The Thrill of the Hunt

I used to hit the garage sales when our daughters were little. I loved the "Thrill of the Hunt," it kind of worked me up into a fervored state when I would find something great! Funny, I don't think I've ever felt like that when I shop retail!Tuesday Morning Treasure Hunters always beat me to the punch. By the time I get around to going on Friday the good stuff is gone. I go home with 3 place mats and a pickle fork. Hey, it's called Tuesday Morning...I need to change my shopping habits!Some of you have earned Badges in Bargains, Honorary Degrees in Big Lot Finds, Thesaurus of Thrift. Many of my favorite blogs show finds from Goodwill, Flea Markets and Bargain Shopping. I am newly inspired this summer to hit these places for some of the goodies I see you all have found!


New to blogging, I stumbled upon Designs by Gollum around Easter. When you get past the fact that she, Michael Lee West, is a top selling author of 5 novels (Mermaids in the Basement her latest Best Seller), the glorious house and the amazing food...when I read her posts I was throttled to see she lists where she buys things for her Tablescapes... Big Lots, yes, Big Lots. There on that beautiful Easter table along with Limoges and Horchow chargers are white Gibson dinner plates that she and her husband found together at Big Lots. Other posts she talks about Publix day old flowers and Krogering for bakery items that she "dolls up" to fabulous desserts that you would think were done by a pastry chef. Just go over and read her blogs, sit down first though!

Mary at Little Red House just posted her 500th blog, can you imagine!?! She and her family live in her childhood home and it is lovely, filled to the brim with silver pieces! She admits she has a thing for old silver. The Red Spode transferware in the above picture is the result of a 6 month search... Mary tells the story, "A few years ago, my dear friend, Robin, was on a mission to visit every HomeGoods, TJMaxx and Marshalls in the northern half of New Jersey. Of course, I had to tag along. After all, what are friends for?My husband and I had just had our kitchen renovated, and had a dishwasher for the first time in our married lives. So I decided that we needed to get a set of good dishes that we could use in our red dining room, and that could go in the dishwasher. And I happen to have a thing for transferware. So I spent about six months gathering a set of reproduction Spode transferware. No two dishes are the same, and I love to look at all the different patterns." Now THAT is dedication!

Confessions of a Plate Addict, now doesn't that blog name tell you a little about retired French teacher Debbie!?! A visit to her blog is a trip to Paris; complete with music, flowers and wine. She participates in Mosaic Mondays, Outdoor and Wordless Wednesdays, Foodie Fridays...as well as taking us along on her trips to Bed and Breakfasts! I LOVE her Goodwill Hunting posts, she finds the most remarkable things for next to nothing. Debbie says she is a "serious Goodwill hunter" checking out the GW in new cities when she travels! Her friend Kathysue found the antique Nippon plate pictured above for...are you ready?...50 cents!! Wooooo hoooo!!!

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality-Rhoda found the above armilary at a yardsale a couple years ago for $10. I didn't even know what an "armilary" was, now I want one. She is Master of the Antique Finding Club! Her posts include shopping trips to many wonderful antique stores and re-doing her finds into beautiful pieces you would be proud to have in your home. Unique and thrifty!

I could go on and on, there are so many amazing blogs that it makes my head spin. I am going to Recycle, Reduce and Reuse starting with Goodwill, flea markets and Big Lots!

Happy Hunting Bloggers!