Village Visions

There is nothing quite like the thrill of thrifting. I don't know what it is but there's something so exciting about a well stocked thrift store. Of course, there's a lot not to like; the over-crowded aisles, the disorganization and the general smell to name a few. But let's just focus on the positive, shall we? 

When Mary and I get the itch to thrift we like to hit up our favorite local spot, Village Discount Outlet. These bad boys are all over Chicago and Northwest Indiana so if you live in either state there's a good chance you have a Village near you.

Before you start thinking this is just an ode to Village Discount, let me just explain why I bring it up. Mary and I decided it would be fun to do a segment of sorts about our fun thrift store finds. And so "Village Visions" was born.

The thing about thrift stores is that it's really a hit or a miss when it comes to finding anything worth buying. Sometimes I find myself fooled by the low, low prices and when I get home I wonder why I ever thought I needed yet another clear glass vase. Sure, it was $.80 but I already have three just like it. It's taken a while but I've learned to go in with a plan. The plan goes as follows:

Know what you're looking for.
Know how much you'd like to spend on it.
And stick to that.

Of course from time to time I find something too good to pass up. Sure I wasn't looking for it, but that's because I didn't know it existed. So my general rule of thumb is that if it gives me sweaty palms, butterflies in my stomach and I'd sell my first born to own it then I can take it home. Ok, so maybe that's a bit dramatic but you get the idea.

So when Mary and I went to the Village a while back with a pretty simple game plan. We needed more decorative stuff for the apartment. Simple enough, right? And here's what we found.

Check out these beautiful, shiny, ladies. They are candle stick holders when you flip them right side up, but we figure we can use them for votives too. See how you could easily plop a votive or tea light into what is meant to be the underside? At $.50 a piece it was a steal. There were more there but we settled on three because we love uneven numbers for decorating.

 

Here's a gratuitous shot from above just because they're so shiny and pretty.

We also found two of these gorgeous bowls at $.80 a piece. We love the square shape and the texture on the sides. They can be used to put out candy for guests, serve chips with salsa and guacamole or even enjoy our morning cereal. And not to be a label snob, but check it out.

That's right. I even found similar ones for sale online for $15 each. Pier One is reasonably priced so we probably could have found these on clearance for $3 each but then again, we didn't even pay $3 for the two we brought home. So score one for sawyerthree.

This little guy is maybe my favorite thrift store find ever. I know it looks simple and it is but I find it so charming. It's just a scrap of fabric. It was in a ratty frame but I loved from the moment I set eyes on it. In fact, it's even awarded itself a place on our Great Wall of Frames. In a new and freshly painted frame, of course.

Here is the last find in this edition of Village Visions. Not one, but two sets of bookends. You might wonder why one would need so many book ends and it's a fair question. A question I don't have an answer to. I just love them and I'm fairly certain Mary does too. If not, she's a very good friend. I just love how intricate they are. And while they look pretty great as is, I can definitely see us whipping out a can of spray paint at some point to give them a funky makeover. Turquoise anyone? They are so cute. I found myself going all paparazi on them in our dining room but I was able to hold back and only bore you with one picture.

So there you have it! I'm sure we'll be back very soon with some more thrift store finds. In the meantime, we'd love to hear about yours!