Woman in Real Life

I keep telling myself, "Enough with the owls already!" But then I see another adorable, wise, sweet owl face on some kind of home décor item and I simply cannot resist. Like this owl pillow that I found at Goodwill on my last thrifting outing with my sister. I mean, come on, isn't it so cute? I also picked up this crocheted granny blanket. I have about a bazillion blankets already, but this was such a cold winter I developed an even fonder attachment to blankets of all sizes and types. (My sister just gave me an electric throw blanket and I'm in Heaven about it!)

With temperatures finally creeping above zero, I'm starting to feel like spring is on the horizon. Perhaps that's why, on a weekend trip to Goodwill with my sister, I was drawn to these pretty plates that seem to speak of spring, as well as a vividly coloured floral tray.

This is an anniversary post of sorts. I mean, 10 Vintage Bliss Tuesdays already? I had to go back through them to see if I counted wrong. How quickly time seems to pass when you number your posts! Anyway, thanks for partying with me all these weeks. I love checking out the thrifty finds that people link up.

I visited the Goodwill with my husband on the weekend. It was a quick trip round the store about half an hour before closing. Of course I concentrated on the housewares, as I always do. Looking through clothes just seems too overwhelming to me. So much crap to look through to get to the good stuff! I bought pairs of items, all matched in colour. Today I'm sharing a look at the first pairing. One, this cute little green and brown pottery vase.

My thanks to all of you who linked up your fabulous finds at last week's Vintage Bliss Tuesdays Linky Party. I was thrilled that so many joined in for my very first linky party. And what a wonderful and eclectic mix of goodies. I enjoyed visiting each and every participant. If you missed it, be sure to check out the goods now. I was also happy to see party guests visiting and commenting on each other's posts. It's what a party host hopes for, right? Mingling and talking.

Somehow I manage to sneak in thrift store visits at the most unexpected times. I even went to a couple stores while we were in Cape Cod. I didn't find anything though.

On Saturday, we drove straight from Cape Cod to my sister's house in St. Catharines, Ontario. By the time we stopped at Wegmans for some grocery items and the Duty Free for some (very cheap) booze, we arrived at my sister's at about 11:00 p.m.

On Sunday afternoon, my sister (and partner in crime) suggested we go to a nearby Goodwill store. The Bibles for Missions thrift store that I had so enjoyed with her on our last visit is closed on Sundays.

The Goodwill has much higher prices than that store, but I found a few bargains nevertheless.

The first treasure we spotted was this Alfred Sung teapot, above, for $2. I decided to give it to my sister because she liked it too, but I snapped a quick photo of it at her house.



I bought this decanter for $2. What I like about it is the shot glass built into the lid. I also got the scarf it is sitting on (for $1.99).


I purchased this rather strange wooden jar. My sister suggested putting cotton balls in it, but we were surprised to find that it has a very shallow interior.


I got this cute watering can, which is actually plastic inside, as well as two of these colourful doilies. I have no idea where I am going to use the doilies, but I couldn't resist their upbeat cheer.


I guess I couldn't quite leave the beach behind, because I snapped up these shower curtain rings.


I then found this bathroom mat at a discount store next to Goodwill.



In keeping with the beachy/shell theme, I used a previous thrift store find to display some shells we picked up on a beach in Cape Cod.

How is your summer going? Are you making time to shop?

I was drawn in by the two spouts on this Evangeline Pottery gravy boat, which was also $1.50.





Canister, 75 cents.


I got some non-vintage items too. These bright appetizer dishes speak to me of summer entertaining, with their handy built-in wine glass holders.