ReStore

During Christmas vacation I was visiting family in California. One night I spotted a book about redecorating your bedroom that my 13 year old sister had purchased at the 99 cents store. Although I had little hope of finding anything useful, I decided to flip through it. To my surprise I found an article on bargain hunting for home diy projects and it mentioned the Habitat For Humanity ReStore. Perhaps you already know about this wonderful place, but it was news to me. Immediately I hopped on the computer and searched for the website. AMAZING! There was one right by my house in Orem, and by the description on the site, I couldn't wait to check it out.

"Habitat ReStores are outlets that accept donated goods for resale. While every ReStore is a little different, most focus on home improvement goods—furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances. These donated goods are sold to the general public at a fraction of the retail price to help local affiliates fund the construction of Habitat homes within their communities."

I just visited a couple weeks ago and was not disappointed. There is a whole room full of doors; they have moulding, address numbers and even books. My favorite part was that there was TONS of paint for way cheap. I got a quart of sage green oil based paint for $2. I also saw a group of giant modern hanging lights for $35 each and large unframed oval mirrors for $10.

If you have not checked this place out you must! It is so much fun! Visit the website to find out if there is one in your area.

Twin Chairs

I'm going crazy right now trying to figure out where I got this image! (if you know, please tell so I can give credit)

However, the blogging must go on, so I will still finish this post as planned.

Those lovely chairs above caught my eye because about a year ago I saw two of them at the thrift store that look very similar.

I've had that picture in my phone ever since and I have often looked back at it and scolded myself for letting them slip away. After seeing the beautiful chairs in the top picture, my remorse really set in.

Then I found this image:


And I thought how very similar the curves are to that thrift store chair on the right.


So my advice for MYSELF and everyone else. If you see something with AWESOME potential for super cheap, just buy it.

Why I Need To Start My Own Vintage Store

It drives me crazy when an item I've seen in a thrift store shows up on a website that is selling it for 10x the thrift store price. If I didn't already regret not purchasing it, I definitely do then. My goal is to make a way to buy and store all the cool stuff I see so I can resell it!

Red lamp at Deseret Industries in Provo, Utah: $5

Red lamp at Past Perfect in San Francisco: $(Not sure but more than $5, I bet)

Mid Century Modern 16" pendant light at DI (found on the same trip as red lamp): $7

Mid Century Modern 16" pendant light at Rejuvination: $215
images from Rejuvination and AtomIcindy

July 3rd Lamps

Remember when I wrote about this? Well, I promised pictures and never followed through. I figured I'd take some with a nice camera instead of just uploading them from my phone. But after 4 months that hasn't happened, and the phone pics aren't so bad...


The golden balls have been removed from the top lamp and I'm currently searching for some attractive replacements. Any ideas?

New Find!

I found this sweet mid century modern table at Savers in Sandy for only $4! Can you believe it? Since this picture was taken I have removed the wood stain from the top of the brass feet (which you can't see, but they are about 2 inches high at the bottom of the legs). I have also sanded it down and am deciding on the color. I am still in love with this pillow I bought almost a year ago so I might paint the table chocolate brown to coordinate.

Phone Update

I just went to DI about 30 minutes ago. Once again I forgot my camera! But I found this table that is sooo awesome and I know it would look amazing if it were repainted. It's the size of an end table and costs $15. Hurry and grab it!

I know you can't see the details, but the legs have these indentations that are filled with a tiny bump texture. It's really great!

DI time

Since I slacked on posting the Savers items yesterday...I get to do 2 posts in a row! I know stuff goes really quickly at DI which is why I like to show it on here right away.

The base of this lamp is so hot! It's got white over-spray on it, but that can be easily scraped off. If you like the red crackle ceramic just leave it, otherwise paint this thing some awesome color! I'm not as stoked on the shade, but it's pretty easy to find another one. For $5 this tall (1.5-2 ft) lamp is a steal!

Ok this item is totally for art and design nerds. It's a light table! For only 7 dollars! I never had one of them, but my roommate did and it was great. It can be used for tracing drawings.

These globe hanging light fixtures were so big that I couldn't get a good picture of them. They are probably 18 inches in diameter. Oh man would they look cool over a bar in a modern home! I think they were $7.00 each, but it could have been 5 (can't remember)!

Love this Victorian style mirror!!! It was $25.00 and definitely worth it, measuring about 3 ft x 4 ft. It is breathtaking :)

What Savers Has in Store

Yesterday I dropped by Savers in Orem to look for some lamp shades. Didn't find any of those, but here is what I did see...
A gorgeous glass bottle. I especially love it because there is this place called Gypsy Den in California where they have a ton of these stacked around. Here is a picture I found where you can kinda see the glass bottles in the top left corner.
And a close up of just one detail from the bottle. It was about a foot and a half tall and cost $5.99
I love this little elephant paper weight. The lines are so sculptural. It is only 3 inches tall and costs $3.99

A modern style wall clock. $5.99

I think this little end table would look awesome with some new paint and a fancy handle! It is $7.99, but all the furniture was 50% off when I was there yesterday.Ooo this rocking chair has some cool looking curves. It definitely needs fixing up, but the wood seems to be free of stain and probably just needs sanding, priming and painting (or staining). The upholstery is a velvety orange and pretty dirty. But I can just imagine how good this would look if someone had the time to spruce it up! $12.99 (again 1/2 off).

Success at D.I.

I always have so much fun looking for hidden goodies at thrift stores! Here is what I found today at the Deseret Industries on State street in Provo. Before I forget, things go so fast in this place! One of the items I photographed was in someone's cart before I left. I hope this post is inspirational at least, if none of the items are left in the store when you go look around.


This beautiful piece of pottery is legit! I looked up the company online and found a lot of their other work for sale on antique websites. It was $1.50.

Cute little thing, only one dollar.

I realllly like this teapot! You can see the price, it's a great buy.

This vase is at least 15 inches tall. It's a great plum color so if you have plum accents in your room, pick it up...QUICK! For $1.

I guess I was into pottery today :) This is a ceramic planter, 6 inches around the widest part and 4 around the mouth. Also one buck-a-roo.


This is the one I saw in somebody's cart when I was leaving. And no wonder! It is super cute with so much potential for just $9.

Cute Table and Chair

Although I did have some trouble finding thrift stores on Saturday (see below), I did have success at the Savers in Sandy. I LOVE this Savers, every time I go there are sweet chairs and pieces of furniture. Here is a lovely low table with a cupboard:

It was about 25" to 30" square and about 15" tall. The price $15.

ALSO! I bought this amazing chair. The price tag said $5 but I talked them down to $3 because it was falling apart. I'm very excited to have a new project to work on!

Sorry about the picture quality in this post. Next time I will put more into the photos!

UPDATED thrift store list

This weekend I tried to go to the Salvation Army and ARC that are supposedly in SLC. Well, as my friend had warned me (but I forgot) the Salvation Army address is not actually a thrift store, it's some sort of center for some thing (ants?). Haha, I hope some one else can enjoy that joke besides me :) Also, the ARC does not exist at that location, they must have gone out of business.

I'll keep you posted on whether those other stores actually exist when I visit them. But for now I'd recommend calling before you make the drive.

Thrift Store List!

I have been casually searching for more thrift stores near Provo and I finally found a list today. The Thrift Store Whore blog is a goldmine of information. Here are the stores I will probably check out soon. For the rest of the list look here.

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SALT LAKE 801-484-3401
2060 E 3300 S
Salt Lake City, Utah 84109

ARC OF UTAH 801-364-5060
155 S 300 W
Salt Lake City, Utah 84101

CROSSROADS URBAN CENTER 801-359-8837
1385 Indiana Ave
Salt Lake City, Utah 84104

THE ARC OF UTAH 800-870-9311
Spanish Fork, Utah 84660

I also found a good resource of thrift stores near Salt Lake on the Yellow Pages site.

Can't wait to start more thrift store adventures!

FINALLY back!

I know it's been forever since I updated this thing! Hopefully I can get back into it and visit a bigger variety of thrift stores now that school is out. Today's thrift store is the Orem Savers.

From ambrosia rush

I always think these airtight containers are such a great find. Especially a matching set of 4! Prices from shortest to tallest: $2.99, $3.99, $3.99, $4.99

From ambrosia rush

This is one of those products that doesn't look so hot at first, but it's got great potential. With a pretty coat of fresh paint around the frame and a quick clean-up of the mirror glass, this would be one sweet mirror. It's about a foot wide and I'm thinking you could bargain with the manager on the $14.99 price tag because it is a plastic frame, not wood.

From ambrosia rush

I just LOVE this alarm clock. The tiny thing is about 4 inches tall and maybe 5 or 6 wide. It's a 24 hour clock so you can see the top section is for day time and the bottom is night! Plus, it's only $2.99.

PLATE TIME!

From ambrosia rush

I'm not big into knowing what brands are worth money, all I know is this plate has a really cool vintage design and the bottom says "Fashion Manor by Franciscan". It's also $1.99. Aww man! I just noticed it has an orange tag which means it was 99 cents yesterday afternoon when I snapped these pics! Not sure if orange tags are 99 cents on Tuesdays as well as Mondays. Well, since we're on the topic...Savers has a discount on a certain color tag each week. During the majority of the week items with that color tag are 50% off, but on Monday they go down to 99 cents each! Bargain time!

From ambrosia rush

These are just cute and perfect. The colors are a little off in the picture, but the bottom side and edges are actually chocolate brown and the top is a really pretty goldenrod. There were 5 plates and at a good price! They are about 8 inches wide.

From ambrosia rush

This is the last item of the day. It is also about an 8 inch plate and I love the simple black and white look. Also only 99 cents.

CIAO! for now!

You Don't Need These

I stopped by Savers in Orem today and snapped a few pics with my camera phone.

Normally, I don't post clothing or anything like it, however, these boots are GREAT and I couldn't resist. They are size 6, Italian leather, and originally from Nordstrom. Price: $5.99.


I might be the only person who appreciates these. I can totally picture this 10 inch long bushel of plastic grapes sitting on my coffee table!!! And for $4.99...who knows?

art
This painting is about a 32" square. The colors are much more vibrant than shown (the yellow is so bright and pretty). In fact the colors make me think the painting was created in the 60's. It's $17.99.

Savers Stop

I know, it doesn't look like much...but this is an awesome avocado green table cloth! It is a light cotton and perfectly round. The diameter is roughly 68 inches.

Some more sweet seat covers. There were three of these for $1.99 each.

No not a shot glass, but perhaps a decorative vase? With a little polishing this contemporary piece would look terrific. Grab it for $4.99. Oh, and it's about 6 inches tall.

FAVORITE ITEM of the day!!! I love these candlestick holders. The fat guy is $3.99 and the skinny is $0.99.

Savers usually has a nice array of glasses. I especially like the colors and diverse shapes of these. Prices from left to right $2.99, $0.99, $0.99, $2.99 (and that is for each glass).