Some Darn Good Finds on a Mini-Vacation

The irony is not lost of me that I am going thrifting while staying at the exclusive, posh CordeValle Resort in San Martin. I doubt many, if any, of their other clientele do this! My husband and I are not paying for our two-day stay (it’s on his employer’s dime) so it makes it all the more special.

Yesterday, while my husband was in work meetings I tooled around downtown Morgan Hill. First destination, Goodwill. Once there I grabbed a basket and headed for the tchotchke aisles. I found a few nice ceramic bits, but nothing outstanding. Found a cool vintage ashtray, but it had been broken and clumsily repaired. RATS! And then I found IT…a beautiful glass paperweight made by Kerry Glass, Ireland. And it was in perfect condition and priced at $5.69! SWEET!

On day two I headed to Gilroy and hit up a big Goodwill where I couldn’t resist this heavy mod ’70s brass dove.

And this cool 1940s/1950s California pottery free-form bowl. (Still trying to decipher the faint maker’s mark on the bottom.)

But my most exciting find was a Waterman fountain pen at One to Another Thrift Shop (a delightful, boutique-style thrift store run by a church). The pen was part of a boxed set for learning calligraphy. Once you get past the used-up ink cartridges and dirty blotting tissue, there was a beautiful Waterman Phileas fountain pen. These pens, even used, sell from $75-$250.

Care to guess what I paid for the boxed pen set??

So while most other resort guests were out playing golf or getting expensive spa treatments, I was a happy gal thrifting for a few hours each day then relaxing in the shade and admiring the fantastic vista from our bungalow.

Ahhh…this is the life.

Happy hunting, y’all!