But first, Happy Halloween! Hope everyone has a great time. Please don’t *egg* my house.
I arrived home from Minneapolis quite late on Thursday evening so Friday was a bit of a fog for me. The good news is that I will not have to step foot on another plane for several weeks! Yay! While I was in Minneapolis I had time to run into 2 GoodWill stores. OMG. Thrift shopping in Minneapolis is awesome. I wish I had more time! I found lots of goodies in the first store including this old Syroco-style shelving unit ($5!) that I hand carried onto the plane. It’s carry on, right? Tucker approves of it. He’s suggested we paint it black and add some snappy craft paper to the interior. I’ll take his recommendation under advisement.
I also wandered into a store called Second Debut which is a high-end boutique style GoodWill. Really, it’s a GoodWill, I even asked! Everything in this store was awesome. The prices are much higher than a regular GoodWill but worth it, the items were top-notch. I regret not buying the set of framed horse prints ($40 each). If you’re ever in the Minneapololis/St. Paul area, Second Debut is totally worth checking out.
The contest to win the Itouch Ipod courtesy of the folks at Dupont goes to…
Wait!
First let me tell you that all the stories were awesome. I laughed, I cried, I commiserated. Some folks had truly staggering circumstances and for getting through those situations they deserve so much more than an ipod.
When all was said and done, the post that spoke to me (and Tucker Kitten) the most was this one:
“I was lucky enough to inherit the kitchen cabinets from my grandmother’s house. They’re not fancy, and may be a little country, but they are solid wood, actually solid pieces- 8, 9, 10 foot long spans of cabinetry- built back when every kitchen was a custom kitchen by default. This saves me from buying cabinets of a lesser quality just to stay in budget with my home renovation, and I get the joy of being creative, reusing the cabinets, adding molding, sanding, painting… They are worth the extra time to me, both in cost efficiency and to be able to say that I cook in the same kitchen my grandmother did. She may not be here with me to tell me the secrets of making her homemade chicken and dumplings, but I can preserve her memory, her kitchen, and maybe even her recipes, with a little sweat and a lot of love.”
October 31st, 2009 at 10:05 am
Wow!
I’m so surprised! Completely gotten away with! I really didn’t expect to win or anything, I thought it would be cool to enter, but really I just wanted to share my story.
These past two years (and a half) have been a long struggle, in many ways, not just pertaining to the house renovation, but life in general. I am single and young(ish) and have a very low budget, but I keep moving forward because I will have a great house one day. I was lucky enough to grow up witnessing the renovations my parents did with several homes, and so the thought of renovating never scared me and somehow I also developed the vision one needs to tackle such projects. And I won’t just have a mortgage at the end of my renovations, but a home I saved, a home I built, a home I created. How many people can say they’ve touched or seen every inch of their house?
I’m still amazed. My grandmother’s been in heavy in my thoughts as of late. I’m feel she’s watching over me and that helps me to not miss her as much, though I still talk to her often.
I’ll try to get some pictures to you soon of the cabinets in their current state. I wouldn’t even think of putting them in storage to get destroyed by water damage or neglect- so somehow I talked my parents into letting me keep them in their living room!
I really am humbled and surprised, to tears. Your contest, and winning, served as an acknowledgement that I am doing the right thing, am on the right path, and that other people truly ‘get’ what I am doing. Thanks for seeing me and shining hope in on my project. We all need encouragement during renovations!
- Gary Wayne
October 31st, 2009 at 10:12 am
Yay! Will email you momentarily so that the folks at DuPont can send you your ipod.
October 31st, 2009 at 10:57 am
That shelf is awesome! Can’t wait to see what you do with it. I wish thrifting was as good here, but it’s rare to find anything truly fun.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:28 am
Congratulations Gary Wayne! I found his blog quite awhile ago & was very impressed.
And I’m completely amazed at all the cool schidt you find! Like Aimee, good thrift finds around here are very rare, but I still keep looking, just in case.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:30 am
PS: My guess is that it was Tucker that presented you with the empty food bowl.
November 1st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
How cute is Gary Wayne’s story and comment!? I think the right person won.
Sorry I couldn’t join you on this trip…I love new thrifting adventures with Jean Martha! That shelf will be fabulous, I just know it.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I think we need to schedule a Connecticut bender!