a-thrifting we go

Yesterday was a day filled with appointments scattered through the day, so I arranged for little boy to have an after-school playdate. Between and after appointments, I ran inconvenient-with-little-boy errands and stopped by my favorite thrift store on the way home. I LOVE this thrift store- I hop by a couple of times a month and always find great stuff- like a vintage burberry trench for $25, a pair of doc marten oxfords for 50 cents, $1 cashmere sweaters, and a $20 pottery barn wrought-iron and oak desk. It pays to stop in. The first thing that I spotted was this lovely little bowl. I snapped it up immediately- all bric-a-brac was half off, and this was marked 50 cents. I'm crazy about this. I have a deep affection for ginkgos, and the decoration reminds me of old french cafe au lait bowls, with their stenciled on decorations. You already know how I feel about those bowls. Right next to the bowl was an item that made me gasp. I knew it would happen sooner or later, but here it was:

one of my julep cups. Obviously used, it had some coffee (or maybe juleps!) stains at the rim. It was marked 50 cents. And it was half-off. I grabbed it. When I was paying for my haul, I told the manager (um, we're on a first-name basis. I really like this store) that this was mine. She (and the rest of the store listening in) didn't quite understand, but I clarified: "I MADE this. With my own two hands!" They all wanted to know what I'd do with it, and I thought about cleaning it up and putting my normal $8 price on it (because it certainly costs more than a quarter to make!), but I think I'm going to keep it as a "vintage" bridgman pottery piece. My new cups are a little more slender and I've changed my glaze formulations, so it wouldn't work as a set.

Gary asked me if I was upset to find it for so little at a thrift store. Honestly, not really. I give things away all the time. This store is part of one of the Memphis women's charity leagues, so it may have been a gift that didn't quite fit, or part of a set that broke. Really, I was pleased to have found it and that it made its way back home to me.

Happy weekend, everyone!