People who know me personally, know that I am the absolute Queen of bargain hunters... My best find yet was a much wanted 108 piece set of gold rimmed bone china, a brand new service for 10... for $25.00.
The trick to being a top notch bargain hunter is not just how "cheap" the item is, but to recognize impeccable quality and exquisite style that fits with your personal taste..and then to find it at a below rock bottom price.
Lately, I have been in shopping Nirvana! There has been an emergence of consignment stores in our area and the shopping is great. This is part of a national trend. It seems that all those folks who went on "buying binges" during the early part of the decade..before the crash.. are now selling all their great, hardly used things. They are selling their designer clothing, fabulous home furnishings and great books.. and those of us who "hunt" both for a living and for "sport" are having the time of our lives finding great "trophies" for very little money...
I recently completed construction of a new media space in the lower level of my home..the space for sports and movie gatherings...and I have been inspired to furnish the entire space with consignment finds. My first find was a classic leather sectional sofa in great condition for $299.00...and it looks fabulous and will stand up to years of sports, spills and The Cat! And now I am searching for the area rugs, tables, lamps and a media cabinet...my goal is to complete the entire room, with style, for under $800.00..I will keep you posted....
Where are these great stores? For starters travel down High Street just beyond the Library to a great shop called Decor. My dear friend Penny, who is always ahead of the trend curve, has recently converted her fabulous shop to include high quality decorative furnishings on consignment. The trick with Decor and most other consignment stores, is that you must visit often to find the best items.. and most shops have limited hours and not on Sundays...
Some great places for clothing and wardrobe accessories: The French Creek Boutique is on Rte 23 west of route 100 seem to have Chester county's finest cast offs ( be sure to sign up for their email newsletter of events)... Sophie's Choice is in the Amity Place Shops in Douglassville and is another great place. They offer coupons in the Hometown Coupon mailer.
And for Books, I love, love, love Gently Used Books in Douglassville. I always find what I am looking for, and then some, in their expansive collection...There are other new and used book stores in the area as well, but they feel like chain stores to me..and don't have quite the variety and depth of subjects I appreciate at Gently Used Books..( they also have a great web site and search capabilities).
I have found many other great stores outside our area and I am currently compiling a list of my favorites. Perhaps I will be share that in a later post...
So if you have a little vision, a creative spirit, and love the thrill of the Hunt...I suggest you begin shopping consignment stores.. You will be amazed!.....And please write me and tell me of your finds....I love a good "trophy" story...
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Discovering Bear Creek
It has been a very busy 2 months for me. A full renovation of the basement level of my home and the result were worth it...I now have a huge sun lite, walkout studio with place to spread out all my supplies and projects, and a very large TV viewing space for the less ambitious moments of my life..Special thanks to Gregg and all the men from GH Remodelers..and to Larry Pierce and the men of Chester County Painting.
During all the chaos, I did manage to sneak out for some afternoon excursions. One particular discovery trip was to Bear Creek Ski area. I was on a fact finding mission for a friend who is relocating to the east coast after decades living in the mountains of Colorado. He is looking for a location that will have all the amenities of 4 seasons, but without the harsh long winters of his home state of NH. Golf, skiing, the sea shore and cultural venues.
Now, it is important to note that I am also a transplant from NH and I spent many years as a professional skier at some of the largest ski areas in the Northeast. When I moved to this area of Pa., over twenty years ago, I had already resigned from the sport I loved passionately due to bad knees, so being aware of ski areas near my new home was not even in my consciousness. I knew there where several areas in the region but had not explored them. So, after reviewing their web site for its location, I was surprised to discover that Bear Creek was only 14 miles from my home. I had to check this out... and headed up route 100 north to Church Street which becomes Mountain Road. It was the beautiful sunny afternoon of Feb. 9th, and as I came to the top of a hill... there it was in front of me. It was a magnificent site. A big mountain with wide sweeping trails covered with snow. The chairlift moving steadily up the mountain full of skiers and snow boarders. My heart began to flutter with a feeling of excitement I had not experienced for decades. You see in 2007, I was blessed with a brand new knee and no longer a cripple. I realized that the possibility of putting on the 'boards' again was very real and here was this wonderful mountain facility right in my back yard.
Later that day I reported my findings to my friend. I had sent him the link to their web site, but actually seeing the area is much more impressive. He had been looking at several of retirement regions but never considered Southeastern Pa. Who knew that it had so much to offer. There are 7 golf courses in a 10 mile radius of my town, the ski area is 14 miles away, the shore just 2 hours away and access to arts and historic culture, both local and regional is unsurpassed. So now my friend is very excited and will be arriving here soon, and I am looking forward to some wonderful afternoons on the slopes next winter.
We really do have it all right here in the Tri-County region.
During all the chaos, I did manage to sneak out for some afternoon excursions. One particular discovery trip was to Bear Creek Ski area. I was on a fact finding mission for a friend who is relocating to the east coast after decades living in the mountains of Colorado. He is looking for a location that will have all the amenities of 4 seasons, but without the harsh long winters of his home state of NH. Golf, skiing, the sea shore and cultural venues.
Now, it is important to note that I am also a transplant from NH and I spent many years as a professional skier at some of the largest ski areas in the Northeast. When I moved to this area of Pa., over twenty years ago, I had already resigned from the sport I loved passionately due to bad knees, so being aware of ski areas near my new home was not even in my consciousness. I knew there where several areas in the region but had not explored them. So, after reviewing their web site for its location, I was surprised to discover that Bear Creek was only 14 miles from my home. I had to check this out... and headed up route 100 north to Church Street which becomes Mountain Road. It was the beautiful sunny afternoon of Feb. 9th, and as I came to the top of a hill... there it was in front of me. It was a magnificent site. A big mountain with wide sweeping trails covered with snow. The chairlift moving steadily up the mountain full of skiers and snow boarders. My heart began to flutter with a feeling of excitement I had not experienced for decades. You see in 2007, I was blessed with a brand new knee and no longer a cripple. I realized that the possibility of putting on the 'boards' again was very real and here was this wonderful mountain facility right in my back yard.
Later that day I reported my findings to my friend. I had sent him the link to their web site, but actually seeing the area is much more impressive. He had been looking at several of retirement regions but never considered Southeastern Pa. Who knew that it had so much to offer. There are 7 golf courses in a 10 mile radius of my town, the ski area is 14 miles away, the shore just 2 hours away and access to arts and historic culture, both local and regional is unsurpassed. So now my friend is very excited and will be arriving here soon, and I am looking forward to some wonderful afternoons on the slopes next winter.
We really do have it all right here in the Tri-County region.
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