Thrifting

Last week I was driving by the Salvation Army when it occurred to me, "Why am I driving by the Salvation Army?  Why am I not stopping the car and going in for a little peek?"  After all, my thrift-store-averse daughters were back in school.  Why wouldn't I go?

Well I'm glad I followed that instinct because, guess what?  It was half-price day.  (I couldn't afford not to shop ;)

The first thing I spotted was worth a picture... but not worth the $695 (!) price tag.  (Of course it was half-price day, but a $347.50 accordion is still an accordion.  And I don't need an accordion.)

 

And in case you were wondering, I did check ebay to find out what one might sell for.  I couldn't find this exact brand so it's anyone's guess if this price was a good one.  I will say that people list old accordions for lots of money on ebay.  However, if you check the completed listings you will find that the overwhelming majority of them go unsold.  So, yeah.  I left it behind.  

Also left behind?  This side table.  

I can't remember the price but it wasn't much--especially at 50% off.  I was imagining it either refinished or painted.  The truth is that I just don't have a place for it, though, so I had to walk away.

But I didn't leave empty handed.  Oh nosiree.

What did I come home with?

For starters I got a giant punch bowl.  It needs a good cleaning as do the 12 glasses and ladle that came with it.  I have been on the hunt for a big punchbowl ever since I encountered this at a bridal shower:

Although I already have a perfectly serviceable punch bowl, I've been obsessed with finding one large enough to accommodate a bundt cake shaped ice cube.  (Because bundt cake shaped ice cubes are awesome!)   Mission accomplished.  I probably wouldn't have bought it at its original price of $20, but for $10 I was all over it.  Pictures will follow in a later post, I'm sure.

The purchase I am most giddy about is this set of card catalog file drawers (Price: $4.50 total):

At first I wasn't sure what they were.  Then I opened them up.  As a librarian's daughter, I recognized them right away.

Oh the potential!

They had clearly already been repurposed by the previous owners for use in a workshop or garage.  I suspect the paint job isn't original either as all the ones I see on the internet are painted black, grey or a sort of industrial green.

I am envisioning them spray painted a crisp white (or possibly aqua) with shiny chrome hardware.

But here is where I must make a confession.  And this isn't easy for me to put out there.  I might get my blogger's license revoked for this one.  Heck, I may never be allowed on Pinterest again.

But here goes:

I am an awful spray painter.

Whew!  It feels good to get that off my chest.  Does anyone know of a support group?  Or at the very least can one of you awesome spray painters give a sister some tips?  I used to think it was my lack of patience that was the problem.  Then I tried a few more projects.  I used thin even coats and waited between them.  I sanded things and prepped them.    I did everything I was supposed to do.  But it didn't matter.   My paint-jobs always end up bubbly and... just bad.

So if any of you awesome spray painters have some advice I'd love to hear it.

Better yet, you could just come over and do it for me.

I'll serve punch :)