I try not to thrift. I really try. But then sometimes we talk ourselves into it, like at the cabin last week. The cabin really needed a tea strainer and a stock pot so we decided to just peek in and see what they had.
In the end, I never even looked for the stock pot. Or the tea strainer. Because I found these and I let out a little audible "Eeeeek!!!!!" and then muttered to Lupine, "These are the coolest dishes I have ever seen." And you know Goodwill. They tend to be... overpriced as thrift stores go. And yes, $2 per plate, $1.50 per bowl, and $1 per cup or saucer did seem steep (which in retrospect was a screamin' deal already). But then I saw it. The "Clearance" sticker on the serving platter (The amazing barn-raising platter above). It said, "Set - $4.99" and I "eeeeeek!"ed again.
So I did It. I bougth a big box of dished that I most certainly do not need and that I love so much I find myself making tea just to drink out of one of these cups. See the buggy? And the folk dancers? And the men hand-hewing beams for the barn? And the farmers!? Good gracious these are awesome. They're like a peek into my future I tell you. We've got beams to make and chickens to feed and fields to plow. I'm sure of it.
I thought they were unmarked when I bought them, but it turns out only the large platter and the small pieces are unmarked. They rest are quaintly labeled "Bucks County" by Royal China, Ohio. I did some snooping around on Ebay and it seems I scored quite the bargain. In Pete's words, "Wow. That means if we break any they'll be really, really expensive to replace."
Because he knows I will never sell them.
Ever.
Now then, I think I need to refill my tea cup. My adorable yellow buggy and hay wagon tea cup. (Eeeeeek!)
