She’s Thrifty Thrifty Thrifty!

This week I’ll be featuring a few local thrift shops that will make your heart stop. Thrifting is one of the BEST ways to find completely unique pieces. Obviously you have to be selective or your home will end up looking more like a junk yard than a reflection of you; but the idea is to find things that give you a slight heart attack as you rip them off the shelf before anyone else spies your glorious find. Is it just me or does anyone else get that feeling? Just check out this space age lamp I got for $19.99 at the Goodwill. I actually- hand on my heart like something out of a film – inhaled loudly as I rounded the corner and it stood on the floor in front of me. This lamp stopped me in my tracks both literally and figuratively. It was love at first sight. Something inside of me knows it’s completely hideous, but on the other hand it’s beautiful. Does that make any sense? Hello!!?!?!?? The base lights up too! WHAT?

Inspired by my recent find I asked my very witty and spontaneous friend, Senta to be my guide on a tour of local Inland Empire thrift shops as I am still relatively new to the area. Knowing her penchant for a good laugh and her desire to find antique ceramics, Senta was going to be the right woman for the job. My girl came through! Our tour began at a yard sale in Menifee. I have to be honest; I was ready to drive right by as I haven’t had the best of luck with yard or garage sales in the past. Complete waste of time in my experience. No, I do not want your dirty kid’s stained teddy bear for $.50. I would NOT like to bring home bed bugs with me today, thank you very much. But I digress.

At this particular yard sale, we found what I’d only hoped to find someday but hadn’t uttered my wish out loud because it seemed so unlikely: I’d hoped to find a vintage school desk for my son. I invisioned him in our office with me, coloring or doing his little kid puzzles as I typed my next post…there I go again. Anyway, this beaut is what we walked up to when we greeted the yard sale in Menifee. I stand corrected: $25 bucks later, I was carting this sweet little thing to my trunk. It came complete with one single piece of petrified gum stuck underneath the desk. Vintage gum.

The next stop of the Thrift-tastic adventure was the Menifee Valley Community Cupboard in Sun City. There were some pretty cool things here and they were very reasonably priced. I purchased a tea tin from Ireland for my Paddy husband for $1.  If you’re looking for kitchewares, glasses, ceramics or housewares, this is your kind of place. I also spied some really cool vintagey hand-made quilts in the back. In addition, there is an entire room dedicated to furniture.

From Sun City we headed to Lake Elsinore. Lake Elsinore is like a mecca for thriftgoers. There were 3 thrift stores on Riverside Drive alone. There was so much to do and see, we never even got past Riverside Drive. Thrifting here is not for the faint of heart. Bring your A game folks, because there’s a LOT to sift through. Our first stop in L.E. was The Lord’s Closet. It was a kind of hole in the wall place and I chuckled to myself thinking in jest, “certainly the Lord has something for me too.” And so he did! Ask and ye shall receive. Here’s the thrifty treasure I found at the Lord’s Closet!!!! I can’t wait to hang it in my master bedroom. It will grace the wall above Nana’s credenza.

Not only that, the gal behind the counter was positively delightful. She was so friendly and struck up a conversation with us. I will definitely be returning to this place! (Just a post-script here. Had I purchased this same item at a flea market, it would have easily cost 5 times what I paid for it.) And the people said, “Thanks be to God.”

The main destination in Lake Elsinore has to be Thriftique. They are so popular that they even have a Facebook page with 173 likes; pretty good for a Thrift store in the middle of nowhere. https://www.facebook.com/#!/Thriftique.LE The aptly named Thriftique is more like a shabby chic boutique that is a veritable wall to wall feast for the eyes. Thriftique was bursting with really cool collectibles. I didn’t see very many mid-century vintage pieces, but if I were a fan of french country or shabby chic, this place would be a definite gold mine. Thriftique did have an excellent vintage book collection that I will have to go back for. By this point in the day, we were starving and Senta started eyeing me like I might be good eatin’. Before we left to seek out some grub, I did score this mid-century serving platter for $3.50. Excellent deals to be had here.

From what I understand, Thriftique is gearing up to open a sister shop in September, just next door to be called Vintique. I spoke with someone at Thriftique and they’ll have all sorts of different vendors and thus, all different types of wares. I get excited just thinking about it!

And so you see, some of the least likely places are the very best ones to investigate. I probably wouldn’t have ventured into Lake Elsinore for the purpose of thrifting, but thanks to my street-wise Senta, I’ve since determined it is one of the best places in the area to go! Keep an open mind…treasures are everywhere just waiting to be discovered.

P.S. Bring good shoes, light clothes and bottled water. This time of year, it’s scorching hot in the Inland Empire. Should you get to feeling hungry, be sure to stop by the Nana’s Pizza on Riverside Drive. My gal pal and I wolfed down the most delicious freshly made calzones we’ve ever tasted. Slap your Mama kinda stuff. I actually thought about rubbing the doughy crust on my face and trying to inhale the bread through my nose. It was that good.