Wedding day is approaching and we are beginning to ask ourselves questions like, do we have enough glasses, plates, forks? Do we know exactly what else we need for decoration?I was talking with my mom on the phone last night and she asked: what are you going to wear?
These are all good questions and there is not a clear answer to any. Yet.
I suspect we’re a little deficient on some of these items, so this morning I went to two of the thrift stores nearby to see what I could find, within a modest budget. I don’t make it a habit to go to thrift stores, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I don’t make it a habit to go to any store except for groceries and other consumable necessities. The point is, I don’t have much of a shopping habit and I have not developed the fine art of sniffing out the excellent values at thrift stores. (I have heard urban legends about such people.) My number one objective today was to get forks.
It was a moderately successful outing. For an investment of $30 I acquired a domed cake pedestal, a pretty assortment of knives and forks, and 4 pieces of stemware that just happen to match a pair of wine glasses we already have. However, I have a feeling that a few more trips to the thrift store will be in my immediate future because as satisfied as I am with these purchases, I simply did not get enough forks.
Seriously, there were literally buckets full of dinner knives, but a true scarcity of forks. Even though I was not planning to get any knives, I had to sift through hundreds to find the few forks that I did purchase, and along the way found some very pretty table knives.
My hypothesis about this is that forks disappear. True statement? In my own personal inventory, dinner knives are indeed the most plentiful. Spoons come in second and forks sadly lag behind in third place.
So when donations arrive to the thrift store (the inventory), knives are in greatest supply.
But consumer demand gobbles up the scarce supply of forks that happen to arrive.
Thus, a few more visits (to other) thrift stores will be required to satisfy my own demand for the upcoming wedding celebration.
Plus, if I focus on the forks for a short while longer, I won’t have to worry about what to wear. Yet.
I've always been envious of those who can find special one-of-a-kind collections in thrift stores. It seems to be an art, and at the same time--it's the essence of environmentalism in consuming! Reuse is the best of all worlds. I've recently been keen on giving up moderately nice things when I've grown a little tired of them--knowing that someone else will find a treasure in them. I just need to find lightly used items myself instead of getting new ones!
ReplyDeleteI know all too well your fork problem. I even wrote a post about it a while back. Glad things are coming around for you. And you will find the perfect outfit!
ReplyDeleteHey get them some plastic ones. The event is the important thing ...
ReplyDeleteYou need car boot sales, I am not sure that you guys have those!