Thrifty Thursday

I had to change the title of this series because this week, it's all about a fabulous estate sale and not about a thrift store. I hit this sale during my usual Thursday lunch hour, and although I got completely lost, managed to make it back to work on time. Phew! If any of you are looking for gift ideas for me, I think a GPS is in order as I got totally lost on my way to an estate sale today, too. Anyway, here's last week's score!

Gorgeous rabbit fur earmuffs


"Chicken legs" bright yellow thigh high stockings new in the package

Gorgeous vintage velvet beaded jacket

Super awesome teal and navy poncho with fringe

Long patchwork hippie skirt

Beaded foldover clutch (SOLD)

Black velvet pageboy knickers with buttons at the knee

Great bold floral print long hippie skirt

Any great buys in your area this week? I hit a thrift store today and got the cutest vintage knitting pattern book. I'll scan the girl's dress I want to knit for a post for another day. I guess that was the one bonus of getting lost...I found my way back by my awesome thrift-dar (or should I say that I can navigate based on the fact that I know how to get to or from almost any thrift store in town...scary!).

Thrift Store Thursday

For this installment of Thrift Store Thursday, I'm going ski crazy despite the predication by Puxatawny Phil that we're expecting an early winter. I'm showcasing something that came from a thrift store ages ago. It's this amazing patriotic ski sweater made by Bemiji Woolen Mills. According to their website, they've been in business for 90 years and now it's being run by the fourth generation. The company was apparently started in 1920 to make clothes for the Minnesota logging industry.

I'm not a skier, but I have enough snow in my yard to need a pair of snowshoes. And I really love the look of ski wear, especially this amazing women's ski shirt, and this adorable sweater with skiers.

Thrift Store Thursday

Today's collection of vintage finds comes right out of Mr. Pumpkin's closet. His mom had stashed away all these awesome tees from his childhood and of course me, being the hoarder, stashed them away in my own little box of goodies.

He's got little league shirts, shirts from his big biking adventures with his dad called SAGBRAW, and some from vacations.

Some of Mr. Pumpkin's tees made great scores for me, but others are going to be restashed, or passed along to another lucky Etsy shopper.

We got snowed in this week so I didn't get to do my usual thrifting. But I'm hopeful that next week will be balmy and beautiful!

Ultimate Best of Guide to Minneapolis/St. Paul Thrift Stores

I don’t live in Minnesota, and therefore, providing a thrift store guide to the Minneapolis/St. Paul area does not infringe on my own territory. So, without further ado, I now present you with the best-of-the-best thrift store guide to the metro area (hope I’m getting this to you in time, Lisa!). Now, keep in mind this list is not exhaustive. For that, my favorite resources is thethriftshopper.com, which is a user-input source for all charitable secondhand stores in the country.

TOP 4 THRIFT STORES:

1. Unique. Two locations I like: County Rd. D and Rice St. in St. Paul. Extremely crowded at all times. Can be overpriced. Best feature is Rice St.'s vintage section and the fact that they are constantly adding inventory. Best score: LOTS of vintage clothes and cheap kids books.

2. Hidden Treasures. In Nordeast, hidden in a strip mall. Very neat and organized, friendliest staff ever. Best score: a brand new Radio Flyer tricyle for $10.

3. Arc's Value Village. On Winnetka in New Hope and Brooklyn Blvd. in Brooklyn Center. Usually very organized. The Brooklyn Blvd. location has lots of collectibles and designer purses (if you're into that). Best score: Also great vintage clothing on a special rack in the back of the New Hope store.

4. Bibles for Missions, 4713 36th Ave. N, Crystal, MN. Call before you go. Pretty sure they have weird hours and are definitely not open Sundays. Love the little ladies that work there. Best score: honestly don't remember. I know I've scored lots of weird knick knacks, but nothing sticks out specifically.


The best things about thrift stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area:

• No sales tax on clothing
• Plenty of winter gear if you are in the market for it — boots, hats, coats, etc.
• A wide variety of shops from mega-stores like Savers and Goodwill to awesome hole-in-the-wall joints
• No matter where you live, there is one near you (seriously…there were two within walking distance of my old place)

The worst things about thrift stores in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area:
• It’s a big city, so you gotta be on your game to compete with the crowds
• I’m not a huge Savers/Goodwill fan, and those make up a huge portion of them
• Because the city is so spread out, you can drive a long way to get from one to the next
• As with everywhere, thrift stores have started to try to get smart about what things have a little more value; unfortunately, I find that prices are often ridiculously overblown

Minneapolitans and St. Paulites, did I miss any?

Thrift Store Thursday

Ahh, the dead of winter. Good times. The temperature hit 25 this week and so I trekked outside for a mile walk on my lunch hour yesterday. It felt WARM! Seriously sick when you think of it. But 20 degrees or more above last weeks highs, so it's all relative. All this balmy weather got me thinking about garage sales. And you know what? When I checked Craigslist, I found TWO garage sales! Indoors, mind you, but garage sales nonetheless. So of course, I hit them up.

One was a total bust, but the indoor church sale proved pretty okay. I got a great sweater and a cute vintage tank, so I consider it a success.

Now, I am really looking forward to the return of estate sales, garage sales, church rummages and everything that will break me out of what could definitely become a thrift store funk if I keep hitting the same spots as regularly as I have been.

Speaking of which, a friend who reads my blog said I should post my favorite thrift stores. Hmmm. Isn't that kind of like divulging grandmas secret apple pie recipe? Dare I give out my most closely held secret? Will you all go rush out and pillage my hot spots? Or should I play nice and share? I could definitely give a pretty good run down for Milwaukee area, Madison area and even my old stomping grounds in Minneapolis. Should I?

Thrift Store Thursday

Wow, I am completely addicted to thrift shopping. It's an illness. Seriously.


I have ALWAYS been a thrift shopper. I have worked at thrift stores. But, it hasn't ever taken over all of my free time like it is now (my free time consists of my lunch breaks and one or two hours on the weekend if naps overlap...so I guess it's not like I spend 30 hours a week at Goodwill or anything...).


Here's my most recent scores. Some of these came from Rummage-a-rama at the WI state fairgrounds. You should go if you're local, it's great!

Thrift Store Thursday

This week, my big finds were for me. That's unusual for me but kind of a nice change. I didn't photograph it, but one of my biggest scores was a hand knit blanket in off white that's just gorgeous. It's currently snuggling up on my couch, looking wintery and festive.

I had fun hitting my favorite thrift store with one of my favorite coworkers and now I can't believe we didn't start Thrift Store Thursday earlier. It's getting me through my weeks!


Last week I mentioned that one of my finds almost brought me to tears, and here it is. It's an adorable doll bed for my sweet little girl. When I brought it up to the register the volunteer behind the counter (this is one of those independent church thrift stores that are the best kind, in my opinion) said it had been her donation and had originally belonged to her mother. She told me the story of it and that it had been played with by three generations of her family. Yes, it almost brought tears to my eyes. It's absolutely perfect for my sweet baby girl, who *may* be getting a doll for Christmas. And now I have my work cut out for me making the perfect pillow and mattress and quilt for it.

Have you found anything great at the thrift store lately?

Thrift Store Thursday

This week was all about Christmas. From cool ornaments to little deer to a great granny square stocking. Here's what I scored.






Unfortunately everything has already sold in my vintage shop except this adorable little angel.

Did you hear that there's going to be a show about thrift shopping on PBS? Here's a little snippet about it. I have never heard of Alexa Chung (I'm from the un-cool Midwest, apparently) but it sounds like she's going to be coming from a fashion angle. I'll still watch it, but I can honestly say I'm not all that interested in learning how to dress like a hipster. But like I said, I'll give the show a try.

This week I bought something for my sweet little baby girl. It almost brought tears to my eyes when I found it. I'll tell you why next Thursday!

Thrift Store Thursday

This Thursday was just as successful as last Thursday when we visited a great church thrift store nearby. I scored some stuff to sell in my Etsy shop, like the "Egg Man" perpetual calendar and some gorgeous rhinestone earrings, but more importantly scored some stuff for moi (and the little pumpkins).

I got two amazing framed items for my bare walls! One is a great oval-shaped vintage still life with fruit. The other is a pretty botanical print, albeit in a kind of ugly frame. My walls are thanking me!

For my little ones I got a ton of awesome Thanksgiving and Christmas books and a really great Disney Christmas album with Mickey and the gang on the front. My favorite item is definitely my still life, though.

This week I squeezed in an estate sale and Thrift Store Thursday. Next week I'll give an update on all my loot! Yay!!!

Whatcha finding at the thrift stores lately? Anything great? I really want to find a red and white enamelware pitcher out there, so if you find one grab it for me.

Thrift Store Thursdays

I found a couple of thrifty coworkers and have talked them into a weekly lunch hour trip to the thrift store. We're calling it Thrift Store Thursdays. So I present to you the weekly take. FUN! Most of this has actually already sold in my Etsy shop. This week's scores are mostly my own, though. More to come on that next week!

Garage Sale Bliss

If you're looking for me Friday mornings this summer, or any weekend morning in the summer, I'm either at the farmer's market or garage sales. It's been a ritual since childhood when the whole Pumpkin family would load into the gray Pontiac Sunbird (my family's first new car...ah, the luxury!) and hit sales all morning, weaving our way to the south Madison DonutLand for a big ole pile of donut awesomeness.

Nowadays we tend to skip the donuts, but we still hit the sales hard, especially if there's a neighborhood sale going on. Our neighbhorhood is having a big sale in a few weeks and so we'll be pedaling our own wares out in the driveway that weekend. Bummer. I wonder what kind of great stuff I'll be missing out on.

So here's a good indicator of what sort of garage sale freak I am. My wedding? You know, where I got to be the prettiest one in the room and twirl around and look like a princess? My top for my wedding dress came from a garage sale. No kidding. Some day I'll post photos because you won't believe it. Vintage garage sale awesomeness. My ultimate goal is to some day make it to the 100 Mile Garage Sale. I bet the people watching alone is worth it.

Anyway, anyone know how to find out about the local neighborhood sales in the Twin Cities? I used to look for the annual list in the Star Tribune, but last year they didn't publish one. Dang, I LIVE by that thing!

Bad Economy Or No, Thrifting is a GO!

We spent all weekend at the thrift stores it seems. We are pretty regular pounders of the thrift store pavement. I actually have come to hate shopping, with the exception of thrift stores, antique stores, craft stores and usually the garden centers. Sometimes I get really burned out, especially since it seems like our local joints have really started to jack up the prices on certain "valuables" like Levi jeans (c'mon, people, these are NOT worth $14.99).

But, alas my faith in buying other people's junk at what I consider a reasonable price was restored. We got Wee Pumpkin a new (made in China) yet metal Radio Flyer tricycle for $7 at Hidden Treasures, a whole mess o' board books in almost unused condition at Unique, some water shoes and some cute Oshkosh red stripey "haw haws" for when he's a bit older. I can just see my guy tooling down the sidewalk in his red overalls on his red trike. I also found Mr. Pumpkin a sweet Duran Duran 45 record with "Notorious" on it. Hey, wait a minute! I didn't buy a single thing for myself. What tha!? Oh, well, maybe next time.

Psssssssst...where are your favorite thrift stores? I need to add some new places to my rotation!

Tonight we're going to take advantage of the heatwave we're having (it's 45 degrees) and grill out. Mmmmmmm venison hot dogs. Hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Lazy, Lazy Days in the Neighborhood

Little Pumpkin spotting an airplane

The bridge that didn't collapse

The fruits of my labor
Why does motivation go in fits and starts for me? One week I'm churning out 1000 baby hats and the next I'm glued to Project Runway and flipping through magazines? I can't explain it, but it's a pain in the ass. Last week I swear I could have out-Marthaed just about anyone and this week, I don't even want to get out of pajamas. Ah, well, I'm trying to coax back my energy with some long walks around our neighborhood, camera in hand and a fall bouquet for the table on my mind to inspire me just a little.

Today, after my walk and some prodding from Mr. Pumpkin, I did find a wee bit of inspiration to repaint this $10 table we found at a thrift store. It was part of a baby-proofing effort stemming from our need to replace the "babysmasher" of a coffee table we used to have. It was a slab of solid marble precariously perched on top of a rickety old base made out of plywood. Practically begged for a toddler to crawl underneath before it crushed them. The new $10 table has rounded corners, too, which is the perfect type of table to have with a kid just about to start walking. Anyway, when the paint dries I'll take a picture. Still haven't decided what color (of the many spare paint cans in the basement) I'll choose.

Whatchoo upto this weekend? Motivated, or not?

Estate Sale Weekend

Now that garage sales seem to really suck (what is it with people putting out one lousy table and calling it a sale?), I really enjoy going to estate sales. I find such great things, especially on half off days. Yesterday this weird theatre training place in our 'hood was having an estate sale, and I got this lovely wig and head for my mom, and some really great patterns. They had boxes of patterns, so I'm headed back to see if I can get a lot more of them (for a lot less). My favorite pattern is a men's vintage western shirt in a large enough size to fit a "normal" sized man. Often old patterns don't fit us giant-sized modern people. For example, the dress pattern I bought in a size 14 says "Bust 32, Hip 35". Now seriously, what size 14 person do you know with those measurements. I don't think that would work so well.

Maybe tomorrow I'll have more great finds to report! Wish me luck!

It's Garage Sale Season!

Wanna hear a crazy story about the time a fight broke out and we had to call the cops? No, it wasn't last night at the bar. It was at the garage sale my parents had a few years ago. Yes, folks, there was an actual fight over something at their garage sale. It was one of the most ridiculous moments ever.

Here's the scene: my parents collected antiques, but when they wanted to downsize they sold most of the good stuff at an auction. The leftovers were part of the Great Garage Sale of 2002. They put an ad in the paper about their sale, stating clearly in the ad that the sale started at 8 AM, no earlier (a person needs to get coffee into their system before the sales can begin, right?). Regardless, a gaggle of people, we'll call them garage sale enthusiasts had gathered LONG before 8 AM outside the closed garage door. Eventually, despite the milling crowd of gawkers, we needed to open the garage door and start moving a few tables of stuff out to the driveway. We asked the crowd (geez, you'd think we were selling half price Feraris or something!) to respectfully give them space to move things and that they could begin at 8 AM promptly.

At 8 AM, my parents said "go ahead" and the whole mob leapt forward, sending "antiques" crashing to the floor everywhere. These GROWN MEN were yelling and shoving over who knows what. Whatever they were after couldn't have been that great (we never did really discern what they were after). We had to call the cops to break it up, but luckily it had fizzled out before the nice lady cop showed up. All day long people were walking up saying "Hey, is this the garage sale where there was the FIGHT?!" Yes, folks, it was pathetic, but it sure provided us with a chuckle.

I'm so excited that it's garage sale season again. I found a great list of Twin Cities neighborhood and group garage sales that I plan to print out and pin on the fridge. I'm for sure going to check out the the Como neighborhood sale, which is next weekend. I've also heard great things about the sale in Linden Hills.

Any other neighborhood sales you'd recommend? Please share!