Treasure Box Wednesday: Souvenirs and Savings

I haven't been doing a ton of thrifting lately, largely because I haven't been doing a ton of anything lately. Recent days have found me getting over one of those headcolds which make one question the similarities between a stuffed-up sinus cavity and a clown car.

Yes, when your blog mistress goes AWOL, you know there's a darned good reason. Something is keeping her from enjoying the Power of the Thrift.

So I've consolidated a few weekends of minor thrifted goodies into this post. And as far as I can tell, these simple items fall into two categories. Savings and Souvenirs.

Like this floral tin bank from Germany I'd found at the Goodwill Outlet in North Versailles...

I've seen these types of tins as simple containers, but never a bank. And seeing as I will carry around so many pounds of change, my purse starts to cry "Uncle!" I thought the decorative bank might come in handy.

I also uncovered this nice one-stroke Shabby Chic style painting...
Between this and the bank, I think my total came to $2.12.

At the Goodwill in Monroeville a few weeks back, I found this interesting medieval-style plaque with a crest on it...
Or rather, my friend Scoobie spotted it and pointed it out. It looks like it's wood, but seems to be some kind of pottery. And I'm guessing it was a souvenir plaque from... Germany? England?

I'm uninformed for now-- must do research at some point and find out. :)

Lastly, one more item falls into the souvenir category... This cute little sparkly castle made of sand...
Growing up, the too-girly inner-princess in my had always drooled on these magical bits of statuary at various tourist destinations. But it had been an off-limits buy at the time.

So now, I pick up other folks' souvenirs when I uncover a castle I like. And the nice thing about these mini-chateaus... they are cheap! At under a dollar, you can't beat the property value.

And that closes the deal on this week's Treasure Box! Happy hunting!

Hoorays, Bouquets, and Happy Mother's Day

Every time I decide to tackle a new little household project, it's always prefaced with 1/3 "Am I going to actually be able to do this myself?" and 2/3 "Are the DIY gods going to let me?"

I mean, anyone who's ever done anything around the house knows: what you think might be this quick, tiny task can easily snowball into needing some completely unexpected specialized tools... Or, oh, retaining wall support... Or some contractor named Rocco.

And you look at the cracked plaster around you, and the exposed wires and the water shooting out of your pipes and wonder, "How did this happen when I just wanted to install a new light switch cover?"

(Okay, I exaggerate. But it does feel that way sometimes.)

So, I've had this plug-in crystal chandelier pendant lamp for a while I've been hoping to hang. And there seemed no more appropriate place to add it than in my very French blue sitting room.

But given it required ladders and drills and potential issues with a possibly-plaster ceiling, I was hesitant.

I pretended it wasn't sitting there waiting for me.

I chose not to notice it as it winked in the light to get my attention.

So today was the day I summoned my nerve, energy (and put Rocco on standby) and decided to hang it.
You know how silly you feel when you've been putting something off for months and then get it accomplished in under a half hour without issue?

Ah, but... Look! So shiny...
This was, by the way, a Target find. A Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic piece I stumbled upon and snatched up a while ago. I'm seeing less of her items lately, so I'm supposing the Shabby Chic trend is at the end of its run-- but I think sparkly never really quite goes out of style.

I also moved my favorite roses painting into a prime, centralized spot within the fire surround...

As it's a faux fireplace anyway, it's safe there, and the painting seems to add a bit of needed color. Anyway, it had to move it from its original spot, because I finally found what I'd wanted for the room's large far wall...
...A courting couple tapestry courtesy of Ebay. (For whatever reason, I got a crazy-good deal on the piece... and I was delighted how large it was, when it arrived. This is definitely why it pays to price compare!)

Below, you'll see what happened to those pretty Victorian illustrated books I got last weeked...
The colors in the vignette all seem to work well together, and the books were just too decorative to hide away in a bookcase.

I was also pleased to incorporate the crystal flute my mother had gotten me long ago...
I took flute lessons for eight years growing up, but this delicate glass instrument hasn't gotten the attention it deserved until now.

It's sort of wonderful to me that I happened to have found the right spot for it on Mother's Day.

And speaking of Mother's Day... For all you mothers out there (er, I mean that in the very best way), I send to you my most sweetly-scented bouquet of the season...
The lilacs are budding overtime this year. Just inhale that delightful perfume!

Wait, you can't smell it yet? Well, how about we get a little closer?...
Don't worry, the nose prints on your computer screen will come off with just a spritz of window cleaner. :)

Anyway, best wishes to all of you! Coming up this week, we'll have Treasure Box Wednesday as usual, and then Sunday, I believe I'll take you to the annual Regent Square Neighborhood Yard Sale!

If you missed last week's Treasure Box Wednesday, click here to check out a tablescape and some other goodies.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Warm Blankets and Warm Thanks

Sunshine and above-freezing temperatures are slowly transforming our arctic circle into more of a free-flowing puddle. The polar bears are packing their bags for cooler climbs. And I was actually able to peek my head out, groundhog style, for some brief lunchtime thrifting.

Interestingly, perhaps it was simple coincidence, or possibly where my brain's been at, but both items I discovered were of the snug blanket persuasion, and both came from Goodwill via Target.

The first is a still-in-the-package down comforter...
I've been coveting the one in my guest room for a while and thought this was a perfect opportunity to snap one up for my own bed. The right duvet cover and-- voila!... No posting will get done as the Thrift Shop Romantic enjoys some quality naptime.

The second thing I found was something I'd actually eyed up in Target, but I didn't want to pay the price... A deliciously soft pale green Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic blanket...

Still tied with Ms. Ashwell's signature pink ribbon, I had to chuckle that the Thrifting Gods not only presented this snug opportunity to me at an amazingly reduced price from the store-- but that it was in my preferred color, as well.

And lastly, before we go today, and on the theme of warmth-- I just really wanted to take the opportunity to thank you all for being such an enthusiastic, kind and creative bunch of readers.

In a time where the world feels a little off-kilter and strange due to the economy... where tempers flair and there don't seem to be a lot of solutions... it's a real joy to come here and interact with you all.

Your interest in everything, your ideas, and your humor truly do make every project-- in whatever stage it happens to be-- more fun, more "possible" and more worthwhile whether it succeeds or not.

Thanks so much for hanging out and learning along with me. I count your good cheer and curiosity as some of the best things about each and every week.

From Empty to French and Shabbily Romantic in a Day

Those of us thrifty folks do ourselves a serious service by planning ahead. I knew there would come a day when the friend who was renting from me would be able to purchase a home of her own and the extra bedroom she occupied would be a blank canvas once more.

Well, almost blank, anyway...
With just a few remaining things to pick up and take to her nifty new digs, boy was I glad I had developed a plan for the blue room long ago! And even gladder was I that I'd tucked some things aside as I'd found them, to decorate it.

The theme? A shabby chic old world French feel.. A bit pastoral, a bit faded, soft and lush and relaxing... A place a person could come sit and read a book, play some music, or paint.

Here you see a last framed artwork that needs to find its way to my former housemate, and a ladder waiting for me to hang some drapes...
The stack of prints below are from my own hallway. I'd taken them down so the movers could get through easily. They'll go back to their places shortly. They won't live here.

Here is my old black Ikea couch, brought up from the livingroom when the red velvet vintage-style sofa I'd thrifted recently took its place. This black sofa's going to get cover-up job done to it shortly. (Apologies for the photographed spheres... too much dust there for a second!)
The cover you see below was one I bought from the Salvation Army thrift store years ago and tucked away for just this occasion. It's got an elaborate pastoral scene on it, chock filled with minstrels and courting couples. I hadn't seen anything quite like it, but thought it would come in handy...

You can se the figures up close better here, with this romantic couple...

And here, with these instrumentalists...To cover the arms, I had a vintage pink burnout velvet futon cover I'd also thrifted some time ago...
It looks a lot pinker here in the photos, for some reason. It's actually a rather faded soft pink, like the dresses in the pastoral cover.

Here you can see I put up some curtains. I'd gotten these two years ago from TJ Maxx, at $16.00 a set, valences and tasseled tie-backs included!...

Here you can see the cherub and lady painting, which had been in my entrway downstairs, got moved to an appropriate placement between the windows, against the flow of light...

The music cabinet underneath it had had an unfortunate mishap when I'd moved it. The momentum of the cabinet door swung the door right off its hinges, pulling the screws away from the soft pine piece. A sad thing, naturally, and I cursed myself a bit over it. But I think I can fix it. It's really the right height and size for the area.

This French tapestry chair was a Salvation Army find too, about four years ago. It was just waiting to come into the blue room!

And you can see it coming together so far...
This large Italian tapestry will soon hang over the couch. This was-- probably not surprising to you-- a Salvation Army find, as well!...

The frame is quite scratched, so I think I'll gold leaf it so it will match the other frames in the room.

I also have some small lyre endtables, a desk, and a couple of vintage lamps that will find a home here.

I hope you folks enjoyed the little preliminary tour. Knowing your taste, developing a plan, and having a lot of patience is a great way to decorate a room with interesting items-- and not a lot of money.

• If you missed last week's Treasure Box Wednesday, Rainy Days and Roses, click here.

If not, I should have some other goodies to share with you this coming Wednesday. I hope you'll pop by to see what awaits.

Treasure Box Wednesday: Flowers, Feathers and Fairytale Finds

Chintz: (noun) a usually glazed, printed cotton fabric.

Chintzy: (adjective) Gaudy, cheap... or stingy.


This weekend, I'm proud to say... I was one, while I bought the other.

The chintz first comes to play here...


With this cheap and cheerful Shabby Chic style flower printed shower curtain. I got this from the Red, White & Blue thrift store in Bellevue. I was chintzy, because I only paid a couple of bucks.

I was chintzy again here, with these charming little vases I found at the brand-new St. Vincent de Paul in Castle Shannon...



I also found a No Doubt CD there for $0.99--- though I have no doubt you don't really need to see a photo of that.

For those of you who haven't been to the new St. Vincent yet, by the way, it was a really nice store, clean, well-lit and spacious. And just down the road from the Pittsburgh Antique Shops, so convenient, too!

At the Red White and Blue on Route 51, I found some vintage pottery planters...


The one on the left is interesting to me, because I'd thrifted one like this but with a tiny bear cub on it once. I might do a display with them for Fall.

And this large trunk isn't mine-- it's my friend Scoobie's. But she found this on a thrifting adventure of her own and because it was such an amazing buy, I asked her if I could take pics and share it with you today...


I believe she said she'd found it at a St. Vincent de Paul in Apollo, and when she first saw the price, she thought it read $20... and then realized the decimal point was in the wrong place for that...


Her total came to $2.12. Yup, for a vintage steamer trunk.

I told her you all would probably be pretty excited about that kind of find!

And before we go today, I wanted to show you some minor decorating photos, just to balance things out. The birdcage I'd had on the mantle in early spring is here now, in the entryway...



The aqua coordinates pretty darned well with other things in this room. And my bird friends still look pretty content, if perplexed at the change of venue...


Then I started noodling with my mantle again. This time using... see, we're tying it in with the beginning of the post again, now... chintz!


When I'd first started decorating, I was all over the chintz plates and cups. Also, there was a Royal Albert outlet not too far from me, where I used to clean up on closeouts. A very dangerous prospect!

Well, eventually the outlet closed, time passed, things got moved around, and I downgraded some items in my glassware collection. And I almost got rid of these, because, though I loved them... did I really need them?

Until I made myself sort of sad about the whole thing. I mean, after all, I was cleaning out. Not mortally wounded and ready to snuff it.

So, I kept them. And I'm very glad I did.


Funny how a few flowered plates, a couple of fairy figurines and a storybook from Half Price Books can do the trick to cheer up a room.

But then again, funny how a simple rose in a pretty glass can do a lot for the morale, too.


I wish you could smell its heavy perfume. It about knocked me over as I knelt to take the photo.

• If you missed Sunday's post, taking an in-depth look at the decorating on period film sets, click here.

Otherwise, have a great week, and don't forget to take time to stop and smell the flowers. (Or be chintzy.) :)

Treasure Box Wednesday: Wartime Suggestions, Cheap Chic and Classic Reads

It's October 1943 and World War II is raging. Americans are having to tighten their belts like never before. How does a homemaker make the most of her rations?

Equitable Gas hoped to make it a little easier and more efficient with this booklet I found at the Goodwill in Monroeville. And it's amazing how comprehensive it is! From how to make appliances last and how to make meat go further to low flame, minimum water cooking techniques, designed to "save minerals, vitamins, flavor." Just LOOK at all this poor housewife has to consider in trying to keep her family on track!


Also, how often do we see an employee of our gas companies giving us helpful advice about our household tasks these days? Mine just put bright yellow notices on my front door complaining I'm not at home to let them in to read the meter when they pop by unannounced.


And look at this-- by running your home the way Equitable Gas suggests, you're showing "Cooperation, to speed the 'Coming of V-Day.'" Notice the smiling troops over there, happy to see us following these super "Modern Methods" of cooking, extending our meat rations, and maintaining our appliances.


Okay, now let's leap forward into the future a bit... Well, just a LITTLE bit...With these thrifted books. I've always wanted to read Capote and Salinger and have never had the chance. So when you find them for $0.99 a piece at the Goodwill, there really is no better time!


Keeping to the 40s theme (inadvertently) is this Hazel Atlas Moderntone creamer, that probably looks fairly familiar to some, since it matches the plates I found in Ohio over the weekend. This was at the Salvation Army back in Pittsburgh, though.


And lastly, I found a Shabby Chic curtain panel from Target for $3. Which is, ironically, WAY cheaper than that same panel currently is in Target right now.


I have no idea why it made its way to the Goodwill while that pattern is still in the department stores-- there's nothing wrong with it. But there it was, anyway. If I don't use it as a curtain, I'll use it in some other manner. It's always fun to see where things end up.

But I know where this has to end up today. With me saying good-bye for now.

• If you missed the weekend roadtrip to Ohio antiquing, I'd still be more than happy to have you virtually tag along with me. Just click here.

Take care of yourselves, and remember, gas prices may be skyrocketing and the economy may look grim, but history shows us, it could be a lot worse. :)