Matt and I went on a shopping spree this weekend, hitting up three Value Village stores (a big second-hand chain here in Ontario) and bringing home a decent haul of thrifted items. Looking at my purchases, I am forced to conclude that I am a very eclectic shopper.
Clockwise from top left:
- Black velvet blazer – A garment I’ve wanted for awhile and that I know will be handy.
- Eagle statue – This is going to be a “hawk,” the mascot at my work. I’m going to spraypaint it and display it at my work office.
- Chandelier – Going to try and transform this into a light fixture for the foyer.
- Cutlery tray – Fits perfectly in the drawer of the dresser I made over for a nook in my office (a post on this project will be coming as soon as I get the drawers organized)
- Binders – I organize all of my recipes in binders, but the ones I have are pretty full. It has been surprisingly difficult to find very plain simple binders.
- Flags – Ontario (which we’d like to fly every so often) and Canada (which we fly always)
How do you approach thrifting? Is it a free-for-all, or are you looking for specific items? What is your favourite thrift store?
Home on 129 Acres 
Nice haul! My record is hitting 6 V V’s in 1 day. I hear there is one in Waterdown now.
I have been thrifting since I was a kid. My Mom got in trouble because she took a car load of girl guides to an auction where we sold our cookies instead of door to door.
Over the years I have gotten a glass chandelier, vintage suitcases, quarter sawn oak buffet, old metal cooler- in a hammered copper finish.
Awesome quality clothes, books and magazines. I have entire years of Martha Stewart mags gathered one at a time.
One must go open minded and be prepared to leave empty- handed occasionally.
Our only tradition is to say out load before you walk in what you want to find. It works.
I am currently collecting April Cornell table clothes for picnics and they make great pool towels. Their work places are much safer than many others.
Love the flags.
The blazer is a nice wardrobe basic.
I have a special place in my heart for hawks.
Six VV in one day! That’s hardcore! I love your tip of saying out loud what you want. I’m a big fan of putting things out to the universe and this sounds like that.
Looks like you had fun! I am a thrift store addict. I buy lots of crafting supplies and things for projects there, as well as some clothing, household items and books. I actually went just this morning and found two lovely, thick, real wood floating shelves – for $4 each!
I’m curious to see how that fixture turns out. Are you planning to alter it, or use it as is?
Oh, I am absolutely planning to alter it. It’s a little too vintage for me in its current form.
I love your picks!!! That blazer is amazing and I can’t wait to see how you use the chandelier. I look at EVERY.LITTLE.THING when I go thrifting. It takes forever! The odd time I’ll go shopping for a very specific item… but that almost never happens.
Part of the fun of thrifting is browsing through everything. You never know what treasure you’ll find.