Thrifty Finds

It's been awhile since I posted any of my thrifty finds. So today you are going to get "thrifty overload".

I found this cute plate on clearance at Target a couple of weeks ago. I got it for $5.00!!! I think it was originally $10.00. Isn't it cute? It goes perfect sitting on my china hutch.

When I saw this tray at my local thrift store it was love at first sight. I had to have it. It was $17.00. More than I would normally pay. But it was love, love, love!!! And did I tell you it is huge???? I'm going to paint it Heirloom White & probably distress it. It will fit perfect on top of my old trunk with the uneven top. This tray will make displaying objects on the trunk so much easier. Hubby can't see the beauty in this piece. And he thinks I paid too much. But it was love!!!

I love the frenchy handles. I'm not going to paint them.

I've started a new collection. Like I don't already have too many collections. But I've been bitten by the vintage flatware bug. I've seen so many of you with them in displays, I had to jump on the bandwagon. Here are the knives I got a few weeks ago for 25 cents each at the thrift store.

These spoons were 50 cents a piece.

The forks were 50 cents a piece as well. I choose all my vintage flatware for the pattern on the handle as that is the part that is going to show when I display them in my little white pitchers.


Every time I go to a thrift store I always look for a Scrabble game or Dominoes. But have not had any luck until last week. I found a Scrabble game for $2.00. Still had every single letter. It was like brand new.

I also love collecting urns. Found this one for $1.50 a couple of weeks ago at the thrift store.

I picked up these ugly brass candlesticks for about $1.00 each. I'm going to spray paint them. Not sure what color. I'm thinking blue for summer. I need candlesticks like I need a hole in my head. But I don't have any that aren't silver, crystal, black or white. I'm looking to add some color to my life. And I won't be afraid to paint these some wild color. Or some not so wild color.


I paid $1.00 for this silver candlestick. I just love the shape of the base. I am probably going to glue this to a silver tray to make a pedestal tray. I'll be sure to share it later if I do.

This is something I got this past Saturday at the thrift store. I think it is a towel or napkin holder. Not really sure. I just loved the bird on it. It was $4.00. A bit pricey for me, but again, it was love at first sight.

I'll probably paint this heirloom white as well & then antique it. Then I'll add a vintage print to the frame part. I'll use it for holding my dinner napkins. Isn't that birdy just the sweetest?

I got this little shell dish to use in a summer vignette. I'll probably paint this heirloom white as well. It was $1.25.
I found this 3 tier dessert stand at a thrift store for $5.00. I have a couple of reproduction ones from Tender Heart Treasures. Paid a lot more for the reproduction ones. I think this silver one is the real deal.

I passed it up a few weeks back as I already had a couple of the repro ones. But I couldn't get this beauty out of my mind. So lucky for me it was still there on Saturday.

At this same thrift store I found this vintage rooster for $3.00. Yup, roosters is another of my collections. There isn't much I don't collect I'm afraid.

I also found a bag of vintage clothes pins for 50 cents.

And I found more vintage flatware for my newest collection. Each piece was 25 cents.

Another new collection for me is vintage milk glass vases. I saw on someones blog, where they had about 5 milk glass vases sitting on a round silver tray with flowers. I loved it. I have a silver round tray and some flowers. All I need are the 5 milk glass vases.

So I started looking for milk glass vases. All the ones I saw at Goodwill were like $2-3.00 each. Yikes!!! I can do better than that. I found this one at my local community cupboard thrift store for 50 cents. Much better.


And these 3 were only 25 cents each. I just need one more to make my silver tray display. But until then, I'm using 3 of them in this weeks tablescape. Be sure to come back Thursday to see more.

I'll try & show you later how I used my thrifty finds around my house. So stay tuned.

Oh and I almost forgot, I found the most spectacular crystal chandelier at Lowe's on clearance for $32.00!!!! Once hubby gets it installed, I show photos. I am so excited, I can hardly wait. I've always wanted a chandelier.



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Folk art in Riverside?

For Mother's Day, hubby & I went to downtown Riverside to do a little antiquing. But first we were hungry. You can't shop on an empty stomach now can you?

But where should we eat? The only place I've ever eaten in Riverside is the Old Spaghetti Factory. There is always the Mission Inn, but it was Mother's Day so both places were packed.

So we drove around until we stumbled upon the most unusual eatery. It was called Tio's Tacos. This was our first time there. We were in for quite a surprise.

It seems the restaurant owner is also a folk artist. Over the last 10 years he has taken all the junk he has found around his property & turned it into art. Take a look for yourself. It was quite a spectacle.

Before eating we decided to walk around a little. First off there is this dome shaped hut. It is made mostly of beer bottles. It had water running down the outside. So I guess it was really just one large fountain.

Inside all there was is this hanging chandelier that he made. I loved seeing the light coming in from the different color bottles and the sound of the water trickling down.

Next to the dome shaped hut was this small chapel. It is also made from beer bottles.

Here is the inside of the bottle chapel.


There are two houses plus the restaurant on this property. The roof of this pink house had all this displayed on the roof. Pretty wild.

There is this garden area you can walk through that has junk art hanging everywhere. Lots of water shooting across just over your head. I misjudged once & got the back of my hair wet. There was a stone walkway that also had water trickling through the stones.

All throughout the property he has these topiary forms that are shaped into animals & people. They are filled with the most unusual stuff. Here we have one stuffed with shells, one with little kids toys & one with barbie dolls. And who could miss the large doll head sitting in the sink? Don't you have one sitting in your backyard?

Another tree had these stuffed men looking like they were climbing the tree. Some trees had stuffed animals hanging from them.

A lot of the walkways looked like this. He has thrown whatever junk he could find into the concrete along with river rocks. Here we have a bike encased in the concrete. And did you notice the gnome? I saw TV remote controls, game controllers, tools, hubcaps, toys, etc in the concrete. Some of the walkways just had beer bottles or bottle caps encased in the concrete.

All kinds of art made with junk.

Most everything was so bizarre. But still kind of cool.

We then went inside the restaurant to order our food. You order at the counter & then go find a seat. You can eat inside or out. We opted to eat outside on the patio as it was such a beautiful day. And what did we have for lunch? Hubby had this small crab tostada & a machaca burrito.

I had this carne asada burrito. They were pretty good. I hear this place is mostly known for it's mexican style seafood & fruit smoothies. We had neither. So I guess we will have to go back & try. I love fish. And their specialty is Tilapia. But when I saw that they serve the fish whole, I changed my mind about having fish. Not sure I can eat fish when it's looking back at me. Yuck!!!

I was going to try & get a photo of the fish for you. But I wasn't brave enough to go up to a complete stranger & say "Excuse me, can I take a photo of your fish?". Besides, I wouldn't want to scare you.

Here is hubby eating his tostada. Notice the carved palm tree behind him?

This was our scenery while eating lunch. Topiary figures filled with shells. There was water shooting out from most everything, everywhere on this property. This one was a little rude, but still funny.

See what I mean about weird? You never know what you will find at this place.

This topiary is filled with bottle caps & is holding a globe. He has a metal can for his head.

And here I am. Can you believe I am showing you a photo? I can't.

The house on the corner of the property has a small gift shop that was closed. I hear the family who owns the restaurant also lives in this house. This steel gazebo was in the front. It was about the only normal thing I saw.

Well that, and the roses. I did love this planter. And did you notice the rows and rows of rusty old metal cans used for edging?

This topiary sits on the front of the house. It is filled with cans. Looks like this one is still in needs of more cans. I like that they turned the light into a head for this. They had more of these sitting on the back of the house incorporating other lights as heads.

There was so much to see. I'm sure I missed a lot because there was so much to take in.

I loved these rusty doors on the gift shop. I'm glad the gift shop was closed or I may not have noticed the doors.

There was even an old clawfoot bathtub that had become a fountain.

It was almost overwhelming on how much folk art there was. This guy has some sort of imagination.

Well I hope that you enjoyed the folk art. And I didn't even take photos of anything inside the restaurant. Lots of mosaics in there.

The folk art was a little too weird for my taste, but I could still enjoy it. Just wouldn't want it in my back yard.

So if you are ever in Riverside California, be sure to stop by & check out Tio's Tacos for yourself. They are located on Mission Ave just a couple of blocks north of the Mission Inn.

And be sure to have something to eat and drink there while you are at it. But don't say I didn't warn you about the fish. I wouldn't want you to have nightmares of a dead fish staring at you.



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