Message Me

Are you a fashionista?  Do you long for the "It" bag of the season?  I'm the type of girl who has a favourite handbag, uses it everyday until it looks more shabby than chic then goes hunting for another handbag.  However, it occurred to me, as I plowed through endless snow and ice with groceries dangling from each hand, that having a handbag dangling from one arm along with said groceries whilst trying to keep my balance was not exactly convenient or safe.    As I looked around, I noticed that most people were sporting cross-body messenger bags which left their hands free.  What a revelation!  So the hunt was on.  Looking around online I found this:

Proenza Schouler PS1 Messenger

Did you notice the price tag ($1945.00)?  No....Really?  How about this one:



Coach Bleecker Suede Messenger


The price tag is a little bit better (I say this tongue in cheek) but still...really?  I think my guardian angel was looking out for me, though, or I had messenger bags on my mind because what do I find out thrifting?

Oddly enough, it was in the pots and pans section.  I fell in love with it on the spot.  The suede is velvety soft and the caramel colour works perfectly with the boots I picked up during the Boxing Day sales.  The cost?  About the price of a sandwich.  The little Scotty Terrier was my own touch to personalize the bag and make it mine.

And as if that wasn't enough, shortly afterwards, I found another messenger bag this time in the clothing section which is a little less strange than the pots and pans section.  This one is in smooth leather and is a bit bigger.

The cost of this one?  The price of a sandwich and a drink.  Two messenger bags and two different looks.  I think the suede one is more casual and has a bit of a hippie vibe to it and the smooth leather one has a more scholastic air to it.  I can't decide which one I prefer.  Which do you prefer?  Let me know your preference and help me decide.

And speaking of bags or things that hold other things, my lucky streak continued because I won this darling pins and needles book from Jeanette Ann during her Heirloom Treasures blog giveaway.

 

This is the first time I've won anything on a blog giveaway and I was so, so thrilled to hear that I'd won something!  Do check out her lovely blog.  So I have lots of bags to stroke and ooh and aah over this week.  I think I've moved from a one handbag girl to a wannabe fashionista with a "collection" and all for the price of a couple of sandwiches (and a drink).  Tell me, do you have a collection of handbags?

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, A Living Space, Ivy and Elephants, and Thrifty Groove.



 



Winter Organizing

Are you in the depths of winter or are you bathed in sunshine?  Old Man Winter blasted my city with lots of snow and freezing temperatures this week.  Here's how it looked in my neighbourhood. 

Please forgive the poor quality of the photos as they were taken with my camera phone, the wind was howling, the snow was sleeting into my face and my fingers were frozen popsicles.

Now is the time to stay close to hearth and home.  Even though it's not yet Spring,  I have been feeling the onset of Spring Fever.  I've been wanting to organize my kitchen cupboards for some time and, when I thrifted a vintage Dymo labelmaker complete in a box with extra rolls of tape, I was thrilled.

Do you see what the label on the Dymo labelmaker says?  I was so touched when I saw that.  I've decided to leave it on.  Is that a strange thing to do?  For some reason, I feel like, whoever once owned it, is happy that his old Christmas present has found a new owner who appreciates it and is making good use out of it.  Perhaps I'm letting my imagination run away with me?

I had so much fun making labels for my jars.  I know, such a nerdy thing to admit. I used to just cut the label off the packet and pop it into the jar.  However, I found that only worked for large jars and even then it was tricky because the label was often obscured by the contents.  With the jars labelled front and center, I know what the contents are as soon as I open my cupboard doors.

I have a weakness for vintage jars.  I keep my lentils in a vintage French "Le Parfait" mason jar.  I don't come across them too often and, when I do, the rubber gasket is more likely than not, dried up and cracked.  I don't know if it is possible to buy new replacement rubber seals or gaskets?  As I had pulled out my pantry jars, I took the opportunity to wipe down the shelves and do a bit of reorganizing.  I was appalled at the state of the shelves.  I am embarrassed to admit that there was a good quantity of crumbs and spillage.  Now things that I use most often are near the front and lesser used things are towards the back.  I'm very relieved that that is one household project I can tick off the to-do list.

I hope that, if you are snowed in, that you are keeping warm.  Let me know what you've been doing to keep yourself occupied.  Do you have Spring Fever or cabin fever?  If you are in a warmer clime, please send some sunshine my way!

I'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Coastal Charm, Ivy and Elephants, Knick of Time, Sumo's Sweet Stuff and the Thrifty Groove.

Coming Full Circle

Have you ever felt a responsibility to do something, for whatever reason wasn't able to discharge that responsibility and felt the burden of that responsibility weighing on your shoulders like an albatross?  I did, for many, many years.  As this is a thrifting post, how does this relate to thrifting?  Let me backtrack a little.  Twenty-five years ago, a friend of my father gave him a figurine of three owls.  When my parents moved to the States, I offered to help by having a garage sale at their house to clear out unwanted things.  I don't think my mother liked the figurine very much as she plucked it off the mantel and gave it to me to put into the garage sale.  When my father found out, he's wasn't thrilled to say the least.  I felt so, so guilty about happened.  Back then, there was no eBay or Etsy so I had no idea how to replace it.  I didn't know who the maker was and, when eBay came on the scene, various searches were fruitless.  Then guess what I saw when I was out thrifting?

I couldn't believe my eyes!  And the feeling of relief after such a long search was indescribable.  It occurred to me that my father has quite likely forgotten the event as he's a very organized person who doesn't believe in accumulating clutter.  A few thoughts have crossed my mind about the futility of guilt but that is a discussion for another post and another day.

It has a copyright stamp on it of 1972 so no surprise that it took a while for me to find it.  I admit that it is quite ugly.  In fact, I can't even say that it is jolie-laide as the French would describe something that is so peculiarly ugly as to be pretty.  In this case, though, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and, right now,  looking at it, I feel light as air as if I've come full circle in life.  I can't wait for Father's Day to come around to give it to my father.  Speaking of coming full circle, I did thrift something just for myself and which is 180 degrees opposite the owls in terms of beauty.

Yes, my first Nuutajarvi piece with the label still attached!  As the label still says Nuutajarvi, I assume that this is an older piece before the company merged with Iittala.  In any event, I la-la-love it.  The pattern is "Dewdrop" and what could be a lovelier name?  And really, there is something so wondrously pretty about the concentric little drops of glass and the way they sparkle in the sun.

Do you have a thrifting story to share where you found something after a long, long search?  Something that has been on your thrifting bucket list for what seems like forever?  Or maybe you are still searching?  Let me know so that we can celebrate (or commiserate) together!

I 'm linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Ivy and Elephants, Apron Thrift Girl, Remnant PDX, Knick of Time, A Living Space, Coastal Charm, and Thrifty Groove.