What I Didn't Buy at The Thrift Store: Gun Ammo and Scorpions (!!!)

Ah, Florida. USA. You give me long summers and kitsch galore. Your thrift stores, junk stops, and vintage buying opportunities are limitless. You're a class on your own. I love going on road trips and mini Florida thrifting adventures. Only in Florida will you see....

But gun ammunition ain't all! No sir! I got to encounter a Scorpion!

The cashier was wrapping up my purchases when a scorpion sprung from the newspaper. It was so fast it practically slithered off the counter and out of sight. The cashier revealed the store has a bit of a scorpion problem. But I'm not sure what offended me more. Gun ammo, scorpions, or high furniture prices...

What thrift adventures have you been on lately? Right now I'm three hours south of home, visiting Tampa, Florida. Along the way I'm sure I'll fit in a trip to a thrift store and their local IKEA... they have a badass aquarium down here, too...

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

Thrift Haul: Colorful Thrifted Finds From a Thrift Store Adventure

One week ago a friend invited me on yet another thrift-hopping trip. I took the bait and traveled from store to store, taking advantage of their "sales." I gave thrift stores a second chance...and they failed me again. Sure, the desirable vintage find are plentiful, but those prices, I can't get around them!

I do the finds from last week, though. I got an amazing deal on the mod sugar and cream pitchers and the gorgeous vintage shelf mirror. I own a couple of them and I love to use them to display my toys.  And more wooden hangers, too? I love those! I hang art prints from my friends with 'em.

I took some "shocking" pictures on this thrift adventure that I'll share with you later in the week. For now, I'm off on yet another expedition to south Florida with my friend Greg. We'll be sure to stop by their IKEA and a desirable thrift stop or two before coming back to Jax! I'll leave ya with a photo of the funny face Miss Yuko was making at me while I was taking photos of my finds. I love that cat. Even when she's judging me.


Remember: Everything I list on these posts are for sale. E-mail me if you're interested in anything you see! I also host daily deals on Facebook and Twitter.

What did you find this weekend?

Linked to: [Thrift Share Monday] [The Penny Worthy Project] [Flea Market Finds].

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

Easy + Thrifty: 5 Ways to Add Healthy Vegetables To Your Diet

I'm passionate about adhering to and educating people about the benefits of a whole food (non-processed), plant-based diet. When my buddy Matt asked for easy ways to add vegetables to his diet, I took him with me to buy all of the vegetables in this post and compiled the following tips. I  figured they could help you, too!

1) Shop Farmer's Markets, Ethnic Stores, & Join Co-ops:

From my local flea markets. Grand Total: $17.00 (!)

Farmer's markets and ethnic grocery stores are amazing resources for low-priced vegetables. Investigate farmer's co-ops in your area. You pay a monthly or annual fee to get locally grown vegetables delivered to your door!

2) Pre-wash and chop your vegetables:

This ensures you'll always have healthy, ready-made bites. Above I have slice cucumber topped with paprika and salt, one of my favorite snacks!

3) Prepare Dips for Your Vegetables in Advance

Drop the ranch dressing! Make healthy, nutritious, low-calorie dips for your raw vegetables. My favorite is my nutritional yeast dressing. I also make homemade hummus and cashew dips, I'll share recipes soon!

4) Invest in Frozen Berries and Vegetables

 Peppers on plate: $1.00 (!) Cucumbers: $3.00 Bell peppers: $2.00

Frozen vegetables and berries are frozen at their prime and retain the same nutritive value as their fresh counterparts. Better yet, they're cheaper, too! The con is that they are mushy when thawed, and best added to cooked dishes. I add frozen berries to my hot oatmeal and make easy soups out of frozen vegetables.

5) Stuff more Vegetables into Every Recipe

Broccoli: $4.00 Cauliflower: $2.00 Celery: $2.00

Chop ample celery and bell peppers into your tuna salad, cook yellow squash, roma tomatoes, and zucchini and add it to your pasta dishes, be creative and stuff your typical recipes full of whole grains and vegetables. The extra fiber will keep you fuller and healthier.

Putting The Tips to the Test

I prepared a batch of hummus and nutritional yeast dressing (try it, your taste buds will rejoice!) for Matt and let him chomp away. He's feeling fuller and healthier, and he's saving big bucks, too.  He can spend up to $21.00 per day eating out, these tips got him eats for a week for the same price! Thrifty Mission Accomplished!

Let's Discuss Thrifty Ways to Eat Healthy: How do you keep your grocery bills low and pantries packed with nutrition?

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

Thrifty Bedroom Makeover: Am I a Grown-Up Now?

Ever since I got my first apartment when I was 19 my bedroom has gotten the shaft. I've never fully been satisfied with it and I'm never motivated to use more than what I have in stock from my thrift adventures to revamp it. The room is a work in progress, but it's looking and feeling better than ever after a recent clean-up:

The room is felling much better with some custom original art, ar prints from friends, and dozens of boxes out of the way and stacked neatly in the closet.

This is the room after some extensive cleaning. The room was stuffed to the brim with boxes of merchandise I was organizing, so much so that it was hard to even walk in the space. A very stressful place to sleep, it 'twas! 

Even after cleaning it needed help. I can do better than this...

I took the mod lamp home from one of my antique store booths, looks perfect on my dresser top. The framed moon print is a poster than came with my first telescope.

I'm calling this corner my Tim Burton Still Life, we've got a vintage Halloween votive, Nightmare Before Christmas lamp, and Lydia and Beetlejuice art from my friends. Did I mention I love Tim Burton and Halloween? I'd live in Halloween Town or a haunted mansion if I could...

The room feels so much larger with all of the boxes and clutter out of the way. This will do for now, but I'm excited to look for or create custom mod-style furniture pieces for the space in time.

And little details make the room feel special. Like little art print post cards by favorite local artists, this little kitty print was to help Tsunami victims in Japan. The Aladdin lamp is a thrifted gift from my brother.

Robots are the theme in this shot, we have transformers on my windowsill, my robot art piece made specifically for the bedroom, and megaman robot villan artwork on hangers by my friend Ed.

Oh look, I even bought my first scented candle! It makes me feel like I'm graduating to an adult mindset at the advanced age of 25 for some reason. But then again, right next to the fancy lavender vanilla candle we have...

Robots in Disguise! Nah, I'll never grow up. I'll have robots on my nightstand forever! They make me happy.

But I guess that's what makes me happy about the bedroom, every item within represents something I've loved since childhood, it makes the space really homey.

Most importantly, Yuko-chan approves on the new digs. Mission accomplished!

What do you do when a room needs a thrifty facelift? Do you rush to the thrift, use what you have, or hit retail shops for merch and/or inspiration?

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

Thrift Haul: Groovy Mushrooms, Mod Furniture, and Much More!

Oh, flea market, I missed you so! Even though I didn't  make it to the flea market until later in the day (we arrived at noon) I made my rounds and came home with wonderful groovy goods to resell while paying far lower prices than the average Goodwill. 

"Groovy" is the perfect word to describe this stunning tennis racket tote bag. I've never seen anything like it! I'll be selling this one for $20.00. This bag is so much more stylish than the bland, utilitarian, name-brand billboard style bags you pay three times as much for at a specialty shop these days.

No way I could resist this large animated kitschy kitten or woodgrain planter with mushroom motif. I'm selling the kitten and planter for $10.00 each. 

I found another mod night stand/side table for a song. Again, I'm tempted to keep this piece but I'm going to sell it locally for about $17.00 instead.

The vintage portable file folder is tin in wood grain, very lightweight and attractive. I also love the shape of the huge black mod-style lamp. I'm going to fill the two pipe planters with handsome air plants. I'm selling the porta-file for $7.00, the pipe planters for $10.00 and the lamp for $15.00.

I was also pleased to find a couple of large suitcases for a sinfully great deal. They'll need a little work and cleaning. I might make these into fun side tabels or displays for future arts/craft shows. 

My planter fetish knows no bounds! I'd never seen anything quite like the somewhat masculine "basket weave" planter. I'd love to see it filled with some greenery soon!

The sweet flower mod pitcher isn't something that normally sells for me in the shop, but we'll see what I can get for it. I'm selling it for $12.00. The cool Florida souvenir cup will be $5.00. I love the realistic wood grain!

This cute set of mini drawers with loosely drawn mod illustrations reminded me of hand-painted Japanese sewing boxes called kiri (See a simular one of one of my favorite blogs, Just Hungry). I'm selling it for $8.50.

This gorgeous mushroom tray is a lucky decently-priced thrift store find that I accidentally left out of last week's post. It's a stunning, moody piece. I'm letting it go for $15.00.

Mushrooms are a theme in this haul! They don't sell as well as they used to in the shops, but I don't care, I absolutely love them. I like the puffy yarn, saturated warm hues, and charming snail and frog in these two needlepoint pieces. I'm selling the pair for $9.00 since I paid a bit more than I usually would for these two.

And with this haul alone you see I have lots to price, clean-up, craft with, get into my shops, and get listed online. But first I'm rushing out to meet a friend to explore one of the biggest Thrift Stores in town! Time to hit it! 


Remember: Everything I list on these posts are for sale. E-mail me if you're interested in anything you see! I also host daily deals on Facebook and Twitter.

What did you find this weekend?

Linked to: [Thrift Share Monday] [The Penny Worthy Project] [Flea Market Finds].

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.

Things I Didn't Buy at The Thrift Store: Return of the Damn High Prices!

 Last weekend I thrifted with my pal Greg. He's got a good eye, and since he's just in it for the adventure he's a perfect thrifting buddy (No competition!) I feel bad for him though, 'cause last week he had to endure lots of cursing as I read outlandish Thrift Store prices.

I guess it's back to the flea markets for me, but here's what the thrift store finds shouted at me last week:

What did you leave behind at the thrift stores? And what would you be tempted to buy in this post?

Daily thrifting updates, information, & Inspiration: Follow Thrift Core on Twitter and Facebook.