I Love Thrifting Day in Alabama - 2012 Recap!

I was proud to host a party for Alabama to be represented in this national "event" on Saturday! I Love Thrifting Day was the brain-child of Mr. Goodwill Hunting, Rashon Carraway. Rashon is an incredibly talented blogger and has even been featured several times on the Nate Berkus Show!  His segments are hands-down some of my favorites on the show.

I know there were several of you who wanted to come out but were on vacation as it was the week of Independence Day, but we still had a nice turn-out and had so much fun! Ready for a recap?

We started out at Goodwill in Homewood, Alabama in the morning. One of my favorite thrift stores!

My awesome mother-in-law has incredible taste, and found this adorable bamboo chair for $15. It folds up for easy storage, so she's going to use this when she has extra guests and has the option to store it in a closet if she wants.

I spotted this lamp and it looked just like something my friend Lindsay would like. She scooped it up for $3.09! We're planning to paint it a fun color for her kitchen!

It was so good to see Susie again, who I met last year. She is 9 months pregnant but still came out in this heat to enjoy the day with us!

(L to R: Susie's sweet mom, Susie, me)

We found this brand-new kitchen table and chairs for $125 (originally from Target).  As you can see below, everyone pitched in to help Lindsay decide if it was right for her. What great team-work (a real advantage of I Love Thrifting Day!).

Next, we headed right down the street to the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Homewood.  It's less than 1/2-mile down the road so it was an easy choice to make. :) Also, my mom scored some jaw-dropping pieces during I Love Thrifting Day last year. So why not try it for our event again?

MIL found this awesome print (it's soooo good lookin' in person) that we think is an oriental watercolor print of women washing clothes. She thought it would be perfect for her laundry room. $5 or so. Done, suckahs! :)

#ilovethrifting I Love Thrifting 2012 - Birmingham, Alabama

Another great art find from my Mom!

#ilovethrifting I Love Thrifting 2012 - Birmingham, Alabama

And a little piece that Lindsay decided to pass up... :) It's nice to take time to apprecite the random objects found only here. Like a ceramic pig with eight huge, suckling teats.

#ilovethrifting I Love Thrifting 2012 - Birmingham, Alabama

 

Our group at Salvation Army (a couple more would join us later) :)

We found some other great things too... a Christmas cookie dish (super-classy), a kleenex cover (again, super-classy), and Susie's mom found some preeeeecious clothes for her toddler grand-son. I should have gotten some photos of those.

Nexxxttt.... MEXICAN FOOD! We had a fun lunch at a local place right down the road.

Then we headed to Mission Possible Bargain Center in Homewood. It's so wonderful how close these places are to each other. Lindsay's fiance and brother joined us here. The more the merrier!

#ilovethrifting I Love Thrifting 2012 - Birmingham, Alabama

Susie shopping in the front of the store...

Look what I found! I kinda-kitschy little lamp with a map lamp-shade for $4.99. The base is peeling paint and the map is even peeling off the sade, but with some help it could fit perfectly in our guest bedroom/office (details on that coming soon).

#ilovethrifting I Love Thrifting 2012 - Birmingham, Alabama

Such a great party. We had a great I Love Thrifting Day in Birmingham, Alabama!



My favorite things about the day. 

- Shopping with sweet people that have similar interests, and amazing personalities.
- Learning from the group. And finding more!
One of my favorite things about I Love Thrifting Day is that you seem to find more because you have everyone keeping their eyes peeled for a piece with potential.They might spot something, but it's not right for them. So they make sure someone else leaves with the deal!
- Great deals on great pieces! Duh. Right? :)

Remember to follow the recaps on your social networks with the hashtag #ilovethrifting.

Find anything recently on a trip to the thrift store or a yard sale? Did you participate in I Love Thrifting Day in any part of the country? In Alabama? I want to hear from you!

Deets for I Love Thrifting Day 2012 - Birmingham

Hollah, ya'll. Ready for this weekend?! I Love Thrifting Day 2012 is this Saturday! As the host in Birmingham, I've decided to start in the late A.M. to give you sleepy-heads a nice Saturday morning.   

What: A Day of Thrifting! With friends. Friends you may or may not know yet. It's not weird (And if you're wondering... I totally get it, but it's not weird). Dress casually. This is a no-fuss "event". No door prizes, no catering. Just people that love the joy of a great find.  If you have an I Love Thrifting T-Shirt, wear it. If you don't... you'll be in the majority. So come on! :)

When: This Saturday, July 7th | 10:30 a.m.
And I know, have mercy it's hot. But if you're as lucky as my mom last year, you won't care. She bought a dresser for $60 that she could easily re-sell for $800. With zero work.

Where: Goodwill, 2350 Green Springs Hwy; Birmingham, AL, 35205
That's where we'll start. We'll move onto the thrift store down the road right afterward, followed by lunch at a local Mexican joint, if you feel like it. (And because I'm so cool I can't imagine you wonnnnn't feel like it.)

LET ME KNOW IF YOU'RE COMING! Comment below!

Checkmate! - Thrifting at the Beach

Ya remember when we went to the beach for my birthday?  We sun-bathed.  We relaxed.  We cursed at non-existent internet connection and lack of 3G access.

We also went thriftin'.  And Seth was actually happy with the idea.  Wow.  My birthday week dreams came true.  He was on the hunt for vintage tees... and I was pumped to check out the goods in a different city.

Now mind you, I didn't have any real expectations.  Just wanted to have some fun on the way to oyster-and-wine-ville.  Imagine my surprise when I walked over to Seth and his eyes were lit up: "This place is a goldmine! Look at these t-shirts!".  He was having as much fun as I was.  Thrifting.  Happiness, I tell ya.

And I found a few goodies, too.  Namely these Avon After Shave bottles in the shape of chess pieces.  I picked out the best of the bunch, at the tune of $.79/piece to style some bookshelves.  Love. Them.

And here they are on our built-in bookshelf in the living room.  Notice the moss letter?  It's finding a new place soon, but I like the cool and texture plays against the silver chess pieces and the graphic print (a gift I made for Seth for our first anniversary).

They're shiny and quirky, and remind me of a great afternoon we had together at the beach.  Hope to hold onto these for a long time.  Bonus: If we ever need old, terrible smelling after shave, I know right where it is!

Find anything yourselves recently on a dime? Or anything completely unexpected you just couldn't leave without?

Thrift Shopping - Mission Possible in Birmingham

I stopped into Mission Possible recently and found some incredible items I had to share.

Like this full size bed for less than $150.  It had a few dings but wow. 

I think this twin bamboo headboard was only around $10 or so!  This is pretty on trend now (people are incorporating those Golden Girls chairs into beautiful spaces).  With the right surroundings, this sucker could look so chic.

You're going to think I'm crazy.  But I've been thinking of this sofa ever since I laid eyes on it.  My initial thought was "ugly sofa, but it has great lines. Good candidate for reupholstery (in which case I would consider making two large cushions instead of four). But the more I looked at this thing... it's kind of rad as-is, and could look great with some kitchy pillows and modern accessories surrounding it. The color isn't great in this photo, but it gives you an idea of the green velvet color that is so on trend.

  

 

Any recent or favorite thrifting finds? Do you think the green sofa totally ugly or totally chic?

I Love Thrifting Party Recap!

So, you know about the global I <3 Thrifting party called for by Rashon Carraway of Mr. Goodwill Hunting?  Here's a recap of the event in Birmingham.  We had a so much fun!

First of all, we found great items at our cherished thrift store prices.  And secondly, it was so exciting to meet people with similar interests and mindsets about decorating without breaking the bank!

We started out at Goodwill on Greensprings Highway.

A few of the gals arriving...

L to R: Me, Susie from Boiled Peanuts and Porches, Stephanie from Tuscaloosa, and Susie's friend Whitney.

Ready to see some of the action?

We found a lot of brand new hardware (from Target) and at least three of us left with a package or two. $2.00/package!  Perfect for an easy furniture update.

Stephanie was just getting started at this point.

She happened to mention that she was looking for a door to hang on a sliding hinge to separate two rooms in her home. When we spotted this one for $10, we knew it was meant to be.

My mom found this new night stand (with just a couple of small scratches a furniture marker can easily remedy) for my little sister's room.

And my fun-lovin' MIL purchased two floor lamps for $10 a piece (that will be sold for around $200/each once they're repaired and refinished!).

Everyone checking out... My mom also bought the new outdoor storage basket shown on the bottom right.

Next stop: Salvation Army

Susie and Whitney checking out a bench.

Mom was on a roll.  She found this vintage china cabinet at $119 that had just been unloaded.  Jaws were dropping all around. 

Here she is standing beside it, to give you an idea of how huge this piece was.

She left with a dresser, too (also fresh off the truck) for $59.  I wish the pictures captured how nice they were.  We're talking solid, old, beautiful pieces.  Atta-girl!

My mama-in-love-and-law said this reminder her of George. 

Stephanie keeps a polishing cloth in her purse to see which pieces are sterling silver.  What a great idea!

The silver wasn't real, but she left with this wooden crate that she plans to use on her wall as a shelf (an idea inspired by the Nate Berkus Show).

I bought a white dish ($1.99) would look great with a moss ball on top, giving some height to a vignette on a dresser or bookshelf.  I love the turquoise shades on the perfume bottle ($1.99) and decided to take the chance on whether or not I would find a spot for it.

There were lots of other purchases that I didn't capture on the camera.  In fact, I realized I didn't take any photos of the other things I brought home.

Three packages of new hardware - $2/piece.

Pretty little saucer for $.99 (I'll share ideas for this in a separate post).

And this little guy for $.75 (you can count on a "before" and "after" post after he gets a quick coat of spray paint).

When I decided to host an I <3 Thrifting event in Birmingham, I was excited to have Alabama represented in Mr. G-Dub's party, and to possibly meet people that liked thrifting as much as I do. But I didn't think I would necessarily meet people that I would really enjoy spending time with outside of the thrift store. And that's exactly what happened.

I Love Thrifting Party in Birmingham

Thanks to everyone for coming!  And for Rashon Carraway for calling on thrifters to party together this weekend.  It looks like we may celebrate in 2012, as well.  Hope to see you all there!

Did you spend some of your weekend with some second-hand hunting or participate in an I Love Thrifting party?