A vintage puzzle, some interesting wooden tools, Christmas decor, games, books, a cool WWI-era post card, and 3 tins…can you tell which 2 are vintage and which one is not? Hint: think of what you use when you check out at the grocery store.
There was a horrible thunderstorm that came through central Indiana on my way back from Indianapolis this evening, but even that couldn’t put a damper on another wonder day of Goodwill Outlet Thrifting.
Below: an “Almanac” advertisement for Rawleigh’s.
Above a vintage alarm clock with a music box that plays Edelweiss (circa 1940s-60s). Below a sweet poem and some vintage photographs.
Toys! Above a Playskool “Pounding Bench” and below a vintage Gerber baby doll.
I loved the graphics on the viewmaster canister above…even though it was damaged and missing the actual projector, I couldn’t resist. I did, however find a few view master reels over the course of the day. Now I feel like its a mission to find my old view master so I can try them out…
Below, a vintage “Pachisi” game, only 3 of the original wooden pieces were left but the board and box were in decent shape. I found a few other dice as well…I always try to pick up random dice when I stumble across them because they are fun and functional.
I found a few random notions and wooden bobbins today – the majority of which went to my sister.
I think this set of cookie cutters was my favorite find of the day. There are some fun shapes that I’m looking forward to making.
Below: a few nativity decorations.
I’ve found my share of incomplete puzzles – but I took a chance on a puzzle that I found in a plastic baggie…I didn’t know what the image would turn out to be, but that’s half the fun. I was delighted to find that it was a Coca-Cola advertisement.
Below: Cameron makes a big find!
I had a reception up in Indianapolis so I decided to cut loose early and hit a few Goodwills (i.e., the outlet on the SE side of town and the brand new GW Retail store right in front of it. In the short time that I had before my reception, I managed to fill a cart.
Now let’s take a closer look at what was in that cart.
As luck (or strategic planning) would have it, I also had a half hour on the tail end of my visit to Naptown so I stopped at one more outlet on my way home.
I got this delightful ceramic duck for Chris. When he get stuck on his coding projects for work, I always tell him he needs an “Unstuck Duck.” I think this guy will do quite nicely.
I didn’t manage to get a whole set, but I’m looking forward to reading these four books…and getting to know Molly Brown. Plus I was delighted to learn that the books I’m missing in the series seem to be available via Project Gutenberg.
Below: I always love a good game! The Top•ography game was one of the first things I grabbed at my first stop. Amazingly it had its original spinner and there don’t seem to be many other pieces necessary to play so I think this one is playable. Likewise, the Ting•a•ling Bingo game also seemed to have most of its pieces, including the ting-a-ling spinner which makes a delightful sound and is presumably where this game gets its name.
More books – including a few Booth Tarkington books that I haven’t read yet. I loved the Magnificent Ambersons and can’t wait to read these other novels by one of our most famous Hoosier authors. In trying to find more info about the Boy Scout book, I discovered this gem on eBay – The Boy Scouts actually had a badge for stalking! This 1912 book is not valuable (only ~$5-$10) but it is cool that it is more than 100 years old.
I found this whole set of Wee Wisdom Books (Kind of like Highlights) at the second outlet I stopped at. They didn’t weigh much – so they were practically free. Its always fun looking inside old magazines, but the cover artwork is so beautiful, I could easily see a room decorated with a framed set of these beauties.
….Below: some vintage Christmas finds.
Above, more sweet little books…and below….vintage patterns. So many awesome gems. I found a few at the outlet, then discovered a batch of hundreds of at the new GW retail store. At $99 they are still practically free, but I had to be a lot more discerning about the ones that I selected. My favorite finds were the Vogue suit (top), the vintage apron patterns (left) and the children’s stuffed toy pattern.
Above: I loved these new but made-to-look-old finds. Below, I loved the two cookbooks from the 30s (“All About Home Baking” and “Round-the-World Cook Book” ) and found the more modern “Family Home Cookbook” equally delightful.
I only had about 15 minutes at my final stop, so I had to be somewhat speedy as I went about gathering treasures. I grabbed an envelope that looked somewhat vintage and was delighted to find a set of beauty ritual guides detailing “The Beauty Angle” – apparently a life changing beauty/posture/self-esteem/IQ-improving regiment that simply involves putting your feet up at an angle. Admittedly, its not the most comfortable thing to do, but it did feel okay after an impromptu day of serious thrifting.
A visit to celebrate a friends’ birthday in Chicago provided opportunities for a few thrifting adventures. An amazing thrift sale at a Synagogue in Deerfield, where I found an amazing set of framed vintage game board for only $2 a piece and a few items of clothing…and a parallel universe Goodwill that felt eerily similar to the ones I’m familiar with in Indiana, but different enough to remind me that I was somewhere new (I found the delightful music box there).
On my way up to Chicago for the weekend, I had a chance to stop at the Goodwill outlet on the NW side of Indy. I found a few paint by number boards, vintage Midge and Skipper dolls that admittedly need a little TLC, and a delightful Etiquette book by Emily Post that is being used as a pillow by my sister’s cat, Twixie.
Just a short visit this evening before a dinner to celebrate my friend Diane’s 50th birthday, but I managed to find some oldies but goodies. 
Three sets of long leather gloves in pristine condition. I always love how soft they are…sadly, my hand is never small enough to fit. Below: a bunny planter, a fun green scarf and some wooden bobbins .
above: a fun book from 1916 and below: some vintage Shiny Brites and Coby frosted glass ornaments. 
a few fun bags above and some vintage books and toys below. 
So, I’m going to have to do some more testing, but this tarnished beauty might turn out to be silver.
The Thrifty Sisters 