Thrifted Finds # 3 : Long December

December was a busy month; for me personally & for the Etsy shop.  Unusually sunny weather has made the yard & estate sale season last months longer than normal so the usual slow months never slowed down.  Add three nieces out of school plus holiday decorating, shopping, wrapping, baking, crafting, cooking, etsy packaging & shipping, etc to the mix & you've got one busy girl!

There have been quite a few amazing estate sales very close to home, many bursting at the seams with items I adore.  These are a few of my favorite little finds from an estate sale in Oroville a couple of weekends ago & each one is a testimony to the fact that politeness can go a long way.  I was horrified by the behavior of the majority of other shoppers at this sale.  People were pushy & loud, rude & grabby ... I had my basket to fill & hung back until the rest of the crowd moved on to other rooms.  My fella was so annoyed by the behavior of people that he went outside to drink his coffee & wait for me to finish up.

a triple tier stand & lots of smalls ... some for Etsy & some for me!

some tiny figurines, each one no taller than 2" ... <3

small resin squirrel made up of little rock chips ... so odd, I love him.

little worried ceramic bulldog.

a vintage egg basket full of lovely Xmas kitsch for my Kitschmas wreath stash.

After I was all done gathering my goodies I made my way toward the checkout table where my larger items were waiting in a pile with my name on them.  The gal running the sale was so sweet.  Apparently Chucky & I weren't the only people who had noticed the rudeness of sale-goers ... she thanked me profusely for being so patient & polite.  Then she gave me a screaming deal on my loot, but she wasn't done ... nope.  She took 50% off of that amount!  Gave me the Sunday discount a day early, just to thank me for being a nice person.

Moral of the story:  Be Polite.  At all times.  Especially when you are rummaging through the home of those who have just gone through a death in the family or a loved one entering a rest home.  Those are traumatic times for folks & watching rude, pushy strangers dig through their possessions can't make the process any easier.

Now, I've got to go gaze at that silly little squirrel some more.  I'll link up with the following :   

& You In Your Autumn Sweater

One blustery day was all it took to shake the leaves (& a few small persimmons) from my favorite tree on our property.  The dogs & I were out hiking around & there were a million tiny, delicate lawn mushrooms.  The tree outside of my kitchen herb window is just starting to turn; it's always the last, but puts on quite a show.

mushrooms, persimmon leaves & fruit

seed pods & changing leaves

Elvis was quite intent on having the wee mushrooms I picked up

He was convinced they would be delicious

Our little friend Weasel was visiting for the week

Oonah-belle ... my beautiful Plott Hound; hypnotized by the mushrooms as well

Inside the house isn't nearly as lovely as outside; its all clutter & cleaning projects that make me wince ... like my carpet needs a serious cleaning.  Ah, the joy of owning three large dogs & living out in the country without the blessing that would be hard wood floors.  There is too much to do to prepare for the holiday & I haven't got enough hands to juggle it all.

There has been good thrifting lately & a wonderful yard sale I stumbled onto while driving home from grocery shopping yesterday afternoon.  I found some lovely dinner plates & a large stoneware platter for a quarter apiece.

I love all three ... they may end up hanging out for a while

Brown paper packages tied up with strings ...

I ordered some tiny plastic trinkets from High Pie to spruce up my Etsy packages.  Tiny sparrows & roosters of all different colors & some multicolored wee Matryoshkas too.  So sweet!  I like the bit of whimsy they add to my shipments, I hope my customers enjoy them!