Two for One!

It's time again for Metamorphosis Monday and Thrifty Treasures! Please join our hostesses for the respective events: Susan of Between Naps on the Porch and Rhoda of Southern Hospitality. Please take time to leave appreciative comments for Susan and Rhoda. They both give SO MUCH of themselves to educate and entertain us week after week! Let's visit as many of the participants as we possibly can!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today I'm combining what could easily be two separate posts. I had some catching up to do. As some of you know, I missed a few days of blogging last week due to illness of a family member. Things are going much better now! Thank you for the good wishes, prayers, and words of support. I appreciate you all so very much!

OK, time to start the show-and-tell portion! Here are this week’s items from my favorite local thrift/junk store -- the one that sells contents of abandoned storage units.

For a total of $4, I brought home 2 footed iced tea glasses, 4 Syracuse China (restaurant ware) bread plates, blue glass bowls (6 round and 1 oval), 3 glass votive holders, 2 lead crystal candle holders, a Scotch Brite cleaning cloth and a sink stopper (both new in package), 2 colorful place mats, a dark green ornamental finial, 5 plastic food storage containers, and a hand-painted oval platter (signed on the back by the artist).


A closer view of the platter:

When I saw this fan at a local estate sale, I thought of how popular they had been in the days before air conditioning became commonplace. The estate sale lady said I could have it if I wanted it. Free!

A vintage hand-wrought aluminum tray from a different estate sale on the same day. Price, $2. Definitely in need of a good cleaning with warm, soapy water. The next step in its restoration would be an application of Wright’s Silver Cream. It works on aluminum as well as it does on silver.

Looking across the table with the late afternoon sun streaming in through the solarium windows:

A closer view of the glassware. In the lower right hand corner is a tray I purchased at Goodwill.

A closer view of the tarnished silverplated bread tray. Price, $1.99. If you read the upside-down lettering, you’ll see that the tray is by Gorham.


Here it is again, now exhibiting a mirror-like shine after I polished it with Wright’s Silver Cream (my favorite – inexpensive, effective, and widely available at grocery and variety stores). I left the dark patina in recessed areas to accentuate the ornate pattern. It's called "Versailles."


I enjoyed the play of light created by the late day sun within the cast shadows of the clear glass items.

The week’s second Goodwill purchase is a Cuisinart coffee maker with built-in grinder. The appliance lists for $149. I’ve seen it for as low as $95. I had never seen one for the price I paid at GW -- $2.99!!!

Here it is, ready for use after a good scrubbing. The grinder and all the other features work beautifully. The insulated carafe keeps coffee piping hot for hours!
There you have it. Total spent? $11.00!

This is Smoky, an 18 pound Russian Blue. He was three years old when he was adopted from a shelter. He's seen here in his favorite chair.

Here's Smoky again, on my favorite bed ... on my favorite 14-piece Chris Madden comforter set! It listed for around $600 (you know I didn't pay that much ... but still!).

He looks sweet here, doesn't he? He can be stubborn. You don't pick him up against his will ... he's a big cat, and he has big claws that can really dig in ...



He used to have fun lying on his back, propelling himself around this chair ... using those great big claws. Here's the result:

The thing is ... it's such a comfortable chair, and the colors are nice in the walk-out basement. Re-upholstering seems a bit excessive, since the rest of the chair is fine ...

Perhaps a bit of decorative camouflage is in order. Fringe maybe. Measure the length of the fringe (starting about an inch from the floor), mark with tailor's chalk ...


Attach fringe with E-6000 craft glue, and secure with pins while it dries ...
The result:

And there are two of them!

The fringe wasn't inexpensive but, at just under $100, it saved two comfortable chairs from being moved to the sidewalk to await the trash collectors!