Bargain Shopping - March 2011

I mentioned in this post that I love bargain shopping, so I decided to do another post about all of the items I found throughout the month of March. Maybe it will be a new monthly tradition to post about the great deals I have found over the last month?! Then, I’ll do follow-up posts throughout the next few weeks to show how I’ve transformed the not-so-pretty findings that someone gave away into super-cute treasures that I can’t wait to display in our home or give as gifts. Here are the items that made their way into my shopping cart over the month of March:

I fell in love with this blue vase (that came from the floral company, FTD - I know this thanks to the sticker left on the bottom) from the second I saw its overwhelming powder blue color adorable little dots. It may mean absolutely nothing to anyone else walking down the aisles of your local Savers store, but to me it was perfect because it matches our dishware we received for our wedding. We LOVE that this piece will match our everyday dinnerware that can be found here and our serving pieces that can be found here! Regardless of the fact that I would never be able to get the color to match perfectly even if I tried, I love the idea of painting this new dotted piece in a bold blue or red, or maybe a bright yellow?!         

When I saw this black Butter Crock I couldn’t believe that it was sitting on the shelf at Savers. Holy cow! I shared my love for our Butter Crock in this post and still can’t get enough of ours. Since the price tag on these little guys is around $20.00-$30.00 in the retail stores, I knew this was going to be one of my best finds ever! It didn’t hurt that it looked like it had never been used a single day of its life; I would bet someone received it and had no idea what to do with it or why they got it in the first place, so they just gave it away. Lucky me!

I was so pumped when I came across these basketball and baseball picture frames. I don’t know if you can tell from the picture here, but they are solid metal and must have cost a pretty little penny when they were originally purchased. The detail is just amazing, they are super sturdy (and heavy) and have a felt back.  I found these just weeks after learning that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were going to decorate their future son’s nursery in a sports theme. Ahhh, so perfect! I had to look beyond the yellow gold, but I have, and I’ll show you the results soon!

Plates and candlesticks have been on my radar for a few months now, ever since seeing a fun project idea in a DYI craft email I received. These white plates and candlesticks didn’t catch my attention as I walked by them separately, and a couple aisles apart, but when I remembered the shape of the plates as I walked by the candlesticks I couldn’t believe how well they matched. Let’s just say I turned on my super speed walking abilities to go back and grab the plates before they were snatched up. I know, I know, they don’t match exactly. But I think the octagon shaped plates and the hexagon shaped candle sticks look pretty amazing together. I have big plans for these geometrically shaped pieces. More to come!

I had just wrapped up a trip to Savers when I dropped by a nearby Dollar Tree on the way home, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The Dollar Tree (you know, the place where everything is one dollar) was selling plates & bowls that had none other than... dots! Can you believe it?! I couldn’t resist picking up one of each, just to bring them home and see how closely they resemble our Crate & Barrel version. Of course, they don’t match exactly and they’re not nearly as high quality or pristine as our beloved dishware, but I thought it was so cool. I have no idea what I will do with them, but I’ll keep you posted.

Holy cow! Just call March the “month of dots”. I was shocked and excited to walk into our local Salvation Army with Caton and see this white dotted pitcher sitting in the front window. And no, this wasn’t the Dollar Spot version of dots; I’m fairly certain this pattern is an exact match to our serving pieces from C&B. The $4.95 price tag looked a bit steep for a Salvation Army purchase, but Caton and I both felt great with the price knowing how expensive our real-deal stuff can be and we’re positive we are getting one-heck-of-a deal with this one! Isn’t it adorable? I can’t wait to display it in the middle of our dining room table, maybe with a pretty bouquet of tulips or daisies that my adorable husband has brought home for me on a whim... because, you know, he's amazing and he does that!

Here is a quick breakdown of my spending for the month:

Blue vase – $3.99

Butter Crock – $2.99

Basketball & baseball frames – $3.99 each

Plates & candlesticks - $0.99 each (plates) & $1.99 each (candlesticks)

Plate & bowl - $1.00 each

White dotted pitcher - $4.95

Total for the month of March - $27.87

Not too shabby considering I am getting at least 3 gifts out of these great finds (I’ll post about the projects once they’re completed and the gifts are given/received)! I know a couple of you loyal readers have mentioned you want to go thrift shopping with me and I am all for it. I’m thinking a nice girls day of shopping – a sunny Saturday afternoon, thrifting around town and a happy hour with the boys to wrap up the day (you know, so we can show off our great deals to the husbands/boyfriends). Now, let’s schedule a date!