My loyal readers, I feel like we haven’t seen each other in weeks again. My apologies, I’ve kind of been living life in the fast lane from Shamokin to Ocean City, Maryland.
Well, perhaps the coasting lane would be more appropriate since I just came back from one of the most relaxing, beautiful and much-needed vacations in years.
I don’t know what it is about the beach — the salt? The sun? The sand? The margaritas? It does something to my soul that I find so soothing, I wish someone could bottle it. I’d gladly trade in my wine bottles for whatever bottled beach contains, because the feeling is pure bliss.
My vacation was amazing in all kinds of ways. We got up every morning at 6 a.m. for a 15-mile bike ride which was just about enough to cover the calories we would consume at breakfast.
The weather was perfect, the ocean was hypnotizingly serene and my company was some of the best of the best.
I couldn’t have asked for more. It was simple, yet perfect in its own way, and that’s how I like things.
You already know I’m not so fancy.
I love to do things on a budget and do-it-yourself projects act as therapy for me. It’s a passion I developed somewhere along the line, likely due to my love of the thrill of the thrift.
The hunt
During my short stint living in Baltimore, I found a thrift store outside of a slightly affluent community that was like a gold mine. Those rich folks would get rid of everything — name brands, tags on, not a spec on any of it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not led by the carrot of name brand items at full price, but, when thrifting, I’ll gladly pick as many as I can because, let’s be honest, there’s a quality comparison there. Higher-end clothing is usually made a little better than, say, something you would buy at the Deb, as it should be for the exorbitant amount they try to charge for it.
That being said, let’s not pretend I don’t like nice things. I love nice things. I just don’t like paying a lot for them because I’m sort of on the frugal side when it comes to spending money in general (my father just rolled his eyes, trust me).
I just prefer to acquire things through the thrill of the hunt; it feels earned.
The find
Much to my delight, one morning of my vacation, we hit up some thrift stores in Salisbury, Maryland, before we hit the beach.
I frequent a lot of thrift stores in the area, but I love nothing more than to see the thrift of other worlds when I’m traveling.
The clothes at our first stop left much to be desired, but the furniture had me ready to call the nearest U-Haul company.
Thrifting is thrilling in the discovery of an awesome find. There were plenty of furniture pieces I would have loved to add to my collection, but it just wasn’t feasible to transport most of them home.
Then, there was this sign that screamed to me and pointed to a room where all furniture was 75 percent off. Seventy-five percent off at a Sal Val is pretty much like them paying you to take things off their hands.
I browsed through hoping not to fall too far in love with anything gigantic, and although I saw some beauties, I kept coming back to one thing: a big, round, beat up coffee table with really interesting lines. Cosmetically, it needed a lot of work, but potential-wise, I saw visions of a beautiful future.
So, after some convincing from someone near and dear to me who convinced me we could haul it home, I closed the deal and the table was mine for 75 percent off of $20, which came to a whopping $5.
The thrill
That’s when the thrill sets in. In that moment, I start picturing what this old, wooden table with dents and dings and half the varnish flaking off could become.
So much so, the minute I walked in my door when we came back home, I went to town on my overhaul. After sanding, cleaning and almost breaking the thing in a million pieces while moving it to avoid storm clouds while painting, I ended up with one of my favorite pieces yet.
Initially, I painted it white as a primer, but the starkness complimented the simple lines so much, I became immediately smitten with the outcome and settled it in to its new spot.
The inspiration
This transformation also inspired me to move forward with another one my favorite projects to date.
I was lucky enough, after a call out to Facebook, to be given a glider for my patio. The very generous soul who gave it to me insisted I take it at no cost. Her only request is that I enjoy it because it belonged to her mother.
It was exactly what I was looking for. I’m really not into things that are brand new. I like things with a story and I like bringing things back to life, so this glider was perfect.
It had certainly seen better days, but I could certainly see the beauty underneath the weathered paint that was chipping away.
First, I tried stripping...and apparently I’m never quitting my day job and becoming a full-time stripper, because it was messy and the chemical used to melt off the layers of paint were getting all over me no matter how much caution I proceeded with.
I decided stripping is far too dangerous for me and moved on to sand paper. That lasted about 45 seconds until I realized I needed a palm sander to make my life easier. I phoned a friend, and had sander in palm within a half hour.
Once everything was stripped down, I spray painted the entire thing with a blindingly beautiful aqua blue.
I’ve since created a new seating area on my patio to showcase the new addition and I couldn’t be more pleased. There are a few things I want to tweak as far as cushions and pillows go, and I’d like to spray paint the chains silver, but it all came together.
With the addition of a make-shift coffee table using a fire pit and an old table top I threw a coat of paint on, and a $10 rug I had hand painted a few years ago in a chevron pattern (do not stare at the imperfections in the pattern, I eye-balled it, OK? It’s a little off), I’m head over heels.
I can’t wait for cool nights to relax with a drink in my hand while gliding away in my little slice of Fifth Ward heaven.
I state that I am not fancy, and that, believe me, is a fact. If you’d see me in the midst of one these overhaul projects, you would know I have absolutely no problem getting dirty. But it’s all worth it.
Trust me, you don’t need a ton of money to have nice things.
(Wasakoski, an assistant editor at The News-Item, can be reached at jenna_w@newsitem.com)