With a Bit of Luck

I had a decent bit of luck yesterday.  I popped in to a couple of thrift shops, and hit the jackpot.  I have to say, I have mixed feelings about thrifting, just so you know.  I know it is a good thing.  I suppose there are two ways of looking at it:  One way:  Thrifting is an act of granting new life to an object that would otherwise end up at the dump, or on an episode of that Hoarders show.  Another way:  Sorting through someone else's cast-offs can be kind of, well, gross.  First of all, there's that smell in there.  You know the one.  Decay/musty grandparents/neglect...it's not a pretty smell.  And then it's so completely overwhelming to me, all that stuff to sort through.  There is so much crap hiding those few treasures, and it takes a certain mood, and a certain level of tolerance to manage a successful thrifting adventure.  I don't always manage it.  I can't always handle it.

Yesterday, though?  I managed quite nicely:

Score number one:  a canning pot and jar lifters.  I'm on a mission to can this summer, and when I learned how freaking expensive the set up is, I kind of nearly wet myself.  So, this one?  Major score.  Whopping $12 score.  And you can't tell in the photo, but it's blue.  I love blue.

Also pictured are some retro pillowcases, to be repurposed into pajamas, perhaps, after seeing this post on elsiemarley.  That funky green floral is maybe awaiting its destiny as a skirt for the Girl, a la any one of the awesome tutorials on Made.

Used linens are a tricky one for me.  On the one hand, it feels a little weird to reuse old linens.  I'll tell you what though, that old adage "They don't make it like they used to" has merit.  Cotton is not the same as it was in days past.  And I do, after all, have a washing machine.  So there you go.

Speaking of linens...I've been searching for a new duvet cover for, oh, about four years now, to no avail.  Mind you, I've been looking for a new one, not a used one.  Our two duvet covers (one winter weight, one summer...a nifty trick I picked up in New Zealand) are looking rather worn, and I've been searching high and low for something unique, but coming up empty-handed, time after time.  And then, I stumbled upon this:

Not the cat, although he obviously approves of this new-to-me duvet cover.  As far as I can tell, it's brand, spanking new too.  I love it.  It looks so much like a Lotta Jansdotter print.  Who knows?  Maybe it is.

Cool, right?  But then, I saw another, and I couldn't decide...so I bought both.  $12 each.  One for our room, one for the guest room.  Sweet deal, and both look as if they've never been used.  (Phew.)

Perhaps those old, worn duvets of ours will find new life as sets of curtains, for the Boy, and the Girl.  Time will tell.

A couple other bits and bobs caught my eye, that I couldn't pass up:

With a bit of luck, that tripod may just improve my occasionally, ever-so-wobbly photos...well, maybe a lot of luck...

This jar was just too perfect to not buy, don't you agree?  I dig it.

So, a good day of thrift, all in all.  Oh, I managed to buy several books as well...mainly for the Kiddos.

Good stuff.  Have a fantastic day!