Monday 30 July 2012

Thrift Store Finds

I truly believe if you focus on what you need, then what you need has a way of appearing.  Case in point, my shower caddy was peeling paint and rusting.  It was ugly, but worse, I was afraid I'd get rust on the scrubby and end up rubbing it into my skin.  So I went to look for a replacement.  Even at Ross, they were more than I wanted to pay, and that was the discount shop.  I also wasn't sure what size I needed.  We have two showers and when I bought the first caddies, one didn't fit.

So yesterday I went to a Goodwill in Garden Grove (next to John's market).  I wasn't looking for anything in particular, and they had a lot of racks and shelving pieces.  I immediately spotted a brand new shower caddy that looked about the right size for $4.  It fit perfectly. It holds everything that was in the old one with room to spare. I'm so happy.


I also found a set of wooden salad bowls and tongs for $8.  It will be feast gear for S.C.A. events. Or when we have picnics outdoors.

And just last week I had carefully packed Guy's ceramic bowl for olives and his new mug in a bag inside a basket on the couch.  I don't know how it happened but I suspect cats, because the next time he went in the living room it was all on the floor and the bowl broke in half. So I felt kind of responsible and found 2 more 'olive' bowls that were hand thrown pottery at the Goodwill for $1.50 each.  They were 'manly' colors and he's happy with them. Pretty good haul for under $20.


Friday 11 May 2012

Things That Make Me Want to Say Bad Words

We are renters. The last owner repainted the exterior.  Imagine my shock when the new door looked like a giant Hershey bar. I got used to it over time. Then our complex went into foreclosure and was bought out by the owners from hell. Of course they wanted to remodel. They ripped out all my lovely flowers just at the high point of spring, tore out the lawn, and repainted the exterior and put up new light fixtures.

The only thing I was looking forward to was getting rid of that brown door. I got rid of it all right. They painted it an even darker brown. Now it looks like a giant dark chocolate Hershey bar.

And the last owner put in nice light fixtures with clear glass for maximum light. The new owner ripped those out and replaced them with a tiny fixture with dark plastic that blocks the light coming through. And they are butt ugly.  I hope we move and soon. UGH.


Me in front of the Hershey Bar door.  The new Dark Chocolate Hershey Bar Door.



The old fixture is the tiny one in the corner. I hate the new one, and they put one on the back porch too.



Three days after they bought the place, this is what I came home to.
They ripped out all my blooming pansies, roses, calla lillies, jasmine..everything. Next week they are ripping out all the plants in the backyard, many of which I bought with my own money or grew from seed. And we never get an opinion on anything. They are selling it next month after owning it just long enough to remodel, with no thought of what the people who have lived here for years wanted.