Shopaday: New Thrift Store Edition

Every now and then, I need retail therapy.  I'm not your average shopping-babe.  To be honest, in college I bought way too much uselessness and rounds of drinks on my credit card and scared myself pretty good-- for much less than the national average.  It was enough to make me think long & hard about shopping for myself; I anything I buy now has to be on a mental shopping list, has to have a planned day to go buy it, has to be on sale/couponed/discounted, and, more comfortably, to be actually useable or giftable.  That being said, I'm not that mental about shopping-- I keep all that wacky stuff in my head.

Soooooo......

After a planned trip to Hallmark, then retrieving my repaired sewing machine, I stopped at a new thrift store on my route home.  The Saving Way.  I've passed it time & time again, but never stopped.  They now have additional stores in town and I've seen some churches advertise that they are donation-drop-off locations.  I've heard buzz from other thrifters, so I decided to stop in.  This location on Winchester Road is their "flagship".

I was impressed:  spacious, well lit, friendly people, assortment of merchandise/clothes that were clean & easily accessed, prices in keeping with other thrift stores and easy to read, daily specials.  I am also impressed that it supports a local, worthwhile project-- His Way-- so my money goes to good use and stays in town. "His Way is a residential, Christ-Centered recovery program for men with drug & alcohol addictions. The facility is located in Huntsville, Alabama, and since it began in 2007 has served men & families from all over the United States."  (The program is just around the corner from the store.)

I had nothing specific on my to-buy list; when I'm thrifting, I'm usually shopping for kid clothes, props/costumes or a specific clothing/kitchen item.  Today, I just opened up my "just in case I see 'XYZ' for sale" file.

Yep. They were for sale, along with AEIO&U.

Here's what I bought for just 13 pennies shy of a Jackson:

I'm addicted to books.  Always have been, always will be. I love children's books the best, cause it's easy to see what the quality stuff is.  Little Golden Books-- real good stuff.  The McDuff book is modern imagining of a children's book from the 1940s-- I think it succeeds. And a "chapter" book for my 9yo, in case the others are too young for him.  (Yeah, right.)

Children's books aren't just for children.
I adore folktales, lusciously & regionally illustrated.
And, there's The Muppets.  Cha-ching!

I'm more likely to buy household items than clothes.  We have here: a small Fire King bowl that is a match for the green one I already have (because I
love Fire King-- it's cute, retro & great in the microwave); a collection of mis-matched & capless aluminum knitting needles (because I felt sorry for them); a Cherished Teddies figurine (because I decided to stop accumulating them, but she also looked lonely, is named Madison and is at the beach which my daughter eagerly anticipates visiting in person); an aluminum loaf pan (because after 40 years of being allowed to use the oven, I have concluded aluminum bakeware is unbeatable); and a pair of Arby's Hollyberry tumblers from 1984 (because I am trying to collect a set of all pieces issued and I didn't know these existed.)



Speaking of Christmas, here's Snowy & Little Bird, as an enameled stick pin.  Y'all, these are my favorite little guys.  My mom got me these guys as a plastic Hallmark Christmas pin when I was in fourth grade.  I felt a bit grown up having a holiday pin.  I've treasured it each Christmastime since. How could I NOT bring this tiny treasure home???

And now for something completely different.

Not that I'm in mid-life or anything.