Wednesday, December 30, 2015


Another year coming to an  end. Unbelievable! I wish each of you a safe and happy 2016. Be kind and honorable; care  for others; shop whenever it makes you happy. Remember that treasure awaits you around every bend in the road. 

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Here's a picture of the snow globe made with the Ball jar that I found at CHKD. Just have to add the tinsel around the lid. But it's Christmas, so I'm out of glue.  What kind of woman buys old jars instead of practical craft supplies? This kind!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my shopping friends!

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Yesterday was possibly my last thrifting trip before Christmas, and it was a successful one.

I  am making snow globes for gifts this year out of old Ball jars, mostly blue ones. I still need to make one for my son's girlfriend, but I am all out of jars. So I headed to one of my favorite quick stops, CHKD Thrift on Broad St. in RVA. I love to shop in this store and support its very worthy cause, the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters, a cancer hospital for children.

I headed first to the still copious supply of Christmas merchandise. There I found a gift  for myself --- 8 matching cloth Christmas napkins from the 1960's. They feature bright red and green Currier and Ives type folk on a white background. I always use mismatched cloth napkins on my Christmas table and never dreamed of having 8 that match!

With a happy heart, I headed to the checkout. Oops! With embarrassment, I asked the chaser to hold my napkins while I went to look for the item that I had come into the store to find, the jar. Heading to the glass section, I first spied a FLOW BLUE PLATE.   What? in a thrift store? The joy of this find is that my son tries to buy his grandmother a piece of flow blue each Christmas to add to her collection. This year, he has found none. He was pretty delighted by my text telling him that I had found a plate, in excellent condition, for $2.98.

In close proximity to the plate, I found a 2 quart Ball jar, not blue, but definitely old, complete with its metal top. It cost 98 cents. Key the Hallelujah Chorus here.

CHKD is a fabulous stop for interesting last minute gifts. Check it out if you are in Central VA.

Good luck with your last minute Christmas preparations! Take a minute, when you can, to tune out the lights, the canned Christmas carols, and the car commercials, and look for the baby in the manger.

Merry Christmas,

Sharon

Friday, December 11, 2015

Haven't written a post in ages because, in case you haven't noticed, it's Christmas! My favorite time of the year. I love MidCentury Christmas and I so enjoy filling every surface in my home with it.

Christmas is also a time for reaching out to help others and I have tried to spend as much time as possible doing that as well. So I have done  no treasure hunting and even less blog posting.

Yesterday I had a fun day, a combination of friend time and shopping. My best shopping buddy Ruth Ann, often a star of this blog, is leaving for her home in Florida right after Christmas. So we took time out of our Christmas craziness yesterday to have some time together. We ate Mexican food, talked forever, and ended with dessert and gifts at my house.

But in between, we had to make one last treasure hunt until we reunite in spring 2016.

So... A few months ago, I spied a sketchy looking vintage store that had opened in a converted gas station. Not a cute converted gas station, but one that has been covered and reconverted until it looks tired. Yesterday we decided to check it out.

Fascinating! Two girls have divided the building down the middle and have separate shops. The first girl was just "setting up" when we arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon. (what?) Her merchandise was kind of piles of boxes and plastic storage tubs. She followed us around, apologizing that she was trying to get her shop set up because she had only been open since JULY. We were not impressed. I did find one German glass Christmas tree topper which is PINK, and paid her 2 dollars for it May not return to her shop.

We thought we had seen all that the gas station had to offer, but then we decided to check out the shop on the other side. Pay dirt! We met a lovely girl who was outside painting a table and chairs. She buys estates and sells her treasure in the gas station. We spent a happy 45 minutes combing through her small indoor/outdoor space.

She had an amazing  assortment of things. She had purchased a collection of MidCentury dogs, fascinating! I treated myself to one, an aqua daschund planter who I believe is unmarked McCoy.

If you read this blog, you will remember that a few months ago, I bought a pair of little girl's pink cowboy boots at one of my local haunts. Yesterday, I bought the exact pair of pink Durangos with steel tips. So strange, they were on a table of boots and they were absolutely meant for me. Different size but same boots! They will be online very shortly. I was impressed the this girl is working hard and running a fair business. Will absolutely go back after the first of the year.

I'm wishing each of you a peaceful holiday spent doing what makes you happy.

Remember to send out a prayer for peace in our world.