Monday, September 14, 2009

Thrifty Finds

Today dear hubby and I went thrifting. This can be fun or not, depending on how fast he gets hungry and tired. I agreed to stop for breakfast before we began, so it turned out to be a fairly good day, especially because I got some great bargains.

At our first thrift stop I got some napkins in fall colors. They appear to be brand new and were only $1.00 each. We hit the jackpot at our next thrift store though. I found a beautiful basket, which I think is handmade.


I also got this cute little pumpkin.


But the real find of the day was this old sewing box full of vintage goodies. Look what I found inside. (These photos show only a fraction of the contents.)


There are vintage scissors which will be beautiful for decorating.....



And wonderful old thimbles.....


I also found buttons inside. Loose buttons......





And buttons on cards......



There are many cards of old hooks and eyes......



And snazzy old snaps.....


I found lots of thread on spools and cones.....




The sewing basket contained a box of bobbins.....




I also found rolls of ribbon, packages of needles, and boxes of vintage Singer sewing machine attachments! There was even a roll of litmus paper included in case I need to do any scientific experiments. (Don't you just wonder what that was doing in there.)


The most amazing thing is that all this sewing goodness only cost me $2.50. My total for the sewing box, pumpkin, and handmade basket was only $4.18 including tax. On the way to the car my husband asked me if I shouldn't go back and just hand over more cash to the store because he thought buying that much stuff for such a low price might be immoral.


I was feeling so good about my new treasures that I didn't really even mind what happened next. I asked hubby to drive us to the other Goodwill store in town. We made our way through traffic and headed to the GW. All of a sudden my husband flipped on his blinker and headed to the turn lane. I started yelling at him that this wasn't the way to the thrift store. He sheepishly grinned and apologized, admitting that he had forgotten about the GW when he saw the meat market and thought about all that meat inside there. "Not yet", I scolded him. "We have to finish finding the bargains. Then you can buy some beef." What is it with men and food! I can thrift store shop all day long and never once stop to eat. That just slows me down and might make me miss a bargain.


So my husband drove on to the last thrift store. We found a few things there including a pottery bowl for $1.49 and a new book of children's stories for $1.00. While we were shopping I overheard another married couple having a heated conversation. The wife was trying to explain to her husband that thrift stores were not like garage sales and you couldn't negotiate the price with the cashiers.


I snickered and got in line to check out. The wife got in line behind me. Just when I reached the register, the husband comes racing up to the register and cuts me off. He asks the cashier to ring him up. I just looked at the cashier and smiled indicating that I didn't care that he had cut in front of me. But then the man wouldn't give the cashier the merchandise. He just wanted to hold up the stuff and tell her how much he thought it should cost. She nicely took the merchandise from the man, rang it up and bagged it. When she gets done and tells the man the total, it turns out he doesn't have any money. He turns to his wife, who is politely waiting behind me in line and yells out, "Honey, come up here. They need to ring up your stuff too, and you need to pay for everything." Now his wife is really mad, because now everyone knows she is with him. She rips into him about being a line cutter and not paying attention to anyone around him . It was seriously all I could do not to laugh out loud. I told the lady to just go ahead of me and not worry because I wasn't in that big of a hurry anyway. I looked at my husband, and he just smiled because he knew we were on our way to buy beef soon.

That poor man was clearly a novice thrifter. He still has lots to learn. I wish his wife good luck and lots of patience. I wondered though, should I tell her that in the future a hot donut and the promise of some red meat can make the day much better for both husband and wife.

Blessings to you and happy thrifting.

12 comments:

  1. Beautiful sewing basket and goodies and the story is a hoot.
    Some people just don't get it! lol

    Karen

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  2. LOL, loved reading the story of the line budger. I would have been the same way, just smiled and shook my head. You really got some great deals. That basket looks brand new. And the sewing box...oh, my gosh! Deal of the year!
    Good for you!

    Nancy

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  3. wow did you get some bargains or what..I sold that little sewing case this summer for $40.00..bought years ago for about that same price and it had nothing in it when I sold it...so you got a steel..that line jumper guy would have ticked me off..glad you were there instead of me...:)

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  4. Love the sewing case full of goodies. What a buy. The story is great. Poor wife.

    What is it with guys and food. I have the same problem, but like you, give them beef and they are fine. Myself, I don't like to stop and eat until I am done with everything.

    Great story.

    Maxine

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  5. ROTFLOL! My husband and your husband would get along great! My hubby LOVES to go thrifting with me...as long as I park the car in a way he can "people watch" as I go in and he sits in the car! LOL! So I know now never to park the car facing a brick wall!!

    Wow...you came across the find of the century with that sewing box! You lucky dog! And I LOVE that basket! Now I'm in the mood to hit the GWs tomorrow! LOL! ~~Annie

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  6. How lucky are you with the sewing box.......I am crying!!!! I was lucky enough to find one(not at that price) also I have ALL my husbands 2 grandmothers and my grandmothers sewings "goodies".....I don't do as much sewing as I used to but Love to have it all in my sewing room! ROTFLOL about your husband....they are all cut from the same mold.......I'm convinced!!!
    Hugs, Lynn

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  7. I really enjoyed reading your post! And seeing all those treasures - WOW! you hit the jackpot but I think my fav is the basket. It's gorgeous.
    Have a great week,
    Christine

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  8. I tried twice to read this story but kept getting interupted last night by kids and hubby. I finally gave up and came back this morning. So glad I did! I so love examining the difference in the way men and women think! I'm afraid that guy might have more issues than can be settled with a donughnut and meat.
    Your hubby on the other hand sound like a dream, so sweet he wanted to pay more than was asked!

    Great basket, looks like very high quality!
    Dawn

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  9. I am laughing my butt off while reading this!
    How rude of that man! If I was his wife, I would be so so embarassed!
    It sounds like you had a great day thrifting...and I have to say that the biggest bargain of all was your sewing box!!!! BINGO!
    Sometimes I feel that husbands should be banned from thrift stores...mine usually just waits in the car...and wants to know what took me so long!
    Still laughing!!!!

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  10. LOVE the sewing box! I had one much like it, but it was in such bad shape, and I never could find anyone to fix it for me. It was a shame, but it was just becoming a crumbled mess.. it could barely hold together at all anymore, and I had to throw mine out. How lucky you were to find one in good shape. Much of the goodies inside do look very similar to things my grandmother left me! It was fun to find all those treasures inside, I'm sure! Have a good night! ~tina

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  11. Hi,
    What is is about men and rad meat?
    I love the sewing box. Are you going to leave the old things in it?

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  12. Thanks for all your comments everyone. I will probably keep most of the goodies I found in the sewing box. I may rearrange them though, because I actually bought the box for the storage. I'm not sure now that I want to part with the wonderful goodies inside though! Oh well, I'll just have to find another storage box too.

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