August 07, 2008

Favorite thrift?

OK, asking me for my favorite thrifty find is somewhat akin to asking a mother who her favorite child is.

But since
Southern Hospitality has asked us to make this difficult choice (for her online Thrifty Find party), I’ll skirt the issue a bit by showing you my most recent favorite thrifty find, Lady Liberty:

I got her during what can best be described as a two-week long eBay bender. I was obsessed with finding mates for a Statue of Liberty I bought for a couple of dollars at a yard sale (two summers ago?). I found the perfect spot for her in the shore house, and early last month became obsessed with acquiring an entourage of vintage Lady friends. Here’s my collection to date, all under $10 a piece:

The funny things is, since I work in midtown Manhattan I could probably go to any tourist store on 5th Avenue and save myself a lot of time! But that’s no fun, is it?

The Statues of Liberty are in a bathroom that we’ve only done some minor work on to date. Three of the walls were covered in a toile print that we both kind of liked, so we painted the wall behind the (clawfoot! yay!) tub a deeper brown color to complement the darker shade in the toile. We also removed a nasty laminated kitchen cabinet “situation” that was going on above the w.c., and it made a WORLD of difference. We’re very curious what’s lurking under the very, very bad vinyl sheet floor but have been frightened to lift it. I will share our findings when we lift it to take our first peek in the coming weeks, but here’s a little preview the very little bathroom room so far:

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention my favorite shore house thrift to-date (we’ve had the house since the start of the year, so it’s still a relatively new score), my fabulous femme:

I love her so much I’ve already mentioned her twice, including a stand-alone post devoted to her fabulousness. At $10 for her and the nice old chippy black frame she came in, it was a no brainer for me.

And, my all time favorite thrifty find was made on February 17, 2007. I found this one in a cage in a shelter, looking a little lost. But like all thrifty finds, when you get them home and clean them up, they look SO much better!

(Maggie on move in day.)

She hardly cost more than a decent meal, and let me tell you – this old lady doesn’t owe us a dime.


42 comments:

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

Yes, I agree. Your puppy is the best find of them all!

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Thanks ceekay! I just had to go back to your "House Tour" from yesterday...for some reason the slide show wasn't working (likely because I was at work...and shouldn't have been surfing blogs in the first place. ;-) I love that striped lounge piece on your porch! It's so cool.

cherry said...

Awwwwwww I would have to say our puppy was our best thrift find tooo! We got him this past Jan. at the Humane society. We love him soo much. I love your statue of liberties..very cool collection. cherry

Free Art Printables said...

You gotta love lady liberty! and such a cute puppy! Jen R

Unknown said...

Hi laura,
I love the statue collection! What a great idea. Next time you may be bidding against me! LOL

And the puppy is so precious! How sweet of you to take him under your wing!
Diane

Scooterblu's Whimsy~Rhonda said...

Oh, The dog is the cutest find of all! I have one of those too, and he is 12-13 years old. Best dog we ever had! (Not the Yorkie, on my ID...he is loved, but high-maintenance! LOL!)

The statues of liberty is such a neat collection for a shore house, and I love the vintage print!

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit! ~Rhonda :)

Blogger said...

Awww, cute doggie :)

I love your femme beach girl, she's so happy!

I have never seen a Statue of Liberty collection...I like it!

Bella :)

angela | the painted house said...

I love the Statue of Liberty collection...I may have to steal that idea! What a charming bathroom, too.

Thank you for stopping by my blog, too!

Anonymous said...

oh that last find is gorgeous, my kids would so so so love her!

now I'm tellin you I am so jealous of those statues, we visited the Statue of Liberty back in 2000 and boy oh boy I was bowled over by it and Ellis Island was even better, I still often browse through the book I bought all about it, I'd love one of those statues and you have three!

oh and how exciting that you work in Manhattan, you probably don't think that, I used to work in the west end of London, commuting past all the most famous sites twice a day on my way to and from work, do you think I stopped and took it all in and visited those beauties??? of course not

oh yeah I am looking out for a femme like that, I rekcon I've got some serious thrift waiting til I come across one like that

S

Tina said...

Oh, I love the beach girl print you found!
just discovered your blog.
I'll be back to visit.
Blessings
T

Darlene said...

I have never seen a Statue of Liberty collection but they look beautiful!!! My favorite find of all is your pup, she is just lovely....

Courtney said...

*sigh* I love your fabulous femme! and that last find...awwwww.....love him too! not to mention...can I have your fabulous bathroom??

Unknown said...

Aw, Maggie has the sweetest face, I would reach down and pet her if I could! So happy you found her!

You have some of the most amazing Lady Liberties! Great story and I like your special deals on them too!

please sir said...

Very lovely...I like your favorite find! A great start to a fun collection.

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Laura, I just love how you tell a story! That toile bath looks yummy, I can't wait to see more of it. And your lady print...gorgeous for a house on the water.

And that furbaby you brought home...priceless! Thanks for playing along with me.

Rhoda

Rue said...

Awwww... that is so sweet :) We had a black Lab named Maggie when I was growing up.

Your bathroom is so cute! Oh and I hear ya on the ebay bender. I had one with Big Ben clocks about a week ago LOL

rue

Anonymous said...

wow, I love everything. Your Liberties and how you got them. Your bather is outstanding!!! And Maggie, the best find of them all. You have a soft heart girl. I love you for that

Jeanne

Angie said...

I love all your finds..you have a great eye! Maggie is the cutest...I can see why you had to bring her home! I can't wait to see what's lurking underneath that bathroom floor...I love doing stuff like that!

~Angie

littlebyrd said...

Love your collection of lady liberties!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Laura, I love Lady Liberty too! I look for Christmas ornmants made in her image.
Lovely shore house lady painting -- such pretty colors.
I love your Maggie! She looks like a wonderful friend.

Shannon said...

Love all your finds!! The Lady Liberty collection is so fun and unique. I bet you will (or do) get a lot of compliments on that!

beachy in the burbs said...

I love those Statue of Liberty ladies!! Reminds me of this one that a neighbor of mine had in their front yard's garden. I always loved seeing it on my walk home from work everyday. I'm going to have to check out eBay! :)

The Style Sisters said...

Hey...I used to live in Waldwick New Jersey when I was a kid and on Long Island New York. We only lived back east for about three years total but I have the best memories from there. I love your blog. Love the the Lady Liberty statues..what a deal. Cut dog too! We have a chocolate lab and she is the best!!
Thanks for your nice comments on my blog today. You made my day.
Karin

Michelle said...

Awwww, Maggie is definitely a keeper! I'm so glad she found a loving home. :)

Picket said...

Oh Loved the finds but absolutely adore that beautiful 'fur baby' Maggie!

nikkicrumpet said...

Okay...You WIN...Maggie is DEFINITELY the best find I've seen today during my tour. What a KEEPER!

Richie D. said...

I too have a Statue of Liberty Collection in my office. I have two photos that Phoebe D. gave me on Father's day 2007, a note pad, and a miniature lady liberty.

"From her beacon-hand glows world-wide welcome"
-Emma Lazarus

Debbies-English-Treasures said...

MUCH PREFER THE STATUE OF LIBERTY THAN THE EIFFEL TOWER!
LOVE YOUR COLLECTION!
KISSES KISSES
DEBBIE
XXX
(FROM ENGLAND)

B. said...

Beautiful collecion and so much fun to go find them instead of going down the street to get them!

Robin said...

love the statues! and secondhand dogs are BEST!

Legacies For You said...

What a cute pooch! All of our animals have come from the humane society and we've been so lucky. I love your idea of the Lady Liberty collection and should add at least one to my Americana collections. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Anonymous said...

I just love NYC--I'm from KC, MO area--and have always thought about a S of L collection. You have just re-inspired me to do just that! Your sweet pup was certainly the bestest of great finds. Speaking of great finds, I thought you might like to know about one of my favorite bloggers who lives in Brooklyn and shares wonderful NYC posts, recipes, trips, etc. Her name is Pat and her blog is:

http://millefiorifavoriti.blogspot.com/
I am so glad to have found you through Rhoda's Thrifty Find post!

PAT said...

Wonderful post, Laura.

Love your thrifty finds, especially Maggie! I have a granddog named Maggie Mae. She has quite a story!

bj said...

Ahhhh....yep...the puppy is the BESTEST treasure of all !
I do love L.Liberty, too!!
Good luck with your little bath...
hugs, bj

Marie said...

An ebay bender?? lmao You are funny! And your thrift finds are fabulous! Thanks for stopping by my blog... I love yours and I'll be back!

Alyce said...

Well..Maggie was the best find of all!

Tina said...

Just wanted you to know I've added your blog to my link list since I'll be visiting often and want to direct my blog friends to your site.
Always a pleasure and I love the idea of using the scrapbooking papers. I used it in an interior design workshop I did earlier this year and it was a hit.
Great style for pennies.
T

Laura @ the shorehouse. said...

Oh my gosh!! So many comments! Thank you all for stopping by my little online home.

I told Maggie she made quite an impression on everyone, and she celebrated with a peanut butter dog biscuit. :-)

It is so nice to meet so many new (to me) bloggers, so thank you for stopping by. If I'd have known there would be so many of you I'd have baked a cake or something!

-- Laura @ the shorehouse.

Anonymous said...

I have to admit that your fuzzy find is my absolute favorite.

But, how could I not love a line-up of Lady Liberty.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

The weekend is here ~I can finally make it around for Rhoda's party.
Better late than never.

I love your finds~

Ms Jackie's Junque said...

I love all your finds, but especially Maggie!

Gabrielle Mader said...

Awww...love your ladies...great collection. Man do I love your bathroom and I do like that toile..my chair in my post had a toile like that but a darker brown with a tad of green. But the pups are the best kind of finds...