Happy Thrift Score Thursday to you all!
It crept up on me so suddenly this week – I have no idea where the time went!
I’ve been happily exploring nearby thrift stores and nailing down some go-to places. (For local DFW readers, my two current favorites are the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Plano for smaller home goods and the Habitat for Humanity Restore in McKinney for furniture.)
My Find:
However, as much fun as I’m having exploring local places, my find this week actually comes from an online source! I’ve mention shopgoodwill.com once or twice in the past (Goodwill’s online auction site), but I’d never actually made a purchase there until recently.
Thanks to seeing some of the awesome things my friend Erica Reitman has scored there, I decided to spend a little time browsing over the weekend. I searched “wall hanging,” thinking I might stumble across something fabulous and woven or macrame, but instead I found these:
They are each about 5 inches tall, hand-painted, three-dimensional…
As soon as I saw them I had that strong, urgent necessity to own them. You know when something really speaks to you?
Like, sometimes I’ll buy something because I know that it’s cool and collectible and the kind of find I should be excited about finding at a thrift store for pennies, but it doesn’t really call out to me on a personal level. And those are the things that feel like clutter later on (and that I may be currently considering purging in an Instagram garage sale… any interest?).
And then sometimes I find something that’s quirky and unique and might not have oodles of “resale value”, but I absolutely adore it and I buy it just for me.
That’s John and Katherine.
A few weeks ago, I shared that I’ll often ask the question, “What would Kelly Wearstler do?” to help me decide on decorating purchases.
Well, I’ve added one more question lately, that basically rounds out my style personality and helps make sure I have a big jolt of whimsy mixed in with my fierceness:
“What would Wes Anderson do?”
And the answer was, he would definitely have a place for John and Katherine!
I just love red-headed Kate’s wide-eyed expression, prim red lips, and necklace that’s actually a real little bracelet:
And twinkly-eyed John’s boyish smile beneath his handlebar mustache:
I’ve been hesitant to make a purchase on ShopGoodwill because you guys, I hate paying shipping. But when the box arrived Wednesday morning and I finally unpacked them… I didn’t even mind that the shipping doubled my cost. It was totally worth it.
Which is basically the sign of a good purchase, in my book!
Thrift Score Thursday Features:
Thrift Score Thursday’s no fun if it’s only me shooting my mouth off… Let’s see what you guys have been finding lately!
Freshly picked from #thriftscorethursday on Instagram:
Nicole (@design_it_vintage) found this incredible Mid-Century red enamel fireplace on OfferUp at a fantastic price! She says she prayed for it for two years, which, let me tell you, I can totally understand – I’ve always dreamed of having the right space for one of these beauties!
If you’ve been reading The Gathered Home for long, you might know that “serendipity” is one of my very favorite words. Not only is it fun to say, but it perfectly describes this story Teran (@teranj26) shared.
She found this ornate wicker table and chair at different thrift stores, on different days! She said if she had found the table first, she might not have bought it, but because she found and purchased the chair first, now she has this beautiful set!
via @teranj26
This might be even more obscure than my love of the word “serendipity”, but perhaps long-time readers might recall my love of gnomes? @moxandmolly shared this adorable little gnome gardener that has me itching to start my own little collection over here!
via @moxandmolly
Finally, I adore almost every last thing Kate (@modbeachhouse) finds! We are definitely kindred thrifting spirits. The colors in this hooked rug are amazing and are definitely inspiring me lately!
via @modbeachhouse
Thrift Score Thursday Facts:
Like I said, Thrift Score Thursday is fueled by YOUR passion for secondhand scores and vintage finds! We absolutely LOVE seeing them each week!
Simply post a picture of any recent thrifty find on Instagram using #thriftscorethursday!
- You can share any thrifty finds with us – whether they hail from a thrift store, Craigslist, estate sale, garage sale, side of the road, or apartment dumpster! The fun, the funny, the awesome, the odd – this hashtag party is open to all!
- Feel free to use #thriftscorethursday any day of the week! We’ll be keeping up with the hashtag all week long to find our favorites for the following Thursday.
- Each week, Cassie from Primitive and Proper, Corinna from A Designer At Home, Maggie from Maggie Overby Studios and I will pick a few favorite thrift scores to feature! So please understand that by linking up with #thriftscorethursday, you are giving us permission to share your finds via social media or on our blogs.
- Please note that we can only see photos shared by public accounts, so if you have a private Instagram account and we haven’t been showering your finds with love, it’s simply because we aren’t able to see them.
This week we are so thrilled to have Linda from The Home I Create joining us!
I just know you will fall in love this sweet lady’s fab style (if you haven’t already)! I mean, this shot? Perfection!
Such cute finds!
Thanks Jessica!
love your finds- i think we all loved that seascape!
It’s so pretty! I’m mesmerized by the colors in the ocean – so inspiring!
Haha, John and Katherine, at least Katherine got a name. I found a set of silhouettes once and on the back the man said John Smith, the date, blah blah blah about John and on the back of the lady it said “John mith’s sister. Poor old sister…
And I think that seascape stole everyone’s heart!
Oh Maggie, that’s too funny! Poor John Smith’s sister! 😀
I’ll have to give online goodwill another chznce. That couple is so charming!
It will definitely be a rare splurge for me, but these two were just too perfect for a certain space I’m brainstorming… I just had to pull the trigger!
I adore quirky pieces like this! Wonderful features too! Can you believe as much as I’ve gone through the hashtag I still have not seen that seascape? I love it though! Thanks for having me this week!
Thank you Linda! It seems that I always miss some fabulous find in the hashtag too and discover it through the other hosts! There’s just always too much inspiration! 🙂 Thank you for joining us and totally rocking as our guest host!
Love your site…but I’m wondering…Is there any reason why you never post prices for these items? Isn’t that the whole point of thrift shopping? Like saying “I didn’t even mind that the shipping doubled my cost. It was totally worth it”. What does that mean and how does that help us as thrift shoppers? Who is it going to hurt to post prices? It just might help everybody who follows your site to make appropriate purchases.
You know, I often include prices paid and there’s not really any rhyme or reason as to whether I do or don’t – usually just whether I feel that it flows with the post or not. I can see how it would be annoying for me to mention that particular detail and then leave out specifics! These were listed with a “buy it now” option of $10, and so then shipping was almost another $10 from Florida. Definitely more than I usually spend on a smaller find, but they are so perfect for an upcoming room makeover I have in mind! (I will be purposefully vague about that – I’m still ironing out my plans!) 🙂
I agree – sharing prices is helpful, although sometimes location can play a big factor and sometimes there’s just no rhyme or reason to secondhand pricing across various independent thrift stores and chains. Thanks for the feedback, Lynn!
Hi Brynne – thanks for responding! $20 seems perfectly reasonable for something you love. The problem is – a person can start to love at lot of things :} You and your contributors always find the coolest stuff!