Stay Connected

Friday, April 18, 2014

Speaking of flowers, birthdays and beauty . . .

Last month, with last year's birthday money in hand, my daughters and I spent a day in the vintage district nearby. I have a couple of favorite shops there. Favorites, because of their displays, mostly. They take ordinary vintage items and show them off in new ways. I always come away with fresh ideas for my own home.

One of the shops, in particular, carries such a lovely assortment of items that I could easily move it all into my home and be all smiles. And their pricing is quite good, too.

I don't go into these shops with a laundry list of things I'm looking for. But instead, I go with an open mind, looking for beautiful things. I figure that if I find something that I really love, it will find the perfect place in my home.


At first, it was just one of these prints that caught my eye. Then I realized that it was one of a pair -- a pair of prints, both in excellent conditions, with frames still intact, is a find. I instantly loved them both, but went about the day shopping, and thinking on them.

While the price wasn't as low as a thrift shop find, it was far, far lower than buying items new. And it has that instant appeal of looking like it's always been here.

Now, to decide where to hang these.

Do you like to vintage shop? Is there an area nearby that has a selection of vintage stores? What's been your favorite "find" at second-hand shops?


11 comments:

  1. I love shopping at our thrift stores - Thrift Town and Deseret Industries. I stop by whenever I'm in the area - probably once a week - sometimes more. I wanted a gallery wall in my living room and I found the greatest original artwork to hang. None of them was priced over $15 - with most of them below $10. Like you, I just browse with an open mind. Many times I come away with nothing, then sometimes I score. Those times are the reason I keep going back!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ruthie,
      It's like a treasure hunt, of sorts!
      Is your gallery wall on your blog somewhere? That sounds like a great find!

      Delete
  2. I love to shop--not to buy, just to shop. It's one of those brain-relaxing things for me to do. There are several small towns in our area which have fun shopping districts (because we are so close to so many resort areas). I like the unique over the mass-produced--some are vintage stores with unique displays, some take a more modern approach, but they are all fun. One of these towns is about 15 minutes away from us so I try to take a day in the spring and one in the fall (without kids!) and wander the shops. My purchases (when I make them!) are on the small side (although I have a favorite toy store there so many Christmas and birthday gifts have come from there!). I think I like to be surrounded by beauty and to enjoy the creativity of others.

    And your pictures are very pretty. I would have bought the pair, as well.

    My favorite purchase was made probably 15 or 20 years ago--a shutter made into a small side table with narrow legs attached. It's quirky and charming and everyone else seems to love it, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      I know exactly what you mean, about just being surrounded by beauty and creativity. I feel like I've been on a mini-vacation afterward.

      I wish I could see your shutter table. It sounds cute! I'm imagining the shutter lying flat atop the legs. Is that right?

      Delete
    2. It's an aged green shutter about 3 feet long with some of the hardware still on it. It has been mounted flat on top of 4 legs (maybe 12 inches high?) which are slender with a taper to them. Sorry, I don't know the name for the style legs--I would think it would be easy to re-create your own if you found an old shutter in a thrift store. You could buy any style legs you like at Home Depot , finish them and fasten them on, and voila, you have a side table. It isn't great if you need serious side table storage (the slats on the shutter don't hold smaller items straight) but as an accent, it's great. I suppose if you got an old shutter you might want to check for lead paint as well. If your girls get an apartment someday, it would be a cute, inexpensive item to decorate with.

      Delete
  3. I love to vintage shop. I have an old pair of eye glasses that I bought one day just because they caught my eye. Your pictures are so pretty and such detail. I like the frames as well. I hope you'll enjoy them for years to come in your home. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Belinda,
      Thank you. I'd love to see the eye glasses that you picked up! I see some of the most interesting things in vintage shops.

      Delete
  4. I'm generally not a big shopper, because I'm not a big buyer. However, my husband loves to browse. Hardware stores and museum gift shops are his favorite.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      Hardware stores and museum gift shops. Now that could make for an interesting outing!

      Delete
  5. I have mixed feelings about thrift stores, antique stores, vintage stores etc. On the one hand I totally believe it's better to buy just about anything used than new - with a few exceptions for hygiene and/or very specialized items - and I love finding something lovely and giving it a new home. Your prints are beautiful, BTW.

    On the other hand, it is just SOOOO easy to walk into one of those places and come home with something you didn't really need, or a whole sack full of somethings, just because they were cheap and available. I've had to learn to be somewhat strict with myself on that sort of thing (and I don't always succeed) lest I turn my home into something that looks like an episode of "hoarders"! :-)

    P.S. - Happy belated birthday! I'm jealous about the fresh flowers. I can't have them anymore because one of my cats will eat them and make himself sick. I guess it's just another reason to go outside and take a walk!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cat,
      I get that. I think a little discipline is always a good thing. I always think to myself, "is this going to be more work to keep up in dusting and cleaning than I really want?" And no matter how cheap something is, I won't buy it if I know I won't want to clean it.
      But good for you to have this figured out for yourself!

      I had a cat for many years, that wouldn't eat any flowers I brought in, but with one swat from her tail she'd knock flowers and their vase onto the floor. It was kitty version of t-ball!

      Delete

Thank you for joining the discussion today. Here at creative savv, we strive to maintain a respectful community centered around frugal living. Creative savv would like to continue to be a welcoming and safe place for discussion, and as such reserves the right to remove comments that are inappropriate for the conversation.

FOLLOW CREATIVE SAVV ON BLOGLOVIN'

Follow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice that helps someone else on their frugal living journey

Are you interested in writing for creative savv?
What's your frugal story?

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe, special insight, DIY project, or tips that could make frugal living more do-able for someone else?

Creative savv is seeking new voices.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

share this post