During all the packing and cleaning and sorting and packing I gathered a box of things to donate. The new house had a box of encyclopedias and those crazy curtains I’d also decided we would not be keeping. Off to the thrift store I went bringing my sister because I needed her brawn to help move those heavy books. No really, I needed her, don’t let Dan tell you otherwise. We weren’t planning the thrifting genius that followed (although we were hoping for it).

My first stop in any second hand store is the housewares. I’m always on the search for vintage glassware, bakeware, and mugs but vintage pyrex is my favourite find.

Because I am not the only person yearning for those colourful beauties they are not as easy to come by as they used to be. Usually the best I come across is a well loved (aka well worn) bowl. Without much kitchen space to spare (hopefully that’s about to change) I’ve had to be discerning in what I bring in.

On this particular occasion though there was no need to deliberate. I nearly pounced on the small stack of Pyrex I spied as I turned the corner to housewares. I loaded my sister’s arms with two bowls and by double-happy occasion nabbed a cast-iron pan from the shelf below.

The best of the two bowls that came home is a medium sized cinderella of the Horizon Blue pattern. My mother-in-law has already stocked it with fruit at the new house so I admire it every time I come in the kitchen. The second bowl is a medium solid green bowl – much like my mom still has in her kitchen back home. At $3 apiece I was very pleased! There were a couple of wannabe Pyrex polka dots bowls that I passed up. I saw another woman carrying them around 2 minutes later – I was selfishly pleased I beat her to the real thing.

The cast-iron pan is a medium to the two we already have. A bit more pricey at $12 but I’ve noticed a scarcity of them recently as well so it happily hoped off the shelf to us.

And the only good reason I can find for my sister living across the country – she wasn’t going to compete with me for these (to me) treasures. Although, for the record, I’d gladly give her the bowl in exchange for her move west.

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joining Cory for thrifty thursday

Some may think the title is a little lofty considering the subject of this post. Dan’s eyebrows raised as he exclaimed, “The stuff of dreams?!” before concluding, “Oh, books.”

Not everyone shares my love and passion for books. Not everyone shares my love and passion for used books. But I love the stories they carry – within their pages as well as across their worn covers. I can forgive the sun bleached covers, peculiar stains and dog-eared corners for the dedications, margin markings, post-its and occasional family photos that come with a well-loved copy. It feels like such a book has a soul of its own.

Every year I await what is quite possibly my most anticipated weekend of the year – the weekend that hosts my favourite charity book sale. It’s held in an arena with table after table of books sorted by adult fiction, children’s books and many different categories of adult non-fiction – and they’re cheap. It really is the stuff of (my) dreams.

Because I’m so happy with my great finds (and because you’re reading this whether you’re interested in mug shots of my new books or not), I’ve taken pictures of those books that haven’t already been whisked away by happy readers.

So let me introduce you to the newest additions to our bursting  growing library…

A series I’m hoping we’ll fall in love with (I’m in love already).

Some favourite books from my childhood.

Some new classics to lose ourselves in.

Some new to me books and series. I heard about Enid Blyton often but have never read any of her stories.

A few picture books made it into my pile. This book is Grimm Fairytales on one side (I haven’t read any yet to see how truly grim the are)…

…and Babar on the other. Oh, how I love Babar.

And a pristine copy of a current favourite of ours for a special friend.

And just to show you I branched out from children’s books – a book for the hubby, a book for a friend and a book for, uh, me.

But we already know that all of these books were really for me, right? Just checking.

Thanks for indulging my obsession. Now I just have to tear the older littles away from the Magic Treehouse books they can’t get enough of to convince them they do in fact love the “boring classics” I bought for them…And perhaps convince Dan to build some more shelves because at this point I have no idea where I’ll be storing these…

Do you have a favourite book or series from your childhood?

I love thrift shopping. I love finding just what I needed/wanted/never knew I needed until I saw it. And I love getting it for a deal.

Since I’ve started sewing it’s been even worse…now there is vintage fabric and sheets to search for along with the notions, books and wool I’ve been collecting.

My husband does not feel the thrill of the thrift like I do but he is very patient with waits in the car with five children, or listening to me deliberate over a certain floral pattern which he loathes because vintage is not his thing. Considering there are seven people living in this rather small and currently overflowing home, he is very, VERY understanding of the steady trickle (stream?) of used books, buttons and crafting dreams that follow me into this space after I’ve been let loose in a second-hand store.

The kids, well, I am still working on them. They have mixed emotions where thrift stores are concerned. If someone is looking for a Halloween costume or a certain volume of Magic Tree House, they are more willing participants and if they are less than enthused I can always tempt them with a browse through the books.

This weekend my lovely family was so kind as to wander with me through not one but two second-hand stores. They helped me search for buttons, encouraged me to buy one more sweater, picked out some fun reading materials and quietly accepted the florals despite their revulsion to them.

There was only one small casualty during our time out…

…careful it isn’t pretty…

…maybe stuffing four loaves of bread into the fridge for a slow rise was not the best idea. This guy didn’t do so well.

But these little guys cheered me up.

So now that I am even more fully stocked than before I have to get going with some projects…ideas anyone?

Maybe I will start with a slice of cinnamon bread.

*We’re planning some fun Valentine’s Day projects this week in the jay’s house – hope you’ll pop in for another visit!