Another painting

Found this today for $3.50. It feels like Florida and the price was right, so....

Rock specimen

Does anyone know what this really is? I found it in a thrift store yesterday and thought it was pretty but can't identify whether it's a rock, geode, pretrified twigs.... For me it's a bookend but still I would like to know what it's a specimen of. Thanks!

Silver trees and vintage stocking

Erin found me this neat vintage stocking with a flirtatious (sleepy?) reindeer this year. Love her.(The daughter and the reindeer too.) The small (18 in. silver tree) was from Patricia last year and this year is surrounded by some of the thrifty goodies she collected for me this year. I am not crazy about the way I decorated it this year but I was pretty distracted.... by the one she just brought me today! It's about a four footer and revived my will to decorate more. Jack and Jeff put even more lights outside the house while I got all the rest of my ornaments out and went wild. Even added about 100 more to the big, green tree in the living room. We agreed here, you really can't get too many ornaments on a tree.

Santa Work in Progress

My Santa and his sleigh need some help. The elves are ALL OVER IT. But really, the collection of reindeer goes on. Thrifty friend Pat just came by and gave me this new assortment of goodies for my eventual display. She used styrofoam to hold everything in her gift pack together and totally inspired me... for next year. I need to save styro slabs and get the whole Santa/reindeer show under control. Anyway, here are my new additions from Pat (what a handsome reindeer!) and my last year's collection on the counter. By next year they will all meld together, and maybe the elves can give Santa and the deer some space.

Pat: Thank you, thank you! You are the best.

International Santa Bonanza

I was thrilled to get one Int. Santa this weekend. But if you collect those guys and live anywhere on the Treasure Coast, better drive fast to the Hospice Thrift in St. Lucie West. I got eight new ones, in original packaging today. They are charging $3.00 each, but so many were ones I thought I'd never find that I started thinking I'd have to get them from Ebay. Except from there they start around $5 for what I was looking for, and then you get to pay twice that on shipping. Well, I did leave about FIFTY for anyone else. I'm just astonished. I've been wanting Latvia and Estonia forever!

Top row: Estonia, Romania, UK, Latvia. Bottom row:Germany, Patriotic USA, Russia's New Year's Eve Boy and Morocco.

I am a happy camper this morning! I also located a Billy Idol CD I think JB will love, and a Charlaine Harris book for Erin that I've never, ever heard of!!!

Sunday at Goodwill

We wanted to walk the beach this morning but we found there wasn't much to see. The surf was so rough, there was little beach to comb. So since we were close to Stuart Goodwill, we decided to pop in. Boy am I glad we did! I scored $.69 International Santa (USA) for my ever growing collection of those. Then a great planter shaped like a seashell (guess I still had beach on the brain). Goodwill is charging lots more these days for books but friend Mary and I have both been searching for copies of The Orchid Thief. Well, My heart skipped a beat when I located a pristine, lovely copy this morning. Then I opened it..... SIGNED!!! And the final find as I was leaving, this great old Santa. He is about nine inches tall and makes me happy. What a nice Sunday morning break.

Wednesday Finds

I hadn't been having much luck lately at the thrift stores, and then yesterday, score. A tour of Jensen Beach and PSL yielded four Vera cloth napkins, a great round vase, bought for the pretty dragonfly painted on it, brand new Dexter flower sandals in my size, and a 100% silk blouse with a flattering collar and best of all, fritillary flowers on it! Not shown, a couple of spectacular finds for E & B to be given as a "thrift gift". Just a hint on that purchase, got them home, looked them up online and discovered I "saved" over $150!!!! Great considering I spent $12 to get the secret items!!! They will LOVE them. (and I love teasing Erin well in advance of Christmas....)