Mikasa

I love collecting one offs, simply for the challenge of looking for more and more, and the excitement of actually finding them.  Take this Mikasa crystal gold rimmed liquour glass for instance.  It stands at 7.5 inches tall and it was originally $4, but because the op shop was having a half price day, I snapped it up for $2.  It's perfect, unchipped, unscratched and makes my heart flutter.  If I can find at least one more, I'd be a happy gal... and even better if I find it at $2 or less.

The sweet things.

5 pairs of metal clasps, 70 cents each, 1 inch in length.  How sweet are these?  I think I will use them on my next knitting project.  I love finding little treasures from at local op shop.

If you're game, dinner is on me.

We have local council pick up about 4 times a year.  This means loads of freebies for all.  Council pick up time is when an allocated suburb can dump their household and garden rubbish on their front verge and a big council truck eventually hauls it away.  The council prefers you don't place any rubbish about 2 weeks before the actual pick up time, so that gives everybody else a chance to grab 'treasures' from the rubbish piles.  What makes my mind boggle is the fact that people throw away some very good things.  What would it cost to pass it onto good will or physically take it to an op shop?  Why not try to recycle it in some why?  And most importantly, why not just pass it onto a family member or a friend that could use and appreciate it?  I've never understood how people can throw away things like this:

 

What is it, a ceramic cassarole dish?  I guess that's what I'd use it for.  Not a chip, not a crack and 99.9% scratch-free.

The story... 
A few months back I was driving my niece to my house and from the corner of my eye, I actually saw it under some other junk.  I couldn't see a lot of it in that split second but I could see that it was white and the sun was shining on it.  I was amazed that my niece didn't see it first, because she was the passenger!  I slammed on the brakes and the car behind me wasn't too impressed... then parked in somebody's driveway.  Ran to it, picked it up and like a mad woman who just found a pot of gold, ran back to the car and handed it to my niece to hold.  She and I couldn't believe our eyes.  I was affectionately dubbed 'hawk eye' for the rest of the day. 

Got home, cleaned it with bleach and it looked like a thing of beauty on my kitchen counter.  But not before finding this inside!!

What is it, a gekko? Probably not.  It wasn't longer than my index finger, but I screamed loud enough for my husband to come running.  He thought it was the cutest thing.  He let it go in the garden and I was glad to see the last of him or her.

Yay for freebies!

Oh so long ago.

I remember the first time I entered a second hand shop.  We call them 'op shops' here in Australia, which means 'opportunity shopping'.  And rightly so.  So many opportunities to find so many great things out there, it's overwhelming.  The problem is where to put all these great finds in the house, or as I like to call them... treasures.

Anyway it was over 10 years ago when I entered that dingy, old and smelly op shop.  I was at my local shopping centre with my mother and we saw it, entered it and we were amazed with.  I'm pretty sure it was my mothers first time also, hence the fascinating comments that came out of her mouth.  We had a quick look around and I found what I was looking for.  An electric blue silky shirt.  It was faux silk of course, but I just had to have because after all, it was a measly $2.  I wore the shirt a couple of times within the year, but then gave it back to an op shop several years later.  Not to the same op shop, because it closed down months later.  I got caught up in how much the shirt was, rather than actually really liking it.  Isn't that always the way?

The second time was in Bunbury, a good few hours away from home.  My husband was sent to do some work and I tagged along.  Found the op shop, entered it and it took me about a minute to look around, then left.  Why?  I didn't know what I was looking for, I was the only one in there and I was embarrassed.  Again, why?  To this day I do not know.  I was new to the op shopping experience and had a lot to learn.  And so it began.  My hunt for more op shops and actually looking for something worthwhile.

Found many years ago....
A bunch of yarn cones, small cones were $2 and large cones were $5.  The large ones are heavy and I thought they were a steal!

Mostly wool, some cotton, and an acrylic.  I don't normally buy acrylic, unless it's soft and is an appealing colour.   Still, was elated when I found these.

Welcome.

Greetings one and all.  This is a blog dedicated to finding lovely little treasures from my local second hand stores, finding free stuff and things that have been handed down to me from family and friends.

Sit back with a stiff drink, bookmark my blog and enjoy the upcoming show!