Jennifer's Junky Life ~

My favorite store

We ran out this afternoon to use the kid's Book Its for lunch and ran to the library and the thrift while we were out. I ran in first in case there was anything good for the kids for Christmas. I found a couple of things -- not sure if they'll be gifts or if they'll land on Etsy. Abram's and Nikayda's birthdays are both coming up in the beginning of the New Year, so I'm thinking about those, too. After I paid for them and tossed them in the ol' bargain cruiser, Mark and the kids came in for a bit before he got bored and ran other errands with them, leaving me to try on clothes.

I found a few shirts, a sweater, and a cardigan for myself -- for around a whopping $15. (Have I mentioned how much I love our thrift?) I was really hoping to find some shirts before Christmas so that was a huge bonus. There was a lot of cute stuff there today. I also was hoping to find a skirt. I've had the same one for about 6 years. One skirt for church. And, it's a very lightweight spring/summer skirt. If I don't find one, I'm not too worried, I've been wearing it for this many years... What's a few more? I just think it'd be fun to have a change.

There was a really cute Old Navy winter coat (size medium, camel/tan color), if any locals see this and are looking for one. I tried it on but the sleeves were just a bit too long on me, otherwise I'd have snagged it, and finally had a winter coat I liked. (Although, I'm really hoping to find a vintage one.)

I'll try to get some pictures of the blanket (quilt) I found at the thrift earlier this week up here this weekend. I've been meaning to take pictures all week when I've been working on Etsy pictures. It's just a simple handmade one, nothing fancy, but I love the fabric that was used on it.

(Photos: Items in the junk shop.)

A Year of Thrifting :: The Conclusion

I mistakenly thought that I was on the Thrift Challenge for another month. But according to my sidebar info. I made it a year already (on September 24)! I have to say I love, love, loved this past year of thrifting. (And, I never did figure out how to do a photo link for the challenge in my sidebar.) But I'm also so happy to be finished with it. Kind of like when you go on vacation... it's super exciting and fun to go, but there is nothing like coming home to your own bed.

I've always been thrifty and frugal. Most of my childhood wardrobe was second-hand and I always loved going garage saling when my mom went. I frequented antique and thrift stores on my own at any possibility while I was still in middle school and high school. But this past year has helped me to reach way outside the box when it comes to second-hand items for our home and wardrobes. I included my entire family this past year as we naturally have a thrifting mindset. I found a lot of really fun clothes for all of us. And, I was so surprised how many items of clothing I found for myself. (And, I realize how little I photograph the things I find and post them here!)

I'd never really looked for clothes for myself on a regular basis while out thrifting or garage saling as I'd always been so busy looking for the kids. That's one thing that has changed my life in that I plan to continue buying all of my clothing, or as much as possible, second-hand from here forward.

I need jeans really bad as of this summer, so I do plan to look for new ones now that the challenge is through. But I feel like I have a whole new perspective on thrifting and how it pertains to my life.

Somewhere over the past 5-7 years I decided I wanted nearly everything in our house to be vintage. {i.e. dishes, jewelry, clothing, sheets, towels, furniture, decor,  and even our art and school supplies whenever possible.} This Thrift Challenge simply reinforced that desire and started a snowball rolling for me.

I need a new Crock-Pot, among a few other small ironies appliances that went kaput during the challenge, and I'm looking forward to slowly accumulating those again. I think I can fix my mixer if it's the same issue as I came across when I did a search on-line. (I need to take the time to tear it apart and order the part, if it is.) I'm really missing that thing!

One thing I learned being on this challenge, at least for me, is that I thrift to be frugal (among other things)... and I passed up a lot of great clearances in the stores this past year. I'm looking forward to hitting clearance racks again -- but at the same time I don't feel an overwhelming desire to do so, as I know I can find most things I need at the thrift or garage saling if I'm patient enough.

P.S. The kids were pulling old metal tomato supports over their bodies earlier this fall. Don't ask! Although... I was thinking they might make good cages to slow them down when they're getting too wild in the house this winter...

(A big thanks to Tif (Dottie Angel), one of my favorite sources of inspiration, for hosting the challenge this past year! I'm so glad I joined!)

Christmas Ideas - A storm in the brain

I've only recently begun to officially start brainstorming for Christmas. Since my list of random ideas for Christmas is just on a scrap of paper, I figured if I list them here, I'll be able to find them if I happen to lose it and it's always fun to share ideas! I'd love to hear some of yours, too.

Like I mentioned before, my kids each only get three gifts (as well as some little things the weeks prior to Christmas), this is just a list of ideas to choose from to make it easier for me while I'm thrifting, garage saling, or clearance shopping.

• Head lights/lamps (the kind you wear on your head for doing work in the dark. Mark has one and the kids all want them.)
• Vintage records
• Record player (Check. Bought on Ebay.)
• Snowshoes (wanted them last year, not sure if it'll work out to get them this year or not. $$)
• Camp chairs
• Tossus (slippers)
• Vintage Viewmaster and reels
• Legos (Abram has said that's all he wants. He loves the huge lot we got this summer garage sailing.)
• Handmade indoor Teepee (we'll see if I ever get around to this one, but boy would the kids love it.)
• CD Player (Ours is broken and they love listening to their music.)
• Camera (digital or Polaroid -- the fun they'd have with one of their own to share!)
• Musical instruments (i.e. tone block, hand drum)
• Stainless steel water bottles for the boys (Check. Bought for half-off, Target clearance this past weekend.)
• Binoculars
• Telescope
• Microscope
• Blank books (create your own story kind)
• Butterfly/Bug nets (They've all been wanting them. Not sure if we can find them in the middle of winter though.)
• Art stuff (i.e. fabric scraps, yarn, paintbrushes. We have tons of art stuff but there are always little things we need.)
• Wool felting kit/book
• Books (endless ideas here)
• Games (i.e. Bananagrams (Check. Bought in the beginning of the year), vintage Waterfuls, vintage Hangman.)
• Zillio Mini Mountain (Pretty sure we're not getting that this year $$ -- but this is just my list of dreams for now and for the future. After reading about it on PW's blog, I'd really like to check it out, though!)
• Butcher's paper and table top paper cutter for it

A few Stocking Stuffer ideas:

• Japanese Washi Tape (You all are holding out on me! I just discovered this stuff -- oh, wow, the possibilities! It'll be in their stockings, but really it's for me.)
• Small flashlights (solar powered -- I didn't even know they made them until today! I'm really out of the loop. Told you I live in the middle of nowhere.)
• Socks
• Underwear (The latter two are pretty much a given.)

I'll be watching Ebay and Etsy pretty much until I'm done now. And I'd love to be done by Thanksgiving. Now, to stop dreaming and start wishing for some sunshine so I can add more junk to the junk shop. I've been loving the Thrift Challenge I've been on this year and I've been meaning to do a post on it. I'm loving that it's forcing me to really think outside the box but I'm also looking forward to it ending (in October). I've passed up a lot of really great clearances because of it! :) But I've also found almost everything my kids will need clothes-wise this coming winter while out garage saling this summer.

I just realized I'm flouncing back and forth between Christmas and Halloween lately with my pictures. So, here we are back at Christmas. Have a great Friday!

Thinking of Christmas

It'll be here before you know it! And, last year was the first year ever that I was completely finished with all of my gifts by December, and it was also one of the best Christmas' I've ever had. It was so nice to enjoy the holiday in its entirety without any sort of shadow hanging over my shoulder where gifts were concerned. It was spent baking, decorating, listening to Christmas music, and doing fun projects with the kids.

I bought my kids a vintage 1980's Fisher Price record player off Ebay recently. The listing said it was in great condition but I held my breathe until it came through my door. Much to my great happiness, it looks brand new and works great. So it will be one of their gifts. The kids each get three gifts on Christmas morning. And a group gift that they can all enjoy together.

Last year, I started a new tradition of giving them something fun that they can all share each week leading up to Christmas during the month of December. (i.e. books, games, art supplies...etc...) They loved it so much I plan to do it again this year. Their gift the week before Christmas was a note wrapped up stating that we were going to Grandma & Papa's in Michigan for Christmas -- a total and thrilling surprise for them. It was so fun!

Another relatively new thing last year was that I did an exclusive 'thrifted and/or handmade' Christmas. And because I enjoyed it so much I'm planning to carry that tradition on for a long time. I've found a few things this year here and there that I've gathered but I need to find everything and take an inventory -- and get busy with the rest! It's been tricky buying things when the kids are always with me but I've managed to sneak a thing or two while we've been out garage saling or thrifting.

Lately, I've been thinking of handmade things. I really, really wanted an indoor teepee for them last year but it just never happened. I'm refocusing on it this year -- so maybe it'll finally happen.

As the years have gone by, I've shied away more and more from all of the commercial stuff. (Big name brand popular toys and cartoon characters and all of those Made in China toys that break after ten seconds and the kids don't even play with anyway.) Instead, I've begun to focus on educational, useful things that are fun for them.

For example, my kids don't have flashlights and they all want them. So, that's one idea but I have a whole list of nature ideas this year (butterfly nets -- another thing they all want, binoculars, magnifying glass, telescope, microscope, etc...). I'm sensing a theme here. Last year, they got a bunch of different art supplies as their group gift. Maybe I'll do a science/nature gift this year.

I've still got plenty of time to make up my mind, but it feels good to at least be thinking about it!

Sailing away

{eta: I finally figured everything out and put the new needle in. It all works!} :)

I hadn't been garage saling in a couple of weeks and I was feeling reluctant about going today. Dave* gets really noisy sometimes when I go garage saling too much because I don't just buy kid's clothes. In fact, I never seek out kid's sales. Ever. (But I do buy all of my kid's clothes from garage sales and the thrift store.)

I generally look for sales that make my heart pick up the pace just a little. The ones that say 'antiques' or 'vintage' or '30 years of stuff', that sort of thing, and make a beeline to 'em.

I always buy things that I absolutely cannot live without for my house. Things I fall in love with and didn't even know I needed until that very moment it came into my sight and into my hands. And, Dave doesn't always appreciate that. But, today... Today was a little different...

I found something I'd been looking for all summer. Something I've been watching Ebay and garage sales for. Something I'd planned to get the kids for Christmas but it looks like Christmas came early!

A record player.

An old time, good ol'-fashioned record player. With headphones and two large brown speakers (both of which I'm thinking of lining with pretty vintage wallpaper or paint on the sides -- and I love that the fronts are brown as I'm a bit partial to brown over black -- although if I can figure it out, I might cover them in fabric.) And, now I'm looking for a midcentury record player cabinet... But that list goes on and on.

True story. If Mark and I were to get married again right now, the guys would wear dark brown suits (think chocolate brown) and not the fancy-pants black tuxes they did wear. And, he'd be much happier about that, too! In fact, whenever I mention it to him, he gets a gleam in his eye and says, "See! You should have listened to me." (He wanted suits.)

Anyway, back to the record player, it's also a radio, plays 8-track tapes and has a big adapter thing that fits in the 8-track player for playing cassette tapes in (below). (That's another old radio I grabbed from the same sale sitting on the chair (above). It works too.) We're covered now!

The player came with a bunch of cassettes and 8-track tapes with old time country music (the only kind of country music I really care for -- with all respect to all the 'new' country music singers reading my blog. Or is that supposed to be 'artists'? I get confused).

I remember my dad and mom listening to 8-track tapes when I was a kid. In the car. When I wasn't wearing a seat belt. In the front seat. I was all snuggled right in the middle of them in their matching black snowmobile jackets with the bright orange color down both sides. And, the vehicle was probably the old long brown Bonneville that floated like a boat down the expressway. I'd guess there was probably a kid or two or maybe three jumping around in the backseat as well.

Can you believe my sister, one of the twins, who just graduated high school has no idea what an 8-track tape is?! haha. And I remember wearing my dad's huge super-comfy headphones. I can still remember the feel of them all cushy and soft vinyl, just like these (below) only his weren't white. I think they were red and black, and I remember recording myself with this heavy silver microphone, on tapes pretending to give the evening news or singing away to a favorite song on a system very similar to this one. I think I even still have one of those tapes. (Wonder if dad still has all of his stuff?) Boy, was that fun. Makes me think, now I need a 'mike' for the kids! Or maybe not.

I love the sound of records. There is something so nostalgic about that crackly sound. We spent hours as kids listening to ours and following along in the books that came with them. I really hope this works. The radio was playing at the sale and it sounded really good. The elderly gentleman I bought it from said the record player works too and he had even taped another needle in a case inside. Crossing my fingers! because I found a bunch of kid's records with books earlier this summer.

The kids might still be getting their own record player for Christmas. I might be a little nervous of them accidentally ruining this one... I've been keeping my eye out for a child's player. They're going for upwards of about $35.00 on Ebay and a lot more for a regular turntable -- but if you watch like a hawk you can get one for less, including the cost of shipping. (I got all of this for $15.00 plus another $5.00 for the box of vinyl (that's records to you young punks.))

Now to test it out...!

*Dave, he kind of butts in and gets in the way of my fun sometimes. He's a pretty good guy, regardless. I don't think he minds the record player but I've just not been listening to him as much as I should, this summer, and it's time to straighten up!

P.S. Excuse the lighting and picture quality. I don't have good lighting in the house at this hour of the day.

Alba the Argosy -- The Beginning of the Renovation

We picked up our camper this past week and started monkeying around this weekend. She's a 1979 Argosy by Airstream that I've dubbed 'Alba'. I'm sooo super excited about having a camping trailer. I used to love camping but we haven't gone since Nikayda was about 8 months old. She's now 8 1/2 years old, so it's been awhile.

Mostly we haven't gone because being the city slicker I am, I've had zero interest in camping with kids in a tent. Zip, zilch, zero. I don't like 'roughing it' so much as just getting away.

We bought her from some friends from church. I happened to mention at the Sunday school picnic a while back that we're hoping to find a vintage trailer to gut out and remodel and lo and behold one of my friends had one they were looking to sell! Talk about luck.

Saturday, Mark pulled out the orange shag carpet and started ripping out the original 1970's panels inset in the storage doors (below -- what it looked like after the carpet and cupboard that was here were taken out). We're planning on putting twin beds on either side of the trailer here in the back or possibly convertible type bunk beds.

(Below -- today, with the panels torn out of the upper cupboards.)

He'll probably make new cupboards. For now, we might just paint them and fill in the centers with vintage wallpaper or lightweight beadboard. He also pulled out the cushions and disassembled a lot of other things in preparation for the renovation (below). I plan to make curtains and new cushions for the dinette. Now to figure out how to make them! I haven't sewn very much but I'm ready to learn as I go. We have the table (not pictured) and plan to paint it, as well. It has the same 'wood' look as everything else you see.

(Below -- today, with everything pulled out.) 

We're planning on doing a total overhaul: Paint (I plan to paint everything -- the cupboards, walls, seats etc.), wallpaper, and refurbishing everything. It didn't come with a fridge or the bathroom so we'll be adding those, too. (The main reason I wanted a camper was to have our own toilet and tub while we're camping. The second reason was to stay dry when it rains!) The fridge isn't a top priority right now, we can make do for a while on short trips.

We're hoping to take her for a little trip close to home sometime this fall once we get a bathroom installed. I love the walls in the bathroom (above)! As cool as they are, I'm actually wishing the colors weren't so muted but we're keeping 'em. Mark thought I'd want to paint them but I said, "No way!"

Someday we'll paint the exterior, too. Either a nice creamy white color or minty green or something down those lines. We need to get a new (meaning old) vehicle to tow it. For now, if we take quick little weekend trips close to home, Mark can tow it with his truck and I can drive the ol' bargain cruiser with the kids. (We don't all fit in his truck as it only seats three and the bargain cruiser can't tow it.)

The camper is considered a 24 footer. But technically it's only 20 feet from front to back. Apparently they count the hitch part, which seems a little odd to both Mark and me, as that isn't living space. Either way, I think it's just the right size for our first camper! It feels a little like we're playing house and I'm loving it!

P.S. The best part about Alba is she fits right in with the Thrift Challenge I'm partaking in this year. :)

Vintage Camper Dreams (do come true) and Cabbage in the Oven

My big news of the day is that I had supper cooking by 4:30. That never happens. Ever. I'm usually scrambling around at 5 for supper and we don't end up eating until 7.

I tried a recipe for cabbage casserole that my mom's cousin, Carol, had on Facebook. I was missing a couple of ingredients but it tasted really good with the improvisations. I can't wait to try it her way once I do have them though.

I love cabbage, anything with cabbage. Coleslaw, sauerkraut, Chinese salad...you name it.

And, my other big news of the day is that we are now owners of a 1970's Argosy by Airstream vintage camper that we bought from some friends from church! It's shaped like an Airstream but instead of silver it's white with a blue stripe around it. It's exactly what we've been looking for. I can't wait to start redoing the inside! It's in great condition save for a dent on the exterior which is minor stuff. I'm We're so excited! And, it fits right in with the Thrift Challenge I'm doing, although, Dave is less than thrilled with us at the moment.

 

No pictures yet. I actually dropped Nikayda off at their daughter's birthday party this afternoon and was going to take a picture but forgot my camera at home. Mark will be picking it up in a week or few weeks once they've had a chance to get their stuff out of it.

We went to a local fair last night. Rides were $1 for a few hours and the kids had a blast and the weather was beautiful! Nikayda and Abram have been on rides in the past although it's been a couple of years. Carter hadn't and he ran straight for the giant slide. Mark was laughing (above) the whole time going down because Carter was losing his belly and his breath the entire time. Poor kid! He got done and looked at me and said, "That was a little bit scary", and trotted off to the next ride. At least, it didn't phase him much!

 

Nikayda really wanted to go on 'Round Up' (above). I tried to see if she'd prefer another as I knew I wouldn't be able to handle the spinning. We had told the kids they could pick whatever two rides they wanted so Mark was a trooper and went on it with her. Nikayda came off grinning but the poor guy was green when it was done. Absolutely green. I'm thinking he won't be going on anymore rides like that again for a looong time.

We took a little accidental drive through the tornado damage from earlier this summer. (We didn't realize the location of the damage but came across it on the way to the fair.) I was in awe of the destruction -- even though much of it had been cleaned up already.

In the ever changing world of comedy...

the comedy that is my world...my KitchenAid Mixer (that looks like the one on the homepage there), which is a neutral silver-grey color, is now broken. First, the bread machine last fall. Then the Crock-Pot this winter. Now the mixer. Anything else really big and large want to break while I'm on a Thrift Challenge?! Come on!

I use it almost every other day. I was using it a few days ago to knead bread dough when it suddenly made an awful grinding sound. I immediately turned it off. Luckily, the dough was just about done. Then I forgot about the sound until two days later (yesterday) when I went to make bread again and it wouldn't budge. It makes the motor sound but nothing happens.

Initially, I was extremely disappointed. I almost cried. It's true. But after several minutes, I think I mostly accepted this little bump in the road, either that, or I'm in total denial. Even today, I'm not sure what to make of it.

When Mark came home last night, he kind of looked at me and said, "Weren't you saying you wanted to get one in one of those retro colors anyway?"

Yeah! but I can't get one until October!

And, really, this past winter when I said I wished something would happen to this one so I could guiltlessly buy one in a fun color...

I was only kidding!

He bought me this one (the Artisan) for Mother's Day slash my birthday one year about...well...about how many years ago? I don't remember. Roughly in the ballpark of five or six. But I've probably only been using it for about four because it was boxed up for a move soon after I got it and then we moved out here to Minnesota and, come to think of it, I think I've only been using it since we moved into this house. Or maybe I used it in our rental but my mind slides all over the place these days so I really couldn't be sure. Anyway, that would be about three or four years. Not a long time to use an appliance, if you ask me.

Once again, I'm lamenting at how they never make things like they used to! And, as much as I say I'd love to live in the 'good ol' days' when things were more simple and people had to work a little harder... Okay, I say 'when things were more simple', but I definitely never say 'when people had to work a little harder'. I don't mean that I want to live without all of the modern conveniences that make life so much easier now! I love(d) my mixer.

And, just to be safe... I LOVE my dishwasher. (That one gets all caps because it's one of my favorite appliances ever.) I love my washing machine and I love my dryer. I also love my blow dryer and my hand mixer and my coffee grinder, which I use to grind spices and rarely coffee. I also love my oven and my electricity and my computer and... Have I forgotten anything? Thank you appliances and power for making my world a little easier and a lot more fun.

Phew! I wouldn't want anything else to start crashing on me now. On the bright side, I was thinking I should do something to start working my arm muscles. There you go. Except, I had tendinitis when I was younger from typing and my wrists are super weak so the bread kneading will get bothersome before long.

So! When fall rolls around and I can buy a new mixer, tell me about some good ones. I want something heavy-duty and big, larger than what I was just using which was I believe the 'average bowl size'. I keep hearing about Bosch and I'd like to hear more but I'd like to hear about other ones too. I like having options. I mostly use my mixer for bread, although, I do all the other usual stuff with it too.

Wanted: A few good things

I love Facebook. It seems like any time I put something out there, I can find it. Right now, we're looking for a few things. I've been watching Craigslist, as well, but I'm also putting it out here in case anyone has them.

We need a puppy. (Check! Puppy found.) This time we're interested in finding an Australian Shepherd mix. We need something to guard our chickens. But, either way, we're looking for a mutt. And, a "puppy", puppy. One that's just ready to leave it's mother. (I'm cringing. Puppies are SO much work. I'm dreading it but I think part of owning a little chicken farm is having a dog to help guard them. And, I know the kids would love a dog.) We lost all but seven or eight chickens (down from twenty-something), this spring, to a couple of foxes. We're almost certain it was the foxes. I can feel it in my gut.

We saw a large red one out back a couple of weeks ago. It was very pretty and I would like it a lot more if it wasn't killing my chickens. A smaller grey fox has been spotted multiple times in the front yard/driveway in the past few weeks, as well. Again, cute but not so cute. Just today, he was sitting in front of the wood pile, in the driveway, not twenty-twenty five yards from the house watching the chicks. I opened the door and roared at him a couple of times and he ran away. So, we need a dog.

We're also trying to find a swimming pool. At least a 48-incher (depth) so us big people can move around a bit in it. I hate dragging off to the beach all the time, and I usually don't, but my kids always want to swim. And, I love swimming, too. I grew up with a pool.

And, last but not least, a vintage camper. An aluminum Airstream is my dream, but way out of our range at this point in life--even the old ones. So, my heart is set on a colorful one from the 70's. Preferably with a mustard yellow and/or orange colored stripe across the sides but we're not as picky about the colors. We're looking for something with a sound exterior. Interior doesn't matter so much as we want to completely re-do it. We want to put our own floor in, wallpaper, build and/or paint the cabinets, make the curtains, put in new cushions, mattresses and all that good stuff so we can make it bright and colorful. Size doesn't matter so much either. We don't want something too small but the bigger, the better. We plan to get a vehicle for towing it in the next few years. We've been planning to find one for several years, so it's time to put it out there! And, free or fairly inexpensive is what we're looking for since we want to re-do the whole thing.

If you know of anyone having these things available, we'd love to know!

{Photos: The Paul Bunyan statue in Akeley, MN.}

My adrenaline gets pumping when I think of garage sales.

Bumper sticker.

At least, that's what mine would read if I had one on the ol' bargain cruiser. I'm gearing up for a morning of garage sales tomorrow. There are about 8 in the paper that start tomorrow. That's quite a few. For our little rural area.

The kids are excited, too. I'm hoping to have everyone in bed soon. I've been an avid garage saler in the past but last year I didn't make it out very often. I'm hoping to be a frequent flyer this year.

I'm hoping to be up at about 7 a.m. and ready to go by about 7:45. I'm so not a morning person. Mornings make me groan but I thought I'd turn over a new leaf this year. I normally don't head out the door until 10 or so. I still found tons of stuff, but imagine what I might find if I'm actually an early bird. (Or so I tell myself.)

This is the first big garage sale run of the year for me and I can't wait.

eta: Friday: It was a great day to go. Rainy and snowy and cold, but there were a ton of die-hards like myself out there. I found quite a few treasures. My best one is the old vintage dresden plate quilt I found for 50¢ buried under a pile of more recent style bedding. (The circles are made of vintage feedsack material). I'll get a picture on here next week. I'd originally thought it was only the quilt top but it's the quilt. It seems a little smaller than a twin size.

It's stained and tattered but enough of the dresden plate circles are in good enough shape that I'll be able to make a few throw pillows with them. I was about 15 minutes late to that particular sale, first on my list, and boy am I kicking myself. Two identical red metal dressers had already sold for $20.00 (for the set). I'm looking for metal dressers for the boys room and that price was a steal. Next week, when I say I'm leaving at 7:45, I'm leaving at 7:45. Or earlier.

I have developed a huge weakness for metal dressers since I first discovered them only a few short years ago. I bought a matching set for our master bedroom from the going-out-of-business sale at the local junk store about three years ago. They've been sitting in my basement waiting to be refinished for way too long already.

I also found two nice enameled fridge drawers for the pantry. I'm planning to gather a bunch to help keep all of our food organized on the bottom shelves. I also picked up a vintage (50's/60's) Pyrex glass percolator. (And I just ordered a stainless steel one last week! Murphy's law.) That darn Murphy. There are a few other odds and ends but the other thing I was really happy about were the (figure) ice skates for Nikayda. I'm hoping to find skates for all of my kids this summer. Mark and I really want to do a rink for them next year. end of edit.

{Photos: I'm starting to play around with vintage fabrics for the hoops I hung up in the living room months ago. It's time to start brightening this place up with color and patterns!}