Everything Old Is New Again...

 It's been a hard week (again).  Every time I wanted to write something "fun," there was more bad news. The shooting at Brown University, massacre/terrorism at Bondi Beach in Australia, the murders of Rob and Michelle Reiner... That's in addition to the rising unemployment rate, rising cost of living, lack of affordable healthcare...let's just stop at that.  It's been a long, cold, depressing winter, and it's not even officially winter yet.

But today, despite the cold (and often very cruel) world, I'm going back to light, fluffy and upbeat because I need to.  Maybe you need to as well.  So...

In 1995 (are you old enough to remember) I got engaged and the following year I got married (and I still am).  My husband and I moved into what was my maternal grandparent's house (which is what my college aged son now considers "his" abode).  It had furnishings, but of course my husband and I wanted to put our own touches on things which we did over the years.

One of the things we did (after our "landlord" aka my mom had a shower put in...Yes the house only had a bath tub and to this day only has one bathroom...it's what they did in the early 1920s) was get a shower curtain. Which was followed by a trash can, and window valance. Somewhere along the way there were towels. Then there was the comforter for our queen sized bed, sheets, drapes...  Everything matched.  (It was the 1990s!)  We bought just about everything from Bed, Bath & Beyond. (They sort of still exist.)  We spent (for us) major bucks, but it was an investment!  I can't remember the name of the pattern, but the make was Croscill (which does still exist) and we really liked it.  (You can kind of see it in the photos below



We had this pattern for a long time...over 10 years!  We still have the pattern in the bathroom, but in the bedroom we eventually changed to something else.


We had been focused on green and while we were out to Target one day, we found a comforter (actually more of a bedspread) in red, white & blue that we liked.


I don't remember who made it, but it wasn't too expensive.  We bought the comforter with the pillow shams and two decorative pillows.  (Why did we buy the pillows?  Were they part of the package?  I can't remember).  We changed our drapes to blue and all was well with the world.  (We also bought sheets that sort of matched, but not at the same time.)

 Except that it didn't hold up well.  The comforter started to tear.  It was thin and required heavy blankets (more than one) in the winter.  However, I just left it.  Once we purchased our house in the Poconos, it didn't seem necessary to do anything about it.  I was only in NJ two night a week.  Why invest in something new?  (We already had bought some quality bedding for the house in the Poconos and since it's from LL Bean so it should last.)

 Just the other day I was in NJ and working from home.  (Long story...could have stayed in PA and worked remotely there, but my son's car needed to get new tires.  So I needed to go back to NJ so he could have a car to use that day AND so that I could pay for the new tires!  Happy Hanukkah!  Merry Christmas!  Give the gift of Goodyear!)  I'm working and he was out in my car, as he acts as a "chauffeur" a couple of days a week for a family friend.  (She also was his Sunday school teacher.)  He picked her up at her house about 10 miles away and brought her to "our" thrift shop where she volunteers a couple of days a week.  (Just like I used to when I was in NJ.)

 My son also helps out at the shop.  And he was wandering around when he stumbled across this:

 


Looks like a blast from the past!  I had him investigate it further.

It was the right size and the right price.  I told him to buy it.  If he brought it home and it wasn't in good shape, I could always have him bring it back to the shop.  (And no, I wouldn't ask for a refund!  It's a thrift shop that supports the community.)

Once he was home we pulled it all out and checked it. Queen sized comforter looking almost brand new.  In addition there were also 2 pillow shams, a dust ruffle, and 3 decorative pillows!  

I threw the comforter into the wash.  Then did the shams and the dust ruffle.  The decorative pillows I  "Fabreezed".

Several hours later:


I know the photo quality is not great, but the new comforter is.  You might have noticed that this one is not forest green (like the original), but more blue with hints of green.  (I'm not going to call it teal because that's not quite right.)  The current drapes (and dust ruffle) go just fine with it.  

I'm thrilled.  For some great finds, visit your local thrift shop(S).Everything old IS new again!  



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