Thrifting “lady date”

February 28, 2011

I’m finishing up a few things in the basement before I show you the difference decluttering made. :) Until then, I wanted to share some finds from my recent trip downtown Indy to Midland Arts and Antiques:

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Three girlfriends and I went for a Saturday “lady date” – as one of my friends called it -- (love that!) out to eat and then to Midland for some antiquing.

If you live near Indy and you love the thrill of the hunt…you MUST take a trip there. It’s an old (HUGE!) warehouse full of fabulous finds.

I snapped shots of a few things that caught my eye. As with most antique stores, you’ll find some good, bad and definitely ugly. :) You’ll also find real antiques, lots of vintage (especially mid-century modern right now) and also stuff you could also find at any Goodwill. :)

I found a few clocks turned cloches:

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Do they look familiar?:

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The only difference – I bought my 80’s clock-turned-cloche for $3 at Goodwill, and these were both over $40 if I remember right. :)

The fabulous light fixtures are endless! Some are funky:

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If we had a wine cellar, I would totally put this there! But alas, we don’t. :)

Some just need some spray paint and they’d be a close Pottery Barn knock off:Picnik collage

And check out this one:

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SWOON! It looks SO similar to the one hanging in our dining room:

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And mine was a knock off of another Pottery Barn light. I think the one at Midland is even bigger, and is the same price as our Home Depot light (now $180 I believe).

I found a gorgeous mirrored tray that would be stunning on any dresser or buffet:

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And this mirror would be beautiful as is, painted a bright white or even an unexpected color:

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I loved these cane side tables:

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And I kept going back to this chair and ottoman:

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They were in fantastic condition! I could totally see them in hubby’s office in the basement – but as  you know, I’m getting rid of stuff down there right now (for the impending finishing off of the space).

You’ll always find the downright weird too. :)

Birds on display anyone?:

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And these chairs in your dining room would be a conversation piece for sure!:

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:)

I found a few goodies I took home from our trip, of course.

I loved this little bird cagey candleholder:

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I won’t use it for candles though. I see a nest or something spring-like nestled in there. :)

I have wanted a vintage fan forEVER…and this one caught my eye:

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It was my biggest splurge of the day by far, at $25. I cleaned it up and considered spray painting it. But I also love it as is. Hmmm…

I thought this two-sided mirror was so sweet and dainty:

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It’s the perfect addition to my Mom Cave. :)

There were bins full of old Bingo cards:

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I only grabbed three for an idea for the playroom. I’m thinking I could use more though.

And this little bunny letter opener was my favorite find of the day:

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It was one of those things…I thought it was just adorable. It was only $2, so I couldn’t pass it up.

I had to leave midway through the shopping to get back to the sitter, but it was a good thing. I’m sure it would have been dangerous to stick around too much longer. :)

Sometime I’ll have to coordinate a shopping trip for local readers and bloggers – it’s a great afternoon of digging for goodies!

Have you found any great thrifting finds lately? Any good spots in your neck of the woods?

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Comments

  1. We have a Chia Rat too :) haha I never called her that. Her name is Sophie and she is my lovey. She is so sweet. She sleeps under our covers every night and sleeps curled up in my arms. She loves to lick but is very protective of me. She shakes and gets to the highest ground when my husband and I put our shoes and coats on. She's always worried we will forget about her. She sits perched up in the window on the back of our couch all day and watches the day go by. If she's not doing that she's cuddled up under a blanket. Can you tell I'm in love with my puppy girl? Have fun and enjoy Peanut!!

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  2. Oh I have a fan JUST like that sitting in my garage right now. Completely forgot about it and now it makes me want to use it. That antiques shop looks like a fantastic place, we don't have anything of that size here in Charleston.

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  3. I love the fan, Sarah! Where ya gonna put it? I would love to thrift with you... if only i were in Indy.

    Is it weird living in Indy? Do you sometimes sing to yourself "Gary indiana, gary indiana, gary indiana blah blee blah blee blah blee blahhhh!"??? Just like that? without even knowing the words?

    I do. And i don't even live in Indy.

    Or India.

    Oh my. Somebody STOP ME!

    g'night

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  4. I live just north of Indy and had NO idea this place existed!!! Must make a trip down and check it out. Thanks for sharing :) I love that old fan!

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  5. I live just west of downtown Indy! I love midland, there are other great thrifty hiding spots too. If you have never been to Goodwill outlet I highly suggest it. Bring gloves, leave the kids at home and be patient, it's an adventure, but every time we go I find fantastic stuff. Fountain square is full of little Antique shops with great retro finds. Love the fan BTW!!!!

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  6. I love flea market/antique stores! I got my smoked lucite chairs at one. :) BTW: I'm on my 3rd rat terrier and I will tell you that they are incredibly wonderful dogs but make sure he gets socialized. Chihuahuas and rat terriers can get cranky as they get older and less tolerant of other dogs. I adopted my 3rd and he's almost 9 years old. He puts up with our adopted 1yo lab mix but wants nothing to do with other dogs. :P Our first rat terrier we got as a puppy and was much nicer to other dogs. :)

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  7. Sounds like you girls had tons of fun antiquing, one of my favs. I love the mirror and light fixtures!

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  8. yeah...that bird display...totally weirded out by that one! lol! I am swooning over that antique fan!! I want one so badly! Traci @ Beneath My Heart has one in her laundry room painted blue...it is sooo cute!! I found a piano bench at our local goodwill for $10 that I am getting ready to turn into a storage bench for our bathroom!! I blogged about it a week or so ago if your interested! Thanks for taking us thrifting with you!!

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  9. Your posts always make me want to run to the car and go to goodwill!

    At a local Habitat for Humanity store (Portland), I found 50 square feet of tile for a tub surround for $25. At 50 cents a square foot I thought it was quite a steal!

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  10. I got a belt at my Goodwill. It was just a simple leather belt, and the leather felt nice. $1. I was looking at the buckle -- and damned if it's not a sterling silver Yellowhorse buckle. Yowza.

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  11. I used to have that mirror! And until I saw it in this post, I didn't even realize I haven't seen it since we moved into this house over 7 years ago! Maybe mine ended up in your house. Who knows! Mine was my great grandmothers and seeing it in this post brought back a bunch of memories. Like the day I snagged it from her house! Ha! I thought it so pretty and delicate. Enjoy it!

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  12. oh my goodness! I love midland arts and antiques. I always find a unique treasure there. <3

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  13. I am just a 100 miles or so south in KY and lived in IN for years. I also had no idea about this place!! Thanks for sharing!

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  14. That blue chair reminds me of Marge Simpson's hair! haha I have a friend in Indy. Next time I visit I'll have to drag her over. WOO HOO

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  15. I've always wanted to go to Midland! I think you have tweaked my interest now too! There are two girls here at work and we've all been talking about a thrifty weekend... it might be coming sooner than anticipated!

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  16. Midland is the bomb! You could wander for days. I tried to encourage them to turn the upper floors into lofts before; wouldn't that be the coolest? Yes, let's have and Indy shopfest there! That sounds fun.

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  17. Hey Sarah! I live in North Central Ky.....my hubby worked in Inianapolis (driving back and forth..oh my!) for a year or so, but I never knew that place was there! Oh what fun it would be to go shopping! I do like the prices at Goodwill though...a forty $ price tag on a $2.00 goodwill clock is a little pricey! lol Of course, you found some great stuff reasonble, so I'm sure there's more goodies to be had! (LOVE the bunny letter opener and that fan! Oh swoon!) I have a lady date on March 11th...we're going to all the Goodwills, Hobby Lobby and lunch. (and whatever else we can find to do for a whole day!)
    Have a great day and snuggle peanut for me! lol
    Missy

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  18. Oooh, I love that fan, too. I'd have totally snagged that too.

    So glad the pup and the kiddo love each other--there's nothing better!

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  19. Glad you had fun at Midland! I've got a new favorite place in Indy where I got my bathroom chandy. I need to go back there, so I can take pics and blog about it. Colonial Antiques off 96th. It's a good thing I have little kids at home, or I'd be hanging out there every day :)

    Count me in for the shopping trip!

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  20. Our Salvation Army usually has the best finds. ALL of the thrift shops in my area tend to be overpriced on furniture. My SA had several pieces for over $400!!! I like it better when they let you bargain.

    Love the idea of your lady date. How much fun! :)

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  21. You made some great finds. I love the letter opener. Wish I lived closer looks like a great place to browse and shop. Thanks for taking us for a tour thru your camera lens. ~~Sherry~~

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  22. I love the chandeliers and the mirrors. Great place to spend all my money. LOL!

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  23. Midland is like 5 minutes away from my work! Love that place!! I got some stools for my (not yet built) kitchen island there last year! I didn't know you were a fellow Hoosier!

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  24. I socred an amazing vintage fan last year at my local antique shop...so cool! You found some awesome things!

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  25. Oh, Sarah, your post is really making me miss Indy. We used to live in Zionsville. My favorite time of year there is heavy trash pick up! Usually in May.

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  26. Holy cow...stop the car... I drive past that place in the interstate nearly everyday and I didn't know it was legit! I thought it was just an old, run down building... I didn't know it really was an antique store. Guess I never cared enough to Google it! I love the exit 76 antique mall off of 65 (and it's near the outlet mall, so an entire day or weekend could be killed there easily!)

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  27. I live in Indianapolis and Midland is a great place for finds, although it has been some time since I have been there!!!

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  28. Sarah, Congrats on Peanut! I have always been a cat lover, and got my first dog almost 3 years ago. She is the best thing that has ever happened to our family. The single most important advise I have is get him signed up for obedience training. We used PetSmart. They have a very affordable ($100) 6-8 week puppy training. It makes for a much more well behaved dog. Just like kids, puppies need to know what is expected of them. Much happiness to your new family member!

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  29. I found the best thing ever at my local salvation army! This pillow from pottery barn. It still had the sales tags on it!!! :) $3. Yeah I know!

    http://www.potterybarn.com/products/nest-sentiment-lumbar-pillow/

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  30. Thanks for sharing this. Next time I'm in Indiana I'm going to this antique mall! That will be in October...can't wait!

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  31. I really love that chair & ottoman & have been on the hunt for a new (vintagy/old) one to replace our current one in our LR. SO wish I could find a way to get it (I'm in the Dallas area)!! Any idea how much it was? I looked on their site & it wasn't even on there so I'm sure it's gone. But, I'm curious as to how much something like this would be.

    Thanks!
    Becky

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  32. It looks like you had a lot of fun! I always love coming across beautiful things...that mirror is simply darling. You are right...bright white would make that mirror even cuter than it already is. You have such a good eye and great ideas!
    -emily
    www.nestnestingnested.blogspot.com

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  33. WOW!!! That place is too cool. I love EVERYTHING. Wish you could be my personal shopper and just ship all those lovely things (esp. the chandeliers (swoon). Dare to dream...

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  34. My dog is a Chia Rat as well, and she is the easiest, best behaved dog I have ever had. Cute like a Chihuahua, and fun/sweet terrier personality. They are the perfect family dog.

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  35. My FAVORITE of all thrifty shopping spots is my local Goodwill OUTLET! Everything there is pay-by-the-pound. All books are $0.50 for hardbacks, $0.25 for paperbacks (and you can always find some really pretty books for decorating), and "housewares" (basically, anything other than books and clothes) are $1.29/lb. Clothes are $1.59/lb.

    It's just a great big warehouse full of bins of stuff, and it's a little ookey, but you can find some really fabulous stuff there for dirt cheap. We bought a beautiful pair of 15" tall metal lanterns (glass in them and everything for $3 each. Seriously! It's awesome. Glad you found some fun stuff on your trip!!

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  36. I love the birdcage and the letter opener! So cute!

    Thanks for sharing. It looks like a great place to shop!

    Pam

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  37. Looks like we have the SAME addiction my friend!!!!! Love your blog, gives me fun inspiration for my own!
    -Tris
    www.ChiKKaBoom.blogspot.com

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  38. Love the" Pottery Barn knock-off". Good humor!

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  39. Midland is one of my favorite go to places. The prices are obviously higher then the goodwill or thrift stores but the unique items they have there can't be beat! I was just there yesterday and bought an antique world map that was used in classrooms back in the day!

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  40. I also love to go to my local thrift store to scout for "treasures" but I should warn everyone out there, beware of bedbugs....they can hide in used furniture. Yuk!

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  41. I have lived in Indy my whole life and never knew of this place!! I CAN'T WAIT to check it out!

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  42. I love this post! It is similar to some that I have been doing as I "thriftique" with NotSoModernFamily! Also, I did a complete tutorial on my blog about a complete PB Hundi Lantern Light knock off that I made. It looks SO close to the one you took a picture of, but it only cost me about $24 for my new fixture! Truly, though, isn't it funny that you see things in Goodwill that you might see in the "antique" malls for triple (or more) the price! That is why I like to window shop a lot to know what is a good price for something. I guess you could call it "research", lol! Loved all of the pictures. Thanks for sharing.
    twentysomethingtransue.blogspot.com

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  43. I live in Indy (South Side) and have not been to Midland yet (just learned about it via your blog!) I'm typically a Goodwiller & avoid antique stores because a lot of the stuff is overpriced, but I enjoy looking around. We went to the Emporium (on 135) in Greenwood last weekend and found some good stuff ~ they had some great, unique vintage furniture for DIRT CHEAP. You might want to check it out if you are ever on the south side! They had some serious junk too, but most flea market-like places do!

    Here are some of the things I found (at the end of this blog post):
    http://nileandjess.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/this-past-week-in-a-blink/

    Super cute decorative items for pennies! :)

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  44. I feel ashamed I have never left you a comment since I have read your blog everyday for 3 years now. You really are such an inspiration.
    My comment was on your little Peanut and "Potty" training. When you take him outside to go keep telling him to "Go Potty" (and when he does tell him "good boy"). I know this must sound crazy but our Lucy goes "potty" on command. This saves so much time on hetic mornings before school and when it is raining.
    Clary

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  45. Score! I actually HAVE one of those fans.

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  46. I never knew that mart was there. We used to live just over the border in KY and would go into Indy occassionally. And your "peanut" is super cute too!! I'm sure you'll have fun with him!

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  47. SUCH cute items! I am jealous..our Goodwill here isn't so hot...I think this is my summer project...finding cute thrift stores closer to me! Just wondering if you are still doing your Monday "Organize It!" Link party? I missed it this week but don't know if it's a regular thing or not?

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  48. LOVE your vintage finds!
    I just have to share a VINTAGE themed giveaway with you!
    Check out my blog at:
    www.Sew-Over-It.blogspot.com
    for details on this super giveaway. :)
    Heather ~

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  49. I live in Shelbyville and never knew Midland was in Indy. Showed hubby your post and we are planning a trip in a few weeks on my next weekend off! Thank you for posting!!

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  50. I grew up in Indy and have never heard of this place. We are coming home for a visit at the end of this month and I already looked up the directions and added it to our itinerary for the few days we're there!

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  51. omg! i had that SAME mirror! i have no idea what happened to it when we moved! i wonder if that's it and it's traveled all the way there from tx? LOL!

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  52. PLEASE include myself (and several of my family members)...we would love to "thrift" with you...we live in Columbus (35 miles south of you..)...we are definitely up for the adventure!

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  53. I used to live in Indy about 10 years ago and I got the cutest dressing table and stool at Midland. It was a total impulse buy and I almost couldn't get it home! There's another architectural salvage place in Indy that I loved to browse. I live in Cincinnati now and would love to find a place like that here. Know of any?

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