Goodwill Finds

One of the great things about living in a big city is that there are so many junk shops, flea markets, and second-hand stores within a five-mile radius from home.

A couple of days ago, I trolled the aisles of my local Goodwill store, where I found some wonderful things. And the prices! Fantastic.

I found this large aluminum serving platter for $4:

Sixteen inches across, it has a deep border etched with morning glories and a "pie crust" edge:

Here's the back side showing the hallmark. I looked on eBay, and this very tray is selling for $16. If only all my investments had a 400% return!

On the same trip, I found these great blue-glass tumblers:

We sorely needed some new tumblers. We were down to our last one, due to breakage over the years. I've tried looking for blue glass tumblers online, and I've kept an eye out at the local mall and big-box bed and bath stores, but no luck.

So, there they were at Goodwill, for a very reasonable $2 each.

I like how they're a pale blue on the sides...

...and a very concentrated, cobalt blue on the bottom:

They aren't the greatest bargain I've ever run across, but I have been looking so long for something just like these, I'm delighted to pay $12 for a set of six:

Last but not least, I found this gorgeous, heavy glass bowl with a most intriguing, wavy form:

It only cost me $10, and I think it was worth it.

I love how, if you look at it on one angle, it looks like a circle:

And if you twist it just a little bit, it looks like a square:

It's really heavy and wonderful to touch. I can't find a hallmark or any sort of etching on it. I went on Google Images, typed in "wavy clear glass bowl," and got 45,000 hits.

That's way too many to search!

Anybody got an idea who might be the manufacturer?

Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, you can still do enjoy flea-market-style shopping. Try eBay or Amazon for fun vintage finds. And did you know Etsy isn't just for crafts? It has a whole area devoted to second-hand stuff. Just scroll down the alpha list on the left-hand side of the home page, and click on "Vintage."

Happy shopping!