The Intentional Thrifter: The Joke's On Me

 Thrifting has its unexpected side.

I bought this longer-style sort-of-stretchy white shirt yesterday, from the women's shirt rack. When I looked up the label, I found out it's from a men's collection! I should have guessed that from the buttons on the wrong side, but the sort-of-stretchy thing fooled me. Oh well, I won't tell if you won't. (Update: we also discovered that it was a you-paid-how-much?? shirt, so we're going to try to resell it. If nobody bites, I'll wear it.)

Yes, this is the Same Skirt I bought previously, from the Same Place, but three sizes smaller. So now I have a striped skirt that I altered, and a striped skirt that was that size to start with. One of them will probably get made into striped something else.

Remember this personal-size teapot and cup?

The same store had another one, for a dollar. Mr. Fixit thought I should get it so that everybody can have their favourite tea in their own

 pot.

(Says someone who's wishing for the no-visits era to be ancient history.)

We also found a picture we had liked before, and it happened to be on its half-price day.

And two 1970's Glasbake pans, for $3 each.

Good heavy-duty stuff, and in great shape.

It was almost as good as a yard sale.

Wednesday Hodgepodge: Why Five?

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.|

 Answer on your own blog, then hop back to From This Side of the Pond (click the graphic) to share answers with all the other world wide webbers. See you there!

1. Five years ago this month hubs and I relocated from New Jersey to the Palmetto State. What were you doing five years ago this month?

The biggest event for me that month was what didn't happen: it was the first August in almost two decades in which I was not preparing to homeschool anybody. We had two Squirrelings still living at home, and the youngest was getting ready to start ninth grade, which meant acquiring things like backpacks and and running-for-the-bus sneakers. I had also just published my first book, and that had taken a slice out of me, so I was refueling by doing a lot of reading.

2. What was the last 9-5 job you worked? Tell us about it.

During my first year of marriage (which mostly consisted of pregnancy), I was doing "floater" work at a university: temping in whatever departments needed office help. One of the human resources people had me come in a couple of times a week to handle her typing, make overheads, and book space and order muffins for meetings. We got along so well that she offered me a permanent part-time job, but I turned it down (I  didn't want to make her have to find yet another temp while I stayed home with the baby). On my last morning there, I was supposed to come in and take minutes of a meeting, but I phoned in to explain that I had a two-hours-old baby and didn't think I could make it.

3. Plead the fifth, high five, take five, it's five o'clock somewhere, or the big 5-0...which number five phrase relates to your life in some way currently? Tell us how.

'Well, Jack, and where are you off to?' said the man. 'I'm going to market to sell our cow there.' 'Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,' said the man; 'I wonder if you know how many beans make five.' 'Two in each hand and one in your mouth,' says Jack, as sharp as a needle. 'Right you are,' says the man.

Thanks to Jack and the Beanstalk, "to know how many beans make five" has become a synonym for "to know what's what."

This year I'm not only less certain how many beans make five, but whether they're still going to be in my hand the next time I look

4. During this season of spending so much time at home, what distractions get in the way of being your most productive? Or have you been extra productive since this whole thing started?

Productive in terms of...? Yes, I did a couple of extra computer-related projects I had been putting off, but other than that, about the same. It's not the actual distractions that get in the way as the apparently common problem of 2020 brain fatigue: see #3.

5. Give us a list here of your top five anything.

I'm tempted to write a list of the negatives, "top five things I haven't done since March that I'm annoyed that I haven't been able to do." But ahem, I'll go on from there.

Top five favourite things I've thrifted since the stores reopened:

This little teapot that has its own cup underneath

Floral scarf

Book I've wanted to read for several years

Floral vintage-vibe purse (I like flowers)

Pink coat for chilly weather.

Linked from the Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

Frugal Finds and Fixes: We Moved Again Edition

Moving house can feel like the ultimate creative chance to re-use and re-purpose, because everything goes into a new spot. But it can also feel very costly when the decorating fun-money gets re-purposed for a garage-door-opener replacement, a dryer-vent overhaul, and an anticipated visit from the plumber. Just saying. We also had to buy a stepladder, a garbage can, a recycling bin, and a bunch of bits and pieces from the hardware store to make things work better.  But we are happy about the things we didn't have to fix or replace, like the appliances and flooring.

Our townhouse isn't officially much bigger in square footage than the apartment. But since it's two stories plus a basement, it feels roomier. There are more empty spots, like the breakfast nook (or dinette, whatever you want to call it) between the galley kitchen and the back deck. We have been using  a very old card table in there, but today we replaced it with a vintage Formica-topped table. It's not very big, but it is prettier and less wobbly than the card table. Now we just need to scout out some chairs.

Mr. Fixit thrifted a putting-on-shoes stool for the front hall.

More on the house as we go along!

In other frugal news: 

Sometimes you have to wait awhile for things to come along...like a good-quality t-shirt dress from the thrift store.  

I found this really bright scarf to wear with it.

Lydia says it's my Sarah Saw a Blue Macaw scarf.

These capiz-shell earrings were a case of when it really pays to wait. I saw them months ago on the Ten Thousand Villages website, but they were not that high on my priority list. Then I thought they had sold out forever; but they suddenly reappeared for two dollars during a clearance event. (The makers get paid in full no matter what.)

Mitford books and life-simplifying books from a yard sale, all free for the taking:

A very useful pair of navy pants from the thrift store. The photo is pretty bad (the light was terrible), but they look better in  real life. I also found a pair of beige pants at a consignment store that has an annual half-price sale in August. (Almost everything I've ever bought there has been during August.)

Finally, in the nice but not necessary department: while we were searching for tables at the antique market, I found a "bundle" of three sugar bowls and creamers, all three for five dollars. I put down the beautiful book about William Morris textiles that I had intended to buy, and took the not-matching-but-very-pretty pieces instead. (The first teapot shown was from a yard sale. The second came from a very out-of-the-way antiques place right after we moved to the apartment. History repeats.)

The Intentional Thrifter: Goings, comings, and a big change of plans

See the stack of empty paper boxes? We just acquired those. They are not for storage. They are not for Mr. Fixit's Ebay selling (well, maybe later). Their intended purpose is to help the three of us move out of this fifteenth-floor aerie (as one of my friends calls it), and into a more longterm (and ground-level) home.

All this will (God willing) be taking place over the next month.

We did our major downsize when we moved here two years ago, so cleaning out and packing shouldn't be too agonizing. Plus a lot of things have been "KonMaried" into containers anyway, so we'll just be putting the boxes into bigger boxes.

But I still took a very hard look at some of the thrifted books and clothes that were easier to donate than to move. One advantage of volunteering in books is that I'm pretty sure of the ones that will show up again. So I've already cleared a few things out. I've also started un-making our pantry box system, which will be quite different at the new place. (As in, no pantry. BUT we should have room for a chest freezer. Because we'll have a basement.)

In the meantime, even though I gave some things away, I've still picked up a few other things, here and there, that I don't mind moving.

A book about decorating odd spaces, and a small-slow-cooker book.

Mary Oliver on writing poetry

Two photography books for Mr. Fixit

A very drapey, shawl-like summer cardigan

A pink lacy top and a grey denim  skirt

A small paisley scarf

And a sleeveless dress which is more like a top with an attached skirt.

What it looks like with a jean shirt.

I almost forgot to include this teapot book from the antiques market. 

In some ways it feels like we just got done moving in, and now we're moving on. (No more balcony photos!) But it was the right time, and we're looking forward to new things.

A bit of colour

Small Japanese teapot from the antiques market

The intentional thrifter (yardsaler)

Mr. Fixit and I went to some yard sales this morning. I was a bit low on cash, so I was looking only for rock-bottom deals. The sales at houses didn't offer much, but at the end we lucked out at a church sale. Mr. Fixit bought an electronics item for five dollars, and I found these things for even less than that.

Lightweight grey and navy striped sweater: my two favourite neutrals.

Cookbook and a pack of re-usable plastic party skewers. I had a copy of this book when we were first married, so it's just for nostalgia. The skewers will probably get used at summer birthdays.

Teapot. Well-used, but still nice.

Found antiquing: books, teapot (and giant teddy bears)

Mr. Fixit and I heard about an antiques place off of our beaten track. We took a ride out there earlier this week. It turned out to be mostly old furniture: interesting, but not really what we were after.

But I did find this teapot, something just for fun.

They had a few books, at very low prices because I think they deal more in big stuff.

What are the mystery books?

The Royal Road to Romance, and The Call of England by H.V. Morton, that intrepid motor adventurer.

When I took my things to the front, the only one behind the counter was a giant teddy bear. I wasn't sure he was completely trustworthy, so I waited for a human helper. A man appeared, counted things up and said "ten dollars." While I was getting the money out, he asked if I had the time, because the power had been out. I said my husband had a phone with the time, so they started talking. I handed him the ten dollars, and he said, "So, it's ten fifty." I started fishing for more quarters, but then I realized he meant the time, not the total.

Now that we're all straightened out...

When friends come

CM Bookmarks downloaded from The Common Room.

Neiman-Marcus $250 Chocolate Chip Cookies

Teapot.

My birthday present, my preciousss

I am not a teapot collector. In fact, I've poured tea for the last sixteen years out of the same red Chinese teapot. So Mr. Fixit kindly bought me a new one that goes much nicer with the blues and browns in our kitchen. (It matches the blog pretty well, too, don't you think?)