I Heart Thrifting!

I love thrift shopping. At times it has been close to an addicition- but I've gotten good about being selective about how often I go, what my max $ spending is and what I'm looking for when I go.

Here are some of the things I've picked up on my thrifting adventures of late! I've really been trying to keep my thrift shopping to no more than $20 total.. if its a really great item that puts it over  bit $25 a month and once I reach that.. its no more thrifitng for the rest of the month. Also thats only if I have money coming in like through Etsy sales and photo shoots. If theres no earning of $.. there is no spending of $.

Fortunately for me.. I had some earning between late December- February.. so here is my collective haul from those months!

 This awesome picnic basket was only $6.25!! And its in nearly perfect condition! I can't wait to use it for some spring photo shoots and maybe even a few picnics!

I love the buckle clasp closure!

And its kind of non- standard shape!

 Then there is this gorgeous lady! This golden mustard yellow featherlight vintage cosmetic case was only $4.25 and aside from a few little black scuffs and a little wear on the stitching was in mint condition- so I just used a Mr. Clean Magic eraser & some elbow grease when I got home to get rid of the scuffs! The inside smelled a little funky and had some black hairs and dirt in it so I cleaned it out with a few damp paper towels and some lysol.

 I also think this will be great as a photo shoot prop as well as for storing some of my yarn!

Ok, not sure if I've mentioned this on the blog before, but I LOVE maps! I find them fascinating. I also am a visual thinker so when I travel, well anywhere really, my internal vision naturally creates like a 3 dimensional map of where I'm going and have been. I never get lost. Its hard to explain.. it sounds weird but basically the closet thing I can think is my brain makes a map like geese do for their migratory paths. There you go.. now you know I'm really odd!

Anyway, sitting underneath the featherlite case at the thrift store was this gorgeous map of the U.S.!! And it was even laminated... BONUS!! For $2 I wasn't leaving without it! 

I absolutely love the beautiful rich colors in this map and the detailed little capital cities of each state! Here is an up close of my home town of Richmond, Va!  Right not this is sitting in my studio waiting to  hang in a special place.. but I can't wait to one day use this in a room- maybe even someday a nursery! It has a fun cartoonish quality that I love and think would be perfect for a kids room!

Hello you beautiful Brazilian Leather Loafers!

 Found these men size 9 which equates to my Women size 11 foot for just $5 and while they had a bit of wear on the soles- they look brand spankin new from above! My Dad's eyes bugged out when he saw these and I told them they cost $5!!  He was like- those are really nice shoes! They probably originally cost over $150... my reaction.. Awesome! Good deal then huh! 

I could tell he had a bit of shoe envy, so since finding those I have been on the look out every time I go thrifting for some nice leather shoes in Men size 13 for my Dad.. and I lucked out just a few weeks after finding mine and found these for my Dad again for $5!! And he loves them! Hurray!

The last thing I've found in the past few months were these cute pennant banners! They were each marked $1.25... so I bought all the ones I could find which was 6! They're actually multiple colored- if you look closely you can see some of the other colors peaking out in the bottom left package- but I found these at the end of January and knew I'd be doing some Valentine photo shoots so I thought.. why not take all the red ones and put them on one banner! And did- you can see it here and here!

So- minus the shoes I got for my Dad.. and the 5 different elephant figurines I've picked up since the new year that are being saved for another post.. here is my Thrift haul from January- February! A total of just $25! Trust me- I saw other things that I considered, that I wanted even, but I try to be thoughtful about what I buy. 3 of these items I knew I could use for my growing photography business and also as storage/ decor. The other 2 I knew I would 1- wear and the other- use as decor!

Oh boy, now I really want to go thrifting! But I'm visiting one of my best friend's at the end of March who lives in Lynchburg so I'm not thrifting this month in order to save up for any awesome finds I get up there.. and I have no doubt I'll find some good stuff in that awesome antiquing town!