Some thrift trips end with a trunk full of treasure, and some end with a handful of small, charming things that nobody else bothered to pick up. Thrifter and home decorator @juliethrifts had the second kind of day, and she says it still beat what she has been finding lately. Her haul included a giant lampshade she had no lamp for, a frame with a very specific message about cats, and a rabbit that followed her home.

She opens the trip with a cart full of small goods. A little globe catches her eye first, and she decides it is really a pencil holder, which she plans to take home for her son Will because she is sure he will love it. Then comes an older carpeted bag, a purse she calls really cute, and a table of heavy figurines, a man and a woman who turn out to be candle holders. She does not want them, so she sets them aside.

The frames are where she slows down. She admits she does not need any more wooden ones unless they are super special, and then she finds a set of three that she cannot resist.

The Gold Frame And The Cat Print

Among the frames she spots a gold one that she says she has never seen in that style before. A wooden gold frame is easier to leave behind, but the gold one has to come home with her. Tucked in another frame she finds a print that reads “I love cats,” and she is smitten with all of it: the print, the frame and the shape.

Then she notices the detail that seals the deal. According to her, the piece was a present in 1999, which gives the little keepsake a story of its own. She says she is going to get it, and that anyone who loves it as much as she does can look for it on her website, juliesdesignsandsigns.com.

A Lampshade Too Big To Leave Behind

Next she wanders into a section that looks like somebody donated an entire collection of chef figures. Then she spots the lampshade. She loves the color, a kind of gray, and she likes the pleating, which is different because it makes a pattern. The inside is all broken up, but she says she can simply remove that part.

The question, as she puts it, is whether she even owns a lamp big enough for a huge shade like this one. She admits she is not sure, but she settles the matter in a single breath by saying they cannot leave it there and have to rescue it. Anyone who has ever carried home a thrifted treasure with no plan for it will recognize that feeling. By the end of the video she is still talking about it, and her last words are that she cannot leave the lampshade behind and that they are going to get it.

A Bear, A Rabbit And Some Changing Walls

Her cart keeps turning up sweet little characters. She finds a cute bear that looks older, wearing a sweater she loves, with what appears to be a tag from a booth. She decides to take him home. Later she finds a rabbit that she thinks might be handmade, with a hanger on the back so it can go on the wall, and she says it is really cute and that she is getting it.

While she digs, she hears the best news a thrifter can hear. Staff are changing out the wall, and she says that is great because she is almost done with her section and needs more stuff to dig through. She decides to take just the rabbit for now. A little later they are almost done refilling the wall, and then she hears that they are changing out the other side too, which she calls exciting.

Pillows, Mugs And Things To Make Over

After the bin changeover she says she did not find much, but she did find a few good things. An embroidered velvet pillow looks handmade and in good condition, and she says it would make a perfect little accent pillow for Christmas. She also picks up some wooden risers, which she says you can never have enough of in your stash because you can paint them whatever color you need.

• A little wooden bowl that she thinks would look good on top of some white butter pat plates.
• A mug with rabbits and cabbage, with a stamp on the bottom.
• What she thinks is a towel rack, which she plans to antique and darken, then use in a kitchen or bathroom, with hooks added or as a hanger.
• A crocheted blanket in excellent condition that she calls an immediate add to cart.

The towel rack is the sort of project she says she would not keep in its current orange wood. Her idea is to make it darker and more antique looking, which is the kind of makeover that turns a forgettable thrift find into a decor piece.

Austin Powers And Gold Lemons

Not every find is about decor. She comes across items from the Austin Powers movies and explains that one day she and her husband said “$1 million” and their kids looked at them as if they were crazy, because the kids had no idea what the line meant. Ever since, she says, she has wanted them to watch the movie, so these finds felt like a sign. She jokes that anyone unfamiliar with the movie probably thinks she is crazy.

The other side of the store was even worse, she says, and all she found were some heavy gold toned pieces she thinks might be lemons. They look like they have antiquing wax on them, which she says is already exactly her style. She also grabs a cute bowl and pictures it on top of a stack of white plates.

The Final Haul

She heads out for the day with everything laid out. It is not a crazy amount, she says, but compared to lately it is definitely good. The pile includes frames, the pillow, the little globe pencil holder for Will, the adorable rabbit, the purse, the Austin Powers pieces and the crocheted piece she shows off next to red velvet, which she calls a perfect combination.

Her reasoning throughout is simple and worth borrowing. She buys what she can picture in a room, whether that is a bowl on a plate stack, a pillow on a Christmas couch or a towel rack in a bathroom. She passes on what she already has too much of, like wooden frames, and she still lets herself be talked into one special frame when it is different enough. And when something unusual turns up, like an oversized lampshade or a cat frame with a date attached, she follows the rule she sums up on camera: if you cannot leave it there, you rescue it.

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