Some thrift store treasures

I have a little crush on thrift stores; I will readily admit it.  There is one store close to home that I will just swing into and out of-just to see what's new or old as the case may be.  That store has been the source for several pieces of furniture that currently live in my home, including the sideboard that I rehabbed in the spring:

Our china cabinet which was one of the very first pieces of furniture we bought after we moved in.  Here it is all decked out for Christmas last year.  

There's also the dresser in my bedroom, but it's too icky to take a picture of.  It's in desperate need of a facelift. 

These days I am in the market for a certain piece of furniture that I want to serve a particular purpose in my home.  My inspiration is this brand new Ikea piece that we saw on our recent trip there to get the countertop. 

Yes, I know that is very modern and looks nothing like something I would pick for any room in my house, but bear with me-it's the seed of an idea for a little boy who has a love of these little plastic items:

Okay, sorry, I had to put one more shot of the lego minifigs on the blog-though I am wishing the pic was on my new countertop!  So, my search for a new play/storage piece for legos led me to yet another thrift store last week.  I scoured the large space quickly for the right raw materials, but with no luck.  As I was leaving, I spied this beauty near the register and snatched it up for just $3

Pretty sweet and the resulting screams of joy from all three of my kids were well worth the two dollars and all the change I could scrounge.  I asked the owner if there were any legos and he said there weren't right then, but he would let me know if some came in.  (Lucky for me a friend owns the shop nearby).  Imagine my surprise when she called me later that day to tell me there were three boxes just waiting for us.  I headed back down and grabbed these for only $12:

Not too shabby!  After much scrubbing and soaping, and then a little bleach for good measure I nearly doubled my son's lego collection and haven't found that piece of furniture just yet!  Oh, well-looks like more thrift stores in my future.