priorities

The Countryside Publix in Clearwater's definition of a storm basic. You can tell they've been through a few hurricanes.

who knew?

I was at Big Lots this afternoon looking for some storage containers for a client when I came across a giant collection of yarn. Every skien for only $1 each. It was such a good deal I couldn't resist buying some unusual yarn to play around with. Just a little FYI for all the knitters in the audience.

easter treat updates

My friend Stephanie loves to blog about ads for unusual things. When I spotted these two modern interpretations of classic Easter items at the grocery store recently, I thought of her.

We found these kits prominently displayed at the entrance to a Publix in West Chase, a well-to-do Tampa suburb. I puzzled over the kit (Army eggs?) until coming to the realization that this would be a neat way to make Easter egg hunts harder. Camouflage eggs would be a big hit up my way since we have a lot of hunters and military folk in the surrounding communities. But when I went looking for them here, there were none to be found (maybe they were bought up so quickly I missed them?) Instead, I discovered this gem:

Diva da' Bunny comes with candy bling bling. As an educator with a love for the English language, it truly pains me to see major corporations help ruin conventional grammar. And people wonder why children can't spell these days? It might also be worth mentioning that I saw these bunnies in my more urban neighborhood but not in suburban West Chase. Are there other unusual Easter items I've overlooked? Please enlighten me.

west coast wandering

Yesterday, a friend and I went over to Crystal River to spend the day. I hadn't been there in a few years and was impressed with their combination of thrifts and antique stores. Everything we saw was moderately priced, with the exception of the $10 tattered copy of the first Harry Potter book in a Hospice Attic (I actually laughed out loud, then felt sort of bad.) I've been on the lookout for vintage Florida & oranges memorabilia for a while now, but it's either too kitchy or really expensive. I did luck out with an old promotional poster created by the Florida Citrus Commission. There were two different designs, but the thermometer's grin made my choice easy. We were blown away by the World's Best Organized Thrift Store -- the book area was divided into sections which were alphabetized and clearly labeled. Even the greeting cards were grouped according to celebration. The only thing we couldn't figure out was why they differentiated between Christian, Religious, and Christmas when organizing records (isn't that three ways to say the same thing?)

I also took some pictures, mostly ideas for T-shirt designs and silly local signage (several in little Williston! Who knew?) I'll have them up on Flickr in a bit, which I should attempt to connect to this blog sometime today -- wish me luck!

thrift score!

I had a crazy busy weekend full of so many fun things: I witnessed USF beat WVU in Raymond James Stadium, spent a great evening hanging out with one of Tim's old undergrad buddies, got suntanned and blown away exploring Honeymoon Island, and went to an amazing Folk Art festival in St. Pete. But what am I most excited about? The most amazing thrift score in recent memory!

We're bumming around the Salvation Army in Clearwater off US 19, which we'd passed a dozen times but always figured wasn't that great (SAs are so hit or miss nowadays.) We'd been thrifting earlier in the day and I'd found some cute daisy glasses I would have purchased, except that they were $2 -- each! For a used, paint-peeling-off tumbler! I remarked -- for the millionth time -- about how if you really wanted to get rid of something, you'd price it to move. Ever since eBay, thrifts are so pricey. Not everything is worth a ton of money, you know? Anyway, I was impressed with how reasonably priced everything at this SA was. Obviously, this was a thrift that didn't care about the provenience of their merchandise -- I saw Candlewick stemware for 50 cents a glass! There was an unusually great collection of both dining room suites and china sets. If you know me at all, you know I am obsessed with china. I would have 10 sets if I had the room (and I already have three complete sets!) So I was wistfully looking at each classic pattern when I stumbled upon one of the most amazing things I've ever seen -- an entire set of green Blue Heaven!!


Now, I've collected Royal's Blue Heaven china for almost 10 years. I have a built-in Blue Heaven radar: I can actually find the lone Blue Heaven plate at the bottom of a huge stack of mismatched dishes with just a glance. And between thrifts, antique stores, and (heaven forbid) even eBay I've managed to amass 10 place settings and almost every additional piece -- platters, pie plates, coffee pots, even juice glasses. But after all these years I've NEVER seen the pattern in green. The set includes seven almost-complete place settings, a sugar bowl (with lid!) and two great serving bowls. The photo only shows part of the set -- the rest is drying after a good wash. The berry bowls also have an unusual feature -- a cool side handle. I was so excited I was speechless (another first?) Tim hasn't been thrifting with me for that long so he didn't really understand the magnitude of the find. I ended up with over 50 pieces for $29.99 (no tax in Pinellas County?) When we got home I raced to the computer to research my score. Apparently the pattern is called Mojave Green and is relatively rare (not on eBay, not mentioned on Royal's site, listed on Replacements Limited but with no pieces in stock, etc.) It made me smile all night, even through the Gators' ridiculous loss to Auburn. Now that's powerful!

In blog news, I'm working on getting my Flickr site updated, which means I'll be able to share more fun photos. I'm also trying to figure out how to customize my heading. Hopefully by the time October is over everything will be set up the way I want it. Stay tuned...