Thrift Chick's Apartment: Part 1

Hello all! It's me, Thrift Chick! We have done lots of posts about the treasures we find while thrifting, so I thought it would be fitting to show you where a lot of those treasures find a home...My apartment!

After college, I moved back home to pay back loans and save some money.  I currently live in the 2 bedroom apartment in my parent's house.  Considering the amount of "treasures" I have accumulated over the years, it is perfect for the time being.  It is larger than the apartment that I lived in with three other girls in college, so I am in heaven! 

My entry has a shelf that I snatched up when helping a family member downsize.  All it needed was a new coat of paint!  The cork board is actually a sample cabinet door that was with a whole bunch of sample doors at a random garage sale. I added painted cork and some cool knobs. 

                                             

Here is a close up of the vintage pennants that I found in an antique shop.  I love travel and maps (as you will soon see!) and these fit right in!

My living room is a random assortment of unusual objects that have been collected over the years. This floor lamp is something my mom found at our very first estate sale experience.  My favorite thing is the pillow. I found two handkerchiefs with Chinese maps on them and my mom made pillows out of them for me.  Maps, postcards, anything with a travel theme is a bit of an obsession for me.

My most prized find is the 1970s pull down map that I hung on the wall.  The best part is that it was completely FREE! I don't know if you have priced wall maps lately, but the prices will make your head spin!  It was part of the pitch pile that was in my classroom that I inherited from a retired teacher.  I bought the trunk as a birthday gift to myself from an antique mall's bargain room.  (That's right our local antique mall had a bargain room...we were seriously bummed when they took it out.)

My side tables are another half off estate sale find ($7 for the pair.)  That weird lamp??  Mom rescued it from my uncle's donate pile years ago...way before mid century became popular!  I know it is ugly, but isn't the shape awesome? I love it!  As for the tub chair, it's original home was in the girl's staff quarters at the camp in Michigan where I worked at for 4 summers!  My mom saw it when visiting and asked if we could have it. My friends at camp thought she was crazy, but into the car it went at the end of the summer!

Not to brag or anything, but my couch is quite possibly the best couch in the world! It was bought by my grandparents when they were first married in the 1954.  It was in their home until they downsized and then my mom claimed it.  She said for years it was dark nubby brown, but in the eighties, my grandmother recovered it...unfortunately in eighties mauve and baby blue.  However it is nine feet of comfort that you just don't find in stores today and in a family of giants that is worth something.

Music is my passion so I devoted a corner of my living room to music.  The chair is another find that I picked up when helping my aunt downsize. (if you are willing to clean, dust and move people, you get a lot of random, but awesome stuff!) The cushion was in bad shape, but nothing a little dye can't fix!  I collect vinyl records and have amassed a lot of them over the last couple of years.  I found a really cool record holder that I spray painted light green and put some of my records on.  They have since overflowed to my bookshelves.  The cabinet holding my record player is a recent addition that my mom redid for me.  We will be posting on the redo soon!

I collect vintage cameras and own 27 of them.  In the post about my family's surprise redo of my bedroom one summer, you will find the history behind the shelf and the postcards.

The last wall of my living room is the bookshelves that hold the rest of my records, books, and a random assortment of interesting objects that I find while thrifting, junking and cleaning out other people's homes!

Since this post is getting a little long, I will save the rest of apartment for another day.

Blessings, Thrift Chick

Dipping My Toes into the Clean Eating Pool

My youngest son has been home for a few months.  He has been railing on our "crappy" eating habits.  I have been researching and reading about clean eating.  It all sounds so wonderfully healthy and empowering, but I am the biggest carbohydrate addict with one huge sweet tooth.  I bought some coconut oil and a small package of almond flour at a Big Lots about a month ago.  They have sat in my cupboard.  I added some powdered peanut butter to them a couple of weeks ago.

Today I decided it was time to dive in.  I searched for recipes.  It was really difficult because if you search for almond flour recipes, you get a lot of gluten free recipes most of which call for xanthan gum (which gives the texture four gives and is really pricey.)  I finally decided to try some with just a 1:1 substitution of things unhealthy for things healthy.  I ended up with these.

 They are oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  I substituted almond flour for regular flour and coconut oil for butter.  I did not substitute agave or honey for the brown sugar.  I know, I know....but I have to take baby steps!

 My family loved them and so did I.  They are slightly drier than a regular cookie, but that is okay with me.  My favorite cookie is shortbread so these were great.  I had added PB powder for a peanutty taste, but I do not think I added enough as the taste is really not there.  My son said the chocolate chips added a lot, but they certainly were not healthy.  I just told him that they were dark chocolate and that is very good for you.

Fairly Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/4 Cup Coconut Oil (melted)
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 t. Vanilla Extract
1/4 t. Baking Soda
1 T. PB2 Powder (peanut butter powder)
1/4 t. salt
1 Cup Almond Flour
1 Cup Rolled Oats
4 T. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips

Combine the oil and sugar and beat well.  Add the egg and vanilla and continue to beat.  Add all the dry ingredients and beat until well combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips.   Drop by spoonful on a baking sheet.  They do not flatten much so you may want to flatten before baking.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Makes 18 cookies.

Patty

Summer Decor2

This is the second part of summer decor.  I realize it is now July, but I have embraced the meaning of lazy summer this year.  For the rest of the house, I went with a softer wildflower look.  Hobby Lobby has these great silk flowers that look just like the flowers you see long the road.  I love their velvety leaves and muted colors.  I buy a few bunches whenever they go on sale.

 I love old canning jars.  When we moved into our house, my husband found a bushel basket full of the above jars in the barn.  Cleaning them out was quite traumatic because not only were they filthy, but a mouse was giving birth in one of them!

 This funny old duck came from this crazy little store in Michigan.  It is filled with the most random things. I think it is stocked with buyout merchandise.  We always make sure visit it whenever we are up north.

The funny old bird (pelican??? heron???) came from Goodwill.  It was realistic looking and Thrift Chick thought it was hideous.  I have learned to look at things as if they were covered in spray paint....it improves a lot of them!

I know...more birds and wild life.  Sometimes things are so weird that they just call out to you.  I mean, who really thought there would be a huge market for ceramic frogs?

Now that I have finished with the summer decorating, I can relax...sort of.....the garage is crying out for a massive cleaning...so it is on to the next project.

Patty