Woman in Real Life

Happy Tuesday! I haven't done any thrifty shopping this week. In fact, I have been focused on de-cluttering. Mainly I have been purging clothing - mine and my son's. He is starting high school in the fall and he'll be wearing a uniform. In the meantime, I have been taking all of the too-small jeans, t-shirts and pajamas out of his closet and drawers and giving them to my twin nephews. Next up, we need to tackle his desk area so he has a tidy spot at which to do homework.

Today I'm looking at some older thrifted finds - the kind of little, inexpensive pieces of pottery that I really like, but try not to buy anymore. There simply isn't more room for them in this house! But they are sweet aren't they? I have actually made use of this cute cream and sugar set, above. A couple of times anyway.

Yesterday was the Family Day holiday here in Ontario. The four of us were home - we played Apples To Apples with extended family, went to my son's soccer exhibition game, tidied up a bit, argued a bit - you know, family stuff. And I completely forgot to prepare my Vintage Bliss Tuesdays post for today. It's a case of better late than never, as I post this one hour into the afternoon while watching the snow fall outside (why now at this late stage in the winter?) and eating leftover minestrone soup for lunch.

Today I'm sharing a look at one of my most recently thrifted items - this large, lidded pottery jar with "Cookies" written on the front. I sort of chuckled to myself when I bought it, because it's not likely to get used for a very long time. If I were to put a pile of cookies in a jar labelled "cookies," how long could I expect the cookies to last? Not more than a day. As it is, I hide cookies and snacks in various cupboards around the house if I want them to last a couple of days. Last hiding space was in the drawer underneath the stove - 'til that got busted too. But don't worry, my friend the cookie jar, one day you will fulfill your purpose.

What makes you forget you have work to do?

Vintage Bliss Tuesdays - Join The Party!

<br /> <a href="http//www.womaninreallife.com/search/label/thrifty%20finds"><img border="0" src="http://i1297.photobucket.com/albums/ag33/joknows1/VintageBlissTuesdaysButton_zps364ae101.jpg" height="125" width="125"/></a><br />

Here is the final pair of items I found at Goodwill on my last visit. I discovered two pieces of blue pottery, marked Arden Pottery. According to this page, the pottery comes from Arden, Ontario, a picturesque village on Big Clear Lake. My favourite piece is this candle holder, probably because it has a clear use and the light shines nicely through the holes.

When we visited my parents on Canada Day, we drove into town for lunch and a little stroll. The Salvation Army store was closed for the holiday, but we noticed that people had left a lot of donations by the back door. I admired a large brown vase and a glass serving platter.

The next day, my mom and I headed back into town to do some errands and decided to stop by the Salvation Army to see if the vase had hit the shelves yet. We didn't see it around, so my mom asked one of the employees about it. He said he had come in early that morning and there was no vase outside. He added that people often rifle through the donations at night, taking what they want from the piles. And here I was being all ethical. Anyway, I spotted a few legitimate finds in the store, like this happy flower mug for 50 cents.

Last week, I showed you the Wedgwood Blue Heritage plates and the Pier 1 Kui Hua bowls I bought while thrifting with my sister recently.

On that same Salvation Army visit, I found a few items that I thought were lovely for fall. I adore pottery, and I couldn't resist this jam pot, above. This is one piece that didn't cause me to speculate on what it's used for!

I'm back with another edition of Thrifting Sisters. My last post was in November. If I lived closer to my sister, you can be sure there would be many more of these posts. Having someone to shop with fuels the addiction, doesn't it? Our first stop was Bibles for Missions in St. Catharines, where I picked up this piece of pottery made in Vineland, Ontario.

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.

Recently, I joined Value Village’s savings club. This entitled me to a 25% off coupon for my next purchase.

Today, I picked up my club card and my coupon, and did a little bit of browsing.

And, we all know that browsing leads to…well, buying.

Last week, my son and I had appointments with our doctor, who is located in another town. Another town means—you guessed it—another thrift store.


I also got this tealight candle holder (with all of the candles in it). This definitely isn’t vintage, but I will make good use of it. It’s from a store I won’t mention, since their area rug destroyed my hardwood floor.

On Saturday, my daughter patiently accompanied me to a local thrift store, where we found some random treasures.

Truth is, we weren’t looking for anything in particular, because we don’t actually need anything. But, that doesn't often stop me.

I’m not sure what I’m going to be using this pitcher for. I already have so many vases. Any ideas?

I think my daughter was sufficiently rewarded for coming along. She came home with the game Guess Who?, a bargain at 99 cents. She also picked up an agenda book, which she checked first to ensure there was a section for phone numbers. Busy social life at seven years old, I suppose. She also chose a diary and a notebook. She is always scribbling away on one piece of paper or another.



She also snagged this pretty shawl.