A Tiny Splurge

Strange times we are living in, right? Went to two sales on Friday, with no idea that these may be the last ones for a while, since we are all supposed to stay away from each for the foreseeable future. My own life is much the same as usual – I live alone and occasionally see other people, mostly at the dog park or the grocery store. But no more crowded estate sales for some time!

Friday’s first sale was for some folks who have moved over to the coast, and were selling the leftovers they weren’t taking. I spent a total of $2 and happily carried off a Pyrex pie dish 

(to replace the lovely vintage one that spontaneously shattered in storage – I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened that drawer!), 

a package of “cushion grip” push pins, 

two little spice jars, 

and a new bowl for Millie (who pushes her dish off the counter from time to time and breaks it, so a quarter is the most I want to spend!).

Then I headed to the estate sale, which was indeed crowded – both with stuff and shoppers. Didn’t find anything I wanted in the house, but out in the backyard I had more luck. I really liked the wrought iron sculpture of cattails and leaves, about 4 feet tall, but the price tag was twenty-five bucks. I just couldn’t do it; plants are a higher priority in my re-landscaping project and I need quite a few (my lot is just under a quarter of an acre). So I sighed and passed up the art. But a few feet away were some rather beat-up metal bell-shaped flowers stuck in the ground. 

They were priced at two bucks each, and when I looked at them I had An Idea. So I picked out three, and when I went to pay the guy taking money was happy with a fiver for the trio.

When I got home I located sandpaper in my untidy garage and scoured out the inside of each one, as well as rubbing off any rust on the stakes. Then I decided they might as well get really clean, so I loaded them in the dishwasher. They looked even rougher when I took them out! 

But not for long – I masked the edges on the backside, 

nestled them into a cardboard box, and sprayed the inner surfaces with copper metallic spray paint that I had on hand.

Wow, what a difference! I love them, and I think the copper surface makes them look quite upscale. 

My little splurge looks like it must have been a much bigger splurge than it was…my favorite kind of splurge of all!