Woman in Real Life

I had an appointment in a nearby town yesterday. When I'm in another town, I think, "different thrift store..." So, after my appointment, I headed to this other town's Salvation Army Thrift Store. And it did not disappoint. I felt like it had a lot more interesting, unique items than our local Salvation Army Thrift Store. My theory is that the folks who make up the mix of people in a town look for different treasures at the thrift store than folks in other towns do. And they donate different treasures too. Does that make sense?

Anyway, this week I thought I would try to redeem myself by sharing some of my favourite treasures that my mom has given me. I adore my little collection of vintage brass candle holders. They generally sit unused (and rarely dusted) on a side table in my dining room. Now and then I give them an appreciative glance.

With Valentine's Day nearing, I couldn't possibly resist buying this rustic-looking, distressed metal hearts candle holder on a recent visit to the thrift store. It was $4.99 at Value Village. There's no indication of where it came from on its velvety bottom, but I just like the look of it. The burnished hearts say Valentine's Day without screaming it out in red and pink (not to worry, I have decorations like that too!).

While I have grown to love a nice piece of vintage dishware, I am not a seller and I am by no means an expert.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I get a lot of vintage dishes from my parents. In fact, I rarely leave their home without a box or two.

When it comes to these dishes that I receive as gifts, I usually know with certainty that they are "vintage." My method is simple...if I remember it from when I was young, then it's vintage. Sad, but true.

Hey, at least that doesn't make them antique.

Above and below, some items I received on my most recent visit to my parents' house. Some of them I remember from my youth and some of them I don't. They were likely around, but I just don't remember them.

All of the chain thrift stores, like Goodwill, Value Village and the Salvation Army, seem to be having sales of one kind or another this week.