The Thrift Shop Romantic's Thrifty New Year's Resolutions

Ah... New Year's. The time we take stock of the past 365 days, and take heart for a brighter future. And The Thrift Shop Romantic is no exception.

As a result of this past holiday season, and the year in general, I've got some lessons learned. And I thought I'd share just a few of them with you today as a part of my 2009 New Year's Resolutions.

• To thrift Christmas gifts earlier this year. It's never too soon to start pulling together great gift baskets for Christmas and birthdays. Crazy as it seems with Santa only just jingling off earlier this week-- thinking now makes for better gifting, and a thriftier bottom line, too. It's never too soon to think what other folks might enjoy.
  

• To better organize my thrifted purchases. Keeping lists, lists, and more detailed lists, will help me know what I've found, and what I still need to get. Targeting a special area to store these gifts should help make finding my purchases less like archaeology and more like a happy holiday.

• To wrap as I go. I believe I've mentioned before, I really hate wrapping gifts. The wrapping paper fights me every step of the way, and I have even less patience with it when I'm in the Christmas rush. So with good lists, nametags and a little initiative, if I could wrap as I thrift, I could eliminate a heckuva lot of holiday stress.

• To look now for Christmas wrap for tomorrow. It's going to be on sale, so now is the time to get it. Inexpensively-- the way we like it!
  

• To weed out little used clothes for donations. Those of us who love thrift stores know how easy it is to bring goodies home. But a little resolution to clean out the clothes that no longer fit, that just never quite worked, and to donate them back to the thrift stores? Well, someone else will have a great new outfit that works for them... the thrift stores get what they need to thrive... and I get a much tidier house! Win, win, win!
  

• To donate unnecessary household items. Yes, planning to clean out means getting rid of some extra items I'm not currently using. I have some things I plan to sell on Etsy, but to be honest, there are many things I just won't be gathering together into gift baskets. So why not let others have fun making their own through thrifted treasures? And again-- there's that great extra space to look forward to!

• To stop buying thrifted vintage lamps. Okay, anyone who's a regular reader of this blog knows this one might be a toughy for me. In fact, I'd like to make this not be so much a "resolution," as sort of a "suggestion" because I don't see me getting very far with this. Nonetheless, I'm putting it out there. How many vintage lamps does a girl need really? (Answer: a lot.)
  

But, you know, the more things change, the more things stay the same. So as far as The Thrift Shop Romantic blog itself goes-- for 2009, I resolve:

• To continue to share with you slivers of our past as found through thrifted goodies...

• We'll snicker together over surprising vintage recipes...

• We'll examine the best and funniest in decorating ideas

• We'll craft together when time permits...

• And we'll hit the road when antiquing adventures call...

• We'll tour local attractions...

• And sometimes we'll just stay home with a nice cup of tea.

• From 50s frills or Victorian velvet, together we'll make 2009 a beautiful, warm and inviting year.

I hope you'll join me for it!

• If you missed Sunday's "Post-Christmas Thrifting Post," click here.

And otherwise-- HAPPY (and Thrifty!) NEW YEAR!!

The Post-Christmas Thrifting Post

Apologies that this post was late, folks. I was wrapping up the vestiges of the Christmas holiday and just haven't had as much time online as I'd hoped.

With my dad visiting, we went o'er hill and dale, to the city's north and south, west and east, to a variety of antique shops and thrift stores in the area. Yes, when most folks are off at the malls exchanging their silk ties for other silk ties... or bathrobes for little black dresses... The Thrift Shop Romantic hits the second-hand stores!

And there was quite a bit of good fortune in that direction, as well! Like this lovely fairy-covered old vase from the Ohio River Boulevard Antique Mall...


Or this Italian plaster bust from the same place!

Like more mainstream stores, antique malls seemed to be having post-Christmas sales. So at 20-25% off, a little tough math (tough for me, that is!) proved that bargains could be had.

Strangely, I uncovered two World War II souvenir pillow covers in two different places-- one at the Good Samaritan Thrift Store in North Versailles. The other at Junk for Joy in Jeannette...


And I found this cute wooden and metal birdcage at the Red, White and Blue Thrift Store in Bellevue...

That's where I also found this pretty pink, green and purple vintage tablecloth!..


Then at the L&L Fleatique in Adamsburg, I found a rather startling thing-- a McCoy pottery vase for $11. Finding inexpensive McCoy these days is virtually impossible!...

I also uncovered at the Fleatique one of the bowls to my Hazel Atlas Moderntone dish set. I've never seen a bowl to it before!...

The vase there... almost of the same color... is called (and I need to do more research on this) "azureite" or I've also seen "delphite". It was a blue glass variation on jadeite and not terribly easy to find.

Lastly, I found a bunch of new Victorian postcards at the Ligonier Fleatique. There are all sorts of occassions here, from Christmas and Easter to Birthday and general greetings...


Well, that's all time will permit today, I'm afraid. Join me this Wednesday, for The Thrift Shop Romantic's Nifty New Year's Eve post. Virtual champaign for everyone!

Hope to see you then!

Treasure Box Wednesday: A Short Holiday Wrap-Up

We've talked a lot about holiday decorating lately, so tonight, I thought we'd gab about gifting. As you know, I'm a big supporter of finding great gifts at thrift stores. It supports reuse, it's cost-effective, and best of all, you can find amazing, unique items.

But really, you have to know your recipients when you do this. I'm fortunate to have friends and family who understand that just because something was pre-owned, doesn't make that item any less wonderful, or my gifting intentions any less sincere. So I understand, thrifted gifts may not be for everyone.

Today, however, I thought I'd share with you a little overview of some of the gifts I'd thrifted this season. Fortunately, those who will be receiving these goodies, are not online this week. (HA-HA.) So I can tell you folks in real-time about the fun finds-- while the recipients can still enjoy the surprises of the season.

But first, I wanted to share with you a truly crazy, creative and beautiful gift my friend Kitty made for me this year. Kitty is known for her sense of humor and crafty side, and has, in the past, come up with rather wacky and extremely thoughtful Christmas gifts for me. And this year was one I thought would make you all smile, as well; Kitty made me a Thrift Shop Romantic logo needlework sampler!


Here is a close-up of the detailed stitching... She did the curliques, lamp fringe, and all!


I am not handy with a needle myself, but I do know the intricacy and time that goes into a piece like this. Plus, she made her own template from a print-out from my web site header and chose the specific (and eerily accurate!) colors. It's a little hard to see in this photo, but she even went to the trouble to make the background have the same textured feel of the pale green damask graphic.

The last little nuance to the piece was in choosing the frame. Kitty's personal taste runs much more streamlined and silver than mine, so it is a big credit to her talent at gifting that she chose such a burnished, old-fashioned-feel frame for my decor.

I was speechless when I opened it, and I'll be hanging it in the just-right spot in my home.

Most of all, I feel lucky to have friends who care so much.

Speaking of excellent friends, another bud-- the infamous housemate, Scoobie-- will be receiving a couple of thrifted gifts this season, too. (She's away for the holidays now, so I can tell you all about it!) You all saw her French blue Christmas decor the other day, so you may understand why these handpainted plates leapt out at me...


I was particularly surprised to find a set of four! I also found this beautiful transferware and hand-detailed luster plate from Germany.


I think it's fairly old, and she'll be happy with it. Lastly, in the house she doesn't yet have (she's planned a lot for it, it's going to be astounding someday), she hopes to have a bit of an Old West/Victorian theme. So I thought, what 1800s saloon would be complete without a nifty mirrored beer sign?...


At the very least, I thought it will give her a good chuckle.

Now, what Victorian home wouldn't be right without a big, yellow robot Transformer?...


Um, yeah: I know. But still-- he works! He's "Foot-stomping Action Bumblebee," they tell me. And he makes one heckuva lot of racket (particularly when I was driving him from the thrift store to home! Every stop light there seemed to be an explosion). But a young Transformers collector on my list will be one totally happy dude.

Other thrifted purchases over the season for gifts include a huge milk glass collection (including punch bowl set!), comics, collectible dolls, character glassses, a wide range of books, and a number of Garfield collectibles. How fun is that?

Lastly, there are two thrifted finds this week I thought I'd show you. Like these paintings?-- "Pshaw!"....


Or rather "P. Shaw." The artist. But as you can see, the artist took liberties with his/her signatures on the watercolors. A great find at just $1 a piece.

And then there was Scoobie's early 1900s rocking chair coup. This was at the St. Vincent de Paul in Monroeville for around $40. It will need some reupholstery, but it isn't a difficult piece do redo...

And just look at that gorgeous tiger oak!

Anyway, that's all for this week's Treasure Box. I hope those celebrating holidays right now have a happy one, and I wish good tidings to everyone in general this season. Thank you all for reading and for being a part of it!

The Christmas Decorating Big Finish

Okay, we're in the home stretch, we're coming around the bend and.... a photo-finish-- just in the nick of time!

This Christmas has felt like a bit of a race, anyway. And I still have a lot of my wrapping to do, so you'll forgive me today if this is a little brief.

My housemate, "Scoobie," jokes that anything that isn't moving gets decorated when it's Christmas at my place, and she might very well be right. Last evening, when I was supposed to be relaxing, I found myself hanging some garland above the livingroom doorway. A few ribbons, some velvet roses and voila!-- instant display.


Some extra garland ended up providing a backdrop for ol' Big Ben as well...


The cathedral below was a St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store find... It got some garland and a bow.


The shelves of bisque started looking a bit empty, so I added a few ornaments here or there for shine...

And the cherub has his sleigh filled with ornaments. Did you know that he pinch hits for Santa when he needs some extra help shipping?


In the kitchen, my behind-the-stove display got some ribbon, beaded fruit and purple garland. It only took a second and it seems so much more festive...


But in my spare room is where all the real work went today. Usually, I do this room in a pale "Shabby Chic" Christmas look. But this time I decided to use some of the jeweled fairies I had in my dining room last year, in here...


Fortunately, my dad, who will be staying in this room, is really tolerant when it comes to my decor. Otherwise, he might just suffer from fairy-overkill here. Garland, ribbons and fairy and butterfly ornaments from TJ Maxx do the trick.


Here's the little tree, done in ribbon, German vintage ornaments, more butterflies, and the occasionally-tucked fairy...


You can see it a bit closer here...

This display is at the foot of the bed, on a set of drawers along the wall. The white mirror was a Salvation Army Thrift Store purchase. I think it was originally from a medicine cabinet. Boy, is it heavy!


This fairy tucked into the corner on a shelf. The gold roses at her feet didn't show up as brightly as I'd expected. They're really encrusted in glitter.


This is the bedside table. Yup, more garland, ribbon, butterflies and a token fairy.


Then, because my collection of pottery looked a bit empty compared to everything else, I tucked a few bottle brush trees between them, to "spruce" things up!


Then I barged into Scoobie's room and begged her to let me take photos of her displays for you. She does a really beautiful job with her stuff. I can only imagine how amazing it will be when she finally gets her own house! But for now, you can see the top of her wardrobe closet...

And the top of her dresser...


And this is her little blue tree. Yes, being in a house filled with Christmas trees, and suddenly she got the bug to have a tree of her own. Maybe it was peer pressure! Anyway, it's got all her favorite colors in it. Blue, blue and more blue!


And today we wind things up, with a teeny festival of lights. The livingroom tree was looking so warm and inviting, I just had to take a pic.


And the pink livingroom tree, all shiny and brite made me smile...

Hope you got a smile out of it, too!

For more Christmas decorating, check out last Wednesday's post, "Hall Decking and Other Fa-La-La's" here.

And join me this Wednesday as I show you a couple of thrifted Christmas presents! I might also have some pics for you of my own bedroom decorated (we'll see how that goes, that's more of a time-permitting thing, as right now my room is a disaster area!).

Hope all of your holiday festivities, if you celebrate, are under control!

Hall Decking and Other Fa-La-Las

Phew! It's been a busy couple of days at my home, "Waterhouse." A whirlwind of garland-hanging and lights-stringing and pine-tree-thawing, and tree-stand-tightening.

Also head-spinning.

But, I'm making a bit of headway, I think, as well. And you know what? The great thing about taking digital photos is the ability to crop out the messy parts. You folks will never, ever know how disgusting and disorganized my house actually is right now, and--

(Oops!)

Well, okay, but you probably wouldn't have guessed, at least. Anyway, here we are in the entryway, where the Sweetie Tree has been put up...


I do this one every year, with candies and fruits and, more recently, Shiny Brites that look like toys. It's a veritable Hansel and Gretel house o' goodies. And the fact most of the goodies are rubber, well, it keeps me on my diet.

Above it, I swapped out some whiteware vases for these glittery cardboard houses...


And below? The "Land of Misfit Toys" as I call it... a mish-mosh of various flocked ornaments from around the 60s/70s. There's a turquoise Santa, and Mrs. Claus, and some small, er, elves or Clauselettes or somethin'... Plus, Santa's poodle (you don't hear much about him, he hasn't gotten his own song), and a Charlie-in-the-Box, and some teddies and a couple of keeled over sprites and smug reindeer and... well, just everybody.


Then on the sideboard is the cardboard cathedral, and the lovely candlesticks my friend Josette gave me last year, and my blue Santa from Tuesday Morning...


Just another taller view here...


Now, we step into the diningroom, and I thought you all would enjoy seeing the pink mantle tree lit!...


Oh, it just does the ol' heart good to see warm inviting lights like this on a cold evening. Makes me want to hurry home from work!...


Then, this is the first year I've also put a small tree in the diningroom window. I've tucked it on a pedestal behind the fainting sofa. Not the optimum set-up, honestly, but it doesn't look too bad here...


I still have a few ornaments to put on that white tree, believe it or not. And now, you can see this tree lit, too!


Now, I did a teeny bit of decorating in the kitchen. Like trying to figure out a way to integrate my beloved Pyrex into the holiday scheme of things...


And this is up on top of the refrigerator. The bulbs on the tree are the ones from World War II, which I got at the Christian Laymen thrift store in Greensburg. I used an apron for the tree skirt, and added fruit and fake poinsettias under the cake plate dome...


And here in the livingroom? This was my thrifted Department 56 Big Ben! At $10, I simply couldn't pass it up. I think it looks rather happy here.


And last, here is our guest of honor, the blue spruce living room tree-- our friend who had to thaw out for a day to get the ice off its branches...


He's a very well-behaved tree, so far, too. Not like last year's tree which thought it might be fun to leeeeaaaaannn when I wasn't looking, and choose its own spot in the house-- I never knew exactly what I'd be coming home to with that fellow.

And down with the lights, please??...

Ahh!

Well, I'm afraid I must run, my friends. To borrow a quote from The Princess Bride, "There's much to do, and less time to do it in."

• If you didn't get a chance to journey with me to fetch our spruce of the blue up there, click here and check out Sunday's post.

And otherwise-- I hope to see you on Sunday, friends!