The Fondue

Thrifting Finds #88: I got stuff!

2015-12-28T13:53:00.000-05:00

Hello, Kiddies! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas or a Happy Whatever You Celebrate! We certainly had a lovely Christmas here at Fondue HQ. Tonight, The Girl Child and The Boy Man are coming for dinner, so we get to have Christmas Number 2. I love dragging the holidays out!

Sorry I haven't been here, but with one thing and another--preparing for Christmas, preparing for the Holiday Open House we hosted--it's just been busy busy busy for your ol' Uncle Veg. Plus, I haven't found anything at the thrifts. Until now, that is. Wanna see? Come on!

Christmas Tablecloth! I need this like I need a hole in the head, but vintage Christmas linens are so rare around here that I couldn't pass it up. This is smallish--maybe 40X40--and I think is meant for a card table, so I have nothing this will fit. Didn't stop me from getting it, as you can see! There were a few stains that came out with an overnight Oxy soak, and it ironed nicely. No tag, so I don't know a thing about it. Rescue Mission Thrift, $1.00

Chatty Cathy! Not a thrift store find, per se; I got it at an antique mall, but I paid a thrift store price for it, so does that count? From my research, this is the #0 or Prototype Cathy. She would speak 11 phrases if she worked. Her string is missing, but I can fix her and make her talk again. Yes, I am that skilled! Her hair needs to be combed and she needs a bath but she's in wonderful condition otherwise. This is her original outfit, minus the shoes and socks. I guess I'll try to find them on ebay. I love her goofy little face. Antique Mall, $8.00 (!!)

China Cabinet! This was a splurge, but I really wanted a bigger china cabinet and the money went to a good cause. This sucker is massive, and it's in pristine condition. It's solid walnut and looks really nice in the dining room. This is another Rescue Mission find, and one thing I like about that place is that they deliver. Of course, it cost $75.00 for delivery but again, it goes to a good cause so I don't mind too much. Now I'm trying to sell the old one on Craigslist but not having much luck. This might be a bad time to try to sell furniture. Rescue Mission Thrift, $100.00

And that's it for the finds. So do you want a peek at the first Christmas here at the new Fondue HQ? Well, you're getting it anyway!

Our main tree. It always looks pink in pictures, but it's white with multi-colored lights.

The Hubster's little tree with the little toys. See the light in the Easy Bake Oven?

The Hubster's monochromatic tree in the guest room window.

My little ceramic tree in the bedroom.

The Carolers made an appearance, after several years' absence.

Cherry Blossoms!

M&M Cookies! I actually made over 12 dozen of these.

Peanut Butter Blossoms, peanut butter fudge, and chocolate fudge.

Not shown are the dozens of Cherry Jumbles and Platinum Blondes I made, nor the Christmas Toffee, Sponge candy, and Mother Goose Popcorn.

Now do you understand what I meant up top when I said I was busy?

And that's all I got today. Meanwhile, the Hubs and I wish all of you a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Linking up with Thriftasaurus. (EDIT: Or maybe not, since it looks like it's closed...)

Thrifting Finds: Does This Even Count? Edition

2015-11-23T10:31:00.001-05:00

Good morning, kids!

Well, once again your ol' Uncle Veg ventured out to the thrifts and did not come home empty-handed. I do believe this is the longest streak I've ever had.

Not that what I found was amazing, mind you. In fact, I'm not even sure what I got is really good enough to even mention.

Like I'd let something like that stop me.

Anyway, it was a pretty busy weekend Chez Fondue, what with getting ready for Thanksgiving and everything. I think I have a handle on things, but you know as well as I do that the wheels could all fall off at the last minute.

It looks like there will be about 14 of us this year. I say "about" because there are always those who decide/change their mind at the last minute. I hope it's not much more than that because if it is, someone's going to end up sitting on the floor, and I suspect it will be me.

But on to the finds!

I didn't even bother taking a picture of this because I thought it was so boring:

Not even my picture

CD Player! I'd been looking for one of these since I got my console stereo a few weeks back, as most of my Christmas music is on CD. These of course used to be all over the place, but since the advent of MP3 players, they're old hat. I actually bought two players because they were only 2 bucks each and I didn't know if either worked. That was a good move, as one of them didn't want to play both channels. So that one will get tossed. We listened to some Brazilian jazz last night, and it sounded great coming from the console. Goodwill, $2.00
P.S. One of them came with a bonus CD inside: The Cheetah Girls Cheetah-licious Christmas. Needless to say, I tossed it without listening to it.
UPDATE: Okay, I just previewed it on Amazon. My original decision was wise.

Cheese Dome! We serve Party Cheese Ball often enough (basically every single time The Girl Child comes by) that I thought it deserved a fitting display. This was in its original box and looked to be either very lightly used or completely unused. There was an inadvertently hilarious insert in the box about how the teak comes from some magical forests in Thailand and how the texture of real wood can never be equaled by synthetics, yadda yadda. Goodwill, $5.00

Does This Even Count? I ask because it wasn't a thrift find but a Craigslist purchase. It does count? Because I can do whatever I want with my own blog? Then

Trash Compactor! Here at Fondue HQ we only have trash pickup once a week. And not by a company, either. It's a 70-something-year-old guy named Lloyd. Somehow, Hubs and I seem to produce a prodigious amount of trash, so I thought a compactor would be a good idea. The development next to us (built in the mid '70s) put them in every kitchen. Have you priced these lately? They're close to 600 bucks, and go up. Way up. I found this on CL, as I say, for 99 bucks. Bought it from a lovely couple who only used it a couple of times and weren't impressed. I'm liking it so far, particularly when we use the "Extra Pac" cycle, which really squashes the stuff down. Craigslist, $99.00

And that's it for the finds, but I do have one more thing I want to report on: I did a craft.

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I mentioned Sparkle Balls and how I thought I would make one? Wellsir, I did:

This was my first--and likely last--attempt. It was truly a pain to make. I didn't buy the fancy stapler you need and my stapler didn't work, so I had to melt the cups together with a soldering iron. I also used the soldering iron to make the hole in the bottom of each cup, which I had to do twice because I didn't make them big enough the first time around,. As you can see, this is not perfectly spherical, but I'm hoping that won't be blatantly obvious when I get it hung up by the front door. I'm guessing that if I ever stumble across the proper stapler at a thrift store, I might buy it and give this another go, but this one is going to have to do for now.

Hopefully we'll run into each other again next week, but until then, Hubs and I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Linking up, as usual, with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #86: Late Entry

2015-11-16T10:27:00.001-05:00

So it was a very busy week here at Fondue HQ. Busier than a lazy guy such as myself really enjoys.

I didn't technically get any thrifting finds this week, but I have one from a few weeks ago to report on.

But first, here's what happened at the HQ:

We Got a New HVAC System! I knew this was going to happen when we bought the house; the original system was still in place and 20 years old. Apparently, anything older than 15 is living on borrowed time. I managed to wring one last summer out of the AC but decided to replace everything while it was still running. That way I could do my research instead of having to make a hurried decision because we had no heat and it was 20 degrees out.

That new A/C unit up there is about the size of a Toyota. Which makes sense, since that's about how much it cost.

Furnace! This is our fancy new multi-stage, variable speed super-efficient furnace. How fancy is it?

It comes with its own WiFi. If there's a problem, the HVAC company will know about it before I do. Plus

The thermostat is practically an iPad. This will do everything but make the bed.

See what I mean? It's the size of a Corolla. It's also super-efficient with more features than I can name (or remember.)

Also, that very same day, we had new rollers installed on one of the patio doors. No pictures of that because, well, because it was boring. But while the guy was here, I had him cut down the mirror that we removed from the powder room so that it would fit exactly on top of a cabinet we have. So that was one more little project done.

As for the thrift find, here they are:

The Girls! We found these plaster plaques a few weeks back at one of the Goodwills. All three were chipped, but not too badly Nothing that a coat of spray paint wouldn't hide, anyway. It took a few weeks until we had a nice enough day to paint them, and they took longer to dry than I thought they would.

I wasn't looking forward to hanging these up because I needed to plan the spacing, etc. correctly so I didn't have to redo anything. At first, I thought we'd do them all at the same level, but Hubs and I decided we liked them better this way. Here's a closeup:

I thought they were muses, but Hubs pointed out logically that there is no muse bearing water. So I guess they're just three random gals.

What I Made Department

On the same day everything else was happening, I also got a head start on my Christmas Cookie Extravaganza:

Okay, so not a very impressive start, but it was about all I could handle. Those are my Cherry Jumbles and Platinum Blondes.

And that's really all I have for this week, kids. Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #85: And He Goes for the Hat Trick!

2015-11-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Three in a row! Can you believe it? I certainly can't!

So I noticed that the last couple of weeks, all the thrifts seem to have a lot more stuff in stock than usual. I mean chock-full. Not a whole lot I want, mind you, but the shelves are packed.

Again, all the Christmas stuff seems to be from Walmart or the Dollar Store. Not that I need any. When we were moving the HQ, I discovered that we own a crap ton more Christmas stuff than I ever realized. If I decide to really get into it this year, Christmas could be quite the extravaganza.

It's going to be garish at the very least, and here's why. I don't know if anyone remembers when I made my ornament wreath:

Wellsir, it was a casualty of the move. I loved it, but it was made with almost all new ornaments, so there wasn't a whole lot of emotional attachment. Anyway, it's gone and I'm not sure I'm up to making another one, but I think I'm going to try my hand at making a Sparkle Ball:

This will be hanging by the Fondue HQ front door, and it will be the only one in the neighborhood, I can guarantee.

But I digress. What a shock.

Anyway, I managed to pick up two things this weekend, though only one is pictured. The other item is a plastic milk-crate type thing for holding record albums which, like Christmas decor, we own a whole lot more of than I realized.

Please forgive the grammar and syntax of that sentence.

This is what I want:

I have just the right place for it, between two chairs in the living room--It's about 24" in diameter. I am, however, unwilling to pay the 800 clams this table costs. Then I saw this little table at the Goodwill and thought it would be a good candidate for a makeover:

It's not identical, of course, but it's similar, and for seven bucks, I could hardly say no. It's pictured with the first coat of white paint on it--it's "walnut" Formica underneath. It'll certainly do until I can find what I'm looking for at a price I'm willing to pay.

This reminds me of a series of articles that used to appear in Metropolitan Home, I think, back in the '70s. They'd do one room with all chic, luxurious stuff and then do another one that looked similar, but on a budget.

Again, I digress.

And that's it for this week. Next week may involve picking up a trash compactor, which will certainly be exciting. Oh, and Wednesday, we're getting our new furnace and AC unit here at Fondue HQ, and let me tell you, I am WAY more excited about that than I need to be. Especially since it's costing as much as a car.

Other big news: we're getting new rollers on the patio doors. Again, way more excited than I should be!

Tune in again next week and I'll tell you all about it. In the meantime, I think I'll link up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #84: I'm on a Roll!

2015-11-02T11:02:00.002-05:00

Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.

As they say.

Here I am again for the second week in a row with some actual thrift finds to report. When was the last time that happened? 'Bout a million years ago, I guess.

Anyway, Hubs and I started out the weekend by going to an estate sale. It was already in day 3 of a four-day run, but it's so rare that there's a sale close by, not to mention one that's operating while we're out and about, that we went anyway. Judging from the pictures I saw online, there wasn't much I was interested in, but you never know.

Hubs and I loved the house. I'd guess it was about 1960-ish (Edit: Built in 1962.) We lost track of the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and neither one of us could make heads or tails of the floorplan. It seemed kind of like a maze. It looks like the owners did a good job of decorating it when it was new but unfortunately, they just didn't keep it up. Everything needed replacing, which is a shame, because whoever buys the house is just going to rip everything out and destroy all the mid-century goodness with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Oh, well.

On to the finds!

Vegetti! I'd been meaning to try this, but in the stores, it's like 15 bucks. I didn't want to spend that much on something I might end up using once, so I was pleased to find this for a buck at the Goodwill. Even more pleased when I found out it was half price! Goodwill, $0.50

Tissue Box and Guest Towel Holder! These came from the above-mentioned estate sale. Hubs and I weren't pleased with the tissue box we have in the powder room and this metal one was a nice upgrade. And when we have guests, they can use the guest towels I will provide, just as soon as I buy some! Now get this: the tissue box had the original price sticker inside--32 bucks! Is that outrageous? Maybe it was for the set, but still, that seems a lot of money for these. I'm guessing they're late '60s, early '70s. Estate sale, $3.00

Super Cool Punch Bowl! I passed on one of these at Savers last year and have regretted it since. So you can imagine my pleasure when I saw this at the Goodwill. There are a couple of chips in the punch bowl, but who cares, you know? It has all 12 cups and the ladle, and it came in the original box:

So as you can see, it's a Moderno. Whatever it's called, I love it! Now that we're in the new house, Hubs and I were thinking about having an Open House next month, and now that we have this punch bowl, I guess we're going to have to go through with it! I don't want this baby to go to waste. My original plan was to get a crappy punch bowl set from the Goodwill and then give it back after the party (like I did last time), but this one's a keeper.

Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #83: I'm Back!

2015-10-26T10:10:00.003-04:00

Whew.

I know it's been a long time, kiddies, but really, your old Uncle Veg has been having the most dismal luck at the thrifts. Week after week, Hubs and I hit the stores and come home empty handed. It's been really discouraging.

But all that changed yesterday. Not only did I find something, I found two somethings. Maybe three, depending on how you do the math!

So let's not waste any time. Here we go!

Pink Swirly Apothecary Jars! It's kind of hard to see (because I'm a terrible photographer) but these two jars have pink and gold swirls on them. I'm pretty sure I've seen them in other people's vintage blogs, but I never thought I'd find one, much less two of them. I need to fill them with something, and I'm thinking bubble bath, since that's what probably came in them originally. What do you guys think? One's going in the powder room which is already pink, so I should probably put blue bubble bath in that one. Haven't decided whether hubs or I get the other one.

Goodwill, $2.00 each. Yeah, kind of pricey, but worth it.

Fabulous Mid-Century Stereo! I originally saw this three weeks ago and tried to convince myself to forget about it. Then two weeks ago, I thought What the heck? and went back and poked at it a little (there was stuff on it and around it.) I noticed that the cloth on one of the speakers was pushed in, so I told myself that's that, I don't want it in my living room if it's not perfect. Then Saturday morning, as Hubs and I left the house, I said "I don't think I'm quite finished with that stereo..." So we went and measured it. If it was too big, I'd have to give up on it. Nope, just the right size. Then I asked if it worked. They said it hadn't been tested, so they plugged it in while I went to find a record. We fired it up and it played. Beautifully. I was flabbergasted. Of course, the changer needs cleaning and greasing and it needs a new needle, but I couldn't have been more pleased. It sounds really good, too. Oh, it's a Truetone (Western Auto) from 1966. I found it in my 1966 Western Auto catalog. It's next to the top of the line.

When I asked how much, the guy said 40 bucks, which I thought was extremely reasonable, particularly because it worked. So I forked over the cash and two guys put it in the back of my car for me. Needless to say, I'm tickled. Rescue Mission Thrift, $40.00

Linking up with Thriftasaurus.

Thrifting Finds #82: Quickie!

2015-08-17T15:51:00.000-04:00

Just a quick update, kiddies. I wanted to let youall know that progress (no matter how small) is being made.

First off, we took down the big flat builder's mirror in the powder room and replaced it with an oval mirror we picked up at a used furniture store. Sorry, but I forgot to take a picture. It doesn't really matter though, because the powder room still needs to be painted.

I didn't want to just toss the old mirror, so I put it on top of a cabinet we have. It's too big, but I like the mirrored-top business. From the little research I've done, it looks like one can cut mirror at home if one has a glass cutter and a straight edge. I may just tackle that, so stay tuned.

In other news, we got the couch! The living room is definitely looking better:

I had the bright idea of renting a U-Haul van instead of paying the $120.00 (I know!) the furniture store wanted for delivery. It all worked out in the end, but it was a certain amount of hassle, and it ended up costing about $75 bucks. That's still better than $120, but I think I could have found some random dude on Craigslist with a truck who would have done it for less.

I have a lead on dining room furniture. Stay tuned!

Didn't get to go thrifting this week, but a friend and I went to the outlets in Lancaster, PA. Nothing much there, but through a series of events, we found ourselves at a restaurant supply store.

Guys, guys. If you ever go by a restaurant supply store, go in. Seriously, I could have done some major damage there. I mean, did you know you could have your very own nacho cheese pump, just like they have in the movie theater?

In your own home!!

I showed restraint, and only bought two baking sheets (they call them bun pans, I think):

They're 13 X 18 and super heavy aluminum. The price? $3.49 each. Can you believe it? They'll easily outlast anything you can get at regular retail, and for about 1/4 the price. If anyone wants to know the name of the store, I'll try to find it. I know they have a website as well and they don't mind at all selling to just regular people.

That's all for now. More later as events warrant!

Thrifting Finds #81: Update!

2015-07-20T09:35:00.002-04:00

Just a quickie today, kids.

So last week I reported that we were having the sofa cleaned. It happened, but it was weird. When I got home from work, I looked at it and it looked pretty good. Not perfect, but better. Hubs reported that the guy kept trying to upsell him--fabric protector, clean another chair (that was perfectly clean to begin with), etc., etc. Luckily, Hubs has sales resistance, so we got the clean chair cleaned free, if we gave the company a good review.

Now here's where it starts getting weird. The closer we looked at the couch, the worse it looked. The best was I can describe it is that they removed the top layer of dirt that was hiding the even worse lower layer. And yes, I realize how gross that sounds, but we're talking two guys and a dog here. And it's really just grubby; it's not like we peed on it or anything.

So I'm getting a slipcover from Target, and we'll see how that does. But first, I'm going to try this, since it's cheaper:

My couch isn't microfiber but at this point I probably can't make it any worse.

In other sofa news, I think I've picked one out for the living room, so now I'm soliciting opinions. I want the colors in the living and dining room to be turquoise and orange. I already have orange chairs and the walls are turquoise, so I figured the couch should be white. After reading all the above, bear in mind that the living room furniture will mostly be looked at, not used. So I was thinking about this:

It's kinda mid-century, don't you think? And it's affordable. Please post your comments below. If you have another suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

One last thing: we have become official Suburbanites with the addition of this:

All I need now is an apron that says "Kiss the Cook." We got it on a really good sale at Lowes, plus they were having a special on propane, so a $50 tank only cost me $24, plus I had a 10% off coupon. This is far more grill than we'll ever need, but it is by no means the biggest available. Actually, it's on the smallish side.

I took another stab at making pickles last week:

Hubs and I liked Pickles 2.0 much better than the first batch. Hubs thinks they're a little too much on the sour side, but I think they're fine. When we finish these, I'm going to try making Bread & Butter pickles next.

And that's it for this week, kids. I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging but truthfully, there has been nothing to report. I know that doesn't ever stop me, but still...

Thrifting Finds #80: It happened!

2015-07-02T09:42:00.002-04:00

Well kids, despite the title of this post, there will be absolutely no discussion of Thrifting Finds, for the simple reason that there haven't been any. To tell the truth, hubs and I haven't really been out thrifting in months because

Fondue Headquarters has moved!

Yes, it actually happened on June 15 and let me tell you, hubs and I are pooped. I'd like to report that the new HQ looks lovely, but if I did, I'd get struck down for lying. Here are some pictures from the day we moved in:

The Dining Room!

Eagle-eyed viewers will notice there's no dining room table. That's because the one we had was an antique and while lovely, not as practical as I want. So it went to auction and now we're in the market for a dining room set. Though it's obscured by a rolled-up rug, that's our new china cabinet in the background. It's a bit smaller than I would have preferred, but I really like it. It's a Stanley, and I got it on CL for $175. I probably could have gotten the price down but I was too tired. P.S. The dining room looks somewhat better now.

The Living Room!

It's a new look I'm calling Early Garbage Dump. You'll be reading all about it in the latest issue of Bitter Homes and Gardens. If anything, the living room looks a little worse now. I don't know how that happened. Notice the complete lack of seating. There are actually two new chairs:

but no sofa yet. It'll look interesting for a while.

The Master Bedroom!

Though not perfect, I'll admit that the master bedroom looks a lot better now. I think I only have a couple more boxes still to deal with, and then some decorating touches (or as close as I ever get to them.)

The Guest Room!

Not a whole lot of progress here, I'm afraid, but I do have the desk set up so that I can pay bills again. One more bookcase has to be added and then I can start unpacking and getting organized. I don't think we're going to have guests any time soon, so we're safe.

The Family Room!

Again, this looks much better today. The Anga (Ikea wall system, shining example of the world's worst engineering) is up after much trauma, and restocked with most of my collection of vintage toys. There's some overflow, but I'm going to try to put them in the guest room.

There's no picture of the third bedroom, as that is our Room of Shame. Everything that we don't know what to do with gets shoved in there. It's sort of like a second-floor basement.

What else? Hubs' bathroom and the powder room still need to be painted. (Pssst! Wanna be shocked? Look what the previous owners did to the powder room. Bonus points if you can find the electrical outlet:

Yeah.

The kitchen needs some work as well, and by "work" I mean "needs to be completely redone but there's no money for that so we're going to have to live with it." Ooh, I should probably take a picture of the new washer and dryer--they look like little space pods!

Okay, there's lots more to tell (like the story of Jethro moving the refrigerator for me...), and we're meeting with our wonderful Realtor tomorrow to get the old condo on the market, but I'm at work and should probably do some--I have mortgage payments to make!

P.S. Made baked chicken chimichangas the other night and they were delish. I'll look for the recipe if anyone wants it. Am also making pickles for the first time, but I'm skeptical; the brine has no vinegar in it and it's looking mighty murky if you ask me.

Thrifting Finds #79: There has been a truly disturbing lack of

2015-04-20T10:13:00.001-04:00

me!

I was reminded this morning of how long it's been since I blogged. My last post was at the beginning of February, fercryingoutloud. What possible excuse could I have?

A couple, actually.

First, I have found nothing--nothing!--at any of the thrifts since the beginning of February. This has got to be the longest dry spell I can remember. And it's really quite tragic, because I need all kinds of stuff--light fixtures, furniture, etc., because

Fondue Headquarters is moving!

Yep, we've decided to re-enter the world of crushing debt and buy ourselves a new house. I didn't want to say anything before, because we don't actually close until next week (fingers crossed!), but we're getting close enough that it's kind of hard to keep secret any more.

Anyone who has been through this process before realizes that it just sucks up all of your time. I have zero memory of buying my last house eleven years ago, but I think I'd remember if it were as complicated as it is now.

Anyway.

Hopefully, I'll be able to show you some before-and-after pictures soon, but I'm guessing for a while that this blog will be more about moving and redecorating than it will about really awesome thrift finds. Is that okay with you guys? I hate to get you all used to one thing and then switch tracks all of a sudden.

And with any luck, there will be some awesome thrift finds, because the law of averages pretty much says so. This dry spell can't go on forever!

Thanks for sticking with me. There's more to come!

Thrifting Finds #78: Not So Thrifty!

2015-02-02T10:55:00.001-05:00

Hello, yeah, it's been a while. Not much, how 'bout you?

Got that song in your head now?* YOU'RE WELCOME.

So Hi, Kids! I just checked and it's been a while since your ol' Uncle Veg posted anything here. Want to know why that is? Two reasons: we missed our usual rounds a couple of times, and when we did manage to get out, the thrifts had NOTHING. I figured they'd be overflowing with stuff since everyone unloads their stuff at the end of the year for the tax write-off, but nope. Maybe they're sending it all off somewhere else. I don't know. All I know is that the pickin's have been slim.

I did find one thing, though. It's not particularly exciting, but here 'tis:

1. Popcorn Popper! For a while there, I had a terrible craving for popcorn. I have no idea where that came from. The real kind is too messy to clean up after and the microwave kind tastes really chemically to me, so I thought I'd go back to air-popped. P.S. It still tastes like Styrofoam. Anyway, the Goodwill had two of these: One without the all-important measuring cup/cap, no box, no instructions for 6 bucks, and this one, with all the pieces the other one didn't have (not to mention a little bit of ooky stuff on the bottom of the other one), also six bucks. I guess it's obvious which one I bought. I don't think this had ever been used, as the wire tie was still around the cord. Goodwill, $6.00

And that's it for thrift store purchases. I'm kind of embarrassed to even show you that, since it's not even cool or vintage.

I did buy one thing this weekend, though not at a thrift store. And a little more expensive than I'm usually willing to spring for:

Kia Sorento! Meet Oobie. So yeah, I really wanted to go back to having 4-wheel drive (I used to have a Kia Sportage) and I so I got it into my head, and look what I went and done. It has all kinds of fancy features I'm not used to--backup camera, downhill brake assist (huh?), Sirius XM radio, and on and on. And the best feature of all: ~~butt~~ seat warmers! Talk about delightful! Where have you been all my life?

If the Average MPG thing in the dashboard can be trusted, I'm getting the same mileage I got with my old car (Kia Rondo. Seeing a theme here? Hubs has a Kia Forte), but I won't be sure until after a couple of fill ups. It's a 2012 model, by the way, and I got it at Carmax, and overall, it was a decent experience. Word of warning, though: when they say "no haggle", they mean it!

Picture is from the Carmax site--the weather here has been too awful to take a good picture of it.

Stuff I Didn't Buy Department

Hubs and I saw a couple of things yesterday that needed to be reported on. Scroll down if you dare!

World's Creepiest Jack-in-the-Box! I actually gasped and did a double-take when I rounded the corner and saw this peeking at me. Who would want this in their house? And is it me, or do the eyes look kinda squinty and evil? Shudder.

You really need to embiggen this one.

WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN Words fail me. Hubs spotted it first, and I could tell from the expression on his face that he found something...interesting. I kept the picture kind of big so you could experience the full horror of it. Who thought this was a good idea?

I should totally buy this and give it to someone as a gift.

Tragedy Strikes Department:

Way back at the beginning of this blog, I had some electrical boxes installed for ceiling fans.

Wellsir, I went to use the light the other day, and nothing. Fan didn't work either. I checked the other one in the room with both remotes, and that one's fine. Dang. So now I have to figure out what's wrong with this one. I'm hoping it's something simple, 'cause it's going to be a royal pain to take it down. It has one of those useless Lifetime Warranties--if something goes wrong, they'll send you a new part or something, but not until you uninstall it, dismantle it, and ship the whole kit 'n caboodle off to Sri Lanka or someplace. Imagine how little I want to do that.

And that's it for this week. Lame, I know, but at least it's something. With any luck, we'll get to make our usual rounds next week and hopefully find something neat. Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

EDIT: For the youngsters out there.

Thrifting Finds #77:Purely Practical--Plus Pyrex!

2015-01-05T10:32:00.000-05:00

Annnnnd...it's over. All the decorations are put away, so it's like Christmas never happened. Normally, I don't take things down until January 6 (Twelfth Night), but it was just easier to do it this past Saturday. And I didn't want to do it on Sunday, as that was the last day of Hubs's and my 2-week vacation, and the day was depressing enough!

In good news, the thrifts were a little kinder to me this past week than usual, so I have a couple of things to report on, but first, indulge me a bit as I wax philosophical for a moment. Or you can skip down a few paragraphs and save yourself from hearing me complain.

It's probably obvious that I love shopping. I'm sure some of you can identify with that. In particular, I love Christmas shopping. "Loved" is probably a better word since

Christmas shopping isn't fun any more.

Oh, that's not to say it isn't convenient, because it undeniably is. I did the lion's share of my Christmas shopping online this year, and you just can't beat free shipping (the only kind I get.)

Still (and yes, I realize how stupid this is going to sound), it's not as much fun as when I was young.

Growing up in New England, you could pretty much count on there being snow on the ground starting around Thanksgiving. We'd go downtown to Parke-Snow and R. H. White (our local department stores) and look at the elaborate display windows. The sales floors were decorated to within an inch of their lives and to a little kid, the sparkle was nothing short of magical.

Then a quick stop at the lunch counter at Woolworth's or Grant's for some hot chocolate, and maybe a little 8-year-old shopping for Mom & Dad (wow, look at the size of that bottle of perfume! And it's only 98 cents!)

As a rule, we'd make at least one trip to Boston and go to Jordan Marsh to get our pictures taken with Santa. I don't remember going to Filene's--we were definitely a Jordan Marsh family.

Even when they built the new mall (Searstown), they did a wonderful job of decorating (well, except for that one unfortunate year they tried to change the Christmas colors from red and green to pink and chartreuse. This was the late '60s, so...)

Now when you go to a mall, there's a Santa in the center court and that's about it. Sears will throw up a faded red tinsel tree and call it good. Department stores (meaning Macy's, because that's all that's left) will hang a few signs and that's all the effort they put into decorating.

Am I the only one who misses the Toyland that sprang up in every single store, no matter how improbable? I'm thinking about the hardware store and the auto supply place.

It all came to a crashing halt, I think, when Woolworth's went out of business. Once they were gone, the whole season seemed a little less Christmassy.

(And yes, I realize that the whole point of Christmas is a spiritual one, but I'm not addressing that here. I'm only talking about shopping. Even I'm not that insensitive!)

There was just something about Woolworth's. All the cheap & cheerful decorations for sale, the ugly artificial trees, the lunch counter, the smell of the store... And always, there was at least one canary flying around, an escapee from the cages in the pet department.

How I miss Woolworth's.

So that's my little Diatribe du Jour. Thanks for sticking it out this far. Sorry it's not very well written, but I'm trying to do this quickly at work and it's noisy in here with a lot of distractions.

On to the thrift finds!

1. Little Golden Books! I haven't looked too closely, but I'm pretty sure these are reprints, not the originals. That's fine with me. I only have two, so not a collection yet. But I'm expecting to get more! I got the idea to collect them from reading this book. Goodwill, $1.62 each.

2. Covered Vegetable Dish! I really needed this a few days before I got it, but at least I'm set for the next time we have company. This is completely generic--there's no mark whatsoever on it. I think it's pretty, though, and plain enough that it will go with whatever china I'm using at the time. Rescue Mission Thrift, $3.00

3. Pyrex! As promised! This is the shape I love, and the first time I've seen it in the wild. Does anyone know the pattern name? The design is in perfect shape, even after pulling off the tape holding the lid on. Pretty sure it's an 033, 1.5 quart. Unfortunately, there's some weird stain on the handle:

Click to embiggen

Anyone know what to do about this? I tried steel wool figuring that would work, but it had no effect whatsoever. Then I tried Bar Keepers' Friend, but that did nothing either. I was afraid to try anything else before asking for help. Help! Goodwill, $3.00

4. Microwave! Well, the one I was considering last week got sold, naturally, but I found this one that was reasonably clean and the right size. One Salvation Army we went to wanted 40 bucks for a similar Sunbeam model that was missing the turntable. I guess people don't know that without that little glass plate, the microwave is useless. Anyway, I tried this out in the store by running out to the car and getting Hubs' water bottle, and pouring some into a glass from the shelf. It cleaned up nicely without too much work, so I'm pleased. Goodwill, $20.00.

I also bought a battery-operated pencil sharpener, but it turned out not to work, so I'm not posting a pic. It was only a buck, so no biggie.

In Other News Department: I got tired of waiting for the caster to arrive for the gift wrap cart I got last week, so I picked one up at Home Depot. I haven't had the opportunity to use it yet, since I got it after Christmas, but I can tell you that it holds a crap ton of stuff! That corner of the closet looks so much better now. I consider it money well spent.

And that's it for this week, kiddies. Sorry this is so disjointed--I'm trying to do too many things at once and I'm really not good at multitasking.

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #76: Happy New Year!

2014-12-29T13:13:00.000-05:00

Well. Did you all have a wonderful Christmas? We sure did here at Fondue Headquarters. There were a lot of presents, a lot of food, and a lot of family, which is just the way it's supposed to be, no?

And frankly, your ol' Uncle Veg is pooped. I'm not going to go on about how Christmas seems to approach with the speed of a freight train, as opposed to when I was young and I thought it would never get here. I believe that's been covered before. But let me tell you this--Christmas comes a lot faster than it used to!

Anyway, I have a bit of a Thrift Find to report. Only one, but since Hubs and I are both off this week, we may make a few more stops.

Book! Not a cookbook this time, but still kind of about food. It's all about the history behind different candies, mostly regional. It's a funny and insightful book, and if you don't have a sweet tooth, you will after reading this, Savers, $3.00

And that's it for the thrifted finds. We did get a couple of new things at retail, but first let me explain:

After realizing that we only have white trees in the house, Hubs and I had a discussion: Should we alternate between white and green trees? Or should white trees be our "thing"? We decided that white trees would, indeed, be our thing. So to add to the collection, I got these:

Yeah, they're super garish, but I still love them. Love them so much, as a matter of fact, that I was willing to pay full price for them on Christmas Eve (they were the last ones left.) At Walmart, no less. I mean, come on Walmart--can't you start discounting on the last day of the shopping season? Geez.

This is one of those pop-up trees that looks very "all the Whos down in Whoville..." I like that it stores in a minimum of space, since that comes at a premium around here. Like the trees above, this was the last one in the store (Target), but at least I got it half price.

I want to share one more thing I got. It wasn't a gift, since I bought it myself, but I have high hopes for it. Again, let me explain first: I have a high tolerance for mess. Unnaturally high, some would say. But there are two things that send me right over the edge: dishes in the sink, and Christmas wrapping stuff.

We keep the wrapping stuff in a big Rubbermaid container, but not all of it fits, and there are certain people who have to have every roll of paper, every bow, every roll of ribbon, every box, and every gift bag out. I looked into getting a gift wrap cart, but they were like over $180! But then I stumbled across this one at Bed Bath and Beyond:

It was only $120, and by signing up for emails or something, I got their usual 20% off, bringing it down to $95, and free shipping. As I say, I have high hopes for it. But. And that's a big "but". Couple of things make is not so great: Not all the parts fit well. I had to do a little "persuading" to get the thing together (which took forever, by the way, and I'm good at assembling things.) One of the pieces had 4 dowels missing, so I had to wait until the next day when I could go get some replacements. When I finally had it mostly together, I discovered that one of the casters was missing. Geez. On a positive note, the gal I spoke to at BB&B was very friendly and helpful and she promised to get my caster out in 7-10 days. We'll see if that happens. Also, I ordered this on Christmas day (Thursday) and it got here on Saturday!

In Other News Department: Last week's question about whether to buy a used microwave is moot: it was gone when I went back. So it looks like I'll get some soulless made-in-China piece of crap at Walmart.

I also decided to mount the new TV on the wall. It was a pain to do, but I like it much better than just sitting on top of the old set:

Huh. It looks kind of wonky in the picture, but not in person. Tribute to my mad skillz as a photographer, I guess.

We're having The Girl Child and The Boyfriend for dinner tonight, and frankly, I'm nervous about cooking this $50.00 piece of meat. I got a small beef tenderloin, and it intimidates me; I have the tendency to turn meat into shoe leather. Keep your fingers crossed for me, won't you? Alongside, we're having roasted potatoes, broccoli, and creamed onions.

And so, before I start straightening up for company, let me take this opportunity to wish you health, wealth, and happiness in the New Year!

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #75: ...and to all a good night.

2014-12-22T10:22:00.001-05:00

Whew. Your ol' Uncle Veg has been a busy boy these last couple of weeks getting ready for Christmas. There's been a lot of cooking and baking lately, which I'll get to in a minute but first, I have an actual Thrift Find to share with you!

Christmas Napkins! Yes, I actually found some Christmas linens at the Goodwill. I'm not sure how vintage they are--probably not very, but I couldn't refuse them at only 0.50 each! I bought 8 of them. There were 12, I think, but some of them were discolored. There was a matching tablecloth too, but I didn't care for it.
Now here's the problem--I can't use them this year! I'm using the Christmas tablecloth I found last Spring and my Christmas china. I realized that if I added these napkins to the mix, it would go from "My, isn't that festive!" to "Wow, it looks like Christmas threw up all over your table!" So maybe next year I'll use a plain white tablecloth and these napkins.

Speaking of that tablecloth, take a look:

It almost fits my table! In fact, I think it looks pretty darn good, especially considering that my table is an odd size and no tablecloth actually fits it. P.S. I took the picture after I ironed it, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. And please pardon the mess--Christmas is still a work-in-progress Chez Fondue.

We're going to my brother's for Christmas dinner, so I don't have to cook a big meal. The Girl Child and The Boyfriend are coming for a belated dinner next Monday, so at least I get to use my Christmas china again, and I'll get to cook a little, at least.

Which is a strange thing to say, considering what I've been up to lately in the kitchen.

What I Made Department:

1. An insane number, of cookies! So far, I've made 2 batches of Cherry Jumbles, 2 batches of Platinum Blondes, two batches of Holy Crap, It's a Brownie!, and four batches of M&M cookies, with two more batches on the schedule for today. When you consider each batch is like 3 dozen cookies, that comes to...well, a lot! I took some to work, and some went to the vet's office. Many are for bro and his girlfriend, but there are still plenty for Hubs and me (good thing we've been going for walks lately!)

2. Candy candy candy! I've made two batches of peanut butter fudge (which might as well be called peanut butter crack, it's that good), a batch of chocolate fudge for Hubs, and a batch of Sponge candy for bro. Tomorrow, I'll be making pink popcorn (AKA Mother Goose popcorn), also for bro.

I stopped counting how much sugar I've used this month.

And that's it, really, though I have a question: I need a small microwave for work (there's only one for like 40 people and it doesn't get cleaned...) So I was looking in the GW yesterday, and they had one for 15 bucks. It was cleanish, but not immaculate. Assuming it works, would you be squeamish about a used microwave? I wasn't sure so I left it. A new one would cost about 50 bucks.

Oh, before I go, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas from all of us here at Fondue Headquarters!

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #74: It's beginning to look a lot like

2014-12-08T10:07:00.000-05:00

Christmas! Yay!

Please bear with me--I have a feeling there's going to be a whole lot of rambling today. More than usual, I mean.

Okay, to get right to the heart of the artichoke, so to speak, my thrift finds this week were nothing. Again. I could tell you how sick I am of looking at crappy Christmas stuff, but I believe we've already covered that in depth.

So this week I'm going to talk about other stuff, mostly Christmassy! Your ol' Uncle Veg loves Christmas, dontcha know?

In keeping with the season, I've been perusing (again) my collection of Christmas catalogs, mostly from the 60's. We're talking the major players here--Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Penneys--as well as some Minor League names--Gamble/Aldens, Spiegel, National Bellas Hess.

There are two themes in these catalogs that just kind of surprise me. And it's not just one company--it's all of them:

1. His 'n Her's matching outfits. These catalogs have tons of these outfits--matching shirts, pants, sweaters, jackets, and on and on. Did anyone actually wear these? I don't ever remember seeing any couples in matching clothes. My parents never did this, nor did the parents of any of my friends. You find this thing throughout the 60's. Weird.

2. Slippers. OMG, each catalog has a section of just pages and pages of slippers--for Mom! For Dad! For the kids! Dozens of selections for each member of the family. Were cold feet a problem back then? Were winters particularly harsh? Was one expected to have a wardrobe of slippers?

See? Rambling.

In other news, Hubs and I joined the 21st Century! Those who know us know that we don't watch much TV. Remember when I dropped FIOS TV? Generally, we'll get a season of some old show from the library and watch a couple of episodes a night, on my vintage Zenith Avanti:

I love the set and it looks great in the den, but it's finally starting to go. I could try to repair it myself (I've repaired TVs before, with varying success), but it seemed time to maybe upgrade a bit. So I went out and bought ourselves a Smart TV:

It's a Samsung

Normally, I hate when my appliances are smarter than I am, but we're loving this. There is a ton of stuff you can do with this, but so far, we've just watched DVDs and stuff on Youtube (did you know you can get the Christmas 1968 episode of Hollywood Palace on Youtube? We'll be watching that, for sure!) I just need to figure out what to do with it. For now, it's on top of the Avanti, which is a look I hate. I could mount it on the wall, or I could get a stand for it and trash the Avanti. What do you think I should do? Help!

What I Made Dept:

The Annual Cookie Extravaganza has officially begun! So far, I've made three different kinds.

Cherry Jumbles! I actually made these before Thanksgiving and stuck 'em in the freezer.

Platinum Blondes! This picture is a retread from last year, but they look the same. Also sitting in the freezer.

M&M Cookies! My brother's favorite, and my Yearly Sacrifice (I hate making cookies.) So far I've made 6 dozen, and have another 6 dozen to go. But at least I'm halfway through, right?

By the way, I found the best cookie scoop ever. I went to Bed Bath & Beyond looking for an Oxo scoop, but I wasn't impressed by it. The I found this one:

It's super comfortable. It was 10 bucks.

The House is Decorated! Anyone who's read this blog for a while will not be surprised by the following pictures. I have no imagination so I end up doing the same thing every year. Hubs and I realized just yesterday that we only have white trees this year. Not quite sure how that happened.

The Big Tree! I don't know why it always looks pink in pictures, because it doesn't look that way in Real Life.

The Hubster's Tree! The string of lights gave up this year and we had to replace it with LEDs, which I'm not crazy about. They're too bright for one thing, and the colors seem a little "off" to me. Here's a closeup of the

Toys Under the Tree! My goal is to turn this into a vintage toy tree, but until I have enough miniatures, they'll just go under the tree. Most are Hallmark ornaments, with a few others thrown in. The Chatty Cathy talks--even makes the "string pulling" noise! The record player plays "Rudolph". Loud.

You've Seen This Before! Shiny Brites in the urn, my Dollar Store candle shade, and the talking Santa pillow I fixed. If you look closely, you can see the decoration Hubs made when he was just a little tad. Cute? I'll say!

Hohman, IN! This year, I got to put up my Christmas Story houses 'n things. These are already a few years old, and far superior the the ones they're selling now. I'm really glad I got them when I did. Sorry for the crappy picture--I was using the zoom feature on my phone.

Basho and Tinkles! They wish you the Merriest of Christmases!!

My Cubicle! Not many people seem to decorate around here, but I thought I'd bring a little cheer to the office, so I made this. I don't know if you can tell, but there are lights in it. Other than the wreath itself (4 bucks on sale at Michael's), everything came from the Dollar Store. I used a lot of hot glue...

And that's about all I can think of for this week. I think I used more pictures in this post than in any previous one, even though there are no actual thrift purchases. I guess that says something, but darned if I know what!

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #73: Just like Yvonne De Carlo

2014-12-01T10:36:00.001-05:00

I'm still here.

Because Yvonne De Carlo sang I'm Still Here? In Follies? Remember?

Anyone?

Bueller?

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was lovely--there were eight of us, which is a nice, manageable number. Unfortunately, I offered the leftovers to our guests and everyone took me up on the offer! There was hardly anything left but two drumsticks (nobody likes 'em.) I mean, the whole point of doing Thanksgiving is to have leftovers. That's the last time I make that offer, I tell ya.

The menu was simple: Turkey:

Beautiful, no? I rub mayonnaise on it before roasting.

Mashies, gravy, dressing, sweet potatoes. broccoli & cheese casserole, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce (with ridges) and rolls. Just the basic stuff, heavy on the carbs.

And I got to use the new Corningware roaster I got a while back. Worked great, and it was incredibly easy to wash, too.

So I had no idea I had been gone for so long; almost a month. And the reason is that the thrifts have yielded absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada. They all seem to have a ton of stuff, but nothing worth actually buying.

Naturally, I've been looking for Christmas stuff, but it's all Walmart and Dollar Tree crap. I am so sick of that stuff, aren't you? Where are the Shiny Brites that other people are finding? Where are all the cool Napco pixies? Where are the knee-huggers? Huh? Where?

Not here, that's for dang sure.

And another thing (can you tell there's a rant coming?) I think whoever's doing the pricing at the Westminster Goodwill is certifiably insane. Not only are the prices outrageous, but get this: they put these bigass price stickers on each individual Christmas ornament. Can you imagine? You can barely get them off something that can go in the dishwasher; if you try to peel one off an ornament, it's completely ruined. Be interesting to see how many they sell.

Saturday, there was a little basket of seashells that someone had collected on the beach. Not big, exotic shells, just common, ordinary ones. Each one had a price sticker on it.

As I said, insane.

But it's not all bad news and grumping! Nosiree. 'Tis the season and all that, so I'm trying to be my jolly best.

So though I have no official Thrifting Finds to report this week, I do have this, which is actually an ebay purchase:

Mattel Santa Claus Patter Pillow! I've wanted one of these for quite some time, but they generally go for more money than I'm prepared to pay, especially if it's working. This one was fairly cheap, though he didn't talk. So I opened him up, un-stuffed him, washed him, fixed his voice box, and then re-stuffed him and sewed him back up and made a new pompom for his hat (it's not actually sewed on in the picture, but you can't tell. Special Effects!!) If anyone wants, I'll make a little video of him talking. I really love this lil' fella.

What I Made Dept:

Gallons and Gallons of Turkey Soup! It doesn't look like much here, but there was another big container of it cooling on the balcony. This is what I used the drumsticks for. Delish.

Homemade Vanilla Extract! Sharp-eyed readers will remember when I started this about a month ago. Wellsir, it was finally ready so I decanted it into the original vodka bottle. Smells good, though I'm not sure how it tastes. We'll find out soon enough, when I start my Cookie Extravaganza.

And that's all for this week. Since it's been a while, I'm going to go ahead and link up with the Usual Suspects. I think that'll be okay, don't you? Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #72: Randoms

2014-11-03T14:50:00.000-05:00

Hiya, kids! This week's post is going to be even more random than usual, I'm afraid. Actual thrifting finds were few (again), but I have a couple other minor things to share, so let's get down to it, shall we?

No, wait. I want to complain about something first. Huge surprise, no? Anyway, I'm reading through all the sale flyers in the Sunday paper, but have you noticed that the latest thing seems to be "buy one, get the second at 50% off"?

That just really irritates me.

Most of the time, I don't need two of something. And when you do the math, each item ends up being 25% off, which I don't consider much of a sale, do you? It's not until you hit a 40% discount that I start listening up and paying attention.

Sorry. I'll try to keep it under control from now on.

Anyway, on to the finds 'n stuff!

1. Tupperware! Sharp-eyed readers will remember that I bought a Rubbermaid jar a couple of weeks ago for toting my half & half to work. Unfortunately, if I don't remember to take the durn thing home on Friday, I'm out of luck come Monday*. So this is a backup. I think it's some kind of diet shake maker, as there's an insert that looks like it's there to break up the lumps. Goodwill, $0.50. I think that's the first time I've seen anything for less than a buck at the GW.

*So this morning, I tried using the half & half that was left over from last week. While it tasted okayish, the coffee was really quite...chunky is the only way I can describe it. Not good.

2. Eydie! I like Eydie (and Steve, too), but she's not someone whose albums I ever felt the need to own (other than the Christmas album.) This was staring at me from the front of one of the record bins, so what was I supposed to do? I still don't ever look through the records, but if a good one is staring me in the face, well... Plus--and this is probably going to be the gayest thing you'll hear all day--look at that hair! Miss G. is rockin' a truly Marlo-grade flip. You might not be able to tell from the picture, but take my word for it. Unfortunately, some wear on the jacket makes it look like her cleavage is dirty. And that makes me giggle. And one of the songs is...are you sitting?...I Walk the Line. Anyone else think that's kind of an odd choice? Goodwill, $1.00

What I Didn't Buy Dept:

Not creepy. Not creepy at all...

Update Dept:

Electromatic Tray: Couple of weeks ago, I got a Corningware Electromatic heating tray sans cord. I lamented that the cord I had didn't fit it. Well, it finally hit me that I'm kind of an idiot. What I was using was just some random cord I had in my kitchen drawer. Once I tried an official Electromatic cord, it fit perfectly. And the tray got nice and hot, so this officially becomes a five-dollar score!

The Coffee Situation at Work: Back at my old job, I would make coffee every morning in my West Bend Fiesta Perk (which you can see Mary Richards using in an episode of season two of the Mary Tyler Moore show. How sad is it that I know this?) Unfortunately, there are no dish washing facilities close by here, so that wasn't going to work. I could join the Coffee Club, but it's Keurig-based, and I think I've complained about that before. So then I got the Regal Poly Pot and tried making instant coffee, and youall heard how well that worked out. So I finally thought that I should just get a non-Kcup coffee maker (think I can't make this story any longer? Think again!) So I went online and found the Black & Decker Brew 'N Go:

Which got really good reviews at Amazon, Walmart, and Target. So I went ahead and ordered it from Target because it was like 10 bucks cheaper than Amazon. Oh, and free shipping? Yes, please. It came to 17 dollars and change after sales tax.

Youall may know that I'm not the most patient person in the world, so when I stumbled across a different machine that I could just go to the store and buy, that's exactly what I did.

This little baby was nine bucks at Wally World and to be honest, I didn't have much hope that it would work. Boy, was I wrong! This cheap little machine makes a nice hot cup of coffee, which is kind of a pet peeve of mine. I can only drink coffee if it's practically scalding. It also makes a 12-ounce cup, which is a decent size. And there's a little shelf thing so you can make coffee in a regular mug or in a travel mug. Word to the wise: If you get one of these, try to find a mug that fits as close as possible to the basket, as there's some splashing. This isn't a problem at home, but at work I like to keep my desk reasonably splatter-free. Also, some of the reviewers said that the power button is hard to push. It does require a certain amount of determination, but overall, not a big deal.

So I guess I'm going to give the Black & Decker to someone as a Christmas present. Or maybe I'll keep it as a spare.

What I Made Dept:

In a word, vanilla! I got the idea from Coleen over at Coleen's Recipes. I decided to try it because it's a simple process, there are only two ingredients involved, and I really like high-quality vanilla. I used to be able to get Mexican vanilla in the Latino section of the supermarket, but all I can find lately is Mexican imitation vanilla. Really?

So here's what I started with:

Coleen's instructions call for a quart of vodka, but I determined that that much vanilla extract would outlive me, so I decided to cut the recipe in half. The beans came from Amazon, the vodka from the liquor store, and the shaker from the Goodwill. Basically, you cut the beans into half-inch pieces (TIP: Use kitchen scissors) and soak 'em in the vodka for a month. When you're done, strain through a coffee filter.

Here's what it looks like after just one week:

Isn't that crazy? It's so dark already that light doesn't shine through it. And it smells really good. I probably should have started this earlier, since Christmas Baking Season is fast approaching, but better late than never, or something like that.

Now let's do a little math. The beans were 12 bucks, the vodka was 5, and the shaker was a buck-and a half, for a total expenditure of $18.50. Assuming I get 15 ounces of vanilla out of this (I'm guessing the beans are going to absorb some of the vodka), that comes to $1.23 an ounce. I think it would have been cheaper if I made a whole quart (4 ounces of beans would be 18 bucks), but the price seems okay to me, as long as it tastes good. McCormick vanilla was on sale at Weis for $2.00 an ounce, but I don't know if that's high, low, or the going rate. Anyone?

And that's all I've got for this week. You're probably tired of reading anyway, right? Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #71: Purely Practical

2014-10-20T10:54:00.001-04:00

Well kids, once again Hubs and I were unable to make our usual weekend rounds. Saturday was spent doing outreach for Hubby's office, which meant all of our Saturday chores had to be pushed forward. That left precious little time for thrifting. Still, we managed to get to one Goodwill, and I made multiple purchases.

Not that they were exciting purchases, you understand. Sometimes, all the thrifts yield are practical items, and I'm okay with that. It's not like we have a huge house, and I have those unfortunate hoarder tendencies to begin with, so I need to be careful.

Enough blathering. Here's what I got:

1. Rubbermaid Jar! Got this for the purpose of hauling my Half & Half to work. I bought a newer one but the lid doesn't snap on as tight and it leaks a little bit. Can't beat the vintage stuff! Well, it's probably from the '90s, but I think that's considered vintage now. Goodwill, $.50

2. Cocktail Shaker! I don't know anything about this, but something tells me it was originally filled with some brand of premixed cocktail. Not sure why I get that feeling, though. The top has a crown symbol on it, but I don't recognize it as being the logo for any brand of booze. Not that I'm an expert, you understand :) Anyway, I bought this not to make cocktails, but for a different project. One that I'll report on as soon as I have all the pieces. Stay tuned--it'll be exciting!* Goodwill, $1.48.

*Totally won't be exciting.

Discovery Department:

So, does anyone remember the Christmas tablecloth I got a few months back? No? Well, why would you? So here's a picture to jog your memory:

Fast-forward to yesterday when I was looking through the Sears Christmas Wish Book for 1966 and spotted this:

That's the same one, right? So apparently, my tablecloth was a Sears purchase. There was no tag, so now I know it's rayon and cotton (that'll be helpful ~~if I ever~~ when I iron it.) I don't know why, but I always enjoy it when I learn the provenance of things. Maybe that's why I like it when I get something with the original price sticker on it.

And that's about it for this week, kiddos. As far as I know, we should be able to cover more thrift ground next week, so hopefully I'll have something fascinating to report--maybe some Christmas Pyrex! Yeah, like that will ever happen!

P.S. The instant coffee I mentioned last week? Nope, still nasty.

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #70: Hot Stuff!

2014-10-13T16:15:00.001-04:00

Meaning "things to make stuff hot." You people...

Anyway, you can probably guess that last week was less than fruitful, thrifting-wise. I did a little better this week. Nothing truly exciting, still, I'm happy with what I got.

As an aside, it seems like the thrifts have been overflowing with stuff lately. Crap, of course, but a lot of it. Have you noticed that too? I just wish there were something a little better than Wal Mart junk with all the Christmas stuff they're putting out. Oh, well. First World problems, right?

So here's what I got!

1. Regal Hot Pot! I picked this up because of the coffee situation at work. I could join the coffee club, but it's a Keurig machine and I think those little pods are way too expensive, not to mention they create an unholy amount of trash. I used to percolate my own, but the only facilities for washing out the pot, etc. are not very convenient. So I'm going to see if I can get used to drinking instant. It used to be pretty nasty, but maybe they've improved it in the last 20 years? Savers, $2.00.

2. Yes! More Corningware! Hubs pointed this out to me, but I said we already had the serving tray. I looked more closely though, and discovered this was the Electromatic Heating Tray! Yay! You can never have too many heating appliances when the holidays come around. Unfortunately, the cord for the Electromatic percolator doesn't fit. Dang, Now I'm going to have to look for one on ebay, and you can bet it'll be 'spensive. Goodwill, $5.00.

What I Made Department: More precisely, what I didn't make. These:

"Meatballs Deluxe." To be honest, I almost made these. I had everything done to the point where they were simmering. I leaned over and took a whiff... Disgusting. Really foul. Horrified, I tasted the sauce.

Easily the worst thing I ever put in my mouth. Ever. You cannot imagine how vile this was.

Thinking quickly, I scooped out the meatballs into a strainer and rinsed them off. Even the garbage disposer gagged when I unloaded the sauce. I made some brown gravy and saved the day. But it was a close call, lemme tell you.

Job Update: Things are settling down some, which is a good thing. There were a few glitches to take care of, but nothing major (so far.) It'll take some time before everything beomes routine but isn't that always the way?

And that's it for another installment. Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Hey What's For Dinner Mom?, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #69: Yeah, the New Job

2014-09-29T09:58:00.001-04:00

To be up front about this, I have absolutely no thrift finds to share with you this week. Hubs and I didn't get to do our normal rounds, as we were doing an outreach thing for his work. Still, I have a couple of things I can share if you want to stick around.

So, the new job. It started last week and we were promised a smooth transition: "We've done this before. We know what we're doing." Unfortunately, we took our New Overlords at their word, which was a mistake.

Not that it was a complete clusteryou-know-what, just a partial one. Things that weren't supposed to fall between the cracks are not only down there, but almost irretrievable. But it'll get better, right?

And that's pretty optimistic, considering that I'm one of the things between the cracks. As of Monday, I have the odd position of being both working and unemployed at the same time. With luck that'll change this week, though really, it's anyone's guess at this point.

One of the things we were warned about by those who went first was the accommodations, or lack thereof. Lunchroom space is at a premium and I was warned that the toaster oven was "unspeakable." That was confirmed.

WARNING: Gross toaster oven picture ahead! Embiggen at your own risk!!

Nice, huh?

But enough about that. Too much complaining just makes me grumpier, and nobody wants that. So let's switch topics and talk about some thrifty finds, 'kay?

Thrifty Buy of the Week!

I don't generally think of Staples as a place to buy anything other than office supplies, and that's a mistake. F'rinstance, I once got the world's biggest box of Hefty Kitchen bags from Staples for like 9 bucks. Really, a lifetime supply. A couple of weeks ago, I passed over 48 double rolls of Quilted Northern toilet paper for $19.00 because where the heck am I going to put the equivalent of 96 rolls of toilet paper? The only thing I could do would be to throw a tablecloth over the box and call it an end table.

I couldn't pass up one of this week's specials--

Thirty ounce can of Maxwell House Coffee--$4.00! There was a limit of 2 so I got two of 'em. These are easily twice the price--on sale--at the supermarket.
UPDATE: I ordered two more online this morning with no trouble. The limit might just be for in-store purchases.

And another good part--they're being delivered to my door. If you're a Staples Rewards member (and membership is free), you get free shipping on every order. I would recommend signing up.

And that's about it for this week, I'm afraid. I was looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend that didn't happen. I'm hoping that Hubs and I are able to make our usual rounds next weekend--and that we'll find plenty of good stuff to report!

Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting finds #68: A Quickie

2014-09-22T11:11:00.001-04:00

<Hushed Voice>
Hey, kids. I started my new job this morning (long story, I'll tell it if anyone wants to hear), and while I'm waiting for someone to come by and give me my login so I can do some actual work, I thought I'd throw out a quick post.

So I only found one thing, well a pair, really, but it's (they're) kind of nifty. I actually spotted them last week, but I was too lazy to go out to the car and get the tape measure. They were still there yesterday, so I took it as a sign. I remembered to take the tape measure in with me this time.

There are actually two of them

MCM end tables! I already have a pair, but I'm not completely happy with them. Then when I saw these, well, I hemmed and hawed for a week, but eventually went back for them. They're quite sturdy and have Formica tops, which is good in our House of Clutzes. Plus, they fit! Goodwill, $10.00 each.

And that's it, kids. Hopefully, next week's post will be somewhat longer but for now, I need to at least look like I'm working.

Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #67: Finally!

2014-09-15T14:01:00.000-04:00

At long last I have some good news to report. Or at least I won't do any whining. How's that?

Can you guess what's coming? That's right--I actually have some thrift finds to show you this week! I mean, how long has it been? A month? Two? Too dang long to suit me, anyway.

Plus, Hubs and I went to a new store that we'd never been to before. Or stores. Or store. I'm really not sure which. Hubs works with a guy who also likes to thrift and he told us about a place down in Silver Spring, or that general area. We found it, and it's kind of the strangest setup we've seen.

So it's a Value Village. So far, so good. But right next door to it, and without any walls or anything separating it, is something called Unique Thrift.

And the two places were mirror images of each other: each had a housewares section, toys, clothes, etc of its own. I'm not sure if the checkout aisles were specific to one of the stores or if they were interchangeable. I might not be making myself clear here (I'm kind of in a rush today), but take my word for it--it was strange.

Not to mention busy. We went just after noon on Wednesday, and the place was packed. I shudder to think what it's like on the weekend.

Other than that, we just made our usual rounds. Here's what I came up with:

1. Bigass Corningware Roaster! I thought I had all the Corningware I needed, but I didn't know this existed. You can't really tell the scale in the picture, but it's enormous. Seriously, I could roast Honey in this and still have room for potatoes and carrots!

Not that I ever would, of course. It was kind of a mess when I got it, but it cleaned up nicely. I'll be using this on Thanksgiving. Goodwill, $5.00

2. Old Razor Blades! Say what? Yeah, kind of weird, but I've noticed that these injector blades have a huge cult following. Plus, they often go for crazy money on ebay. I'm going to try a pack for myself and see what all the fuss is about. Once I get the razor, of course. If I like 'em, then I'll keep all three packs. If not, I'll sell two. Goodwill, $0.47/ea.

3. Barbie's MOD'ern Cousin! At first, I thought this was Barbie, but it's actually her 15-year-old cousin Francie. I saw her in a plastic bag on the above mentioned Value Village's Wall O' Crap. I think what I noticed was the brunette hair in the sea of blonde Barbies. As far as I can tell, she's a 1969 model, which I think makes her vintage. She seems to be missing a button on her blouse, and one of the buttons on her skirt fell off, but I still have it, so I'll try to attach it. Value Village, $3.00

4. The Plate I need! Yep, finally found one at a price I was willing to pay. Oh, and just to make it clear, despite the existence of this plate and the two other pieces of Butterfly Gold I bought this year--I do not collect Butterfly Gold. Period. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Goodwill, $0.48.

And that's it, but this is more than I've had to report in quite some time! So this week, I'm not ashamed to link up with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin and Vintage Bliss Tuesdays

Thrifting Finds #66: The Hubby Haul

2014-09-08T11:26:00.002-04:00

Hi, kids! Did everyone have a good time out in Thrift Land this weekend? I hope so, because I sure didn't.

That should come as a surprise to no one. I seem to be having quite the dry spell lately.

To be completely honest, it's not as if there were absolutely nothing in the thrifts. If you're a fan of Family Guy, I think each store we visited this weekend had all of the seasons on DVD. I like Family Guy, but not to the point where I need to own it.

Then there was the Desert Dawn baking dish in pink. It was in pretty good condition, and I think it was like 4 bucks, but it's not a size that would be of any use, and it's not like I can put my Pyrex on display, so I passed it up.

The cookbooks seemed to be all modern Rachael-Ray-Mister-Food types, which hold no interest whatsoever. This may actually be a good thing, as the cookbook backlog is growing.

Anyway, it occurred to me that this blog isn't just about the stuff that I find. Hubs always goes with me and sometimes he finds things. Like this week. He found two things to my zero, so without further ado, here they be:

1. Blown Glass Thing! Frankly, we aren't sure what the heck this is, but we've just kind of decided it's a vase. I keep calling it a Shrimp Cocktail Thing because those flutes at the top would be perfect for shrimp. If you look closely, you can see my dining room! Goodwill, $2.00

2. Heavyass Glass Obelisk! Seriously, this thing has some heft. I weighed it on my postal scale and it came out at 8 pounds, 3.4 ounces. As in the above item, neither Hubs nor I know what the heck this is. It's solid, so it's not a vase. So why don't we just call it an objet d'art, and let it go at that. There's one little chip on the back, which I'm sure is from being manhandled by the Goodwill staff. Still, it doesn't show, so what the hey. Goodwill, $5.00, I think. (That comes out to $~~1.75/lb~~ $0.60/lb I CAN'T DO MATH)

Annnnd...that's it. No fabulous bargains this week and I didn't cook anything interesting. I know I keep saying this, but maybe next week will be better?

Linking up this week with Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, and We Call It Junkin.

Thrifting Finds #65: Cheating

2014-09-02T11:41:00.000-04:00

Well now, did everyone who got one enjoy their long weekend? Hubs and I did, though we didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Well, kinda. We celebrated Labor Day by grilling these:

I don't do meat very well, often turning it into leather, but I was inspired to try grilling a Porterhouse by this gal:

I can't embed this video, so click here

They came out pretty well, too! Little rarer than I care for, but just to Hubby's taste.

Now, does it sound like I'm avoiding talking about our thrifting rounds? I am, because once again, we found nothing. Oh, I came across a Spring Green plate that I've been looking for, but there was no way I was about to stand in line to get it.

Saver's must have been having a half-off sale because the place was packed. With animals, apparently--someone just left a banana peel on one of the shelves. A banana peel.

You know, if you feel the need to eat a banana while shopping in Savers, you might want to examine your life a little bit.

And the Goodwill we went to yesterday was beyond wild. Walking in we saw this chick with two overflowing carts--one of clothes, one of crap. Nope, not waiting in line here either.

The week wasn't completely without purchases, though. I did get this little baby:

Presto Iron! In the original box! Complete with instructions! Never used! Because if I'm going to iron (and I do. Sometimes), I'm going to do it in style. I already own a similar one in green, but I've knocked it off the ironing board so many times that the thermostat is now wonky. This was an ebay purchase, which came to about 20 bucks including shipping. Unfortunately, when I went to unwrap the cord (still in its factory coil) last night, there was an awful lot of crackling, meaning the insulation inside has given up the ghost. Shoot. Now I'll have to replace the cord, probably with the one from the other iron. Or I could just use this for show.

Bargain of the Week Department:

These were on sale at Walgreens:

Sale price was $2.99 each, but they give you $2.50 in Register Cash for each one purchased, making the net price $0.49.

Well, except that I had $1.75 worth of coupons! When all the math was done, Walgreens not only gave them to me for free, they actually paid me $0.76!

And that, as I said to Hubby, is how you use coupons.

How I averted a Disaster of Nearly Epic Proportions!!!

Hold on to your seats, kids--this one's a spine-tingler.

So I own the world's best "Granny Cart"--you know, those folding wire carts you use to haul your groceries around. We live on the fourth floor and though we have an elevator, hauling the amount of groceries we buy would be time consuming by hand. So 11 years ago, I bought the World's Best Granny Cart--big and sturdy, the label said it holds 250lbs, and I believe it. It gets quite a workout every weekend.

So leaving to do the marketing on Saturday I heard a sound that made my blood run cold. One of the front wheels crumbled to pieces, leaving the cart with a distinct list to starboard.

O noes! as they say.

What was I to do? I will never find another cart as good as this one, Even the store I bought it from has gone out of business.

Once again, as I lay down to take my nap, inspiration struck-- Harbor Freight Tools to the rescue! I knew they sold tires for hand trucks and such, so I hoped they also sold somewhat smaller wheels.

And indeed they do! We got two replacement wheels that, while not an absolutely perfect fit, are good enough for what they're for. Paid 10 bucks for the pair and I've already installed them. They work nicely, but there's one problem--they stink to high heaven!

The cart lives in the laundry room, which is right off the foyer. All weekend, we've been treated to the kerosene-like smell of the new tires, combined with the Yankee Candle cinnamon oil warmer thingie. It's a heady aroma, lemme tell you.

It was a little better this morning. Or else I'm getting used to it. I think the cart's going to live out on the balcony for a while, though.

Now, it wouldn't be a trip to Harbor Freight if there weren't some free gifts, and this was no exception:

That's a bar clamp on the right for those who don't know. I'm not quite sure why, but that head lamp makes me think of Wile E. Coyote. And that it should be marked ACME.

We got two freebies because I made Hubs buy one of the wheels while I bought the other LOL.

So. While it wasn't a particularly good weekend for the thrifts, there was at least a little bargain gathering, which is fine with me.

Linking up this week with Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin and The Nifty Thrifty

Thrifting Finds #64: Two bucks

2014-08-25T10:58:00.001-04:00

Hi, kids! Did everyone have a wonderful weekend? Your ol' Uncle Veg had a nice quiet one, which is just the way he likes 'em.

So Hubs and I managed to do our usual weekend rounds, though there was much disappointment. Out of the 8 thrifts we visited, only one yielded any finds at all. Oddly, I started finding Pyrex again, after a dry spell of several months. I have no idea where it all went. Unfortunately, it was nothing I could use.

I'm also starting to find the British Pyrex (it has a name, but I've forgotten it.) Was it imported here? Seems kind of strange to have it keep showing up--often enough that I can recognize it without looking at the bottom.

What I'm not finding is Corelle. No, I haven't started collecting it. I just need one microwaveable plate to keep at the office and since Corelle is hard-to-break to boot, that's what I looked for. Naturally, since I want it there is none to be found.

Well, no. There is some to be found. I got a few plates a couple of months ago for the princely sum of 48 cents each. You can imagine my surprise when I picked up a Butterfly Gold plate yesterday and saw it marked three bucks.

Three bucks? Really? For one plate? Another instance where I want to go in the back and start smacking heads.

Anyway, that's my rant for the week. Here's what I found:

1. Another cookbook??? Yes, but look--it's no ordinary cookbook. The recipes are magic.

Magic.

Do you know what that means? I think it means you can put turnips and cabbage in the Osterizer and pull out a steak. I haven't actually read the book yet, so that's just a guess on my part, but you have to admit that would certainly qualify as "magic", no? Savers, $1.00

2. Seriously?? I bought another Betty Crocker cookbook? You bet yer buns I did! Because I need "a wealth of ideas for today's entertaining", not to mention "more than 400 guest-tested recipes." I mean, who doesn't?

Plus, look at that house on the cover! I would kill for a house like that. And if I had one, you can be sure I would be entertaining. A lot. Savers, $1.00.

It was half-price book day at Savers, btw.

And that's it. I'm wracking my brain for some interesting little story to share, but I got nothin'. So I'll just go ahead and link up with the Usual Suspects: Sir Thrift A Lot, Thrifter/Maker/Fixer/Farm, We Call It Junkin and The Nifty Thrifty