I had a couple days off of work at the end of the week last week and a long list of chores to do around the house: painting the trim on the porch, weeding the garden, organizing the kitchen closet, etc.
I went garage sale/thrift store shopping instead.
My favorite find was this kitschy plastic Statue of Liberty ($2). She’s about 5 inches tall. Â I’m not sure what I’m going to do with her (except for maybe start a collection of Statues of Liberty?), but with it being the Flag Day/Independence Day season and all, it seemed like my patriotic duty to buy her.
After I brought her home, I pulled out my box of random stars. Because what else does one do with a box full of random stars besides use it as a backdrop for a miniature Statue of Liberty?
I also bought this hideous bar stool ($2) because I have a very similar (but less hideous) stool in my kitchen that is literally falling part. One of the spindles connecting the legs broke in half a while back and the whole thing is a bit wobbly now. I’m not sure if it can be repaired. By which I mean: I’m sure it could be repaired by someone who knows what they’re doing, but it probably cannot be repaired by me. So, if the old stool needs to get thrown out, I now have a replacement.
I plan to remove the dated/stained/all-around gross upholstery and then re-cover or paint the seat. I think I’ll leave the unfinished legs and weird mint green boards as is. (As are?)
 This little foldable tripod stand (30 cents) seemed like a good deal. It’s probably from an artificial Christmas tree, but I’m hoping to use it as a stand for one of the scarecrows that I set up on my porch in the fall.
 I also picked up a couple of vintage Corelle plates that match a set I have been putting together a piece at a time.
My grandma had this exact harvest-gold-patterned set when I was a kid in the 1970s.
 By the 1980s, poor harvest gold was so passe, it was punchline. So when I got married in 1989 and picked out my own Corelle, I opted for what I was sure was going to be a classic color scheme that would stand the test of time: blue and mauve.
I’ve regretted that choice since about 1990. But we still have the damn dishes because they are virtually indestructible.
A couple years ago, I started picking up Corelle in my grandma’s old pattern, the once-tired harvest gold. I just buy a plate here and a cup there, as I find them, usually for a couple dollars a piece at thrift stores.
When I finally amass a full set of harvest gold, I plan to get rid of the much-hated blue and mauve dishes.
And one last find:
A Homer Laughlin sugar bowl. (I can’t remember what the price was; I think around $4?)
The Corelle gets used every day, so that gets put away in my kitchen cupboards, but the hutch in my dining room is full of all my pretty white dishes that I only use when I host fancy dinner parties. Which is to say, I never use them.
 But I do like to look at them.
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