Happy Friday! Hope that you’ve all been having a great week. I feel like I’m starting to get caught up again – on work, blogging, even housework. We’ve got a busy fall coming up, so I’m going to spend some of this weekend doing projects and making meals I can freeze for the next couple of months. Most of the time I feel like I’m racing to get caught up, but when it starts to get to a point where I’m almost ahead of the game, I feel great. I wish I could be like that all the time.
For this week’s Friday Favourites, I’m sharing some great finds from garage sales and shopping. I’m not a big shopper, so when I come across something awesome at a great price (that I will actually use), I get so excited!
1. Vintage Wooden Labatt Beer Case
Last week, I was out for dinner with my family and we spotted this awesome vintage wooden beer case. The restaurant was using it as the kid’s toy chest, but I had visions of it being used as a great accent piece.
As luck would have it, my mom spotted one three days later at a garage sale and snatched it up for $5. When we got home and started searching for it online, we found them for sale anywhere from $50-300. My mom isn’t going to sell it, but it’s always interesting to find that something you got cheap has more value than you expected.
She doesn’t know what she’ll do with it yet, but my brother is trying to convince her to turn it into a cooler, like a friend of ours did. I think it’s awesome on it’s own. You could line it with plastic and fill it with ice for a beverage station at a party.
2. Kitchen Mat
Another great find that my mom snatched at the garage sale were two of these cotton rugs for $3 each. According to the tag, it’s from IKEA in 1994 – meaning it’s almost 20 years old but never used.
She kept one for the cottage and sent the other one home with me. It’s roughly 2 ft x 4 ft, making it a nice fit in our tiny kitchen. I’m also thinking about putting it in our bedroom for those cool winter mornings when I don’t want to put my feet on the ground right away.
3. Skeleton Keys
On our camping trip in Elora, we stopped into the city of Guelph to grab dinner one evening. While walking around we found this super creepy antique shop. I’m talking giant man-eating spiders and vampire bats in taxidermy frames in the storefront window. Of course we had to go in and see what else they had, so while Garrett looked at the spooky oddities, I kept my eyes diverted to the other side of the room (arachnophobia!) and that is when I spotted a glass case full of skeleton keys.
I picked out three that I really loved and then gladly handed over the $12 for them. $4 each isn’t bad when they are typically $6-8 around here. Plus they are a great souvenir of our trip together. Now I’m on the hunt for a vintage frame to put them in.
4. Terracotta Beehive Jar
When Target came to Canada this spring, I spotted this whimsical jar with an awesome beehive pattern. It was originally $8 and I passed it by, but when I found it in the clearance section last month for $2, I snapped it up.
The terracotta is exposed along the edge of the jar and you can see it under the glaze as well. The inside is a fun pop of olive green glaze.
The little bee knob at the top is my favourite.
It’s holding cotton balls in the bathroom right now, but I’m thinking about moving it onto the front hall dresser to hold Whiskey’s treats. We’re in the process of teaching him a few new tricks and he needs all the food encouragement we can give him.
5. Police Office Cookie Jar
The last find is something that Garrett’s parents picked up for him from a garage sale. He thinks it’s funny, but I think it’s creepy. The eyes blink and it talks to you when you open it. I’m always worried that it is going to start talking to me one night when Garrett isn’t home. It looks like something from a spooky ventriloquist act. Just take a look at this video I posted on Instagram this morning:
I must say that it’s a good way to stop yourself from eating too many cookies. I’d rather not have one that have it talk to me!
I’ll admit that I’ve even turned his face around so he isn’t looking at me when I’m doing the dishes. If ever blinks on it’s own accord, I’ll be running out of the house so fast! hahaha
The little lapels and batches are a cute touch though.
Have you had any great finds recently?
Or are you on the hunt for something right now?
I love that beer box and the skeleton keys are so pretty! Gotta love Target clearance… I have been thrilled to find great things on clearance at our local Target too even though it has only been open since May. Picked up a couple of adorable $5 lampshades and a hexagon/beehive vase for $8 a couple of weeks ago!
Thanks! Although it may not be as good as their American counterparts, there are some great finds in the clearance section at Target. I had hoped to find one of those beehive vases to go with the jar I found – love that pattern.
Errr that cookie cop gives me the heebie-jeebies ahh put it under your bed just when garretts half asleep tap it’s head so it says(“hands of the cookie jar”) that would make my scream………try it and please show me or us the results please! 😉