Thrift Story

I haven’t shared my thrift store finds in a while, have I, dear readers?  Until lately, it seems, I’ve been a little down on my luck where earth shattering thrift store finds are concerned.  (Here I have to stop for a minute and laugh-I can see Stuart rolling his eyes at my loose interpretation of the term earth shattering.)

Last Friday, my friend Paula and I made our usual second hand rounds.  We both struck out at the local Saint Vincent dePaul store, although our hunt was at least peaceful and relaxing.  The Goodwill store was another story.  Too many other seekers vying for pay dirt, a small unruly unsupervised child, hunched over a yellow plastic truck, tearing erratically around the aisles-and a pair of the most predatory and intimidating females ever before encountered in any of our many, many outings.

Paula always wanders over to the clothing area first, in search of a jacket. (In the 10 or so years we’ve been thrifting together, she has, bless her heart, yet to decide on one.)   And I always start with home decor and housewares.  Immediately, last Friday, a very cute vintage orange spoon rest caught my eye.  Only 99 cents!  I was on the fence about it though, despite it’s appeal.  I already have way too much kitsch, and I’m really trying to practice some self control.  I left the orange where it was, and moved on, eventually catching up with Paula.  I was shocked to find her crimson faced and flustered!  She recounted how that same nasty pair had physically blocked her access to the rack of jackets, denying her a chance to inspect a promising prospect she’d glimpsed.  That’s right-those women had intentionally stood in Paula’s way!  I offered my chum some words of moral support and continued my perusing, ending up in the linens section where I found a true stunner-this embroidered tablecloth!

My photo does not begin to do this beauty justice, but I can tell you that it is in mint condition, the stitchery done by hand.  The colors are vibrant, the workmanship expert, and from the looks of it, an heirloom quality piece that was never used.  It cost a measly $1.99, which is so far below what a tablecloth like this is worth that it easily qualifies as an earth shattering find. 

I instantly started rethinking the spoon rest.  In light of my fruit tablecloth, any piece of ceramic shaped like an orange seemed too perfect to pass up.  Heading back to housewares, I was relieved to see the spoon rest still there, right where I’d first noticed it.  I picked it up, turning it over in my hands so as to admire it from every angle, and at the same time, trying to justify my faith in my ability to find a place for it in my kitchen.  I became aware that the evil twins were now right behind me.  Eyes boring into my back.  Willing me out of the way.  I guess I should thank them.  I fled, hastily deciding in favor of the spoon rest-which, by the way, turns out to be worth more like $15.00!

And what about the promising coat Paula saw? 

There’s always next week.