Thrifting Using the Buddy System

Recent resale adventures proved that, while garage saling and thrifting with a buddy is always more enjoyable, if you have a savvy friend, it can also be more effective for finding the stuff you're looking for.

At the recent annual Regent Square neighborhood yard sale, two sets of eyes were definitely better than one, for both myself and my friend Scoobie!

Oh, I did okay on my own to begin with; it wasn't long into our yard saling journey, for instance, that I spied-- and subsequently nabbed-- this table with fun legs...
No, really... Table with "fun legs"...

But later on that block, my eyes were not quite so keen as to spy this nifty Alice in Wonderland tea towel...
"Um, don't you want that?" asked Scoobie, knowing well my Alice-themed kitchen. Also, the tea towel was $0.50!

I had my money out so fast! The towel seems to be a souvenir from "Alice's Shop" at Oxford University.

Scoobie was also indispensable when we encountered these pink Fiestaware sandwich plates...
I was distracted by other goodies, while these were apparently right under my nose.

Like the tea towel, they were in my hands quickly, because the price turned out to be seven for $5!

Now I came across a few of these other goodies on my own, such as this cute bag of four pewter Mad Hatter chess pieces...
(There were no other pieces to the set, just these. They remind me of those Easter Island heads all lined up like this.)

A pair of suncatchers were just $0.50 a piece...
And the Mifflin Church Rummage sale rustled up two pretty vintage tablecloths in grey, purple and green.But I think my favorite part of our day-- other than getting to sit down after walking about 20 miles o'er hill and dale-- was that I got a chance to return the favor to Scoobie for her keen goodie-spotting.

I knew from previous shopping endeavors that she'd wanted one of those pottery Christmas trees that plug in and are covered with little bulb ornaments. Her great-grandmother had had one and they are a fond memory to her.

Well, on about our last leg of the journey (and literally, our own last legs), I saw one sitting on a table on an elevated yard. "Didn't you want a tree?"

Turns out, the tree and all of its ornaments was just $3. The price was right, and good shopping karma was with her.

So lesson learned. Take friends with you. Make a day of it. And don't forget to let them know what you're looking for. Because you never know-- four eyeballs may prove far better than two.

____________________
One last order of business today, speaking of buddies...

My friend Claire has opened up her own business of drawing cheerful customized "doodle" artwork for special occasions, gifts, etc.

I thought you all might enjoy checking out her site-- The Doodologist.

Have a great weekend!

9 comments:

Peggy said...

I know I say this a lot, but darn you can find good stuff! I used to be a sucker for tablecloths, but curbed myself on that one.

The table with "fun legs" reminded me of one we got in 2009 while on a trip to New Orleans. It is made similar, with spindle legs, but with a "clover shaped" top. Our price??? FREE! Sometimes people in the French Quarter move out of apartments and they just place what they cannot move or no longer want on the sidewalk. Lucky us!

At first we thought about leaving the table with friends in NOLA, but decided to bring it home with us. Now we have a table with a story!

You can see a pic of our found table at this link:

Table Find in New Orleans

Polly said...

I was just stumbling around the internet and came across your blog. Those Alice goodies are just gorgeous - especially the chess pieces.
My bf always manages to find things I don't when we're out thrifty shopping. Most of my friends aren't into thrifty shopping :(

Anonymous said...

The tea towel and chess pieces probably came from this 'Alice's Shop' in the city of Oxford (where there is indeed a University).
There's a Wikipedia entry for the shop.

I've been reading you blog for ages and share your passion for tablelamps and Alice stuff among other things.

Orlando, Cumbria, UK.

Jenn Thorson said...

Peggy- You cannot beat a price of FREE... woo-hoo! You reminded me, too, how much I lOVED visiting New Orleans, going through the French Market and the antique shops on Royale Street (I think that was the street name). Amazing stuff. And thank you for sharing your own table with fun legs. :)

Polly- It's nice you've got a boyfriend with a keen eye for treasures!

Orlando- Oh, wow, thank you for the link. That must indeed be the shop... which looking at it, appears like one I would not want to leave. :) I'm so glad, too, to know someone reading enjoys the Alice stuff and the table lamp obsession. You'll probably like a little event I'm doing for a houseguest next week... I'm setting up an "Unbirthday Party." We'll see whether it's successful or not.

Andrea at My Feathered Nest said...

Jenn,
What wonderful finds! I have never found any Alice collectibles other than books at thrift shops/flea markets or rummage sales. All of my other Alice collectibles are modern. Disney items. You were truly blessed to find that towel! That great Tenniel art... priceless! I never knew that anything like that existed.

Barkha Dhar said...

You have really great stuff. Will be looking forward to new posts.

crpitt said...

Thanks muchly for the shout out, what a great buddy you are (or cheery chum).

We shall have to add that shop to the list of places to visit. Oxford is a LOVELY place, so that can go on the list.

Jenn Thorson said...

Andrea- Sometimes I see Disney Alice items, but not often! Yes, Tenniel was terrific, wasn't he?

Barkha- Thanks for visiting!

Claire- Hey, you're very welcome. Hopefully, it sent some curious folks your way.

I would LOVE to see Oxford-- though I suspect going to that store would be very dangerous for me. :)

Gabby said...

Sounds like quite the haul, and a fun day at the same time. Gotta love the 'fun legs'! :)