Part of it is because I have a love for things. The other part is because I always end up cherishing the things that I buy second hand much more than I cherish the things that are new. And of course I love the prices, too. I could go on, but you get the idea.
I'd say that 90% of everything I own has been collected in this fashion.
My parents came for a quick visit while Joe was out of town last week, which is awesome because I'm not much of a fan staying in the house by myself at night. They arrived on the perfect day...the first day of the village-wide garage sale. Hmm, I just realized that it's fun to say village rather than city. :) Another perk of buying a house where we did.
Anyway, enough chit chat, here is what I've spent my last hour dragging in from the garage and photographing:
Belt, $0.25. I haven't worn a belt in 6 years. I forgot how great they are. Notice the bats with hearts...cute! I have to say that I'm starting to drift a little more towards my "rock" edge again. I thought this was sweet and it's probably one of the only white clothing items I own.
Wooden tea box with painted details. This box is neat. I don't usually collect these colors, but I couldn't pass this up for $0.25.
I also got this great tablecloth a couple months ago for $5 at a thrift shop. It's huge and perfect for summer.
Butterfly plant stand. You can't really tell in the photo, but there are little marble things for eyes, antennae and wings. $3.
I wasn't going to buy this, but my mom said that I had to because it would go well in my kitchen. Okay okay, I'll get it. Even if I don't use it for tea, the cups are a good size for shot glasses. Heh heh. And I can always use the tray for something else, too. A little more than I wanted to spend, but still a decent deal at $5. And Joe likes it, too.
I saw this and needed it. I love the glazed honeycomb pattern. $0.50.
These birdhouses came from a woman who also had a bunch of free plants that I picked up. Some ferns and day lilies. Anyway, the bird houses were $1 each. We'll repaint them. Although, I have to admit that the colors do remind me of something my grandpa would have chose and they definitely remind me of something I'd see in a yard up north. The cart was brought up by my parents. My mom found it at a sale and offered the woman $20 for it. My mom told me that she didn't know if I'd have a use for it. When I saw it I didn't really want it. They got it for us thinking that it would make a good tool chest, but to be honest, the idea of a tool chest makes me cringe because that would mean I'd have to put my tools away which just isn't something that I do. And then it occurred to me- this is perfect for the birdhouse building station that I want to make. And so it stayed. It will go through a slight remodel...I'm sure you'll see photos of the process. Anyway, it's metal and heavy and is on locking casters.
And last but certainly not least. A swinging pod chair, in near-perfect condition. It does need a little bit of work, but nothing too major. My mom spied this from the road as we were driving and I have to admit that it took every bit of power I had to walk and not run. There was a Grandma with her Grand kids looking at it and I thought for sure that I had arrived a few seconds too late. But to my relief, they walked away. It was marked at $40 but I got it for $30. What I haven't mentioned yet, even though I've been meaning to for some time now, is that I already have one of these. I got it this winter. It's in bad shape and needs work. I found it on Craigslist when searching "wicker"and knew it was a great find at $20. My parents were in on that find because I didn't have a big enough car to pick it up, so when my mom saw this one she was like "Erin! look!". She knows me well. Anyway, this chair is for indoor use and my other one will be for outdoor use as soon as I put some work into it.
I should also mention that the guitar was given to us for free at a picnic when I mentioned that I wanted an acoustic guitar. At the end of the picnic, I found it in the car. Joe knew about it but I didn't. That was 4 years ago. I finally started playing about 4 days ago. It's not the best guitar in the world, the hardware seems a little cheap to me (which is why i never touched it to begin with) but it's a Takamine Jasmine and it is fine for now. I still need to take the sticker off it.
So, my Etsy money is now completely depleted. That's alright. It's my fun money and I definitely had fun with it.
Have you had any great rummage finds lately?
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