Thriftin' Thursday: Favorite Summer Finds

I think I've developed some sort of addiction to garage sales and thrift stores. It must be genetic, and now that I am done with school I find myself itching to hit up the sales at Goodwill and Thrift Town. I think I even start salivating whenever I see a garage sale sign. The truth is, I'm ready to tackle the unfinished decorating in our house, and there are certain pieces that I know I can find on the cheap. While I didn't get out to the sales as much as I would have liked this summer (thanks to my records management class), I did score some cool things here and there.

I'm working on a project and managed to collect a few frames to help build my piece de resistance. Don't get too excited about that beautiful flower print, though. While I did find it at a thrift store, I've been hanging on to it for a while so it didn't actually come in that frame.

If that wasn't a big enough clue about what I'm working on, here is another favorite find. I found this floral watercolor in a clear, acrylic frame. I'm ditching the frame and hanging on to the art. I love the beautiful purples and blues and can't wait until I finish my project.

I love looking for old books at garage sales. I think I scored big time with these. If I wanted, I can use the John Kieran book for its artwork inside, and I've definitely gotten a few chuckles out of Eleanor Roosevelt's etiquette book. I especially like this passage which pertains to the good wife, "she will manage to have her husband's well prepared breakfast on the table, and to greet him with neat hair and neat dress and a pleasant smile by the time he has finished shaving. If she has to get up fifteen minutes earlier than she would otherwise in order to manage this she will do so as a matter of course." After I've built up my collection, I plan to ditch the jackets and use the books for decoration.

This find was kind of exciting for me. During my summer internship at a medical library, the librarian that I worked under told me how fabulous Biba is. Biba is the creation of the wife of a physician at the hospital that the library is a part of. When I found this at a garage sale, I knew I had to have it. I haven't made any of the recipes (or attempted to) yet, but I am going to. I swear!

So, those are some fun summer finds. I have to admit that I found this cool cheese platter at a garage sale this summer, and I am kicking myself in the butt for not getting it. I was too cheap, but it is still on my mind. Maybe that will be my next find!