New and Old

Willie was such a sweetheart and came down to Florida to help my mom and I clean out my grandparent's home. It was very hard but having him by my side and keeping me laughing made the grueling task a bit easier. He also pulled his weight in the 17 hour drive home!

I inherited some wonderful china. It’s just a basic white and silver set but the fact that it was my grandmother’s is so much more meaningful. I am currently setting up my wedding registry and a couple of people have asked “why I don’t you get all new stuff”? My answer is that “anyone can buy new things, to have special items in your home that come from family or just something you find with a special person makes a huge difference in your home”.

While we were down in Fort Myers, Willie and I just happened to stop into this consignment store called Second Chance, which is run off donations and all profits go towards helping women have a second chance in life. Check it out! There may something like this close to you! http://secondchanceupscaleresale.com/

We found an amazing china hutch. It was right when we walked in and it was absolutely what we were looking for and couldn’t believe it. It seems pretty old because the wood is very thick and it does have some repainting like it’s been passed down for generations. Willie and I are just such pushovers for unique and antique items J It was $279 but 30% off so it was just at $200! You can’t find many wood hutches for that price!

It looks amazing with it’s cute little light on right!

 

Homage to Menswear

Willie looked pretty sharp in our thrift store blazer and suit finds. It was Sunday, so certain colors were all sale so most of these picks would have been half off!! He is wearing the tan colored suit to an Atlanta wedding in 1 week. I think it's the perfect summer suit for the occasion and at $30 can't beat it!

Michael by Michael Kors suit $30

Polo University Club by Ralph Lauren blazer $12.30

Cricketer Blazer $19.90 and ½ off = $9.95  **minus the lovely college T-shirt**

J. Ferrar suit $60.99 and ½ off = $30.50 **minus the lovely college T-shirt**

London Fog Trench Coat $24.90

A Formal Affair

It was half off blue, orange, violet price tags this Sunday at our local thrift store. Of course Willie wanted to get there right when they opened but me being the lazy sundayer, I made him 15 minutes late and we arrived promptly at 9:15am.

He set-off trying to find gadgets while I started looking for some formal wear due to some upcoming events. So while I didn’t find anything I could wear, I found some great items that were definitely a bargain!

My two favorite finds were the Cache dress, size 10, that had a great metallic material with a slight train. The original price $265, marked down to $159, then thrift store pricing was $24.90 and ½ off = $12.40!! I walked away for 1 minute to look at another dress and someone who saw me looking at it snatched it! Willie said you snooze you lose, haha. Oh well! The second item was a Priscilla of Boston dress, size 6, that appears to have been worn once (probably a bridesmaid) and in perfect condition. I look awful in this silhouette otherwise this would have been amazing! This is a designer dress but would have cost $24.90 and ½ off = $12.40!!

I also found these great special event dresses. They were all too big L The ivory one and the blue chiffon were in perfect condition. They would have both been ½ off making them $4.95 and $7.45. The cute blue one with the adorable bow would have just been $4.95. Even though I didn’t end up with anything I thought to myself, man how lucky are the people that steal these deals!

Don’t discount shopping for special dress at the thrift store since must of the time you only want to wear a special dress once or twice.

Bigger than fireworks!

I had a little more than fireworks in store for me this fourth of July. Willie proposed!!!!

We went down with friends to OBX for 5 days and Willie wanted to have some alone time to do “love bird things” so we started our time alone with some antique shopping to end our day in an engagement!

My favorite item I found was this “flow blue” vase and bowl. According to the store owner flow blue was a technique that was popular mostly in England from 1880-1900. What started out as an indigo dye bleeding accident became very popular and highly desirable. This set was at a great price for the condition at $245. Maybe for a wedding gift someone special could get this for me…wink, wink ;)

Here is what Wikipedia had to say…

“Flow blue is a style of white earthenware, sometimes porcelain, that originated in the Regency era, sometime in the 1820s, among the Staffordshire potters of England. The name is derived from the blue glaze that blurred or "flowed" during the firing process.”

Here are some other cool finds I saw…

50 Thrifty

Mondays at our local thrift store are 50% most items with everything else 33% off. So, Willie and I ventured out on a week day…shocking.

Below are some fantastic finds I found…

I used to be an avid equestrian, until I had to get a real job, so when Willie spotted this beautiful horsehead he immediately brought it to my attention. This gorgeous horsehead was actually made in Greece and end up being just $5.96 after the stores 33% discount. I just cleaned it up a bit and it turned out to be a wonderful accent piece for our living room side table.

Here is a 16 piece of adorable sunflower casual dinnerware set for originally $16.90 and with the 33% discount just $11.33! That’s just about $.0.71 for each piece!

Another dinnerware set that included 35 pieces. This set was originally priced at $44.90 and was 50% off so made the final price $22.45 or $.0.61 for each piece! (second shelf up)

Last but not least...my little obsession with champagne glasses. The set of four trumpet style champagne glasses ended up being just $2.61! How could I pass that up?

Corks Galore

Look how cute these glass wall scones are! Willie actually is the finder of these. He found them at the local thrift store for just $2 each! It was also his idea to put the wine corks in them for a little added decoration. I really wanted to keep this kitchen window open without drapery so this was the perfect touch for a hard wall to decorate.

European Corner

My love of France and 4 month stay in Lyon inspired me to create a “European Framed Art Collection” in one of my hallways to remind me of the wonderful experiences I had. Most of the frames were found at my local thrift store. The prices ranged from $2.50-$7.50 for the largest. The photos were taken by yours truly while others were found on the internet and just taken to CVS for printing, which cost barely anything. The shelving unit is from Ikea and very easy to install. Have fun creating a personalized art collection.

My two favorite pieces have some extra details below:




This is actually an old Cosmopolitan magazine cover. It was the issue for December. I can’t remember the exact year, but my guess is around 1917-1921. The newsstand price used to be just 25 cents! I found this with my two good friends at the Dulles Expo “Big Flea” last year. It was $17 and the frame was $7.50 from the thrift store. I think it made an exceptional talking point and easy art piece. The lady on the cover just epitomized rich classy European woman to me, haha!

The next piece is a photo that I was lucky enough to take. It was hot July night in Rome, my cousin and I had just finished our sightseeing for the day when we saw this bride and groom walking through the street. I was absolutely captivated of how majestic this couple was. After my initial shook, I quickly shuffled for my camera and was pretty proud of myself of capturing this perfect moment. I got the frame from Leesburg Antique Emporium for $5.25!