Wanted: Envelopes and Vintage What Nots.....

One of the things that I most looked forward to when I was planning for this month in Chicago was of course, the thrift stores.   I am happy to say that I have not been disappointed, and that my love for rummaging is as strong as it was when I moved away from this city of thrift heaven.

It's interesting to me that, even amongst the Village Discount Outlets, a local thrift chain, each store has its specialities.   How can it be that the Village on Roscoe always has that wall of wax animals and a beautifully arranged selection of records, and that the Village on Ainslie always has racks and racks of discarded mis-matched stationary?   Did people in Roscoe village once have mantles covered in wax animal shrines? Has Andersonville given up letter writing?   At the Village on Milwaukee today I found an entire section of toasters.  One of the mottos that plays over the loudspeakers at all the Village stores is "come back tomorrow and find a whole new store" and while this is true, I love the comfort in knowing that certain stores have their stand bys.   If you're local to Chicago, a bit of thrift news is this: the Village now sells plants!  Somebody must have a new job in repotting sad houseplants and reviving them to ship shape condition, because the selection and vitality was top notch.  I read recently that Spider Plants removed formaldehyde and other toxins from the air, so these seemed espcially appropriate at the thrift, which can often seem a bit, shall we say, stale.  


I left my camera in the classroom over the weekend, so I'll have to show you my thrift scores another day.  In the meanwhile, please share a link to your own thrifted treasures!  If you are wondering where to find a great shop, check out this link to thrift stores nationwide.  I've used this site before to find a handful of awesome shops in eastern Wisconsin, it is user generated and really helpful!