Thrifty Finds Thursday

After more than a week without thrifting, I was more than ready for a girl's day out last Saturday with my cousin, Brenda.  We were able to make an entire day of it, thanks to my sweet hubs playing Mr. Mom.  

We started off at the Madison, WI, Farmer's Market...Madison is about an hour from Brenda...and she's about an hour from me.  Anywhooo, the Madison Farmer's Market is very well-known, and has the reputation for being one of the best in the Midwest.  It is situated on the square surrounding the Capitol Building, and vendors line all four sides of the block.  I had never been before, but had been wanting to go for a long time.  Suffice it to say, that won't be the last time I go.  

We walked around the square twice, just to be sure we didn't miss out on anything.  Our first go-round was scoping out the wares and prices...on the second round, we made our purchases.  By the time we reached the end of the second trip, we were ready to head to the car, lugging all of our precious cargo on our shoulders.  We ended up with garlic, dill, fresh bread, scones, mushrooms, fresh raw peanuts (Paul wants to try making homemade boiled peanuts--y.u.c.k!), fingerling potatoes, teeny cherry tomatoes, Amish granola, red and green peppers, tomatillos, cilantro, mixed lettuce, hot pepper jam, mixed berry jam...and I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting.  We.Had.Fun!!!

We left the Farmer's Market, determined to hit every thrift store between Madison and Florida {well, kind of}.  Our goal may have been a bit lofty, but we did manage to make several stops on our long journey home.

Here's a peek at my treasures...

☛vintage Holly Hobbie flat sheet.  I plan to use Holly Hobbie accents in the babies' room (I call Addison-4 and Eden-2 "the babies"...and they share a room) and this is the very first HH sheet I've come across.  I was beyond thrilled to find it.
☛vintage floral sheet--the colors in this are adorable.  I'll add it to my collection and figure out what to do with it later.
☛vintage linen kitchen towel--I collect these...and I luuuuuurve them.
☛vintage Strawberry Shortcake pitcher--probably headed for the Etsy.
☛vintage lemonade jar--bought this to make a one-of-a-kind traveling mason jar (you DO know about my traveling mason jars, right?!?)

☛three vintage stitchery kits and assorted wooden embroidery hoops--I was especially pleased to find the "Life is fragile, handle with prayer" kit.  I have this exact {finished} stitchery hanging in my house.    The wooden hoops are for Etsy projects.

☛this is the "Austyn bundle"--Austyn is my oldest daughter (9), and she's enthralled with all things notebook, paper, marker, etc...just like I was at her age.  She had a friend come over last week and they worked on her friend's Smashbook together.  I found this plain bound scrapbook and thought maybe she'd like to make it her Smashbook.  The pages are heavy, durable cardstock.  The packages next to the book are scrapbook sets for fall, again something I thought she'd enjoy fiddling with.  

The teddy bear journal and the pencil pouch kit are both brand new.  Often times, when I find small items like this that are new, I set them aside in my "gift closet".  Then when Christmas rolls around, I'm pretty much set for stocking stuffers.  I've even taken it a step further and set aside larger thrifted items, too.  I rarely have to fork out much money for gifts at Christmas or birthdays, as I am setting things aside all year long.  
For instance, early this fall, I was able to buy my son a Nintendo DS with 6 or 7 games, all for $50.  The DS still had its original box, charger, etc, and I had the benefit of buying it from someone I know.  Now, we aren't big video game people around this house, but that will make a perfect birthday or Christmas gift for him.  And as long as we set boundaries on gaming time, I have no doubt that it will prove a good investment.  Besides, there's the added bonus of not having to scramble around at the last minute, trying to find just the right present for him.
A good friend of mine shared the "gift closet" idea with me several years ago and I've used it ever since.  It has been a huge money-saver {and headache-saver, too}.

☛vintage {I think} pennant for Colton's room
☛vintage wooden hanger--will use it for some craft project
☛Old Navy half-zip sweater for Colton--I love half-zip sweaters and the color grey on him...double-win!
☛grey Land's End long linen skirt for me!
☛white Children's Place sandals for Eden for next summer

☛vintage flower pot/vase--the design on this matches the pattern on a small CorningWare casserole dish I have.  I've never seen any accessory pieces like this, and this little pot looks handmade.  However, the pattern is definitely not hand-painted on there.  There's no maker's mark anywhere on it, either.  So, I'm confused.  But I still like it.  
☛two little vintage mushroom mugs--probably headed for the Etsy.
☛a HUGE bundle of re-useable Starbucks straws.  These were so inexpensive, I simply could not pass them up.  I plan to use them as a bonus freebie with some of my traveling mason jars.
☛vintage kitchen trivet--loved the sentiment on this, had to have it.
☛vintage "clean enough, dirty enough" kitchen sign.  I have one of these hanging in my kitchen and one or two set aside to sell on Etsy. 

♡this photo is full of more "my cousin shops for me" items.  Brenda had all of these packed up, ready to go when I arrived at her house early Saturday morning--first, a 2 1/2 quart oval Pyrex casserole in the Golden Acorn pattern.  I'm not usually nuts about the neutral-colored Pyrex patterns; however, with it being fall, I was super-happy to get this dish...and the 2 1/2 quart oval casserole just so happens to be my very, very favoritest Pyrex dish.  Imagine my sheer delight later on Saturday at Goodwill, when I came across the caddy for the oval casserole!  I was ecstatic!  Aaaannd...if that wasn't all good enough, I already have the cover for the oval dish, set aside in my "extra Pyrex lids" bin.  Yep.  This is one.happy.girl.
♡two matching wooden rooster plates.  Neither Brenda nor I can figure out if these are real vintage, or just made to look vintage.  I tend to think that they really are old...it's hard to tell.  Either way, they're cute...and probably headed for the Etsy.
♡two vintage stitcheries...the mushroom one is adorable!!!


I also found this very pretty afghan.  I posted it in my Afghan Insta-Sale {on Instagram}, and it sold within 30 seconds {no exaggeration}.

So...that's that.  
As always, if you see anything here that you just can't live without, feel free to contact me.  Chances are, I can live without it...and it may just come to stay with you!