Horse Picture

[UPDATE: THIS SHOP NO LONGER EXISTS. I miss it.]
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed some activity around the Union Hall building where The Misty Glade Antique Shop used to be.

I hadn't seen Donna, the proprietress, for a good while, so I stopped in to see if she was around. She wasn't—she'd long since moved out. But Clay's Consignment Shop, which used to be on Scruggs Road, was moving in.

I'd shopped at Clay's plenty of times before and had gotten some good deals there—such as this cat bag and this set of Ella's Rooster dishes. Although Clay was still moving in, the place was filling up fast:

A picture, which he'd just unpacked and was still on the floor, caught my eye.

I really didn't need another horse picture, and it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. But Clay is always open to a bargain, so we haggled a bit. When he finally made me an offer I couldn't refuse, I bought it. 

It looks pretty good on my hall wall—right beside a Goodwill mirror.

It's nice to have a consignment shop only two miles away. Now I don't have to drive all the way to Rocky Mount or to Westlake when I'm in a bargain-hunting mood.

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More March Bargains

Today I went to the Westlake Library's used book sale. I was able to get all these books—and the Roots miniseries on VHS (yeah, we still have some VHS players)—for a total of  $11.50.

While at Westlake, I also went up the road to Goodwill and found a few goodies. For instance, this rural-themed ceramic tissue cover (79¢) will look great in the downstairs guest bathroom. 

The little Chinese cat vase ($1.95) is a welcome addition to all my cat-themed stuff. The vase has the same facial expression as my kitty Jim-Bob.

I also found two small cderamic planters—50¢ for the plain white one with a butterfly design and 95¢ for the painted one. I was delighted to find another little wooden cat (79¢) that looks like a Laurel Burch-style design.

The little wooden cat fits right in with my other two—also Goodwill finds. There are some similar wooden cats on Etsy for $10.

The Goodwill worker had just put out this grapevine door or wall hanging. Got it for a dollar! It will go on one of my outside doors, but I'm not sure which one.

My best deal ($2.99) was probably this tray—an International Silver Webster-Wilcox tray in  the "Joanne" design. I could just barely make out the engraving on the back that told me what it was.

It's tarnished but otherwise in good shape. It'll look nice when I polish it. I Googled and found one in excellent condition looks like mine:

And I also found one for sale on eBay that's way more tarnished than the one I bought:

Here's the eBay price: 

I guess I got a couple of good deals.

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March Bargains

Today I went bargain hunting in two places in Rocky Mount—the Franklin County Library's used book sale and Purrfect Treasures. At the library sale, I bought all these books for a total of $3.50— a pretty good bargain.

After leaving the library, I went up Route 220 to Purrfect Treasures, the fundraising store for Franklin County Humane Society. Purrfect Treasures always has some neat stuff. But would I find anything I would like?

Turns out I did. I found a pot and a pin. The flower pot ($1.50) was kind of heavy. The pin ($1.00) was another "House Pin" by Lucinda. I'd bought one of Lucinda's pins last month at the Westlake Goodwill and knew that the $1 price was a great bargain.

The back of the pot had a number. I don't know what this means. It's hard to see, but the Lucinda tag is on the back of the pin.

My best buy, though a lot more than what I'd intended to spend, was in the downstairs room at Purrfect Treasures. It was a big metal horse head that had been reduced to $30. I really liked it because it reminded me of War Horse, the movie I'd seen last month. The name on the base was Carolyn Kinder.

I had to have it. I have no idea where I'll put it. But it can't sit in this living room chair forever.

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February Deals

Did I get any good deals today? At Kroger, I used my $40 worth of "reward checks" I'd received for having a bunch of points on my Kroger card. Plus it was Senior Citizen Day, so that was another 5% off the entire bill.

Later, at the Westlake Goodwill, I paid a dollar for a neat little pin. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a little house with fence, lamppost, and trees.

 The back said "House Pins by Lucinda" and listed a website, http://www.lucinda.com. I went to the site and found a page of House Pins. I guess I got a pretty good deal.

I also bought a large totebag for a dollar . . .

. . .  a small handmade pottery jar (79¢), a tiny ceramic heart-shaped box (59¢), two small copper pails (99¢ each) . . .

  

. . . and a ceramic cat plaque (99¢) made in 1994 by Smoky Mountain Pottery in Gatlinburg.

I'm not sure to which of our cats the plaque refers—probably to my husband's cat Dylan.

The Discovery Shop was having a 25% off sale today. I found a casserole dish that was already marked 25% off. With the additional 25% off, I paid $4.50 for it.

At the Discovery Shop, I also found a floral bedspread, bedskirt, and sham set that was $15 after discount. I'll use it on the guest room bed.

The spread is reversible, but I like the dark side better.

I guess I got some pretty good deals. What do you think?

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Garden Shoes

A few weeks ago, while I was in the Rocky Mount Tractor Supply, I saw some nifty garden shoes. They were on sale for $19.99. That was more than I wanted to pay, so I didn't buy them.

Today, I was back at Tractor Supply and noticed the shoes been reduced to $9.99. But did they have my size?

Yep! Bought 'em! Here they are getting the official cat scan from Chloe:

Check out the treads on these things, which are officially called "Sloggers Garden Trekker Boots." Since they're waterproof, they'll be good to wear in rain and snow. And great for manure shoveling sessions.

Here they are on the Slogger website:

I guess I got a good deal.

~

January Buys

I found a couple of bargains at the Discovery Shop yesterday and at the Rocky Mount Goodwill today.

At Goodwill I bought this cute little cabinet for $1.95. I'm not sure what I'll put in it, but it will go in my study.

The doors open to reveal a shelf. Magnets help[ the doors stay closed.

Someone hand-painted flowers on the doors.

A sticker on the back says "Countrymommi Originals '2003' NS."

I also found this pretty planter for 50¢. (The two items behind it are Goodwill finds from several months ago.)

At the Discovery Shop, this basket was $2. It's the right size to keep files in. I also bought the little velour-covered "Anything Book" for 75¢. It'll be good for jotting notes.

Jim-Bob likes the basket.

Maybe he likes it a little too much. Or maybe he's just checking to see how much it will hold.

Today I also bought a bunch of books at the Franklin County Library book sale. 

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Banking on It

Last week I bought a metal bank at the Westlake Goodwill. I didn't really need it, but I thought it looked interesting. It's a little old-timey car.

To deposit coins, you drop them in the slot at the bottom. Getting your money out requires unscrewing four screws.

While the bank looked old, it didn't look like an antique, so I didn't think it must be worth much. However, while I was in Lynchburg last Thursday evening, I went into an antique store on Main Street and saw a similar bank. It was a different car model, but the color and the metal were the same. It was marked $20. I asked the proprietress about it; she said that it was more likely "vintage" than antique.

On Friday, I did a bit of Googling. Banthrico Inc. of Chicago made a lot of model car banks. Earlier the company was Banker's Thrift. Apparently, during the 50s (and probably earlier), the banks had keys. Since mine has screws, it must not date back that far. Yep, vintage but not antique.

I found the little car bank on eBay for $22.50 . . .

. . . and for $19.95  (although the wheels on this one don't look in very good shape). . .

. . . and for $75!

I guess I did all right by paying $1.99 for mine.

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More Catty Things

Today, on my way back from Lake Writers, I stopped at the Westlake Goodwill just to see if they had anything interesting. As a matter of fact, they did. I found this little cat plate that, according to the lable on the back, is actually a "candle plate" in the Cattitude line from Waxcessories. It's about the size of a salad plate.

It's dated 2007 and labeled  "handmade in China." I couldn't find anything about this particular plate online. I did find some other Waxcessories candle plates that varied from $6 to $8. I paid 99¢. I like it because the cat on it looks like Olivia.

I also found some ceramic cat wind chimes for $1.99. There is no identifying mark or label on them, though. I thought they'd look good hanging from the ficus.

Here's a closer look at the main cat. . . 

. . . and some of the kitties.

Also at Goodwill, I found something not cat-related—a small Emerson Creek Pottery flower pot, dated 1996, for 99¢. 

I own some other Emerson Creek stuff (the pottery is in the next county over) and I paid way more than 99¢ for a flower pot this size years ago.

I hadn't intended to buy anything today, but I was glad to find these little decorative items.

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