I've had to look for new places here in Oklahoma.  I've visited the Goodwill in town on the recommendation of my neighbor from housing at The Voice of the Martyrs.  She said they have a great clothing selection.  She wasn't wrong.  However, in all honesty, I don't have the patience to look for clothing.  The Goodwill here seems to be mostly clothing, and maybe if I had time to myself (meaning, without a baby in tow), I'd enjoy looking for some gems for myself.  But with an active baby who doesn't like sitting still in an unmoving stroller while his mama stands and stares at clothing racks, it's a no-go for now. 

There's a store here that's open only on Tuesdays, so I checked it out a couple of months ago.  The room I started in didn't look promising, as it was mostly broken furniture and old junk that I couldn't see anyone having a use for.  It's going to take a lot of imagination for someone to come up with a reason to take a lot of that stuff home.  But I kept going and found a room with housewares, fabric, greeting cards, collectibles, and various other bits and bobs.  I found myself repeatedly going back to look at a pair of sconces.  Finally, I figured that $7 was a small price to pay for something new for my dining room walls, and if I wound up not liking them when I got home, no big loss. 

Turns out, I love them, and so does my husband.

Also, in that store, I found these notecards:

There's a reason I bought notecards from Norway.  Years ago, I lived in Stavanger, Norway.  In fact, the only reason I'd even heard of Bartlesville, OK was because I'd gone to school in Norway with a bunch of kids who were from Bartlesville.  (It's a big oil town, and oil is the reason we were all in Norway.)  At 25 cents for 4 notecards, I considered it a steal. 

I found another store because it had a coupon in one of those around-the-town-type magazines that show up in the mail. When I went in for a look-see, I found the cutest little rocker for $25.  I didn't buy it then, but I took a few days to think about it.  When I was still really wanting it, I went back for it.  Seeing as my coupon was for $5-off $25 or more, I got the chair for $20. 

It definitely needs some TLC.  If Howards's Restore-a-Finish doesn't do the trick, I'll paint the wood.  I have fabric to recover the seat.  Initially, I bought the chair for Alex's room, but once I got it home, I realized it would make a perfect little chair to put by a bookcase for a reading area.  It's fun to have a living room now that's big enough to need a bit more furniture and to have various zones.  I have big plans for my home, but it'll take a few years for everything to come to fruition.  It's a work in progress.