Fabulous Finds Friday

A Funny Thing Happened After Leaving the Thrift Store

As I’ve mentioned in the past John and I go out for breakfast or brunch, depending on when we get to the restaurant, almost every Saturday.

We go to the same restaurant in a town close by, and we look forward to it every week.

It’s our thing.

We enjoy a nice leisurely meal, and then we do whatever shopping we want to do… including stopping into the Salvation Army thrift store.

On a recent Saturday I found this.

 

You can’t see the price on it, but that red sticker reads $8.

A little dear for this thrifty girl, but I was totally smitten.

I’ve been collecting vintage hand painted wooden ornaments for a few years now, but I like to get them for great deals.

Or should I say steals?

John could see how much I loved them so he told me I should get them anyway.

So I did.

 

Check out all the cool characters. I really can’t pick a favorite from this lot. I love them all!

These ornaments are quite large. The box itself is over two feet tall.

That one snowman was a little camera shy. lol.

When we went up to the cashier counter to pay we found out that it was a 50% off day.

Ok, so 4 dollars is right up my thrifty girl’s alley.

There were 3 other smaller boxes under this big one. They were stickered $4.50 each, but at 50% off that would only be $2.25 each.

I left them behind because I’d lost  my mind. lol

John said, “Are you sure you don’t want those other boxes?”

I said,” Yes, I’ve got enough. I don’t really need them.”

John said, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” I said. (Uh-huh.)

We were in the parking lot leaving, and John again said… “Are you sure you don’t want to go back in and get them?”

Again, silly me, I said. “Yes, I’m sure.”

As were driving away he said, “Are you sure sure?”

And I said “I’m good.”

I was kinda proud of myself for resisting the temptation of buying all of them, but at the same time I was already regretting not getting the rest.

How often do I see these in the original boxes? Not often.

 

I usually find them like this, in plastic bag lots for a dollar or two.

These are what I’ve collected over the past few years. I hadn’t even opened these bags yet.

 

This is the most recent bag lot that I shared a little while ago.

But now back to the story.

We drove around town doing our errands, and as we were driving to our last spot… just before leaving town I had to speak up.

With a laugh I said, “Um… you know, we’re really not that far from the thrift store.”

John looked at me, smiled knowingly, and said they might already be gone.

That does happen to me sometimes, but it was a chance I had to take.

If they were meant to be mine, they would still be there.

Right? Or so I told myself, as I’ve told myself before when I’ve left things behind.

 

But, lo and behold, this time I was right!

The 3 boxes were still there just waiting for me!

I was never so excited to put my money down for something, a whole $6.75.

The variety of ornaments is pretty incredible.

 

In this box my faves are the Russian doll, the fireplace, the truck, and the stocking.

But they’re all so much fun.

 

In this box my faves are the rocking horses, and the Santas and Snowmen with real knit hats.

But again, I do love them all.

The thing I love about vintage hand painted wooden ornaments is that the faces are always pretty simple, but at the same time there are a lot of incredible details.

 

There’s one missing in this box, but who cares. The rest of them are pretty great. 

Love the clock, and the mouse wreath.

 

Here are a few smaller $1 sets that I thrifted a few years ago.

 

For years I’ve been wanting to decorate a tree with only this kind of vintage wooden ornaments, and now I finally had enough to do just that,

They really do bring back some wonderful Christmas childhood memories.

John and I had so much fun putting them on the living room tree, taking the time to really look at them as we found each one a special spot.

 

We likened them to the misfit toys from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Abandoned and unloved and left at the thrift stores where I found them, just waiting for someone to love them again.

And that someone is me.

These ornaments go so great with my two strands of vintage candy garland.

 

And now they’re sooo happy… fulfilling their destiny of adorning a Christmas tree.

And I’m so happy too. It’s so much fun just to look at them.

Makes us feel like kids again.

Honestly, sometimes being a grown up is highly over-rated, lol, especially at Christmastime.

It’s not just about how the tree looks, but how it makes us feel is so much more important. 

It’s amazing how much joy and fun can come from these sweet little ornaments.

I can’t believe I didn’t grab them all right away, and I’m thankful to have the most awesome hubby ever!!!!

He knows me so well. Sometimes even better than I know myself.

TIP: If you want to put the ornaments that came in boxes back in them, take pictures like I did, and print them out large so you can refer to them. It’ll save you a lot of time and trouble.

 

We didn’t count them as we were putting them on, but there must be more than a hundred of these wonderful ornaments on the tree.

But, believe it or not, there’s room for more.

And there will be more.  Lots more! 

My new motto is to leave no vintage wooden hand painted ornaments behind ever again.

Even if it’s not 50% off day. lol.

Thanks so much for reading, and until next time…

keep on keepin’ on!

XOX