Are you addicted to thrift stores, Goodwill locations and the like?  Honestly, I’m not.  Or at least, until recently, I wasn’t.  I’ve spent countless hours (semi) making fun of my mom and (sort of) rolling my eyes at every mention of her thrifting.
Since I started spiraling down into the blogging world, I’ve found that these places I’ve mocked for so long could actually be (wait for it)…useful!    So, what is a girl who has been so painfully avoiding thrift stores and Goodwill to do?  Go on a shopping trip!First stop: Habitat for Humanity ReStore

On my way there, I was actually embarassed by how close it was to my house and that I didn’t know it was there until very recently.  The treasures it held for someone who was really doing a bunch of DIY projects were incredible.  Rows and rows of cabinetry, fixtures, furniture and even paint!

I picked up a few quarts of paint and primer for only $1 per quart.  Um, where else can you get high quality (names like Benjamin Moore, Dupont and Behr) paint for only $1 per quart.  They were having a sale while I was there but I wasn’t in need of any furniture at that point.

Next stop: Goodwill.

This one was a little further away but I had been many times.  Only my trips had always been to the back door for drop-offs.  Need plates, serving dishes or vases?  Goodwill is the place to go!

They even had large furniture pieces like this kitchen table.

I walked away with that goldish looking finial up there (ORB is in his future) but decided to leave these adorable Winne the Pooh art pieces for someone else since my Pooh days are long behind me.

Last stop:  Ikea.  Now, obviously, Ikea doesn’t quite fit into the thrift category like the others do.  So why was it a part of this adventure.  For me, Ikea has always been so daunting.  Much like Goodwill or other thrift stores, it is the search that exhausts me.  I don’t have the patience (quite frequently the time either) to search through loads of stuff looking for the one or two gems that might be there.  On this particular day, I did so I decided that it was the best time to tackle the big blue box store.
Um, what’s that saying? I came, I saw, I defeated?  Well, in this instance, that is exactly what happened.  Before I get to my actual purchases though, some eye candy from the store (that I didn’t buy)

Those navy boxes didn’t come home with me that day but they are definitely on the list for a future purchase.
What did I buy?  Everything not pictured above.  Just kidding!  This is just a sneak peak of my purchases because I will be working on projects involving some of the items.

 

In case you aren’t sure what that last thing is, it is a scarf holder.  I have way more scarves than any one person should so I bought two.
My last purchase was short lived because we chowed down on it that evening

So, spill it: found anything at a thrift store recently?  Been to Ikea? Did you manage to walk away empty handed?  If so, what is the secret?