Thursday, April 28, 2011

28 hours in Jasper, Indiana




It is 11:30 on Tuesday morning when anti-freeze sprays across the front of our Toyota truck while driving down I-64 in southern Indiana. My husband begins a tirade of choice words as he hits the hazards and pulls over and off of the next exit ramp. Staring at the Ferdinand/Jasper sign, we gather our thoughts and call for a tow. Too far away from our homeland of Illinois and 7 hours from our home in NC, we are taken to the local Toyota dealership in hopes that maybe it was just a hose that blew. After the initial diagnosis of a cracked radiator (exhale), we are told it would take a day to get one in, we begin to make plans to spend the night. Luckily, the dealership gave us a loaner van. We move the dogs, the baby, and some choice luggage and begin to make our way around town. Jasper,Indiana is a deeply German Catholic community boasting a low unemployment rate and a Top 10 Small Towns in America Award. It is time to make a margarita out of our bowl of lemons. We decide to go on the thrift store hunt----a common fallback strategy that seems to cut our stress levels immensely in times of near crisis. Three thrift stores serve the Jasper, Indiana community. The Salvation Army was our first stop. JACKPOT! I love these small town thrifts that seem to be virtually unpicked. Thirty minutes uncovers tons of finds--.30 here, .50 there, $1.99 for a University of Indiana t-shirt(Go Hoosiers!), you could not beat it. With a large box of goodies tucked away in the mini-van, we decide to call it a day (it is nearing 4pm by now and it has been a LONG day) and go check in at the local Days Inn. On our way there, we pass a St. Vincent De Paul Thrift Store---megastore--similar to the one in downtown St.Louis. I had to catch my breath and asked my husband pull over to check the hours. 12-5 Tues-Saturday. They had a free bin out front ( this made my wheels turn)-- I knew this was a thrifters paradise inside those doors. We promised to return at noon Wednesday. The parking lot was packed this late in the afternoon, which affirmed my intuition. We settled into the Days Inn for a storm filled night in Jasper, featuring dinner at the local German restaurant, Schnitzelbank, as well as some local microbrew tastings. My husband enjoyed the Wurst Platter, which featured a bratwurst,bockwrust, and knackwurst(he wanted me to write this). I had the Gruner Spinat casserole, potato pancakes, and the spatzle. We felt the German blood run deep through our veins with this meal.
We checked out the Goodwill on Wednesday morning and it was nothing to write about, surprisingly. At 11:45 we passed the St. Vincent De Paul store and noticed that there was already a long line waiting to get in. This blew my mind, I thought, is everything in there free? what is going on? is it half price Wednesday? I could not wrap my brain around the idea that folks would line up to get into a thrift store that was open 5 days a week. Searching my memory, I could not pull out another example of this behavior--maybe a handful of folks lined up, but not a dozen or two-sheesh! A few minutes after noon, we got into the "Lord's Store"--reference picture. We were elbow to elbow with folks and then a huge load of Amish women showed up and the place was packed. At first, I thought those women were nuns dressed in semi-traditional habits until I saw the children dressed like that as well. Trying to navigate the aisles with a cart was virtually impossible and impassable. I was getting frustrated. It was hard to pick and sort and move through piles of stuff with all of those people in there. Luckily, after you got through the first aisle or two, the crowd started to thin out. I found an entire aisle of used mason jars--- we must have been in the canning capital of southern Indiana. The households section was full of mismatched plates:) The clothes were very functional and practical without a lot of form or flair--who needs form and flair? Think of Garrison Keilor's description of the good Lutherans in Lake Wobegon, I think that same could be said of the good Catholics in Jasper,IN. We did find a pack of swimmers diapers for $1, a set of Hoosier glasses, a ton of mismatched vintage plates, an innertube swimsuit for the baby Hank, and a bunch of stuffed animals for a project at work all for a grand total of $9.98. Wow! As I stood in the checkout lane, staring at the picture of the thorned crown head of Jesus and his mother Virgin Mary, I was filled with a tinge of homesickness for my midwest roots. You don't find places like this in the South, I thought silently to myself. Let's get real, you don't find homegrown Catholics in the South--they are all transplants. The cashier told us to "have a safe trip home and take care", in an odd,midwestern, with hints of German, accent that had been crafted over generations. This was not your typical town and we were blessed to have broken down there. Thanks for the great adventure Jasper, IN--I would give you two thumbs up on the thrift store scale.
Happy Hunting folks!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

2011 Yard Sale Calendar



With the new addition of Baby Hank to our family, I have had to become much more organized than usual. This is actually a good thing and for those of you who know me, you are all shaking your heads “yes” with large smiles on your faces. Needless to say, this has led me to create a yard sale calendar for the Summer of 2011 season. I have researched as many dates as possible and have placed educated guesses on other dates according to last year’s sales date. I hope that my hard work pays off for you and that you take this info and transfer it to your own personal calendars so that you can plan accordingly. If you know of any local, regional, or national sales that I have missed and would like to add, please let me know.


May 7, 2011 Damascus City Wide Yard Sale confirmed
Damascus, VA
This is the beginning of the Trail Days Celebration!
http://www.traildays.us

May 20-21, 2011 Boone United Methodist Spring Fling Sale confirmed
Don’t confuse this with the Fall Bazaar. This one is in the gymnasium only.
Boone, NC

June 4, 2011 The Dawn Fund Garage Sale confirmed rain date June 11
New in name to the local community. Held annually in the parking lot next to the Super 8 on 105—benefits children with disabilities in the community.
Boone,NC

June 11, 2011 Marine Corps Garage Sale
National Guard Armory
Boone,NC

June 17-18 Watauga Humane Society Garage Sale confirmed
Held at the National Guard Armory
Boone, NC

August 4-7 Route 127 Sale confirmed
The longest yard sale in the country. Route 127 crosses the I-40 outside of Knoxville, TN. Check out the website for more details.
http://www.127sale.com/


August 17th National Thriftshop Day confirmed
(the Rosies will be celebrating this the week before due a wedding in the family ---look forward to hearing more about the planned party for our local thrift store employees)


Aug 20, 2011 St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Sale educated guess
They usually have theirs the week before students move back in.
Boone,NC



August 27, 2011 ASU “Big Sale” educated guess
Held at Legends on the ASU campus. The only “run and get it” sale in town—for those that are there when it opens.
Boone,NC


September 2-5 Hillsville Flea Market confirmed
Hillsville,VA
Follow the link for more information. This is Labor Day weekend.
http://www.hillsville.com/fmarket.htm

September 16-17 Boone United Methodist Fall Bazaar confirmed
This is the big Kahuna folks!
Boone,NC


We are hoping that Mountain Alliance will join the ranks this year for hosting a large sale. We know that they postponed last year’s sale and hope that they can become part of the calendar for next season. We would also like to acknowledge the Mountain City Humane Society sale in November, but have no dates on that.

Let’s get ready folks! Find your small bills, your shoulder bags, and your pull along carts, garage sale season is right around the corner. As always Happy Hunting Everyone! We will see you out there.

Rosie P.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Label Whores II


“I was meant to be rich”, my chic and bored daughter mumbles as I drag her to yet another thrift shop in a seedy strip mall in Florida. This one a true bust with rack upon rack of faded chinos, beaded cocktail dresses with huge shoulder pads, and a hefty selection of cheap romance novels. It was run by Hospice, and evidently the place one donates grandma’s worn out apparel after she passes. We leave with nothing but my promise that we WILL go shopping on the drive home so she can find a special outfit for an upcoming wedding.

Fast forward two days and I find myself in the hushed and rarefied air of Saks Fifth Avenue. Yikes! Fish out of water I am, looking at the price tags and feeling woozy.

This is when I decide to update our “Label Whores” blog with some fresh suggestions for those who love to thrift for real treasures, and what a delight it will be to discover any of these labels on a “stuff a bag” table at one of the big sales:

DKNY
Elie Tahari
Michael Kors
VINCE
Lavia
Free People
Adrienne Vittandi
Ellen Tracy
Threads

Our list is ever changing, and we invite you to share additional high end labels to this collection. By the way, I spotted a Michael Kors little black dress, size 6 at the Boone Goodwill this week, $5. Shout out to my “little” friends!
We are “Label Whores”. When “thrifting”, we dive to grab clothing made by our favorite companies.


Our top picks are FLAX, April Cornell, Eileen Fisher, Patagonia, Kavu, Royal Robbins, Gramicci, J. Jill, Cut Loose, Russ Berens, Nomadic Traders, Aly Wear, Ex Officio, Chicos, and Banana Republic. We will be posting “Dozen Roses” moments when we find these.


We won’t pass up a good J. Crew, Polo, Saks, Bloomingdales, Liz, Lands End, or Talbots. The aforementioned don’t reflect our more bohemian tastes, but these finds can be passed on to friends and family (great gifts). We WILL buy Gap, especially the children’s line, although quality and concern about the company’s labor practices are reason for pause.


Madison Studio, Sag Harbor, and Rafella are Belk brands. Usually made in China, and “okay” if unique or in top shape. Dress Barn, Alolfo, White Stag, Bill Blass, The Limited, Old Navy, Worthington, and Cato are in this category as well. We will rarely post about finding any of these brands.


Faded Glory, George, and Jaclyn Smith are Big Box brands. We don’t consider these to be “finds”. So “caution” to those having a sale and expecting big returns on these brands. Let ‘em go cheap!


It’s a sure bet that we will grab any Hannah Andersen or Boden children’s clothing.


Shoes have to be in excellent condition. If we ever find Earth, Dansko, Birkenstock or Keens in good condition it’s a “dozen roses moment”.


We post this with the intent that “Rosebuds” will add their favorite brands to the list. We would love to learn about special boutique brands from our followers. You ask, we find!