Friday, May 2, 2008

Dino Massaroni Thrifty Buy

Yesterday, the need for a trip to the grocery store became apparent. By eenee-meenee-mynee-mo I can choose either Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Oelwein, or Waverly.......each town in about the same distance from my home. Waverly won out this time, and though not in the original plan, I made an impulsive stop at my favorite thrift shop there, "Trinkets & Togs", for a quick browse-through. Like I really need anything, of course! One of the items I purchased there is this:

Rarely do I find a wall-hanging that's in good enough condition to consider buying. Usually, the pictures are sun-faded, but this one looked unusually nice. The artist's name is Dino Massaroni. Click here to read about him.The scene appears to possibly be in the Yosemite Valley, in the same vicinity as the famous 1937 Ansel Adams photograph, shown below on the cover of his 2008 calendar, which I bought on clearance at the mall back in January.


In the first photo, notice the black metal sconces shown partially on either side of the painting........they are the absolute only decorative item in my house that my father-in-law ever made a comment about. I almost fell over in a dead faint the day he walked in and saw them for the first time, and he raved on and on about how much he liked them, and wanted to know where they came from. It was almost bizarre! (I ordered them from Abbey Press, by the way, a couple years ago during our remodeling project, once we had decided to install an electric fireplace with a nice big mantle.)

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At the thrift shop yesterday, the Thursday Special was "Denim Items - $2 Each", and I found a nice Christopher & Banks denim skirt IN MY SIZE....whoo-hoo.....and three pairs of jeans, two for chores and one nice enough for good!! I was thrilled! The wall-hanging cost $3.......thus, this "Trinkets & Togs" shopping spree set me back just $11!!

5 comments:

Russell said...

You live in a great part of Iowa to be so close to these communities.

My grandfather worked for the Chicago Great Western for about 44 years and his route for many years was from Clarion to Oelwein - home of the Great Western.

I am fascinated by all the Amish who live near Hazelton. I always stop at their bakeries and furniture shops when I am there. But I am most fascinated with the one room school houses every two miles - a true hallmark of Iowa's past!

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Russell,

Thanks for visiting!

Yes, Oelwein's nickname is "Hub City", referring to its deep involvment with the railroad over the years.

The Amish community is interesting to drive through. More bakeries and furniture shops are springing up all the time. I used to buy bulk flour, sugar, etc. at one of their stores, but haven't done that for awhile.

The Amish country schools there are split up between the Jesup and Wapsie Valley school districts, maybe Oelwein, too.....the teachers are not Amish, you know....they are regular certified teachers employed by the public school districts.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

You scored big time! Congrats on your haul.

Anonymous said...

I love thrift shops! I just think they are so fun and you can always feel okay about splurging a bit cuz it's cheap! lol...I dress at the Goodwill and we also have another that is huge and has everything in it that I like even more. We went looking for a dresser last week.

Jeannelle said...

Sherry,

Its a toss-up as to which I enjoy more......rock-hunting or thrift shop browsing......they are similar activities in a way!