Thrifting

My friends Mary and Marja love to shop in thrift and second-hand stores. They find the most amazing clothes and furniture and other treasures for a fraction of the price you'd pay in regular stores. Even so, I have to admit at first I was a little put off by the idea - not put off by the prices they paid, or the beautiful things they found, but you know, mucking through all that "junk"! Well, I am now a devotee.

This week we were all in Santa Cruz and of course we went thrifting. Here's the best item I found...it's the start of my Halloween costume! It was $18 and you're right, it's a Viking helmet - you knew I was half Norwegian, right? So I've decided to be Hel, the Norse goddess of the Underworld. The girl was half dead, half alive, half her face was skeletal, half was beautiful, etc, etc. She was often shown as half black, half white....sure leaves lots of room for innovative makeup!

That wasn't all I found! Here's a nearly-new Cuisinart panini press for $12. Since I'm crazy about grilled cheese sandwiches, it's perfect. Not to mention I can never resist kitchen gadgets.

And here are some fancy wooden supports for a cool new shelf in my bathroom. I know how much these cost new - I've looked all over for some interesting ones at selvage yards, at drapery stores, online, and they can run $150 to $200 or more. These were $10 for two. What a deal! They're in great shape and they're more gorgeous than any of the other more expensive ones I found! I'm going to paint them white with just a little distressing, and use them as supports for a similarly painted wooden shelf that I'll put colorful fluffy towels on. Too cute.

Not bad for a day of thrifting, huh? And I spent $40. Amazing.