THRIFTING, CINNAMON ROLLS AND CAPE COD

First things first. Big apologies. I've been neglecting my blog a little recently.  It's just that I've been on the road a lot. Last week I was in Cape Cod helping my Mom open our house for the summer rental season. It involved a lot of cleaning, gardening and raking leaves. We also took down a 25ft (dead) tree in the backyard.

 *My mom took this pic of me. She was thrown off a bit by my new camera and didn't quite capture the entire leaf pile. Who knows what I was doing?

Luckily, with rainy skies halting some of the outside work, we were able to visit many of the fantastic community/ church thrift shops and estate sales on Cape Cod. You've definitely heard me talk about them here. I managed to pick up 22 sets of glassware, some great milk glass, brass candlestick holders and Mad Men-like martini sets. These will all be coming to Octavia & Brown as soon as I can get them photographed. I might also need to throw a fantastic retro party too!

While I was in Chatham, I did manage to sneak in a cinnamon roll (or two) from Marion's Pie Shop. They are the size of your hand, but so soft and doughy.  Marion's also makes the most delicious chichen pot pies, but you have to get there early, because they sell out everyday...

Now that I'm back in NYC, I have a friend staying with me from San Francisco. She's a fellow foodie, we've been eating our way around NYC. More on that later this week...

GONE THRIFTING

I'm a big fan of shopping online to find cool, new accessories for my apartment, but sometimes nothing beats a trip to the local thrift store for some amazing finds. One of my favorites, Angel Street Thrift had some great items yesterday....

 This mid century chair has great lines and would be fantastic recovered with some new fabric. 

How about some colorful throw pillows for this fabulous brown and white houndstooth sofa?

This huge pizza sign from the set of Julie & Julia, would look great above my couch.

Have you found anything at a thrift store that you absolutely love?

Feelin' Thrifty...

Last week, I took a day off from Brimfields to explore the thrift shops of Cape Cod. I was amazed to find a huge network of thrift shops that spans every church, breakfast mission and small town on the Cape. 

While thrift stores on the Cape carry books, clothes, music, furniture and a whole bunch of other stuff, I found that they're great for picking up smaller items such as glassware, candlestick holders, vases, etc to decorate and entertain on a budget. People usually drop off full sets of glassware and plates, as opposed to the miscellenous one or two glasses that you normally get in the larger cities. Be prepared to dig for treasures, as most thrift stores are packed with donations.

Additionally, people that rent out houses on the Cape for the season, as well as year-round residents, will usually drop off donations prior to and at the end of the summer season. These are the best times to score some larger finds such as couches, dressers, etc.

A few of my favorites finds from the day included several sets of vintage champagne glasses, a black and white fish-eye photo from the 50s, a Dorothy Thorpe creamer and sugar bowl, and a silver plate flower frog.

* A side note, thrift stores are also a way to meet some very interesting people from the Cape and get a few great stories, as most employees are part-time volunteers. 

To check out a list of thrift shops on Cape Cod, click here.