The Return of Trash-picked Tuesday!!!!

Hello Friends, it's good to have you here!

Well, since the kiddos went back to school yesterday I finally have a chance to get to work on some of my personal projects. I have so many things that I get started and then never finish because I get interrupted, or have to run out and do something, etc., etc., ad nauseum...

And one of those things is blogging!

So, longtime readers may recall that I spent a whole year (2011, 2012??? I forget) doing posts on trash-picked or free items every Tuesday. I am never above trash picking a great find or at least something that needs a little work to be cool. Even now that my kids are approaching pre-teen years and this probably embarrasses them soooo much.  Hehehe...

Last week we took the kids down the Shore for a day and on my way down there I noticed an old springer/motel chair out for the trash. It wasn't just sitting there; it looked like it had either fallen out of someone's truck or someone had jumped on the seat and caused the whole thing to collapse. I figured if it was still there later on when we came home I would grab it. And so it was.

Like a bad blogger I neglected to take a picture of it "before"..., but imagine this chair with the legs completely collapsed and almost touching the bottom of the seat- sort of like it was folded in half. (which was kind of a good thing, because I don't think I could have gotten it into the car, otherwise.) Also, the top was faded red and the bottom was faded so badly it looked gray. There was plenty of rusty spots on the legs also.

We managed to get the legs about 85% straightened out, and everything sanded and primed. Then after I put the kids on the bus yesterday, I went out and chose this pretty color of blue, Rustoleum's Ocean. Several coats on the seat, and some white on the legs and it was ready to put back together. I think it came out pretty well for something left for dead.

And here is it with its life partner- eventually I will paint the other chair to match!

Thrift Scores!

Hello friends, it's good to have you here!

Well, I've missed blogging a bit and don't think it's because I don't want to, but (you know there is always a 'but...') I've been crazy busy lately and haven't had a chance. I've been working on my Etsy store quite a bit, and all that photographing and listing takes time. I don't know about you, but I am way better at acquiring stuff than selling it! My downstairs has been taken over by the stuff I have bought to resell. Plus, I'm getting ready to sell at a flea market for the first time, so there's a bunch of things in my basement waiting to be priced, etc. I have a high tolerance for clutter, but this is getting out of control. (Shield your eyes- reality check follows!)

In case you are wondering what it is like to be a vintage hoarder seller, this is what it looks like. It is a lot of fun, but more work than most people realize. And this is only a small part of the mess- my storage and packing stations are elsewhere!

But that also means I've been buying a ton of cool stuff, so I thought you might like to see some all cleaned up and ready to show off!

I just bought this amazing antique chest yesterday. It had been sitting in my local Salvation Army for about a week and I kept passing it by because there was no price on it. (You know they won't sell stuff without a ticket on it, so I kept waiting.) It finally got priced yesterday and it was $6.99- seriously! Even at that, I hemmed and hawwed at it because I didn't think I could fit it in my car. And I was right...hehe.  I somehow wedged it in the trunk of my Chevy Cruze and drove it a couple miles home with the trunk lid open.

I bought it to use outside on my patio I was thinking as a potting bench or outdoor bar. It's not in great condition, but for outside it will be fine- I wish I had a covered porch to keep it on! It makes an amazing photo backdrop for some of my listings, which is exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, nothing will help my lame photography skills, though. Selling on Etsy is so dependent on taking great photos, and I definitely know that is my weakness.

I pass up enamelware all the time- not quite sure why I suddenly decided to buy some. Except that these are awesome pieces and I love red. The platter is so cool, and it was only $1, the bowl still had some of the original label on it and it was $2. (See how easy it is to rationalize...)

I love vintage lawn furniture and have quite a collection at this point. I bought this little strap chair for my daughter to use. It was only $2! I use the bigger one in the back all the time- they are so much lighter and more comfortable than those stupid chair-in-a-bag things. All this green and turquoise furniture is so cheery, plus it matches my vintage patio umbrella I thrifted last year. I can't wait to get it all out- will definitely have to do another post on that!

This camera is one of my favorite buys from the last few weeks. It's a Polaroid Land Camera with its original case and all the accessories. My son and I actually went in on this together because I didn't have enough money on me to buy it that day. My 9 year old (known to many of you readers as "Eagle Eye") bailed me out! LOL But since he loaned me 1/3 of the purchase price I told him he could have 1/3 of the profit when we sell it. So look for it in my Etsy store soon, and help support the next generation of pickers! 

The time to buy holiday stuff is just after that holiday is over! I bought these Beistle leprechauns at the pound store. One is on  a skateboard- argh- the cuteness!  So they basically cost me 6 cents. And the Marvin the Martian lunch bags are still in their package. I can't decide if I want to sell them or let my kids use them for school, but I don't think 3rd graders appreciate the coolness factor here.

The same goes for this Sylvester the cat bookbag. Way too cool for school- and already in my Etsy store. Want it? Enter coupon code PIT20OFF and you get 20% off!

And it wouldn't be a thrifting post without Pyrex. Lately the greens just seem to follow me home. I don't collect either of these patterns, but I know a lot of folks do, so here's hoping I can resell them. The cinnamon mugs match my favorite pattern, Autumn Harvest, though, so they might be staying. LOL, who am I kidding, it all might be staying! ;)

Burning Ring of Fire (aka The Tiki Pond Project)

I've mentioned a few times lately about the pond project we've been working on. Well, it's time to show it off! It's about 95% done, with only a few small things left to do, so here it is.


We had been talking about putting in a pond for years. We always wanted a water feature for our yard (I made a patio fountain last year, but that was a tiny project) and love fish and frogs, so figured we'd do it eventually. My son Jayson really started pestering for it this spring, so we got started on it Father's Day weekend.


We had a nice flat spot in our yard just below our existing patio area that was a good location. While it may look like the whole family helped, really it was just Jay and Jayson that did the digging- all by hand. Jayson really helped a lot and he deserves as much credit as anyone for getting it done.

Here it is all dug out. At this point we needed to put in a liner. Problem was, Jay did not have any sort of plan (which is typical, isn't it?) for the shape of the pond, and dug it out without planning based on available liner sizes. So we had to order one off the internet in a custom size after the hole was in the ground. You can only imagine what that might cost to ship, since it weighed almost 75lbs.... Thankfully we didn't have any rain before the liner arrived.

With the liner in, we had to build up the side with rocks to create the waterfall. That was more difficult that in might seem, because we don't have a lot of large rocks laying around. And they are surprisingly very expensive to buy from a landscape place. So we went down the road and asked a guy that has an excavating and topsoil business if we could have some off his refuse pile. He agreed and it worked out great, except for the 10-12 trips the boys had to take with my small car's trunk filled with rocks (#@#%!) The waterfall box and tubing we got for free from a guy Jay knows with a pond- he wasn't using it and gave it to us.

We added a small seating area with leftover pavers we had from the original patio. I also pulled some aquatic plants out of a nearby boggy area in our neighbor's field to get things started. The boys took a net down to a nearby farm pond and brought back some native fish as well.  A pond is not cheap to put in, but we tried to be as thrifty as possible (except for the liner deal!)

We ended up ordering a second pump for a fountain because we were having an algae problem. I guess this is common in new ponds, but once the pump with the fountain and UV light was running, it cleared up. We also got a truckload of river rock to fill in the area around the patio and pond. We added some landscaping plants that we divided from others in our yard, like hosta. And last week, the fabulous MaryDeluxe, a pond pro, came for a visit and brought us some water plants out of her pond. They all look great now!

I added a couple of tiki touches, like the torches and plastic flamingos. The new pump also came with an underwater light which we put a red lens on to look like a volcano. I think this really looks cool at night and will be on the hunt for some outdoor tiki statues now!

Trash Picked Tuesday: Cage Free

I have been looking for the right object to use as a side table on my patio for quite a while. I have tried various items, like old wooden milk crates (too small) and upside down galvanized tubs (too low). I kind of like a vintage/industrial/found object vibe outdoors, but nothing really worked.

Until I found this out by the curb a few weeks ago:

At first I thought it was an old lobster trap. Then when I actually got the car turned around and pulled over (in, like, 15 seconds), I realized it was an old rabbit hutch or chicken coop. It's made of weathered teak with wire sides. After a thorough hosing down (it wasn't really bad- hadn't been used in years, I'm sure,) it fits perfectly, and I love its rustic look!

Trash-picked Tuesday: Vintage Lawn Furniture Pt. 4

People throwing away perfectly good lawn furniture never ceases to amaze me. I mean, who doesn't need an extra lawn chair for parties or picnics? Especially well-made, functional vintage lawn furniture!

Maybe it's the cold weather around these parts and someone wasn't thinking straight, but I found this lovely aluminum and wood chair out by the curb with a "free" sign on it. Well, if it's free, it's for me!

It also brings back memories for me, because my grandmother used to have these exact same chairs on her front porch.

It may be a while before I can really get out and enjoy it, though! ;)

Thrifted Thursday- lawn chairs, pt. 1

I have a thing for vintage furniture, and of course that extends to outdoor furniture as well.  I've been collecting vintage patio furniture for quite a while, but have not amassed a very large collection. As you know, my standards are impossibly low- for price, that is!

I was really stoked to snag this aluminum rocker last summer:

It has its original vinyl-upholstered cushions. It's super comfy, except on those days where it's too hot to sit on vinyl ;) And of course, it rocks!

I snapped it up before the store had even priced it, and was ecstatic to find they would give it to me for $5. Believe me, I didn't even care if it would fit in the car- I was going to get it home somehow!

I don't know for sure how old it is, but I think I remember seeing a chaise with the same upholstery on the Brady Bunch, and I'm pretty sure we had something like this as a kid as well. So it's not that old, but still a cool piece of vintage.

Stay tuned for next Thursday's part 2, when we go old-school glider.