Bargain Hunting with Baby Boy

Bargain Hunting or "Treasure Seeking" as Mia likes to call it, is one of my absolute favourite pastimes! A perfect day for me would be a mooch around charity shops, Antique Centres, Boot Sales or one of the various House Clearance/junk shops we have locally, followed by a cosy pub meal. Despite only being 7 and a half, Mia has well and truly caught the thrifting bug from me (to hubby's utmost dismay! His flat was minimalsit before he met me!) and we have shared a great many wondeful days out "Bargain Hunting/Treasure Seeking" together in the past couple of years. We take ourselves off on the bus early in the morning, and don't make it home until late afternoon - always accompanied by a bargain! These are days I truly value, and are great mum & daughter time - they are something which I REALLY miss at the moment, as since having baby boy last November, we haven't yet had the chance. I'm feeding him myself, and he is a very hungry baby! So he would have to accompany us on every trip - and i'm sure you will agree, junk shops and especially Antique Centres are just not the place for a pram - in fact i very much doubt i would even get mine through the door of one of our local shops - it's an old Church, and is literally crammed! Honestly you would not believe...when i eventually do manage another visit i must take some photos to show you!

Anyway, so back to today..i'm trying to get out & about every afternoon to give Baby Boy the chance for a couple of hours sleep - otherwise he does not sleep - all day long! It's good for him, and gives me a break, so after a couple of snowy days in the house, it was great to be able to wrap up warm and go for a Bargain Hunt! Now as i've said, i'm very limited to where i can actually go with a pram, luckily our local Oxfam is wondeful, probably the most pram-friendly shop in the whole of our small town, and we pop in there every Friday when it's my turn to collect Mia from school. But today i decided to pay a visit to a relatively new little shop, which opened late last year, and has already became a firm favourite of mine. It's called The Emporium, and sells a mixture of antiques, vintage, and also some more modern items, all acquired via house clearance, etc, and their stock is forever changing. Now the best thing about this little gem of a shop is their prices - you can go in with a fiver, buy something beautiful, and still come home with change in your pocket - definitely my kind of shop! Already i have bought a mixture of favourite items such as old books for only £1.00 each!:

Beautiful vintage tins, also £1.00 each, (these make a wonderful and cheaper alternative to gift boxes if i can actually bear to part with any!):

And vintage pictures, pieces of furniture, the list goes on! Today Baby Boy and I had a lovely chat with the lady who runs the shop, a woman after my own heart, who kindly kept an eye on the pram for me while i had a good browse. We came home with:

This lovely 1958 Frears Ltd buiscuit tin - just £1.00! This is in immaculate condition, i've just seen one exactly the same as this go for £15.50 in an online antique shop which wasn't in half as good condition as this one! I haven't yet decided what to keep in it ...maybe some of my craft items, beads, buttons, etc, or perahps to store the pieces of this gorgeous vintage puzzle; also £1.00

Mia and I enjoy a jigsaw - i only ever buy jigsaws and games second-hand, and i think they are all the more fun if they are vintage! We also came away with this one, another £1.00:

This beautiful Foley tea plate for £1.50 - this will look lovely on my dresser:

And this old printers tray - at least i think that's what it is? This was £2.00, and I think it will look perfect in Mia's room, sanded and re-painted and perhaps decorated a little, and used as a shelf for treasures - i've found some great ideas on the web, as a quirky way to display sea shells, feathers, and bits & pieces found on a nature walk such as pieces of birds egg shell (i love this idea and know Mia will too), to ornaments and toy cars - the list goes on & on.

I plan to do a "before & after" post on this very soon, but before i do, if anyone has any more ideas as to how we can decorate or put use to it i'd love to hear them!

So home we went, with some great items, and the best thing was that my purse was only £5.50 lighter! Definitely bargains i think!! I'm starting Baby Boy young - another Bargain Hunter in the making! (my poor, poor husband!, there is no hope i'm afraid!)

Marina x