I Bought A Hobbit Denim Jumpsuit--Twice!

Last week I was at the Goodwill Blue Hanger, aka the Austin version of "The Bins," and came upon an awesome 1970s men's denim jumpsuit. I turned it over and gasped with joy when I saw that embroidered on the back was the one word that never fails to bring delight to my heart: "HOBBIT." Score!

When I got home I pulled the Hobbit jumpsuit out of the bag to look at it again; then I noticed for the first time that there was a price tag on the sleeve. Upon closer inspection I realized it was a tag from MY OWN STORE! I carbon-dated the tag to about 12 years ago. So not only did I find this item at a thrift store and sell it, but I found it again at another thrift store a dozen years later! What are the odds? And who would have thought I could forget such an amazing item?

Below you may behold the splendors of The Hobbit in all its glory. It is modeled with perhaps a bit too much gusto by Friend of Thrifty Cent Toby K.. Enjoy!

Work Is The Curse Of The Drinking Class, Part One

Like most people of a certain age and temperament, ie, nearing middle age and rummy, I have accumulated a fair amount of barware over the years--vintage cocktail shakers, tiki mugs, kooky stirrers, ice buckets, shot glasses, etc. But I'm always on the lookout for odd or unusual or funny objet to add to my collection, and I'm especially fond of coasters, mainly because they are often of the naughty, jokey, wink-wink, yuk-yuk variety.

Here are some coasters--technically they are napkins, but were meant to be used as party coasters--that I found at the best estate sale/auction I've ever been to, in Kerrville, TX. They were part of a group of paper products in a shoe box that I waited hours to bid on; I believe I got the whole box for $10.

They are called "Nap-Grins" and it's hard to see in the photos, but each one has a little plastic or felt charm attached to it for added specialness. They are the Faberge Egg, the Mona Lisa, the Sex Pistols 8-track, of my collection. (Apologies for the blurriness of some of the images; I have not yet mastered the art of digital photography of tiny print on vintage crapola just yet...)





















What is especially awesome about these--besides the naughty Borscht Belt humor, of course--is that they are made of paper, and so it is that much more miraculous that they have survived intact for so many years (the box is dated 1951). I really want to get them framed and hang 'em above my bar area, because a) j'adore them so, and b) I am afraid that I will destroy them. It wouldn't be the first time that something that has made it down through the decades has been ruined after five minutes in my possession, believe you me.

Oh, and they came with a matching set of "Tray Grins," little cardboard nutbowls or ashtrays:



Oh, Nap-Grins and Tray-Grins, how I love thee!

PART TWO of coaster-a-rama coming soon...

Disco Fiedler!

I found a cassette tape of this recording a while back; I tried to take a picture of it, but I did such a crappy job that I used an image I found on the ole Interwebs instead...You'll get the jist:



I reaaaally love this. For those not in the know, Arthur Fiedler was the conductor of the Boston Pops Symphony for years and years, and apparently he did a number of novelty recordings with the orchestra, including Fiedler On The Roof. Here's the track listing from Saturday Night Fiedler:

Side A
Saturday Night Fever Medley 18:47
a. Stayin' Alive
b. Night Fever
c. Manhattan Skyline
d. Night on Disco Mountain
e. Disco Inferno

Side B
Bachamania 11:32
Based on Toccata and Fugue in "D" Minor and air for the "G" string

As you can see, the first side has orchestral versions of disco songs, medley style, while the second side is a disco version of classical music. Awesome!

Check out this great site, which has some fun info about these records, as well as a couple of mp3's from Saturday Night Fiedler you can listen to and giggle about.

Found at the Austin Goodwill Outlet, aka "The Bins," for $.49.

Oh, Bonny Boy, The Pipes, The Pipes Are Calling

Today's thrift find is delightful liquor dispenser called the "Bonny Boy":



Yes, this charming decanter dispenses booze through a little boy's pee-pee. Swank!

I spied this item at The Bins in San Antonio (see previous post for description of The Bins) in some man's cart. I was green with envy, of course. I watched him through slitted eyes as he paraded the Bonny Boy around, taunting me with his score. I clenched my fists in helpless outrage. But then, just as he was about to seal the deal and buy the damn thing, I saw him move away from the cash register. I edged closer to spy. He went up to a random lady customer and said, "I don't think this thing works! Do you want it?" She took one look and demurred. So he tossed it into a nearby bin and I swooped in. Mine, all mine, at last!

I was afraid it would be obviously disfigured, but no, it was just the battery mechanism that was broken, and I thought maybe it would be possible to repair. And even if it isn't, I just like the way it looks. Don't you? It's so classy!



Price: $.49.

Send In Your Thrift Scores!

This is just a wee note to let all the Thrifty Cent readers (I love you both!) know that I'd love to receive submissions. Because a) I love seeing other people's crap--I mean treasures, and b) I'm quite lazy.

If you've got something unusual and awesome or just plain odd that you want to share with the world, please send in a photo and a brief description of where/when you found it and how much it cost. My only rule is that that the item had to be purchased at a thrift store, garage/yard sale or the like--ie, not an antique/vintage shop or eBay. I don't mind if you've altered or embellished the thing as long as you point out what you did.

My email is over yonder to the right--now get thee to a thriftery!

Gotta Keep 'Em Separated

Ewww. Sorry for that title! Sometimes I just can't help myself. Hee hee!

Anyway, today's find was purchased in Austin, TX for a little more than I usually pay for these types of things, but as it was a gift, I went over my budget a bit. I think it was $6.99. Whoa! I know, I'm cheap when it comes to thrift scores, but stupid Thrift Town, man! Always marking up the "collectibles." Harrumph! Anyway, behold:



Since the only item that I would have any use for is a Lean Cuisine freezer separator, I bought this as a Christmas present for Friend of Thrifty Cent Rebekah M., who is quite the accomplished cook. I thought she could use this handy fat-n-lean gravy separator, which can also double as a spoon rest.

Mainly though, I liked the drawings of meat.

Be My Friend--While You Still Can

I found the above decorative plate yesterday here in Austin. On the back it reads:

"Be My Friend"

First issue in a series entitled "My Memories" by Mary Vickers. Made in England in Wedgewood Queen's Ware.

This is plate number 3037A in an edition limited to, and permanently closed at the end of the prescribed 100 day firing period in the year of 1981.

Hmmm...odd. First of all, this seems so much more late 1960s/early 1970s Creepy Kid than its actual 1981 creation date. I guess this is just one more example of the fact that the look and trends of one decade don't magically disappear with the advent of another.

Also, it seems to me that Mary Vickers' memories of childhood are tainted somewhat by mental illness. Doesn't it look like the one kid is strangling the life out of the other?

Welcome Back, Thrifter!

Well, hello, you! Fancy seeing you here. Come here often? Ha! Me either!

Yes, I KNOW, it's been nigh on a year and a half since I last posted on this blog, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to update my Blog Empire more often, and since I got a new camera, Thrifty Cent will be much easier for me to maintain. Huzzah!

Because I have been so very remiss in my duties I have quite a backlog of fun-n-festive oddities that have accumulated over the past months. If you have been to my house, well, you've seen this crap. Sorry. But for the rest of you, enjoy!

First up, another addition to my Woodland Creatures collection:



I thrifted this in San Antonio, Texas a few months ago. It speaks to me. I especially like his chubby cheeks and the relish with which he caresses his nut. And check out those fingers! I call this one "Lil' Nutlover." Price: $2.99.

Next we have one of my favorite possessions. In a fire I would grab my dog, my passport, and this:



It really encapsulates all that is right and wonderful in the world of Thrift. I particularly enjoy the fact that on the back it says "Souvenir of New Hampshire." Because really, what says "New Hampshire" better than a cat petting a unicorn? Thrifted in Austin, TX. Price: $1.99.

This next one has a a little back story attached to it. My mom and I were in San Antonio at the Junior League Thrift Shoppe, or what we always refer to as "The Rich Lady Thrift," and we saw a bunch of portraits like this one hanging on the wall. There were about 15 of them, all really cool, all of different people and families perhaps from a portrait painter who had died or gone out of business. It being Rich Lady Thrift, they were pricey--some were upwards of $100. Still, we coveted them, as is our wont. Then lo and behold we were back in S.A. a few weeks later at the Goodwill Outlet, or what we always refer to as "The Bins," which is the place where all the crapola that either doesn't sell at the Goodwill stores or is too junky or for other unknown reasons is thrown into large troughs for people like me to paw through, and there she was:


"Our Founder."

It was definitely a work by the same portraitist we'd seen at Rich Lady, but at The Bins the price was more in our range: $3.00. I snagged it and put it up in my house...I like to imagine that this is my elderly landlady, whom I've never met.

This next piece was a gift, yes, but a thrifted gift, so it's ok, and it's my blog anyway, so there! Friend of Thrifty Cent Lori J. gave me this lamp for my birthday last year:



She knew how much I love all things owl-related. I consider owls to be a classic, timeless motif, like unicorns and moose. She got this at the St. Vincent De Paul thrift on South Congress Blvd. in A-town, for $9.99, I think. The bejeweled shade adds just the right amount of New Orleans whorehouse charm. Thanks, Lori!

This plate is one of my best treasures:



I got it at a thrift in the Texas Hill Country town of Kerrville, where they have developed mobile home retirement living into a fine art, let me tell you. I can think of worse fates than ending up in a Winnebago on the banks of the Guadalupe River, whiling away the hours going to awesome garage sales and old lady thrifts, perhaps doing some ceramics and eating a meal or ten at Luby's Cafeteria. Anyway, this gem was under a dollar, yet is priceless to me. Also, my mom and her husband now own an Air Stream trailer and although I gave them the coaster version of this plate (which I found later), I'm still not generous or kind-hearted enough to pass this along to my nearest and dearest, no matter how much they may beg. That's just how I roll.

I thought at first that this next objet was a purse or even a twee hat, but it finally dawned (on someone else) that in fact it is a tissue box cover:



This is the kind of find that fills my heart with joy. The idea that so much time went into making something so ridiculous, well, I just get all verklempt thinking about it. It adds a festive touch to the room, I think. Found in the Rio Grande Valley for 29 cents.

OK, the next one is a bit of a cheat. It is both a thrift find and a re-worked piece. The painting, found in San Antonio for five bucks or so, is of some kind of Louisiana swamp and it immediately suggested to me the planetary home of a certain sage-like Muppet in a galaxy far, far away, and I forced Friend of Thrifty Cent Chepo P. to make my vision a reality:



Yes, it's "Yoda On Dagoba." Profoundly satifsfying on many levels. Sharpie on oil painting, 2006.

I have a soft spot for olden-timey kids' books, and this one caught my eye last month:



It speaks of a sweet, bucolic life that has been totally and completely wiped out of our culture. Check out some of the images from inside, like this one of a milk man. Imagine! Milk! Delivered by a man! To your home!



This picture is kinda blurry, but the words are like poetry:




Here's another children's book that struck my fancy:



I really like the back cover, too:



It appears to be a little Native American girl literally glowing with delight over her embrace of capitalism. But maybe I'm "reading" too much "meaning" from this image?

OK, that's it for now. I'm off to the thrift!