Read to Rummage: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

My mom and dad once had to endure a parent-teacher conference because I was failing to behave. Every day at recess I’d run outside, bolt for the playground, hop inside the large tire filled with woodchips…and I….I’d…..pull out a paperbackandstartreading! I admit it!  Everything my fifth grade teacher said was true: I read at recess!

This brought about concerns of my future ability to socialize with others.  It wasn’t “healthy” to read during recess when there were so many other mindless games and conversations to be had. Page-turning was socially disruptive outside behavior-- sarcasm aside, I understand my teacher’s kind-hearted concern, but in all honesty I think I turned out just fine.  When I get half-hour playtime today: I still hate running, I still grab a book and I still have an active imagination. Now, I just talk a lot more, there’s no bell, my playground changed into a thrift store and instead of a big, smelly tire I get to hide in an entire aisle of books…some of which may be smelly. 

By the way, I don’t really believe in buying a book full price; hardcover book prices absolutely terrify me and unused college text books put me into catatonic shock.  So I avoid the nightmare at all costs (…that aren’t thrifty, of course).

Besides thrift stores, my real favorite book spot is Half Price Books, especially their $1.00 clearance section. It’s beautiful!   I’ve discovered reads that were so excellent, I actually felt guilty about finding them so cheap, which is why I will be sharing my Read to Rummage picks every month. Great authors deserve acknowledgement, and hopefully I will help spark at least one new fan besides myself.

AND SO

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December’s Read to Rummage is: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.  I found this paperback at Half Price Books for $1.00 in the prized clearance section.  When I started this story, I didn’t expect to fall for it as hard as I did. But love works in mysterious ways because I completely fell in love with the unattractive, quirky old man who makes this book utterly unforgettable. He’s coming to the end of his life and he’s afraid that no one is going to notice when he's gone, "I try to make a point of being seen. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll buy a juice even when I'm not thirsty. If the store is crowded I'll even go so far as dropping change all over the floor, nickels and dimes skidding in every direction. All I want is not to die on a day I went unseen" (The History of Love). The lengths Leo Gursky will go just to receive momentary acknowledgement made me laugh lovingly more than once. I wanted to hug him; buy him a coffee; bake him a cake and then read his story all over again.

Honestly, this book is jam packed with passages I deem quote worthy.  A book chock-full of quotable material is extremely rare, my friends. In fact, despite being a heart-tugging love story, I think men will be equally impressed with this work.

The History of Love is so wonderfully memorable that I’m not even going to sully it with a summary. All I can say is: read it! 

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering………." (The History of Love).
Come on, you know you wanna read it!

Give a Thrift Gift?

With Christmas right around the corner and gift shopping set in motion, a thrifter begins to wonder:  Is a secondhand gift appropriate?  My short-n-sweet answer to this question is: definitely use discretion.  Everyone is different, and as much as I love thrifting I know there is a huge handful of people who cannot stand the thought of using something used.  Some people find it icky, others find it cheap; whatever their reason, some individuals would not appreciate a thrifted gift. I am sympathetic to such opinions (it is their gift, after all), which is why a little considerate thinking needs to be done before buying.


Here is the mental list I run through before purchasing a thrift gift:

Is the person I’m buying for a thrifter?  If they are; go for it! A thrifter will be as excited over the find as you are. Luckily, several of my friends are thrifters, so I get to say yes to thrift gifts fairly often.

Is it a “brand new” item?  One of my major rules is that it needs to be brand new in appearance for it to be a gift. Having the original tags on is even better.  I don’t even buy myself much that doesn’t fit the description of “brand new.” Vintage items or lightly used are my personal shopping exceptions.  A gift should be special though, so if an item is stained, chipped or fading, just forget about it.

Repurposed?  If you are buying a secondhand item to repurpose or renew it, I think this is fantastic!  Crafty gifts are incredibly meaningful. To receive a present that someone took time on just for you, is a sentimental feeling that can’t be beat.  Crafts that incorporate recycled, secondhand materials are creatively wonderful presents that reflect true thoughtfulness.

Is it a collectible?  Many people have collections that aren’t quite complete, and if you come across a nice piece that fits someone’s collection I say, snatch it! For example, my mom has the Lefton Christopher Collection, (little figurine children with light blonde hair and light brown eyes). This particular collection was discontinued, which makes it an exciting thrift find.  She has close to all of them but every now and then I come across one she doesn’t have. In these instances, I grab them with a grin and save them for the upcoming holiday.  

Is there a story behind it?  When you find a secondhand gift that rises to the occasion of memory, I wouldn’t pass it by.  We all have our sentimental moments and silly inside jokes with family and friends. When a gift highlights these moments, I don’t imagine it matters whether Santa’s elves made it right in the mall or donated it to the Island of Misfit Toys— gifts that match our life’s memories are simply touching.

I can’t recall giving a thrifty Christmas present (until this year), but I have had success with several Birthday thrift gifts. Of course, before purchasing each gift it received one or more checks from the list above.  After all, there are people in my life that aren’t fans of thrift and that should be respected.  I also have never purchased a thrift gift because it was cheap.  Even though thrift gifts can help a budget, a present is meant to be thoughtful—never, ever purchase an item, expensive or cheap, unless you believe in the gifts ability to make your loved one smile.


What are your thoughts on thrift gifts? Any rules you’d like to add?

A Toy Story

I’ve told you there are brand new finds out there in the world of thrift, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to understand the extent to which I mean brand new. Unless you’re already big on thrifting or you’re the individual throwing these awesome things out, it’s hard to wrap your brain around the concept of secondhand, brand newness.  It sounds like a contradiction, right? But it isn’t and I have proof!

My boyfriend, Johnathan, and I have child at heart syndrome. We still have way too much fun digging through the toy bins at every store.  The cool thing about being adults is that we don’t have to beg mom to get them and plenty of our friends have little ones, which means we get to use their babies as an excuse for getting the toys we really, really want.

Johnathan is worse with the toy temptation than I am, but he’s an artist and cartoonist so he has an even more legit explanation for his failure to abandon toys at thirteen, like you “normal” people do.  And I’m so very happy he didn’t because most of his thrift finds are incredible. One buy of his that completely blew my mind is from the new Toy Story 3 collection. Last month, while we were thrifting in Minneapolis, he found the talking Woody doll. So, when you find an item like this you pick it up and immediately start thinking: Kid broke it already; bet the thing doesn’t talk. But once Johnathan pulled the string and a loud and clear, “There’s a snake in my boot!” resounded, I knew he was sold. We inspected Woody more than once, and there is not a scratch on him. He’s missing his hat, but Woody momentarily lost his hat in the movie, anyway. Realism; our doll stays in character. Same week, Johnathan found a Rex the Dinosaur— the neat, new one with the plush body and plastic head. Once again, he is in perfect condition!

 What makes these Toy Story 3 finds so amazing is: 1) They are insanely new to already be on thrift store shelves (you would think) 2) Johnathan bought these items for $2.00 each! That’s crazy considering the talking Woody doll is $40.00 in stores right now, while Rex is $25.00- $19.00

We have also found working Buzz Lightyear wings, which we didn’t get because the kids we know are still too young for such toys; getting whacked in the face with a plastic wing is not a good deal. I even found the Jessie doll, but Johnathan acted like a typical boy and decided he didn’t need a girl in his Toy Story gift collection. I assured him a one-year-old boy would be perfectly fine with a Jessie doll, but he stayed skeptical.

Toy Story 3 is about as brand new as brand new gets. These toys haven’t even reached discount in stores yet, due to newness and popularity, and here we are, finding them for near-to-nothing in thrift stores. How awesome is that? Did you ever find a brand new thrift item that made you blink twice? I’d love to hear about it!

The Why & The What

I’ve wanted to startup a blog for more months than I’m willing to admit. I had several “excuses” for putting it off, of course:  nervousness, lack of a niche, grammar devils and time.  Yet, the more I read other blogs out there all I could think about were all the things I could be posting. I actually knew exactly what my niche was; it didn’t take rocket science to figure it out. I thrift all the time, I discuss/ gush about thrift all the time, I even read about thrift every, single day.  Eco-friendly living on the otherhand is something I’ll be touching on, too.  Green living is something I study all the time and try to implement into my life in small doses. I’m not a dieter; dramatically changing my lifestyle would only last for, oh, three days tops. So, I take things in and I slowly try to make the life changes that I know are necessary.  Sadly, sometimes even this easing in tactic is rather hard to do.  This is why I want to share the information I’m learning, and even share my experiences as I attempt to implement them into my daily life. 

As for my blogging plans, I don’t have too many. Every other week I will be posting, Peek Inside a Thrifter’s Closet, where I will share with you some little thrift find of mine. Plus, on special occasions, I think I’ll have to spice things up with giveaways for subscribers…unless you don’t want presents?  Overall though, I’ll usually be as random as one can be within the boundaries of a niche— which is pretty boundless. My plan is simply to write and share my ideas and stories.  I have a lot to say; I’m easily charm-struck and hopefully you are too.  Whenever you have questions you’d like answered or blog topics you’d like covered, just send a comment or email my way!  I’ll appreciate being fed topics, trust me.

Thanks for any and all support! You’re all so good to me!

Jacqueline Lee Valenti

                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                         Image by Pixomar

Evolved Thrifter

Change Can Get Us Something Valuable

For quite a long time now, I have been an avid thrifter. At first, I was secondhand shopping for the treasure-finding fun of it— something about finding a cute vintage dress that no other girl would have got me all giddy— but recently my reasons for thrifting evolved.  Now the unlikelihood of another woman wearing the same outfit as me is only a perk. My real enjoyment is the reusability; thrift shopping is a form of recycling. The more I look around at our world of wasteful consumption, the more I cringe and hope to do my part toward changing it. When I shop, I now try to keep the Earth’s sustainability in mind.  I’d rather recycle what another person did not want than purchase an item brand new. By doing so, I’m not supporting the overproduction of items, idiotic packaging or media ideals.  Why should I go out and purchase a $150.00 dress at the mall, when I can walk into a secondhand shop and find an equally beautiful dress in mint-condition for $10? (At the most!)  In my opinion, if an item looks new; it is new! I actually believe that many of the items I buy secondhand have never even been worn or used. I find clothing that looks as pretty as the day of  initial sale; just less pricey. When I’m out on the town, women sometimes compliment my outfit and ask where I bought it, when I tell them the name of a thrift shop they usually look surprised.  I even had one compliment-giver accuse me of lying, saying “You just don’t want me to have it!” If only I were so evil. Anyways, the idea of secondhand being worn-out, shabby and cheap-looking just isn’t the case. I come across far more awesome items than crappy ones during my thrift excursions. Some individuals claim that thrift shopping is more time-consuming, and yes, it can be if you want it to be, but it can be a quick, carefree experience as well. The clothes are organized by size after all, and not only that, but they are often times organized by color, too. For me this has saved valuable time and energy, especially when trying to find the right top to match a pesky colored skirt.  When it comes to finding items such as dishes, shopping can require a little more patience. However, when you come across the right set I guarantee all that patience will pay off.  After all, where is the fun in buying a box of dishes at an overpriced store where there are a dozen other boxes of the same set? The exhilaration of finding a beautiful and unique, secondhand set is pretty hard to beat. Need I mention again that every secondhand purchase aids the Earth’s sustainability? Thrifting is simply win-win. Every thrift store is an enormous treasure trove of a recycling bin. You’ll be amazed at the immense amount of brand new items Americans toss away. So, find them, grab them, get all giddy about it but realize if it weren’t for our thrifting, all the materials and energies expended to create that item would have been a complete waste…and it  often times is. It’s time our shopping evolved.  If you don’t have to buy it new: Don’t!