Well, I’m back from visiting my mom out in Las Vegas.  I always call it Las Vegas, but technically she lives in Henderson, Nevada.  Anyone familiar with the area knows that Henderson is a sprawling residential area to the south between Las Vegas and Boulder City.

Our trip was a bit of a roller coaster.  On our first day in town my mom’s car broke down as we were headed out to dinner.  It completely died while we were driving down the road.  So we spent the first evening of our vacation waiting two hours for a tow.  That was Saturday night, so we then had to wait until Monday to get a prognosis on the car.

While we waited, my sister and I decided to walk over to the Goodwill.  I’ve mentioned before that my mom conveniently lives just around the corner from a Goodwill store.  Since we were on foot, and I’d have to carry anything I purchased back to mom’s house, I didn’t actually buy much.  But I thought it might be fun to share what I would have purchased if I’d had a car.  Well … and also if I didn’t have to pack it in a suitcase to get it back home again.

First up, this metal sphere.

Those are always fun for the garden.  If you can read that tag you’ll see that it was $4.99 which I thought was a good price.  It was actually light enough to carry back to mom’s, but it would have taken up a lot of space in the luggage.

Next up, this pair of funky metal candlesticks.

I’m not sure if you can tell the size of them in that photo, but the tallest was about 3′ tall.  These never would have fit in my suitcase.  Plus, they were a bit pricey, as was that giant brass bowl in the background.  Overall, I have to say I did find most items my mom’s Goodwill store to be a bit overpriced for me.

However, it would have been fun to give those the rusty treatment using the Dixie Belle patina paint.

Speaking of candlesticks, I also thought about grabbing these …

However, they ranged in price from $5.99 up to $9.99 and I didn’t think there was enough of a profit margin for re-selling them.

I should mention here that I don’t qualify for the senior discount at my mom’s Goodwill, you have to be 65.  Here in Minnesota you only have to be 55 or older.

There were a few glass bottles that would have been perfect for adding apothecary labels to like the amber Kombucha bottles that I shared before I left.

But since I haven’t attempted to sell my apothecary bottles yet, I’m not at all sure if there is a market for them so I didn’t grab them.

I found a few copper pieces too.

These were in pretty rough shape though.  Both were missing the handles on their lids, but I’m sure I could have come up with a way to replace those.  But again, far too bulky to put in my suitcase.

There were also a handful of wooden items that would have been fun to paint including this trash can (it’s upside down on the shelf).

Wouldn’t that have been fun painted?  Maybe with a transfer or a stencil of some kind added?  Or even just a simple swiss cross (like this pair of trash cans I painted)?

Again, that item was far too large to put in a suitcase.

However, these two little wooden boxes would have fit nicely.

I’m really not sure why I didn’t purchase those.  I think I was hoping to find something better.

I was truly bummed to have to leave these next few items behind.  First were these metal baskets.

They had handles, and were reminiscent of a locker basket.  I totally would have grabbed all six of them had I been at home.  You never know when you might need a cool basket to contain stuff.

And I also would have loved to purchase this buffet.

It was $49.99, so a reasonable price.  Wouldn’t that have looked amazing with a paint job and some fresh hardware?

Dang, it was hard to walk away from that one.

So, what did I buy?

LOL, yep, that’s it!  I mean, really?  How could I resist that reusable bag?  It’s perfect for me.  Now I just have to remember to bring it when I go thrifting with Sue next time.

As for the wooden bowl …

Well, I really just wanted to see what it would take to bring this back to life.

I gave it a good wash with hot water and Dawn dish soap, then I sanded it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper.  After wiping away the dust, I pulled out my Salad Bowl Finish from Homestead House.

I’ve had this one little 1.75 oz jar since 2017, so a little goes a long way.  I looked it up, and you can purchase this jar for $10.99 from The Painted Heirloom (which is where I like to order my I.O.D. products online as well).

A quick q tip for you in case you’re not in the know.  Homestead House, Fusion and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint are all made by the same people.  So The Painted Heirloom calls this product “Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish by Fusion Mineral Paint”.  Don’t be thrown off by that, it’s the same thing, as is the Miss Mustard Seed’s Beeswax Finish.

What I like about this product in particular is that it is food safe.  It was originally formulated for use on things like cutting boards and wooden salad bowls.  So it was exactly what I needed for my thrifted bowl.

Isn’t that wood grain lovely?

By the way, after our visit to the Goodwill on Monday, we learned that the engine in my mom’s car was toast, and were told it may or may not be covered under warranty.  At that point we went ahead and rented a car to drive while we waited on that news.  Fortunately, by Friday the warranty work was approved and my mom got a loaner car.  I have to say, she was a little stressed that entire time not knowing if she was going to have to cough up $6,000 for the repairs.  Thankfully, it will all be covered under warranty, even the loaner.  Clearly she has a guardian angel looking out for her!

I have a couple more posts I plan to share from my trip out west, so stay tuned for those.  I also have a few projects underway, and since I came home to something like 17″ of fresh snow outside, I’ll probably have plenty of time to work on smaller projects indoors over the next few weeks!