Collected castoffs: September 2020

Another month, another thrift haul. Here’s a look at the secondhand goods I brought home from thrift stores and garage sales in September.

Vintage office chair

First up, let’s talk about the old office chair that I already gave a makeover. I bought it at a name-your-own-price garage sale sponsored by a local veterans organization.

As a consummate overthinker blessed with an abundance of self-doubt and chronic anxiety, I am generally not a fan of sales where prices aren’t marked. But I really wanted that chair. So after skulking around eavesdropping on other shoppers’ offers for as long as I could without it being weird (or at least not too weird), I bit the bullet and offered the guy at the checkout table $20.

He accepted my offer, but I’m pretty sure he gave me an odd look when he did so, which caused me to spend the rest of the day obsessing over whether: (a) I had underpaid and he thought I was a cheapskate, (b) I had overpaid and he thought I was a sucker, or (c) I should just never leave home again.

Thankfully, the rest of the junk I bought last month all had price tags attached.

The rest of the thrift haul

Speaking of the rest of the junk, here it is.

• The copper cowbell was 25 cents. I already have a couple other cowbells, so I guess I now collect them.
• The jar candle is made by McCall’s Country Candles. It was $2, which I thought was a good deal for a candle that had never been lit before. I’ve been decorating with a lot of mustard yellow this fall, so this candle fits right in.
• The Stanley chalk refill canister was 50 cents. It’s filled with powdered blue chalk for a chalk line. I got it for the chalk, but how cool is the vintage black and white container?
• The antique shoe form was $1. I found it at a thrift store marked at $1.99, but it had a yellow price tag on it and since yellow was the “color of the day,” it was half price.

• The twin sheets with the lace edge were $1.75 each. The thrift store had two of them, and I bought both, with the hope that I will be able to add a rod pocket to them and turn them into drapes in the guest room/office I am currently making over.
• The two embroidered pillow cases were 50 cents each. The letter H doesn’t have any significance to me, but I don’t care. They were too pretty not to buy. They’ll probably end up in the guest room/office, too.

• The wicker-wrapped bottle and jar I got at two different sales. One was 50 cents and one was a quarter. I love the texture of the wicker for fall.

• The wood pedestal bowl was $1. I’m thinking of filling it with apples or gourds and using it in a fall vignette or centerpiece.
• The stack of terra cotta pots was 50 cents.
• The Harry Potter glasses were free. The price was right, so I thought maybe I’d carve a Harry Potter jack-o-lantern and use the glasses on it.

• The wooden mouse has a can opener for a tail. It was 25 cents. I love his little leather ears and metal eyes.

• The wooden box was 25 cents. Sadly, someone wrote on it with permanent marker, so I’m either going to have to sand the writing off or paint over it. I already had another box exactly like it at home. I painted black and white stripes on that box, so I might do the same with this one.

• The vintage suitcase was definitely my favorite find of the past month. It was $1.99. For its age, it was in great shape, both inside and out.
• The three wooden spools were $1.99. I have a bunch of other vintage spools that I display in a vase, like a bouquet, so these will go with them.
• The red-handled scissors was 50 cents. For some reason, I collect red-handled scissors.

• The vintage ruler was 50 cents. I loved the red paint on the front, but what sealed the deal for me was when I flipped it over and saw the compass on the back. Isn’t that a sweet little detail?

• The group of four winter scene coasters by Chad Barrett were $2.99. The images are printed on the coasters, not handpainted, but I thought they were really pretty.

That’s it for my September thrift haul, folks. 🙂 As always, let me know what you think. (Unless you have an issue with what I paid for the chair. I don’t need any more anxiety about that, thank you.)

— Lisa