Earlier this summer I was picking through the leftovers at a garage sale that was about to close when I found this little jar for a quarter: I love glass jars with typography on them. And I especially love glass jars with Helvetica Bold on them. There was one little problem with the jar, though. …
Collecting | A few secondhand finds
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 …
Collecting | I love (other people’s) trash
I've spent most of my free time during the past few weeks cleaning, organizing and purging the clutter from my basement. But one Saturday morning, I decided I needed a break, so I drove to a nearby town to check out a citywide rummage sale... ... and came home with a whole new batch of …
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Collecting | Easter decorations
I used to go all out decorating for Easter, but, as I've gotten older and wiser, I've learned to say no to Pepto-Bismol pink plastic baskets and bears in rabbit ears. I haven't been able to kick the seasonal decorating habit altogether; but (I like to think) I'm a little more discerning in what I …
Collecting | Miniature watering cans
I have a somewhat crazy fascination/borderline obsession with unusually small things: Model trains, doll houses, hotel soap bars, single-serving boxes of cereal that look EXACTLY like the full-size box (just smaller), puppies, pencil sharpeners shaped like Lilliputian typewriters or cameras, travel-size bottles of shampoo, those little paper umbrellas that bartenders put in your pina coladas. …
Collecting | Wooden cutting boards
Old wooden cutting boards are the Rodney Dangerfields of the thrift store. They get no respect. They're generally sitting on the back of a bottom shelf somewhere with a pile of mismatched Corelle and frayed wicker plate holders on top of them. And if you go to the trouble of digging one out, it's probably …