A Goodwill Discovery & The Accidental Audiophile

Let me preface this post by saying that I was heading to Salvation Army in search of an on-trend Spring wardrobe.

So how did I end up with a fresh stack of records?

Well, I was driving along Lincoln Highway, mere minutes from the Salvation Army, when I spotted something on the opposite side of the road that wasn't there before.

It was a brand spankin' new Goodwill. I got all jittery behind the wheel, realizing I  just discovered new hunting ground. And it was a good thing too, because Salvation Army just had nothing for me today. I gleefully turned around and found myself walking through a clean, organized, fully-stocked Goodwill. 

I had already found a shirt, and a small promotional Benefit makeup bag with new, sealed travel sizes of some of my favorite products inside. But when I spotted another 20-something  thrifter intently bent over the boxes of records, I new it was worth a look. 

Sleeves. As soon as I saw the sheen of those plastic sleeves, I knew I was staring at a stockpile of audio gold. If you spot a stack of LPs in protective sleeves, you just know you've hit the jackpot. The former owner took care of these records. They were  true collectors. I inhaled the vintage aroma, knelt down and readied myself for the magic. 

Gingerly thumbing through the collection, I found record after record from a former owner after my own heart. 

Just look at that shine. There's not a scratch on them. No warping of any kind. Those grooves are just so smooth, I could die. Die to the sweet sounds of Nancy Sinatra. 

$4.23 spent and I scooped up mint condition copies of:

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
Bob Dylan: Empire Burlesque 
Bob Dylan: John Wesley Harding
Billie Holiday: 4 Record Set 
Prince: Controversy
Prince: Dirty Minds
Carly Simon: Playing Possum
Nancy Sinatra: Boots 
Styx: Kilroy Was Here


Be sure to visit Sir Thrift A Lot for a link-up and see all the loot he's hauled in from the  thrift.  

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I may not have a thing to wear. 
But I have music, goddammit. I have music. 

We Came. We Saw. We Thrifted.

"Susie" by Goddard, Museum Print Edition

This past Tuesday, I decided that I needed an entire day of thrifting. So after mapping out a trip to three thrift stores in the Souderton and Montgomeryville area, I  hit the roads with a friend and without a budget in mind.

The first stop was The Care and Share, which is literally a shopping plaza of thrifting. Each thrift store within is conveniently divided by departments. Of course we browsed the books and oohed and ahhed at the vintage furniture.

But it was in the variety thrift shop of The Care and Share that I scored this lovely "Susie" print which now sits atop my dresser.

6 records. SIX. Guess how much! 

I'm not sure I can decide on my favorite find of the day, but I can definitely pinpoint the cheapest. I salvaged this vinyl playlist from the Care and Share Thrift Outlet, where ya gotta dig for the treasures:

24 Groovy Greats LP

Blondie: Autoamerican LP

Iron Butterfly: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP

Carole King: Music LP

The Kinks: Low Budget LP

Stevie Nicks: The Wild Heart LP

All six albums for $1.50!!!

Ooooooh, a pretty peacock.

The cheapest find of the day did have a close contender. While I love, love, love this turquoise necklace and bracelet set from the Salvation Army, this skeleton key tray was one hella cool find...on sale for 39 cents!

Like my newly acquired vintage art, this tray is staying right on my dresser. 

Now, isn't that dreamy? 

I wasn't necessarily looking to spruce up my dresser, but that's exactly what happened. What I was really hoping to find was a nice addition to my Spring wardrobe. But instead I got a pile of tunes, a colorful costume jewelry set, vintage decor and... 

Freud for me and The Doors is a gift.

...a few good books. I rested my favorite coffee mug on top, which wasn't thrifted but a thoughtful gift that I love. 

I scored all this stuff when I was just looking for some clothes. But considering the quality of the haul and the teensy weensy price tags, I'm quite satisfied. 

Vintage "Susie" print: $2.25

Six assorted LPs: $1.50

Turquoise peacock necklace with matching bracelet: $5.00

Skeleton key tray: .39 

Paperback books: $3.00

Three yards of vintage fabric: $3.25

Wait a second. Where did the vintage fabric with the floral print go? Has anyone seen the fabric I bought for my photo backdrop? 

Oh, there it is! 

Silly rabbit, vintage is for thrifters. 

Well, my sister's dwarf bunny, Coco, has taken over my vintage fabric. I guess she's entitled. It is almost Easter, after all. 

What have you conquered from the thrift store?

Like A Leaf Falls From A Branch...

Connie Francis record, 50 cents.

A few weeks ago, I was thumbing through the small stack of records at the thrift store when my sister asked me what I was looking for. 

Usually I'm just looking, assessing the typical inventory of Herb Alpert, big band compilations and old show tunes. But I actually did have a mission. I was looking for a Connie Francis record. I just love the sweetness of her voice. 

But it just wasn't to be. At least, it wasn't to be on that particular day. However, on my most recent visit to Goodwill, when I was about to call it quits after sorting through the massive piles of Engelbert Humperdinck LPs, I found it.

Connie's Greatest Hits.

Received by it's original owner: May 29th, 1963.

Thrifted by me: November 15th, 2012. 

Almost 50 years later and this record is still a hit in my book. And now for your listening enjoyment... my favorite Connie Francis tune.

Flea Market Finds...for Around Five Bucks

Why, yes! That is a giant wooden elephant. 

Last Saturday morning, my sister Ashley, her boyfriend Brian and I stumbled upon this friendly wooden beast at a local flea market. He was affixed with a price tag for $7, which was later crossed-out and replaced with $5. And boy were the previous owners thrilled to not have to lug this thing back into the truck once I set my eyes upon it. In the end, Ashley talked me into forking over the $5 and having the kind sellers hold it for us until we were finished trekking around the rest of the market. I do love elephants...especially wooden elephants with big ol' googly eyes.

But what is it? Well the previous owners used it as an oversized magazine rack, but also suggested that I could weather-proof it and use it as a planter. No,  thanks. I had something else in mind.

Form and function. I love this thing!

No magazines. No plants. This trusty old elephant is the new home for my novelty LPs. Music To Strip By, Nutty Numbers and my latest thrift acquisition... Bar Room Piano by Joe "Fingers" Carr are just a few classic titles, to name a few. I'll get more into that last record in a later post.

Thank God, Brian was on hand to carry this thing back to the car. It's a sturdy piece, to say the least. Plus, this left Ashley and I some free hands to dig for other fun flea market finds. Ashley found herself a lovely pair of vintage sunglasses. I found yet another owl figurine to be photographed with better lighting in a future post, and the Parker Brother's  slightly condescending game of Careers for Girls. It was worth the $2 to experience the five, that's right, five available careers for girls circa 1990. It was an all-around awful experience for everyone involved.

But don't worry. I totally redeemed my flea market prowess with this:

Where's Ellen Ripley when you need her?

This is a Facehugger from the Alien franchise. And for a buck, it makes a nice addition to my shelf of horrors. Don't ya think?

The Facehugger is just hanging with Sadako from Ringu. 

So admittedly the total for the elephant rack, the alien creature, the little owl and the awful board game tallied over $5. But the night before I recovered $6 from my pants pocket while doing the laundry. Bonus! 

But wait...there's more! Me...Ashley...Brian....We, the Three Flea-Marketeers also bought something else...a super secret surprise. This can only be revealed after a photo shoot that will inspire, amaze or at the very least...confuse every last one of you. It's going to be...huge. And that's all I'm saying for now. Hehehe.

What flea finds have you scored lately? 
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Odds 'n' Ends Thursday: A Thrifty Oktoberfest

I found my own copy for .99 cents at Goodwill. "Zum Wohl!"

Whip out the wiener schnitzel and grab your favorite beer stein from the cupboard. It will soon be the first week of October. Hosting your own Oktoberfest gathering? Don't forget to put a record on, really set up some German ambiance.

Odds ‘n’ Ends Thursday: Here’s What Five Bucks Can Get You

On Tuesday afternoon I stopped into one of my favorite thrifts, Impact in Montgomeryville, PA. I wanted to make an entire day of suburban thrifting, but had a last minute change of plans.
This loot will satisfy the urge… for now.

Monster Mash: Sounds of Terror album…. 50 cents

Patti Smith Group: Wave album…. 50 cents

Ripping Yarns by Michael Palin and Terry Jones of Monty Python… 35 cents

Three vintage Deka cups_Two Care Bears and one Strawberry Shortcake… 90 cents

Vintage Polaroid blue flashgun… One dollar

Dory Previn: Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign cassette…. 35 cents

Matryoshka toothpick holder… One dollar




Now for a few field notes:

The vintage 80's cartoon Deka cups and Monty Python Ripping Yarns will be listed in my Etsy shop in the near future.  Otherwise it’s mine, all mine.

A dollar is more than I would usually pay for a teeny, tiny Matryoshka toothpick holder. But I happen to collect Matryoshka dolls, so I gladly forked over the money.

The Dory Previn cassette was bought on a whim for something silly to listen to on the car ride home. It was a judgment call based solely on the album cover and the names of the songs. Something I like to do from time to time with thrifted music. And let me tell you that listening to a concept album set to the score of a failed Broadway revue in bumper-to-bumper traffic was quite the experience. 

I need to get a bulb for the flashgun, which I am eager to try once I get all my equipment together.

And the Sounds of Terror album?



Imagine cheap Halloween atmospheric soud effect CDs…based on horror genre references…with a brief voiceover intro to each track…on all the crackling and popping glory of vinyl. Highly entertaining.

My favorite songs? It’s a three-way tie among “Buried Alive, The Blob" and “Incredible Giant Crab.”  And interestingly enough this album is a minimum $15 on Amazon. Horror! Madness! Terror!



I would like to make a semi-regular "Sounds of the Thrift" posting, especially when it comes to whimsical purchases of bands or albums I know little to nothing about. Of course I plan to include mp3 selctions from Sounds of Terror and Dory Previn for your listening enjoyment.

But for now, I'm pleased with my five dollar finds.

What loot have you pulled in for under five bucks? 

Odds 'n' Ends Thursday: Price Fails, Technical Difficulties & Thrifted Music That Will Greatly Disturb You

Price Fail.

This mischievous elf/wizard/pointy-hat-wearing troll was spotted at Goodwill yesterday afternoon.
He was tagged at $4.97.

Five dollars.

A four-inch-high, hideous-faced fantasy creature?

Five dollars?

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind forking over some hard-earned dollars for kitschy thrift-found oddities. But this is some kind of deranged secondhand price gouging.

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In other odds 'n' ends notes of miscellany, I've been experimenting with my novelty faux-vintage stereo the last few days. This modern wonder is a record player/iPod dock/CD player and recorder.

After messing around with track intervals and recording levels, I finally ripped a few albums from vinyl to CD. Then I just popped the discs into my laptop, typed in the track names and loaded them into my iTunes library.

I was hoping to have all the technical kinks worked out so that I can share some of my thrifted albums with you. But damn, does finding a reliable source of streaming audio for Blogger have to be difficult. If any of you technically-versed readers/bloggers out there have a suggestion for a free simple interface that's compatible with Blogger, I'll send positive thrift vibes your way. Hell, I'll make you your very own thrifted mix album.

I mean, look. Look at this album. I know that you can barely contain your excitement, but this compilation gem of incredibly strange songs was worth every penny...all 98 of them. And believe me "Seven Little Girls (Sitting in the Back Seat)" by Paul Evans is testimony to the entire album concept.

The song is from the perspective of the driver, who is peeved because his buddy "Fred" is macking it up with seven... count 'em, seven "little" girls in the backseat. This is problematic for a number of reasons.

1. I don't care how "little" these girls are. How do you fit seven of them, plus one Lothario named Fred in the back seat and have ample room for all the described "hugging and kissing?"
2. Why are there seven girls back there swooning for the same guy at the same time? Hell, he doesn't even have a car.
3. How pervy is it that the driver is forced to witness all of these 8-person shenanigans from his rear view mirror, while being sung to in the chorus to "keep his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel" by seven squealing presumably prepubescent girls?
4. And lastly and perhaps most important for legality sake, how does one define "little?" Are these girls just extraordinarily compact? They must be... to fit seven back there, plus Fred. Otherwise, we listeners might assume "little" to be quantitative, as in numbers, as in age....as in age of consent.

Okay. I'll cave. Here's a video....of the 1948 performance... with puppets.

We're going for maximum creep factor now. Enjoy.

The Ones That Just…Get You

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of turning the ripe, old age of 27. While it wasn’t exactly a landmark occasion, as I think there are just fewer and fewer between now and 30, still, it was rather nice. Sushi, a few glasses of wine and homemade gnome cupcakes were shared with friends.

And judging by some of the gifts I received, it seems my friends know me all too well.



My best friend, Liz, slaved in a hot kitchen to make me the most delicious and original birthday cakes in the world. Not only were they butter cream iced, but they were in the style of my favorite kitschy outdoor commodity, garden gnomes. Look how cute they are peeking through the leaves of icing.



Dan thrifted me these copies of Sketches of Japan in 1945. Beautiful, every single one of them. But here are three of my favorites.





Also thrifted from Dan was this totally vintage album of Japanese classic folk tunes, printed in 1958. Love it.





Who recalls something I may have casually mentioned back in April in my post titled “An Assortment of Impossible Things to Likely Never Happen, aka The Thrift Wish List”...something about owning a Blythe doll…? Well the third entry on the list, Blythe herself is officially crossed off the list. Many thanks to my sister for being perceptive and spending entirely too much money for my birthday present. I can’t wait to start crafting together little outfits for her to wear and photograph her like a tiny, plastic model.



I also was fortunate enough to receive a lovely little Coach pouch, a few feminist zines, a punching bag and even more garden gnome paraphernalia.

In looking at this strange and wonderful assortment of items, some thrifted and crafted, some imported, some designer and some purely for punching, one could draw a few conclusions:

1. I am both eclectic and slightly eccentric when it comes to Japan, kitsch, designer goods and anything described as “cute.”
2. I have truly awesome family and friends that know this as fact and appreciate all of my quirks and interests. They just…get me.

How about you? Have you received any thrifted gifts from people that know you well enough to buy them just for you?

The Spice of Life Part Two: Books, Records, Fashion Finds and More.

"The Complete Tightwad Gazette" Philly Aids Thrift. $4
"Color in Fashion" and "An Octopus is Amazing" Retrospect. $1 each.




Welcome back to the conclusion of the Let’s Go Thrifting! Spice of Life special. As you probably realize, that certain spice I am referring to is variety. And what better variety is there than the possibilities of the great unknown of the thrift?

Take these books above, for example. An adorable children’s book on  the octopus (my favorite marine animal), a book of color matching and contrasting with a ridiculous amount of 80’s fashion missteps and The Complete Tightwad Gazette, quite fittingly found at the thrift. Now that’s variety.

And again when it comes to music, my varying interests yield some interesting secondhand results. While the “Sixties Rebellion” garage rock LP wasn’t thrifted, but bought used from Repo Records, the wonderfully bluesy Phoebe Snow album was a thrifty steal for .99 cents

This afghan style woven belt from Lucky Brand was a great Goodwill find for $6. I originally intended it to be a gift for my sister, but damn if she isn’t too skinny. Now, the tails to tie the ends of the belt together are rather long, so I can get some wear out of it. But it just doesn’t look as good on me as it would on her.




Jane Fonda, eat your heart out.



 Well thanks to this totally 80’s workout wonder, I might get to belt-up no problem.

Look at that leotard…and the all-too-happy woman wearing it. She’s sure having a swell time with her Pull-Up Exerciser. Maybe I will too...But only if I find an equally flattering white leotard.

Until next time, stay thrifty!