THRIFTY TREASURES---?

Went on a road trip this week and somehow the car just kept stopping at thrift stores. Must be that pesky GPS....it has a mind of its own.

Charlotte is in a different Goodwill district than Raleigh and they do things different. The first difference is that there are rest rooms in the stores. I'm sure that all the moms with little kids appreciate that. My kids are all grown up but I remember what a pain it was to go to Goodwill and then have to leave to go to the bathroom.

Charlotte also has a Goodwill outlet where everything is $1.59 a pound and they have Value Village.

I have never seen grown ups act like they did at the Goodwill outlet. Every few minutes they bring out a new bin of things to grab. And I do mean grab. These bins are about four feet wide and10-12 feet long and piled high with all sorts of stuff. The bins are put in an area marked by a blue line on the floor. Toes must stay behind the blue line until the employee "releases" the bin. (Probably to save his life, because those women looked mean.) The staff tries to divide the clothes and household items but when everyone is grabbing anything and everything you can't tell what is going on. My daughter, Smarta**, said, "reminds me of feeding the chickens" and she is right on the money. Hey folks, act like civilized adults!!!

Value Village is a great place. They mark things down to sell and they have "grab bags" filled with all sorts of small stuff. Looks like they throw all the little stuff in a big tub and then just fill bags at random with things. The two Value Villages we visited were clean with wide aisles and lots of things to pick through. And....they mark stuff down. There are usually two color tags that are 50% and 75% off. Their grab bags are from 80 cents to $1.80 and filled to the brim. And did I mention, unlike the Goodwill in our area, Value Village marks stuff down.

Here are a few things I found

These toys were less than a dollar each.

This was a bag of Fisher Price Little People, a calf, a Weebles Wocking Horse and a Fisher Price Poodle. Love the poodle hair.

I think these are part of a playschool set. I need to research. The two horses are Beyer. Love the carrots and wheel barrow. Look at those cute little mice.

This was my favorite find of the week. A cassette carousel holder from the 70's. In perfect condition and every speck of dirt from the 70's until now is still covering the holder.

Three Ralph Marlin ties and silk and leather suspenders or braces. Somehow I don't see wearing a tie shaped like a fish.......but I guess there is a proper time for it.

And this set of Young Folks Library stories. I have nine and Myths and Legends are missing, to make a complete set of 10. Even if I don't find the missing volume the graphics are fantastic, from the early 50's. The price was right.

A Wilton Barbie Doll cake pan, never used not in box. A Chinese tea cup with lid. A beautiful deep orange, burnt sienna. And a hotsling, size three.

And finally, my only jewelry purchase. One is real, one is not.  The turquoise is fake and the gold leaf and pearl are real. I am a sucker for turquoise and I knew it wasn't real. I didn't find any markings on the gold leaf, but he pearl is real.

Hope everyone had good thrifting karma this weekend.

I am linking to Apron Thrift Girl's Monday Thrift Share.