thrifting

My Mug, The Mug

October 28, 2014 by tjdoyle0811 Leave a Comment

As you know, I started going to thrift stores a few months ago in search of vintage coffee mugs among other things. I want to have a collection to fill some future shelves in my kitchen. One day I was at the Goodwill and came across a mug with a handle that had been broken off but reattached with some serious glue in three different places. It was the coolest looking mug I’d seen so far, but I couldn’t get over the fact that the handle had been broken off. I was so bummed. Why couldn’t it had been perfect?! I mean, it was only $0.99, but in my mind that was too much for a broken mug. I left without buying it.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the mug on the drive home. When I got home I started telling Jeremy about said mug and how perfect it was minus the broken/reattached handle. I was talking, I had a epiphany. What if it was the previous owners favorite mug ever and they loved it so much that when it broke they just had to glue it back together? Because it was their mug. The one mug they wanted to use everyday.

I started to find that the reattached handle was actually quite charming and that it was, in fact perfect. I liked the idea that there was some sort of history with the mug. Obviously someone loved it enough to fix it, right?! I completely regretted not buying it. (So far, it’s the only thing I’ve regretted not buying at the thrift store) I know it’s weird, but I couldn’t get the thing out of my head. So, when I went back a week later, I was thrilled to find that it was still there. Yes!!

This mug is now my favorite. I call it my Friday mug because even if I use it on other days, I always make sure it’s ready for my coffee on Friday mornings. I guess it makes me happy and gets my day started off on a good note. I love that there is a story there, even if the story is just one I made up.

I plan on keeping it forever. And it it breaks I will repair it just as the person before me did.

Weekend Favorites

March 3, 2014 by tjdoyle0811 2 Comments

We had a bitter cold weekend here in Omaha. I’m so over Winter! We haven’t really been doing much because of the cold. However, I do have a few favorites from the weekend.

More thrifting! Hudson actually wanted to go look for new books. We’ve found some great books at the Goodwill and this time we ended up with 8 new books and 6 of them look like they’ve never been read. But the best score was this awesome pot I found! I’ll definitely be planting something in it. The photos don’t do the color justice. It’s really pretty in real life.

Thrifting for the win!

Family lunch. This is my last fast food meal before I give it up for Lent. I love this shot. So real.

Breaking Bad. We finished watching the show on Friday night. Oh my gosh was it good! I couldn’t stop thinking about it all weekend. Brilliant! Totally brilliant.

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The Oscars. I love watching and seeing all the dresses and I’m totally into movies. All movies. Last night Cate Blanchett wore my favorite dress. I absolutely love it. There were so many good dresses last night though, so it was hard to choose just one.

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So there you have it. A few of my favorites from the freezing cold don’t even wanna leave the house weekend.

See you tomorrow!

Weekend Favorites

February 17, 2014 by tjdoyle0811 2 Comments

I’m starting a new series today called Weekend Favorites where I’ll be posting about favorite things from the weekend on Monday mornings. It might be thrifting finds, photos I took, things we did, recipes, etc. I think this will be a great way to celebrate all the little things. It’s usually the little things that are magic.

Here are this weekends favorite things.

Sunday’s thrifting find. I love the mustard color and think I might plant a succulent in it. How cute would that be?! It was only $3, which makes it even better in my book!

Donkey Tail plant. On a run to Home Depot for some more terra-cotta pots, I picked up this awesome plant. I’ve wanted one for a long time. Now I can check it off my list. Hopefully I can keep it alive…

Photos of the kids. Love how excited they get about little things like heart-shaped lollipops on Valentine’s Day.

Learning games on Sunday morning while I made breakfast.

And last, but not least, flowers from Jeremy on Valentine’s Day. I don’t get flowers often, so this was a nice surprise! Oh and there was wine too. I love having fresh flowers in the house. Especially this time of year when everything outside is so brown.

Hope you’re having a great start to your week!

Adventures in Thrifting

February 4, 2014 by tjdoyle0811 Leave a Comment

I have always loved discovering little treasures at thrift stores, Goodwills, and even garage sales, but I’m not really good at visiting those places on a regular basis, especially garage sales. However, I’ve recently been totally inspired by Elise’s thrift store finds that she’s shared over on her blog http://eliseblaha.typepad.com, especially the awesome coffee mugs and dresser she found.

I’m also totally loving Manda’s mug collection at http://www.mandatownsend.com, and I love the way she has them displayed in her kitchen. So awesome! All my mugs are totally boring.

And because I’ve been so inspired, I decided to hit a couple of Goodwills this past weekend. We had to drop a big box of stuff off anyway, so why not. I was mainly looking for mid-century furniture, a coffee mug or two and some books for the kids.

Well, I ended up finding this little gem!

I love it! It makes me happy. I have no idea how old it is, but I’m digging the vintage feel.

We also found some good books for the kiddos, but no furniture.

I think this weekend I might have to check out a few thrift stores around town. I’m hooked after finding just one mug! Uh Oh. Maybe I can wrangle up a friend or two to join in the fun! (Liz, where are you when I need you?!?!)