Quick, somebody pinch me!
I think I might have a slight case of the faints, or have imagined the whole thing. On a visit to a convenience store earlier today, a man actually HELD THE DOOR OPEN FOR ME! Yes, that was totally worthy of all caps, because this hardly ever happens. Or, it hardly ever happens to me. In my life, my sons are the only (young) men who open doors for me. This man was older than me, so I am sure he was aware that common courtesy dictates a gentleman hold the door open for a lady. But you’d be surprised at how many DON’T do it anymore, regardless of age.
Now, on to this week’s Thursday 13.
As some of you know, I am a huge thrift/antique/vintage store and flea market enthusiast. Especially when it comes to vintage dishes, housewares, handbags, and furniture! And I’ve come to realize a few things:
1. Thrift & junk stores are totally hit or miss when it comes to the things I like.
2. The junkiest, nastiest thrift stores have the best selection of the things I like (when they’re a “hit”, of course!).
3. Bring antibacterial wipes to wipe off plates or other items to see if they’re just dirty, or truly discolored/cracked/damaged.
4. Of course, you want to clean your hands off with the antibacterial wipes after your thrifting excursion.
5. If you’re within a one mile stretch of several different stores and you’re out doing some hardcore shopping (or looking and wishing, like me), you are going to run into the same people over and over that day.
6. People who will not hesitate to invade your personal space while shopping, even though there may be plenty of room elsewhere.
7. Because they’re nosy and want to see what you’re digging through.
8. They probably made the mistake of not grabbing something they thought they wanted, then want to make sure you don’t grab it “just in case”. Which brings me to…..
9. If you see something you even think you MIGHT want to buy, grab it and put it in your arms/cart/whatever immediately. Or if you’re in a place without carts, take it to the register and ask them to hold it for you while you finish shopping. My mom lost a beautiful antique silverware set to a #6 in an antique store once because it was heavy and she didn’t want to carry it around . If you change your mind, you can always put the item back when you’re done!
10. I am always astonished at the number of people who’ve glued cups and saucers together. Or were some of them just made that way?
11. There are more plain white china dishes with gold/silver band than at which sticks can be shaken.
12. Some stores are the best at one particular thing. For instance, at one store, I can always find truly eclectic vintage footwear. At another, there is always a good selection of dishes that weren’t there on my last visit. And yet another always has really cute, authentic vintage fabrics & linens.
13. You can ALWAYS find that perfect, big-ticket item you’ve been searching high and low for……IF you don’t have enough money for it on that particular trip. Trust!
For more of this week’s Thursday 13, go here.
So….are there any other fellow retro dish/furniture enthusiasts reading? Any thrift/flea market junkies? What do you search for, or do you just shop and pick up items with no real “plan” in mind? Where do you find the best selections? Best deals?
Originally published at devilishsouthernbelle.net. You can comment here or there.